December 6, 2019

Date: December 6, 2019

A Look Ahead: We are continuing our work on multiplication. In Science we continue to discover new simple machines as we work through this unit. We are getting ready for the holidays by doing a variety of winter-inspired art.  Upcoming dates and due dates: Skiing and Snowboarding begins December 16-19. Parent volunteers meeting us at the school, please arrive at 8:50 to help with loading the buses and review volunteer expectations found on the SignUp Genius page.

In Science, we are working on simple machines, which includes wheels and axles, pulleys, levers. We watched a video that taught us about pulleys. We have been learning about how we can use pulleys in different situations, for example, if you have to lift a lot of weight (or a load). We make pulleys by putting the string around a wheel, and we pull the other end to carry the load. We are working in different stations. In the stations, in each group there is an activity that helps us learn more about simple machines. In the wheels and axles building we are using legos to build a simple machine with wheels and axles. We have to also follow the instructions to build the simple machine. There are “flip books” we are making and they tell you examples of the simple machine and it also gives you definitions.

In Social Studies, we just finished our assembly that we had been working on for the past month. Instead of learning about Alberta, we were learning about Puerto Rico.

In English Language Arts, we are continuing in our Literature Circles. Most of us are starting to finish our books. We have been making connections while reading. For work on words, we sometimes do Boggle to help us with our spelling and focus on certain vowel combinations and blends (for example: -ight, bl-, fl-). One class has started writing about getting stuck in a snowglobe. We have been practicing using “juicy words” and connecting words. We are trying to be creative in our writing!

In Spanish Language Arts, we just did our assembly about Puerto Rico. We have been working very hard on it for the last month. We also just finished our “Mi Pasatiempo” presentations where we wrote about our hobbies that we do in our free time, and then we presented this information to our class. We also started talking about “En el invierno” (in the winter) - looking at different topics such as “la ropa” (clothing) y “la comida” (food).

In Math, we have made flashcards to practice our 6 times tables this week. We will continue practicing with the 7 and 8 times tables. On the back of the cards, we have multiple strategies that help us to understand what the answer is. We had a math quiz on multiplication today (Friday). We have also been practicing multiplication of two-digits by one-digit and three-digits by one-digit. We have been practicing multiplication with using different factors to find the product. We have been having number talks to talk about the different strategies we are using. We will be continuing to practice multiplication (and eventually division) with different math games and activities.

In Music we… Music in Grade 4 Srta. Primak helped us to prepare a beautiful song during the Puerto Rico assembly about the coquí.

Please Celebrate  Your child’s contributions to the Puerto Rico assembly - well done Grade 4s!

You Can Help Your Child By: - Reading every day in English and in Spanish - Practicing our 0-10 times tables

Overheard in grade 4: “I really enjoyed being a part of the Puerto Rico assembly.” -R “I was nervous about the Math quiz.” -E “I liked the way the teachers have taught us how to do multiplication for the Math quiz.” -A “I think in Science what we are doing is really interesting.” -A “I really enjoyed the new way that we have been doing multiplication.” -B “I loved doing the art of the moon, it was really fun and got really messy sometimes!” -K “I think in Science wheels and axles is a fun activity.” -J “It was really fun working on the assembly.” -K

November 22 2019

Date: November 22 2019

A Look Ahead: Grade 4 is working on practicing for their upcoming assembly for Puerto Rico. We are also working on single digit multiplication to 9x9. We will be learning about simple machines like wheels and levers.   Upcoming dates and due dates: November 27thàPasatiempo Presentations Begin November 25thà Sound Kreations Residency Begins *******December 5:à Puerto Rico Assembly (afternoon) ******** Due Dates: November 15:àSki Snowboard Forms due back to teachers Skiing and Snowboarding begins December 16-19

In Science, We are beginning our new unit on simple machines. We are going to learn about wheels and axles, gears pulleys, levers, screws, inclined planes, and wedges. We are going to learn why they are important and how they impact the world around us.

In Social Studies we have been working on our Alberta Region Map. We have also finished our coding and our script to make our map interactive. We are presenting this at student led conferences. We are excited to learn more about social studies in regards to Alberta’s history.

In English Language Arts, We are doing literature circles and the books are included in the last blog post. We have been practicing “making connections”. Examples include: Text to Self, Text to Text, Text to World. An example by K: One time in the wild robot there was a time that she went into a cave and there were bears. I can understand how Roz felt because a bear came into our campsite and I felt terrified. We are writing responses in our “reading quilt” for our books.

In Spanish Language Arts we are working on “Mi Pasatiempo” presentations. These presentations will begin Wednesday November 27th and we will explain our favourite hobby to our classmates.  We are also working on our parts for our Puerto Rico Assembly. We are practicing as we are excited our assembly is on DECEMBER 5. The groups include “actors” which will speak and act. The prop makers who will create the props and the set that we need. The Slide Creators will make slides about Puerto Rico including location, food, money, symbols, flag, art, music, and dance, as well as traditions. There will also be salsa dancers to show a type of dance famous in Puerto Rico.

