Christmas Concert

On Monday, the grade 3 and 4's had their Christmas concert. They were dressed in beautiful attire and sang their hearts out! Well done 4B!

In LA we read the Chris Van Allsburg story, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. 

We discussed what makes a book fit into the fantasy genre. 

• takes place in the present
• has a realistic setting but unrealistic events
• often uses magic

We looked for examples of fantasy in our reading.

We also learned about theme - the central message, thought or idea the author wants the reader to understand. We discussed the theme in "The Garden of Abdul Gaszi" and found evidence from the text to support this theme. 

We also began our Biography good copies. The students are typing their paragraphs into google slides and adding pictures to their project. They have also incorporated a quote into their assignment and will end with an "About the Author" page that we will work on next week. 

We reviewed the cursive letters Ww, Tt and Jj. 

Kidblog Summary

- Weekend Update Monday

- Talk About it Tuesday ~ Best Holiday

- WeSearch Wednesday ~ Alberta

- 3,2,1 Week in Review Thursday

In math, we started 2 and 3 digit addition, with and without regrouping. We began by drawing out 2 digit numbers with base ten blocks. We used these models to better understand regrouping. We did a lot of practice on the smartboard and on the mini whiteboards.

 We also paired up and played double digit addition tic-tac-toe. The students really enjoyed this game!

Congrats to our Xtra Math Star!

In Social Studies this week we learned about Natural Resources
https://safeshare.tv/x/ss598a7755ee340

Fossil Fuels

https://safeshare.tv/x/ss598a8902e398c

and the Oil Sands

https://safeshare.tv/x/jcXdLCjzy8s

The students watched these videos and then we did some reading and highlighting in our notes. 

As part of the SADD, Alberta Liquor Bag Campaign, the grade 3 and 4 students began brainstorming picture and message ideas for their bag. They will be completing this project during the grade 3/4 assembly time on Tuesday afternoons. 

Our Week - November 25 - 29

I can't believe that December is already here! We are very busy with the holiday season upon us. The students spent a lot of time this week preparing for the upcoming Christmas concert and they are looking forward to performing for you. The grade 3/4 concert is being held tomorrow at 1:10 pm and 6:30 pm. See you then!

Curriculum Update

Our Kidblog writing schedule this week included:

Journal Writing Monday - Weekend Post

Talk About it Tuesday - Cheetah vs. Ostrich - Who Would Win?

WeSearch Wednesday - Chris Van Allsburg

In LA, we started our biography rough copies. The students took the information they gathered in their interviews and compiled 4 paragraphs. The first paragraph was an introductory one and contained information such as when and where their special person was born and important details of their childhood. The second paragraph was important facts about their special person's adulthood. The third paragraph contained all of their favourite things and then they finished with a short concluding paragraph. 

Next week the students will be typing up their biographies. Please be sure to submit a photo of your child’s interviewee as soon as possible. Your child will not be able to complete his/her biography project without these photos. Your help with this project is very much appreciated.

We also spent some time exploring Chris Van Allsburg books. The students used chart paper to jot down what they noticed about his illustrations. We shared our findings as a group and compared the different lists. 

We focused on the cursive letters Cc, Ii and Uu this week.

This week we finished reading over the last 2 natural regions in our social booklets. The students were then to complete a pennant report, using one of the 6 natural regions we have studied. They were to use their knowledge, an online site given to them in Classroom and their booklet notes. Their jot notes were on the vegetation, climate, landforms and wildlife in that region. At the bottom of their pennant they were to complete an illustration related to the natural region they selected. The students will be marked on their information, illustration, mechanics and spelling.

We began our Addition and Subtraction Up to 10,000 unit in math this week. Outcomes covered included:

• Sorting numbers
• Estimating sums
• Using mental math to add
• Add 2-digit numbers without regrouping

Our XtraMath super stars!!

In art, we completed a mixed media Christmas tree. We used watercolour, acrylic paint and paper for this tree art. We started by using liquid watercolour to create the background/wall colour. Then we used acrylic paint to paint the tree, blending 3 different shades of green to give dimension. Next, we used q-tips to add Christmas ball decorations to the branches. The window effect was made by gluing strips of paper around the edge of the art and down the middle. For the final touch, we added snowflakes. These turned out so well and will be on display tomorrow night at our Christmas concert!

Congratulations to our Laser Tag winner for the month of November! Keep reading and recording for a chance to win in December.

Congratulations to our new Student of the Week!