This is the final post for the 2018-2019 school year.
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Where has the time gone? I will miss my wonderful students next year. It has been a privilege working with all of you. Thank you for your contributions to our class, and congratulations on all of your achievements during the past two years.
Further congratulations to all of our Grade Four Historians for earning their PHDs in History. We have been working hard to wrap up learning in Science (Plants), Alberta's history, French (Ma Famille), Math (pictographs and bar graphs) and various literacy pieces (such as fractured fairy tales). Best wishes for a summer that is both refreshing and relaxing. |
Mrs. Mason |
This was the tea party we had when we finished reading "A Little Princess"
Week of June 3-7, 2019
Math: Equivalent fractions and introduction to decimals. Social Studies: Treaties between First Nations and "the Crown". Science: Plant Growth - Working in Plant Journal, Needs of Plants and Needs of People, observing plant growth and changes in classroom plants. Literacy: Finishing our fractured fairy tales, Thirty Day Writing Challenge, Father's Day project. (Shhhh) French: Learning many of the parts of the body through drawing, practicing, singing songs. Highlights from May 27-31, 2019
Science: We are enjoying watching our Scarlet Runner beans reaching up in record time. Our bean seeds in plastic bags got too wet and moldy, so we have tried a new method with some new bean seeds. Our Space Tomatoes have finally shown a bit of growth. We sure are glad about that! We pulled apart a lovely lily so that we could see the parts of a plant. We discussed needs of plants too. Students wrote a quiz on Simple Machines on Thursday. Math: Continued with fractions - equivalent fractions and comparing fractions; fractions as part of a set and as part of a whole Literacy: Thirty Day Writing Challenge, vocabulary work. |
Social Studies: We have researched where and why different groups of settlers came to Alberta, and we have investigated the signing of the Treaties between the government and First Nations. Students have watched 3 parts of the Drylanders video and have written from their character's point of view.
Next Week: Science - We will continue the study of plants (seed dispersal, plants with unique characteristics) French - Parts of the Body Social Studies - Discussing treaties; Retelling Alberta's story Literacy - Word Work, writing project, vocabulary work Math - Ordering fractions, problem solving with fractions, introduction to decimals |
Week of May 21-24, 2019
Here are the highlights from last week:
Social Studies - Mrs. Wajda continued to support our learning. We finished discussing the arrival of the NWMP
and began looking at the Settlers who came to Alberta. We also watched the first segment of the NFB of Canada's movie, "The Drylanders", which depicts a family from Montreal moving west and settling on the prairies in the early 1900s. Students are completing a related writing assignment.
Literacy - Continued to work on our fractured fairy tales
Math - Started activities related to fractions
Science - finished our devices that use simple machines and began the process of sharing them. Mrs. Mason's class and Ms. Mawani's class teamed up to build devices that would help solve problems if one were stranded on an island (a la Swiss Family Robinson). We are growing tomato seeds (from Space), marigolds, bean seeds, and thanks to Miss Cynthia, "pole beans". It is fun to watch these plants springing to life.
Health - We have had three lessons on the topic of Human Sexuality, centered on changes that happen during puberty. We will have two more lessons before we wrap up this topic.
Gym - Students have been learning about racket sports
Special Events - Author, Marty Chan, spoke to the students on Friday morning and entertained them with funny stories that were the inspiration for his children's books. Students also performed at the Volunteer Tea on Friday, under the direction of Ms. Smith.
Please help us collect recyclables to use for our upcoming building projects. We can use:
- plastic containers
- small cardboard boxes (like gift boxes, cereal boxes, cracker boxes, etc.)
- other containers (styrofoam, metal)
- milk jug caps
- tape,(especially duck tape), wire, pipe cleaners, string, plasticine
- scraps of wood, plastic, foam
- anything else that the students can use to build with
Please make sure that the materials do not have sharp edges and that they are clean.
We hope that you can help us. Our supply of "building materials" is very low right now.
- plastic containers
- small cardboard boxes (like gift boxes, cereal boxes, cracker boxes, etc.)
- other containers (styrofoam, metal)
- milk jug caps
- tape,(especially duck tape), wire, pipe cleaners, string, plasticine
- scraps of wood, plastic, foam
- anything else that the students can use to build with
Please make sure that the materials do not have sharp edges and that they are clean.
We hope that you can help us. Our supply of "building materials" is very low right now.
