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

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

Letter From the Prime Minister!

We got some mail!!!! Remember back in November when we wrote to the government about issues that were important to us? Click here to see the old blog entry to learn more. Well, we got our first response back! Here is the letter from Prime Minister Trudeau's office. We read it as a class and learned what all these tricky words mean. We are hoping to get responses from the Premier and Mayor soon, too.

Reader's Theater

Over the past month, we have been practicing our reading fluency and expression through Reader's Theatres. Each Reader's Theatre is a fairy tale spoof. For example, we read Little Late Riding Hood, Spiderella, and Slurping Beauty. 

Each time, after practicing, Ms Elder asks one group to present for the class. We act with our voices by adding lots of expression, and sometimes voices or accents. :)

Here are some pictures of us rehearsing.

Space Flipbook

We started our new Science unit: Space! So far, we have learned about the sun, Earth in space, the moon, and the constellations. We've also made a list of all the Space vocabulary we need to know. 

As we learn about each topic, we are recording our learning in a flipbook. The flipbook is non-fiction because it is full of facts. We are even making a Glossary on the back page, which will have a list of the key words and their definitions (meanings). 

We are also learning Indigenous stories of the constellations from expert Elder Wilfred Buck.

We will be building in Science soon. Ms Elder has asked each of us to bring a shoebox by January 29.

Student Quotes:

"I like everything in Space because it's just so wonderous and the curiosity for me never ends." ~ Hugh

"I just love Space so much because there are so many interesting facts about it. You can explore new worlds that you can live on just like Earth." ~ Felicia

"I like Space because it's cool and interesting because some of the stars can be shining a lot and when you inside the Earth, there's not much shining but when you go outside the Earth it's a lot of shiny stuff." ~ SS

"I like Space because it's super interesting because there's a bunch of space in Space. It's like Art because there is art in constellations." ~ Viljo

"I like learning about Space because it's so interesting and we can learn about sun, moon, and planets." ~ DA

"I learned that Space. It makes my brain good. I love Space. I see my tablet the moon and astronauts and Mars." ~ Jaivivaan

"I learned that the sun has radiation and the constellations can look like something but also something else, like the turtle but the stars made a house." ~ LD

"I learned that the sun is a star and it's actually considered a small star. The stars seem smaller than it but they're just further away." ~ Finnley

"I learned different Indigenous stories for constellations. I didn't know Indigneous stroies before but now I know." ~ MM

"I learned that Space is a big vaccuum filled with beautiful things." ~ Hugh

Wild Robot Protects Read Aloud

Last week we finished reading Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown. Ms Elder started reading us this novel on the fourth day of school! It was a story about a robot named Roz who tries to save the ocean from pollution called the poison tide. 

This book relates so well to what we were learning about in Science this term because we learned about taking care of water because it's a very important resource. As humans, we need to think about our impact on the environment. We even learned that there are communities right now in Canada that don't have clean water to drink. 

We also used it as a way to improve our Reading skills. As Ms Elder read, we kept track of our questions, predictions, tricky vocabulary, and story events in a journal.

This week, we practiced our summarizing skills by writing a story summary on the back of our journals. We also wrote a response about what we liked about the book, didn't like, and who we'd recommend the book to. 

We also learned that the Norwegian government has plans to start a deep sea mining expedition. This is just like the events in Wild Robot 3 because that's what is causing the poison tide! 

Student Quotes

"I really liked this book because it was focusing on the pollution in the water and how when people drop their garbage, they just leave it and don't think about it anymore." ~ Finnley

"I liked how this book taught us how to use our water correctly." ~ Viljo

"I liked how this book warned us what can happen in the future." ~ Nollan

"I like about the book that it has many characters and teaches me how to take care of water. If other people buys this book and sees what is going to happen in the future, they're going to get much more responsible." ~ SS

"I like about this book it was so nice! I see that it was so good. There are so many characters. It was so good." ~ Jaivivaan

"I liked how this book tried predicting the future." ~ Matin

"I liked this book because it teaches us a really valuable lesson because we can see how much AI impacts the world. I think Peter Brown is trying to send a message." ~ Felicia

"The story was good but the jellyfish was not good." ~ BB

"I like this story because it was about saving animals and it was telling us about the future and how water is very important to us." ~ DA

Take Action Letters

Over the past three months in Science, we have learned a lot about the Earth and our Human Impact on it. We've learned how we can think about the environment before we act/buy to help make better choices. There are SO many things we can do around the home to help conserve. But, there are some things we know would help the Earth that we don't have control over. So now we're going to use our voices and ask our leaders to make those changes. 

