Spring has officially sprung 🙂
We will begin the following topics in term 2…

READING:
After finishing up with connections, we are beginning to discuss what predictions and inferences are. We will practice making these with different texts.

WRITING:
The students are finishing writing their biographies. We will begin looking at persuasive writing next.

MATH:
GRADE 4 – Algebra and Coding:
We are learning to:
– Use symbols as variables in expression and equations
– Solve equations and verify solutions
– Solve inequalities, including verifying and graphing solutions
– write and execute code that involves sequential, concurrent, repeated, and nested events
– read and alter code that involves sequential, concurrent, repeated, and nested events
– describe how changes to code affect the outcomes

GRADE 5 – Algebra and Coding:
We are learning to:
– evaluate algebraic expressions
– represent equivalent relationships using words, algebraic expressions, and visual models
– solve equations and verify solutions
– solve inequalities, including verifying and graphing solutions
– write and execute code that involves conditional statements and control structures
– read and alter code that involves conditional statements and control structures
– describe how changes to code affect the outcomes

SOCIAL STUDIES:
GRADE 4 – We are beginning our Early Socieities unit. The students will be learning a little bit about many ancient civilizations. A culminating project will allow them to more about a civilization of choice.
GRADE 5 – The grade 5 students have begun the “Interactions of Indigenous Peoples and Europeans prior to 1713, in What Would Eventually Become Canada” unit. We will start by learning about the different Indigenous Peoples who lived in Canada prior to 1713.
(*Science will begin after we have completed this unit)

HEALTH:
We are finishing up our Substance Use unit. In April, we will begin a Growth and Development unit. A letter will be sent home with details about this unit.

Happy New Year!!

Please find below the topics we will be focusing on in each subject over the next 4 weeks:

Reading – Point of View in various texts

Writing – Recount writing

Math –
GRADE 4: C1.1, C1.2, C1.3, C1.4

GRADE 5: C1.1, C1.2, C1.2, C1.4

Social Studies – Grade 4’s will be learning about the Physical and Political Regions of Canada. The grade 5’s will be learning about the Canadian Government and responsible citizenship.

Dance – The students will be completing their final tasks for this Art Strand.

Health – Both grades will be starting the Substance Use unit. The grade 4’s will be learning about tobacco and vaping. The grade 5’s will be learning about alcohol and cannabis.

Please find below the topics we will be focusing on in each subject over the next 7 weeks:

Reading – Learning about text features; writing summaries and sequencing ideas.

Writing – Continue forming proper sentences and paragraphs; Procedural writing.

Math –
GRADE 4: We are learning to: explain the relationship between grams and kilograms as metric units of mass; explain the relationships between litres and millilitres as metric units of capacity; use benchmarks to estimate mass and capacity; use metric prefixes to describe the relative size of different metric units; choose appropriate units and tools to measure length, mass, and capacity; to use the relationships between units of time to find elapsed time; to solve problems about elapsed time; to identify and name angles (right ,straight, acute and obtuse); to identify the properties of a rectangle, including the number of right angles, parallel and perpendicular sides and lines of symmetry

GRADE 5: We are learning to: use appropriate metric units to estimate and measure length, mass, and capacity; solve problems that involve converting larger metric units into smaller ones, and describe the base ten relationships among metric units; compare angles and determine their relative size using non-standard units; use benchmark angles to estimate the size of an angle; use a protractor to measure and construct angles up to 180°; identify geometric properties of triangles, and construct different types of triangles when given side or angle measurements; identify and construct congruent triangles, rectangles, and parallelograms; draw top, front, and side views of objects, and match drawings with objects

Science – We will be finishing our Habitats (4) and Human Organ Systems (5) units by completing final projects. We will then begin a short unit on Light and Sound (4) and Matter and Materials (5).

Social Studies – We will begin these units in the new year.

Dance – The students have been creating independent dance routines with groups and will be presenting them in the coming weeks.

Health – We will be completing our unit on Healthy Eating and Nutrition. After this, we will begin a short unit on Personal Safety.

Each week, our class will complete 2 quizzes – a multiplication quiz and a map quiz.

The first map we will be reviewing is Canada (provinces, territories, capital cities, bodies of water). (*pictures have been attached)
After approx. 6-8 weeks, the maps will switch and each grade will focus on a map that is targeted to their current unit in Social Studies.

The weekly multiplication quiz focuses on basic facts up to the twelve times table. At the end of January, this will become a division quiz.

