The grade fours will be going skiing this month! Ski Day permission forms were sent home today and are to be returned to me on or before Thursday, November 8. Did your child misplace their form? Please click on the file below to print your form. I am looking forward to spending the day on the slopes with 4A students!
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"The Portable Animation Workshop is a traveling animation workshop hosted by the Quickdraw Animation Society. Participants will learn the basics of animation through hands-on problem solving and creative collaboration with each other and with our instructors. In the process, they’ll engage with concepts from the worlds of art, science and mathematics in a fun and supportive environment, and since creating animation involves many different techniques, it can capture the interest of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learners." (quickdrawanimation.ca/paw/)
Today, 4A students participated in the first of two portable animation workshops (PAW) with the Quickdraw Animation Society! The students were highly engaged in the workshop and were able to complete two animation projects. I was amazed at 4A's abilities to use the animation program and technology, as well as their efforts to be creative and collaborative while working in small groups. Well done, Kodiaks! Next week, students will complete their final workshop with PAW. In the second workshop, students will create animations associated with their Humanities curriculum (natural regions of Alberta). Families can look forward to viewing the second set of animations within the next couple of weeks. Below are some photos from today's PAW workshop... Science – What a wonderful week of learning in Science! I really enjoyed seeing all the students' Waste and Our World Home Projects, as well as listening to their presentations in class. I was particularly impressed with the students' creativity to find solutions to everyday problems, and also new found uses for waste! I appreciate the support and dedication at home to construct these wonderful creations... bravo 4A and 4B students and families! I will assign and distribute students' grades for this project within the next couple of weeks as there are numerous projects for me to assess and evaluate. Grades will be based on the rubric posted below. Students also completed a self-assessment for their projects, which I will also take into consideration for their overall grade. Below are photos of 4A and 4B's projects...
Math – Students wrote their Rounding and Estimation quiz on Monday. Quizzes have been evaluated and sent home for parental review. All in all, the students in 4A and 4B performed very well on this quiz! We have since moved into our Patterns unit. Students began their unit by completing a pre-assessment on Prodigy, which challenged them to extend, describe, and create repeating, growing and shrinking number patterns. We will continue our studies in the patterns unit next week. No homework has been assigned this weekend. Estimation Station – There were 485 legs in our Estimation Station jar this week! Congratulations to B.C. in 4A for estimating closest to that number with 480. Way to go, B.C! Attention 4A Homeroom Families: 4A is set to have their Portable Animation Workshop (PAW) on Monday! Stay tuned for more details about this very exciting workshop beginning at 8:30am on Monday. I sent an email today to parents regarding the activities we have planned for Halloween on Wednesday, October 31. Please let me know if you did not receive this email or if you have any questions. We are looking forward to having some spooky fun on Halloween at NCS! Science - 4A and 4B students took their learning outside in science this week! They were paired up and given plastic bags and disposable gloves to collect garbage outside the school. From styrofoam slurpee cups to broken cell phone covers, cotton winter mitts... even money, we picked ALL of it up! Afterwards, students took some time to reflect by observing the different types of waste. We discussed various items and determined if they were biodegradable or non-biodegradable. Students were also able to identify the proper disposal systems that the items should have been sorted in - i.e. blue recycling bin, green compost bin, black garbage bin. I hope that this lesson will encourage 4A and 4B students to put their waste where it belongs! For the second part of this lesson, 4A and 4B students chose various items from our collection outside to bury in our classroom "landfill bins". We placed the items in large plastic bins (with locking lids) and covered them over with soil and a bit of water - just like a real landfill! Students made predictions about each of the items and their rate of biodegradability. They had to decide if the items would stay the same or begin to degrade in a six-week time period. Until then... the landfill bins have been put away! We are looking forward to observing the items again in six weeks and wonder what they'll look like! Straws suck! Students in 4A and 4B have been challenged to cut back on their use of plastic straws as part of their studies in the Waste and our World unit in science. Students have been encouraged to try going "straw free" for a one-month period to help reduce our use of plastic and minimize our eco footprint. Students were sent home with a pink tracking sheet on Wednesday, and I am looking forward to checking in with students on November 12 to see if they were able to overcome this challenge. Good luck, Kodiaks. You can do it! Below are a couple websites that inspired us to do this challenge. We viewed and discussed some of the articles and videos in class.
