Week of March 2-6:
MATH:
We began a new unit this week; division. Students learned some new terms such as dividend, divisor and quotient. Ask your child what these terms mean and how they can use them to double check their answers. Students worked on finding related multiplication facts to go with the division equation they were given. Ask your child to give you an example relating two division and two multiplication equations.
LA:
Students have learned a new thinking routine: Random Story Transitions. The purpose of this thinking routine is to encourage students to work on their skills related to storytelling, parts of a story and transition words. Ask your child some new ways their learned to add interesting transitions to their stories. Students are also learning about how to create a fridge door comic as a means to organize their stories into beginning, middle, end. Ask your child what a fridge door comic is and how this graphic organizer helps them with their writing.
SCIENCE:
We have started a new unit: Light and Shadow. Students have learned the following terms; light, shadow, luminous, concave, convex, fluorescent, incandescent, filament, opaque, transparent, translucent. Ask your child what these terms mean. Ask them who invented the light bulb.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
March is Francophone Heritage month in Canada. Students have started to learn about the voyageurs and the Courier de Bois and their role in the fur trade. Ask your child what they learned from the National Film Board of Canada movie we watched and discussed. Ask your child why French was the first language spoken in Alberta.
WELLNESS:
Students explored SEL: Social Emotional Learning this week through the use of emotion cards. We explored synonyms for various emotions, how miscommunication can happen and how we communicate without using words. Ask your child about other ways to communicate without using words and what else they learned through doing this work.
Week of February 18-21
MATH:
The new thinking routine this week was Guess My Number. One example that we explored in class was, choose any number between 1-100, double the number, add ten, half it, subtract the number you started with, your number is.......Ask your child to give you another example of this thinking routine.
Students also worked on multiplication word problems. Ask your child what strategies they used to solve these problems.
LA:
Students learned a new thinking routine, Dueling Narrators, to assist with their writing skills. Specifically they were working on the skills of parts of a story and storytelling. Ask your child what they learned and how they developed a story.
Students have been working on individual novel study projects. The expectation is for them to choose a project from Menu A and one from Menu B. Ask your child what novel they read and what projects they chose to complete to demonstrate their reading comprehension.
SCIENCE:
We finished our Simple Machines unit this week with a summative assessment. Ask your child how they did, what they learned and what they would like to learn more about.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
Continuing with Black History month, we began talking about the Underground Railroad and its connection to Canada. We began reading the Dear Canada book: Desperate Road to Freedom: The Underground Railroad Diary of Julia May Jackson. Ask your child what the Underground Railroad was. Ask your child how it was related to Canada.
WELLNESS:
Pink Shirt Day is Wednesday, February 26. Students have been creating poems from the perspective of the bully, the bullied or the bystander. Students have also created their own pink shirt designs. We have read the books, My Secret Bully and Diary of a Former Bully. Ask your child what they learned and about the design of their pink shirt.
Week of February 3-7
MATH:
Students worked on a new thinking routine this week called Always, Sometimes, Never. One example that we explored in class was, a number that begins with 9 is larger then a number that begins with 2. Ask your child to give you an example of this thinking routine.
Students also learned a new strategy for multiplication called Lattice Math. Ask your child to show you how it works.
LA:
We had a lot of discussions around graphic organizers this week. Students were asked what kind worked for them (that we have been using), what ones didn't and why. Ask your child how they like to organize their writing for fluency.
Students started their new novel study this week. Ask your child what their new book is and have a discussion comparing it to the last novel they read for novel study.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
February is Black History Month. This week we focused on John Ware, the first black cowboy to live in Alberta. Ask your child to tell you three things that they learned about him. Why was he a Maverick?
Week of January 21-24
MATH:
Students wrote multiplication math stories this week and are using Storyjumper.com to create their own digital book. Have your child show you their creation online. Ask them what an array is and repeated addition.
LA:
Students continued with their fractured fairy tales this week as we focused on the process of revising and editing. Ask your child about A.R.M.S and C.U.P.S.
SCIENCE:
As we come to the end of our Simple Machines Unit, students are creating circle books that include all six simple machines. We are solidifying our knowledge about simple machines by looking at purpose and where we can find them in our everyday life.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
This week students learned about The Next Best West. Ask your child what this was. Who was Sir Clifford Sifton? What did the Canadian government promise new settlers?
Week of January 13-17
MATH:
As we continue with our multiplication unit, students have been exploring different strategies to practice their facts. Ask your child about arrays and repeated addition. What new math games did they learn this week? What is a factor and what is a product?