- Week of April 15-18
Learning Highlights:
Math - Division and problem solving; area and perimeter
Literacy - Listening to traditional and fractured fairy tales
- Analyzing story elements
- Planning our own fractured fairy tales
- Practicing with adverbs, strong verbs and adjectives
Science - Learning about gears, drive systems and pulleys
Social Studies - Working with Mrs. Wajda to investigate the arrival of the missionaries in Alberta
Gym - Applying what was learned in Hip Hop to create a dance routine
Music - Learning how to play songs on the ukelele
Health - Positive messages; strategies for controlling emotions
Next Week:
- Write fractured fairy tales
- Vocabulary work with words from novel (A Little Princess)
- Thirty Day Writing Challenge continued
- Division and problem solving in Math; all multiplication facts quiz
- Trouble in the West and Northwest Mounted Police (Social Studies)
- Weather vocabulary (French)
- Levers and begin design challenge in Science
Week of March 11-15
Math - continued with multiplication strategies, and did a "Math Talk" with Ms. Wu (our math coach)
Literacy - fractured fairy tales; how to write good story beginnings; adverbs, adjectives, strong verbs
Social Studies - worked with Mrs. Wajda. Investigating how the First Nations viewed their world by using stories and artifacts. (Artifacts from the Glenbow Museokit).
Science - Light and Shadows wrap up; Simple Machines intro and rollers experiment
Gym - Curling unit
Next week:
Math - we will have a short multiplication quiz, and an 8X quiz; we will start looking at "area"
Literacy - story beginnings continued; fractured fairy tales; thirty-day writing challenge
Social Studies - First Nations, Explorers, Fur Traders; continue with museokit
Science - Simple Machines - paper models of six simple machines; Miss Sobia will teach some lessons
French - finishing Valentine-related words; review months of the year, begin seasons and weather words
Reminder: Conferences are on Thursday from 2:00-8:00 p.m. Students will be dismissed at 1:20.
Conferences on Friday from 8:00 a.m - 1:00 p.m.
Math - continued with multiplication strategies, and did a "Math Talk" with Ms. Wu (our math coach)
Literacy - fractured fairy tales; how to write good story beginnings; adverbs, adjectives, strong verbs
Social Studies - worked with Mrs. Wajda. Investigating how the First Nations viewed their world by using stories and artifacts. (Artifacts from the Glenbow Museokit).
Science - Light and Shadows wrap up; Simple Machines intro and rollers experiment
Gym - Curling unit
Next week:
Math - we will have a short multiplication quiz, and an 8X quiz; we will start looking at "area"
Literacy - story beginnings continued; fractured fairy tales; thirty-day writing challenge
Social Studies - First Nations, Explorers, Fur Traders; continue with museokit
Science - Simple Machines - paper models of six simple machines; Miss Sobia will teach some lessons
French - finishing Valentine-related words; review months of the year, begin seasons and weather words
Reminder: Conferences are on Thursday from 2:00-8:00 p.m. Students will be dismissed at 1:20.
Conferences on Friday from 8:00 a.m - 1:00 p.m.
Week of March 4-8
We spent many chilly but exhilarating days at COP (Winsport) improving our skiing and snowboarding skills. It was exciting to see the great development that happened within four days of lessons.
On Friday we began a new art project (with a ski and snowboard theme), worked on our Alberta paper dioramas and our LOVE art. We continued to practice multiplication facts with a focus on the 7X facts, and we continued to practice multiplication strategies. We also finished looking at a variety of optical devices and completed a corresponding journal page.
Next week we will have a Wheels in Motion presentation on Monday morning.
The focus in Math will continue to be on multiplication strategies.
Literacy will centre on creating strong story beginnings and comparing traditional and fractured fairy tales.
Social Studies: Looking at how the First Nations of Alberta viewed their world. Exploring the Fur Trade Museokit (on loan from the Glenbow Museum) and investigating the voyageurs, explorers and fur traders and how they impacted Alberta's development.
Science: Finishing the last Light and Shadows concepts so that we can begin our next topic, Wheels and Levers.
We spent many chilly but exhilarating days at COP (Winsport) improving our skiing and snowboarding skills. It was exciting to see the great development that happened within four days of lessons.
On Friday we began a new art project (with a ski and snowboard theme), worked on our Alberta paper dioramas and our LOVE art. We continued to practice multiplication facts with a focus on the 7X facts, and we continued to practice multiplication strategies. We also finished looking at a variety of optical devices and completed a corresponding journal page.
Next week we will have a Wheels in Motion presentation on Monday morning.
The focus in Math will continue to be on multiplication strategies.
Literacy will centre on creating strong story beginnings and comparing traditional and fractured fairy tales.
Social Studies: Looking at how the First Nations of Alberta viewed their world. Exploring the Fur Trade Museokit (on loan from the Glenbow Museum) and investigating the voyageurs, explorers and fur traders and how they impacted Alberta's development.
Science: Finishing the last Light and Shadows concepts so that we can begin our next topic, Wheels and Levers.
