Tessa Suckoo & Jared Bremner
Dear Parents,
Unfortunately, our field has been postponed tonight due to the torrential rains and massive cloud coverage that has been gracing us for the past few days. Hopefully we will be able to arrange another viewing at a later, drier date. Thank you for your understanding. I will keep you posted on our new date.
Enjoy the rain tonight though…it’s a great time for some hot chocolate and a nice movie! 🙂
Sincerely,
Ms. Suckoo
We did some very creative writing on Tuesday, and apparently, our writing may be responsible for the buckets of rain that has been falling for the past few days. 🙂 We are very sorry indeed. 😉
Some of our topics included:
1. Pretend there is a terrible thunderstorm and write a persuasive letter explaining why they should NOT go to school in the horrible weather.
2. Write a story from the perspective of the umbrella.
3. Write a ‘how to’ story about the steps needed to get dressed to go out in the rain.
Today I got some amazing and very exciting news!!! A few weeks ago, a few grade 4 students entered the
DEH & Cayman Islands Yellow Pages Recycling Poster Competition.
Our very own Ashlee Wagner won 3rd Prize!
She will receive a $50 gift certificate, Fishes of the Open Ocean book from Guy Harvey and 3 Hollywood Movie Passes.
Congratulations Ashlee from all of Grade 4.
What a great way to spread the message of “Don’t Trash It…Recycle It”!
Here are the other brilliant pieces of art that we submitted:
We had a wonderful…albeit steamy, time at the Dr. Hrudey Observatory. Thank you to all of the parents who assisted and a special thank you to Mr. Larry for providing a bus for us.
Here a few photos to remember our field trip by. Enjoy!
Grade 4 – Independent Reading Project
Brown Paper Bag Reading Assignment
During our last quarter, you will read the book assigned to you as part of our Independent Reading Project.
You will be completing a paper bag book report as an assessment for this novel/story.
On the Outside….
For this book report, you must consider each the following: setting, plot, main character, and theme.
There are four panels on a paper bag. You will be expected to use one panel of your brown paper bag for each of these four elements. The information for each panel must be neatly written or typed on a small piece of paper and glued or taped to the bag. You won’t need any more than a paragraph or so for each panel.
Front : BOOK TITLE and AUTHOR
Side 1: CHARACTERS
Back: SUMMARY
Side 2: SETTING
On the Inside…
You must include 5 items in your bag that have some significance to the story. Be imaginative…Think outside of the box. You can use toys, modeling clay, or anything else that may represent something important from the story. Make sure each item that you pick is unique and include a few sentences explaining why you choose this item and how it relates to the book.
You will be expected to share your book report with the class (inside and out) and will be marked on: inclusion of the setting, plot, major character, theme and conventions (for the outside of the bag), your five items inside the bag and your overall speaking/listening skills during the presentation. This will give you a total mark out of 25 for this book report.
Have fun and do your best!
Name: ____________________Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Date:_____________
Paper Bag Book Report Rubric
| Category | 4 – Excellent | 3 – Good | 2 – Fair | 1 – Inadequate |
| Setting | Includes ALL settings and times that were important to the book, as well as an appropriate illustration | Includes most of settings and times that were important to the book, as well as an appropriate illustration | Includes either some settings and times that were important to the book or an appropriate illustration | Includes incorrect or incomplete settings/times and/or an incomplete illustration |
| Plot | Includes ALL key events to story, without retelling the entire book; includes only the most necessary information | Includes most key events to story, without retelling the entire book; includes only the most necessary information | Includes some key events to story, but excludes other important events | Includes an inadequate explanation of the plot, excluding many of the key events |
| Main Character | Includes ALL important information about the main character (including how s/he changed over the course of the story, as well as the more obvious character traits)
ALSO, names ALL other major and minor characters that were discussed in the story |
Includes most important information about the main character (including how s/he changed over the course of the story, as well as the more obvious character traits)
ALSO, names most/all other major and minor characters that were discussed in the story |
Includes some important information about the main character, but excludes other
Information
ALSO, names some other major and minor characters that were discussed in the story |
Includes little important information about the main character OR chooses a minor character rather than the main character
May or may not include other major and minor characters that were discussed in the story |
| Theme | Includes a complete description of the theme(s) of the book AND a well explained personal opinion concerning the theme(s) | Includes a good description of the theme(s) of the book AND a well explained personal opinion concerning the theme(s) | Includes some information about the theme(s) of the book, but omits the personal opinion about the theme(s) | Includes incomplete/ inaccurate information about the theme(s) and may or may not include an opinion about the theme(s) |
| Conventions | All spelling and punctuation is correct; title, author and name are included | Most spelling and punctuation is correct; title, author and name are included | There are many errors with  conventions; title, author and name are included | There are multiple errors with conventions; key information missing |
Total: ________
*** On the Inside:Â Students will receive one mark for each unique item that they have included inside the paper bags for a total of 10 marks (Be sure to label each with a sentence strip)
Total: ________
Name: _____________________________Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Date: ___________________
Oral Presentation Rubric
| Category | 4 – Excellent | 3 – Good | 2 – Fair | 1 – Inadequate |
| Eye contact | Maintained excellent eye contact for the entire presentation | Maintained good eye contact for the entire presentation | Maintained some eye contact during the presentation | Avoided eye contact |
| Confidence and Preparation | Showed a high level of confidence and was ready to present | Showed some confidence and was ready to present | Was not ready to present, but was somewhat confident without preparation | Lacked confidence; wasn’t ready to present |
| Volume of Voice | Appropriate volume and tone of voice for the entire presentation | Appropriate volume and tone of voice for most of the presentation | Appropriate volume and tone of voice after intervention from the teacher | Inappropriate volume/tone of voice even after intervention from the teacher |
| Active Listening | Listened actively for ALL of the presenters | Listened actively for most of the presenters | Listened actively for some of the presenters | Had to be asked to listen more actively |
| Appropriate Questions/Comments | Asked more than one question/ comment during the presentations | Asked one question/comment during the presentations | Did not volunteer a question/ comment during the presentations | Asked inappropriate question/off topic comment |
Total: ________
English – Read a published model of instructions.
