Welcome to the 23rd week of grade 4 at NCS! My apologies for the post last week -- I'm not sure what happened, but it appears as if it only posted the title, not any of the content. I will re-type that post for you to catch up on. Sorry again! On Monday, students wrapped up our Fossils unit and we began our unit "The Stories, Histories, and Peoples of Alberta." We've begun to learn about the First Nations that inhabited the 6 Natural Regions of Alberta. We've done some readings, heard accounts of First Nations members, had class discussions, looked at maps and more! Students have been able to share prior knowledge and make connections to new information that they have learned. We've started to learn about what life was like for First Nations communities, and how they were able to survive Alberta's climate and regions. We've learned about the buffalo, other food sources, shelters, and more! Today, students started a "mind map" or web, about key facts that they have learned so far. This is yet another way that students can record and remember their information, in a creative, organized and individual way. We will continue to use these mind maps/webs throughout this unit! See below for a few examples of the students mind maps/webs. We will continue to discuss and learn about the First Nations communities found in Alberta, and do a variety of activities over the next few weeks (including art, writing, researching, exploring perspectives, some small quizzes, etc). Students seem quiet engaged and are sharing lots of things that they know! Many students have been participating frequently this week! We've continued to read for 20 minutes daily, but we've started a new daily activity (in place of Literacy Centers) -- Creative Writing! In this activity, students have been getting a variety of prompts (inspired by a few different books that I have). We share the story starters/prompts, and then put a timer on for students to work on their writing -- we are aiming to write for 20 minutes (uninterrupted). Then, students have had the chance to share their writing/stories with the class (usually about 4 students per class are able to share). Students have been very excited to share their creative writing with the class, and have seemed to really enjoy this daily activity (many students have asked to continue this for more weeks)! Below you will see some photos of (example) starters/ prompts and student work! Important information:
-Next week we'll be starting weekly spelling practice (as Literacy Centers usually worked on spelling activities) - this will occur in flex - students can bring home their spelling pages for further practice as needed! -RRJ's will be starting up again next week-- Week 17 -Scholastic Book Orders - will go home next week -Calgary Hitmen field trip on Tuesday. Please Bring a lunch, water bottle, and anything else that you may need for the day -Anti-Bullying activities happening at school next week (The Calgary Hitmen game being one part of it) -- please check the main grade 4 blog page for more info Have a great week! -Ms. Clark
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AuthorGrade four Humanities teacher. Archives
June 2018
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