Week of February 25-28
Math - worked with Ms. Wu (Math Coach) on four different multiplication strategies; wrote 6X quiz; played math games to reinforce basic facts
Science - explored devices that use light; introduction to Wheels and Levers
Social Studies - worked with Mrs. Wajda to introduce "Thinking Like a Historian" and the First Nation's perspective as an introduction to our second topoic of study, Alberta's History
Language Arts - vocabulary development, Thirty Day Writing Challenge continued, listening to fractured and traditional stories
French - brief review of words related to Valentine's Day
Buddies - activity related to Pink Shirt day
Pink Shirt Day assembly (Wednesday)
Looking Ahead:
Skiing and snowboarding Monday through Thursday
Math Quiz - 7X on Friday
Finish examining optical devices in Science; look at optical illusions
Social Studies - First Nations: How They Viewed Their World
Language Arts - Writing Challenge, vocabulary work, listen to fractured tales
Math - worked with Ms. Wu (Math Coach) on four different multiplication strategies; wrote 6X quiz; played math games to reinforce basic facts
Science - explored devices that use light; introduction to Wheels and Levers
Social Studies - worked with Mrs. Wajda to introduce "Thinking Like a Historian" and the First Nation's perspective as an introduction to our second topoic of study, Alberta's History
Language Arts - vocabulary development, Thirty Day Writing Challenge continued, listening to fractured and traditional stories
French - brief review of words related to Valentine's Day
Buddies - activity related to Pink Shirt day
Pink Shirt Day assembly (Wednesday)
Looking Ahead:
Skiing and snowboarding Monday through Thursday
Math Quiz - 7X on Friday
Finish examining optical devices in Science; look at optical illusions
Social Studies - First Nations: How They Viewed Their World
Language Arts - Writing Challenge, vocabulary work, listen to fractured tales
Week of February 19-22, 2019
Math - multiplication (basic facts for 6X and 7X practiced through activities and games)
- partial products and multiplication strategies
Science - refraction stations and light pollution
Social Studies - continued to work on our Field Journals to demonstrate what was learned while researching one of Alberta's regions
Literacy - Thirty Day Writing Challenge continued, continued reading A Little Princess, presented Book Talks, self-evaluation for Book Talk project
Health - Mind Up (using breathing to create calm and awareness); Read book "What Does it Mean to be Present?"
French - vocabulary associated with Valentines Day
Looking Ahead:
Math quizzes for 6X and 7X.
Working with math coach, Ms. Wu, next week (multiplication - 2 Digit times 1 digit, multiplication strategies and problem solving)
Science quiz on Light and Shadows. Introduction to next unit, Wheels and Levers.
Beginning part 2 of Social Studies: Alberta's History
Literacy - vocabulary development, traditional and fractured fairy tales, Thirty Day Writing Challenge continued
French - Practicing Valentine related vocabulary
Math - multiplication (basic facts for 6X and 7X practiced through activities and games)
- partial products and multiplication strategies
Science - refraction stations and light pollution
Social Studies - continued to work on our Field Journals to demonstrate what was learned while researching one of Alberta's regions
Literacy - Thirty Day Writing Challenge continued, continued reading A Little Princess, presented Book Talks, self-evaluation for Book Talk project
Health - Mind Up (using breathing to create calm and awareness); Read book "What Does it Mean to be Present?"
French - vocabulary associated with Valentines Day
Looking Ahead:
Math quizzes for 6X and 7X.
Working with math coach, Ms. Wu, next week (multiplication - 2 Digit times 1 digit, multiplication strategies and problem solving)
Science quiz on Light and Shadows. Introduction to next unit, Wheels and Levers.
Beginning part 2 of Social Studies: Alberta's History
Literacy - vocabulary development, traditional and fractured fairy tales, Thirty Day Writing Challenge continued
French - Practicing Valentine related vocabulary
Week of January 21-25, 2019
Math - Subtraction review, and problem solving with addition and subtraction
Science - Light and Shadows continued: materials that reflect light, transparent, translucent and opaque
Social Studies - Using information from research to complete Field Journals; looking at the region we studied from the perspective of someone new to the area
Literacy - Writing a story summary; onomatopoeia comics and explanations; writing based on picture prompts
Started new novel "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett
French - Greetings and introductory questions
Health - Mind Up curriculum (how to be mindful)
Gym - gymnastics groups are working together on routines
Looking Ahead:
Subtraction and Addition quiz in Math; addition and subtraction group task (Planning a Party)
Refraction experiments in Science; making kaleidoscopes
Vocabulary development and finalization of Book Talks this week in Literacy
Continuing to write information into our Field Journals in Social Studies
Practicing our questions and greetings with different partners in French
Shading and texturing techniques in Art
Visiting the Science Fair displays with our buddies on Tuesday
Math - Subtraction review, and problem solving with addition and subtraction
Science - Light and Shadows continued: materials that reflect light, transparent, translucent and opaque
Social Studies - Using information from research to complete Field Journals; looking at the region we studied from the perspective of someone new to the area
Literacy - Writing a story summary; onomatopoeia comics and explanations; writing based on picture prompts
Started new novel "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett
French - Greetings and introductory questions
Health - Mind Up curriculum (how to be mindful)
Gym - gymnastics groups are working together on routines
Looking Ahead:
Subtraction and Addition quiz in Math; addition and subtraction group task (Planning a Party)
Refraction experiments in Science; making kaleidoscopes
Vocabulary development and finalization of Book Talks this week in Literacy
Continuing to write information into our Field Journals in Social Studies
Practicing our questions and greetings with different partners in French
Shading and texturing techniques in Art
Visiting the Science Fair displays with our buddies on Tuesday
Week of January 8-11, 2019
This week we got the rest of our lantern frames built. Thank you to our exceptional volunteers who donated their time so that we could accomplish this ambitious project.