In Math we have been working on multiplication including single digit and double digit by one digit multiplication. We have been using blocks to create equal groups. Also, we have been using a lattice and standard format to break down multiplication equations. We have been continuing with math games and math exercises. We have also been doing “math talks” and discussing strategies. We have been talking about “separating numbers”, “partial products”, “doubling”, “halving”, “repeated addition”, “using math facts that we already know to find out more difficult ones”.    .

In Music we… Music in Grade 4 We continue working on the recorder.  The notes that are a focus of the Grade 4 recorder unit are the B, A, and G (above middle C).  With these notes, we play a variety of pieces where we explore the beat and rhythm as well as begin a more in-depth focus on reading music notation. Song: El Pirata Tú has visto, visto, visto En tu larga, larga, vida Un pirata, rata, rata Con dos largas, largas patas Nunca he visto, visto, visto En mi larga, larga vida Un pirata, rata, rata Con dos largas, largas patas. This song includes playing the recorder, the singing voice, partner hand jive body percussion as well as the xylophone.

Please Celebrate my learning at the Puerto Rico Assembly on December 5th and help me practice for my pasatiempo presentation.

You Can Help Your Child By: -Reading every day in English and in Spanish - Practicing our 0-10 times tables

Overheard in grade 4: I really like working on the Puerto Rico Assembly-A I love playing prodigy-K I really liked doing the scratch with my group for my Alberta Region project-N I really like practicing the assembly-C I really enjoy reading the books in English Language Arts-A I am excited to present the assembly-J

November 8 2019

Date: November 8 2019

A Look Ahead: Grade 4 has finished our STEM residency and finishing up on our Alberta map projects in the classroom. We are beginning looking at single digit multiplication through times tables, arrays, and in word problems. In Spanish, we are exploring Puerto Rico for our upcoming assembly on the 28th. In English, we are forming reading groups and doing books studies. Upcoming dates and due dates: November 14:à S4 Presentation November 21: à Student Led Conferences (early dismissal) November 22:à Student Led Conferences (No classes) November 28:à Puerto Rico Assembly (afternoon) Due Dates: November 15:à Minimum 4 entries about novel for literature circles November 15:àSki Snowboard Forms due back to teachers

In Science we are finishing our unit on Waste & Our World. We presented our posters to kindergarten through grade 5 classes to teach about garbage, refundable, compostable, and recyclable materials. We are teaching what goes in all the containers/bins. In this unit we learned about consumers, producers, and decomposers. We learned what is biodegradable and non-biodegradable. On Fridays, the Green Leaders will have a task to do in order to make our school a greener place!

In Social Studies, we are doing a project on the six regions in Alberta. We are using makey-makey and scratch to create an interactive map to teach about the regions. We also learned about the animals that live in each region. On our map, we are also teaching about the landforms, vegetation, climate, bodies of water, and natural resources in each region. We did some research about our First Nations on Orange Shirt Day, and we learned which First Nations groups live in the different regions of Alberta.

In English Language Arts, we are doing “literature circles” with different books. In some of the groups we have been listening to reading and exploring different novels. Every day we are responding to the books that we are reading to show our reading comprehension. Some of the titles of the books we are reading include: Wonder A Wrinkle in Time Mr. Lemoncello’s Library James & The Giant Peach Matilda Shiloh Stone Fox Frindle The Wild Robot In our homeroom classes, we are reading “The City of Ember” which takes place in a city that suffers from constant black outs and shortage of electricity and materials.

In Spanish Language Arts, we are working on our assembly about Puerto Rico. We have been divided into four groups: Dancers, Actors, Prop Makers, Slide makers.  The theme of the assembly is The Magic School Bus goes to Puerto Rico. Everyone is invited to the assembly on November 28th!

In Math, we have been reviewing our times tables up to nine and we are still continuing with numero del dia. We just finished our time unit. Please help me practice by telling time using an analog clock.

In Music we… More to come J

Please Celebrate my learning by joining me at Student Led conferences as well as the Puerto Rico Assembly. The school is doing a fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House through a bake sale and there are lots of great volunteer opportunities with the bake sale and in our classroom. Please sign up on the school website.

You Can Help Your Child By: -Reading every day in English and in Spanish - Practicing our 0-10 times tables -Helping me determine elapsed time  -Discussing my SMART goals with me

Overheard in grade 4: I really liked making the posters for science-S I am really enjoying working on the Puerto Rico Assembly-E I am really enjoying reading all the different books in English-C I can’t wait to start the next science unit…whatever it is. –D