December in Review
Mrs. Hammell Grade 4
Adding & Subtracting in Math!
We kick-started our look at these two operations by thinking about how we can use mental math to solve two digit by two digit addition problems. At first, it was hard for many students to verbalize what they were doing “in their head”! Through consolidation of problems, we learned that we solve these problems using different mental math strategies. Some students mentally added or subtracted one of the addends so that it was a “tens” number, others thought about each addend in terms of its digits in place value columns.
Larger Numbers & Money
We then moved on to adding and subtracting larger sums. After a few partner problems, we discovered that there were many strategies in use for these tasks too! We recorded the strategies we utilized so we could refer to them throughout our practice. As we wound up for the holidays, we progressed to adding decimal numbers. Most students preferred using the standard algorithm to solve these problems, making sure to line up the tenths and hundredths just as they would the whole numbers in their proper place value columns. We demonstrated our learning by adding coupon sales, and making a Christmas shopping list. Some students will wrap these tasks up in January.
Using Vivid Language
In language, we have been working on developing stronger vocabulary in our writing. We utilized our senses to describe a cup of hot chocolate. Students made use of a thesaurus to move from dull adjectives like “hot”, to more interesting choices, such as “sizzling”, “toasty”, and “scalding”. We continued to bring in our descriptive language as we wrote recounts about our favourite Christmas memories. Students used extended vocabulary, and made vivid comparisons using similes, to add interest to their recounts.
Fruit of the Spirit: JOY!
This month, we focussed on joy. Students were in charge of asking classes to participate with our bulletin board challenge. Each class was asked to think about how they would spread joy to others during the Advent season. We came up with many ways ourselves, including asking others to play with them, helping out around the house, and spending quality time with our families. In our lead up to Christmas, students created ornaments to give to someone special in their lives, and created “Ugly Christmas Sweaters”. Both activities brought joy to our room!
Journey Through Advent
We started this Advent by leading a liturgy for the school. Students worked together to set-up the gym, turning it into a space for prayer as we prepared ourselves for the coming of Jesus at Christmas time.
Coming together again as a school for our Christmas Dinner, as well as our Christmas Concert were special occasions for us to celebrate this special time of year.
As a class, we earned a popcorn party. Students have been regularly showing small acts of kindness to one another. We celebrated our growth as a class!
Good-Bye Habitats, Hello Pulleys & Gears!
In Science, December has been a transition month for us in Gr. 4. As we wrapped up our focus on Habitats, students were introduced to Larry Cornelis, a habitat specialist working in Lambton and Chatham-Kent to preserve the many species in our area. He talked to us about the web of life, and how if one species goes extinct, it can have an impact on an entire system. We summarized our learning by thinking about the positive and negative impacts humans have on habitats.
We have also kick-started our focus on Pulleys & Gears. We were lucky enough to “Adopt-a-Scientist” for a day. Mr. Smith led us through a variety of activities to help us have a better understanding of not only the day-to-day uses of pulleys and gears, but also how they work!.More info about our learning on the next slide.
Adopt-a-Scientist
Some of our questions prior to our learning included:
Where do we use gear and pulleys in our everyday life?
Are there gears and pulleys in machines?
Do cranes use pulleys?
How do pulleys and gears work?
Are pulleys easy to use?
Through some hands-on experiments, students began to answer some of their own questions!
Medieval Times
This month in Social Studies we focussed on the Medieval era as a class. Each student was given a role in society, asked to complete some research, and share with others in the class during a “meet and greet” activity. We came together to model the hierarchy of roles in this ancient society, noticing that is shaped like a triangle, with 1 king at the top, and many peasants making up the bottom. Students took their role, and are completing further research into this role in society. We are hoping to have a “fashion show” to show our learning to the other Gr. 4 classes in January.
Stay Curious & Keep Learning!
Twitter: @MrsKHammell
Remind: @smsgr4