We have almost finished reading the novel, City of Ember, and will watch the movie later this week.
Math - review of rounding, and estimating sums and differences
Language Arts - drawing and writing about our Winter Break (thumbnail sketches)
- creating a rubric for our Book Talks
- starting work on our Book Talks
- answering questions about City of Ember
- Alliteration - creating a journal page that shows alliteration
Science - sources of light (those that emit their own light, and those that are lit by external sources)
- transparent, translucent and opaque
Gym - started gymnastics unit
Next Week:
- We will continue to focus on estimation and subtraction in Math, including mental estimation strategies and problem solving
- We will begin using our jot notes from our research on Alberta's regions to complete a Field Journal related to City of Ember
- We will explore how light travels, and how shadows work, and demonstrate our understanding of "translucent, opaque and transparent" through completing a journal page
- Book Talk work will continue, and we will focus on onomatopoeia and narrative writing
- Prepositions, months and greetings in French
This week we got the rest of our lantern frames built. Thank you to our exceptional volunteers who donated their time so that we could accomplish this ambitious project.
We have almost finished reading the novel, City of Ember, and will watch the movie later this week.
Math - review of rounding, and estimating sums and differences
Language Arts - drawing and writing about our Winter Break (thumbnail sketches)
- creating a rubric for our Book Talks
- starting work on our Book Talks
- answering questions about City of Ember
- Alliteration - creating a journal page that shows alliteration
Science - sources of light (those that emit their own light, and those that are lit by external sources)
- transparent, translucent and opaque
Gym - started gymnastics unit
Next Week:
- We will continue to focus on estimation and subtraction in Math, including mental estimation strategies and problem solving
- We will begin using our jot notes from our research on Alberta's regions to complete a Field Journal related to City of Ember
- We will explore how light travels, and how shadows work, and demonstrate our understanding of "translucent, opaque and transparent" through completing a journal page
- Book Talk work will continue, and we will focus on onomatopoeia and narrative writing
- Prepositions, months and greetings in French
Week of December 3 - 5
Math - rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000
- estimating sums of numbers
- continuing research on Alberta's regions
- beginning Light and Shadows in Science: What are the sources of light? What is light?
- Deck the Halls art project with buddies
- Book Talks: focus on character traits
- French: Colours quiz
Next Week: December 10-14
- estimate sums and differences
- continue reading City of Ember, looking at character traits
- French: months of the year
- continue research on Alberta regions
- continue working on Book Talks
- Aboriginal drumming session
- winter art project
Math - rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000
- estimating sums of numbers
- continuing research on Alberta's regions
- beginning Light and Shadows in Science: What are the sources of light? What is light?
- Deck the Halls art project with buddies
- Book Talks: focus on character traits
- French: Colours quiz
Next Week: December 10-14
- estimate sums and differences
- continue reading City of Ember, looking at character traits
- French: months of the year
- continue research on Alberta regions
- continue working on Book Talks
- Aboriginal drumming session
- winter art project
Week of November 25-29
This week our main focus was our MoFob project. Students did a terrific job of pulling it all together. Thank you to all of the parents who were able to join us for a little MoFob experience on Friday.
- In math we practiced rounding to the nearest ten, hundred and thousand
- Art appreciation on Vincent Van Gogh with Miss Sobia, and a related art project (Starry Night)
- We reviewed colours in French and finished a few Halloween vocabulary activities
- Social Studies researc on Alberta's regions
- Continued with visualization in our Book Talk groups
Next Week: December 3-5
Note: It is an unusually short week for students. They will attend school on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday is an Organizational Day and Friday is a PD Day.
Monday will be Ugly Sweater day, and Deck the Halls in the afternoon.
- In math we will be estimating sums and differences
- We will continue to refine our goal setting strategies
- Students will finish their Van Gogh pictures
- Miss Sobia will teach students how to create a Vision Board for their goals
- New Topic in Science: Light and Shadows
- Continue reading City of Ember
- Continue working in Book Talk groups, emphasis on Character Traits
- French - Greetings
This week our main focus was our MoFob project. Students did a terrific job of pulling it all together. Thank you to all of the parents who were able to join us for a little MoFob experience on Friday.
- In math we practiced rounding to the nearest ten, hundred and thousand
- Art appreciation on Vincent Van Gogh with Miss Sobia, and a related art project (Starry Night)
- We reviewed colours in French and finished a few Halloween vocabulary activities
- Social Studies researc on Alberta's regions
- Continued with visualization in our Book Talk groups
Next Week: December 3-5
Note: It is an unusually short week for students. They will attend school on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday is an Organizational Day and Friday is a PD Day.
Monday will be Ugly Sweater day, and Deck the Halls in the afternoon.
