September 28, 2018

Happy Friday!

** Reminder please wear orange on Monday in support of Residential School Survivors (Every Child Matters)
Here is a link if you want to learn more:
http://www.orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story.html 

This morning we finished up our Terry Fox writing and artwork.

In gym we played "running chaser" and "bench dodgeball."

We practiced our spelling words using "spell-back." Students brought their lists home to study this weekend!

Ms. Russell gave us our logins for "Mathletics" today, we have brought our login cards home to access it from Ms. Russell's web page. We are working on patterns and relationships.

** Book orders due Monday.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Ms. Russell

September 27, 2018

Hello Everyone,

** Tomorrow is fun snack!

In science we worked in groups to find out interesting facts about sound. One that we found was, "sound travels up to hundreds of miles underwater." - Owen

We did our Terry Fox run in the school. We had an assembly where we watched a video about Terry Fox. Then we were allowed to run in the halls!! - Brody

Today in the morning we did writing and we had to write a paragraph where we put ourselves in Terry's shoes. For example, "I'm tired, my leg hurts, my lungs are burning, but I need to keep going because it's for a good cause." - Elle

In music we played "freeze dance" with scarves and we also performed the songs we have been practicing in front of our class. - Mackenzie

We had some free time on Ms. Russell's web page today. - Andre

For gym we played "rock, paper, scissors" tag, and we played "revenge dodgeball." - Rouha

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell and Grade 3/4zzzzzzz

September 26, 2018

Good Afternoon,

**Reminder tomorrow is the Terry Fox run at 10:45am!

This morning students worked on drawing a realistic picture of Terry Fox. We talked about foreground versus background, and ensuring that Terry was the main focal point on the page.

In gym we played "4-corners soccer."

After lunch Ms. Russell read another chapter of "The Hobbit" to us. Then in our reading response journals we were asked to write a sentence about a part of the chapter we found exciting, and a sentence about a part we found scary.

We worked more on our Terry Fox art this afternoon.

In science we started our unit on Sound by watching a great Bill Nye video! Please ask me what I learned...

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell

September 25, 2018

Good Afternoon,

** Terry Fox Run is this Thursday morning at 10:45am!

Today we ate the vegetables we grew in the garden for our feast! We helped chop cucumbers, tomatoes, and radishes to make a salad. Chef Kaitlyn taught us how to make a vinaigrette too! - Owen

In gym we played "running chaser," "rock, paper, scissors tag" and "4-corners soccer." - Rouha

We had music today, and Ms. Maynes let us pick instruments. She let us make up our own song and practice it as a group. - Selina

Today we did art. We drew Fall leaves using art hub. - Holly

We had a delicious feast!! Thanks Chef Kaitlyn!! Check Ms. Russell's twitter for pictures! - Asyah

In social studies we watched some more Terry Fox clips and learned some new words. Such as: inspiring, humble, courageous, Canadian, heroic, determined, and selfless. - William & Annika

Ms. Russell read us the book "How to Read a Story" then we followed those steps to buddy read! - Andre

We went to the library and exchanged our books. - Owen

** Don't forget "Toonies for Terry!"

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell and Students

September 24, 2018

Hello Everyone,

**Reminder please bring "Toonies for Terry" if you are able to!!

**Reminder it is the garden feast tomorrow!! I would still recommend bringing a lunch just in case your child doesn't like something.

This morning Ms. Russell read us "The Idea Jar" about story ideas. We are going to have our very own "idea jar" for putting our ideas for stories into. That way whenever someone needs a new idea for a story they can check the jar!

We brainstormed some ideas as a class for stories. Then we each chose one and wrote a beginning to a story. Some of us are writing in sentences and some are telling our stories through pictures and labeling.

We have started our math unit on patterns. Ms. Russell had us suggest all the places in life where we notice patterns (i.e. clothing, tiles, numbers, nature, shapes, etc). We also talked about how patterns repeat at least 3 times to be a pattern.

We had gym outside today because of "picture day."

After Ms. Russell read "The Hobbit" today we did our first reading response. This is new for some of us so we are still learning how to do it. Some of the things we could write about were:
- 3 things we were wondering after listening to the chapter
- If you could ask your main character three questions, what would they be?
- What character in your story would you like to invite over to your house? Explain why. What would you do?

