Number Quiz on Tuesday

We will have a short quiz on Tuesday, December 3 to check-in on students' understanding of Number Concepts. Below are the expectations for each grade level.

Gr 4's:
- Represent a given number (up to 10 000) with Base Ten blocks
- Count Base Ten blocks to find a number (up to 10 000)
- Express a given numeral in expanded notation (100 + 20 + 5 = 125) up to 10 000
- Write the numeral represented by expanded notation up to 10 000
- Order numbers from least to greatest and greatest to least up to 10 000
- Explain the order by making references to place value
- Create a number given a set of numerals (ex: 4    5     7     2    could be 5724 or 7254...)
- Explain the meaning of each digit in a given 4-digit numeral (ex: 5724: the first digit represents five thousand, the second digit represents seven hundred...)


Gr 5's:
- Represent a given number (up to 10 000) with Base Ten blocks
- Count Base Ten blocks to find a number (up to 10 000)
- Express a given numeral in expanded notation (100 + 20 + 5 = 125) up to 1 000 000
- Express a given numeral in expanded notation with brackets (3 x 1000) + (2 x 100) + (5 x 10) + (6 x 1) = 3256
- Write the numeral represented by expanded notation (with or without brackets) up to 1 000 000
- Order numbers from least to greatest and greatest to least up to 1 000 000
- Explain the order by making references to place value
- Create a number given a set of numerals (ex: 4    5     7     2    could be 5724 or 7254...)
- Explain the meaning of each digit in a given 4-digit numeral (ex: 5724: the first digit represents five thousand, the second digit represents seven hundred...)

For practice, Number assignments have been added to Mathletics.

Hugo

We have been reading the stunning book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Selznick. The story fits perfectly with our work on Simple Machines since the main character, Hugo, works with clocks.

Our main reading focus for the book has been asking questions. With each section that we read, each student needs to ask an appropriate question that fits with what we just read. For example, after today's section, one might wonder: Are Hugo and Isabel related? How did she have the key to his father's machine?

This book is also an amazing example of how language and visuals work together to communicate meaning and enhance effect (Gr 4 Language Arts expectation).

When we finish the book, we will watch the movie in class and complete a book-movie comparison. It is an excellent example of the LA expectation: "Discuss and compare the ways similar topics are developed in different forms of oral, print, and other media." (Gr 4 and 5).

Today we finished reading Part One. Students were quite excited when leaving the class about how the story is progressing. I hope you have an enjoyable discussion about the book with your child. :)

Amusement Park Building: Part 3

In this picture, we were drawing different
simple machine rides to help us brainstorm

At first, we learned about Simple Machines. We learned the different types, watched videos, and had building activities to train us so we were ready for building our Amusement Park! Ms Elder told us a while ago that this was going to be our project, so we knew to pay careful attention at playgrounds and parks to be prepared.

Yesterday and today we were getting our supplies and building our rides, such as roller coaster, so other classes could see our learning.

"As I was working, I had a problem with the gears
so I had to keep fixing and fixing and fixing them."

We were also put into support groups so that we could get help from our classmates when we needed it. We gave each other suggestions to make our designs better.

Here are some photos and reflections of our work:

"I was having a big problem with my screw so I kept tying string to it to make it steeper so the marble would roll."

"I had a problem with trying to make my sign that would also hold the marble and make it fly.
It never went in the bucket and land in the place I wanted it to." 

"I had trouble putting the wire in place where it
had to go so the marble could roll down it.
I went to my group and asked for help but
then James came by and helped me." 

"I learned a few things: sometimes turn out really well for you and sometimes they go downhill very fast." ~ Abigail

"We were doing this activity because we were learning about gears and simple machines." ~ James

"I learned that we have to go through the problems that you have and ask your group. Once you fix that problem, there will probably be another one but you have to just keep on going." ~ Sophia

"For my ride, I glued a bunch of cardboard on the skateboard so I could put the marble inside. I made an incline plane so the skateboard could go down it. The cardboard was too big so I had to make a different plan." ~ Priya

"I made my ladder first because I thought it would be a good idea. The glue took a really long time to dry. My clay slides kept falling apart so I made a cardboard slide. I learned that clay isn't that stable." ~ Desiree

After we were done our ride, we came up with a list of things
we would have in an Amusement Park.

Here our the finished rides!

Amusement Park Building: Part 2

We spent most of the day building our Amusement Park rides. Check back in tomorrow for more photos and reflections on the experience.

For now, can you spot your child's masterpiece? :)

Amusement Park Building

Amusement Park Building Project

We are creating our own model Amusement Park!

Each student is building their own ride

using their knowledge of simple machines.

