Welcome to the 13th week of Grade 4 at NCS! This week in Humanities, we've been busy! Students continue to read for 20 minutes daily in class, and work on Literacy Center activities. Below you will see a few photos of some great learning taking place! Students get to work at 2-3 centers a week! This week was week 9 of Reading Response Journals - most students are caught up with their RRJs, and a few will be handing them in/completing them tomorrow, before the weekend! Way to go 4A and 4C! We've also been continuing our discovery of Natural Resources found in Alberta! We watched a great video about Wind Power and all kinds of innovations that people have been working on! This was also a great opportunity for students to work on their visual note taking skills! We've also learned about agriculture/ranching, and the forestry industry in Alberta! We learned about how those roles are important to Albertans, and some everyday uses of the natural resources. We also had a chance to explore how communities are formed (because of natural resources), and where certain resources are found in Alberta (in what natural regions)! Below, you'll see a few photos of some note taking practice that we've done this week! There will be our "Alberta's Natural Resources" Test next Wednesday, December 6th. Tomorrow we will complete a study guide page in class, and start reviewing for this test. I'll also remind students of effective study tips. Students will be encouraged to take home their duotangs and review their material and notes. If students have questions, please let me know!
Important Information -Ski/snowboard day is this Tuesday, December 5th! The students are all very excited about this field trip! In order to ensure a great day for all students, we are reminding students to dress with the appropriate gear, including: snow pants, jacket, gloves, hats, scarves, sunglasses or ski goggles, and warm layers! We are also asking students to bring a lunch/water as well (in a backpack or something similar). Please make sure their names are on/in the bags! -Book Orders are due December 6th to Ms. Clark -Please check with your child to see if they have any overdue books to return to the LC! -Winter concert is on December 15th if any parents/guardians are interested in attending! -Special Note is going home on Monday for all Grade 4 students- we'll getting into some acts of kindness to spread around the school! -4C parents/guardians - if you haven't seen the note that went home this week with your child, please ask them to show it to you! Have a wonderful week! -Ms Clark
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Welcome to the 12th week of grade 4 at NCS!
Students have been busy this week in Humanities! We're continuing to read for 20 minutes at the beginning of class, and then moving on to Literacy Centers for approximately 15 minutes. The groups for literacy centers will rotate soon, so students get a chance to work with different classmates and grow as a community of learners! Week 8 RRJ's are due this week. There are still a few students in each class that have week 7 RRJ's due. Please check in and make sure you're all caught up! Students are continuing to work on learning about Alberta's Natural Resources. We finished learning about fossil fuels/non-renewable energy sources found in Alberta, and even had a chance to practice exploring issues and events from different points of view (this is one of the HUM outcomes). Students were asked to write a paragraph on their points of view, and then share their paragraph by reading aloud to their group members to practice presentation and fluency skills. We also continued to practice note taking (visual note taking and standard note taking) by reading about the resources, having class discussions, and brainstorming as a group to determine what information is important information and how to record our ideas (pictures, text, a combination of both). Later this week and into next week, we'll be looking at renewable resources, watching a video on wind power, and then moving on to forest and agriculture! After that, we'll use maps to explore WHERE all of these resources can be found, how Albertan's use these resources, and how all of this helps factor into Alberta as a community! Important Notes: -If you ordered a book at the book fair, please check in with Ms. Bennett to see when those books will be here! -Don't forget to hand in any overdue library books! -Ski/Snowboard day is December 5th - please make sure that you have everything they need to keep warm that day, including snow pants, jacket, warm clothes/layers, warm socks, gloves/mitts, hat, etc. More information to come soon! We're all looking forward to a great day. Have a great week, -Ms. Clark Welcome to the 11th week of grade 4 at NCS! This week was a short one at Nose Creek School, as we had Parent-Teacher interviews on Thursday and Friday of this week! Ms. Jagger and I were both glad that so many families were able to attend, despite the snowy weather! This week in Humanities, students continued to complete 20 minutes of reading each day, as well as worked at various literacy centers, and worked on week 7 of our RRJS. There are still a number of students who need to hand in week 7 of their RRJs as it was a shortened week. They can hand in week 7 RRJs this Monday, November 20th, and I will return them ASAP so they can then work on week 8. Students seemed to be engaged in the various centers, and lots of students have mentioned how much they like the partner reading center! Students continued to practice the skill of summarizing a text this week. We listened to the Audiobook of Jumanji one more time, and then students worked to visualize and summarize 4 or 5 key points from the story. We will continue to work on this skill in the next few weeks. This week we also finished up a few Infographic presentations, and we began to explore our new unit, natural resources in Alberta! Students started off this unit by looking at various items, and had to work with their group members to guess what each of the items at their table represented! There were lots of great guesses as students worked out what they though each item might be. Then, students began to make the connections to all of the items, and realized we were talking about natural resources! See photos below of this classroom activity! This week students also began to learn about note taking. We learned about two main forms, which included standard jot notes, as well as, visual note taking! We watched a few videos, and looked at examples of both. Students have begun to take a few notes about Alberta's natural resources. We primarily learned about the meaning of natural resources, and about Alberta's oil this week, but will continue with learning about other resources in the coming weeks!
