Tuesday, December 3

Hi parents,

We had a busy day today. In the morning, we learned more about the uses of commas, and focused on how commas can be used to connect different ideas within the same sentence. The students were given badly written paragraphs about black bears, that featured only short, simple sentences with many redundancies. They rewrote the paragraph in their own words, using commas to create sentences of varied length that contribute to the flow of the paragraph. Many students also chose to add descriptive words.

In math, the Grade 3s practiced their multiplication skills, while the Grade 4s (and a couple Grade 3s who wanted a challenge) learned how to use the Stamp Game to solve 2 and 3-digit by 1-digit multiplication problems. While using the stamp game, we also looked into the standard algorithm, so students could see the 'behind-the-scenes' regrouping that takes place. 

In the afternoon, we did Daily LA, and then had a great discussion about the ways in which humans change the surface of the earth. We talked about how we need to change the earth in order to survive, whether it be through deforestation, mining, farming, etc., but also that its important to be aware of the impacts these actions can have on the environment.

We ended the day by reading Wish Tree.

Have a nice night,

Zac

Monday, December 2

 Hi parents,

We had a pretty good day today. In the morning, we did more work around using commas in writing. I think my mistake in previous years has been not spending enough time explicitly teaching commas, so this year, I'm really trying to provide students with a broad range of situations in which commas can be used effectively.

In math, we learned a new game: "Around the World". It's a new take on a classic math game by the same name, in which students competed against each other to answer math fact problems quickly. In this new version, they compete against themselves and the clock instead, and try to circulate the classroom, answering 22 multiplication problems correctly in under a minute. At this point in the year, it's virtually impossible. It's a more fun way to build fact fluency with less pressure than competing against classmates.

We went over this week's spelling pattern (-ur). We also did Daily LA, and started watching the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra's "Napi and the Rock". This short play showcases indigenous storytelling, and teaches students how indigenous peoples used storytelling as a means of explaining different parts of the natural world. It connects really well to all the work we've been doing around erosion, landforms, and earth's layers. 

Have a nice night!

Zac

Spelling Words (Week of Dec. 1)

 Spelling List A (Nov. 28 – Dec. 6)

turn	hurt	burn	curb	spur
curly	surfing	fur	urban	blur

 

Spelling List B (Nov. 28 – Dec. 6)

sure	jury	rural	nurse	burst
murky	curve	burnt	hurry	lurking

 

Spelling List C (Nov. 28 – Dec. 6)

during	return	nature	future	figure
burden	urgent	purple	churn	turtle

The letter blend of the week is -ur. I have a feeling it'll be a tough one, there are a lot of less-familiar words this week. Good luck!

Thursday, November 28

 Hi parents,

We had a good end to our week today. In the morning, we had the spelling quiz (which the class did exceptionally well on, but I didn't have a chance to hand back) and then we did a Science lesson on the four domains of earth: the lithosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. I had never heard of these terms until last year but they basically refer to the rocks, life forms, water, and gases on earth, and how each system can affect the other systems. Students did this activity to represent the focus of each system, by colouring the parts of earth that each sphere encompassed:

In the afternoon, we did Daily LA, and then did a lesson on how to draw a realistic oak tree (in honour of Wish Tree).

Secret Spirit Week Next Week

This week, the teachers did a secret spirit week and wore different styles of clothes each day of the week. Students tried to guess the theme each day. Next week the kids in Room 3 are doing their own secret spirit week. They worked with Ms. Budd to organize it and send home the info. I don't know what the plan is but I'm going to try to guess each day. 

Stay tuned for next week's spelling words, coming tomorrow.

Have a nice weekend!

Zac

Wednesday, November 27

 Hi parents,

We had a pretty good day today. In the morning, we had a math review quiz that covered Addition and Subtraction, and was very similar to the quiz we did in October but with different numbers. I was really happy to see that the students had a lot more confidence this time around, and many students were able to improve on their last score. I have an 'unlimited re-do' policy, so for anyone who is unhappy with how today's quiz went, there'll be plenty of opportunities for redemption in the future.

