Student of the Week, Week 5

Congratulations to Rady!

Rady has increased her efforts this week, and produced some very good work. She has also shown consideration towards her classmates and awareness of her environment. Well done, Rady!

Week 5

Dear Parents and Students,

It has been a very short week, but we have managed to fit plenty into the past three days.

In Maths, we began Topic 3, and we are reviewing what we know about multiplication. Next week, we will focus on the properties and patterns that can be used to simplify multiplication of whole numbers. Our topic test for Topic 3 will take place next Friday.

In our Literacy Workshop, we enjoyed reading and solving some short mystery stories. In doing so, we developed our skills in close reading, as we needed to scrutinize parts of the text in order to solve the mystery. We have also finished our first unit in grammar, which has been about complete sentences. Next week, we will be dedicating some of our Literacy time to Global Awareness Week. We shall be learning and applying new vocabulary to posters that we will be creating of ourselves and our approach to keeping goals for a better future.

We have continued our studies of the Earth in Science. We have been investigating the various ways in which weathering and erosion can occur, and we created a model of weathering using sugar cubes. Sweet! Next week, we will be looking at more rapid ways in which our planet's surface can change.

In Social Studies, we have been studying the various climates of the USA, and how they compare to other places around the world. We have also learned how location, elevation, and landforms can affect climate. Next week, we will be focusing on natural resources, which will complement what we are working towards in our Global Awareness Week activities.

Also, as part of Global Awareness Week, please remember to wear blue next Wednesday.

This, along with other upcoming important dates, are listed below. I hope you all enjoy a relaxing weekend, and I look forward to seeing you all on Monday!

Dates to remember:

Mon.   Oct. 1:             Global Awareness Week

                                    First day of Clubs

Fri.      Oct.5:              Math test – Topic 3

Wed.    Oct. 10:           10/10 Peace Day – no school

Fri.      Oct 12:            Field trip to Taichung Earthquake Museum

Congratulations to our Students of the Week for the first three weeks of September!

Phoebe, Matthis, Rachelle

Homework, Thursday, 27th September

Maths: Practice 3-2 Patterns for Facts; Enrichment 3-2 Patterns, Patterns Everywhere
Social Studies: Complete p.29 Q. 1-4 if you haven't already.

Homework, Wednesday, 26th September

Maths: Practice 3-1 Meanings of Multiplication; Enrichment 3-1 Hurray Array!

Social Studies: Lesson 3 vocabulary: Climate

Click here for the Vocabulary Slide Show

Click here for the direct link to Quizlet  or go directly to the first activity below. (you can switch to another activity (Study Mode) in the bottom right corner of the window.)

Student of the Week, Week 4

Congratulations to Matthis!

Matthis has been a regular contributor to class discussions and group collaborations, and is always very attentive and trying his best. Well done, Matthis, keep it up!

Week 4

Dear Parents and Students,

Another week flies by, and we already find ourselves only three schooldays away from the end of our first full month in Grade 4.

We have completed our second topic of Maths, and held our topic test on Friday. Topic 2 was all about adding and subtracting whole numbers. There is no homework set for this weekend, but links to resources may be found in the posts below this one (Wednesday and Thursday homework posts) for anyone who would like to review subtraction further Next Wednesday, we will begin Topic 3, which focuses on multiplication.

In our Literacy Workshop, we discussed Akiak, our story for the week. During the discussion, we looked at various ways to make inferences while reading. On Thursday, we read a short story and used our inferring skills to answer questions about the text. Next week, we will be applying our skills even further as we read some short mystery stories and try to solve them.

We had fun in Science this week as we tried to build model volcanoes from different consistencies of (pretend) lava. We used our experiments to determine why some volcanoes are cone-shaped, while others are shaped like a shield. We also worked out why some volcanoes explode, while others are comparatively gentle. Pictures of our experiments can be found via the link below.

In Social Studies, we completed our study of landforms by creating descriptive postcards. Next week, we will turn our attention to climate, first by looking at the USA as a model, and then comparing to the rest of the world.

Please check upcoming important dates listed below. You will notice that one of the dates is the 12^th October, when Grade 4 will be going on a field trip to the Taichung Earthquake Museum. Forms were sent home Friday (today, at the time of writing this post) with details of the field trip. Please let me know if you didn’t get yours.

As you know, there will be no school on Monday and Tuesday, as we have a public holiday Monday, and a professional development day Tuesday. I hope you all enjoy the long weekend, and I look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday!

Dates to remember:

Mon.   Sep. 24:           Mid-Autumn Festival, school closed

Tue.     Sep. 25:           PD Day, students not required at school

Fri.      Sep. 28:           Teachers’ Day (school open)

                                    Monthly Assembly

Mon.   Oct. 1:             Global Awareness Week

                                    First day of Clubs

Wed.    Oct. 10:           10/10 Peace Day – no school

Fri.      Oct 12:            Field trip to Taichung Earthquake Museum

Click here for more photos of our Science experiment.

