Decemeber 9-13

Classroom Blog- Grade 4

Upcoming Events
* Tuesday, December 17th- Ugly Sweater Day....dig deep into your closets for your tackiest sweater!
* Thursday, December 19th- Pajama Day...Let's get comfy cozy and wear our PJ's to school!
* Thursday, December 19th- 3:00pm- Caroling/Winter singalong in the gym
* Thursday, December 19th- Last day of classes for students

Homework

Writer's Workshop- All writer's workshop assignments that we have worked on so far are due Monday. Here is the checklist for everything we've done so far!

Social- Family Interview for My Alberta (due three weeks ago), look at the feedback you have received and ask more questions to get more details for your google slide presentation. Ask your family if you have family pictures you can add to your presentation.

French- Props/Characters and Setting for Stop Motion (due three weeks ago). We will be filming all stop motion next week!

Literacy

In Literacy this week we've continued working in our "Writer's Workshop" folders. We focussed on ensuring our sentences are complete and that they include a subject and a predicate. We also focused on the different parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs).

Math

Real- life estimation problem with Ms. Watkins: Do we have enough books for all the grade ones? Estimate how many books are in the three boxes. Count the books in one box and determine how many books there are all together. How close was your estimate? Do we have enough books?



Expectations for solving a problem:
-the date
-a title and the problem or a reference (the page number with the problem number)
-showing your work
-answering the question in a sentence

Question: Why is it important to organize our work when solving a problem?

Adding from Right to Left



Question: What is your preferred method for addition of numbers to 10 000 (left to right or right to left)?

Subtraction


Activity: Make up a subtraction problem for your family to solve with numbers up to 10 000 (use numbers rounded to the nearest thousand)?

Social Studies

Our google slide presentations are coming together nicely! A few students still need to start but everyone needs to ask more questions and continue building their Alberta story! 

Organization of all the information gathered so far is happening along with adding pictures or diagrams that really help bring the stories to life. We (the teachers) have been reading them and adding comments on Google slides that students can read. We have marked their Interview Rubrics so they know where they are at and how they can continue to improve.



Art
This week we have integrated art appreciation, literacy and social studies.

We created Rocky mountain region pictures in the style of Ted Harrison in the past so we spent some time appreciating his art.

Questions: Art Appreciation of ted Harrison's work

1.What geographical context do you see in Ted Harrison’s paintings?

2. Do Ted Harrison’s painting remind you of anything or a time in your life when you first saw them? 

3. Do you like his artwork? What do you like about them?

4. Ted Harrison says that we need more peace in our lives and that is what comes from his paintings. Do you agree? Why or why not? How do you think he creates the feeling of peace in his art?

Then we spent time analyzing our own art art created in the style of Ted Harrison which represented the Rocky Mountain region.

Questions: Art Appreciation (Rocky Mountain Region Art)

1.What geographical context do you see in your painting?

2.What is your relationship to the Rocky Mountain region?

(Have you ever been there? Do you see the mountains when you are in Calgary? 

Would you like to go to the Rocky Mountains? Explain)

3. Why did you choose to draw the specific details in your drawing?

4. Why did you choose the specific colors you chose?

French
We continued to sing songs this week and introduced a new one relevant to the season! Vive Le Vent!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-PD5iz7qdE

Question: Using what you already know and the pictures in the song, what words or sentences can you make out in the song?

December 2-6

Classroom Blog- Grade 4

Upcoming Events

* December 10- Jeans and Plaid day
*please feel free to bring donations for the food bank

Homework

Literacy-*In their writers workshop folders they need to have two story plans completed and their character development page
-weekend journalling
-response to Read Aloud: Edward's different homes
Social- Family Interview for My Alberta (due two weeks ago), ask more questions to get more details for your google slide presentation, ask you family if you have family pictures you can add to your presentation
French- Props/Characters and setting for Stop Motion (due past Monday)

Literacy

In Literacy this week we've continued working in our "Writer's Workshop" folders. We have been using a guide to plan stories including 3 attempts to solve our characters problems. We also worked to develop our main characters by adding physical traits and unique characteristics, such as how they move and their motivations. This allows the reader to create a clear image in their minds of who the main character is while reading their stories. 

