Last two weeks of September

We have been training for the Terry Fox race this last week. Running is part of the Grade 4 curriculum. We play different games like Streets and Avenues and run relay races. 

 Terry Fox Assembly and Run. It was a day to reflect on the human willpower, resilience and solidarity. 

In Math, the students are working on a project were they have to design an obstacle course. They were given component that everyone must have in their courses plus they have to create at least 8 of their own. Then they calculate Area and Perimeter. 

This Friday the students learned that Miguel de Cervantes was born on September 29 too but in 1547. The author of Don Quixote, he is considered the most important writer in the Spanish Language. Cervantes died on April 22, 1516, a few hours before the most influential writer and playwright in the English language: William Shakespeare. 

In Spanish grammar the students are conjugating verbs. This time is the verb ir (go)

Across the curriculum, the students are learning about story starters. One of the ways to start and story and hook the reader since the beginning is with an action, which of course requires the use of verbs. 

In English Language Arts the students are beginning to work on adding elaborative detail in their writing.  Elaborative detail is what brings life to the narrative.  It allows the reader to experience the story world through their five senses of the main character and adds richness and substance to the writing.  Once students learn how to generate elaborative detail their writing improves dramatically.  This will be supplemented by identifying story critical characters, settings and objects during guided reading.  They will also look for specific rather than general details. We will also be learning how to recognize when authors elaborate on what feelings look like in characters during guided reading.

 In Social Studies the kids have been researching the different regions of Alberta using the “Zooming in on Alberta” website.  The kids researched the landforms, animals, plants and water in each region.  This week the kids will be writing a persuasive paragraph explaining why the region they researched is a great place to visit.

In Science the kids are working on constructing devices that use wheel and axles and demonstrate and describe their use in model vehicles.  This week the kids are making paper wagons and experimenting with the best placement of the axle on their wagons.  These wagons will be used for later activities when we try to make them move. 

In Health the students are learning about Positive Leadership.  We have been discussing what the qualities of a good leader is, and how a grade 4 student can set a positive example at Eugene Coste school.  These include; not running in the hallway, being quiet in the hallway, showing respect in the lunchroom and the playground, as well as positive ways to remind other kids of the expectations at Eugene Coste School. We have been using a dramatic approach to act out positive examples of leadership as well as poor examples of leadership. 

First Two Weeks

Wow, looks like we made it through the first two weeks. We've been having fun with the different school subjects. 

In Math, the students reviewed previously learned 2D shapes in geometry while at the same time were introduced to parallel and perpendicular lines, as well as acute, straight and obtuse angles. They were exited to write on the tables, that doesn't happen every day!

Testing what they learn about angles.

We are introducing the concept of Area. First, we reviewed the Perimeter of the carpet, which they knew from last year. 

Then we proceeded to introduce Area, in which they have to use their addition and multiplication skills. 

We are going to start a project in which the students will make an obstacle course following instructions on the area and perimeter of their obstacles. More on that in the next blog. 

This year the approach to Art is a bit different. The students will produce more refined, realistic works. We are experimenting with bilateral symmetry and self portraits. The self portraits themselves will be uploaded to the extent that they don't completely show the students face, so they will be somewhat blurred to be shown. In the meantime we are presenting them in Spanish, talking about the things that make us unique. 

Making a Word Splash about how they perceive themselves as a group.

Some of their favorite words in Spanish: merienda=snack, almuerzo=lunch, hambre=hunger, hablamos= we speak, inteligente=intelligent, arte=art, comica=funny, loco=silly, leer=read, matematicas=math, amigos=friends, jugamos=we play, recreo=recess, ciencias=science...

Presenting our self-portraits in Spanish

In Social Studies the students will be learning about Alberta this year. This week we learned that not all of the land in Alberta looks the same.  There are 6 different regions that make up Alberta. The kids were tasked to build a map of Alberta identifying the 6 regions of Alberta using Lego.  In the coming week,  the students will be learning about what Alberta looked like millions of years ago,  and what kind of animals lived   landscape and environment of pre-historic Alberta. 

In Science we spent the week constructing "Drink Can Dragsters". The kids used team work to build these Dragsters with a paper clip; pencil crayon, bead, cardboard disc, rubber band, toothpick, one can with hole punched in the bottom. We will discuss how they work, and then the students will be testing them to see which ones go the furthest; straightest  and fastest.  

In English Language Arts we are continuing our novel study of "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes." The kids have been practicing "readers theatre" during guided reading of this novel.  "Readers Theatre" is where a student is assigned to speak for a character such as Sadako, while another group member reads for the "narrator", and another voices Chizuko (Sadako's best friend).  The kids have enjoyed practicing reading with expression,  and learning where and when to stop during their "speaking parts." 

In Health we have been learning about Sharing circles and how they are an essential part of the oral tradition of Aboriginal communities. The Traditional Talking Stick is used in these circles when meetings take place. A Talking Stick is a very special tool that gives us the courage to speak the truth and the power to speak from the heart. It is a symbol of respect for the thought, stories, and individual histories of each member participating in a circle. When a person is holding the item in a sharing circle, they speak from the heart without interruption. Other people in the circle respectfully listen to the speaker and take in their message. Everyone in the circle gets a chance to hold the Talking Stick and share their thoughts and feelings. If the receiver chooses not to speak, he or she respectfully hands it to the next person until the item has been passed to everyone participating. 

Thats it for this blog post. Im looking forward to a great week!