November 13 and 14

Our Grade 4 students have begun an exciting new research project! Last week, we modeled the full process together as a class—reading a nonfiction text about wolves, taking clear point-form notes, and planning and writing a well-organized paragraph. Students are now moving into independent practice, applying these skills to research an animal of their choice.

As they read, students are working toward the outcomes: “discuss a variety of facts expressed in nonfiction text and explain how animals use their senses to respond to their environments.”

You’ll see them exploring how different animals use sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing to survive and meet their needs. Students will be proud to share their work with you during conferences at the end of the month. You’ll be able to see their note-taking, planning, and writing progress firsthand.

We’re excited to see the creativity and curiosity coming through in their research!

September 2 - 5

Welcome to our grade four class blog! We have had a fantastic first week of learning in our classroom. Our focus has been on getting to know one another and building a positive classroom community. The students have engaged in a variety of tasks where they worked together to meet a common goal. Throughout the week, the students reflected on the following Wellness I can statements: I can communicate respectfully. I can compromise. I can reflect on actions taken. I can make repeated efforts to solve a problem. In a connection between our Wellness and Mathematics curricula, we looked at the question, Our Class Should Be ... Every Day . After students shared their ideas, we discussed how this was a form of data. Students then worked together to group this data into common categories before representing the information in a bar graph. Our focus in math was the learning outcomes: I can collect and interpret data. I can represent data in a bar graph. Below are some photographs from our week. ...

September 8 - 12

This week, our class focused on using sketchnotes in our visual journals. Sketchnotes combine simple drawings, symbols, and keywords to capture important ideas in a creative and memorable way. They help students listen carefully, make connections, and organize their thinking while also boosting recall. We practiced sketchnoting during our whole-class read-aloud of A Wolf Called Wander . Students used images and words together to highlight what stood out to them in the story, helping them understand the events more deeply and remember key details in a fun and personal way. I can examine elements of fictional texts, including main plots, characters, and points of view. The work examples below are from students who wanted their work included on the blog.

October 29 - 31

It’s so great to be back with our students — their energy and enthusiasm make every day wonderful! The Halloween parade was a highlight of the week, with so many creative and fun costumes on display. As we settle back in, we’ll be picking up right where we left off: Math: Representing numbers up to the hundred thousands Science: Exploring animal senses and habitats Language Arts: Developing strong paragraph writing skills Social Studies: Learning about how Canada became a country Thank you for your ongoing support at home. Wishing everyone a safe and happy Halloween — and as always, Go Blue Jays Go! 💙🍁

Exploring Grade 4 with Mrs. Colhoun

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