- In math we will be estimating sums and differences
- We will continue to refine our goal setting strategies
- Students will finish their Van Gogh pictures
- Miss Sobia will teach students how to create a Vision Board for their goals
- New Topic in Science: Light and Shadows
- Continue reading City of Ember
- Continue working in Book Talk groups, emphasis on Character Traits
- French - Greetings
Week of November 19-22, 2018
Students worked on the following activities:
-practicing representing numbers in different ways
-learning new math games to practice ordering numbers and comparing numbers to 10 000
-Opinion writing
-Science quiz on Waste and Our World
-Social Studies research on Alberta's Regions
Next week:
-We will work hard to prepare for our Museum of Forgotten Objects exhibit
-Starting a new unit in Science: Light and Shadows
-Continuing with visualizing as a comprehension strategy, and reading our Book Talk novels
-Continuing our Social Studies research
-French greetings
-Working on setting longer term goals; "growth mindset"
-Rounding and estimating in Math
Students worked on the following activities:
-practicing representing numbers in different ways
-learning new math games to practice ordering numbers and comparing numbers to 10 000
-Opinion writing
-Science quiz on Waste and Our World
-Social Studies research on Alberta's Regions
Next week:
-We will work hard to prepare for our Museum of Forgotten Objects exhibit
-Starting a new unit in Science: Light and Shadows
-Continuing with visualizing as a comprehension strategy, and reading our Book Talk novels
-Continuing our Social Studies research
-French greetings
-Working on setting longer term goals; "growth mindset"
-Rounding and estimating in Math
November 5-9, 2018
Highlights for the Week:
-We analyzed the meaning of the lyrics to Elton John's Oceans Away song, and drew pictures to accompany it for the Remembrance Day assembly on Friday. Mrs. Mason's husband made a beautiful presentation with some of the art work done by grade four students, and this was shared at the assembly.
-Miss Sobia read two books, "The Road to Afghanistan", and "A Bear in War". Discussion and activities followed.
-We practiced reading and writing numbers in different ways in Math.
-We made plans for our Forgotten Object writing, and we wrote information that will appear on our Forgotten Object plaques.
-We practiced inferring the meaning of words with Mrs. Wajda during our literacy time with her.
-Students learned about the reintroduction of bison to Banff National Park and considered the pros and cons of this initiative; they wrote about their thoughts on the issue.
Next Week:
-We will work on our Forgotten Object stories
-We will learn about landfills in class, and after our field trip, we will document our learning with a journal page
-In Math we will work on place value, and comparing and ordering numbers
-We will continue to read our books in our Book Club groups
-In French, we will practice days of the week, finish Halloween-related vocabulary, practice colours, and begin learning the months of the year
-We will learn about The Adventures of An Aluminum Can (a flow chart that shows how they are made, and what happens after they have been used)
-Students will write an assessment on the Science topic "Waste and Our World"
Highlights for the Week:
-We analyzed the meaning of the lyrics to Elton John's Oceans Away song, and drew pictures to accompany it for the Remembrance Day assembly on Friday. Mrs. Mason's husband made a beautiful presentation with some of the art work done by grade four students, and this was shared at the assembly.
-Miss Sobia read two books, "The Road to Afghanistan", and "A Bear in War". Discussion and activities followed.
-We practiced reading and writing numbers in different ways in Math.
-We made plans for our Forgotten Object writing, and we wrote information that will appear on our Forgotten Object plaques.
-We practiced inferring the meaning of words with Mrs. Wajda during our literacy time with her.
-Students learned about the reintroduction of bison to Banff National Park and considered the pros and cons of this initiative; they wrote about their thoughts on the issue.
