Exploring Grade 4 with Mrs. Colhoun

This week, after reading Love That Dog , students continued building their understanding of poetry by analyzing different poems from the book. We focused on identifying figurative language, including alliteration and imagery, and discussed how poets use words and sounds to help readers create pictures in their minds and connect to the poem. Students have now begun writing poetry of their own. We started our poetry books by creating “I Am” poems using similes. Students brainstormed things they are good at, as well as physical traits and personal qualities that make them unique. From there, we worked through examples and practised creating similes to help describe and illustrate those traits in a more creative way. Stay posted for our next poems!

This week in math, students explored factors, multiples, prime and composite numbers, and worked on finding the greatest common factor between two numbers under 100. A strong understanding of basic multiplication facts, as well as confidence with long division, continues to help support student success with these concepts. To wrap up the week, students worked together in teams to play a Jeopardy-style review game. It was great to see students collaborating, discussing strategies, and learning from one another while having fun!

This week in math, we have been exploring factors, multiples, and prime and composite numbers. Students are building their understanding of how numbers are connected and how we can break them apart or group them in different ways. A strong understanding of multiplication facts really supports this learning, so continuing to practice these at home makes a big difference. Quick recall helps students work more efficiently and confidently with these concepts. To keep things engaging, we used a variety of games to reinforce learning and even listened to a very catchy song—ask your child about the “prime rap”! It was a fun way to help these ideas stick.

This week, students shared their space research projects and Google Slides presentations in small groups. This format allowed everyone the opportunity to present their work in a timely and supportive setting. Students were highly engaged, asking thoughtful and insightful questions while listening to their peers. It was wonderful to see them show genuine interest in each other’s learning and discoveries about space. They took great pride in sharing their work, and it really showed in the effort, confidence, and curiosity they brought to these discussions.

This week in Social Studies, we began exploring the fur trade and its role in the development of Canada . Students worked on building their background knowledge and understanding of why the fur trade was so important in early Canadian history. To bring this learning to life, we participated in a hands-on simulation where students took on the roles of European traders and Indigenous peoples. Through trading furs for different goods, they experienced how trade works in a real-world context. Students quickly began to understand that trade involves: needs vs. wants supply and demand making choices based on what is available It was a fun and engaging way to deepen their understanding, and there were some great conversations and problem-solving happening throughout the activity!

  Math Update 🧮 This week, we focused on learning two strategies for multiplication: the standard algorithm and the grid method for solving 2-digit by 2-digit and 2-digit by 3-digit problems. Students worked hard to build their understanding of how numbers can be broken apart and multiplied in different ways. To make learning active and engaging, we did a “Scoot” activity where students moved around the room solving a variety of multiplication problems. This gave them lots of practice while keeping the energy high and encouraging collaboration. Great effort all around! A quick reminder that continued practice with basic multiplication facts is very important, as strong recall helps students tackle these more complex problems with confidence and efficiency. Flash cards are a simple and effective way to build speed and accuracy at home.