We started off note taking by reading some non-fiction texts about resources, and then had a class discussion/brainstorm about what the important/key details were. After that, we organized our ideas and put them on the whiteboard. Students then were able to manage their information and try note taking! Organizing/managing information and ideas is an important skill, and is an aspect of an outcome that we assess on at Nose Creek School. This is something that we will work on throughout the year, and learning how to organized thoughts and ideas will help out in many different learning areas! Other Important information: -Ski forms due this MONDAY, November 20th. Payment is also due, or please contact Mr. Price at [email protected] if you need to arrange payments. We want all students to have the opportunity, so please contact us if you have any questions! -I will be sending out one more book order in early December for anyone who might want to make an order before the winter break. -LC is back up and running next week, so students can return and check-out new books! -Tumble books is a great resource that students can use at home. There is a link of the main grade 4 page for anyone who is interested, along with a few other fun resources that students can try! -Another fun activity that students might want to try/practice is typing games! abcya.com has quite a few (search "typing" and several different games come up!) This will help students when they are using keyboards to research or type information! Have a great weekend and see you all on Monday, -Ms. Clark Welcome to the 10th week of grade 4 at NCS! What a busy week it's been! Students in 4A and 4C have been working on lots of things in humanities class this week! - Students continue to work on 20 minutes of "stamina reading" in class on a daily basis - Students continue to work at various Literacy Centers (they spend 2 days at each center before rotating to the next center - Students are continuing to work on Reading Response Journals (RRJ's) - this week, week 6 is due! You can check the right hand side for student's due dates. - Ms. Clark is continuing to read individually with students (2-3 students per class, per day) This week has been exciting as students have been presenting their Alberta Region Infographic Projects to the class! We brainstormed about how to present, how to be a good audience member, and students had a chance to practice/rehearse their presentations. Many students have been dressing up or bringing props in! We'll be done all of the presentations by this Friday, and I will send marks home in the assessment duotangs soon. Students have also been working to practice their listening skills and taking some jot notes during the presentations. Below you'll see a few examples of our infographics! We'll be starting our new unit next week, so stay tuned! 4A and 4C have both started reading "Sunwing" in flex time! This is the second book in the "Silverwing" series, by author Kenneth Oppel (we met him last month at school). This week students had the opportunity to present their science projects (in Science Class), but also take a "gallery walk" during flex time to see other student's projects! It was a great way to talk to the grade 4 community at school! Key Information/ Upcoming Information - Remembrance Day Service tomorrow (November 10th) at 9:15 am. Students are encouraged to dress up as this is a formal assembly/service. All students will receive a poppy at school tomorrow. Poppy Donations will be accepted (if you choose to donate). - Parent Teacher (and student) interviews next week, so book your interview time slot soon, spots have been filling up fast! - No school next Thursday or Friday (due to interviews) - November 16th & 17th - Nose Creek Book Fair is next week! Students in 4C will have an opportunity to go to the LC on Tuesday in flex time to take a look around (they can also go during lunch any day next week, or after school). Students can bring money to school to purchase items (if they want). Hoping everyone has a warm week, Ms. Clark Welcome to the 9th week of grade 4 at NCS! We've done a variety of things this week in humanities class! We've been continuing to work on 20 minutes of daily stamina reading, as well as working at our literacy centers everyday. Ms. Clark has also been reading individually with students (if she hasn't read with you yet, she will soon)! Students have been focused, helpful and cooperative with classmates during literacy centers! Some of the most popular activities are: creative story writing, reading with a partner, "would you rather" writing, using venn diagrams to compare characters, and our word wall! We are also still continuing to work on our Reading Response Journals. This week is week 5. On Tuesday, we did a few fun fall/halloween activities! As a class, we read "The Spider and the Fly", which was a poem originally written in 1829, but was republished with newer artwork in 2012. The students were then able to sketch in their Visual Journals any type of fall or Halloween inspired image. Many students took inspiration right from the poem we read. We practiced shading, and also looked at a few other artists and how they used shading to make a photo look realistic! Both 4A and 4C have been reading the final chapters of Silverwing, and what an ending it was! Be sure to talk at home about the novel! Man students have signed out other books in the Silverwing series from our Learning Commons! This week we've been working to finish our infographics and get them ready for presentations! On Monday, students worked to put any finishing touches on their projects. On Wednesday, students worked with another group to edit each other's infographics. We used a checklist to make sure that everything was included! Thursday, students will have a chance to make any changes to their project before we send them off to print! This week we are also talking about how to present a project to the class, and what key things they should do! Students will help to brainstorm and create the presentation rubric. Then, students will have a chance to practice/prepare before we present later next week. I'm really looking forward to seeing the final infographics and the presentations! Below are a few images from the editing process. As a quick note, photos went home today, and if you are ordering any, they are due back on November 8th. Book orders will be placed by Ms. Clark tomorrow.
