It's been a busy week and a half as we finished off the school year with many fun activities including the multi-cultural fair last week, student sharing of the year-end scrapbook projects, and activity day on the last day of school. I hope all my students have a safe, restful and wonderful summer break filled with lots of great memories! Thank-you for all the thoughtful cards and gifts I've received over the last few days which are so very much appreciated. I've truly had a great year and I look forward to seeing everyone back in September!
—Ms. Jagger
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Try out these games below to practice 2D & 3D shapes:
https://www.turtlediary.com/games/fourth-grade/shapes.html https://www.mathplayground.com/index_geometry.html This week in math, students learned about decimal tenths and hundredths. They learned that fractions, decimals and percentages are different ways to represent the same amount—for example, 8/10 = .8 = 80%. Decimals are simply a way to describe fractions using place value. We watched a video in class in which it explained in depth what decimal tenths and hundredths are. Throughout the week, students worked on representing & describing decimals concretely, pictorially and symbolically along with the related fraction. They learned how to read a number correctly containing decimals. For example, 5 635.24 reads as five thousand six hundred thirty-five and twenty-four hundredths, or 429.6 reads as four hundred twenty-nine and six tenths. Students also discussed where we see decimals all the time—in money! They worked on representing decimals with coins and then practiced adding money amounts together.
Students were also working really hard on their year-end scrapbook during class time this week. They are to have 12 letters finished by today, and we’ll continue to work on them next week. I’ve been impressed on how focused they have been working in class, and the creative & decorative touches they’ve been adding to each of their letters to highlight their learning this year. Have a great weekend! —Ms. Jagger It was a busy week with the triathlon on Tuesday, our field trip on Wednesday, and the “Taste of the Arts” celebration last night. It was great to see so many students & their families attending “A Taste of the Arts” to view all the great talent our school has to offer in the areas of visual art, music, and drama. Way to go Kodiaks! In math this week, we continued to look at fractions, specifically in comparing and ordering fractions that have the same denominator and different numerators; and then with the same numerator and different denominators. Students also learned about using benchmarks to order fractions on a number line, which they practiced in class. Students used fraction strips they had made last week to help them compare and order different fractions. Students also finished their mixed facts “Mad Minute” booklets and they are encouraged to keep practicing their basic facts over the summer months! In science, we wrapped up our topic “Plant Growth & Changes” with a quiz on Monday and then they completed what they had learned on their KWL chart from the beginning of the unit. Our bean plants in the classroom have flowered and small bean pods are beginning to grow! We hope to have a mature bean pod to pick by the end of the year. Students have also been working hard for two periods a day on their Year-End Project. They finished their rough copy for each of the 26 letters, and today started creating their title page of their scrapbook. We had a great day of fun and learning at Heritage Park on Wednesday. Student groups worked through scavenger hunt questions focusing on all curricular areas namely math, science and humanities. They did a great job on these challenges along with learning a lot about Alberta’s past. Heritage Park’s exhibits span the early 1860s fur trade to the petroleum and automobile-dominated 1950s. A big thank-you to all our parent volunteers who made the day such a success. The scavenger hunt questions are below as well as a few photos from our trip.
Have a wonderful weekend! —Ms. Jagger We had another busy week at NCS and we are looking forward to our upcoming field trip to Heritage Park next Wednesday. An additional note went home yesterday that needs to be signed regarding riding the train, wagons, & amusement park rides. If this note is not returned with a signature, students will not be allowed to partake in these additional activities. For Heritage Park, students should dress for the weather, wear comfortable shoes, and bring a bag lunch/water bottle in a backpack. Students may also bring a few dollars for a treat at the bakery or candy shop if they would like! Next week is also very busy as not only are we attending our field trip, but students are also excited about the 6th annual NCS triathlon on Tuesday and the “Taste of the Arts” evening on Thursday in which many of our grade 4 students are taking part in. On Thursday, all grade four students were also introduced to our year-end project entitled “The ABC’s of Grade 4.” This is a culminating project that allows students to show their learning and understanding from everything that was covered this year. This major assignment will be due Tuesday, June 26th. Each day, students will be working on their YEA for two periods. For each letter of the alphabet, students will choose a topic from each of their subject areas that we covered this year to write about. As a final project, they will create a scrapbook with pictures and decorations as well as their writing that will be shared with the class and marked by the homeroom teacher. Students have already been working on their topic-planning page, and they will start their rough copies next week. Students are incorporating their writing with a visual representation. They will have some supplies in class to get creative with, such as: stencils, magazines, colored paper, stickers, foam letters, stamps, yarn, and decorative tape to name a few! Donations are greatly appreciated and students can bring in their own supplies to add to their project if they wish. Students are also encouraged to keep in mind the calendar goals and timeline in order to complete their project for the June 26th deadline (see below). In math this week, students worked on understanding the differences between fractions of a whole, and fractions of a set or group. They worked on identifying and naming fractions using numbers and using words (6/10 or six tenths). Students also made their own set of fraction strips in class for them to use next week when we compare and order different fractions.