We are each writing a letter to a current leader in Canada. We got to choose the issue we want to speak up about and learned who the appropriate leader is to help us with that issue. We talked about the different levels of community and who is in charge of what: 

Now, we're writing 3-paragraph letters to help make change!

Student Quotes

"I think we're doing this because it's important to learn how to use your voice and know when to speak up about something." ~ Finnley

"We are helping Earth. We need water for the Earth. It will be good. When we drink water, we will not be thirsty." ~ Jaivivaan

"It made me really confident because we weren't writing a letter to someone you knew, we were writing to a person really far and we don't know that person." ~ MM

"I almost fainted at the start but then I got in to it and I was confident." ~ LD

"I was really nervous at the start because I thought the government was going to give me trouble because I was telling him to change something but then I got on the Chromebook and felt more confident." ~ Fox

"First I felt this was not gonna happen. How we gonna send a message to the leader of Canada. Then, Ms Elder talked about it and explained it. Then, I see how it works." ~ SS

"First, I felt a bit scared because we were gonna send a letter to someone big and important like Justin Trudeau. Then, when I was on the Chromebook, I was feeling confident because I'm helping Canadians get clean water." ~ Felicia

"I got a little bit scared at first because I thought my sentences were not gonna be good for him but then when I edited with Ms Elder, I think it got better." ~ Viljo

Pieces of Me

'Pieces' Selection, Paragraph Writing, Presentations - Oh My!

Why do you think this project overall was important?

"It was important because we get to know ourselves and everyone else better." - Felicia

"To express myself in a different way than usual." - Fox

"You got to show what you like and what's about you so other people can know how you are." - Finnley

"I really liked this because I got to know a lot of my classmates and even though I knew some people really well, I learned more about them." - Hugh

 How did it feel to collect items about yourself?

"It was weird. Unnormal. Something new." - LD

"I felt really creative when I did it because we got to represent ourselves with objects." - Felicia

"Felt weird because there was a lot of things that represent me and you could only pick 10." - Hugh

"Kind of confusing because I didn't know what to put, but I do know myself?" - Finnley

"I got to know myself better." - Meredith

"It was fun because we got to express what we like." - Viljo

"Interesting and new. Never done an activity like that." - Atticus

"It was hard to pick items because I wasn't sure. I couldn't think of what to put in." - Milu

 

What do you think is important about learning how to write a paragraph (topic sentences, starting sentences in different ways)?

"Writing a paragraph is important because when we grow up in our careers, we might need to persuade someone with what we write." - Felicia

"You want to become a writer or a news blogger you need to know how to write a paragraph." - LD / Jaivivaan

"You'll never know what job you're gonna have. You might get one where you need to write lots of paragraphs." - Hugh

"If you want to be an author you can write books with lots of words, you would need to know how to write paragraphs." - Finnley

Big Presentation Feelings

"It felt good. I think it helped other people get to know me better." - Fox

"First I was feeling brave. Then when I tried to come on the stage I got a little bit nervous. I was reading the wrong parts. When I was done I felt calm again." SS

"At first, I was thinking I was a bit nervous, how am I gonna do it. I watched people doing it and thought this isn't so hard so I felt calmer." - Davyd

"Right after I did the presentation I felt relief." - Matin

"Right after I did the presentation I felt happy that it was over. I felt proud for trying." - Meredith

"I was super confident but being the first person there was a challenge. I pushed it aside and said nope I'm going to do this no matter what!" - Hugh

"At first I was nervous, but when I did the presentation I was proud of myself." - Zinat

The Little Hummingbird

 

What was this book about?

"A hummingbird that was trying to help, no one else wanted to do it but she tried and persevered. The book ended on a cliffhanger." - Finnley

"(She was trying to help with) the forest fire." - Elaina

"When the fire came the animals run away but the hummingbird put water on the fire." - JK

"A raging forest fire happend and the animals fled, but the hummingbird grabbed the water drop with her beak and put it on the forest fire." - HS

"I think they ended it on a cliffhanger because they wanted us to think about what could have happened." - Milu

"They wanted us to challenge ourselves to think if the hummingbird could succeed or not." - Felicia

"To think on our own." - Davyd

"Wanted us to open our imaginations to what could happen." - MM

What did this book teach us?