Have a great week, and hope to see you all at parent teacher conferences soon! Ms. Clark Welcome to the 8th week of grade 4 at NCS! Lots of things are happening here in grade 4 humanities at Nose Creek School this week! Author Kenneth Oppel came to visit us on Tuesday, and was able to speak with us about why he wrote Silverwing, and a little bit about the book! He explained that he was very inspired by bats and wanted to write a story about a bat's journey, focusing on how they use "echo vision" to help guide them and help them see! He said that he did lots of research about bats, and had a great time writing the whole series! Students were also able to ask him several questions after the presentation. Here is a link to the silverwing website, where you will be able to learn more about the characters, the journey, the echo map and more! Take a look: Literacy Centers
Students are continuing to complete several literacy center activities each week. Some of the centers have partner or group work, and some centers have a more individual focus. Each student gets to work at a center for 2 days before switching to a new center. Students have been working on a variety of tasks including: writing letters, creative writing, spelling activities, creating a classroom word wall and dictionary, practicing their reading with partners/readers theater, and responding to things that they've read. Students have been focused and working well with their classmates at centers so far! Keep up the good work 4A and 4C! This is just a reminder for students to complete their Reading Response Journals (RRJs) by their due date. There is a link on the right hand side about due dates! I can definitely help anyone if needed! Brief summary of the 3 RRJ questions (the information is glued in the front of the books) 1) summary of what you've been reading 2) a strategy that helped you while you read 3) theres a list of sentence starters thats glued in your book for question 3 - you need to pick one and finish the sentence! Alberta Regions Infographic Project Students continue to work on their infographic project. Last week, students were able to research several topics about their specific region. Now that they've gathered all kinds of facts and information (from animals to cities to weather in their region) they are able to start the fun design process part! Students are being introduced to the app called "easel.ly" which allow them to use templates (or start from scratch) to make their infographic. We've talked about how we need to use pictures, words, graphics, and be aware of the design when creating. We've been lucky to have Ms. Asis (another teacher at NCS) come in and work with us and help us learn all about the program! The infographics will be completed at school in class. Our goal is to complete these infographics in the next week, and then we will begin to talk about presentation skills, and get ready to show what we know! Hope everyone has been enjoying the lovely fall weather this week! Ms. Clark Welcome to the 7th week of Grade 4 at NCS! This is another short but busy week here in 4A and 4C humanities! Our Daily 5 Literacy Program is in full swing now, with 20 minutes of "stamina" (silent, uninterrupted) reading, as well as working at our literacy centers. The first day to work at the literacy centers was Tuesday, and they went well! Students have the independence to choose any activity at their center that day! They will work at a center for 2 days in a row before they switch to another center. Reading Response Journals Students have been working on their first few weeks of their RRJs. They are each due once a week (see buttons on the righthand side for due dates). They are getting feedback each week after they hand them in! Students are expected to have their RRJ complete on the day it's due. There are 3 questions they must complete, and all instructions are glued into their booklets. Silverwing In flex time, both 4A and 4C have been reading the novel, Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel. He is coming in for an author visit on October 24th! Both classes are well underway in our books, and students should be able to share lots of details at home about their favourite parts and predictions of what might happen next! This week students have also been focusing mainly on the research component of their Alberta Regions Infographic Project. They have been working with their partners to gather lots of information about their region! The students helped to create a list of things that should be included on their infographic. We've been discussing how to research effectively, and how to use google to find accurate and helpful websites. We've been trying to search using key words, making sure our research is for Alberta regions, and making sure to look at 3 (or more) websites. Below you will find a link to some key information and the rubric for the project. Students also helped to create this! This project is an in-class project, but students will be able to share their work with you once it's complete! Next week we'll be starting to create our infographics! Don't forget that Picture Day is tomorrow, October 19th! Have a wonderful week, Ms. Clark Welcome to week 6 of grade 4 at NCS!
