Friday Weekly Reflection 31

Hello Grade 4 Families, 

This week, although a little disjointed due to the public holiday right in the middle, was a productive week for grade 4. 

We have started examining how to be persuasive in both writing and speaking and the students have been busy preparing a speech about the importance of children's rights. We will hopefully have them ready for presentation in the first week back after the break. It was a good opportunity for students to reflect on the opinion piece they wrote for the ISA test and take action to improve in this area of their learning. We started with a very basic persuasive argument structure using a computer program that scaffolds the students' ideas and creates a printable planner. It worked fantastically as a visual organizer for students and their speeches are coming along fantastically. We discussed persuasive techniques such as rhetorical questions, expert quotes and statistics and appealing to emotions (among others). 

In mathematics, we have worked some more on decimals and students examined decimals using money. They undertook a menu challenge, where they practiced adding and subtracting amounts of money by "purchasing" various items from a restaurant menu. It was a good opportunity for the students to put their knowledge into practice, although some debated the necessity to learn about currency other than yen. I look forward to moving ahead with the unit when students have returned from the break. 

Just a reminder, Undokai practice will begin as soon as we return from holidays. Students are required to bring their P.E uniform 

Well, that is all for this week. 

Have a happy, healthy and safe Golden Week holiday! 

- Miss Raciti

Kotowaza(Proverb) book

Grade 4 students have been learning Kotowaza, Japanese proverbs.

There are so many proverbs and set sayings in Japanese and knowing proverbs will make their Japanese more natural and improve the understanding of the Japanese way of thinking.

They picked some of their favorite Kotowaza and made their own proverbs.

They also made a surprise present for you...

Weekly Reflection 29 & 30

Hello Grade 4 Families, 

My apologies for not publishing the blog last week! I have combined the last 2 weeks to give you a glimpse of what has been happening in the Grade 4 classroom. 

During Mathematics, the rotations have been working really well. The students are revising  3D shapes, particularly their 2D net representations. Additionally, the group has begun working with decimals, focusing this week on reading, writing and comparing tenths and hundredths.

Language and Inquiry have been combined quite a lot over the past 2 weeks, particularly in preparation for the "A Day in the Life" project. I am sure those of you who were able to attend International Children's Day would agree that the final products were fantastic. 

Grade 4 students have really engaged with our current unit of inquiry, focused on the challenges and opportunities faced by children around the world. Throughout our discussions, they have exhibited so much thoughtfulness and provided many empathetic responses. The "A Day in the Life" project allowed students to explore 2 perspectives and compare and contrast lifestyles that were similar and dissimilar to their own. When the task was completed, students decided that the main skills they used throughout the project were the following, which became their assessment criteria:

• "Research skills to find out about the child in the photo and where they come from"
• "Thinking skills to put the information in their own words and create a schedule about what that child's lifestyle might be like"
• "Communication skills to write the schedule in the right way (a schedule) using the right spelling and tense"
•  "Self Management skills to be organized and make sure the project is finished on time"

Students also identified that when doing this project it was important to think about perspectives and reflect on their own lifestyle. 

This week, grade 4 watched a provoking advertisement about the year in the life of a child who was involved in war and investigated the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The students then wrote 3 journal entries from the perspective of the child in the video to express how she might be feeling which aligned well with our third line of inquiry; how children feel about their lives.

Next week we will be learning about persuasive writing techniques in Language time and will use these to create a  persuasive argument about the importance of children's rights. 

I also included some photographs from our photo shoot last week as well as some snaps from International Children's Day. Enjoy. 

That is all for now, 

-Miss Raciti

Maiko and Sumo kids

Grade 4 kids have been learning about different lifestyles around the world which is their classroom inquiry.
In Japanese class, we learned about the lifestyles of Maiko and Rikishi.
Maiko is a girl who is studying in Kyoto to be a geisha and Rikishi is a sumo wrestler.

 We also practiced how to take some important notes effectively.

Friday Weekly Reflection 28

Hello Grade 4 Families, 

I hope you all had a refreshing spring break.

Grade 4 came back to school with enthusiasm about the final school term. 

In Mathematics, we revisited shapes, however this time, we turned our attention to 3D figures. Students worked in groups during rotation time on Wednesday and Thursday, investigating, identifying, modelling, drawing and classifying 3D shapes. The group have been particularly committed to the activities this week and have demonstrated that they are curious to find out more. 

In Language time, we revisited past tense, something that still proves to be tricky at times. Students also began a new reflective activity that we will do in lieu of the weekly reflection homework. From this week, students will spend time each week reflecting on one of the Learner Profile attributes that they feel they have demonstrated. This is an activity we will follow through until the end of term as there are 10 weeks of school, along with 10 attributes. The attributes chosen by students this week were: caring and reflective. 

Inquiry has been incredibly interesting and thought provoking. The central idea we are working on is: Children encounter different challenges and opportunities. After discussing the central idea with students, I gave them a selection of photographs taken from a series about children around the world and where they sleep. The photographs were very provoking for students, who were eager to find out more about the children and their experiences. 

All students have selected one of the students to do do a comparative project on titled "A Day in the Life". They will explore the experiences of the child through research about the country and area that they are from and then compare it with their own experiences. I foresee this to be a very thought-provoking investigation and from conversations with the students, I feel a great sense of compassion from them towards the children who experience great challenges in their lives. 

To compliment this unit, grade 4 are undertaking a "30 Day Appreciation Challenge". Each student is going to attempt to document the things they appreciate in their lives by taking a photograph a day for 30 days. I want to thank grade 4 families for your support with this endeavor. 

Next week (Saturday 18th April) is International Children's day and I hope that all families can make it. As you know, it is a compulsory day for teachers and students. We encourage you to come and enjoy the day and share in your child's learning as it will be on display in our room. There will be a bake sale and interactive activities around the school! 

Until next week, 

- Miss Raciti