Unit of Inquiry
As a part of our inquiry into how people and organizations can prepare and respond to disasters, 4D has been conducting mini-investigations into a variety of natural disasters. As a part of their Home Learning, each student prepared a brief presentation to share with the class, sharing effects of certain disasters on communities, what people can do to prepare for them and how we can respond to help when one occurs.
As a class we have examined effects of and response to the devastating tornado that occurred in Oklahoma, USA on 20 May, 2013. We viewed a CNN Student News special and took jot notes, organizing them by effects, preparation and response. This was the basis for a heart felt discussion about the impact that such disasters have on entire communities. We were able to begin to distinguish between events that may be considered personal tragedies and disasters.
To continue to develop our summarizing skills, students then read this article from GoGo News and highlighted the key pieces of information. This was then used to write a summary of the event in their process journals. If your child has not yet completed the Read All About it assignment from last week, please remind them that it is due tomorrow.
Mathematics
As you may know we have been focusing on division skills in our stand alone math lessons for the last few weeks. Students have learned to divide larger numbers using a technique called the ‘Forgiving Method’. This approach to division supports conceptual development of number as well as opportunities for students to hone their estimation skills. Students also learned a new dividing game on Tuesday called, Leftovers with Cards. If you are able to print the game board at home and have a die and deck of playing cards, I encourage you to play this game with your child.
DDD tomorrow!
Tomorrow’s Dress Down Day is to raise funds for Shelter Box. This international organization works to provide shelter and emergency goods for those affected by disasters ~ a rather fitting charity for Grade 4 students to focus on at the moment. To recognize the much needed work of this organization, the school’s theme for tomorrow’s DDD is Super Heroes.
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jenniferfenton