On Thursday, January 31st we participated in Backwards Day. We met each other in the school yard lined up backwards, wearing clothes backward and even entered the school backwards. Some teachers even did their classes in a backwards order: it was a fun way to end January! What is the difference between backwards and opposite?
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Grade 4J Update
Hello all, Here we are in February, so hard to believe. Our class has suffered from lots of colds and flus; let’s hope we have had the worst of it! Updates I encourage you to check our class blog regularly for information about our learning in and outside of the classroom. The students have also been responding to their learning using their own blogs which you can connect to from our class website and blog. I am still building this site but try to post information and photos of different events happening regularly. If it is helpful you can subscribe to the RSS feed on the website which will inform you of updates made to our Grade 4j class blog. www.msrees.weebly.com password: student4j Wildlife Reserve Book Launch – At the end of last term, both classes worked collaboratively with Rachel Boult to prepare a non-fiction soft cover book. Each student has two pages of text and visuals allocated to the animal that they researched. The children have had a sneak peek at the book, we anticipate being able to order these books once the proof has been finalized. Stay tuned for this exciting opportunity for our students to be ‘published’ authors. Curriculum Mathematics –Measurement is now our focus. We will be working on calculating elapsed time, using money and linear measurement. You can support your child by asking how long something might take or ask him/her questions such as: “If we leave at 4:30pm and it takes 2 hours and 10 minutes to travel, what time will we arrive?” -FSA practice will continue with problem solving activities discovering ways to best represent full solutions. Writer’s Workshop –We are continuing with our mini-lessons and have started to plan important events in our legend. We are working hard to notice the difference between telling stories and summarizing stories! In addition, students will be practicing with more written pieces similar to what they will encounter with their FSA’s. Reader’s Workshop – An in-depth study of different genres as well as visualizing and questioning strategies continue to be our focus. We have also started a new read aloud novel Wonder by R. J.Palacio. Science – We are continuing to explore different aspects of weather and will start a project incorporating recording weather from a specific location and researching extreme weather events. Social Studies- We are learning about different aspects of culture represented by First Nations in Canada. We are looking forward to our Field trip to the museum next week. Reminders Emily and Oliver will be students of the week for February. VISSA Swim Meet – Feb. 5th– Students may come in PE strip. Please refer to the email sent out by Nicky Newsome. Victoria Symphony – Feb. 12th. Look for details about this trip to be sent home soon by Mrs. Smith Royal BC Museum Field trip February 13th. Please see the attached parent information form for more details. Student Led Conferences will take place on March 13th, 2013. Please see the attached letter, there will also be a hard copy sent home today. With gratitude, Jane We loved every minute of our participation in the 2012 Global Read Aloud. We collaborated and learned with others from all over the Globe and knew that we were part of something big. We connected with other students online and via skype and realized that we are more similar than different, and that we all cared deeply about Ivan the gorilla. Today we found out that Katherine Applegate received the Newbery Medal for her novel 'The One and Only Ivan'. Do you have any book suggestions for the 2013 Global Read Aloud?
Have you read any other Newbery Medal winners? When we solve problems in Grade 4 it is important to be able to explain the thinking behind our solutions. Today in class, while working collaboratively with a partner we prepared a ShowMe presentation to teach our solutions. We know that explaining our thinking and teaching others is the best way to stimulate our brains! Click to set custom HTML What are some ways you have used the iPad to show your learning?
Think of a problem you could create and share with the class. Remember you must solve it yourself first. Service opportunities not only benefit our students, but our whole community. Last week, the students in Grade 4J shared themselves and their learning with the residents of the James Bay Care Home. Students prepared themselves first by discussing what to expect from the experience and then by deciding what to share with the seniors. After much thought, we decided to share some personal narrative writing, some special items, some legend picture books and in some cases our musical talents. The students were thoughtful and interested in the residents' lives as they were of the children. We learned that spending time speaking and listening with others is a valuable and cherished opportunity. What other ways can you help people in your community?
How do YOU feel when you serve and help others? Visitors from the Mad Science program wowed us with exciting Science demostrations today during assembly. It was great fun to make predictions and hypothesize about different experiments. What Science experiments have you tried at home or school?
What surprised you the most at this presentation? Today in class we learned about the water cycle, evaporation, condensation and precipitation. See if you can notice when condensation occurs in your home.
Why is this happening? Have you seen other Bill Nye videos? In addition to emailing I would like to post our classroom updates on our blog. Today in class we made gifts like foam ornaments and hot cocoa mixes. We had both grade four classes making gifts together. It was nice to get in the holiday spirit.
By Logan November is an exciting time in Grade 4 for many reasons. An important event that happens every year is the first Strings Concert for these students. After much preparation, the children in both Grade 4 classes join together to present their learning thus far. It is amazing to see all that they have accomplished individually and as a larger ensemble. How did you feel after your first Strings Concert?
What will you remember most about this experience? |