– Read a working and final draft of student-written instructions.
Independent Reading – Book Report Due June 10, 2013 (see blog and handout for further details)
Math – Estimate and measure customary lengths.
– Convert customary units of length.
– Estimate and measure lengths within the metric system.
– Solve problems by solving a similar problem.
Homework: – Tuesday: Homework Practice Book page 79
– Wednesday: Dragons page 199, Leopards page 200 1-10, 18 and Pegasus page 200 1-12, 18-19
– Thursday: Dragons page 205, Pegasus and Leopards page 206
Spelling Homework –Study for Spelling Test on Friday.
– Tuesday: page 95-96
– Thursday: page 97
Science – Identify groups of stars.
– Field Trip on Friday, May 17th.(Please ensure that you have signed and sent back the permission form for your child/children.)
Homework – Study for Chapter 10 Test on May 27th.
Bible – Review the Tower of Babel story.
– Create scenes that reflect Peter’s denial of Jesus.
– Review what repent, forgive and restore mean.
Homework: – Study Bible Verse for Friday. (Parents, please encourage your child/children to study and memorize his/her Bible verse. This counts towards their end of term Bible grade.)
“… the Lord loved you and kept the oath He swore to your forefathers…He redeemed you and brought you out from slavery… Know that the Lord your God is God; He is faithful…” Deuteronomy 7:8-9 (edited/shortened)
Here are a few samples of the Mother’s Day cards that we created especially for you moms! 🙂 Have a great Mother’s Day!
We were all super excited to be able to witness the unusual halo around the sun yesterday! This beautiful, rainbow ring could not have come at a better time, as we are in the middle of studying our Solar System! You can imagine our excitement as we were all able to go outside and sky gaze for a while. During the Grade 4 computer class, I was also able to run home and get my solar shades which enabled us to look safely and directly at the sun (although using these lessened the visibility of the rainbow ring).
Now…here is the scientific explanation behind yesterday’s phenomenon:
A ring or circle of light around the sun or moon is called a halo by scientists. Halos are a sign of high thin cirrus clouds drifting 20,000 feet or more above our heads. These clouds contain millions of tiny ice crystals. The halos you see are caused by both refraction, or splitting of light, and also by reflection, or glints of light from these ice crystals. The crystals have to be oriented and positioned just so with respect to your eye, in order for the halo to appear.
Atmospheric phenomena such as halos were used as part of weather lore as an empirical means of weather forecasting before meteorology was developed. They often do mean that rain is going to fall within the next 24 hours as the Ciro-stratus clouds that cause them can signify an approaching frontal system.
http://earthsky.org/space/what-makes-a-halo-around-the-moon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_%28optical_phenomenon%29
Here are a few pictures that I was able to capture outside to bask in God’s glory! (Yes, I am still bouncing around with excitement! :))
Dear Parents,
Grade 4 is in charge of bringing the snack for Fruity Friday this Friday!
Some ideas for treats are:
– apples
– grapes (washed and placed in zip-lock bags)
– pineapple (sliced and placed in zip-lock bags)
– cantaloup (cut and placed in zip-lock bags)
– ants on a log (celery with cream cheese and raisins on top)
– carrot sticks and ranch dressing
– cold juices
– pop-corn (popped and placed in zip-lock bags)
– frozen popsicles
– bananas
– oranges (whole or sliced)
– nut free granola bars
– healthy muffins
– cheese sticks (with or without fruit)
– whole grain cereal (nut free)
– healthy chips (small bags or handful placed in zip-lock bags)
Grade 4 is one of the largest classes at FBCS, so let’s try to get a large number of snacks available. Please remember that all snacks must be nut free. Thank you as usual for all of your support!
Sincerely,
Ms. Suckoo
The Moon has “phases.” That means it looks a little different to us each night during its one-month orbit of our planet. We describe how the Moon looks with terms such as “Full Moon,” “First Quarter,” and “New Moon” (which we can’t really see, because the side that is lit faces away from us).
The Moon has no light of its own. Moonlight is sunlight bouncing off the Moon’s surface. As the Moon orbits Earth, the Sun lights up whatever side of the Moon is facing it. To the Sun, it’s always a full Moon! If you were looking down upon Earth and its Moon from way out in space over the North Pole, you would see a Moon that looked like one of these:
But we see the Moon from the center of its orbit. So we see different portions of the lit side of the Moon.
This information was taken from http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/oreo-moon/.
Here are some fun Solar System websites and games to play as well!
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/solar-system/
http://www.planetsforkids.org/
Also, for those of you with iPad/iPhones, there is a very cool app called Star Walk! It allows you to explore space from the comfort of your own home! 🙂 It’s $2.99 on iTunes, but well worth the price.
“Star Walk is the most beautiful stargazing app you’ve ever seen on a mobile device. It will become your go-to interactive astro guide to the night sky, following your every movement in real-time and allowing you to explore over 200, 000 celestial bodies with extensive information about stars and constellations that you find.”
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/star-walk-5-stars-astronomy/id295430577?mt=8
