0 Comments
Math – Students wrapped up the Patterning unit this week by completing several individual/small group activities and challenges - both in class and online in Prodigy. (See the pictures posted below of students' counters/toothpick patterns. There were some really clever ones!) I am pleased with students' work to date, as most have mastered the various skills and concepts included in this unit. 4E and 4F students completed a short Patterning Assessment on Thursday/Friday this week, which I will evaluate and return to students in the coming days. Next up: Algebra! Students are always encouraged to log into Prodigy at home in their spare time to brush up on their math skills and understanding of concepts. The Problem of the Week posted below is also a wonderful challenge for students to tackle in addition to Prodigy. Students would benefit greatly from completing the problem at home and submitting it to me for review and feedback.
Estimation Station – A shout out to M.S. in 4F for an amazing estimate this week! We will look forward to another Estimation Station challenge in class next week. Science – Students finished up the Waste and Our World unit on Monday, as we dumped out our mini landfills to make our final observations and conclusions about the biodegradability of various waste items. The take-home unit test was also due for 4E and 4F students on Monday, and I have been busy reviewing and evaluating students' understanding. All in all, this was an absolutely fantastic unit! I am certain the many discussions and topics covered will stick and continue to develop for students in the future. 4E and 4F students began our new unit on “Light and Shadows” on Tuesday. In this unit, students will learn about light by studying its use and effect on various things within the environment. We watched Bill Nye's “Light and Color” video, which introduced some of the key vocabulary and concepts we will be studying in the coming weeks. Through the video, students learned how we see and perceive colours, and also how white light contains the spectrum of colors. An example described in the video was, the reason we see a carrot is orange is because when light hits the carrot all colours are absorbed except orange which is reflected to our eyes. Students also learned that white reflects all colours, and black absorbs all colours and converts the energy to heat. Students received a glossary of the key vocabulary for our new unit which should be reviewed at home regularly. The glossary is currently stored in students' duotangs. Throughout the unit, I will also be posting various websites for students to explore at home... stay tuned to this blog! Be sure to check out the "Laser Mazes" photos from Thursday/Friday's Light and Shadows introductory task (posted below). 4E and 4F students absolutely loved this challenge, and are already beginning to understand and articulate the following terms: transparent, translucent, opaque, reflection, and refraction. Here is a link which outlines the task: Laser Mazes...This is the rubric that students were evaluated on for the Laser Mazes task: Flex – 4F students finished up their snowmen sketches on Monday. The snowmen sketches are now nicely decorating one of our classroom bulletin boards! Many students continue to draw and follow the directions they learned in the video for this snowman activity in their free time, which shows me they enjoyed it! We will look forward to more guided drawing activities in Flex in the future.
We also dove back into the Silverwing novel study during Flex time this week. I believe we are coming up on the halfway point of the novel now and students seem to be keen to listen to the story each day and discuss their predictions and understanding of events. Miscellaneous – 4E and 4F students have been asked to bring in a standard-sized shoebox for an upcoming independent Science project. The shoeboxes need to be in my classroom by this coming Friday, December 1... please and thank you! If students ordered a book or any other item at the Book Fair last week, please see Ms. Bennett in the Learning Commons as your item has most likely arrived and waiting to be picked up! Students are reminded to return or renew any overdue library books to Ms. Bennett in the Learning Commons. I have a long list of students in 4F with overdue books and will check in with you early next week to ensure they are returned/renewed! Ski/Snowboard Day is on December 5th for all grade four students. Students need to ensure they dress for the weather that day and have everything they need to keep warm - snow pants and jacket, warm clothes/layers, thick socks, insulated gloves/mitts, hat, etc. Ski/Snowboard Day will be a very exciting time for everyone! I hope you are enjoying this chinook as much as I am... see you next week, 4E and 4F students! - Mrs. Ross Math – Students continued their learning in our Patterning unit this week. They worked independently, with a partner, and in small groups to complete various activities and challenges associated with extending both shape and number patterns. Many 4E and 4F students will have homework this weekend, as they need to complete the "In and Out Boxes" and "Input and Output Tables" tasks for Monday's Math class. Students will exchange their "Now try this" table with a partner during Monday's class time. (Please refer to the images posted below.) Students are always encouraged to log into Prodigy at home in their spare time to brush up on their math skills and understanding of concepts. The Problem of the Week posted below is also a wonderful challenge for students to tackle in addition to Prodigy. Thank you and a job well done to all my students who submitted answers for last week's Problem of the Week. Keep up the great work! This week's problem is a tricky one... read and work carefully!
