4C & 4D are looking forward to going swimming next week at Vivo! Some items discussed with the students was:
In humanities this week, students started presenting their chosen book for our “book talk” presentations. So far, we have had a great mix of different genres and authors. Students are writing down books that interest them on their book talk placemat which they can use later to sign out books in the LC. We will continue with the presentations next week! Since it was also “Earth Week”, students listened to the book Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg which conveyed the message of how important it is to take care of our Earth. In this story, Walter is careless with his trash and scoffs at planting trees to help the environment. Then he has a dream that takes him to the future where he discovers an Earth that's uninhabitable due to air and water pollution. When he wakes up from his dream, he realizes the importance of taking care of our planet and home. Students answered questions based on the book, and thought of ways that they could further help out the environment in their own lives. Students also learned about the plans for preparing the way for new settlers to Alberta. In 1867, some of the colonies joined together to form the new country of Canada. We looked at maps of Canada throughout its history and noted the many changes that have occurred with Alberta joining Canada in 1905. Canada’s first Prime Minister John A. Macdonald believed that people had to settle on the land to make Canada a strong country. The first step was building a railway across the land from east to west as this would make it easier for settlers to come to the West. We discussed the huge challenges of building the railway across such a vast land. Southern Alberta in the 1870s was also a dangerous place and the government set up a police force called the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) in 1873 to bring law and order. The NWMP would later become the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and today are seen as a symbol of Canada around the world. Students completed some journal writing about this topic, and we will continue next week with the impact of building the railway had on Aboriginal peoples.
Have a great weekend! —Ms. Jagger
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Another week in grade 4 has flown by! Swimming letters went home on Monday about our upcoming week of swimming lessons at Vivo. Swimming forms and payment should be returned by Tuesday of next week. The letter is below with the swim times for 4C & 4D. As well, 4C will be receiving instruction in human sexuality in health class next week. The classes will be covering a number of topics focusing on puberty and overall hygiene. If you would like more specific information on what will be covered, you can go to the following link: http://teachers.teachingsexualhealth.ca/lesson-plans/grade-4/ Also, a reminder that the French “All About Me” poster projects are due on April 24th for 4C and April 25th for 4D (more information on the French blog page). In humanities this week, students completed some reading comprehension activities, worked on their book talk presentation, learned about prefixes and suffixes, and studied about French & English missionaries in Alberta. On Tuesday, students worked in class on preparing for their book talk presentation. They used their organizer and checklist to assist them in including all the criteria talked about in class. Some created a slideshow, and others worked on an accompanying poster. Each student has been assigned their presentation date that was written into their agenda on Wednesday. We will be starting the book talks next week! Students also learned about what a prefix and suffix was this week through a short video and discussion. They learned that a prefix is at the beginning of a word, and a suffix is located at the end of a word. We looked at common prefixes and suffixes, and they practiced completing a number of focused activities. Students also learned about the contributions and lasting legacies of the French and English missionaries in Alberta. Father Albert Lacombe was a Catholic priest who came from Quebec in 1852 to work as a missionary in the West. He started hospitals and played a big part in starting schools in the West. There were also English-speaking missionaries in Alberta. The first English-speaking missionary was Robert Rundle who came from England to Fort Edmonton in 1840. These missionaries brought British ideas and values to parts of Alberta. We discussed different perspectives relating to the missionaries. Francophones looked up to Father Lacombe and were grateful to have a place to practice their religion in French. The Aboriginals had a different viewpoint as the missionaries tried to get rid of their spirituality by convincing the government to ban certain cultural practices. Students did some journal writing to share their opinion about the topic.