The year is already zipping by! Please find below an outline for our class topics this month:

READING – We have finished the First 20 Days of Language, and will begin exploring Digital Citizenship. As I continue to work through individual assessments with the students, we will also focus on a class read aloud, “Out of My Mind” (discussing the topics, main idea, questions, etc).

WRITING – Our class will be learning how to edit our work for “5 Star Sentences” (grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, WOW factor), as well as working on forming proper paragraphs. We will also begin our study of morphology.

ORAL – This week, students will be assigned a date for a short oral presentation. A topic will be provided and the students will create a short 1-2 minute presentation. Being an appropriate and supportive audience member will also be a focus for our learning.

MATH –
GRADE 4:
read, represent, compose, and decompose whole numbers up to and including 10 000; compare and order whole numbers up to and including 10 000; round whole numbers to the nearest ten, hundred, or thousand;
represent and solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of whole numbers that add up to no more than 10 000; represent fractions from halves to tenths; explain the meanings of the denominator and the numerator; use drawings and models to represent, compare, and order fractions that result from fair sharing scenarios; count to 10 by halves, thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, eighths, and tenths; read, represent, compare, and order decimal tenths; round decimal numbers to the nearest whole number; describe relationships and show equivalences among fractions and decimal tenths.

GRADE 5: read, represent, compose, and decompose whole numbers up to and including 100 000; compare and order whole numbers up to and including 100 000; represent and solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of whole numbers that add up to no more than 100 000; represent equivalent fractions from halves to twelfths, including improper fractions and mixed numbers; compare and order fractions from halves to twelfths, including improper fractions and mixed numbers; read, represent, compare, and order decimal numbers up to hundredths; round decimal numbers to the nearest tenth; describe relationships and show equivalences among fractions, decimal numbers up to hundredths, and whole number percents.

SCIENCE –
GRADE 4: assess impacts of human activities on habitats and communities, and analyze actions for minimizing negative impacts and enhancing positive ones; demonstrate an understanding of habitats and communities and of interrelationships among the organisms that live in them.

GRADE 5: analyze impacts of various social and environmental factors, human activities, and technologies on human health; demonstrate an understanding of the structure and function of human body systems and interactions within and between systems.

(*Social Studies will begin next month, after this Science unit)

DANCE – This month, we will begin exploring different styles of dance that have been popular over the past century, how the media drives new dance fads, and beginning to explore different dance movements ourselves!

HEALTH – Both grades will begin a unit on Healthy Living. We will discuss the importance of nutrition labels, how to read them, and how to make healthy food choices.

GYM – We are playing cooperative games with Mrs. Skelton’s class twice per week (Day 3 & 5), as well as integrating fitness centres into our gym class.

ART – Our class will be looking at basic design elements, with a focus on shape, colour, lines and texture.

Many parents have asked me, “How can I help my child at home with their reading?” A large component of the grade 4 and 5 curriculum is focused on comprehension. Below are some ideas on how to discuss your child’s reading at home, and support their education!

Ask your child:

• Why is the title a good title for the book/story? If you had to give it a different title, what would you choose?
• Make a predication of what will happen next. Were your predictions correct?
• If there was a problem, did it get solved? How did the characters try to solve the problem?
• What happened because of the problem?
• Did any of the characters change through the story? Who changed, and how did they change?
• Why do you think the author wrote this?
• What is the most important point that the author is trying to make in his/her writing? (the “main idea”)
• What was your favourite part? Why?
• If you could change one part, what would you change?
• If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask?
• Please retell the story in sequential order.
• Is there a character in the story that reminds you of someone you know? If so, who are they like, and why do you think that?
• Does this book remind you of another book you know? Does it remind you of something you’ve experienced in real life?

Fieldcrest has outlined some expectations regarding technology use.

• as soon as students are on school property, their personal technology is expected to be turned off and out of sight;
• if parents wish to contact their child, they must do so through the office, and the same expectation stands for the students – if they wish to contact a parent, they must have permission to use the classroom or office phone. Personal technology is NOT to be a communication method between parents, families, and students during the school day;
• technology is to be used only for instructional purposes and under supervision of a teacher or adult in the classroom;
• if students are caught using technology when they should not be, it will be confiscated.  The technology will be sent to the office and the student will have to collect it in the office at the end of the day.  Continued confiscations will result in a conversation/conference with parents and administration.
• students are never to be taking photos of classmates at school, and under no circumstance should pictures of classmates/schoolmates be posted online in any way. This becomes a privacy issue and is taken very seriously.

The following pictures outline the Learning Skills that we will focus on for the first 2 months of school. These skills will be commented on in the November Progress Report.