Question: Can you describe your characters in enough detail that someone at home could draw them by simply listening to your description.

Math

In Math, we completed a "Show what you know" involving estimating sums, number lines and adding from left to right. Students are getting the hang of showing their work when adding from left to right by first adding the thousands, hundreds, tens, then ones. We encourage them to show their work to help us understand where their may be challenges in the adding process. Next week we will focus on subtracting 4 digit numbers with re-grouping. This can be tricky for students so additional practice at home can be beneficial.

Question: What strategy do you find most helpful when completing math addition questions?

Social Studies

We had our indigenous leader come in to 
discuss acknowledgment of the land. After watching a video with various elders in treaty 7 speaking about the land they shared why the land is important to them or a story about them and the land.

Question: Why is this land important to you? Can you share a story about you on this land?

We continued working on our My Alberta Google Slide presentation while learning about some specific regions of Alberta that will be included in our presentations.





















Activity: Find some pictures of your families or ancestors to add to your google slide presentation. Ask more questions to get information related to how your family/ancestors connected to the land (to get food, for for leisure activities, for work),  and to get interesting stories about your ancestors and family's culture.

Technology
Students are learning how to organize their work into folders shared with the teachers according to subject...this is still a work in progress. Their interview and google slide presentation for My Alberta should be under 'Social', their Author Study should be under 'Literacy' and French stop motion under 'French' in 'Shared with Me' folders under their names.




Question: Did you share your work under the shared folders so that your teachers can read it and give feedback?

French
We continue to sing about the days of the week and weather while continuing to learn related vocabulary: Jour de la semaine, Dimache, Lundi, Mardi, Mecredi, Jeudi. Vendredi et Samedi, Aujour d'hui, c'est, Decembre...



Question: Quel jour est-il au jour d'hui? Hier? Demain ?(What day is it today, Yesterday? Tomorrow?)

We worked on our stop motion movies with the help of our classroom experts.

Art

We made 3 dimensional snowflakes to decorate our class this week. This was a listening and following directions activity which posed some challenges to some of our classmates.  In the end we worked together as a team and came out successful with some beautiful snowflakes to put up around the classrooms.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT2oeNkTOAk

Question: Can you teach someone at home, step by step, how to make their own snowflake?

November 25-29

Grade 4 Weekly Blog

Upcoming events

*December 3- Crazy Sock Day
*December 2-6- please bring canned foods for the food bank

Homework

Social: Interview questions and answers should be completed with sources in google docs. This will be marked on Monday. Please see rubric under Social.

French: Finish your french comic, and create the background, props and people so you can create your stop motion cartoon next week.

We want to say a huge thank you to all the parents who volunteered at our Teacher's Pet where we learned and created our own catapults. You interacted so well with the students. You became our expert and kept the students engaged in the learning! We really appreciate your presence in the classroom.

    

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Thursday was our Celebration of Learning! The students worked together to prepare for this event and did an excellent job. We hope you enjoyed.

 .    

Literacy

This week we focused on writing the script and practicing for our Celebration of Learning. We spent this time working together to create a human number line, create a video about "Why Writer's Write", singing "This Little Light of Mine" and practicing some yoga chanting. As the days passed the students improved to prepare for their performance.

Math

We continued working on our number sense through games, while also continuing to estimate sums before using the "Left to Right" method of adding.

Race to 1500

16 boxes/squares

Activity: Teach your family a math game that we have learned in class.

We worked on the strategy of adding numbers from left to right. This shows that students recognize the importance of place value by adding first all the thousands, then hundreds, then tens and finally the ones. It is important to learn a variety of strategies when adding and subtracting and then choosing the strategy they are most comfortable with to complete assignments.

