Addition and Subtraction In Grade 4

Here is another image from the grade 4 curriculum document that speaks to the difference in the Math curriculum between grade three and four.  As you can see from the homework sent home tonight, we still review the addition and subtraction of 3-digit numbers.

The Latest Addition to Our Class

There are two crayfish in our tank now, but they are a little shy.

Terry Fox Walk

Photo referenced from PeacePulse

Today was the Terry Fox Walk at our school.  I always find it amazing how the story still finds a way to make a connection with students who never lived through the experience.  The students truly understand the importance of the Marathon of Hope, and our walk today was an excellent display of our school's support for cancer research.

Visit the Terry Fox Foundation for more information about the organization.

Today the students will be bringing home a notebook titled "Word Work."  In class, we have started creating personalized spelling lists to help create a sense of meaning to the words the students study.  Each student will have the same "Topic Words", and the same "No Excuse Words", and then each student will have 5 words they have selected personally.  In class, we have been practicing different ways to study words, and they are to practice at home tonight.  If you have any questions, please contact me.  Thanks.  Mr. Carr.

Our Fish Tank is Ready

Today we learned how to test the Ph of the water in the fish tank.  Everything looks good!  We have a Ph of 7.8, and that is acceptable for tropical fish.  Maybe by the end of this week, (certainly by Monday) we will have some friendly fish in our aquatic habitat.  Stay tuned!

Grade Three to Grade four...What's the Difference?

This is a image clipped from the curriculum document.  Sometimes these outcomes are easy to interpret, and other times they are not, but it will help you see the connection to the math homework that comes home.  After speaking with people tonight at the open house I thought I would try this to see if it helped communicate what is happening in the classroom - I will try to post this when the Math homework goes home.  The nice thing about this little table, is how it compares the grade four outcome to the same concept in grade three.  I will put a few of these up over the next little while to see how well they are received.

Mr.Carr

Open House Tonight

I am looking forward to meeting everyone tonight at the open house.  After the general meeting in the gymnasium at 6:30, I will have a few points about the classroom, curriculum, and our class blog, but mostly it is a great opportunity to meet the "new" teacher, and get a sense of what your child's classroom is like.

See you soon,

Mr. Carr

Information on Grade 4 Reading and Writing

Understanding Provincial Achievement Standards in Reading and Writing

The above link takes you to a PDF file that offers information about the reading and writing assessments this year.  It is difficult to read the student writing sample on this file, but if you would like to see more specific information about writing samples for grade four, please contact me directly.

Social Studies - Canada's Political Boundaries

Image referenced from : Free US and World Maps.com

Today we were identifying the political boundaries within Canada, and a few students ran out of time before they were able to finish colouring their map. This is the map we were using in class to help see a colourful representation of the boundaries, and it was requested that I place the map on the blog as a reference by the students who needed to finish.

For more information, Natural Resources Canada has an excellent selection of maps to explore.

Internet Safety Introduction

Today we started talking about Internet Safety in preparation for when we start using the Netbooks. Although this video is produced in the United Stated, it carries an effective message to for students. Referring to the internet as a large city, this video helps students understand the importance of staying safe, and it highlights some important points that should be committed to memory. Internet safety will be a regular topic throughout the year.

Book Orders Due Wednesday

A reminder: book orders are due Wednesday, September 14th. Part of the morning routine includes the students coming into the class and placing their communication folders on their desk with any contents taken out and placed on top. This helps facilitate efficient and effective communication. The orders will be submitted to Scholastic on Friday.

Lunch orders are due Friday, the 16th. The order forms were sent home on Monday so please contact me if you did not receive the order form or have misplaced it. No late orders can be accepted.

Thanks.

Mr. Carr

Math Game Website

Hi Everyone,

Here is a link to some straight forward math games. Some of the instructions may take a second look to understand the game, but for the most part, the games look effective for general practice.

http://resources.oswego.org/games/

Our First Week of School

"During our first week of school, we met our new teacher, Mr. Carr, and we met the students in our class for this year. It was also nice to see some of our previous teachers. By sharing responsibilities in our table groups, we made literacy posters for literacy day by making large acrostic poems. This week we had two awesome music classes. We learned a new song about Canada, and one about Africa."

The above paragraph is a shared writing lesson where the whole class worked together to come up with the information. As well, they worked together to add details and combine ideas in each sentence. We didn't get as far as we expected since we had to practice a fire drill, but this is a good start. If in the future you ever wanted to filter the posts to see only the shared writing, under the heading on the left "Filter Posts", click on the word "shared" and only the shared writing pieces will appear.

This was an excellent first week of establishing roles, routines and procedures. In Math we explored different ways of representing numbers to 1000. If you would like more information on this, write a number on a piece of paper, and your child should be able to represent this number in a variety of ways.

In Language Arts, we have begun learning procedure for the Daily 5 -a system to help facilitate individualized classroom activity. As well, we have been writing in our journals, and reviewing/practicing the recount form of writing.

Exploration is the theme that runs through the grade four Social Studies Curriculum; and accordingly, we have started to explore the provinces and territories of Canada.

Thank you to the students for making this first week successful, and have a great weekend. Please check the communication folder for new correspondence, and Book Orders are due on Wednesday, September 14.



Mr.Carr

First Day of School Notices

I thought it may be appropriate to list the notices that were sent home today.

Welcome to My Class Postcard
Guide for Healthy Eating
Island Views and News
Student Threat/Rick Assessment
School District 8 Important Dates
IVS Family Fun Day
Nutrition at Island View

The following notices have a portion that needs to be returned to the school:

Department of Education Policy 311
Media Release Form (Permission for your child to be photographed by media)
Island View School Student Information Sheet

There were a few sheets left in the classroom after dismissal, so if you are missing any of this information, please have your child pick up a copy tomorrow.

Thanks,
Mr. Carr

First Day of School

We had a successful entry into grade four. And after a few activities, I think I know everyone by first name in the class. Safety, respect, and trying your hardest will be the cornerstone of our classroom community, and here are a few "I will" statements, or codes, that our class came up with:

I will try my best.
I will learn.
I will be responsible.
I will respect others.
I will care for others.
I will share.
I will be trustworthy.
I will be safe.

Have a great day!
Mr. Carr