"It taught us about never giving up. You just gotta try." - SS

"It taught me to never give up no matter your size. Anyone can do anything if they believe in themselves. To push yourself to the limit. The hummingbird was afraid too but still tried." - Felicia

"The story taught me that when something bad happens at least try to help," - HS

"Try your best no matter what your size." - Davyd

"Always believe in yourself." - Viljo

"Even if no one does it you can still do it. It may not make a difference but you still tried." - Finnley

"Never give up. At least try to reach your goal." - Aroosha

What did you enjoy about this activity?

"I loved how when you created the hummingbird and drop of water, you could blend colours and try different colours together to make new ones. I loved how you could make it so it expresses you." - HS

"We got to write on whiteboards, we got to think about what happened at the end and got to colour." - Aroosha

"I like that we had the freedom to make it (the hummingbird) different sizes and pick your colours," - Finnley

"I liked the writing. How we wrote about it in different ways, like "I feel..." And the colouring." - LD

"I liked that we could express our ideas in art." - Viljo

Scanning and Skimming

Scanning and Skimming

Research Skills!

Scanning and skimming are two different things. Scanning is where there is a pile of words and you are looking for one specific word. - HS

Skimming is like scanning but more deep. You're looking for a bigger thing, like a sentence of a paragraph. - Milu

Why would we need these skills?

In university and at work you might need to do research and stuff.  - Meredith

Sometimes reading takes too long and when you have a time limit you might not be able to read a whole thing. - Aroosha and Felicia

You might know some of the information already, so it's not helpful to re-read it. - Atticus

If you're reading something very big, you need to go faster so that you get all that information in an amount of time. - Meredith

Sometimes there's information in the book that you don't need. - Milu

Pieces of Me

Pieces of Me

Did you miss these books? Search youtube to enjoy the read aloud at home. Let's be proud of who we are and engage in positive self-talk like the characters in these books!

Looking for more ideas and inspiration for your jar?

These are the items in Mrs. Jamroziak's jar!

I provided an example of something more concrete (the boat represents how important my husband is to me because he is in the navy) or something more abstract (the boat represents how I weather stormy seas and persevere through challenges). Students DO NOT have to have two reasons for each item. I was simply providing multiple examples.

This is a copy of the handout and email that was sent home regarding the homework assignment:

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 

We are excited to introduce a creative and engaging assignment for our Grade 4 students: the "Pieces of Me Vase.” This assignment aims to help students build a sense of community, explore their self-identity, and showcase their creativity. A part of this activity needs to be completed at home, while a second part will be completed at school.

 

Assignment Overview:

 

Due Date: September 16, 2024 - to bring jar/vase of items to school

 

Steps to Complete the Assignment:

 

1. Getting to Know Yourself:

Students will have already started a list of 5 - 10 qualities (character traits) and/or things that are important to them. If you feel you could help them add to this list (you see amazing qualities within them that they do not see themselves) please do so!

 

2. Representing Ideas:

   Students will choose objects to represent each item on their list. For instance, a bottle cap could symbolize a passion for recycling, or a toy boat could represent a love of being on/in the water or perseverance/determination through challenges. We are not just looking for favorite toys or items that show their hobbies, though these can definitely be included, abstract concepts are welcomed and encouraged.  

 

3. Gather and Create:

   Students will place 5 - 10 of their chosen objects into a clean, clear vase or jar. They will bring this jar to school.

 

At school, (do not do this at home) after Sept. 16, students will write a paragraph describing their selected items and how each represents them. Once they have finished, students will practice reading their paragraph aloud (they will be allowed to bring these paragraphs home to practice). They will present their vase and read their paragraph to our class.

 

What We Need From You:

- Ensure your child understands the instructions.

- Assist with their qualities/characteristics list and help with gathering items/materials by Sept. 16.

- (After it has been completed at school) Support them in practicing their presentation.

 

We are looking forward to seeing the creative ways each student represents themselves and sharing in their unique stories. Thank you for your support in making this assignment a success!