LA:
Students explored character voice and author voice by fracturing a fairy tale of their choice. Ask your child what persuasive writing is? What character perspective are they telling their fairy tale from?
SCIENCE:
This week students completed, tested, presented and raced their car projects! Overall students did very well explaining what a wheel and axle were as well as other simple machines they included in their project.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
Settling the West continues. Ask your child who Sam Steele was? What came first, the Canadian Pacific Railway or the North West Mounted Police? What did they both have to do with settling the West?
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break.
MATH:
We began our multiplication unit this week. Grade 4 curriculum expectations are for students to know the times tables up to and including the 9 times tables.
- Students worked with Mr. O'Connor's students and learned a math card game to assist with learning their times tables. Ask your child what you need to play and then have them show you how to play.
- Students were introduced to Arithmetic Game: Mad minutes https://arithmetic.zetamac.com They can play this at home as well to practice their multiplication tables. Students recorded their scores and determined which facts they were having a greater struggle time with. They were then provided with index cards to create flash cards of the equations they were struggling with. Students are allowed to bring these home for further practice but should bring them back to school each day.
LA:
- This week students were introduced to their new Reading Response/Oral Reading sheets. Ask your child what synonyms, prefixes and suffixes are.
- Students started their group Novel Studies. Ask your child what book their group is reading and what they have learned about the story so far.
SCIENCE:
- We are continuing with our unit, Simple Machines.
- Students delved deeper into wheel and axles when designing their own cars and then building them with recycled materials. Presentations will be happening next week.
- Ask your child about wheel and axles, friction and what the other 5 simple machines are.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
- Students learned the history of the North West Mounted Police. Ask your child when and why the NWMP were created. Who was Prime Minister of Canada at the time? What was the Great March West?
- Students practiced their persuasive writing skills when creating NWMP recruitment posters in their visual journals. Ask your child what qualities the government was looking for in potential candidates for the NWMP.
Week of December 9-13
Our schedule was a little different this week due to Christmas concert rehearsals and performances but it was still a great week of learning.
MATH:
- Santa Suit word problems. Students worked collaboratively to solve multi step problems that involved adding with and without decimals.
- Reindeer Games. Students had to solve picture math problems to figure out what numbers the symbols represented in addition, subtraction and multiplication equations.
LA:
- Students put their creativity to the test with some persuasive writing this week. They wrote a letter to Santa from the perspective of a villain. They had to persuade Santa to take them off the naughty list. Ask your child who their villain was and how they persuaded Santa.
- Word work this week involved a list of seasonal words. Students had to create as many new words as they could using the letters from each seasonal word. Ask your child what new words they came up with.
We had some special guests visit our classroom this week. Students from the Leadership Classes over at the high school came to help us stuff the socks for the Warm Feet for the Street campaign. We have stuffed 116 pairs of socks to donate to the Mustard Seed along with two crates of items that would not fit in the socks. Thank you so much to everyone who participated.
This week we got into the season through seasonal Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies
MATH:
- Prodigy: focusing on patterns and relations with a new assignment
- Snowman fractions and word problems
- Christmas decimal word problems
- Ask your child about the brain buster activities we did this week.
LA:
- Read How to Catch an Elf
- Used a graphic organizer to organize Elf stories with “First, next, then, last”.
- Christmas word unscramble and word decoding
- Designed a new suit for Santa and began work on opinion writing.
- Ask your child what their elf name is
- Ask your child about their Elf Story and their design for a new suit for Santa.
SCIENCE:
- Continued work on our Simple Machines unit
- Work continues on creating a catapult that contains at least three different simple machines.
- Ask your child what simple machines they included in their catapult.
- Ask your child what the three classes of levers are.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
- We looked at Christmas around the world as well as other celebrations that occur at this time of year and in different cultures.
- Students created paper ornaments that share a family tradition
- We learned about the Lougheed House and victorian Christmas toys. Students made thaumatropes.
- Ask your child what other cultures and celebrations they learned about.
- Ask your child how to make a thaumatrope.
- Ask your child what tradition they shared.
ART:
- Began creating pastel candy canes
WELLNESS:
- The Gift of Kindness Countdown to Winter Break
- Ask your child what number they have in the countdown and what their gift of kindness is
MATH:
Besides working with Prodigy this week, students have also been practicing their skills in adding 2 and 3 digit numbers. Ask your child about Santa's List Sums.
