Good afternoon!
Another busy day. Only 20 days left! Where does the time go? Today both grades completed their current math unit. The Gr. 5 students were working on the “Show What You Know” problems from their book, and the Gr. 4 students continued to explore symmetry and lines of symmetry. The Gr. 5 students will be having their Unit Test on Monday, which means that they had math help today and again tomorrow. Today we reviewed recognizing and the attributes of 2-D shapes. Tomorrow we will review 3-D shapes. Don’t forget to attend the recess review session if you feel like you need some help! The Gr. 4 students will be having their math Unit Test on Wednesday of next week, so their extra help sessions will be Monday and Tuesday at recess. Again, anyone is welcome to attend!
In Science today, the Gr. 4 students reviewed the Study Guide for their upcoming Unit Test with me. This study guide reviews concepts from Light and Shadows that will be useful to them when studying their upcoming Unit Test. The Gr. 4 students will be writing a Unit Test on Monday of next week, and all students took home their Green Workbooks and Study Guides tonight. Start studying right away, don’t leave it until the last minute. The Gr. 5 students conducted an experiment on identifying acids and bases. We reviewed the PH scale (something covered in our Discover E workshop) and were able to work with different colours of litmus paper today. Students tested vinegar, rubbing alcohol, lemon juice, canola oil, water, and soapy water using yellow, red, and blue litmus papers. The red litmus paper turns blue in the presence of a base. The blue paper turns red in the presence of an acid. The yellow paper remains yellow for acids, green for neutral, and blue for bases. Students correctly identified that the vinegar and lemon juices were acids. The water, canola oil, and rubbing alcohol were neutrals, and the soapy water was basic. The Gr. 5 students will be writing a Unit Test on Wednesday of next week, so keep an eye out for their Study Guide that will be going home shortly.
In Social Studies today we completed our study of First Nations oral storytelling. Students looked at the Northern First Nations groups (with a focus on Inuit communities). We discussed the difficulties of day to day survival, and the strategies employed by these groups. Then we shared our last story. Today’s story was unique in that it is based on a traditional story. It was A Promise is a Promise by Robert Munsch. This story follows an Inuit girl who does not follow her parents instructions to stay away from the cracks on the ice, and some of the difficulties that follow her. We are currently making masks to help with our retelling of this tale, and we will continue to work on them tomorrow as our weekly art project.
Want to check out A Promise is a Promise online? Check out Robert Munsch’s website and listen to all of his stores read aloud! Robert Munsch has more in common with First Nations storytellers than you might think, and he actually considers himself to be an oral storyteller first and an author second. The link is: http://robertmunsch.com/book/a-promise-is-a-promise-2
Homework: Read 20 minutes
Multiplication Quiz – tomorrow
Spelling Quiz – tomorrow
Math: Gr. 4- pgs. 243-244 #1-5
– Unit Test (Wednesday)
Gr. 5 – pgs. 250-251 #1-8
– Unit Test (Monday)
Science: Gr. 4 – Unit Test (Monday)
Gr. 5 – Unit Test (Wednesday)