December



December is upon us and we are moving along quite nicely in Grade Four. It was a pleasure to meet with all of the parents/guardians who attended interview night.

In the classroom, we have been very busy with our new TLCP unit on Making Connections. Students have had the opportunity to learn about text to world connections and self to text connections. They have also had the chance to learn about script writing and drama. This month students will be working towards putting together a short video based on their script. There will be a few surprises along the way!

We are in the heart of our measurement unit right now. We kicked off the unit with linear measurement and have now moved onto time and measuring capacity. Practice at home with an analog clock would be beneficial for students to grow in familiarity with using one.

I am really proud of our students because they were able to achieve over 10, 500 pages of reading for the month of November. This is a huge accomplishment and is very encouraging to see student's reading at home on a nightly basis.

We have a fantastic fundraiser at the school led by Parent Council with poinsettias. If interested, please send in a message about purchasing to help out the school!

That is all of the classroom news for now. I have included some links below for students to get some extra practice with their math skills at home.

http://www.maths-games.org/time-games.html
http://pbskids.org/games/measurement.html

9100 Pages

I can't believe that we reached our goal this month! Great work students on reaching 9100 pages! Can we make it to 10,000 pages next month?

Remember to keep reading at home! The more practice that you get...the better reader you will be in the long run!!

Mr. Frail

Perimeter and Area

Hey students!

We have been working really hard in class on perimeter and area. I wanted to look for some websites so you can get some extra practice at home. These websites that I have listed are really good and they help to strengthen your understanding of both perimeter and area. Take some time and check them out!!

http://www.mathplayground.com/area_perimeter.html

http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/math-games/airlines-builder

http://www.bgfl.org/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/perimeter_and_area/index.html

That is all for now! Remember to practice because we have a quiz on Friday!!

Mr. Frail

TLCP #2



Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to give a quick update of what is happening in the Grade Four classroom. We have finished our first TLCP unit on summarizing! It is amazing how far the students have come since first beginning the unit in September.

This month we will be starting our new TLCP unit on making connections. This is going to be a great unit and I know that the students are going to really enjoy it. Students will have the opportunity to use technology throughout this unit to deepen their understanding of making connections.

In Math, we have been working on measurement. Students have been designing a small city/town to practice their ruler skills and their knowledge of perimeter. A lot of the activities have been hands on. To strengthen the students ability at measuring, it would be great if student's could have opportunities at home to measure various items using millimeters, centimeters, and meters.

Report Cards will be send home very shortly. Please return the interview request form as I am looking forward to meeting with all of the parents/guardians.

That is all for now!

Mr. Frail

Design and Measurement

Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to write a quick update on what is happening in the Grade Four classroom here at Lisgar. We have launched our new unit on measurement and the students have had some authentic and hands-on learning experiences with using a ruler and meter stick.

One of the assignments that the students are going to be partaking in is making an actual design of something that they are interested in. For example, a lot of students are interested in music, more specifically the band One Direction. Those students have been asked to design an album cover for One Direction with actual measurements of the CD case and graphics. Some students have shown an interest in sports. Those students will be designing a stadium using measurement.

Once the students are finished their designs, we will be mailing them to the parties that they are linked to. So the students who decided to build a stadium will have their blueprint mailed to a specific sports team of their choice.

The students seem to be very excited about this idea!

In language, our TLCP unit on summarizing is almost finished. Students have made good gains in their understanding of what a summary is and how you write one. For our final task, students will be choosing a province/territory and writing a summary about it. From here, we will compile the work and publish it into a book that will be placed in our library. Students will also have an opportunity to publish their work online to our blog.

That is all for now!

Photo Updates

October has been a very busy month in Grade Four! We have been practicing our number sense and numeration skills and we had the chance to create some engaging projects along the way. Check out some photos from our Egg Drop, Rocket Building Math, and Build-A-Store activities.