LA:
Students have been continuing to work on their editing skills and proofreading for spelling and punctuation. Ask your child about the coded Christmas spelling activity we did this week. Hint: the answer was Season's Greetings.
SCIENCE:
Ms. Henderson's class started a new unit: Simple Machines. Ask your child what our first project is.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
In Social Studies this week we learned about the Canadian Pacific Railway. We discovered when it was built, why it was built and who built it. Then we looked at the CPR Holiday Train today and compared how the use of trains has changed and how it has stayed the same. Ask your child about what they learned.
Week of November 12-15
MATH:
Thank you for your support this week in regards to Math homework.
Some of
you have requested more math practice for your child. I’m excited to say
our class is now using Prodigy to help students learn and practice math
curriculum. I’ll use Prodigy to set assignments, review progress, and
support your child’s learning.
- PLEASE NOTE: I have set up a class account. Please ensure your child is using their username and password that I gave them today and not their user name and password from a previous account. This will ensure that I will receive information about what they have done and can better support them in areas that they need further assistance)
How does Prodigy benefit your child
- It’s a fun math-focused game that adapts questions to your child’s individual needs.
- It helps students gain confidence as they progress through the math curriculum at their own pace.
- Prodigy rewards students as they learn by unlocking more of the in-game world and features.
- Plus, the game is safe and private, and a great use of screen time!
- Please register to support your child’s learning:
- 1. Go to prodigygame.com/welcome
- 2. Sign up (it’s free!) and link your parent account using your child’s credentials.
- To help your child log in at home:
1. Go to prodigygame.com and select ‘Play Prodigy’ in
the top-right corner
2. Once the game loads, enter your child's username and password and select ‘LOGIN’ Your child was given their login information today on a laminated card. I have asked all students to ensure their card is returned to school so that they have it when we work on Prodigy in class.
2. Once the game loads, enter your child's username and password and select ‘LOGIN’ Your child was given their login information today on a laminated card. I have asked all students to ensure their card is returned to school so that they have it when we work on Prodigy in class.
- We have used Esti-Mysteries for our math warmup this week
- Another great website for math practice is aaamath.com. Students are familiar with this website and how to use it for math practice.
LA:
- This week students have been working in their spelling groups. They had a spelling assessment on Thursday.
- We also began work on breaking down story elements to create a more focused story. This week we began with making a character. Ask your child about the character they are creating.
MATH:
- This week we explored area and perimeter. Ask your child what the difference is between the two and how they can calculate each one.
- We combined Math and Art when we used our names to create symmetrical creatures. Ask your child what symmetrical means.
LA:
- Writing and Social Studies was combined this week as we focused on Remembrance Day.
- We read true kids stories from WWI and WWI and then summarized them. Ask your child what this included.
- We also looked at a series of Canadian Heritage Minutes and used I see, think, wonder, feel to look beneath the surface to create our summaries. Ask your child what they learned through this work.
- Students also worked on paragraph and story writing with a picture prompt titled "Wait For Me Daddy" that was taken in 1940. Ask your child about their story. Ask your child what a 1, 2, 3, 4 grade on their writing would look like.
- Students used computers this week and explored the Glenbow Maverick website: War and the Homefront. Ask your child what they learned about Alberta Mavericks and their part in the war effort.
Week of October 28-31
- Students continued their work on their Haunted House projects this week.
- Math work included Math or Treat with Monster Cafe menus. Students practiced their skills to add decimals.
- In LA, we worked on creating supporting sentences that connected to a given topic sentence and picture prompt. Ask your child what they wrote.
- In Science, students completed their Waste and Our World board games and shared them with Mr. O'Connor's class. They have been doing well with both giving and receiving constructive criticism from peers in order to tweak their final project.
Week of October 21-25 (Please check out further important dates and calendar)
MATH:
- Students were introduced to Esti-Mysteries this week. Ask your child about the different kind of math skills they needed to solve the mysteries. https://stevewyborney.com/2019/09/51-esti-mysteries/
- Students began their Haunted House Design projects. These projects are cross-curricular as they include writing, critical thinking skills, design thinking and math skills involving adding up money for a shopping list. Ask your child about the theme for their haunted house, their design plan and what their shopping list looks like. (This is all on paper. No supplies of any kind need to be purchased for this project)
- See notes above under "math"
- Writing reflections for Glenbow Museum field trip. Ask your child what they liked the best about our field trip. What did they learn? What would they like to learn more about?