        

Social Studies:
We continued working on building our Social Studies geography vocabulary and google slide presentations. Some students have not completed their interview questions and interviewing family yet. W have had class time since Nov 12 to work on the questions and to upload them on google docs. The interviewing was due this past Monday so they could use class time to create their "My Alberta" slide shows. The Interview questions of the rubric below will be marked Monday:

Question: How did you find each out what each type of geography is in the textbook? How does learning about geography help us make connections to how people live lived in certain regions?

French and technology

This week students were very excited to create French comics that shows various emotions. Students learned emotion words last week and used them in their comics this week. We are using our comics to create "STOP MOTION" videos. Students are using construction paper to create their characters and setting for their projects. Next week we will be learning how to use the iPads to create their "STOP MOTION" comics.

  


 

Question: What is the plot of your comic? What French emotion words did you include in your comic? 

November 18-21

Grade 4 Weekly Blog

We want to say a huge thank you to all the parents and guardians that came to see us for conferences. Discussing your child's learning face to face gives us the chance to celebrate all the hard work they are doing. It also allows us the time to explain thoroughly what challenges they face and provide strategies to help them overcome them.

Upcoming events
-Teachers Pet Tuesday at 1pm: Volunteers still needed
-Fun lunch Wednesday -Pita Basket

- Grade 4 Assembly Thursday, November 28 at 3:00pm

Homework

*We will not be having a spelling test for the next few weeks as we are focusing on our "Writer's Workshop"
Social: Finish your My Alberta Interview
French: Finish your french comic
Art: Finish your Rocky Mountain Pastel

Literacy

Dress up as your favorite Story Book Character

This week we began our "Writers's Workshop!" After discussing the various reasons why writer's write, we always came back to the fact that writer's write for a reader. We are going to be learning how to write interested stories by focusing on the following:

- Character development

- Creating a setting that creates a vivid image for the reader

- A problem that engages the reader and then wants to read on

- Various attempts and fails to solve the problem

- A solution that satisfies the reader

- A conclusion where the characters learn a lesson from their experience

They are using folders for this unit so if they need to take home some writing to keep up with the class pace they will be bringing home their "Writer's Workshop" folder.

Students created a "Heart Map" which contains all things they are passionate about and would like to write a story about. This is a brainstorming technique to avoid "Writer's Block".

  

Students used ideas from their brainstorming sheet to create 4 story ideas with a problem.

 

Students chose one of these story ideas to write for 20 minutes of uninterrupted speed writing.

     

Math

Can you estimate numbers to the nearest 10 or 100 or 1000? Looking at the number 351- when rounding to the nearest hundred do you round up or down? Explain to someone in your family the rule for rounding numbers.

HINT- 5 is the most important number.

Using a number line can help with estimating. Knowing your number facts is also important. Activity: Continue to play these games to develop your number sense.

Make Ten (or ?)

16 Boxes

Social Studies

Students have now written their interview questions for "MY ALBERTA" which can be found in their google docs account. This can be logged in and accessed at home for them to conduct their interview with the person they chose. Our focus is to find out as much as we can about your families and how you have been and are connected to Alberta. Some sample questions include:

1. Where did our ancestors come from? What culture/traditions did we bring?
2.How long have you lived in Alberta?

3. How far back does our ancestry connect to Alberta?

4. What cities and places have you visited?

5. Do you have a favourite or special place in Alberta that has become a family tradition?
6. What stories do we have to share about our family history?

Homework- please make sure you have finished your interview so you can start your google slides presentation this week. If you already started did you think of other questions that you would like to include in your presentation?

We learned to use features of our textbook to look up Geography. 

Question: How does this exercise help us with our study of Alberta and learning in general?

French

This week we expanded our repertoire of answers to Comment Ca va?

Question: Comment Ca va?

We created a comic strip which will be turned into a stop motion cartoon. The comic has to include at least one emotion expression and at least one subject we have covered in french For example: numbers (les nombres), colors (les couleurs), food (Je mange)..., Fall-(en automne), weather-(Quel temp fait-itl?), playing games(les jou), birthdays(bon anniversaire), Halloween (C'est Haloween), What do you do? (Que-ce que tu fait?)

Question: What is your comic about?