November 29, 2019

Yesterday we were visited by our grade 8 buddies from RT Alderman.  They came to give students feedback on their initial designs for their Science device.  Next week Grade 4 students will begin to build their devices that use simple machines.  Please ask your child what materials they would like to gather at home to make their creation. 

Today was our final round for Follow Your Passion.  We will resume FYP in the new year.

Save the Date!  Grade 4s will be sharing their devices at our Celebration of Learning on December 13th.  More information will follow next week. 

Reminder that food bank donations can be dropped off in the large box near the office. 

 

 

November 27, 2019

We were busy writers this morning.  We reviewed the parts of a paragraph, learned about transition words and highlighted words from a list that we felt we could use in our writing.

This afternoon we focused our time on our simple machine projects.  We began by giving and receiving feedback about our specific questions.  We then chose a question to focus on for our designs.  Before designing we looked at examples of journal entries by famous inventors.  We then sketched simple designs and included labels and noted which simple machine the design would need.  Tomorrow our RT Alderman buddies will join us to give us feedback on our designs and help us to make some decisions before we begin building next week. 

Reminder:  Maple Ridge is collecting food for the Food Bank.  Donations can be placed in the box outside of the office.  Our goal is to fill the box by the end of the week.

 

November 26, 2019

It's been a busy Tuesday in room 5. 

This morning:

• We learned a new game called "Colour Tag" in Gym
• Students learned about the "hamburger" plan for paragraph writing and began planning their first paragraph about their favorite season

This afternoon:

• We play some games in Math that focused on place value
• We shared our big question for our simple machine devices and then narrowed our question to 3 more specific questions

Tomorrow students will give and get feedback around their specific questions and begin drawing their designs.

Reminder that it is Indigo Book Night on 130th Ave tonight (see email from Mr. Emery)

Grade 4 Book Lists

Thank you for attending conferences.  Many of you asked about books your child might enjoy reading.  I have found a few websites that recommend some titles for grade 4 students.

https://www.greatschools.org/gk/book-lists/favorite-books-for-fourth-graders/

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/4th-grade-reading-list

https://www.weareteachers.com/4th-grade-books/

Have a look through the list and see if anything catches your eye.  Your child is welcome to write the title down and see if we have it in our school library or they can always check for it at the Calgary Public library as well. 

Happy reading! 📖

“I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers, to become comfortable with a book, not daunted. Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage.” – Roald Dahl

November 20, 2019

Today we continued our work with levers.  We worked on 2 different stations.  In one station we looked at examples of real-life levers, drew them and labeled the load, force and fulcrum.  At the other station we researched and built catapults using popsicle sticks to see how far we could send a pom pom across the room.  We also identified the parts of a lever in our catapults.

Tomorrow is a half day and no school on Friday.  See you at parent/teacher conferences

November 18, 2019

Grade 4s have been looking at what is needed to write a really great sentence.  We looked at some examples of student work and tried to identify what they needed to make the sentences clearer or more detailed.  Next we will apply this information to our own writing as we create quiz questions about the regions of Alberta.

Reminder:  Student learning conversations will be Thursday evening and Friday.  If you are unable to attend but would still like to connect with me please let me know and we can set up a phone interview at a different time 📞

November 15, 2019

Today was our 2nd Follow Your Passion Friday.  Ask me what I learned in my session today.  For instance, if I went to drawing, ask me to demonstrate what I did.  We also read with our grade 2 buddies.  In Science, we started our exploration of gears and how they work.  We worked in small groups and will rotate through different tasks to learn all about gears.

Each of us is bringing home information about our Indigo Book Night.  Please see my notice. 

 

 

November 13, 2019

Yesterday was our trip to Telus Spark. ❇  On our field study:

• we learned what a cam is and what it does
• we got to make our own cam with different types of materials and tried to design it so it would move up, down or sideways
• we learned that different shapes can allow our designs to move in different ways
• we got to see the Body World's animal exhibit
• we got time to explore the other exhibits with our groups

Today we had a guest speaker that talked about gears on a mountain bike and how the different gears allow the rider to move at different speeds and require different amounts of work (effort).  We tried a new Number Talk in Math where we tried to figure out why each number from a set of 4 did not belong.  Ask me about it.  Finally, we rotated to the next task in our wheels and rollers exploration.  Ask me about the task my group completed today.  🎡

Notes:  Some students requested that the deadline for book orders be extended.  If you would like to place an order please do so tonight (online) or send your order with your child tomorrow 📚

Several students in our room have overdue books.  Please remind your child to return their library books this week if they are finished with them or renew them if they would like more time to enjoy the book.  

Nov. 7, 2019

Grade 4's had a bit of a mixed up day today...

• we began our day with a dress rehearsal for the Remembrance Day ceremony
• we talked about what to do during a lockdown and then had a practice lockdown
• we began finding and sharing evidence with Mrs. Bowers that we are working on our writing goals intentionally
• we started our wheels and rollers tasks in small groups (we will continue this with new tasks for each group next week)

Ask me what task I worked on with my group and what I learned.

Tomorrow is Follow Your Passion.  It is also our Remembrance Day ceremony.  We will be given a poppy to wear at school tomorrow. 

Reminders:  Book orders are due next week (Wednesday, Nov. 13th) and can be returned to Mrs. Bowers or completed online.

Our Telus Spark field study is on Tuesday, Nov. 12th

Nov. 4th Reminders

Parents,

  Room 5 students will be bringing home their patterns assessment today.  They have received feedback about their work and are invited to make any corrections, changes or improvements at home if needed.  Please initial the assessment and send it back tomorrow so that I know it has been shared with you. 

  Telus Spark off-site forms are now due.  Please remember to speak with your child about their comfort level when viewing the Body Worlds exhibit (animals).  If they are uncomfortable they will spend that time with me until their group finishes at the exhibit. 

  Thank you for your support in helping your child complete their plant life cycle artistic representation at home.  Those are due now so if any final touches remained at home please remind your child to return it tomorrow.

  Stay warm!

Mrs. Bowers