Group Summary Winner - Mercer Mayer's "Nightmare in my Closet"

Group Summary Winner - Mercer Mayer's "Nightmare in my Closet"

Group Summary Winner - Mercer Mayer's "Nightmare in my Closet"

Multiple Parachute Design for Egg Drop

An eggciting capsule!

All capsules were made out of recyclable material.

A simple yet effective egg capsule!

Students brainstormed their own designs and then created the capsule.

A UFO inspired egg capsule!

Having a hands-on activity got students engaged!

To compliment our addition and subtraction unit, students 

created restaurant menus!

Now that's a tasty burger!

Students created rockets using price lists to further practice adding and subtraction.

Students had a chance to team with a partner to complete a rocket

Math was at the forefront of this rocket!

Optical Illusion Art: Our focus was on line use.

An unhappy astronaut!

Three Little Pig's Formative Assignment

A big drop from the top of the classroom!

Rocket Ships and Egg Drops

Hello everyone! I just wanted to touch base on some of the learning that is happening in the Grade Four classroom. 

This week the students have had the opportunity to build rocket ships. Students were able to add several different features to their rocket. Students were given a price list of features and a budget of 7000 dollars to spend. Students were expected to stay on budget and to add up the total cost of their rocket. We have been focusing on addition and subtraction in the classroom and these math strands are at the forefront of this activity.

Later this week, students will be participating in an egg drop that is more directly linked to subtraction. Students will be asked subtraction questions based on the height that their egg will be dropping. Students will have to figure out distances and heights, with an exciting opportunity to see if their egg can survive the drop. If you have 2-3 recycled items at home your child could use to build their egg holder it would be greatly appreciated!

In Language we have been working through our unit on summarizing. There is some good gains in this area, as the students have been working really hard in this subject area. For creative writing, students have been working on Spooky Stories and Funny Tales. 

That is all for now!

Mr. Frail

8000 Pages!!!



Congratulations Grade Four students for reading 8000 pages in the month of September! This is a great start to the new school year. Next month I want to see if you can read over 8500 pages. Thank you for the great effort that you have been putting forward at home.

We are continuing to work on our TLCP unit on summarizing in the classroom. Remember to always look for the main points in whatever you are reading. You and your partner will have a chance to continue working on the Weird Collections article this week. By Friday, you should have your good copy finished.

In math, we will continue working towards completing menus and seeing how math ties into real world situations. Your menu's need to be finished by Friday as I will be ready to purchase some items from your restaurants/stores.

Remember students that if you need extra help in mathematics to make sure you attend math club!!

That is all for now!

Mr. Frail

PS: Check out this great game to help practice your reading skills at home!

http://www.discip.ac-caen.fr/anglais/documents/cottenceau/Spywatch/lar/index.htm

Next Week

Hey students! I just wanted to take a second to remind you that your reading goals are due on Monday! Make sure that you hand them in.

I am looking forward to showing you the new math program that we will be using on the computers next week. I know that you can also use this program from home.

Continue to practice subtraction at home as this will be the last piece of Number Sense and Numeration before we move onto another strand!

Have a great weekend.

Mr. Frail

Classroom Updates



Hello all! This is just a quick reminder to everyone of some upcoming dates here in the classroom and at school.

1) Picture is on Wednesday September 26th! Please make sure that you hand in your picture forms!

2) Reading Goals are due on October 1st. All students must submit their Reading Goals for the month of September.

3) Milk Tickets are on sale every Wednesday!

4) Thursday September 27th is our character trait assembly on responsibility! Make sure that you are being responsible in the classroom and at home by completing homeworking and getting your agenda signed.

5) Friday September 28th is a PA Day!

That is all of the news from now!

Burger Rounding

Great job on your super heroes! It was fun to sit down and read through them over the weekend. From Pancake Man to Stormy, the ideas were fabulous! Please take some time to read through the descriptive feedback that I gave you on the assignment.

