Week 15

In Math, we continued solving open-ended math problems. 

Reach 100

We also looked at the program of studies and learned that visualization is an important skill in math. Visualization helps us visualize numbers in our head. Subitizing is a strategy to help us practice visualization. 

In Science, we continued working on our flow charts about how plastic bottles are made, consumed and disposed of. We also did our waste management post assessment were we shared our key learning about how humans impact the environment, how the waste management system impacts the world, and how we can impact the waste management system in a positive way.

In Art, we have been continuing to working on our Doors to our Imagination. The criteria includes more details in the foreground and less details in the background, a center of interest, an object that is symmetrical, and doors. 

This week we went to Fort Calgary to learn about "Waste in our World" and "The Life and Times of Captain Dean". We learned about Captain Dean's life. He liked to host parties, write letters, garden, grow and pick flowers, and fish. We also learned that he had three wives and their names all started with 'M' - Martha, Mary, and May. In one of our programs, we pretended to be the N.W.M.P. We tracked down a criminal named, John Smith who escaped jail using a blanket and horse. We looked around the museum for the clues he left behind. The clues he left behind all had a red handkerchief because his favourite colour was red. 

Reminders:

Field Trip Forms - On January 15th we will be going on our out of school field trip to the Glenbow Museum. Please ensure your child's field trips forms are signed and returned by Thursday, December 20th. 

Read-a-thon - The read-a-thon is now in progress. Students should gather sponsors and log their reading minutes from December 1st-31st. From January 1st-8th students should collect pledges from their sponsors. On January 10th students should return their Minute Recording Sheet, Sponsorship Form and collected money to the school in the provided envelope. 

The Alex Donations - We are now collecting donations for the Alex Youth Center. We are collecting warm socks filled with hygienic products such as toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, lotion, body wash, soap, deodorant, hand sanitizer, nail clippers, mittens, etc. Please indicate if the sock is stuffed for a girl or boy. These will be donated to homeless youth in need. Donations are being accepted until December 19th. 

Winter Concert - This year the winter concert will be on December 19th. The performance times are below. 

Daytime: 

12:50pm-1:45pm: Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2

1:55pm- 2:55pm: Grade 3, Grade 4

Evening:

5:30pm-6:30pm: Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2

7:00pm-8:00pm:  Grade 3, Grade 4.

Last Day of Term - The last day of this term is Friday, December 21st. Friday's regular school hours apply this day. 

Winter Weather Clothes - Please remember to have children bring snow pants and boots during the colder, wet season. The field can get very wet as snow melts. Extra socks in their backpack would be great as well.

Homework

Students will be bringing their visual journals home today to complete the two tasks below.

Parents are able to support their child by guiding their child's thinking through questions and reminding their child to check criteria to ensure they have completed the task. Both tasks will need to be completed by Friday. 

Task 1: Fort Calgary Key Learning reflection

Students will reflect on 3 key learnings about "Waste in our World" and "The Life and Times of Captain Dean".  Students may draw and label coloured pictures, or write at least 3 sentences about what they learned from the programs. Below are guiding questions:

Waste in our World:  

• How long does it take for the different materials to decompose (break down)? Did this surprise you? 
• What kinds of artifacts did your parent volunteer teach you about? How was that artifact made? What was the artifact used for?

The Life and Times of Captain Dean: 

• What did you learn about Captain Dean? What did we learn about his personal life? What did he like to do? What happened to his house? 
• What did we learn about the different people who lived in Alberta from that time? What were their roles and jobs? What kind of artifacts belonged to these different people? 

Task 2: Flow Chart 2 - How Plastic Bottles are Made, Consume and Disposed

Students were given four works periods to work on their flow chart 2. It will need to be completed as homework. In order to complete this task, you will need the criteria, example and guiding video below. 

Below is the criteria listing what your chart must have. I have also included the example flow chart for your task.

Watch the video below to help create each step in your flow chart. Here is a link if you would like to watch the video on youtube: What really happens to the plastic you throw away

Winter Concert Practice

Our class will be singing "Mickey Mouse Mashup" for the upcoming Winter Concert on December 19th. To prepare, please visit the link below, find the link to the song, and practice at home. Ms. Kreze has given our class hard copies of the lyrics for practice, which will be going home today. 

Music Blog

Week 14

In Math, we have solving different open-ended math problems. In order to solve these problems, we use our own personal strategies involving pictures, diagram, charts, numbers and words. It is also important to be able to explain our thinking. We have been using Math Talk Sentence Starters to explain our thinking. 

