Math – In math, students finished up their multiplication centres and completed two timed-tasks for the 5 & 6 and 7 & 8 times tables. Over the course of this unit, I have observed a wonderful increase in students' recall of facts and fluency as a result of our focused practices. A reminder that 4A and 4B's will have their final fact timed-task on Monday for the 9 and 10's facts. Good luck! Students also began to explore multiplication of 2-digit by 1-digit numbers this week. Although we have just been working on multiplication without regrouping skills, here is a quick outline of the standard algorithm we will be learning and practicing next week: Prodigy – Students had some time to work in the Prodigy program today. I have set up and challenged students to complete several multiplication problems, and encourage 4A and 4B's to log in to the program during their free time this weekend! Problem of the Week – I am very proud to say that each one of my students who submitted answers to last week's Problem of the Week... SOLVED THE PROBLEM! Way to go, 4A and 4B's! This week, you get to construct a pictograph and answer a curious question. Enjoy! Estimation Station – This week, there were 139 corks in our Estimation Station jar. Congratulations to K.N. in 4A who estimated that number right on the nose. AMAZING JOB! Science – In Science, students finished up their learning about gears. Each student completed a creative journal entry for their culminating task, which described and detailed the six different gears we studied in class. Below are a couple student entries. Next week, 4A and 4B's will learn about pulleys. "A pulley is essentially a wheel that you loop a rope over. The key point of pulleys is that they redirect force. For example, instead of PUSHING a load UP, you can attach it to a rope and pulley above you and PULL DOWN. All pulley systems re-direct force. Some pulley systems make work easier, allowing a worker to use less force to move the object." (inventorsoftomorrow.com/2016/09/26/pulleys-2/) --- If you have time to visit this wonderful website over the weekend, grade fours, please do! We will be having a SPIRIT WEEK at school, beginning on Monday. The schedule of events for the week has been posted on the HOME PAGE of this blog. We are looking forward to a fun week ahead! Pysanka Eggs Workshop - 4A and 4B students demonstrated wonderful listening and artistic skills during the Pysanka Eggs Workshop. They were attentive as Jean explained and showed the various symbols and techniques, and we're all very excited to see the students' results on Monday! Students are reminded to bring in a container (with a lid) on Monday to transport their egg home. Many thanks to our three parent volunteers who assisted Jean during the workshop! I am looking forward to another wonderful week at NCS! See you on Monday, Kodiaks.
~ Mrs. Ross
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A pulley is a simple machine and comprises of a wheel on a fixed axle, with a groove along the edges to guide a rope or cable. Pulleys are used to reduce the time and energy taken to lift heavy objects. Watch the videos posted below to learn more!
On Wednesday, 4A and 4B students celebrated the 100th Day of School at NCS! 4A and 4B's were keen to participate in many 100th day activities during math/science time including: 100th Day Fitness, 100 Ways to Make 100, 100th Day Writing and 100th Day Estimation Station (read more below). I can't believe we are already over halfway through our school year! Math – This week, 4A and 4B students completed five of six multiplication centres. They will finish their last centre on Tuesday next week. Overall, students worked very well with their group members and were able to learn, understand, practice and master various multiplication strategies and skills. Students received results for their first two multiplication drills; results have also been posted on PowerSchool. A reminder that students will have the 5 and 6 times tables quiz on Tuesday next week, and the 7 and 8 times tables quiz on Thursday. Multiplication booklets were sent home with students on Wednesday (in math duotangs), and are due on Wednesday. These booklets were distributed to students on February 5. Happy multiplying! *Next week, students will learn to multiply two- and three-digit whole numbers by one-digit whole numbers, using a variety of tools, student-generated algorithms, and standard algorithms. 4A and 4B's are encouraged to continue to practice their basic facts over the long weekend! Prodigy – Students continue to process various assigned tasks in the Prodigy program. Currently, students are working to solve problems involving the multiplication of one, two and three-digit whole numbers by one-digit numbers, using a variety of mental strategies. 4A and 4B's are always encouraged to log into their accounts at home to complete assigned tasks. Problem of the Week – Congratulations to all my grade fours who solved last week's assigned problem. The problem this week will test your logic skills. Enjoy and good luck! Estimation Station – For the 100th Day of School, students participated in an estimation challenge. Individually, students had to decide which one of four jars contained exactly 100 items. Many 4B students were able to figure out the jar that contained 100 items, but not a single 4A student did! We'll continue to work on our estimation skills and strategies next week as R.B. from 4B will be setting up our new Estimation Station! Here is a photo from our 100th Day Estimation Station: Science – This week, students were introduced to an important engineering element: gears. Through videos, readings, discussions, a hands-on experience with the K'Nex kits, as well as a foldable activity, students were able to compare and identify different types of gears used in wind-up toys, bicycles, cars and non-digital clocks. Students also learned about various types of gears and how they work in machines. Here are some examples: Building devices that move with gears:Want to learn more about gears? Be sure to check out these videos: 1) http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines-equipment/gear.htm 