Estimation Station – There were 162 black buttons in the Estimation Station jar this week. Congratulations to N.W. in 4E who estimated this number right on the nose! WOWZA! Science – The Waste and Our World Home Project grading rubrics were sent home with students on Monday. Parents were asked to sign the notice in students' agendas regarding this. Students have been busy working on the final task for the Waste and Our World unit. They were asked to come to school with an idea in mind on Monday for the Product Repacking Re-Design, which will go into their Visual Journals. I will post some photos from this task assignment next week, as they are still a work in progress! Students were given a take-home test for the Waste and Our World unit on Monday. It is due for evaluation on Monday, November 20. Students need to ensure their answers are written in complete and detailed sentences, with correct spelling. (Please refer to the images posted below. Students are also permitted to type their answers in a word document and submit via email or hardcopy on or before Monday.) Flex – Students in 4F enjoyed another guided drawing lesson via Art Hub. They were able to listen and follow the video instructions to sketch beautiful wintry snowmen. We will put a few finishing touches on our sketches next week and look forward to decorating our classroom bulletin board with them!
Miscellaneous – Ski Day field trip forms were sent home with grade four students on Monday. The forms/money need to be returned on Monday to students' homeroom teachers! So far, I have 6/27 Ski Day forms for 4F students. "Hats off for Mental Health" day is on Thursday this week. If students would like to wear their hat in the building for the entire day, the cost to participate is $1. All proceeds collected will go to NCS's Movember fundraiser! Click the link below for more details: ca.movember.com/team/2306199?utm_medium=share&utm_source=dynamic&utm_campaign=copy-clipboard A reminder that the school is closed for classes on Thursday and Friday this week, as we have Parent/Student/Teacher interviews scheduled in the main gym. Hope to see you there! Enjoy your weekend... stay warm! - Mrs. Ross Math – In Math class, students continued their learning in the Patterns unit. They explored various increasing (growing) and decreasing (shrinking) number patterns, and were even able to create their own unique number patterns. Students will continue to study patterns next week and can look forward to working with a partner to complete two BIG challenges! Students are always encouraged to log into Prodigy at home in their spare time to brush up on their math skills and understanding of concepts. The Problem of the Week posted below is also a wonderful challenge for students to tackle in addition to Prodigy. Good luck!
Estimation Station – There were 196 grains of rice in the Estimation Station jar this week. Congratulations to B.S. in 4F who estimated 190. Way to go! Science – What a wonderful week of learning in Science! I really enjoyed seeing all the students' Waste and Our World Home Projects, as well as listening to their presentations in class. I was particularly impressed with the students' creativity and new found uses for waste! Bravo 4E and 4F students! I have posted photos of the students' projects below. We will continue our studies in the Waste and Our World unit for the next three classes, as students have one final task to complete for the unit. I will be sending a take-home test with students on Monday, which will be due the following Monday, November 20. Students can use their duotang notes to complete the test, and would also benefit from reflecting on our everyday lessons, activities and discussions from the unit. Students have been asked to come to school on Monday with an idea in mind for a "Product Packaging Redesign" in Science. This will be our final task for the Waste and Our World unit, and students will complete the task in class. Here is a link to our task via Prezi: 4E and 4F's Waste and Our World Projects:Flex – Much of our Flex time this week was spent sharing the Waste and Our World projects. Students enjoyed a Gallery Walk on Wednesday, which allowed them to share their projects and ideas with their peers, and to view all the other students' projects as well. It certainly was a wonderful celebration of learning!