This was a short but busy week in grade 4 humanities! We worked mainly on 3 different things this week in class. This week students completed their first humanities quiz on mapping and the 6 Alberta regions. We brainstormed ways to study beforehand and came up with quite a list including: making cue cards, re-reading notes, looking at online resources, quizzing a partner, and more! Students were able to try out a technique at school and give a new study method a shot! The quiz was on Wednesday, October 11th. We're continuing to work on our literacy program with 20 minutes of silent reading and students worked on their Reading Response Journals (week 2 is due this week). We also continued to explore the various literacy centers! All literacy centers will begin next week, and will give students a variety of to work on! They will rotate to each station once a week and there are many activities in each center. Sometimes literacy games will be posted to the blog, so stay tuned! The Literacy Centers are: -Working on Writing -Partner Reading -Response to Reading (students can work on their RRJs in this center) -Work Work -Literacy Games (Fridays only) The last big item that we've started this week is our Alberta Regions Project! The students were just introduced to this today, and have been helping to co-create what exactly they should research in order to become an expert about their region. They will complete their research and then work on an infographic to share their information and then present it to the class! Once we've created all of the expectations together as a class, I will post a link to the project here on the blog. This project is a group project and will be completed in class. Please note: there is a PD day on Monday, and Picture Day is on October 19th. Happy Thursday! Ms. Clark Welcome to week 5 of grade 4 at NCS! This week students have been getting started with our Literacy Centers! They've had a chance to create their book bins which hold: their reading materials, Learning Commons Cards, their Literacy Center Duotangs and Reading Response Journals (RRJs). Reading Response Journals will be due for each student once a week. Each student was able to pick their day to hand it in, and they will have it recorded in their Agenda. On the right hand side, you can also check due dates for RRJs. They will have to answer three questions in their Reading Response Journals (RRJ), and I will mark it and hand it back to them the next day! They've had a chance to practice how to do an RRJ entry and seen examples of previous Reading Response Journals. They will be given some class time each week to work on this, but may bring it home if it is not complete! Below you will find the rubric and expectations. These are also glued into their RRJ booklets. Reading Response Journals will begin next week after the Thanksgiving Break!
Students have also been reviewing their mapping skills, and learning about the 6 natural regions of Alberta; we will have a small quiz next Wednesday, October 11th. A small study guide has been attached in student's duotangs, and they can bring them home to review! Lots is going on right now in humanities, but students are settling into our routines and we're looking forward to a wonderful October! Ms. Clark Welcome to week 4 in Grade 4 at Nose Creek School!
This week has been a busy one at NCS! Students are continuing to settle into their new routines here at school. This week students have worked to increase their independent reading (also called "stamina reading") to 20 minutes! Great job guys, you've all worked so hard to reach our goal! We've also been working on getting used to logging into computers and working with Google Docs to type and edit our stories. It's important for students to memorize their student number, their password and their school email, as this makes logging on and getting started with work much quicker. We'll be exploring a little bit more about Alberta's regions this week as well! A few notes/important items: -Reading logs started this week - students should record how long they read for, and bring it to a parent/guardian to initial. They can read anything they enjoy - novels, articles, recipes, graphic novels, short stories, etc. -Please send in signed locker agreement forms if you have not yet done so. -Book orders due to Ms. Clark by Thursday, September 28th (Cheques written to Scholastic Canada along with the order form, or Parent Pay online at Scholastic's website - follow the instructions to pay online, and then send your child to school with the form so I can place their order). -A few students have signed up for Grade 4 Choir, and notes went home yesterday for parents/guardians to sign. Don't forget to bring those back by Friday, September 29th. It was great to meet so many parents/guardians/family members last week at Meet the Teacher Night last Thursday. Hope everyone has a wonderful week and don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions! Thanks! - Ms. Clark |
AuthorGrade four Humanities teacher. Archives
June 2018
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