In humanities, we started off the week by partner pairs presenting their Google Slides presentation on their chosen natural region of Alberta. As their peers presented, students practiced their listening skills by being an attentive audience. They wrote jot notes for any important details or interesting facts they heard from the projects, and asked clarifying questions at the end. At the conclusion of the presentations, each student completed a self-assessment to reflect on what they did well, challenges they had, what improvements could have been made, & what they learned about the regions. We also focused on spelling skills and strategies this week. There was discussion around different spelling strategies to use if they are stuck on a word (see the chart below). They practiced some of these skills using spelling websites, & particularly loved the game “Floyd Danger: Curse of the Syllables” in which students practiced with word structures, recognizing syllables, and spelling. Students also completed a making words activity in class. They were given a set of ten letters, and using only these letters, had to make as many different words as they could. The challenge word used all the letters (which the students eventually found!). This activity is an effective tool for strengthening spelling and phonics skills. I was impressed with how many words the students came up with! Both classes also spent some time using “ReadTheory” in class, and I encourage students to keep up their reading over the long weekend. Over the next two weeks, the grade 4’s will also be working with the Portable Animation Workshop (PAW) hosted by the Quickdraw Animation Society. 4C & 4D will get a half-day morning session next week, and then another half-day afternoon session the following week. Here is a brief summary from their website of what this workshop is about:
“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.” We’re excited to have this wonderful opportunity and are looking forward to weaving in some connections to Alberta’s regions through this workshop. Have a great weekend! —Ms. Jagger
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Try out the games below to practice your spelling skills:
https://www.learner.org/interactives/spelling/grade4/ https://www.education.com/games/fourth-grade/spelling/ http://www.abcya.com/spelling_practice.htm https://www.spellingcity.com/spelling-games-vocabulary-games.html In humanities this week, we continued work on reviewing, learning & practicing written conventions to improve overall writing skills. Students learned about nouns & verbs and identifying them in sentences. Students also learned that proper nouns are specific people, places or things and always need capitals. Adjectives were also discussed and students practiced using them in a sentence format.
Students worked hard throughout the week with their partner to finish off their Alberta region presentation using Google Slides. They worked on adding their research & visuals into their slides; reading over & editing their work; and finally practicing how they will present their project to their peers early next week. We discussed the do's & don'ts of a good presentation, including body language, volume, reading rate, eye contact, expression, and preparedness. October book orders went home this week and are due by next Wednesday, October 24th. Please order on-line by finding my name on the Scholastic website, or send in a cheque & order form with your child. Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend! —Ms. Jagger In humanities this week, students started work on putting their research notes into a finished presentation on their chosen region. Students used their Google account (their email is taped in their agenda) to access Google Slides as their presentation template. They worked with their partner to create slides for each topic of their region by typing their information & adding visuals. We'll continue to work on them next week.
Students also started listening to our new read aloud book in class entitled Run by Eric Walters. The story takes place in 1980 and follows a troubled fourteen-year old boy named Winston Macdonald. He travels with his reporter father to Nova Scotia to cover a human interest story on a young man trying to run across Canada named Terry Fox. As Winston spends time with Terry Fox and his best friend Doug, their determination makes a big impression on Winston and he takes courage & inspiration from Terry’s run. We will be starting chapter eight next week and so far the students are engaged & enjoying the story. One of the reasons we are reading this book is because the author, Eric Walters, will be coming to our school on Monday, November 12th. We are getting excited about his upcoming visit! Have a wonderful weekend! —Ms. Jagger In humanities this week, students started researching their chosen natural region of Alberta in partner groups. Students are researching one of the following regions—the Canadian Shield, the Boreal Forest, the Parkland, the Grasslands, the Foothills or the Rocky Mountains. They were provided with a checklist to hone their research on particular topics. Items on the checklist included investigating a specific city or town found in their region; an animal that inhabits their region; the weather/temperature & appearance of their region; the industries & natural resources found there; and main bodies of water & recreational activities that can be found in their particular region. Students were to record their information using jot notes, which we practiced last week. They will start putting their research notes & facts into a Google Slides presentation, which we will be starting next week. When finished, students will be presenting their completed project to their peers.
We also started more focused work on learning & practicing writing conventions (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, & grammar). Writing conventions are important skills to develop so students can effectively communicate their ideas in written form. This week our focus was on what a sentence is & different types of sentences (statement, question & exclamatory sentences). It was emphasized that sentences begin with a capital and end with a period, a question mark or an exclamation mark depending on what type of sentence it is. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! —Ms. Jagger All Regions:
http://engagingstudents.blackgold.ca/index.php/division-ii/soc-d2/social-4/4-1-alberta-a-sense-of-the-land/regions-of-alberta1/ http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/sszi/en/index.html http://www.abheritage.ca/abnature/mountains/mountain.htm https://www.raysweb.net/specialplaces/pages/places.html Canadian Shield: http://advancededucation.alberta.ca/englishexpress/articles/pdf/ab03_10_l3.pdf https://sites.google.com/a/esl-almadina.com/alberta-our-community/artifact-3 Boreal Forest: https://sites.google.com/a/esl-almadina.com/alberta-our-community/artifact-2 Rocky Mountains: https://sites.google.com/a/esl-almadina.com/alberta-our-community/artifact Foothills: https://sites.google.com/a/esl-almadina.com/alberta-our-community/matrix Grasslands: https://sites.google.com/a/esl-almadina.com/alberta-our-community/letter Parkland: https://sites.google.com/a/esl-almadina.com/alberta-our-community/resume |
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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 |