Hello everyone! I can’t believe it is already February. Students have made it half-way through their Grade 4 year!
As we have started a new semester, please take a second and check out the About Us page to sneak a peek at our new rotating schedule. As it is now February, the website has been updated to highlight the topics we will be covering over the next month. We have also started Health classes this week. You will find that this has been added as a new section in the menu.
Note: French classes have wrapped up for the year. We will be using that time to further investigate topics in Social Studies, Science and Health.
Exploring Figures with Equal Perimeters -Can two shapes have the same perimeter but different areas?
Exploring Figures with Equal Areas -Can two shapes have the same area but different perimeters?
Language Arts
Writing your short stories -Students had several work periods to be creative and complete their rough drafts of their short stories. We will be editing and completing the stories next week.
Punctuation marks -Review of the use of periods, exclamation points, question marks and commas -Quotation marks (When and how do we use them?)
Science
Topics that were looked at this week: -Heat vs. No Heat: What sources of light provide both light and heat energy? -Emit vs. Reflect: Does the light source produce its own light or reflect the light from another source? -Sound Experiment: Making a kazoo using a straw (high pitch vs. low pitch & loud vs. soft)
Social Studies
Economic Sector -Primary Sector: Extraction of Natural Resources (Mining, Fishing, Agriculture) -Secondary Sector: Manufacturing (Factories) -Tertiary Sector: Service (Restaurants, Retail, Banking) -Quaternary Sector: Education and Research
Impact on the Environment -In partners, students were given a topic on how an industry in Canada affects the environment. Students researched the pros and cons of this industry and determined if it was good or bad for the environment. They presented their findings to the class.
Perimeter -Measuring the perimeter of objects -Finding a given perimeter in classroom object -Finding the perimeter of large scale objects (gardens, buildings, etc.) -Hatch marks: What do they mean? -Finding a missing side length to calculate the perimeter of an object
Area -Finding the area (cm2 and m2)
Language Arts
Problem -What went wrong in the story? What happened to the characters? Was is a good or bad problem? Is there more than one problem in the story? What is the problem your characters face in your own short story?
Solution -How can we fix the problem? Is there more than one solution to the problem? Which solution did your characters choose in your own short story?
Writing your short stories -Students had the chance to start writing their short stories. We will be continuing the writing process next week.
Science
Topics that were looked at this week: This week we had the chance to take an in-depth look at the differences between Transparent, Translucent and Opaque objects.
Transparent – allows all light to pass through Translucent – allows some light to pass through Opaque – allows no light to pass through
Social Studies
Comparing Physical Regions
This week students picked two physical regions that they wanted to compare. They had the chance to start looking closer into information regarding these regions.
The physical regions they could choose from were: -Arctic/North -Western Cordillera -Interior Plains -Hudson Bay Lowlands -Appalachia -Canadian Shield -Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Lowlands
We will be redeeming our Level 2 reward on Monday, January 27th. Students will have the chance to vote on activities to do during their extra free-time.
Measuring in decimeters -1 dm = 10 cm Relating units of measurement -10 mm = 1 cm -10 cm = 1 dm -10 dm = 1 m -100 cm = 1 m Perimeter – The perimeter is the length all the sides of a 2D shape. To find the perimeter you must add all the sides together. – What happens when you are missing a side length? Is there another side that is the same length? Is there two sides that can help us figure out what is missing?
Language Arts
Beginning, Middle and End – What happens at the beginning, middle and end of the story? Character -Who is the main character? What do they look like? What is their personality? Are they the good guy or the bad guy in the story? Setting -Where does the story take place? Can you describe the setting? Hint: use your senses -sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Does the story have more than one setting?
Science
Intro toLight & Sound -What do you already know about sound and light? -What do you wonder about? Is there anything you would like to learn about light and sound? (How is light made? How do our ears hear sound?)
Topics that were looked at this week: -What is light energy? -Absorption, Refraction and Reflection -Transparent, Translucent and Opaque -What is sound energy? -Pitch vs Loudness -How do humans hear sound?
Social Studies
Physical Regions -Western Cordillera -Interior Plains -Hudson Bay Lowlands -Appalachia
Just a reminder that students will be allowed to bring in a small toy tomorrow as they have earned their Level 1 Class Reward! Students will have a dedicated time to use this reward in the afternoon.
For more information our reward system, please check out the About Us section of the website (found in the menu on the top of the page).
I hope everyone is well rested and ready to get back into the swing of things! Outlines for each subject has been updated for your viewing. You can find these under their respective menu at the top of the page.
Important dates:
Jan. 6th – First Day of Classes After Break
Jan. 10th – Level One Class Reward (Bring a small toy to school)
Jan. 17th – January Book Orders Due
Jan. 22nd – Report Cards Go Home
Jan. 31st – PD Day
Keep an eye out for weekly updates on what we are doing in class!
The Wonderful World of Grade 4 