In science, we discussed the importance of plants to humans and animals. We talked about how we depend on plants for: food, oxygen, shelter, water (transpiration), medicine, clothing, to protect and make soil, and of course to beautify—to name a few! Plants are truly amazing!! We also discussed how plants also depend on us for: carbon dioxide, care and protection, and seed dispersal. Students researched at least six of the topics using provided websites to create a visual journal page. Their double page should contain detailed information and visuals for each topic. This page is due Monday, so some students might be bringing it home this weekend to finish up. Students also received a study guide for a quiz this Monday (see below). Enjoy the first weekend of June! —Ms. Jagger Use the websites below to add information and visuals to your visual journal page on the importance of plants to humans & animals and vice versa:
https://www.studyread.com/importance-plants-life-earth/ http://www.mbgnet.net/bioplants/earth.html http://www.bgci.org/plantconservationday/whyplantsimportant/ It’s hard to believe that June is right around the corner—we have a busy next few weeks ahead! Field trip forms went home on Tuesday for our upcoming visit to Heritage Park on Wednesday, June 6th. If you haven’t done so already, please return the acknowledgement of risk form and payment as soon as possible. We attended a presentation today from the Calgary Public Library about their summer reading program running from June 15th to September 7th—a fun activity to keep up literacy skills in the summer months! Our May monthly letter also went home today so please read and discuss your child’s letter with them. In math this week, we worked on some open-ended problems on Tuesday with students coming up with some great solutions. On Wednesday we started learning about fractions. We watched an informative video about what fractions are and vocabulary associated with it. We started looking at fractions of a whole, and fractions as part of a set or group. Students are continuing to have daily practice in their basic facts by working on their mixed facts “Mad Minute” booklet. In science, students sketched and wrote a final observation of their bean plants before they were sent home today to be transplanted to a bigger pot or into the garden. Many of our bean plants have flower buds on them! We discussed how to correctly transplant their bean plant at home. Some bean plants will stay in the classroom as we continue to observe the complete life cycle in action—from seed to seed! We also looked again at our grass samples from a couple of weeks ago that focused on growing conditions. The sample from the fridge grew a tiny bit; the freezer one didn’t grow at all; the one on the counter with some light grew but was a pale lime green colour; and the last sample which sat beside the window was long, lush and dark green. We concluded that the best growing conditions are having light, water, air and the right temperature (not too cold!!).
Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend! —Ms. Jagger In math this week, we continued with our work around area and perimeter. We discussed when to use square centimetres and square metres when finding the area of an object. Students used geoboards in class to find the area and perimeter of both regular and irregular shapes. They worked on some area and perimeter problems in class and I’ve written them below if students want to continue to work on them over the weekend (I’ve also attached a link to a virtual geoboard to assist them in their work). We will go over some of their possible answers next week.
Our main focus in science this week was learning about the ways plants disperse their seeds—namely through animals/humans, wind and water. We worked our way through a “plant mystery adventure” about how the Koa tree can be found on both the Hawaiian Islands and Reunion Island in the India Ocean, which are separated by thousands of kilometres. Through the video clips and discussion, we finally reached the conclusion that birds were most likely the ones responsible for the spreading of the koa seed. We constructed three paper seed templates in class to test in small groups--the spinner seed pod, the rotocopter seed pod and the glider seed pod. After making them, students tested each design to see which seed could get further away from the “zone of darkness”--the shaded area next to the mother tree where seeds want to avoid landing. We soon discovered that the glider design worked best, although the spinner design was also quite effective as well. We also discussed how our results could have been affected if we did this activity outside, as the wind would spread the seeds much further. We watched an interesting video about how some plants, like the squirting cucumber, use high-pressure mechanics to disperse their seeds far and wide.
We also watched an in-depth video about each of the plant parts. It discussed the two types of transport tissue in a plant—the xylem (transports water and nutrients from the roots to the leaves), and the phloem (transports food from the leaves to the rest of the plant). We were able to observe the xylem in celery stalks that were sitting in water and food colouring for a few days. The leaves of the celery turned colour proving that the tubes in the stem (or xylem) were taking water up to the leaves. The food colouring had stained the xylem of the celery, and was clearly visible from a cross section taken from its stem. Our bean plants are continuing to grow—many students have observed they now have five leaves with more leaf buds ready to open soon! Have a great long weekend! —Ms. Jagger 4A & 4C students had a great time today decorating eggs using the pysanky method! Students need to bring in a small container to bring their finished egg home safely on Monday. NCS is also participating in “Mental Health and Awareness Week” starting next week with daily activities. There is no school for students next Friday. Monday, May 14th – Hats on for Mental Health Tuesday, May 15th – Dance and Activity Afternoon (dance tickets are on sale for $2) Wednesday, May 16th – Mindfulness and Wellness Wednesday Thursday, May 17th – PJ Day In math this week, students continued to practice time concepts by working on elapsed time problems and then playing a game with a partner to practice this important skill. They worked on the journal question: “What are some possibilities for the following date:
06/03/04?” and we had a good conversation about the many different possibilities it could be. Students wrote a quiz on Wednesday to demonstrate their understanding of time concepts. We also started learning about area and how square units is the most efficient shape to measure the surface of an object. Students started working on a multi-colour design, and then will calculate the area of each colour using square units. Students also started their new “Mad Minute” booklet containing mixed facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division). In science, we discussed where seeds come from—the flower! Students learned about pollination and the parts of the flower through discussion, visuals, and videos. Before a seed can grow, some pollen from the stamens must land on a pistil of the same kind of flower. This is called pollination. Flowers are pollinated by the wind, bees, butterflies and birds. When a flower is pollinated, seeds begin to grow inside the pistil. As the seeds grow larger, the pistil ripens into a fruit or pod. It breaks open and seeds are ready to become new plants. Next week we'll be learning about the ingenious ways that plants spread their seeds. Students also sketched and wrote a detailed observation about the progress of their bean plants in their visual journals. They are certainly growing very quickly!
Enjoy your Mother’s Day weekend! —Ms. Jagger |
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at:
[email protected] Here's to a great year! Archives
June 2018
CategoriesNeed 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 Hour of Code Prodigy 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 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 & Shadow Activities Interactive Tutorials Waste & our World Resources: Waste and our World Glossary of Important Terms Recycle City Game EekoWorld |