Busy Week!

We've had a busy week of plans and feedback. Our story mountains (plans) are done and we have been given some feedback from other students in the class. We hope to take this feedback to continue improving our ideas. We will begin writing next week!

We have met again with our RT Alderman leaders (Grade 9s) to also get feedback on our Invention Concept Designs. Each student has 2 concepts from which they will select one to create a model next week. These will be shared and presented at our Celebration of Learning on December 13th!

In our words:
- We had FYP today (PS). This was the last Follow Your Passion Friday until the new year. Ask me about my FYP experience today!
- We did the designing of our simple machines (LJ)
- We stayed inside for recess and watched Bill Nye the Science Guy - Simple Machines (AV)
- Our RT leaders gave us feedback yesterday (ZG)


Reminders:
- Our Story Mountains (plans) with peer feedback sheet have been sent home. It would be very helpful to talk this story plan through with your child this weekend so that they can make any desired changes to their plans on Monday.
- Grade 4 Celebration of Learning - December 18th, 11am-12. Hope to see you there! Invites will be sent our shortly.

Today we have really been digging in to our two big projects - our stories and our inventions.

Stories:
We reviewed our story writing rubric today - we will use this as a tool to self assess, provide peer feedback, and will be the final teacher assessment of our completed stories. We are currently working on our plans, using a "Story Mountain" (a plan with a rising and falling action). Tomorrow morning we will meet in groups to get peer feedback on our plans so far. We will talk about how to give and receive feedback well.

Inventions:
Today, we experienced the "Ideation" phase of Design Thinking. In small groups, we silently brainstormed possible solutions to each other's problems and then even opened it up to others in the class. If you would like to throw around some ideas at home, here are Room 3's chosen problems to solve (Criteria for a good solution is: 1. It can be built using a simple machine; 2. Solves the problem; 3. I like the solution!)

Room 3 Problems:

• Kitten shirt (when a kitten snags on your shirt)
• Stirring
• Worms in strawberries
• Picking up fat cat
• Dropping drum-sticks
• Pencil shavings (so messy)
• Picking up fat cat
• Walking the dog - dog’s pulling
• Cutting vegetables and fruit
• Going up a sled hill
• Picky eating pets
• Electronic obsessions
• Cat’s shedding
• Moving snow
• Waking up
• Cooking

In our Words:

• We were working on our stories (SF)
• We wrote problems and made sticky notes around them (ZG)
• We played hangman today ("Necessity is the Mother of invention") (PS)
• Today we continued the Land of Stories (EM)
• We learned a new song in music - The Cat Came Back (MH)

Reminders:

- December 13th - Grade 4 Celebration of Learning (11am-12pm). More details to come!

- December 18th - Glenbow Museum - Volunteers needed (full day) - email with details to come

- December 19th - Choir performance

We are learning:
Today's theme seems to have been making choices. Choices for upcoming projects such as a photo inspiration for writing stories and choosing 'every day problems' as we move forward in the Design Thinking process towards our simple machines inventions.

In math, we are focusing on representing and describing numbers to 10 000. We will be looking at using pictures, words, and symbols.


In our words:
- We are learning how many ways we can represent a number (4 526) (SF)
- We got to choose our "Pobble 365" photos for our story (RS)
- We answered some questions to 'Empathize" with our every day problems (EM)
- In writing, we've ;been talking about making a story using a Story Mountain (PS)
- We watched a video for the story mountain (BO)


Reminders:
- Book orders due this week
- The Christmas book order wasn't in the last package, my mistake. I will send that one home tomorrow.
- Celebration of Learning (Gr 4) - December 13th, 11-12. More information to be sent home soon.

We are learning:

- We were doing our stations about gears again today. We are learning how gears work (SF). Such as...if one gear spins one way, the other one spins the other way (VS). Also, if you have a bigger gear with more teeth it goes slower than the smaller gear with less teeth (LJ).

- I learned that a big gears inside goes as fast as a smaller gear's inside (the axle) (TB)

- that gears are fun to play with (ZM)

- some gears, the starting gear spins one way, the other one that's attached to it spins the other (GB)

- how to use Design Thinking in the iLab by designing a roller coaster

Homework:

- Decide on your 'every day problem' that you will design your invention for. This MUST be finalized by Monday. Feel free to do research, ask your family questions, etc. to help you decide. Below is a list of problems that were brainstormed at school.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/166Tw_oIZDWg3JBq1n_J0BgYU3XojOaPPqUVMBU44fjA/edit?usp=sharing 

Reminders:

- Cookie dough forms were due today - you can try bringing them tomorrow!

- Book orders for December were sent home today. They are due next Friday.

- Early dismissal tomorrow, and no school on Friday. 

- Student Learning Conversations (Parent-Teacher Conferences) are tomorrow evening and Friday. There are a few spots left on Friday if you haven't yet booked. Hope to see you there!

The Grade 4 students have been investigating Simple Machines. We been testing, building, and reflecting on how simple machines such as levers, gears, and wheels/axles can reduce the amount of work needed to move a load.

We also got to meet some grade 9 leaders from RT Alderman! In our small groups, our RT leaders helped us to dive deep into the "Empathy" stage of Design Thinking. We are working very hard to gain a deep understanding of our 'Everyday Problems" so that we can design effective and useful inventions to solve them. The conversations were focused, meaningful, and insightful. The students also really enjoyed working together! We look forward to continuing to work with our RT leaders periodically throughout our invention projects. 

Reminders:

- Student learning conversations Thursday PM and Friday. Please be sure to book online. 

- No school Thursday afternoon or Friday

- Book orders are due!
- Tomorrow is the last day to submit cookie fundraiser orders

The grade 4's have been busy this week! Starting with our field study at Telus Spark on Tuesday where we kicked off our study of Simple Machines, a bike expert presentation on Wednesday where we learned all about gear chains, to our exploration of levers and wheels/axles in the classroom.

We are ramping up to a fun and exciting Design Thinking project which we will present to families at the grade 4 celebration of learning in December (more info to come!)

Check out some highlights from the week!

Reminders:

- Student Learning Conversations are next week (Thursday and Friday)

- Book orders are due Monday (online orders preferred)

Learning Highlights
- We had our Remembrance Day Assembly today (MH)
- We had our first FYP Friday (AF)
- We played two math card games (JL)
- We finished our wreath (ZM)
- We read from 'The Land of Stories (SF)

Reminders:
-No school on Monday
-Telus Spark on Tuesday

What we've been learning:
- pumpkin pulleys - something too heavy for you to lift, a pulley would make it easier (MH)
- there was a man who wrote a poem "In Flanders Fields" and then there was a bear named Winnie the Pooh (PS). We have been learning about the history and importance of Remembrance Day.
- we learned that some countries have a different poppy (SF)
- we've been playing a making ten game (PS). We have been revisiting place value and exchanging/borrowing from tens.

Reminders:
- Telus Spark forms are due.