The dates for the upcoming FSAs have slightly changed. Please see the new schedule for the FSA sections still remaining:
4C: Wednesday February 4th (Math Problem Solving) Thursday, February 5th (Long Write) Monday, February 16th (Math Multiple Choice) Wednesday, February 18th (Reading Comprehension) 4D: Tuesday, February 3rd (Math Problem Solving) Thursday, February 5th (Long Write) Tuesday, February 17th (Math Multiple Choice) Thursday, February 19th (Reading Comprehension)
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Dear parents,
Just a friendly update regarding the "Great Canadian Mail Race". Students will: 1. Bring in an address of a school they would like to mail their letter to by this Friday January 30th. On Friday students will be learning how to address a letter. I will be providing them with envelopes and we will put our letters in, along with a letter I have prepared that goes to the receiving school. On Friday students will take home their letters and they are responsible for mailing them. I hope this is clear! Please email me if you have any further questions. Sincerely, Mrs. Claudio Here is a copy of the weather project due Friday February 20th.
WILD WEATHER! A Project on Extreme Weather My Extreme Weather Project is on: _______________________________________ You will research an extreme weather event using books at school, the library and the Internet. You will have some time in class to research but you will also need to do some research at home. Your project will be built at home. Your research will be recorded using a graphic organizer. The research will be used for two parts of your project. Part 1: you will create a 3‐D hanging mobile, a diorama or a standing model of your extreme weather event. Part 2: you will write your research information onto cards that will attach to the 3‐D model. Part 3: You will share your project with the class on Friday Feb.20th by showing the project, talking about it and answering a few questions. PROJECT OPTIONS 1. Mobile: a hanging 3‐D model that represents the weather event with research writing hanging on cards from the mobile. 2. Diorama: a 3‐D model in a box that represents the weather event with research writing on outside of box. 3. Model: a standing 3‐D component attached to a base (cardboard or wood) of the weather event with research writing around the base. Part 1: Choose A, B, or C and create a model of the weather event. You can use modeling clay, natural materials like sticks, sand, clay, leaves, and craft materials like cotton, pipe cleaners, plastic, wire, cardboard or foam – really anything you like! Part 2: Answer these questions in full sentences on cards that hang from or are attached to your mobile/diorama/model. 1. What are the characteristics of your weather event? 2. What causes this type of weather to occur? 3. Where does this weather occur? Name a location. 4. What are four statistics, amazing facts or world records related to the extreme weather event? Hint: look for numbers – speed, height, distance, the name and date of a famous storm, stories of survival. 5. How does this weather impact living things like humans or animals? 6. How does this weather impact non‐living things like the land or water? PART 3: On Friday Feb. 20th you will present your project to the class, answer a few questions and hand it in. Resources http://www.dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/School_Time/Science/The_Earth/The_Atmosphere/Weather/Extreme_Weather/ Scholastic Severe Weather & Natural Disasters: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/wwatch/severe.htm The Weather Channel KIDS: http://www.theweatherchannelkids.com/climate-code/climate-close-up/extreme-weather/ What Causes Extreme Weather? http://www.askkids.com/web?q=What+Causes+Extreme+Weather&qsrc=6&o=0&l=dir The Disaster Area: http://www.fema.gov/kids/dizarea.htm Floods http://weathereye.kgan.com/cadet/flood/ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/infocus/floods/science.html http://www.inflowimages.com/ChaseReports/DustDevils/dustdevils.asp Monsoons http://www.kjc.gov.my/htdocs3/english/education/weather/monsoon01.html Hurricanes http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/wwatch/hurricanes/index.htm Tornadoes http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/wwatch/tornadoes/ http://www.fema.gov/kids/tornado.htm Environment Canada Weather Office http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/canada_e.html The Weather Network http://www.theweathernetwork.com/ Many students in grade 4 could benefit from noise cancelling headphones. As the work becomes more independent and critical thinking increases, having tools such as noise cancelling headphones has been researched to make tremendous improvements in many areas of learning. Please continue reading for some of the benefits below!