- Ask your child what they have learned about Waste and Our World this week.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
- Glenbow Museum field trip
- Ms Henderson's class will be starting a project next week called, Is History Written in Stone? Students have been asked to choose an Alberta Maverick that they want to research from the website https://www.glenbow.org/mavericks/english/menu.html More details to come as we work our way through it. Please have your child decide on a Maverick as we will start our research on Tuesday.
Please check out our Twitter feed for more pictures from our field trip!
MATH:
- We began working on pulling apart Thanksgiving word problems to solve them. Ask you child the steps they need to take to solve a word problem.
LA:
- We worked on spelling strategies this week. Some of these strategies included looking for a word within a word and looking for hidden words in a word scramble. Ask your child what other strategies they learned.
SCIENCE:
- We continue to explore Waste and Our World.
- Students created awareness posters.
- Students worked in groups to create a blueprint for a "Green Game". Ask your child what materials their group will reuse or recycle to create their board game. What facts and symbols have they included on their game board to teach others about Waste and Our World?
Week of September 30-October 1 (Important information has been added to our Calendar section for next week)
MATH:
- Monday, September 30th was Orange Shirt Day. For math on Monday we worked on adding and subtracting two and three digit numbers using Residential School facts. Ask your child what they learned.
- Students were given a number to represent each letter of the alphabet and then had to figure out how much the following words were worth: kindness, friendship, respect, ownership, responsibility and silence. Some students also figured out what their name is worth.
- We also spent considerable time reviewing our pattern knowledge to prepare for our upcoming unit test.
LA:
- We learned about two different kinds of comprehension questions that we can ask when reading and writing. Ask your child what these two types are (Literal/Inferring)
- We focused on using inference when looking at written scenarios and pictures. Ask you child what they wrote about on Friday and what they have learned about inferring.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
- Monday and Tuesday we used the Buffalo Kit from the Glenbow Museum to explore artifacts and think about what we saw and wondered during this exploration. Ask your child what they learned about the artifacts, which was their favorite one and why.
- We touched on the history of Residential Schools with Orange Shirt Day and brought in Art and LA to create our Project of Heart work. Ask your child what words they chose and why.
- We used school technology for the first time this week. We went to the Smithsonian website and explored a buffalo hide painting. Ask your child what they learned about the drawings and symbols. How did the painting tell the story of early First Nations culture and how it was changed when the settlers arrived.
Week of September 23-27 (as always, please check out our calendar section for upcoming events)
This was a busy week of collaborating and participating in activities both in and out of the classroom. We continue to build our skills in building a community of learners that are engaged, supportive and demonstrate a growth mindset.
MATH:
- We completed our work on patterns this week by reviewing the Learning Outcome: Represent, describe and extend patterns and relationships using charts and tables to solve problems. Students solved a riddle through solving a series of patterns. Students also completed visual patterns by filling in the missing pictures. Ask your child what the riddle was and about some of the patterns they had to complete.
- We have begun to review adding two digit numbers so that we are ready to begin adding and subtracting three digit numbers with sums to 10000. Ask your child how to play Loose Caboose with dominos.
LA:
- We continued our work on creating topic sentences and following that up with creating supporting sentences.
- In connection with the Terry Fox Run that was on Wednesday, students used a writing prompt to take a critical look at what makes a hero. Ask your child what they wrote about.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
- Teacher's Pet came to our classroom on Wednesday and led us through The Amazing Alberta Race. Ask your child what they learned about our province's natural resources, wildlife, regional climates, landforms and landscapes and natural vegetation. Also ask them about the town/city their group created.
- Today we discussed Residential Schools in Alberta and why Monday, September 30 is Orange Shirt Day. Talk about it with your child.
SCIENCE:
- Students were given a vocabulary sheet this week that connects to our Waste and Our World unit. We will be exploring this vocabulary next week.
Week of September 16-19 (please check Calendar for important upcoming dates)
THANK YOU!
Thank you to all of our parents who came out for Parent/Teacher Interviews this week. Goal setting is a crucial part to your child's success. Having your support with this is greatly appreciated because you know your child better then anyone.
Moving forward we will put the most current update at the top of this page to save you from having to scroll down to find it.
This week we drew on our critical thinking skills as we began new Social Studies and Math work.
Math:
This week we focused on looking at math in different ways. Last week we looked at patterns and how we can demonstrate them pictorially and numerically. We continued that idea by looking at and solving Splats! as well as having Cube Conversations. Ask your child to explain both of these concepts. For further practice check out 20 Days of Number Sense and Rich Math Talk https://stevewyborney.com/2019/02/20-days-of-number-sense-rich-math-talk/
LA:
Our focus this week and next will be on creating strong topic sentences and paragraphs. Ask your child about the different ways to create a topic sentence. Hint: One way is to ask a question.
