November 25th - 28th

What did students do this week?

In small reading groups, students continued to read articles sharing people's perspectives on fossils in the past. This week's article is from the 1940s. Students compared and contrasted perspectives from this time period to the last article they read from the 1880s.

As a class, we read the story The Barnabus Project by The Fan Brothers. Students thought about what the message in this story might be. They thought of thoughtful messages, such as "nothing is impossible, be yourself," and "our differences make us unique." Then, students drew their own Imperfectly Perfect Pets. As a class, we brainstormed descriptive words, using our senses (sensory details) and created a list. Students used their own ideas and description from the list to complete their drawings. Next week, they will create their Imperfectly Perfect Pet and use sensory details to write about it. The students are so excited about this task! 

In math, students continued their work with decimal numbers. They "scooted" around the room to solve math riddles, involving decimal numbers. Then, they wrote their own riddles that a partner tried to solve!

English Language Arts Learning Outcomes  (I can...)

• I can use sensory detail to add interest to my work.
• I can develop creative expression through different tools.

Mathematics Learning Outcomes  (I can...)

• I can understand place value, including tenths and hundredths.
• I can determine the value of each digit in a number, including tenths and hundredths.
• I can express numbers in different ways (through riddles this week!)

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• What did you learn about people's perspectives about fossils in the 1940s? How is this similar and different to people's perspectives in the 1880s?
• Tell me about your Perfectly Imperfect Pets. Which one will be your final one? What sensory details (descriptive words) would you use to describe it?
• Show me how you write a math riddle!

My Imperfectly Perfect Pet Photos

Math Riddles Photos

November 18th - 22nd

What did students do this week?

In small reading groups, students read an article from the past. They read this article to gain insight into people's perspectives in the 1880s about fossils. As we know, Alberta's unique fossil heritage is important to our province's character, so students began studying about it. They will continue reading about how perspectives on fossils changed over time.

In writing, students used everything they have learned about procedural writing to write a final piece. They chose a topic that they feel like an expert in and wrote detailed steps about how to do this. Their ideas ranged from how to make a magical yet, to how to save a puck in hockey, to how to do a back walk over. The students went through the writing process, including brainstorming ideas, writing, editing, revising, assessing, and publishing. These will be sent home in students "My Work Folder" next week so you will have a chance to read them!

In math, students worked on reading and representing decimal numbers to the hundredths. Students worked with decimals in standard form, number lines, fractions, and images. 

In science, the grade fours continued their learning around waste. They also learned about composting and how this is managed in Calgary. Of course, they also continued their investigation of food decomposition! They were quite surprised at how quickly their food is decomposing!

In social studies, as mentioned, students learned about Alberta's fossil heritage. This is an interesting topic as it relates to the learning they did in grade three, including their field trip to The Royal Tyrell Museum. The students were very surprised to learn about the perspective people had around fossils about 150 years ago.

Social Studies Learning Outcomes  (I can...)

• I can appreciate elements related to paleontology in Alberta
• I can appreciate how Alberta's fossil history impacts our province's unique identity.

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• What did you learn about people's perspectives about fossils in the 1880s?
• What did you write about for your final piece of procedural writing? Why did you choose that topic?
• What is bigger...a tenth or hundredth? How could you represent the number 0.67? How would you read the number 35.29?

Photos

November 14th - 15th

I hope you all had a wonderful break. It was great to be back together as a class after some time away.

What did students do this week?

The students continued on with their learning in all the different subjects. We reviewed learning outcomes and continued on to new ones. 

English Language Arts and Literature Learning Outcomes  (I can...)

• I can read and show comprehension of texts. 
• I can make personal connections to texts.

• I can understand that procedural writing is organized to share information.
• I can logically order my ideas, including a topic and concluding sentence.

Mathematics Learning Outcomes (I can...)

• I can make decisions to problem solve.
• I can recognize that decimal numbers can be represented in different ways. 

Social Studies Learning Outcomes (I can...)

• I can recognize how Alberta's provincial parks and the national parks in Alberta are important to keeping Alberta's natural environment.

Science Learning Outcomes (I can...)

• I can discuss local waste management programs.
• I can use scientific methods to do a fair and reliable experiment.

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• What is one thing you read about Alberta's provincial and national parks?
• What did you choose to write your final piece of procedural writing about?
• What are the steps you followed to solve the "Saving Up" math problem?
• Tell me all about the decomposition experiment you are doing!
• Why do you think Alberta's provincial parks are important?

Reading Response Photos

Procedural Writing Photos

Math Problem Solving Photos

Social Studies Photos

Science Experiment Photos