Waste and our World Home Project - A reminder to all students in 4A and 4B that the "Waste and our World" home project for Science is due on Tuesday next week. On Tuesday, you will need to bring the project you constructed, completed question sheets and Logbook to school. You must also be ready to present your project to your homeroom class, using the presentation outline distributed in class today. Students will participate in a gallery walk to see all the grade four projects later in the week as well. It will be a great celebration of learning about the Waste in our World! A reminder that the side door to the school will be open early on Tuesday and my classroom will also be open for students to drop off their projects. Here is a copy of the presentation outline students were given in class today: Math – In math, students continued to study and practice estimation and rounding strategies. They learned how to round three and four-digit whole numbers to the nearest ten, hundred and thousand, in problems arising from real-life situations. Students worked through various problems in large and small group settings, both on paper and online. 4A and 4B's will write a short quiz in class on Monday based on our learning in class. Below is the quiz notice I sent home with students yesterday and they do have their math duotangs at home with them this weekend to complete the assigned practice sheet! Estimation Station - Our 4A and 4B classes are estimating! Each week we fill our Estimation Station with objects and practice estimating, checking and comparing how many items are inside. This week, our question was: "how many buttons are in the small jar?" There were 385 buttons in total, and our lucky winner was Y.C. in 4A who estimated 300! (The winning estimate is awarded to the student who estimates closest to the actual number, without going over.) Congratulations Y.C. on your win! Incredible! A.C. is now in charge of filling the jar next week. Your student may also need to take on the task in the future, so here are some suggestions for possible items to bring in from home: acorns, balls, beads, beans, bolts, bottle caps, buttons, cereal, clothespins, corks, cotton balls, crayons, dominoes, drinking straw halves, erasers, gumballs, jelly beans, marbles, marshmallows, packing peanuts, paper clips, pasta, pennies, pretzels, sugar cubes, washers etc. Have fun! (I will help guide Estimation Challenges in the future to ensure they are helping to cover our math curriculum - i.e. for our measurement unit: how many centimeters long is the scarf in our jar?) Prodigy - Students were given some time in class today to work on an estimation/rounding assignment in Prodigy. The task will take them approximately 60 minutes to complete. If time permits this weekend, please have your student continue to work through this assignment online. Thanks for your support! Enjoy your weekend! - Mrs. Ross Math – This week, students explored the concept of rounding of numbers. Students learned that we round numbers all the time. For example, someone might ask how many students are in your class. You might respond by saying there are about 20 students in your classroom. There may actually be 19 or 21, but you know there are about 20 students in your classroom, so you round to the nearest ten. Students learned that rounding just means figuring out which 10, 100, 1000 etc. is closer to a number. Our studies this week in rounding numbers up to 10 000, will help students better understand the concept of estimation. Estimation is sometimes a challenging concept for grade four students, and it will be our focus in math next week. In the photos posted above, students in 4A and 4B are playing "Math Man" on laptop computers. "Math-Man" is a "Pac-Man" inspired game, which had students scrambling to capture ghosts with numbers that answered given prompts: Prodigy – I have rewarded one 4A student and two 4B students with one-month Prodigy memberships for their hard work and dedication to the Prodigy program. Next month, I will reward three new students who have been actively using the program and working hard to increase their understanding of mathematical skills and concepts. Way to go, Kodiaks!