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoCNIs14-gU (Part 1) 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUYTU5nhsW4 (Part 2) 4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odpsm3ybPsA Pysanka Eggs Workshop - We have an exciting guest coming to join our classes and share their expertise with us. On Friday, February 22, Jean Richardson will be coming to our classrooms. She will be sharing and teaching us how to create pysanka. Pysanka are traditional Ukrainian Easter Eggs. She will be teaching us about the symbols used and the stories shared with these eggs to extend our learning in both Social Studies and Visual Art. Afterwards, Jean will be guiding us in making our very own pysanka eggs! There will be candles, wax, dye, and other special tools that Jean will be supplying us with. Your child is encouraged to wear old clothes to school on Friday as this workshop may get messy! We are thrilled that Jean will be joining us at Nose Creek again this year, and we are eager to share with you, your child’s incredible creation that they will make on this day! Jean will take the eggs with her at the end of the workshop on Friday to further prepare them. The eggs will be returned to the school within a week’s time, at which point, we will ask your child to bring a small container to transport the egg home. Lining the container with tissue paper, paper towels or any other soft material will ensure the egg gets home in one piece! A yogurt or margarine container (with a lid) would work well. Please ensure you label your container/lid with your child's name. We are very excited about the pysanka eggs opportunity! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Brewer or myself. Enjoy your long weekend, Kodiaks. See you back in class on Tuesday! ~ Mrs. Ross Math – 4A and 4B students explored various multiplication skills and concepts through math centres this week. The centres provided opportunities for students to work and play collaboratively, as well as to master and develop their understanding of basic multiplication facts. During this experience, each student cycled through six centres with their assigned group members. Each centre had a specific multiplication skill/concept to learn and practice. In the centres, students explored how to: use doubles to multiply, represent multiplication using arrays, use skip counting to multiply, apply tips and tricks to build fluency, and multiply by 0, 1 and 10. 4A and 4B's also utilized the Prodigy program to multiply to 9 x 9 and divide to 81 by 9, using a variety of mental and visual strategies. The students will continue to cycle through these centres next week. A reminder that 4A/4B's will have a 5-minute drill on Tuesday for the 3 and 4 times tables. Results for the 0, 1 and 2 times tables 5-minute drill will be sent home with students on Monday... all students performed very well on this first drill! Prodigy – Students are always encouraged to log in to Prodigy at home in their spare time to brush up on their math skills and understanding of concepts. 4A and 4B's are currently working in the multiplication portion of the program. Problem of the Week – This week's Problem of the Week is posted below. In this week’s problem, we look at the area of a quilt made up of rectangles and squares. Enjoy, and many thanks to my 4A and 4B students who submitted solutions to last week's problem. Brilliant work! Estimation Station – There were 225 LEGOs in the Estimation Station jar this week. Congratulations to R.B. in 4B for coming closest to that number with an estimate of 223. That was an incredible estimate!
Science – In science this week, students continued their learning in the wheels and axles portion of the curriculum. Friction, speed and force were our main topics, and students developed their understanding through discussions, demonstrations, videos and also by completing an online research task and quiz. Students will learn about gears/cogs in class next week, and can look forward to more building tasks! 4A Homeroom – About half of our homeroom class still needs to return their permission forms/money for the Hitmen hockey game field trip. The deadline is on Wednesday! Your student will be required to stay at home on this field trip day as the school will be closed. CBE's Reminder of Winter Weather - During the winter months, Calgary’s weather can include cold temperatures, wind chill and snow. Such conditions can make getting to and from school challenging. Assume that schools are open unless you hear otherwise from your school. Information regarding any school closures due to weather will also be posted on the CBE website, on Twitter (@yyCBEdu) and shared with local news media. During the winter roads may also be congested and slippery resulting in possible traffic and bus delays. Parents/guardians whose children take a yellow school bus can view the status of their bus on the bus route monitoring app, MyBusStop or visiting www.myschoolbusmonitor.com. Updated about Calgary Transit service can be found on their website https://www.calgarytransit.com or their Twitter account (@calgarytransit). During the winter season the Calgary Board of Education reminds parents/guardians of the following:
Outside Activities Guidelines for Cold Weather Upcoming Events – Please refer to the “HOMEPAGE” at the top of this website for an updated list of events and activities coming up at NCS! A reminder that NCS students are scheduled to have a dance and activity afternoon on Wednesday, February 13. Tickets for the dance will be on sale Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week in the main foyer for $2! Click the buttons below to explore various simple machines games. Have fun, and be sure to tell me which game you liked best and why!
~ Mrs. Ross Read the questions on your research study sheet. Watch the videos posted below. Answer the questions in complete sentences. Add diagrams (with labels) to your work.
4A and 4B students will have a short quiz on Friday for basic multiplication facts 0-2. I hope the problems posted below will help students prepare for the quiz. Good luck!
