October 7, 2013
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Hello from Grade 4! We are busier than ever and the time is flying by! We are now spending time going deeper with our thinking and getting into more project based inquiry across the subjects. Routines have been established and we are launching into many new and exciting learning opportunities. Here is a quick update of things that we are involved in and working on in class:
In Language Arts:
- We have launched our Reading and Writing workshops.
- We have been enjoying the Global Read Aloud titled Out of My Mind.
- We have been spending time deepening our thinking in our personal response writing and participating in class discussions.
- We each have an Edmodo account and have posted our ideas to other Grade 4 students at SMUS and soon with a class in Illinois.
- We are demonstrating our thinking and reflecting through our Writer's Visual Journal
- We are are learning the steps to successful on-line researching for our animal habitat project.
- We are learning how to bookmark and save to our favourites on different devices.
- We are learning how to decide whether articles are appropriate for our reading level, what makes a good website, and whether or not it is on topic.
- We created questions of inquiry that we are interested in learning about our animals in their habitats.
- We are excited to learn about our areas of interest.
- We have been focusing on place value up to 99 999 and application to the real world.
- We have been playing games using dice, cards and double dice.
- We have also been focusing on comparing and ordering numbers.
- We are beginning to spend time with addition and regrouping.
- We are also regularly working on problem solving activities as well as writing in our math journals.
- We have had class discussions with Mrs. Cook about thankfulness and friendliness
- We have regular class discussions to touch base with how we are working together
- We are taking the time to think about our actions and learning to take greater responsibility for our choices
We are so proud of the children and how they have formed friendships within both classrooms. The children continue to appreciate the opportunity to work together as a whole class. This allows us as teachers to team teach and build on each other's ideas. This is very exciting for everyone!
We have also been practicing 'Mindful Moments' in class together. Ask your child what this looks like and how they feel during and/or after our few minutes together. They seem to welcome the time to slow down a bit in their busy days.
We have also enjoyed a number of Student of the Week celebrations where each student shares a little bit about themselves and the rest of the class writes ‘virtue compliments’ to our Student of the Week.
We look forward to meeting you at the Parent-Teacher interviews and thank you for your continued support in your child's learning.
Sincerely,
Heather Sandquist and Jane Rees