Social Studies:
Continuing with our mapping skills, we have begun to look at the six geographical regions that make up our province of Alberta. Ask your child what 2 regions we have learned about so far. Students are learning about the landforms, weather, wildlife and key cities that can be found in each region. Check out http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/sszi/en/ to learn more.
Health:
We read the book, "What Do You Do With a Chance?" by Kobi Yamada. We have been discussing what pros and cons are and how they are important in decision making. We have also discussed what a risk is and how taking risks assists us in having a growth mindset.
Fire Drill:
We had our first fire drill of the year on Wednesday. The students did great!
New Beginnings
We had a great start to our grade 4 year. Each Friday I will be asking the students to reflect on their learning from the week. This information will guide the posts you will see here. The first 3 1/2 days of school were all about getting to know each other. Ask your child about the following activities that we did:
Week of September 9-13
**Please check out our Calendar page for upcoming important dates**
Our learning in Math and LA is off to a great start!
Language Arts:
- We began our writing adventure with a picture prompt. Ask your child what the picture was and how they used it to create their first story.
- We dove deeper into learning about what components make up an autobiography and have started plans to create our own. This work will incorporate learning about paragraph writing and the important role of a topic sentence and supporting sentences. Ask your child what a sub heading is and what four subheadings they came up with for their autobiography.
- *Project* All About Me Bag: Due Monday, September 16th.
- On Mondays and Wednesdays, students are given a Morning Writing task. Ask your child what they wrote about this week. Hint: One piece of writing had to do with what motivates them. The other piece was from the perspective if they were 6" tall.
Math:
- Patterns: What is a pattern? Where can we find patterns in our school, home and community? What is a Pattern Rule? What does pictorial mean and how is it connected to patterns?
- http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/me5l/html/Lessons/11/Notes/m5_patterns_parentnotes.pdf
Health:
This week we learned about the importance of being a responsible digital citizen. We began with the Rings of Responsibility. Ask your child what the three rings are and ask them to give you an example for each.
Check out this link to learn more about the curriculum that we covered as well as find Parent Resources: https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/curriculum
Music:
Please copy and print the following letter if your child wishes to participate in senior choir this year.
Auburn Bay School Choir Program
Dear
Parents and Guardians,
With our fourth year in our
beautiful school I am so very excited to invite students in Grades 3 and 4 to
join the senior choir here at Auburn Bay School. I have chosen some exciting music for our
young singers and I am looking forward to a successful season with these
enthusiastic students.
Choir rehearsals will begin Tuesday, September 24th, 2019 and
will continue to take place every Tuesday.
Students must bring their lunches on choir day. The grade 3 students will come to the music
room and eat with Mrs. Bourgeois. The grade 4’s will eat their lunches in the
lunchroom as per usual and at 11:45 can make their way to the music room. Choir rehearsals will take place from 11:45 –
12:15 every Tuesday at lunch.
If you child is interested in
singing in the choir, the form below will need to be filled out and returned to
Mrs. Bourgeois by Monday, September 23rd,
2019. It is, however, most important
that you help your child understand the responsibility and commitment that
comes with being part of a choir. Every choir member is needed at every
rehearsal. With even one child missing,
it limits the progress of the group and changes the sound of the group. In order to develop your child’s individual
and group sound consistent attendance is necessary. It is also important to explain to your child
that choir is a commitment that lasts for the entire choir season (September
2019– December 2019).
The Senior Choir will
have the opportunity to perform in the school and around the community. Culminating
with a performance during the Christmas concert.
Should you have any questions
regarding the choir please do not hesitate to contact me via email hmbourgeois@cbe.ab.ca.
Thank you in advance for your support and I am looking forward to an
exciting year of singing with your children!
Sincerely,
Mrs. H
Bourgeois
***Return to homeroom
teacher by Monday, September 23rd, 2019***
I have
discussed the responsibilities and importance of attending every rehearsal with
my child. He/She understands that
rehearsals take place during the lunch hour recess and that consistent
attendance is necessary on his/her part.
I give my
child __________________________________(first and last name) permission to be
a member of the senior choir for the time period of Sept 2019 – December 2019.
Homeroom
Teacher____________________ Email: ____________________________
Parent
signature _______________________________ Date ______________________
