Mrs. Rosalie Hnatick Grade 4/5

Welcome to the halfway point of the school year!  The new year has been off to a great start and I am excited to fill you in on what is taking place in the grade 5 class. Language Arts We are finishing our Narrative stories (Fiction) and will begin our Novel Study on Owls in the Family.  The stories take a long time as we work to improve our writing through editing and rereading.  We use rote memorization to help us study our spelling words.  Please encourage your child to use the words in a sentence.  This will help with their comprehension and will build their vocabulary for reading and writing.  Math We are at the mid point of our Multiplication and Division unit.  Some of you may be confused by the 'new' math.  This is not 'new' math but merely different strategies that help us to find other ways to find an answer to a problem.  Most of the time we use an algorithm (place one number on top of the other) to find the product.  It...

I hope you had a restful and enjoyable Christmas.  It is always nice to spend time with family and to appreciate our blessings during the Christmas season.  The first week back always feels long as it takes all of us (students and  teachers) a while to get back into routines.  Please continue reading to find out what is taking place in our classroom.  Language Arts Our Creative Writing unit is coming to an end.  We will soon begin a novel study called Owls in the Family.  As a class, we group read a novel and learn to use prior knowledge (what we already know) and discover new information to help with our reading comprehension (understanding).  We will continue on with Spelling and Guided Reading.  Please ensure that your child continues to read each night.  I strongly recommend at least 30 minutes each night.  This week, the students will have to complete a reading log that will be checked every Friday.  This will help ...

Dear Parents,  Winter is here!  I am often asked if I would like to be back in Australia.  The answer may surprise you, but no.  Being away for the year made me realize how Canadian I am.  However, if you were to offer me a free trip to someplace warm, I would definitely take you up on the offer. Please say a little prayer for my Roughriders as they enter into the CFL playoffs this month.  Read on to find out what is taking place in our classroom.  Language Arts We completed our Monster Menus.  The students had fun completing this assignment as they were allowed to gross me out.  We are continuing on with our Narrative writing unit and are now focusing on developing Suspense which leads up to the Main Event of our story writing.  Reading and writing are so closely linked.  The students who read each night, often have good writing and spelling skills and find it easier to develop original ideas for his or her writing.  I ...

Dear Parents,      We are well under way to another great year!  I am really enjoying this class and I hope your child is having just as much fun as I am.  Please read on to find out what is taking place in our class. Language Arts We have been working hard at our spelling words and Guided Reading groups.  We began the year with our unit on Narrative Writing and have started our first assignment, Monster Menu' s.  This project will help your child develop his/her descriptive writing abilities.  They are to compose a menu for monsters that would make us humans sick to our stomachs!  The due date for this assignment is October 31st.  Your child will draft the rough copy at school and will then be able to spend some time at home working on the good copy if they choose.  I do provide ample class time to work on the assignment.  Math Our unit on Patterns and Equations is nearing the end.  I anticipate that we will have o...

September 2018 Welcome back!  I hope you had a great summer.  I am happy to be back and am looking forward to a great year.  Please read my monthly blog to keep yourself informed about what it taking place in our classroom each month.  Language Arts This month we will begin our Spelling and Guided Reading activities.  These take place in the morning at the beginning of our LA lesson.  The word lists and reading books are based on your child's abilities and are designed to work on addressing the needs of your child.  Our writing unit for the next two months will be on Creative Writing.  We will begin by reviewing the components of a good paragraph, using adjectives (describing words) and creating original ideas.  We will lead up to writing a short story.  I strongly encourage you to set aside time each night for your child to read chapter books.  Good reading skills will help your child in all subject areas.  Mat...

Dear Parents,      Where has the time gone?  It's hard to believe that summer holidays are just around the corner. My apologies for the late blog.  This is a busy time of year for teachers as get ready for year end.  Please read the following to find out how we are wrapping up the year.  Language Arts We completed a mini unit on Newspaper writing by learning about the components of a newspaper article.  We read some samples and wrote an article as a class.  The grade fives will look at this more in depth in grade 6.  We are finishing off the year doing Reader's Theatre in groups.  Please look at 'Important Dates' to see when we will be performing in class.  The next two weeks we will be doing our last spelling list.  Please ensure that your child completes his/her LCWC (Look, Copy, Write, Check) each night.  Math Our unit on Decimals and Fractions will be completed this week with a test.  We will fi...

Dear Parents,     Thank you for all your prayers these past six weeks.  My father's illness and passing has been very difficult for me but I have been overwhelmed by the love and support shown to me during this time.  Thank you for your patience and understanding as I did not post last month.  Please read this post to see what we are working on in our class this month. Language Arts  We are finishing our Persuasive Writing essays.  This is a form of Non-Fiction writing in which the students must convince the reader of their argument.  Persuasive writing is a format used in advertising, magazine articles and in government.  The students chose a topic and have learned how to plan, compose and edit the final essay.  We also engage in some public speaking exercises in class where the students are given a topic and must persuade the class of his/her argument. Please continue to ensure that your child is working on their LCWC (look, copy,...