Math – Students had another busy week of learning in math class. They wrote the Addition/Subtraction test on Monday, and began their studies in our next math unit: Multiplication. Test results will be entered into PowerSchool and distributed to students next week. For the multiplication unit, students completed an entry in their Creative Journals (see photos above) and also wrote a multiplication pre-test as I wanted to gauge students' knowledge and understanding of multiplication skills and concepts. From the pre-test results, I was able to pinpoint students' strengths/struggles and make plans for the unit. A parent letter and pre-test results were sent home with students on Thursday. As mentioned in the parent letter, I would strongly encourage you to practice multiplication facts and strategies at home with your child. At the grade four level, students are expected to recall facts from 0 x 0 all the way up to 7 x 7. If your child can work past this (up to 12 x 12), it would be great, and will help to prepare them for their future studies. There are various ways to practice multiplication facts and strategies at home. I would recommend making or purchasing a set of multiplication flash cards and then drilling your child. You can even make up games with the flash cards. One example may be to hide the cards around your house and then say an answer to one of the cards. Have your child find the question that matches the answer! There are also tons of free worksheets online as well as videos. Other ways to study online, would be to visit Prodigy or these other free websites: https://www.mathplayground.com/index_multiplication_division.html http://interactivesites.weebly.com/multiplication.html http://www.math-play.com/multiplication-games.html *Please note that our next unit in class is division. If students have not mastered their multiplication facts prior to this unit, they will have a very tough time with the division concepts. Again, I would strongly encourage you to practice multiplication facts and strategies at home with your child. Prodigy – Students are always encouraged to log into Prodigy at home in their spare time to brush up on their math skills and understanding of concepts. I currently have set up a task in which students will practice multiplying numbers to 9 x 9 and dividing numbers to 81 by 9, using a variety of mental strategies. Good luck! Problem of the Week – This week's Problem of the Week is posted below (click button). Many thanks to all the 4A and 4B students who submitted answers to last week's problem. Way to go! This week, we look at pie charts that have no labels. Enjoy! Estimation Station – There were 295 cotton puffs in our Estimation Station jar this week. Congratulations to B.H. in 4A who came closest to that number with an estimate of 286. Bravo! Science – In science, students finished up the construction of their balloon rocket cars. They put their cars to the test on Thursday in a car race! 4A and 4B's were highly engaged in this hands-on project, and most were able to follow instructions to create a working car that operated on wheels and axles! Here is a photo slideshow of our learning: Be Brave Hitman Hockey Game – All NCS students received a permission form on Thursday for the "Be Brave Hitman Hockey Game" field trip. The school will not be open for students who do not attend the hockey game. Here are some details about the trip, as indicated on the permission form: Cost: $15.00 (includes t-shirt, ticket and bussing to/from the game) Date: February 27th (hockey game day) Forms/Payment: Due – WEDNESDAY - February 13th Student Payment Options: ONLINE in PowerSchool, Visa/Mastercard/Debit in main office, or Cash/Cheque to your child's homeroom teacher.
4A Homeroom: Our 4A class will be having a small Valentines party on February 13. A class list of names for Valentines cards will be emailed to parents this weekend. If you are planning to send in cards, please encourage your child to bring one for each member of our class. We currently have 25 students in our class. If you would like to send in a special treat for the students to enjoy on this day you may - no items with nuts, please. If you do not wish for your child to participate in the Valentines party, please send me an email and I will happily make alternate arrangements for them.
I hope you stay warm this weekend! Parents - please stay tuned to your email inbox this weekend! ~ Mrs. Ross |
Archives
June 2019
Categories School Links: Kodiak Cave: www.nckodiaks.ca Nose Creek School: school.cbe.ab.ca/school/NoseCreek/Pages/default.aspx Other Useful Links: Prodigy: www.prodigygame.com/Play/ Need extra practice? Below are math printable e-books for extra practice at home: Patterns and Algebra Reading and Representing Whole Numbers Addition and Subtraction Multiplication and Division Time Length, Perimeter & Area Fractions “Math Makes Sense” Practice and Homework Book: Can be found at the Virtual Learning Commons under “Student Links”: http://nckodiaks.ca/lc/ Username: kodiakstudent Password: M@th15fun! Practice Problem Solving Questions Math Dictionary Math Websites: Demolition Division Multiplication Games Multiplication Interactive Games Subtraction Games Abcya.com Math Facts Games Math Fact Fluency Activities & Games Plant Growth & Changes: Plant Growth and Changes Glossary of Important Terms Seed Survivor Plants for Kids Easy Science for Kids Plants Elementary Science https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/composting-and-landscaping-at-home/ Wheels & Levers Resources: Wheel and Levers Glossary of Important Terms Simple Machine Facts Simple Machines Interactive Sites Light & Shadows Resources: Light and Shadows Glossary of Important Terms BBC Light & Shadows How We See Things Light & Shadows Activities Interactive Tutorials Waste & our World Resources: Waste and our World Glossary of Important Terms Recycle City Game www.2learn.ca/kids/listSciG4.aspx?Type=46 |