It was a great week that started with skiing & snowboarding at Winsport. Students had lots of fun being active with many learning new skills. The students finished off the week by being introduced to our new school-wide holiday campaign called “The Season of Giving.” Students will work across grades to give back to our local community by completing homeroom challenges. We will earn points by bringing in a variety of much needed items (the items & point list is below). Each Wednesday there will be a homeroom challenge and if everyone participates then our class will earn extra points. Next week is one food item per student, second week is wearing red & green, and the third week is wearing a Christmas sweater. Donated items will be collected daily so please give what you can! In humanities this week, students read their fracking written paragraph to their peers stating their point of view and reasons to support their opinion. Both classes did a great job trying to persuade their audience! Students learned the difference between synonyms, antonyms and homonyms by watching a short video & completing some written practice in class. We discussed how using synonyms can make your writing more interesting by adding more varied vocabulary. For example, instead of using “big” repeatedly, try using enormous, massive, gigantic, or towering! Students also learned about the factors that determine climate in the diverse regions of Alberta. They learned about how weather & climate shape the way we live and can affect our activities, work & travel. Factors that affect climate are latitude & elevation. We discussed Alberta’s famous chinook winds and how they can significantly raise temperatures. Students demonstrated their learning by completing some journal questions related to this topic. Students also did some initial research on Alberta’s national parks which we’ll be studying more closely next week. They learned that Alberta has five national parks with Banff being the first national park in Canada established in 1885. Students also spent some time on the website ReadTheory working on their reading comprehension skills this week. Today in class, students tried out some computer coding! Next week is “Computer Science Education Week” and 4C was introduced to the “Hour of Code” which is a movement to get students interested in the area of computer programming. This is a rapidly growing field that continually has more jobs available than qualified people can fill. Coding requires logic and problem solving, and is a skill that anyone can learn at any age. Students tried out different programming games that contained step-by-step instructions and video tutorials. I was impressed with how well students were focused while working and how they helped each other out as the levels increased in difficulty. Book orders went home today and are due next Thursday. Items can be ordered on-line, or by sending in your completed form & cheque to school. We’re also looking forward to continuing with the Mobile Escape workshop next week with our escape room ready for viewing next Thursday after school. Parents to students in 4A, 4B & 4C are invited to attend from 3:30 to 4:30, and 4D, 4E & 4F parents are invited to attend from 4:30 to 5:30. As well, 4C & 4D finished their art option and will be starting their drama option next week.
Have a great weekend! —Ms. Jagger
0 Comments
Use the website below to research about Alberta's national parks:
https://www.travelalberta.com/ca/places-to-go/national-parks/ It was a short but busy week in grade 4! Both classes enjoyed their first session with the Mobile Escape workshop and are excited to continue the week of December 3rd. We enjoyed “Pump Up for the Grey Cup” on Wednesday when students showed their support for the Stampeders by wearing red & white (and having free punch & popcorn in the Gym at lunch!). Both classes toured the book fair in the Learning Commons this week to check out all the books and other items on sale. The book fair will be open throughout parent-teacher conferences on Thursday & Friday. Mr. Baker and I are looking forward to meeting with parents and students over the next couple of days! Just a reminder that our skiing/snowboarding field trip to Winsport is on Monday. Everyone is very excited! Students should come dressed for the weather and pack a filling lunch & water bottle. Your own ski helmet, goggles or sunglasses can also be brought—all other equipment will be provided. Students should meet in their homeroom class arriving between 7:45 and 8:00 so ski tags can be attached on jackets and we are ready to leave on the bus at 8:30. In humanities, we continued our look into Alberta’s natural resources. Through videos, visuals & discussion, students learned about the process of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” as a way to extract oil & gas from shale rock. Below is one of the videos we watched in class. We used the topic of fracking to write an opinion piece on their viewpoint about the subject. After discussing the pros & cons of fracking, students learned the fundamentals of a good persuasive writing piece & used a template to generate their ideas. Then, they used their template to assist them in writing a paragraph about their viewpoint. Their paragraph should be at least 10 sentences long and in it include: what fracking is, state their opinion, and have at least 3 reasons why that supports their opinion. They were told to make sure they are writing with lots of details and facts to support their point of view. This is due next Tuesday, when they will read their paragraph to their peers. I’ve included the writing template below, and our pros & cons list for students who need to finish up their writing at home. I've also attached the rubric that will be used for assessment.
