Terry Fox, "Zoo", and other learning updates

**Don't forget to check out our Resources page for some activities to practice at home!**


 In Literacy students continue to work on reading and writing in a variety of contexts. We are focusing on strategies students can use when they come to an unfamiliar word: 
  1. First, read the whole sentence, and look for any clues in pictures.
  2. Next, look for clues in how the word is spelled – does it look like any word you already know? (For example, “scientific” looks a little like “science” – they might be connected). 
  3. Finally, try replacing the word with something else that might make sense, and re-reading the sentence with your replaced word. Does the new word make sense? If not, try again! 
As you’re reading at home with your family, try using these strategies! What new words have you discovered?



Integrating Science, Literacy and Art, students engaged in a habitat transformation project. After reading the picture book, Zoo by Anthony Browne, students engaged in conversations about empathy for people and animals, their needs, and about natural and artificial habitats. They explored the elements of a habitat that enables the animal to thrive not just survive.  They transformed the habitats into thriving, enriching environments by applying this knowledge to their art projects. 

In Math we have been developing our number sense and addition/subtraction skills by engaging in Math Mobile problems. In these problems students must use provided information to determine the missing digits needed to balance the mobile. We have also explored how these puzzles can be represented as equations. After exploring a variety of puzzles, we are now designing our own challenge puzzles for our peers to attempt. 

This week we have been exploring the idea of "Heroes", both historical and living. We have read story books about great heroes and influential people such as Mother Teresa, Anne Frank, and Terry Fox. We have created a web of key qualities that make up a hero and have also journaled about heroes we admire. 
Monday September 30,  was Orange Shirt Day. The grade three and fours did an amazing job of hosting and presenting to the school for our Orange Shirt Day assembly. We did a beautiful job of performing a song titled “Make a Difference.” Some of us presented our Diamante poems to the school titled “Lost and Found.” Some of us shared a movement piece to demonstrate why Orange Shirt Day is important. Some of us explained what the acknowledgement of the land. We challenged the whole school to talk about it their class!  In class, we have been reading the book Shi-shi-etko by author Kim Lafave about a little girl who had to go to a residential school. Students please share your response with your parents on some of the following questions that we are working on in class:

  1. What is Orange Shirt Day?
  2. Why do we have Orange Shirt Day?
  3. Why is it important to talk about residential schools?
  4. Why do we have the acknowledgment of the land?

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