Grade 4/5 News

Sept. 18, 2016

Welcome to a new school year in the blog!  I use this blog to share information with parents about the happenings of the week and topics we're working on in class.  Last Thursday we went on a hike to Reginald Hill and enjoyed the amazing view at the top.  It was a challenging hike for the students but we all made it and worked together to have a good time.  We have a praying mantis in the class that the students found outside.  It was a very exciting afternoon learning about the mantis, what it ate and then finding it some food.  The praying mantis is not native here but we believe it is an offspring of some of the released mantis' from the kindergarten class 4 or 5 years ago!  "Tell me about your child" parent interviews are on Wednesday afternoon.  Please sign up on the sheet outside the class or you can arrange another time to meet with me.

Subjects

Math:   We have started studying patterns in math including letter, picture, and number symbols.  Understanding patterns and how to apply them is fundamental to learning math.  Students now know the mantra "Math is the science of patterns."

Reading:   Students are choosing "just right" books from the library to read.  I am completing some fluency assessments with each child to gauge their reading level so that I can work with them to develop their reading skills.  Students are also reading booklets from Reading A to Z in their reading level.  

Writing:   I have been getting some writing samples from the students to help understand their writing abilities and needs.  I will be focusing on dictionary skills,  writing sentences and learning basic grammar.

Social Studies:  We are studying mapping including continents, oceans, and Canadian geography.  I plan to do some compass work in the next few weeks. 

Art:  We are looking at patterns in Art.

PE:  I am starting to work with balance and ball handling skills.  Dance will start next week and I'll be focusing on teaching the class some folk dances.  

French:  I will be starting French this week and teach the students basic greetings and how to introduce themselves.  

You are welcome to phone me or email me if you have  any questions about what is happening in class.  250-537-4962  or jlightfoot@sd64.bc.ca

Here's a video we watched on continental drift!