Enjoy your extra long weekend! —Ms. Jagger In humanities, students learned about the abundant natural resources that Alberta has. At the beginning of the week, small groups were given a bin containing different items that they were asked to identify as well as other questions to discuss with their peers including how the items related to one another; thinking of ways they might use each item; and why they were given these items. They came to the conclusion that each of these items was from nature and is representative of the natural resources found in Alberta. As a definition, natural resources are things found in nature that are useful to us. They include air, water, soil, oil & gas, minerals, forests, and animals. We discussed how rich Alberta is in natural resources and how important these are to people in our province. Students learned the difference between non-renewable & renewable resources and examples of each. They viewed a map to see where these resources can be found in relation to the natural regions. We also looked in more detail into some of the main resources in Alberta including oil & gas, agriculture and forestry. We did some reading and viewed some videos about how oil & gas form, and how the process of removing the bitumen from the oil sands works. There was discussion about the positive & negative impacts of the oil sands with students doing some journal writing about their opinion of the topic. We also discussed how important agriculture is as nearly one third of Alberta is farmland. Crops such as wheat, oats, barley & canola, and livestock such as beef & dairy cattle, pigs, sheep, buffalo, & chickens provide us with a lot of our food in Alberta as well as the rest of Canada. We viewed a virtual tour of a grain farmer & his family from planting to the harvest. Finally, we discussed the importance of the forestry industry as trees cover half of Alberta and are one our most valuable resources. On Friday, we read the book “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss, which has the main message of conserving our resources or we risk losing them forever. After discussing the story and brainstorming ways we can conserve energy & resources in our own lives, students worked on a visual journal page. They created truffula trees from the story and on them wrote some ways they could help to conserve at home and/or school.
Just a reminder that next week will be a short week as there is no school on Thursday & Friday due to Parent-Teacher Conferences. Please book a time with Mr. Baker & myself to discuss your child’s progress. The Scholastic Book Fair will also be set up in the Learning Commons all next week for items to be purchased. Students in 4C & 4D will tour the book fair on Wednesday and can bring money then to buy items if they wish. Book fair hours will be: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – 8:30 am – 4 pm Thursday – 1 pm – 7 pm Friday – 9 am – 11:30 am Have a great weekend! —Ms. Jagger In humanities, students started the week writing their regions quiz on Monday. They also finished creating & typing their two regions poems from last week in Google Docs. When finished, they started work on a watercolour landscape portrait to represent one of the regions they wrote their poems about. They drew their pictures in pencil first, and then painted them in with watercolours. We had a quick art lesson on creating realistic landscapes (for example the Rockies aren’t triangles!), and how to use the techniques of perspective & size to make a more realistic image. The students did a great job and both their poems & paintings are on display in the classroom! If students haven't finished typing their poems, they are asked to have it finished by Monday. They will be marked based on the rubric below, which will go home in the next couple of weeks. Students enjoyed a spelling lesson with Ms. Patterson, our new grade 4 teacher, and got to know her a bit better on Tuesday before she started with her new homeroom class at the end of the week. They were shown a list of fifteen words focusing on “oa” words, as well as vocabulary associated with our upcoming unit on fossils. After reviewing the words, students were tasked with listing them in alphabetical order and then using them correctly in a sentence format. After watching students type up their poems this week (many with the two finger approach!), they worked on some keyboarding websites to practice their skills. Using all their fingers to type using proper hand placement on the keyboard will be beneficial in the years to come with both the speed & accuracy of completing assignments. The websites I’ve included in the post below will help students of all levels improve. Both classes also enjoyed their second & last comic animation workshop. They learned some new animation skills like using a boil & creating moveable puppets. They showcased their skills by creating an animation with a simple problem & solution, characters, props, and also set their story in an Alberta natural region. This morning we attended the Remembrance Day assembly to pay our respects to all the men and women who have served for our country & made the ultimate sacrifice. The performances & videos were very moving and the students were a respectful audience. We also discussed the significance of Remembrance Day in class. We learned why we wear a poppy, and watched a short video about John McCrae & the writing of his famous poem, “In Flanders Fields.” Students created a visual journal page to highlight the importance of Remembrance Day for them.