Science – On Tuesday, students were assigned the Waste and our World Home Project. Details and documents regarding this project were sent home in an email to all 4A and 4B parents on Tuesday. This information has also been posted on my blog (scroll down). I enjoyed meeting with all my students for 1:1 conferences about their home projects today, and I am really looking forward to seeing the projects at school on October 23. Students have been encouraged to plan their project with parents and to draw/design their project on paper prior to construction. Students also need to stay on top of documenting their time and plans in their green Logbooks, which are also due on the 23rd. In science class, students explored the two websites listed below for information about biodegradable vs. non-biodegradable resources. They learned that "biodegradable" refers to a material that is able to degrade or break down. Examples of biodegradable materials are: apple cores, bones, paper, flowers etc. "Non-biodegradable" refers to materials that are not broken down by organisms. Examples of non-biodegradable materials are: plastic, glass, metal, polyester clothing items etc. 4A and 4B's enjoyed playing the "last letter game" on our classroom whiteboard. This competitive game had students working and collaborating in teams to identify numerous biodegradable resources. We will continue our studies in this curricular area next week as we are building mini landfills in our classroom to monitor the rates of biodegradability! Please stay on top of our upcoming dates and events on the main page of the grade four blog. As always, if you have any questions please contact me via phone or email. Have a wonderful weekend! Mrs. Ross Click on the button below to explore various online games that involve estimating and rounding numbers.
All grade four students were assigned a home project today to demonstrate their learning of our current "Waste and our World" unit in Science. For this project, students been asked to reuse waste materials to produce a new, useful and long-term product. This project is to be completed at home. The Waste Home Project letter, question sheet, Logbook and assessment rubric are all attached below for your perusal. The project letter and Logbook were discussed in class today with 4A and 4B students, and sent home as hardcopies with students in their agendas. The question sheet was also discussed, and is in students' science duotangs. The project, question sheet and Logbook are all due in class on Tuesday, October 23rd, when each student is expected to present their project to their homeroom classmates and teacher. I am looking forward to viewing the finished products at school on Oct. 23, and sharing in the project process by having 1:1 conferences with 4A/4B students in class on Friday, October 12 and 19. Good luck, and please let me know if you have any questions about the project! - Mrs. Ross
Well, I am not sure where the autumn season went but we now have taken our winter coats and winter boots out of the closet again. With the turn of the weather, the roads and sidewalks are slippery again, so we want everyone to be safe. Please cross the road at designated intersections and crosswalks, and please do not do U-turns in the middle of the street. Remember to follow school zone speed limits as well. There has been a lot happening during the first month of school. Our grade four students have done an amazing job transitioning into middle school and adjusting to the many new routines, procedures and rules at Nose Creek School. Well done, Kodiaks! I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving weekend and look forward to seeing all my grade four students back at school on Tuesday! - Mrs. Ross Math – Students continued to study and better understand numbers in class this week. Through partner, small/large group and individual tasks... they sure were busy! 4A and 4B's learned how to use numbers to represent different ideas and things (i.e. 5439 minutes is more than 5439 seconds), and are beginning to sort and compare numbers using Venn and Carroll diagrams. Students were given a math task in class today to complete for homework (4 questions plus "Stretch Your Thinking"). This task is due for all students on Tuesday. If for some reason your student was absent from class today, here is a copy of the task:
Prodigy – Students enjoyed logging into Prodigy during class time today. They are always encouraged to log into Prodigy at home to brush up on their math skills and understanding of concepts. Students continue to work through a Place Value assignment online. Good luck! Science – In Science, students learned about producers, consumers and decomposers this week. We discussed how nature recycles plant and animal wastes, and also began to learn about human waste. We had a rich discussion yesterday in regards to the following video and will continue to discuss the "Plastic Planet" and human waste in class next week. No homework was assigned for science this weekend, however, a science quiz was sent home for parental review/signatures. Upcoming Events and Important Due Dates –
Oct 1 - Orange Shirt Day Oct 2 - Picture Day Oct 3 - FLAMES Day (wear your Flames/Red gear) Oct 12 - IPPs go home Oct 24 - Fun Lunch Oct 26 - Non-Instructional Day (school is closed for students) Oct 31 - Halloween - stay tuned for details! |
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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 |