5 Benefits of Noise Cancelling Headphones for Kids There are undoubtedly many and varied benefits to providing your child with some quiet time. If you cannot apply any soundproofing to the rooms in your home, then periodic use of some noise reducing earmuffs may be a good alternative. Let’s take a more detailed look at 5 of the common benefits: 1. Protect Developing Ears Sound pressure from noise is amplified in the narrower developing ear canals of young children and babies, making them more sensitive and susceptible to hearing damage. Kids can perceive a noise to be up to 20 decibels louder than an adult. Hearing loss is cumulative and irreversible, and your child may not notice the effects until much later in life. 2. Provides Sensory breaks Too much stimulation can be a harmful thing, especially for children with sensory conditions like Autism and ADHD. Headphones can provide a break from the stimulation, and prevent a ‘meltdown’ or sensory overload situation. 3. Helps to Calm Nervous and Uneasy Feelings Some children feel nervous and uneasy when louder unfamiliar noises are present. What might seem like normal noise to the adult, might actually be perceived like ”nails on a chalkboard” to the child. If the noise reducing earmuffs work, it can actually help you and your child to visit and experience new places that might otherwise upset them. 4. Reduce Noise Related Stress The calming effect of wearing noise cancelling headphones can also reduce the stress the child may be feeling. Loud or unpleasant sounds can largely be filtered out, and possibly will prevent outbursts and meltdowns. 5. Increase Focus Reducing background noise and distractions can help children with auditory processing issues to focus. A pair of noise cancelling headphones for kids with this type of disorder can help them pick out the important sounds while filtering out the background noise. This can help the child with listening problems and also help improve their learning skills. http://www.soundproofingtips.com/top-10-noise-cancelling-headphones-for-kids babies/#Soundproofing_as_an_Alternative_to_Noise_Cancelling_Headphones Also if you click on the link above there are recommendations of headphones that are recommended. In the past parents have also purchased the following headphones from home depot. http://www.homedepot.ca/product/collapsible-padded-ear-muff/900973 If you do wish to purchase the headphones they would a great asset to your child’s learning. Headphones can be kept in the cubbies so students can access them for different classes. Please ensure the headphones are labeled. Sincerely, Mrs. Claudio Dear Parents,
Thank you to those who have sent back their field trip permission slips. If you have not, please do so. Also thank you to those parents who have reached out to volunteer. Miss Morrell and I are just finalizing the details and will get back to you soon. Sincerely, Mrs. Claudio Please make notes of the following dates:
4C: Thursday, January 22th (Reading Comprehension) Thursday, January 29th (Short Write) Thursday, February 5th (Long Write) Monday, February 16th (Math Problem Solving) Wednesday, February 18th (Reading Comprehension) Wednesday, February 25th (Math Multiple Choice) 4D: Thursday, January 22th (Reading Comprehension) Thursday, January 29th (Short Write) Thursday, February 5th (Long Write) Tuesday, February 17th (Math Problem Solving) Thursday, February 19th (Reading Comprehension) Thursday, February 26th (Math Multiple Choice) Students are having a wonderful time using the beautiful classrooms at the BI. Please remind your child(ren) that they must meet their teacher at their regular classroom in the mornings and after lunch before relocating.
As you are aware, the Grade 4 FSA exams are just around the corner. This week we worked through a practice math booklet in class. Throughout the week students will continue working in class and be bringing home review assignments. Additionally, you can click here for other FSA sample tests.
I hope that everyone enjoyed a warm and restful break! Second term will be a busy one, and I'd like to provide you with some of the themes/activities we will be working on.
VTT's Yachad theme this month is "Healthy Living". You can support this by emphasizing healthy eating and exercise at home. Having your child(ren) assist in planning, buying groceries for, and preparing healthy meals is a great way to teach healthy eating. You can ensure that your child gets plenty of exercise by engaging in whole-family activities (walking, jogging, biking, basketball, swimming, skiing, etc). Getting enough sleep and staying home when sick are also ways to reinforce healthy living. In language arts we are finishing up our Matilda novel before moving on to lit circles and poetry. We will focus on information and story writing with attention to detail and conventions. Daily handwriting lessons will also continue. In social studies, the focus is on First Nations (emphasis on coastal aboriginals), and in science we will explore weather. If you have expertise in any of the above-mentioned units, please let me know! The FSA exams are also just around the corner with language arts and mathematics components. The school will provide more information regarding these exams shortly. Math Updates The next optional Caribou contest will be taking place Wednesday January 14th, 2015. The next interactive question will be Sudoku, which your child can practice now on the games page. There will not be a history question this time around. Morah Lisa is kindly supervising the contest, which will take place during lunch hour on the 14th. Please log on to the Brock University Caribou website to review past questions. Students who have shown interest will be bringing home their access codes by tomorrow. Here’s the link to the Caribou Test site - https://www.cariboutests.com In math we will be continuing to focus on multiplication. Students are expected to know their times tables to 9X9 by heart, so additional practice at home is encouraged. Please click on the "websites" tab of my blog for useful resources. We will learn multiplication to 2 digits by 1 digit. We will then move on to division of whole numbers. We will explore long division with and without remainders. Math Drills for Multiplication Students will be practicing their multiplication facts 3 times a week by doing math drills. Each drill contains 16 problems. We will begin with the 1 times tables and once a student successfully completes 16 questions within one minute they can go on to the 2 times tables and so on. Once a student has mastered each set of facts, they can take the mixed drills and challenge drills. I strongly encourage student’s study their multiplication as often as possible. Try this game! Multiplication Game The Rules: Each player takes turns rolling 3 dice. First to break 200 (or 500, etc.) wins. On your turn, you get to choose two dice to add together, then you multiply the sum by the final die. That’s your score for that turn. For example, I roll a 3, a 4, and a 6 on my turn. I could either do (3+4) times 6 for 42 points, OR (3+6) times 4 for 36 points, OR (4+6) times 3 for 30 points. I’ll take the 42 points. I spent some time playing this the other day and I saw that (1) it was genuinely fun, and (2) it gives you almost all the multiplication practice you could ask for. In fact, it gives even more, because the choice of which dice to add and which to multiply reveals some interesting structure of numbers! |
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