Next Week:
-We will work on our Forgotten Object stories
-We will learn about landfills in class, and after our field trip, we will document our learning with a journal page
-In Math we will work on place value, and comparing and ordering numbers
-We will continue to read our books in our Book Club groups
-In French, we will practice days of the week, finish Halloween-related vocabulary, practice colours, and begin learning the months of the year
-We will learn about The Adventures of An Aluminum Can (a flow chart that shows how they are made, and what happens after they have been used)
-Students will write an assessment on the Science topic "Waste and Our World"
October 29-November 2, 2018
Highlights for the week:
-We worked with Ms. Wu, Math Coach, on Carroll and Venn diagrams
-Students had a chance to play Math Prodigy, an online game that allows them to practice math concepts
-We worked on asking "good" questions and applied this to our research on Alberta's Regions
-Halloween vocabulary remained the focus in French
-We did finishing touches to our Fall Inchie art project
Next week:
-Ms. Sobia, student teacher, will begin her work with us
-Number Concepts, reading, writing, representing numbers to 10,000 will be the focus in Math
-Students will write drafts and copies of their Forgotten Object poems
-Students will discuss aspects of Remembrance Day and create illustrations for our assembly on Friday
Highlights for the week:
-We worked with Ms. Wu, Math Coach, on Carroll and Venn diagrams
-Students had a chance to play Math Prodigy, an online game that allows them to practice math concepts
-We worked on asking "good" questions and applied this to our research on Alberta's Regions
-Halloween vocabulary remained the focus in French
-We did finishing touches to our Fall Inchie art project
Next week:
-Ms. Sobia, student teacher, will begin her work with us
-Number Concepts, reading, writing, representing numbers to 10,000 will be the focus in Math
-Students will write drafts and copies of their Forgotten Object poems
-Students will discuss aspects of Remembrance Day and create illustrations for our assembly on Friday
October 22-25, 2018
This week we:
-We learned how to say several colours in French
-We earned over 20 Bonus Points
-Lina and Doon got their job assignments in City of Ember
-We started talking about Bees
-In math we read One Grain of Rice and did a lot of ADDING
-We learned about similes and metaphors (la la la la la la la)
-We formed reading groups and we will start reading our books on Monday
-We learned about the symbols in algebra and how they're used
-It was our last Choice Day in Gym
-We worked on our Worms at Work journal page
Next Week:
-We will complete The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle and read The Adventures of an Aluminum Can
-We will work on our forgotten object poetry and maybe watch Ikea Lamp Two
-Halloween costumes can be worn on Wednesday; there will be a short dance in the Gym for grades 4-6 and grades 1-3 will do a costume parade
-We will work on our Book Talk projects
-In Math we will continue to work on algebra, and begin number concepts
-In French we will learn some Halloween vocabulary as part of our study of seasonal and holiday words
-We will continue to develop research questions for Alberta's regions
This week we:
-We learned how to say several colours in French
-We earned over 20 Bonus Points
-Lina and Doon got their job assignments in City of Ember
-We started talking about Bees
-In math we read One Grain of Rice and did a lot of ADDING
-We learned about similes and metaphors (la la la la la la la)
-We formed reading groups and we will start reading our books on Monday
-We learned about the symbols in algebra and how they're used
-It was our last Choice Day in Gym
-We worked on our Worms at Work journal page
Next Week:
-We will complete The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle and read The Adventures of an Aluminum Can
-We will work on our forgotten object poetry and maybe watch Ikea Lamp Two
-Halloween costumes can be worn on Wednesday; there will be a short dance in the Gym for grades 4-6 and grades 1-3 will do a costume parade
-We will work on our Book Talk projects
-In Math we will continue to work on algebra, and begin number concepts
-In French we will learn some Halloween vocabulary as part of our study of seasonal and holiday words
-We will continue to develop research questions for Alberta's regions
October 15-19, 2018
This week:
-We had the worm dude, Mr. Mike, come and talk to us about how important worms are.
-We finished reading The Witches and started City of Ember.
-We worked on our Fall Inchies and they're almost done.
-In Math we started algebra.
-We did our final examination of our decomposition chambers. They smelled horrible and they looked pretty disgusting. We are glad that they are not in our classroom anymore. Phew! (And Peewww!)
-We came up with many questions to guide our Social Studies research.
-We are drawing a comic strip to show the Adventures of a Platic Bottle
-Our teachers put on a Poetry Slam. We went to the Poetry Cafe (Learning Commons) and the teachers shared poems about their forgotten objects. It was DEPRESSING! (There was no food either. :( It was outrageous!)
-We met our new student Ms. Sobia, and we had other visitors from the University of Calgary.
This week:
-We had the worm dude, Mr. Mike, come and talk to us about how important worms are.
-We finished reading The Witches and started City of Ember.
-We worked on our Fall Inchies and they're almost done.
-In Math we started algebra.
-We did our final examination of our decomposition chambers. They smelled horrible and they looked pretty disgusting. We are glad that they are not in our classroom anymore. Phew! (And Peewww!)
-We came up with many questions to guide our Social Studies research.
-We are drawing a comic strip to show the Adventures of a Platic Bottle
-Our teachers put on a Poetry Slam. We went to the Poetry Cafe (Learning Commons) and the teachers shared poems about their forgotten objects. It was DEPRESSING! (There was no food either. :( It was outrageous!)
-We met our new student Ms. Sobia, and we had other visitors from the University of Calgary.
October 9-12, 2018
This week we continued to study the topic of Patterns in Math. We looked at our "footprint" on the earth in Science and thought of ways to reduce it. Some students took action by picking up garbage from the school grounds, and students considered ways that they could reduce the amount of packaging on products by analyzing good and poor examples of packaged items. We worked on a journal page about the Ikea lamp commercial, and we also created a journal page about our Reader Identity. We had intended to finish The Witches novel, and we are close now! Students spent some class time responding to questions about the story, using their google docs, and this assignment is due on Monday. We had our first round of complementary courses this morning. The feedback was positive. One student indicated that she "had a really nice teacher" and that she got to do fun drama games. Another student commented that Digital Storytelling was interesting. We continued to work on our Fall Inchies art project.