Students have completed planning sheets that list the materials they need. These planning sheets will be sent home during their Learning Conference today or tomorrow. The school will supply basic building materials like cardboard, tape, hot glue, etc, but students will need to bring in any extra materials from home. 

We will be building on Monday!

How you can help your child:

-       Go over their plan with them this weekend

-       Make sure they have thought through each step of their ride

Example:   How will the cart get to the top of the rollercoaster?

                  What is the cart made of?

                  How will you attach your pulleys together?

-       Give suggestions and problem-solve together

-       Collect materials and ensure they are packed in your child’s backpack ready for Monday morning

-       Pre-cut things that might be tricky to do at school or require tools other than scissors

-       Give them a pep talk Monday morning!

Ex: “There will be challenges while building. It’s ok if your ride doesn’t end up working; Ms Elder just wants to see you solve problems and keep trying even if it’s hard.” J

If you have any questions, please email Ms Elder.

Gr 4's Time Practice

Here is the game we played in class today to practice telling time.

https://www.abcya.com/games/telling_time

Postcards for Peace

As a follow-up from Remembrance Day, we are writing postcards to Canadian Peacekeepers to thank them for their service and bring their holidays a little extra cheer!

We started by brainstorming symbols that represent Canada. This relates to our Social Studies work on Canadian identity. Here are the ideas we thought of:

Canadian flag

Maple leaf

Beaver

Red and white

Logo of a team

Moose, elk, caribou, polar bear

Rocky mountains

Maple tree (leaves changing colour)

Maple syrup

Hockey sticks and puck/hockey net

Snow

Loon

Bluenose boat

Queen

Next, we brainstormed sentence stems that related to us feeling grateful for their work making peace, hoping they get home safely to see their families, and best wishes for the holiday season.

Measurement Olympics

For the last couple of weeks we have been reviewing Measurement in class and practicing our measuring skills. We learned about units (mm, cm, dm, m, Dm, Hm, km) and our base 10 system.

We practiced using decimals when measuring (ex: the width of a duotang is 22.8 cm) and we found referents like 1 mm is the width of a fingernail and 1 cm is the width of a finger.

We measured objects around the class to learn about the units of measurement and so that we're better at measuring things.

Yesterday, we participated in a Measurement Olympics! Ms Elder set up five different events for us: cotton ball shot put, paper straw javelin, long reach, long step, and high jump. We had to measure each event in meters and centimeters. (Ex: Gaby's winning javelin throw = 7.20m!).

The top three medalists in each sport got a ribbon. :) Below are our medalists!
Thanks to our parent volunteers for helping make our Olympics possible!

"I think we did this because it's related to Measurement. Sometimes people think measurement is boring. Ms Elder wanted to make it fun by making it Olympics. In the Olympics, measuring is important." ~ Desiree

"I liked how we got to compete against each other in certain areas. It was kind of like Sports Day except it's a bunch of materials that are in classrooms." ~ Abigail

"We will use Measurement in many jobs." ~ Jaxton

"In jobs, we use Measurement. In lots of different jobs, you need to measure things." ~ Owen

"What I liked about the Olympics was that we got to measure the exact distance. It was also really fun at the end when the top three people got a medal." ~ Sophia

"I felt content at the end when people were winning. I felt happy for those who won; I'm just happy that I participated. I know I can learn better by participating." ~ Desiree

"We were learning about Measuring because we will need to build an amusement park so we need to measure rides." ~ Ina

"To get everything to work properly in our Amusement Park, we will use Measurement." ~ Jaxton

Gears

Today we continued our exploration of gears.

Ms Elder showed us her bike and we talked about how you can change the gear to make it "easier" or "harder" to ride. When you use an easier gear, you have to turn more rotations but each turn is easier. When you use a harder gear, you turn less times, but each turn is harder.

This relates to what we know about incline planes because the steeper the ramp, the shorter the distance is that you have to walk but the more effort you need for each step.

We each got a gear activity to take home with us in case we want some extra practice before our quiz tomorrow. This is OPTIONAL homework.

Games about Canada

Today we explored the provinces and territories of Canada.
Here are some games to practice these skills:

Canada’s History Resources

Canadian Train Game: http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/trains/English/index.html

The Great Upper Canada Adventure 

http://sydenhamdiscovery.ca/english/game.asp

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/canada_G0_Click.html

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/canada_caps_2.html

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/canada_G1_drag_drop.html

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Canada-georegion-click.html

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/canada_caps_3_name.html

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/canada_G7_spin_drag.html

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/canada_G8_spin_drag.html

Quiz https://lizardpoint.com/geography/canada-quiz.php

Canada’s Treasure Trek https://www.tvokids.com/school-age/games/my-canada