Miscellaneous – Please keep your eyes open for Ski Day permission forms next week! They will be sent home on Monday and students will have one week to return the form and money to secure their spot for the trip. We are hoping that all grade 4 students will attend the trip! Our Ski Day is on Tuesday, December 5 and the cost for the trip is $30. This price covers the entire ski day (including rentals/lessons) and our First Student Charter buses. All details will be sent home in a letter/permission form on Monday! I wanted to take some time to commend all the students who were involved in the Remembrance Day Services at school today. I was completely moved by your beautiful voices, poems, and performances. I encourage all families to take some time to reflect and remember tomorrow. I have posted a link to a website below that outlines 30+ ways to observe Remembrance Day in Calgary this year. - Mrs. Ross Math – Students wrapped up the Estimating and Rounding unit with a fun Smarties activity on Monday. They enjoyed estimating, counting and rounding the number of Smarties they received in their boxes, but I think the most memorable part was actually eating the Smarties in class! This short Smarties task was collected and evaluated. Most students performed very well on it! 4E and 4F students also began to learn about patterns in charts. They observed and noted various pattern rules and positions in hundred charts, and also extended patterns following set rules. We will continue to explore these concepts next week in class. Students are encouraged to work in Prodigy over the weekend, as there are many valuable patterns problems for the students to explore and solve. If you are looking for an alternate challenge for your child, please see the Problem of the Week posted below. This problem is intended for grade 3/4 students...
Estimation Station – There were 166 circles on the small piece of Lego in our Estimation Station jar this week. Congratulations to J.M. for coming closest to that number with an estimate of 140! Well done! Science – Students finished up their Hazardous Waste Visual Journal entries from last week (see photo above) and also learned about Calgary's composting program. Be sure to ask your student what belongs in your green bin! Here is one of the composting videos we viewed in class: 4E and 4F students' Waste and Our World Home Projects are due on Monday! Please ensure your child comes to school with their project, and completed Question Sheet and Logbook. Students should also be prepared to present their project to their peers and myself. We discussed the topics students need to include in their presentations and also what students SHOULD do while presenting. Please see the image below for more details. Flex – 4F students continued to listen to the audio version of Silverwing this week. They used playdoh to create 2D/3D character sculptures and enjoyed taking a "gallery walk" around the classroom to see all the sculptures Here are a few of 4F's bat creations... Miscellaneous – The frigid winter weather has arrived! Here are a few tips to help keep us safe and warm as possible:
Layer Up: The best way to dress for winter is to wear layers. This gives you flexibility to add or remove layers, depending on the weather and your activity. In general, the three main layers are wicking, insulating and weather protection: - Wicking layer: This is the layer worn next to your skin, usually consisting of long underwear. - Insulating layer: This middle layer includes sweaters, sweatshirts, vests and pullovers. The purpose of this layer is to keep heat in and cold out, which is accomplished by trapping air between the fibers. - Protection layer: The exterior layer serves as your guard against the elements of winter. It should repel water from snow, sleet or rain and block the wind, while also letting perspiration evaporate. Headwear: Up to 60 percent of your body's heat can escape from an uncovered head, so wearing a hat or headband is essential when it's cold. (Tip: If you wear a hat, you may be able to wear one less layer on your body.) There are thousands of styles of hats and headbands, usually made from fleece or wool. Many have non-itch liners. A fleece neck gaiter (like a collar) or face mask is a must on cold days. Sunglasses and goggles: Sunglasses do much more than make you look cool. They also protect your eyes from damaging solar radiation. Snow, or any other reflective surface, makes ultraviolet (UV) rays stronger. Gloves and mittens: Look for gloves and mittens that use waterproof, breathable fabrics. Mittens, in general, are warmer than gloves, but offer you less dexterity. Consider the type of activity you'll be doing. Socks: One pair of light-weight or medium-weight socks works best. Socks are made from a variety of materials, including polyester, silk, wool and nylon. Some socks have wicking properties similar to long underwear, meaning your feet will stay dry and comfortable. It would be beneficial for you to send a spare pair of socks for your child to keep in their backpack throughout the winter months! Stay warm and enjoy your weekend... don't forget to turn your clocks back on Sunday! - Mrs. Ross |
Mrs. Ross[email protected] Archives
June 2018
|