Next week we really will begin reading City of Ember, a novel with strong connections to our Science topic of Waste and Our World. We will explore the topic of "book talks" in our work with Mrs. Wajda. Students will plan and write the story of the Ikea lamp from the lamp's point of view. We will begin discussing questions that will guide our research of the regions of Alberta in Social Studies. In Science we will explore the steps in the production of a plastic bottle through the story "The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle". Students will depict several of these steps through a journal page. Our next Math topic will be algebraic equations.
This week we continued to study the topic of Patterns in Math. We looked at our "footprint" on the earth in Science and thought of ways to reduce it. Some students took action by picking up garbage from the school grounds, and students considered ways that they could reduce the amount of packaging on products by analyzing good and poor examples of packaged items. We worked on a journal page about the Ikea lamp commercial, and we also created a journal page about our Reader Identity. We had intended to finish The Witches novel, and we are close now! Students spent some class time responding to questions about the story, using their google docs, and this assignment is due on Monday. We had our first round of complementary courses this morning. The feedback was positive. One student indicated that she "had a really nice teacher" and that she got to do fun drama games. Another student commented that Digital Storytelling was interesting. We continued to work on our Fall Inchies art project.
Next week we really will begin reading City of Ember, a novel with strong connections to our Science topic of Waste and Our World. We will explore the topic of "book talks" in our work with Mrs. Wajda. Students will plan and write the story of the Ikea lamp from the lamp's point of view. We will begin discussing questions that will guide our research of the regions of Alberta in Social Studies. In Science we will explore the steps in the production of a plastic bottle through the story "The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle". Students will depict several of these steps through a journal page. Our next Math topic will be algebraic equations.
More Witches Questions
The Witches - More Questions to Check Understanding
Please answer these questions with detailed sentences.
1. How did Luke feel about being a mouse? Explain why.
2. Were you surprised that Luke felt this way? Explain why.
3. How would you feel about being turned into a mouse? Why?
4 How did Luke’s grandmother react to seeing him as a mouse? Why?
A Hyperbole is the use of over-exaggeration in writing.
An example of hyperbole from the book is: “The maid let out a scream that must have been heard by ships far out in the English Channel, and she dropped the shoes and ran like the wind down the corridor.”
Write your own hyperbole using one of the following topics.
One of Luke’s adventures as a mouse.
The way the witches react towards the Grand High Witch.
How Luke felt while turning into a mouse.
The way that Luke and Grandmamma feel about witches.
Please answer these questions with detailed sentences.
1. How did Luke feel about being a mouse? Explain why.
2. Were you surprised that Luke felt this way? Explain why.
3. How would you feel about being turned into a mouse? Why?
4 How did Luke’s grandmother react to seeing him as a mouse? Why?
A Hyperbole is the use of over-exaggeration in writing.
An example of hyperbole from the book is: “The maid let out a scream that must have been heard by ships far out in the English Channel, and she dropped the shoes and ran like the wind down the corridor.”
Write your own hyperbole using one of the following topics.
One of Luke’s adventures as a mouse.
The way the witches react towards the Grand High Witch.
How Luke felt while turning into a mouse.
The way that Luke and Grandmamma feel about witches.
October 1-5, 2018
This Coming Week:
Students will generate questions to guide their research of the remaining Alberta regions.
Note: We have had some stuffies go "missing" in our classroom. This has been upsetting for the students who have lost their fuzzy friends. Therefore, we will ask that students leave their stuffies and other special toys at home, except on special occasions.
- We continued to laugh at Roald Dahl's humour as we read more of The Witches.
- Students used their new Google accounts and responded to more questions about the novel.
- We also wrote paragraphs about the things that make us feel thankful.
- In Math, we continued to explore patterns in tables, and we used special dominoes to practice adding numbers mentally, focusing on combinations that make ten.
- In Science we looked at Fast Fashion, analyzed our lunches for the amount of waste they contained, and made a pie graph to represent our waste, reusing and recycling habits.
- We recorded observations about our decomposition chambers (where the organic materials are changing and dissolving before our eyes).
- We looked at the locations of some of Alberta's major cities and towns, but we did not have time to look at the Rocky Mountain region.
- Students enjoyed dodgeball games in Gym.
- We chose our Complementary Course options which will begin next Friday.
This Coming Week:
- We will complete the Witches and all related activities and begin our new novel, City of Ember.
Students will generate questions to guide their research of the remaining Alberta regions.
- Our Science focus will be on forgotten objects that are no longer used; watch the Agenda message as students will be asked to bring in an example of a "forgotten object" in the next few days.
- We will also explore different types of packaging, and study the process that occurs in the production of plastic bottles (flow charts.)
- In Math we will look at Algebraic equations after we finish a few more patterns activities.
Note: We have had some stuffies go "missing" in our classroom. This has been upsetting for the students who have lost their fuzzy friends. Therefore, we will ask that students leave their stuffies and other special toys at home, except on special occasions.
September 24-28, 2018
This coming week:
- We had a great time setting up our Gmail accounts with Mr. Lang and Ms. Pearson on Thursday.