Homewok, Thursday, 20th September

Maths: Review Topic 2 as necessary (Test tomorrow)  pp.48-51  See below for answer key
Literacy: Finish your haiku, if you haven't already.
Social Studies: Finish your postcard, if you haven't already.

If you need any more help subtracting across zeroes:
Regrouping and Subtracting Across Zeroes: Math is Fun Demonstration

Topic 2 Practice Test Answers

1. D     2. B      3. A      4. C      5. B      6. D     7. D     8. A      9. C      10. C   11. C   12. B   13. D

Topic 2 Extra Practice Answer Key

Set A 1. 141 2. 598 3. 7,168 4. 114 5. 155 6. 128

Set B 1. 1,000 2. 5,000 3. 100 4.  4,300 5. 500 6. 300 7. 1,200 8. 1,300

Set C 1. Example: Not enough information. I need to know how many pages he read on Sunday.

Set D 1. 9,038 2. 14,740 3. 5,990 4. 1,513 7. 50,218 8. 23,625

Set E 1. 92 2. 2,212 3. 445 4. 1,895 5. 11,714 6. 119

Set F

1.  

? Wallabies
5	9

5 + 9 = 14 Wallabies

2. 

500 tokens
393	?

500 - 393 = 107 more tokens

Homework, Wednesday, 19th September

Maths: Practice 2-5 Subtracting Whole Numbers; Enrichment 2-5 So Many Decisions!
Confused about regrouping? Maybe this video can help:


Science: Complete today's experiment worksheet if you haven't already.
Click on the link if you would like to look at today's Mystery Science lesson again.
Why do some volcanoes explode?

Homework, Tuesday, 18th September

Maths: Practice 2-4 Adding Whole Numbers Enrichment 2-4 Use Your Head
Spelling:    Click here for Quizzes and Activities
List 1 – Long and short a and e sounds

Core Words

gain cream sweet safe past

reach kept gray field break

east shape steep pray pain

glass west cheap steak chief

Challenge Words:

graceful

descent

athletic

knead

activity

Homework, Monday, 17th September

Maths: Practice 2-3 Missing or Extra Information; Enrichment 2-3 Birdhouses
Spelling: Review List 3 Click here for list and quiz link  Test tomorrow
Science: If you enjoyed today's Mystery Science videos, you can watch them again at the following links: 
     How Is Gold Made?
     What's Worse: a Hurricane or a Tornado?
    Why did Elon Musk send his car int space?

Also, if you would like to revisit the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau, you can find it here:
    https://www.cwb.gov.tw/V7e/

Week 3

Dear Parents and Students,

Another productive week has drawn to a close. We have had a very busy week in class, including our first two tests for the year.

In Maths, we have finished our first topic about numeration, and had a test on Wednesday. Thank you everyone, for returning the signed tests so promptly. We have already begun Topic 2, which focuses on adding and subtracting whole numbers. Once again, this will be mostly review of last year’s curriculum, but it is worthwhile to reinforce the skills we have learned in order to move on to the next level. The test for this topic is scheduled for this coming Friday.

In our Literacy Workshop, we had our first Spelling test, and we read Grandfather's Journey. Our first session of Reading Circles went very well. Drawing inferences from a story, and understanding new vocabulary by using context clues were two of the strategies we focused on, and each group enjoyed some success implementing these strategies. We also studied some examples of haiku  poetry, and began drafting our own poems, which we will complete next week.

We have continued our study of rocks and minerals in Science this week, including creating a model of various layers of rock built up over time. We also enjoyed a Mystery Science activity, in which we plotted some of the world's volcanoes on a map. We will continue to investigate volcanoes next week, including a practical lab activity comparing different types of lava.

In Social Studies, we have been researching the various landforms of the USA. Next week, we will discuss how they compare to other parts of the world, and we will create postcards that describe different landforms from around the globe. A link to a Quizlet package of this week's  vocabulary was included in the post for last Wednesday’s homework. Click here if you would like to visit it again.

Pictures of our science models, along with some images of the class at work, can be found at the link below the list of important dates.

It seems that typhoon Mangkhut is going to pass us by, but please be wary and safe. I hope you all enjoy a peaceful weekend, and I will see everyone on Monday!

Dates to remember:

Tue.     Sep. 18:           Spelling test – List 3

Fri.      Sep. 21:           Math test – Topic 2

Mon.   Sep. 24:           Mid-Autumn Festival, school closed

Tue.     Sep. 25:           PD Day, students not required at school

Fri.      Sep. 28:           Teachers’ Day (school open)

                                    Monthly Assembly

Mon.   Oct. 1:             Global Awareness Week

                                    First day of Clubs

Click here for pictures of our Science Lab activities.