I hope you have had a fantastic week. Finally it seems that the weather is beginning to warm up!
Grade 4 have printed their very own newspaper this week during inquiry. In small groups, they explored various class inquiries with many groups choosing to write about the impacts of energy use on the environment as well as on our health. One group also reflected on the visit we had on Monday. Kinou San had some great information about Japan's energy use and practical suggestions for us to do our part to save energy.
I have included images of the newspaper pages below, however I am sure the class will be more than keen to share them with you next week at the celebration of learning. We are now focusing on the news panel presentation that we will film and show next week. Then, if the sun continues to shine, we will get back into the garden and start planting!
When we discussed the 3rd line of inquiry "how people communicate about energy use", we discovered that the newspaper and presentation may not be able to reach some of our audience. The class identified that young students may not understand and took action to rectify this. They decided to use their writing process structure to create a book for the younger student that helps to teach them about environmental issues. Each student is working on their own publication and the stories are so far fantastic. I can definitely see progress in the group's ability to write independently and with confidence, showing the development of their own voice and style!
This week during mathematics, students tried math rotations, a structure similar to centres. They focused on key learning outcomes relevant to our current math unit as well as essential revision from previous units. Each group was given a large task card with a simplified version on the learning outcome at the top, along with instructions on how to complete the task. I was so pleased with the way the students worked together and independently, dependent on the station and demonstrated a great ability to work through problems and stay focused. This approach proved great for me too, as I was able to monitor students, assist and facilitate questions where needed. After discussing with the students, we decided that this is a system we would like to continue!
That is all for this week,
Have a great weekend,
- Miss Raciti
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