Zios and Zepts

Fifteen Cards

In Science, we have been looking at how plastic bottles are recycled, as well as how they are made, consumed, and disposed of. We created different charts showing these two processes. This will help us see how much energy goes into one plastic bottle and the impact that this has on the environment. Below is a Ted Ed video explaining these processes. 

In Social Studies, we have been focusing on Alberta's history and learning about the voyages of newcomers to Canada and Alberta. We have specifically learning about the struggles and journey of the N.W.M.P (North West Mounted Police) as they travelled west to Alberta.

In Language Arts, we used our peer and self-assessments to edit our writing. The goal of editing our writing is to revise for mistakes and to make our writing more interesting for the reader. 

We have been working on our 'Doors to Our Imagination' artwork. We started planning and beginning our rough copy of our imaginary scene. We will be writing our next descriptive writing piece on our imaginary scene. We worked on our background using a flat wash painting technique. Below is a video demonstrating this technique.

Next Week's Spelling Pattern:

We will continue working on this pattern next week.

Silent Letters - Some words contain silent letters. We don't hear those sounds when we say the word.

Practice Words:

knuckle    comb     honest     island    numb   wrench 

exhibit     school    knock      ghost​    thumb    folk

doubt       lamb      chalk

Reminders:

Class Photo - Our class photo is going to be in the morning on December 11th, before we leave for the field trip. Please ensure your child is on time for school so they are included in the photo. 

Field Trip - On December 11th we will be going on our visit out of school field trip to Fort Calgary. As we will be rushed in the morning due to the class photo it is important that the children are all ready to for the field trip when they arrive at school. They will need a snack, lunch and full water bottle in their backpacks. They will also be bringing their indoor shoes with them. 

Read-a-thon - The read-a-thon is now in progress. Students should gather sponsors and log their reading minutes from December 1st-31st. From January 1st-8th students should collect pledges from their sponsors. On January 10th students should return their Minute Recording Sheet, Sponsorship Form and collected money to the school in the provided envelope. 

The Alex Donations - We are now collecting donations for the Alex Youth Center. We are collecting warm socks filled with hygienic products such as toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, lotion, body wash, soap, deodorant, hand sanitizer, nail clippers, mittens, etc. Please indicate if the sock is stuffed for a girl or boy. These will be donated to homeless youth in need. Donations are being accepted until December 19th. 

Winter Concert - This year the winter concert will be on December 19th. The performance times are below. 

Daytime: 

12:50pm-1:45pm:  Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2.

1:55pm- 2:55pm: Grade 3, Grade 4

Evening:

5:30pm-6:30pm: Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2

7:00pm-8:00pm:  Grade 3, Grade 4.

Last Day of Term - The last day of this term is Friday, December 21st. Friday's regular school hours apply this day. 

Winter Weather Clothes - Please remember to have children bring snow pants and boots during the colder, wet season. The field can get very wet as snow melts. Extra socks in their backpack would be great as well.

Week 13

In Science, we have been working hard to prepare for our waste management presentations. We presented our findings and created posters to help students at PHS improve their classroom's waste management system. We talked about how they can improve their classroom's composting, recycling and garbage system.

 

In Language Arts, we have been editing our descriptive writing. First we peer-assessed and self-assessed ourselves using our descriptive writing rubric. We reviewed our goals and decided whether we reached our goal or if we needed to keep working on our goal. 

In Math, we have been playing games to help us with our mental math. 

In Social Studies, we have been learning about the First Nations and the Newcomers that came to Alberta for the fur trade. 

Next Week's Spelling Pattern:

Silent Letters - Some words contain silent letters. We don't hear those sounds when we say the word.

Practice Words:

knuckle    comb     honest     island    numb   wrench 

exhibit     school    knock      ghost​    thumb    folk

doubt       lamb      chalk

Reminders:

Read-a-thon - Our annual read-a-thon starts tomorrow, on December 1st. Students should gather sponsors and log their reading minutes from December 1st-31st. From January 1st-8th students should collect pledges from their sponsors. On January 10th students should return their Minute Recording Sheet, Sponsorship Form and collected money to the school in the provided envelope. 

The Alex Donations - We are now collecting donations for the Alex Youth Center. We are collecting warm socks filled with hygienic products such as toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, lotion, body wash, soap, deodorant, hand sanitizer, nail clippers, mittens, etc. Please indicate if the sock is stuffed for a girl or boy. These will be donated to homeless youth in need. On Friday November 30th we will have an assembly with more information. Donations are being accepted from November 26th-December 19th. 