We also met with our buddy class in the morning and helped them with a writing task they're working on. This activity also gave our class an opportunity to review the concept of 'culture', and to get to know their buddies on a deeper level.

When we got back, the students wrote sentences using their spelling words,  and using commas. 

In the afternoon, we did Daily LA, read Wish Tree, and had Music.

There is no school on Friday, so our spelling quiz will be tomorrow.

Have a nice night,

Zac

Monday, November 25

 Hi parents,

Today we continued learning about commas. We focused on their usefulness when writing lists of objects or attributes. the students showed their skill with commas by completing sentence starters, using commas to separate list items. For example:

"The colours of the rainbow are...[red,  orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.]

BLOG HOMEWORK (+2 points)

Complete each sentence. Use at least 2 commas in each.

1. The best things to do in the snow are...

2. Some examples of mammals include...

3. I am... (think character trait adjectives!)

In math, we talked about Skip-Counting, and how it can help us solve multiplication problems. We went over the pattern you can observe when skip-counting by 9's. We also went over the 5's.

We read some more Wish Tree, did Daily LA, and ended our day with Music.

Have a nice night,

Zac

"Winter Event" - Dec. 12

 

Spelling Words (Week of Nov. 22)

 Spelling List A (Nov. 22 – 28)

or	for	sorting	born	fork
acorn	short	sports	lord	port

 

Spelling List B (Nov. 22 – 28)

doors	order	force	forum	organs
sword	manor	flora	chord	thorns

 

Spelling List C (Nov. 22 – 28)

scorn	coral	orange	factor	memory
victory	forged	mentor	absorb	origin

The letter blend this week is 'or'. Once again I tried to throw some interesting vocabulary words into the mix, so please take some time to go over the meanings of each word if you're practicing at home!

Friday, November 22

 Hi parents,

We ended the week on a high note with another good day. In the morning, we did our spelling quiz, and had work time to finish up work from earlier in the week. Many students were able to finish their volcano / erosion / earth's layers paragraphs, complete with labelled diagrams.

We met up with our buddies and planned and built snow forts. 

In math, we played a new-and-improved version of 'Classroom of Doom', which all around was a big hit, and gave kids plenty of basic addition, subtraction, and multiplication fact practice.

We ended the day by reading Wish Tree.

Stay tuned for next week's spelling words, and have a nice weekend,

Zac

Thursday, November 21

 Hi parents,

We had a great day today. In the morning, we read a book about erosion and weathering, and learned how not only water, but also wind, sun, and ice can change the landscape. We even learned how burrowing animals can shape it.

The students wrote paragraphs explaining one of the following topics in simple terms: erosion, tectonic plates, volcanos, and earth's layers.

They did a fantastic job with this task but will need more time to finish up tomorrow.

In the afternoon, we did Daily LA and read Wish Tree. 

We also did a math activity that reviewed all of the multiplication strategies we've looked at so far - arrays, 'noodle and bowls', repeated addition, skip-counting, and using pictures.

BLOG HOMEWORK (+2 table points)

Solve the problem. Show your work.

The Grade 3 and 4 students at LBS want to go on a field trip to Fish Creek. They can fit 48 kids on a bus, and they book 3 buses. How many kids are able to go to Fish Creek by bus?

Tomorrow is our spelling quiz - lets end the week on a high note!

Have a nice night,

Zac

Wednesday, November 20

 Hi parents,

We had a great day today. In the morning, the class was so quiet and focused as we wrote sentences for our spelling words and finished up work from earlier in the week. In math, we learned the "Arrays" strategy for multiplication, which basically involves creating a grid arrangement to represent a multiplication problem. 

The arrays strategy isn't particularly fast, but it is reliable, and it helps lay the foundations for understanding the concept of "area". 

We read some more of Wish Tree, and met "Samar", one the book's main characters. 

In Science, we re-watched a Bill Nye episode about the Earth's crust. The last time we'd watched it had been during snack, and students were only half paying attention, but this time we paused throughout the video and had some good discussions.

We ended the day with Daily LA and Music.

Have a nice night,

Zac