Last week, we were able to clean dirty, muddy water and water tainted with food coloring, with just the use of a bowl, plastic wrap, a glass cup, some tape and a rock! How, you may ask? My answer would be to ask your child! 😀 Hopefully he or she will be able to explain exactly how we were able to extract fresh water from some nasty looking water. (I’ll give you a clue: The answer involves evaporation and condensation.) Happy learning!
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Our next trick will be to extract salt crystals from salt water!
– Add ‘er’ and ‘est’ to short adverbs to compare actions.
– Use good and well correctly.
The One and Only Ivan:Â We’re on to final book for Grade 4! My how the time is flying! For Term 3, we will be reading The One and Only Ivan. It’s about:
Winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal and a #1 New York Times bestseller, this stirring and unforgettable novel from renowned author Katherine Applegate celebrates the transformative power of unexpected friendships. Inspired by the true story of a captive gorilla known as Ivan, this illustrated novel is told from the point-of-view of Ivan himself.
Having spent 27 years behind the glass walls of his enclosure in a shopping mall, Ivan has grown accustomed to humans watching him. He hardly ever thinks about his life in the jungle. Instead, Ivan occupies himself with television, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting. But when he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, he is forced to see their home, and his art, through new eyes.
The One and Only Ivan was hailed as a best book of the year by Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Amazon, demonstrating it is a true classic in the making. In the tradition of timeless stories like Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope. An author’s note depicts the differences between the fictional story and true events.
Some of the learning objectives (or WALT as we refer to them in Grade 4; We Are Learning To) and questions that we will cover while reading are:
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions). Compare and contrast the points of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.
How does point of view contribute to the authenticity of a story? Write an explanatory text telling how the author uses point of view in the book and how you as the reader were impacted.
How do authors develop characterization, and how does characterization enhance the reader’s understanding of the character’s personality?
How does the author use figurative language through the character’s eon?
Spelling: – Study for Spelling Test on Friday.
Math: – Study for Chapter 7 test on Tuesday.
– Find the area of rectangles and squares.
– Area Quiz
– Preparation for Math Fair.
Science: – Describe different kinds of precipitation.
– Understand what causes different kinds of weather.
– Describe how temperature affects the water cycle.
– Describe how landforms affect the water cycle.
Social Studies: – Our Central American neighbors Check-Up.
Bible: – Study Bible verse for Friday. Parents, please encourage your child to study their Bible verse every week. These do impact their Bible grades.
– Relate salvation to rescue.
– Complete a code to learn about Paul’s salvation.
“Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” Jude 1:21
We’ve been working hard on our book report presentations for a few days now. Here’s a sneak peak at the progress that we’ve made on each display board.
We’ve continued our studies on the Water Cycle today. 🙂 We’ve had a blast watching a few videos and learning the terminology.
Sometime this week, just ask your child what Evaporation, Condensation and Precipitation mean. Also, throw in Ground Water, so see if they can remember. 🙂
Yesterday, during science we began an experiment to try to extract clean water from dirty water. Stay tuned to see if we were success! And oh! Be sure to ask your child what their hypothesis was! 🙂
In English today, we focused on Homophones and Pronouns. We looked at a pretty fun YouTube video that helped us. Have a look in case your child needs a little help this evening with his/her homework.
English: – Combine pronouns, verbs and contractions.
– Distinguish between homophones.
Number the Stars: We’ve finished Number the Stars. It. Was. Amazing! Ask you kids all about it! For the next couple of weeks, we will now focus on creating an in-class book report. Students will be placed into groups and will be given a few tasks to work on. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Some of the learning objectives (or WALT as we refer to them in Grade 4; We Are Learning To) that we will cover while reading are:
Describe the characters’ traits, feelings, and motivations in Number the Stars.
Refer to the text for evidence to support answers.
Form an opinion about a character’s trait based on the character’s actions, feelings and motivation.
Explain how the characters’ actions contribute to the sequence of events.
Engage in discussions sharing their ideas and listening to others.
Use context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words or phrases in Number the Stars.
Distinguish literal and non-literal language and determine its meaning.
Gain information about the past.
Build upon their background knowledge of World War II.
Explore themes of friendship and bravery during the times that scare us the most.
Spelling: – There will be no spelling test this week, as we participate in Sport’s Day on Friday.
Math: – Review multiplying by 2-digit numbers.
– Mid-Chapter Check (Tuesday)
– Multiply a 3 digit number by a 2 digit number.
Science: – Describe the water cycle.
– Demonstrate how to extract fresh water from salt water. (Experiment on Wednesday. Please ask your child/children what they have volunteered to bring.)
Social Studies: – Discover links between Central American and Cayman.
Bible: – Study Bible verse for Friday. Parents, please encourage your child to study their Bible verse every week. These do impact their Bible grades.
– Analyze 2 examples of selfless servant-hood.
– Provide Godly responses to 3 fictitious fourth graders’ temptations.
“”And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.” 1 John 3:23
HOMEWORK:
Monday
MATH: Jaguars, Eagles and Shimarc: Handout (at least 10 questions)
Keron: page 27
Tuesday
MATH: Jaguars, Eagles and Shimarc – Complete handout
We made it to the finale! YIPPEE!!! On Day 5 or Reading Week, we all dressed up as characters from the Narnia series! What a fun day!
After we had all paraded around the Chapel in our coolest costumes, we went back to the classroom, and read the first chapter from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Then, we did a journal and art piece, putting our own spin to walking through the wardrobe. While doing this, we were also able to sneak in a few minutes of watching the movie. 🙂 It was a wonderful ending, to an absolutely wonderful week!
Thank you so much for helping to make Reading Week 2015 an absolute success!
On Day 4 of our Reading Week, Erik’s mum, Elke, came in to read a chapter from the Sugar Creek Gang to us in the morning. Following this, we went back to our classroom and redesigned a book cover for the Sugar Creek Gang series.
Then, right before lunch, Mrs. Elke payed us another visit and answered a lot of our questions about what it’s like being a published author. It was a very exciting day!
 