- We had an assembly about Terry Fox and then we did our Terry Fox run. Our class did 131 laps. We wonder whether Mr. Lang and Mr.Janzic will have to get new hairstyles. If we reach our goals Mr. Lang will dye his hair and Mr. Janzic will shave his hair off.
- Ask me about the choir practices.
- In math we learned about Patterns and T-Tables.
- We started learning about all of the resources that go into making clothes.
- We read the part in The Witches where Luke gets trapped in a room full of witches and he learns about their secret formula to turn children into mice. We answered questions about the story.
- We learned more details about the Grasslands region.
This coming week:
- We will continue to learn about textiles and fast fashion, as well as packaging.
- Our novel study will provide opportunities for responding and analyzing elements of story.
- Some work will be done with "questioning" as a comprehension strategy.
- We will monitor the decomposition chambers and do qualitative and quantitative observations.
- We will finish looking at the Grasslands and start investigating the Rocky Mountain region of Alberta..
- Our math work will include Venn and Carroll diagrams as a way to represent patterns.
- There will be a Thanksgiving Assembly on Friday.
September 17-20, 2018
This coming week:
- This week in Science we made our decomposition chambers with the organic scraps our students contributed. (It is amazing to see the amount of organic material that was compiled in just a couple of days!) We will record our observations over the next two to three weeks to see how things change.
- We learned some new vocabulary and studied character traits while reading The Witches.
- Students continued to learn new letters in handwriting.
- We started looking at the characteristics of the Grasslands region in Alberta.
- Students practiced telling time with analog clocks: 12 hour ad 24 hour
This coming week:
- We will have a short quiz on time, and then begin learning about Patterns in Math, especially T-tables.
- We will continue to learn about the Grasslands region: landforms, natural resources, wildlife, bodies of water, climate, vegetation.
- We will explore similes and learn some more new words while reading The Witches. We will continue to write responses to the story.
- The focus in Science will be producers, consumers, decomposers, as well as the 4 R's - reducing, reusing, recycling, repurposing.
- In French we will learn the days of the week.
- The Muffin Breakfast and Terry Fox Run will take place on Friday, September 28.
September 10-14, 2018
Next week we will look at producers, consumers and decomposers in Science. We will learn more about Alberta's major towns, cities, rivers and regions. In French we will learn more numbers (up to twenty). We will continue to enjoy Roald Dahl's humour as we read more from The Witches, learn some vocabulary, and focus on character traits. In Math the focus will be on the twenty-four hour clock.
Remember that Thursday, September 20, is Meet the Teacher night. Please come and see the new classrooms, take a peek at some of the work we have been doing, and learn about some of our plans for the year ahead. Presentations will begin in the homerooms at 6:30.
- Here is a look at this week's highlights:
- Un, deux, trois ... we learned to count from 1-12 in French. We practiced the numbers using a game that one of our students invented with his dad! Thanks for the idea!
- We continued our study of Waste and Our World by doing a "waste walk" around the school to take pictures that showed examples of waste. (There were many paper towels on the floor.)
- We read a book about our Human Footprint. It contained some surprising facts.
- Our time capsules are sealed and decorated. We will have to wait until June 22 to open them! (See the photo below.)
- It was interesting to discover our own special "intelligences" and learning styles by doing a survey, and analyzing the data. We graphed it on a bar graph too.
- We enjoyed reading "The Hueys in the New Jumper". We also created our own Hueys.
- We learned the names of the geographic regions of Alberta.
- Our time-telling skills are improving. Many of us are getting the hang of reading analog clocks.
Next week we will look at producers, consumers and decomposers in Science. We will learn more about Alberta's major towns, cities, rivers and regions. In French we will learn more numbers (up to twenty). We will continue to enjoy Roald Dahl's humour as we read more from The Witches, learn some vocabulary, and focus on character traits. In Math the focus will be on the twenty-four hour clock.
Remember that Thursday, September 20, is Meet the Teacher night. Please come and see the new classrooms, take a peek at some of the work we have been doing, and learn about some of our plans for the year ahead. Presentations will begin in the homerooms at 6:30.
Here are examples of Hueys from Oliver Jeffer's book.
Time Capsules
September 4 - 7, 2018
This was our first week in grade four. Here are some of the things we did and learned:
- We read the Great Kapok Tree and talked about the habitat and environment and how important trees are to all living things; we are doing a visual journal page about it - We read The Math Curse and did a visual journal page to show how there are math problems in our lives. If there was no math (numbers), there would be no time, card games, or prices on things. Math is important and it is everywhere - We started to read The Witches by Roald Dahl. We will be doing literacy activities with it - We wrote about our summer vacation - AMA half days on Friday - We started learning about Alberta in Social Studies - We made fancy letters to show our theme for the year: THEN, NOW, I WONDER? Next week we are planning to go on a short walk to see our Hawkwood School mural. We will be starting to learn about Time in Math, and we will begin more in-depth learning in our Science unit called Waste and Our World. We will also continue to learn cursive writing. Our time capsules will be filled with a photo, a letter to our "future selves", and the treasures we brought from home. We will start to explore the regions of Alberta too! |