We have begun learning about summarizing in school and I am really looking forward to this unit. Today we did the beginning task to see just how much you know about summarizing and how to write a summary. We have lots of work to do on this skill! But it is going to be a fun journey!

Please make sure that you get your math tests signed by a parent and guardian. They have to be returned back to school so I can put them in your math portfolio. I will be holding a math club tomorrow for students interested in taking a re-write on this test. Remember that you must show up for the math clubs this week in order to be granted a re-write!

Rounding is our next focus for math and we will continue to practice our skills over the coming days.

Some links for extra practice.

http://www.aplusmath.com/Flashcards/rounding.html  (Rounding Flash Cards)
http://www.free-training-tutorial.com/rounding/sharks.html (Rounding Game on Sharks)

Classroom Update

Excellent work on your homework last night students! You are really starting to understand four by four digit addition. The biggest mistake on the homework was when students forgot about adding the extra number that was put in the next locker. Remember to keep track of what you are adding together! Make sure that you review place value and what number belongs to each group. Think about our lesson from this morning on counting and what happens when you add another digit.

If there are any questions prior to the quiz on Friday, make sure that you come in and see me! I am more then happy to give any student extra help.

The superhero assignments look great! We should be finished our good copies on Friday!!

In the meantime, here are some awesome links that will help you practice some of your addition skills online.

http://www.fun4thebrain.com/addition.html
http://www.familylearning.org.uk/addition_games.html

Oh Canada!

Hey students! I hope that you are enjoying class so far. You have been working really hard and there has been a lot of learning happening already! In math, we have been working on Number Sense. Adding and representing numbers using base ten blocks have been our focus. In Language, we have been working on creating our own super hero. We learned how detail and the use of adjectives are important tools in writing. Now in Social Studies we are going to start learning about Canada and why it is a great place to live! Take some time to learn a little bit about Canada. Try to find out the provinces/territories and some unique things about them.

http://www.cgkids.ca/cgkids/cgkids.asp
http://www.canada.worldweb.com/Maps/ProvincialMaps-Flash/index.htm
http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/phillie/InternationalExchange/Canada/Physical%20Regions/Physical_Regions/index.html

Heads Up Items

-Remember to bring in your emergency forms if they have not been submitted yet!
-Intramural Soccer Signup is tomorrow in Mr. Frail's room
-Milk Tickets can be purchased on Wednesday for next week!
-Rough copies of your superhero assignments should be finished for tomorrow!
-Math Club is held every week in Mr. Frail's room. If you are having problems with Math before the next club, make sure that you ask for help beforehand! I am available!

Working Hard



I was really excited to listen to all of the wonderful ideas and thoughts that you had for your Super Hero! Remember that details are really important when it comes to writing. Make sure that you use as much creativity as possible!! Tomorrow we will begin working on the rough copies of our paragraphs about our superhero. We will also finish Dex the Superhero Dog and continue on with Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.

For math, make sure that you take the time to complete tonight's homework! If you have any questions or you are confused with anything, I will be available for extra help tomorrow at math club!

Here is a great website that you should visit for some extra practice on your skills!

http://www.funbrain.com/fractop/index.html
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm

First Day!

What an awesome first day at school! It was great to meet all of the new students and I am really looking forward to working with you all!!

Just a reminder for students who did not receive an agenda today that you will get one as soon as the newly ordered ones come in! Make sure that you begin working on your reading goals at home and that you make reading a priority every night!! It is an important part of our classroom program.

Tomorrow we are going to get into the meat and potatoes of our classroom. I have a great creative writing assignment for you to get those creative thoughts flowing! We will also be starting number sense in mathematics! To get you started on the right track, check out this website for some extra practice!!

http://www.playkidsgames.com/mathGames.htm

Hmmm...I wonder what our creative writing assignment will be about?

Welcome to our website! Please make sure that you check in for any updates. We are looking forward to an exciting year in grade four!!