Summer "Homework"

We hope you enjoyed being in our class this year! We both thought it was an awesome year with so much fun, learning, and kindness. 

Here is an optional, fun homework assignment to get you outside this summer as a family. Make sure to ask for parent permission or help before trying these things. :)

~ Ms Elder and Mrs Jamroziak

Narrative Writing

Student have been learning the process of writing a fictional, narrative story. We focused on beginnings and overall narrative structure.

What are baited hooks and why are they important?

A baited hook is like a bait for a fish, but this time your trying to hook your reader.A baited hook can come in 5 different forms, question, suprising statement, description ,dialogue, and sound. - LD

A baited hook is a start of a story that is not like once upon a time... one day.... and so on ,that way your story will look captivating and will make your reader be more engaged in the story rather than tedious- long and tiresome. - Mahrosh

The baited hook is important because it's the part at the start of the story that makes the reader want to read the book. And if the baited hook is missing, then the story might be boring, or it might not make sense. That's why baited hooks are very important. - Davyd
 

What is a Narrative Plan and why is it important?

A narrative plan is the base of your story - Viljo

A narrative plan is a planner with seven different parts baited hook,problem,attempt #1, attempt #2, attempt #3,solution, and finally the conclusion. You would fill out all of the sections with a couple sentences. Its important to include all of the sections because it will make your work ten times better! - Fox

I think that the problem is the most important part of the narrative plan. Without a problem, the story would be very boring and no one would read - AK

What did you enjoy about this activity?

I enjoyed writing down my own ideas and turning them into a whole story. - MM

I enjoyed writing my own story becuseits all of your ideas. - Finnley

I enjoyed this unique activity because we all used creativity and imagination. - Viljo

i enjoyed writing the story and then editing it to make it better - Mahrosh

Ground Squirrel Observations

In Science this year, we are studying living things. One of the expectations in Grade Four is that we classify local animals based on appearance, habitat, and structure. While out on the land learning this year, we have noticed creatures running around on our school hill. Many of us had the question: what are they? 

This week, we dove into some learning on rodents to try to figure this out. We believe these creatures are ground squirrels based on information we learned comparing ground squirrels, groundhogs, and gophers. We think they are ground squirrels because:

•  they are friendly and social. They play with each other and spend time together, which we learned ground squirrels do. Groundhogs and gophers are solitary creatures.
•  they have a bunch of entrances and exits
•  they didn't have a pink, hairless tail like a rat (which gophers have)
• when the lawn mower was going around, they did a high-pitched squeak every 3 seconds (gophers don't make much noise)
• we didn't see teeth (groundhogs and gophers always show their teeth, even if their mouths are closed)
• they have reddish-brown fur

Here are some pictures and quotes of us working out on the land to observe and document ground squirrels: 

Student Quotes

"I liked seeing the ground squirrels up close." ~ LD

"I loved how playful and cheerful they were." ~ Hugh

"I loved them. It was like a fighting match. It getting intense. They were flipping each other." ~ SS

"I loved how they run. Their tails went up and down." ~ Viljo

"I liked how close we could get to them and that we didn't have to just learn about them on the computer." ~ Milu

"I like the observing. I felt like a scientist." ~ MM

"I loved how we could research them because I really love animals." ~ Fox

"I loved how we got to get so close to them and see how they act." ~ Felicia

"I liked how we got to see how they live up close." ~ Davyd

Fur Trade Debates

In today's day and age, misinformation is everywhere! We need to think critically about where the truth most likely lies.

What's really more likely? Polar bears or more small furry creatures?

Students engaged in learning about the westward spread of the fur trade with the game two truths and a lie. Though it was mostly one truth and a lie, or which one is more true than the other.

How do we debate respectfully? How do we come to a consensus as a group? We explored these skills too.

Why is it important to learn how to debate (agreeing/disagreeing, consensus)?

It is important to learn about agreeing, disagreeing and a consensus because when you're in a job you need to do it and not get mad at your other coworkers.
if you learn the you early in your life you would need later in your life.Even when you learn it as a child you could have used at school. - LD

I think it is important to learn about debate because, if further in your life, the government of your country makes bad rules, you have to come up with great ideas to debate with the governments people and convince them to either stop or change that rule. - AK

Debating is an important life skill because you need to express your own opinion sometimes, and it is good to practice that in school when you are young so you can get better and better at when you are older. Some jobs like being a lawyer need this skill to be good at there job. - MM

Why might it be important to learn about the history of the fur trade in Canada (fur, travel, companies and indigenous people)?

I have enjoyed learning about the people who came before us and how they survived. Also I learned about how Europeans took over and what has happend to the indigenous peoples. - VN

What have you enjoyed about this learning so far?

I have enjoyed discussing the different possibilities. because it is interesting to hear what people think - AS