mrsbarker.ca - Millgrove 2B

Science-Inspired Art

6/1/2019

This week the students drew invertebrate animals that they then painted with watercolour and tempera paints. We had learned about iridescent insects from a book and used that learning to paint our invertebrates with bright, eye-catching colours. You can even watch below to see some art made by invertebrate animals and check out some more science-inspired art here, here, and here!

The Great Canadian Career Fair

5/30/2019

The students' Canadian Career Fair was a great success! They've put so much thought and effort into their businesses, and it was neat to see that work pay off as they pitched their companies to prospective employees from 2W and 2S. There were many big hires made, and it was great to see 2B share their learning and creativity with their peers. You can watch the video below to get a sense of our exciting morning!

Invertebrate Guests

5/29/2019

Our class has welcomed some new guests over the past week as we started our science unit on invertebrate animals (small crawling and flying animals). We’ve found it interesting to learn about the diversity of invertebrate animals, and the students are quite fond of their mealworms that now reside in the classroom. We’ve observed a few changes in the mealworms so far, and suspect that they may be undergoing some sort of metamorphosis…

Here are our learner outcomes for this unit on small crawling and flying animals:

Recognize that there are many different kinds of small crawling and flying animals, and identify a range of examples that are found locally.
Compare and contrast small animals that are found in the local environment. These animals should include at least three invertebrates - that is, animals such as insects, spiders, centipedes, slugs, worms, ants.
Recognize that small animals, like humans, have homes where they meet their basic needs of air, food, water, shelter and space; and describe any special characteristics that help the animal survive in its home.
Identify each animal's role within the food chain. To meet this expectation, students should be able to identify the animals as plant eaters, animal eaters or decomposers and identify other animals that may use them as a food source.
Describe the relationships of these animals to other living and nonliving things in their habitat, and to people.
Identify and give examples of ways that small animals avoid predators, including camouflage, taking cover in burrows, use of keen senses and flight.
Describe conditions for the care of a small animal, and demonstrate responsible care in maintaining the animal for a few days or weeks.
Identify ways in which animals are considered helpful or harmful to humans and to the environment.

Track Meet

5/28/2019

Millgrove’s second annual track meet was a great success today as students got to try out all sorts of track and field events and enjoy a beautiful morning outside. We tried out long distance running, hurdles, three-legged races, and all sorts of other challenges. Our class has been working on various track and field skills in the past couple of weeks, so it was great for students to make use of their growing PE abilities. 2B also watched some of the track and field footage the last summer Olympics in Rio, which they found very exciting!

Beekeeper Visit

5/24/2019

We had a very special visit today from two Spruce Grove beekeepers who came to provide some very relevant information for our Small Crawling and Flying Animals unit in science. We learned about the lifecycle of honey bees, and learned about many aspects of bee behaviour and anatomy that affect the process of collecting honey from the bees. They brought so many interesting tools and artifacts that the students got to explore, and they were very generous with answering the students' questions. The beekeepers inspired a lot of interest in this important invertebrate animal!

Invertebrate Research

5/23/2019

The students of 2B have completed their research on their invertebrate animals! They used books and online resources to learn about their chosen animal’s appearance, habitat, diet, enemies, and interesting traits. Their writing, research skills, and growing knowledge of various arthropods were excellent! Take a look at your child's report on Seesaw to learn more about their chosen invertebrate animal.

Data Analysis

5/22/2019

We’ve been working on data analysis in Math recently, and the class has enjoyed collecting and analysing a variety of information. In this unit, your child will be learning about graphs, and about asking questions to gather information! The Learning Goals for this unit are to:

Compare, sort, and organize real objects into concrete graphs.
Use symbols to create pictographs.
Read graphs and talk about the information on the graphs.
Ask questions, collect data, and record the data.

You can help your child reach these goals through the following activities:

Ask your child to sort some things into 2 sets. Help them to line up the sets to match each object in 1 set with an object in the other set.
Have your child ask family members to name their favourite vegetables, and then create a similar graph using matching hand-drawn pictures.
Have your child a question of the family, such as: “Do you like snow?” Have your child record the answers of up to 10 family members or friends using tallies or checkmarks.
Have your child ask up to 10 family members or friends a question, such as: “Do you like to skate, swim, or ride bikes?” Together, record the results in a chart.
Have your child collect data about how many letters are in the names of family members or other people they know.

Canadian Business Presentations

5/22/2019

We're busy preparing for our career fair next week here in 2B! Students are practicing their presentations, creating props, and putting the final touches on their presentations. You can view their business presentations on Seesaw, and a few are posted below. They will undoubtedly have many interested employees next week!

Spring PE

5/16/2019

Our May weather has been splendid so far, and we’ve been taking advantage of these warm days with lots of outdoor PE. We learned the rules of Capture the Flag this week, and soon we'll be honing our skills in kickball and Predator vs. Prey. Here’s hoping that more outdoor PE days lie ahead!

Canadian Business PR

5/15/2019

This past week 2B were very diligent marketers as they planned the marketing for their Canadian business. Students had to conduct market research to understand the culture and demographics of their location, and had to consider how to pitch their product and environmental policies to the public. They chose between creating a TV ad, radio ad, poster, or website and you can check out the results on your child's Seesaw!