Have a wonderful Easter long weekend! —Ms. Jagger Practice your division skills using the websites below:
Demolition Division Division Math Games Multiplication and Division Games In humanities this week, students continued learning about Métis culture and French influence in Alberta. Students worked on their value writing good copy from last week based on the Métis story “The Giving Tree.” They also created their value wheel art to complement their written piece. After tracing a circle, students divided it into equal pieces to showcase each of their own personal values. They drew an image to represent each value and then used the art technique of pointillism to add colour. Pointillism uses tiny dots of colour side by side to build form in a painting. Students used Q-tips and paint to achieve this effect, and then glued their written good copy on the back. When finished, students had the opportunity to make a mini version of the Métis sash using embroidery thread. Students also learned how Francophone communities started to grow in Alberta. While the fur trade was at its busiest, a few people began to see that Alberta had good farmland. In the fall of 1874, two brothers named Frank and Joseph Lamoureux came to Alberta. They were the first Francophone settlers to claim Alberta land for farming. Soon other Francophone families followed and settlements grew. Traces of Alberta’s rich francophone heritage can be found in the names of many of our province’s towns and villages such as Beaumont, Brosseau, Grande Prairie, and Lacombe. Today more than 390,000 Albertans are of French descent and approximately 238,000 Albertans speak French. Students researched two of these towns in more depth—St. Vincent and St. Paul. Both are located north-east of Edmonton. Students used a website to answer questions about each of these towns and their unique histories. We spent some time this week discussing our upcoming “Book Talk” presentations in more detail. Last week students chose the book they would like to present to their peers and hopefully started reading it on the weekend. Students were given an organizer and checklist to help organize their presentation, and we went over the rubric on how they will be assessed (all are below). Ms. Jagger gave an example book talk on one of her favourite childhood books “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” so students would have a better understanding of the book talk format. Next week, students will get class time to work on their book talk presentation and then we will start scheduling two or three presentations a day starting at the end of April. As well, Scholastic book orders also went home this week and they are due by next Thursday.
Have a great weekend! —Ms. Jagger It was great to see students back in class on Monday and hear about their Spring Break adventures! The main focus this week in humanities was looking at the Métis Nation. Students learned that the Métis were descended from First Nations and Canadien or British traders. Some of their ways of life came from these roots, but the Métis Nation have their own unique identity. The Métis were instrumental in the Fur Trade by acting as translators, piloting & paddling boats along the rivers, and providing goods to the traders like food & buffalo pelts. They invented the York boat and the Red River cart which helped with transporting larger loads. Students learned that we have eight Métis settlements in Alberta which makes our province very unique. We also discussed some symbols of their identity like the Métis flag and the colourful sash. The flag has the infinity symbol, which means never-ending to remind us of a culture that continues on forever. The colours of the sash represent how everything in life is woven together. Students were read a traditional Métis story called “The Giving Tree” and learned about the values that the Métis hold dear. Students were tasked with answering questions about their own values which they will make into a written paragraph. Next week students will work on creating their own value wheel as an accompanying art piece to their writing. The rough copy of their value writing is due Monday and the questions are listed below. Students were also introduced to what a “Book Talk” presentation is as this is something the students will be working on in the next few weeks. A book talk is a 3 to 5-minute presentation in which students will discuss a book that they have read. They need to include specific information about the plot, setting, and characters in an entertaining way so that others will be motivated to read their book! Hopefully this will introduce students to other genres, authors, and book series to get them excited about reading. Students learned about the “I Pick” strategy to choose a just-right book for themselves (see below). They then chose a book from the Learning Commons on Friday that they would like to read and present to their peers. We will discuss the book talk presentations in more detail next week. Students were encouraged to take their chosen book home this weekend to start reading!
Enjoy your weekend! —Ms. Jagger |
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June 2019
CategoriesResources for Practice
Reading: ReadTheory TumbleBooks Word Activities: Sight Word Bingo Sight Word Game Letter Blocks Bookworm TextTwist Coconut Vowels Word Toss Spelling: Spelling Practice Spelling Spree Story Writing: Story Writing Game Create your own Comic Storyboard Creator Poetry: Poetry Tools Rhyming Dictionary |