No School December 7th - On Friday December 7th the teachers have a professional development day and students have no school.

Field Trip - On December 11th we will be going on our visit out of school field trip to Fort Calgary. Thank you to everyone who volunteered. 

  

Winter Concert - This year the winter concert will be on December 19th. The performance times are below. 

Daytime: 

12:50pm-1:45pm:  Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2.

1:55pm- 2:55pm: Grade 3, Grade 4

Evening:

5:30pm-6:30pm: Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2

7:00pm-8:00pm:  Grade 3, Grade 4.

Last Day of Term - The last day of this term is Friday, December 21st. Friday's regular school hours apply this day. 

Winter Weather Clothes - Please remember to have children bring snow pants and boots during the colder, wet season. The field can get very wet as snow melts. Extra socks in their backpack would be great as well.

Week 11

In Math we continued practicing subtraction computations starting from 10 000, using the regrouping strategy. Below is a link, that helps you keep track of our math Learning Intentions and Success Criteria, along with games where they can practice these concepts at home:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Von0b3dqkGpqP00Y4zjj35-ZHBRuyDOx9VjNy1nAvsc/edit?usp=sharing

In Social Studies, we began examining the natural features of Alberta's regions. In particular we looked at the climate (temperature and precipitation), land surface (mountains, valleys, etc.), animal life and plant life. 

In writing we have been practicing how to make our writing more interesting by using the technique "Show Don't Tell". This is when the author shows the feelings of a character or describes a scene, rather then telling the reader what is happening. An example

Next Week's Spelling Pattern:

The Sound F

The sound /f/ can be spelled in different ways. 

Practice Words:

Photo        Graph         laugh       cough       trophy        shelf    friend        enough       stiff           giraffe       nephew     

Reminders:

Parent Teacher Conferences - Thursday November 22nd after school and Friday November 23rd morning are the parent teacher conferences. Students have no school on Friday. Please book your appointment through the online booking system. I look forward to updating you on your child's progress so far in Grade 4. 

Field Trip - On December 11th we will be going on our visit out of school field trip to Fort Calgary. Please email and let me know if you are able to volunteer to come with us on this day. It will be a whole day field trip. Field trip forms to sign will go home closer to the date.

No School December 7th - On Friday December 7th the teachers have a professional development day and students have no school.  

Winter Weather Clothes - Please remember to have children bring snow pants and boots during the colder, wet season. The field can get very wet as snow melts. Extra socks in their backpack would be great as well. 

Week 10

We started a full round of your Daily 5. Our Daily 5 involves working on Read with the Teacher, Passion Project, Read to Self, Word Work and Work on Writing. 

We have been working on sharing our personal strategies in math. When sharing our personal strategies, it is important to show your work and understanding, communicate and collaborate with others, show our strategies step by step, speak clearly and calmly, and use math vocabulary.

This week we learned about Goal Setting. We created goals and strategies that will help us with our descriptive writing. We need to take steps to reach our goals. We use strategies to help us reach our goal. Some of our strategies might be using the success criteria, learning intentions, the worn out word wall and the sensory word bank to help improve our descriptive writing. 

We started our cardboard challenge. We are making games for our winter indoor recess. 

Next Week's Spelling Pattern:

Consonant Digraphs

Consonant digraphs are 2 consonants together that make a completely new sound. They can be found anywhere in a word. 

Practice Words:

thunder 

farther 

reach 

chicken 

wheat 

Thursday 

foolish 

gather 

brother 

awhile 

chimney 

sharply 

leash 

bother 

shipment 

feathers 

charge 

shovel 

whiskers 

crush

who

whole

Reminders:

Class Pictures - Monday November 12th is picture re-take day and our whole class photo will be taken on this day as well.

In-line Skating - Thank you for returning the forms. The next final in-line skating session will be on Wednesday, November 14th. Please have your child bring their helmet to school on this day. 

Field Trip - On December 11th we will be going on our visit out of school field trip to Fort Calgary. Please email and let me know if you are able to volunteer to come with us on this day. It will be a whole day field trip. Field trip forms to sign will go home closer to the date.

Winter Weather Clothes - Please remember to have children bring snow pants and boots during the colder, wet season. The field can get very wet as snow melts. Extra socks in their backpack would be great as well.