Today you voted on which Readers Theatre you would like to participate in, and - well.... the results are in! Tomorrow morning you will read your script and then meet your group members. Remember, we are going to try to do a shadow play with this one... just to keep things interesting.
Hey mes amis! Well another day! And you guys and gals ruled at math today! We are zipping along and moving right through! Keep up by practising at home. Keep doing your xtramath.org at home please as this is going to help you. So far I only have 6 students that have practised in the past week! And they are getting to become masters but aren't there yet! Keep it going grade 4's! Today you voted on which Readers Theatre you would like to participate in, and - well.... the results are in! Tomorrow morning you will read your script and then meet your group members. Remember, we are going to try to do a shadow play with this one... just to keep things interesting. You also worked on a review for the regions of Alberta - ... wall size. I wish I would have had a camera out while we were doing it. There was a lot of discussion! Once this is finished... expect a quiz. So pay attention ... make sure you know where... the regions are, and the major cities, and a few rivers... and of course where the government is located.
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Welcome back everyone!!! Wow! What a great day! I heard the phrase "oh my goodness we have so much homework tonight!" uttered today. And yes, it is true. I know students will be tired tonight but for good reason!
We started multiplication today - doubling numbers to multiply by 8. Please make sure you finish this tonight mes amis, and we will correct in the morning. Spelling PRE TEST tomorrow - let's see what you know! Permission slips will be coming home this week for Medalta Potteries Open Minds Education that we will be participating in the week following Easter break. In there you will find the link to a doodle where parents can let me know availability for volunteering to help out. If you want a jump start on that check it out here: Doodle Not only does this allow me to see in real time those who have replied but also the spots needing someone still in the event you have some flexibility. Please participate in this as it will be crucial to our project. I also let students know that today we are doing another boring math booklet for multiplication and division. In a few weeks I hope to be starting a new project - tying art and math together through a 7 part series. All of the math objectives will be achieved through this with extensions in the text for those that may require it. My hopes in doing this are to create some excitement for math and also to demonstrate all the ways we truly do use math - to become mathartists. This weeks dictee will solely be verbs. Any and all verbs ending in ER passé composé. French stories are to be typed up this week so we can start working together to make them better, meanwhile we will also be working on some readers' theatre. In the month of March we will be having an optometrist visit us to discuss lights and shadows from that perspective. Lots of great things happening! Very exciting!!! This week we have been learning about shadows. We went outside and drew a shadow around noon, then again a few hours later and saw it get longer and move. Students, I encourage you over the week off to step outside a few times a day, morning , noon and afternoon, and see how your shadow moves and its length. We discussed that the higher in the sky the sun is, the smaller the shadow is because it is over top of us. I can't wait to see you all on the hill tomorrow. Granted, I know you will be zipping by me, I am definitely looking forward to spending time with you all outside of the classroom! Get a good night's rest tonight! "...I like to work in groups because we get to learn how to work in groups and work with different people." Wow! It's Friday already! Can you believe it? We haven't had a Friday in what feels like so long that I am actually happy to have a five-day week. This morning we presented our plays of How to Eat Fried Worms to the other grade four class. The students did Amazing things!!! I am absolutely blown away. There were scripts, there were props and costumes. The audience... was attentive and laughed and clapped. Most amazing (although to be expected) was how excited the audience was. The grade fours left talking about it, how good it was, how much fun it was to watch. There was no need for crowd control as they were so interested! I am so proud of you all. Board games appeared today in outstanding form! And while we watched the movie I served up dirt and worm cake (yep - I served cake. I am shocked too!). ... wow... this group just really raised their own bar, I never have to do it as they just keep out performing and exceeding their own abilities! These grade fours have sure come a long ways since I first met them... really demonstrating independence, the ability to finish something they care about in their own time, to put in the work, to delve into what it is we are studying and go beyond what I have requested. I must also say, grade fours, that while I presented you with options, you, for the first time, came to me asking if you could take it one step further, and another step. I was not the one prompting you to extend yours abilities. I knew you could! I definitely look forward to more activities like this, being able to demonstrate your understanding in creative ways like this, as I too find worksheets... dare I say... boring at times as well. A huge appreciation goes out to all of you for the tremendous amount of work you put into this, for working with others, for your enthusiasm, for demonstrating a care for your education... and thinking about what works for you to make you the best learner you can be, ... Lastly, as we part ways for the weekend, I would like to express my gratitude for allowing me to have so much fun each and every school day with you all. :) .....oops sorry one last note... a birdy has whispered some apps they are using for math - I will pass those along and post them on the Links/Apps site as soon as I get the names. Please email me with any that you find so we can share them with everyone. OR - post a comment on the post for all to see! ...I just had to share pictures of the board games created! An unreal experience in room thirty this afternoon. Well friends, the results are back from our addition and subtraction, and it isn't looking too great. Yes, grade four math is harder than last year, but that just means we need to work harder at it. For some of you this might look like extra questions, redoing assignments, definitely doing corrections, practising at home, not just in the classroom. I know this sounds like a lot of work however, it is necessary in order to become masters at math!
Today, we discussed the value of the test - and that it tells us what we know and what we still need to work on. The test holds very little value in our knowledge if we don't do our corrections and work to get a better mark. And for me - it is true that students are not only allowed, but encouraged to work at the task to bring up their mark. However! And this is a BIG however, students MUST show me they are putting in the work to bring up their mark before I allow them to complete the extra task. They must:
HAVING SAID THAT... students also need to be aware that TESTS don't count for ALL of their mark! This is why they do homework. And daily class work. As well as activity sheets. All of these are factored into their final mark. Report cards are nearing though and I expect to see students putting in the time needed to be where they are happy being. The Re-write will be next week at noon. I would like to see students prepared by Tuesday, as Wednesday is Ski Trip and Friday is last day before the holidays, so Tuesday and Thursday are our time slots. WINTER WALK DAY Yep, it's true - we went on our winter walk. Students' feet got soaked, a sign of spring?? Here's to hoping! We had fun. I allowed those in boots to pose for a photo in the water (no I didn't really allow them to walk in the water, I just wanted to appear as though there is discovering happening out there haha). This Friday we will be sharing our How to Eat Fried Worms plays, skits, posters, character analysis', and board games. |
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January 2015
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