Author Eric Walters will also be visiting our school on Monday. We have been enjoying his book “Run” in class and can’t wait to meet him in person! He will be bringing in some books to sell to students & will sign them. They will range in price from $10 to $21, and only cash will be accepted. If the students already own a copy of an Eric Walters book, they are welcome to bring that to be signed as well. Have a great weekend and take some time on Sunday to remember those who served & sacrificed for our freedom. —Ms. Jagger Try out the websites below to practice your keyboarding skills:
Dance Mat Typing (learn proper hand positioning--for beginners) Keyman (practice certain letters & areas of the keyboard) Type Type Revolution (practice speed) The Typing of the Ghosts (for experts who want to get faster) It was a fun & busy week as we celebrated Halloween on Wednesday, participated in the comic animation workshop, and took home field trip forms for our upcoming skiing/snowboarding field trip to Winsport on Monday, November 26th. Just a reminder that completed forms need to be returned by November 8th—this is a great opportunity for students to be active, and for some, to try out a brand new sport! In humanities, we started off the week by reviewing the natural regions of Alberta by reading descriptions of each and highlighting key words from each passage. Using these key words, they were shown six photos of each of the regions, and were asked to match each photo with the correct region. They needed to explain why they thought their chosen picture matched the region. This sheet will be an excellent resource to use when studying for their regions quiz, which is this Monday. A study guide was sent home on Thursday along with their hum duotang that contains this sheet along with their jot notes & a map of where the regions are located in Alberta. We discussed that for the quiz on Monday, their answers need to be specific and detailed. For example, instead of writing, “animals live there” for the Rocky Mountains (animals live in all the regions!), they could write “grizzly bears & mountain goats live there” (more specific to the Rockies). Students also watched & discussed a PowerPoint presentation on Alberta landforms & bodies of water. They learned about the story of Alberta and the changes in the land that have been happening for millions of years. We discussed and viewed photos of some of the major landforms in Alberta including the hoodoos, Big Rock, glaciers, the Canadian Shield, the oil sands, vast forests & prairies, beautiful glacier lakes, and of course the Rocky Mountains. Students learned the importance of Alberta’s rivers to both the First Nations people and the early Europeans as transportation highways. Students realized how truly lucky we are to live in such a beautiful & water rich province! Since it was Halloween on Wednesday, students worked on some free writing activities to tie in with the holiday. They worked on them in Google Docs, and many of them were really getting into writing their stories! Students also worked on two region poems this week (see the description below). They were to create two poems with descriptive details related to their regions by adding in interesting & varied adjectives. They were told that their writing should make the person reading their poems be able to easily visualize their region in their heads, and/or to make them feel like they are standing in their region. They worked on a rough copy & then again typed them up in Google Docs. We will finish them next week and then work on a watercolour painting to complement them. Students really enjoyed their morning with our Comic Animation facilitators Mike & Erin this week. They learned the basics of animation and practiced these skills by animating a bouncing ball. Once they mastered this, each group turned to creating a short animation with a simple problem & solution. They designed a backdrop, a title, characters, and props. Everyone did a great job and we’re looking forward to our last session next week!
Have a wonderful weekend—remember to turn your clocks back one hour! —Ms. Jagger |
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at:
[email protected] Submit assignments to: [email protected] Archives
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 |