Fossils give a valuable record of the plant and animal life and environmental conditions from millions of years ago in Alberta. In class this week, students looked at at fossils of trilobites and ammonites. Some students brought in actual fossils to show the class too. We discussed the Fibonacci numbers by reading a picture book about Leonardo Fibonacci the Italian mathematician who discovered this sequence. The title of the book was Blockhead and was authored by Joseph D'Agnese. The fibonacci sequence of: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5 8, 13, 21, 34 appear everywhere in nature, from the leaf arrangement in plants, to the patterns of a flower, the bracts of a pinecone, or the scales of a pineapple. We can also see this pattern in the fossil ammonite: In class this week students practiced for the Spelling test on Wednesday. They received their Spelling marks on Thursday or Friday. On Friday, most students were able to complete research questions about Alberta's fossil heritage and edit spelling sentences. Working towards revising and editing their work independently through attending to common spelling rules, knowing when and how to use capital letters and using punctuation correctly are all ongoing goals in Word Work this year. Some students who did not complete the work in class time brought it home as homework over the weekend.
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Spelling list: This list contains curricular terms related to our current study of Alberta's fossil heritage, homonyms and words containing the spelling pattern 'oa' where the 'o' is voiced and the 'a' is silent. There will be a quiz on Nov. 22. Since September we have been talking about and repeatedly reviewing the types of behaviours that will support students in their reading. Some examples of behaviours that will help students with their reading are:
Social Studies homework assignment: assigned on Fri. Nov. 10. Due: Monday Nov. 13.
In Social Studies this week, students completed their infographic assignments and we began learning about the fossil heritage of Alberta. Students discovered that the badlands of Alberta are a place where a great variety of dinosaur species have been found. Fossils are the remains or impressions of prehistoric organisms preserved in rock. Students viewed a powerpoint presentation made by Mr. Brewer on this topic. Paleontologists have discovered the presence of dinosaurs here in Alberta. Particular features of Alberta's landscape make it an amazing place for finding fossil remains such as the Albertosaurus, a prehistoric creature that students are reading about over the weekend for their homework assignment. Many students were fascinated by the question of how dinosaurs became extinct. A popular theory is that the extinction was caused by a large meteorite from outer space impacting the earth. While it was explained in class that the size of an object that could have led to a mass extinction was huge, we did look at a meteorite impact site in Canada as a means of comparison: The picture above shows the Manicouagan Resevoir in Quebec. The shape of this lake is circular and it is thought to be the result of the impact of a meteor of 5 km in diameter. This weekend an article was published on the National Geographic website that speculates about the impact of the object from space that it is thought to have led to the mass extinction of dinosaurs: news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/11/dinosaurs-extinction-asteroid-chicxulub-soot-earth-science/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_fb20171109news-dinoasteroid&utm_campaign=Content&sf157171398=1
Also this week students attended the Nose Creek School Remembrance Day assembly. Ms. Ross is to be thanked for her vital role in organizing this assembly. It was clear that students took seriously their obligation to reflect on the difficulties and dangers faced by those who undertook going into battle. They were solemn during the songs and performances that took place in the assembly. Many students in both 4E and 4F were directly involved as members of the grade 4 choir and are to be commended on the quality of their performance. All staff, students and visitors to Nose Creek were reminded of the ultimate sacrifice of our war dead who paid the ultimate price to ensure our freedoms. |
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