In social studies we talked about some of the chores/jobs we have to do at home (i.e. clean my room, make my bed, empty the dishwasher, and walk the dog). We then talked about whether or not this was "fair" work for us to be doing. Was it safe? Was it easy enough for us to do? Did it stop us from being able to go to school or play? Then Ms. Russell read us the story "I have the right to be a child." We talked about how there is such thing as "fair" work and then there is "unfair" work that goes against our rights as a child. Some of the other rights we talked about are: the right to enough food to eat, the right to have a loving family to look after you, the right to go to school, and the right to have a roof over your head. We will continue to explore these things in our unit on being a global citizen.

We finished our day by brainstorming all our ideas for what we think of when we think of "sound." Our first science unit is on sound, and so we made a title page with all of our ideas about what sound means to us.

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell

September 20, 2018

Hello,

**Reminder NO SCHOOL TOMORROW!

** Reminder Picture Day this Monday!! Dress your best!

** Our Garden Feast is next Tuesday!

In gym today we played "revenge dodgeball," "line tag" and running chaser. - Mackenzie

We did art today and decorated our name poems. - Gabe

In music we played the rhythm sticks, bells, and drums. - Ahmed

We had a pop-up museum showcase today. We got to share our items with the other grade 3/4 classes and we learned more about each other. - Elijah

For social studies we finished the documentary "On the Way to School" and learned about each child's hopes and dreams for the future. They want to be: a teacher, pilot, doctor, and a vet. - Rouha

Ms. Russell read us a story called "The Story Machine," about a boy who used a typewriter to write his stories. Then we finished writing our "Ms. Russell is Missing" story. See below:

One Tuesday when I got to school I noticed that Ms. Russell was missing. So I got out my book and waited for her. Suddenly, instead of Ms. Russell a group of rainbow colored Narwhales walked in eating donuts and drinking coffee. Every student laughed, except me, I was worried. Where was Ms. Russell?
As it happens right then the classroom floor opened up to a big pool of water. The narwhales made us eat the donuts and drink the coffee so that we could magically breathe underwater! Before we knew it we were being taken hostage and transported to their underwater dungeon! There we found Ms. Russell chained up in a lonely cell. What were we going to do? We needed a plan to escape. Just then Ms. Russell noticed a chest in the corner of her cell. Luckily, Holly had her fidget cube and we were able to pry the chest open. Inside the chest we found an axe! This wasn't just any axe, this axe was enchanted with speed. Quickly, Ms. Russell tossed the axe to Elle, who immediately tossed it to Cody. Cody started chopping everyone's chains off. Once everyone was free we cut the lock on Ms. Russell's cell and make our escape.
Just when we were wondering how we were going to get back, a moth fluttered past. Andre whispered something to it and it disappeared. Just then a herd of Unicorns dove into the dungeon. We were saved! They took us back to school just in time for the bell. Miraculously, we were no longer wet either, and no one knew what had happened... well except us. The End

Have a great long weekend!!

Ms. Russell and Students

September 19, 2018

Good afternoon,

Today in gym we played "rock, paper, scissors" tag and "4-corners"soccer. - Asyah

In social studies we watched a documentary about how other kids get to school. How hard their journey is, and the difficulties they face. We thought about how lucky we are to be able to go to school every day and be safe! After we brainstormed some ideas about how our lives are different. For example: they trusted strangers to give them a ride, some had to walk for 4 hours to get to school, and others had to watch out for wild animals that could get them! - Elle

Ms. Russell read the Hobbit again, Bilbo Baggins found the ring of power and he and Gollum took turns asking each other riddles. - William

We got our first spelling list today. We did some activities to build our skills too. - Selina

Today we talked about the parts of a story. We talked about story planning using characters, setting, problem and plot before we start writing. We also talked about how every story has a beginning, middle and end. - Annika

Have a great afternoon!

Ms. Russell and Grade 3/4zzzzzzzz

September 17, 2018

Hello!

** There were 2 notices that came home today! One has Ms. Russell's website and blog address for parents to access from home. The other one has a technology contract and some information on using technology wisely and safely. Please fill out the attachments and return to school.

This morning we chatted more about Growth Mindset and how to turn a mistake into a learning opportunity. We read, "The Book of Mistakes" by Corinna Luyken and talked about how when we make a mistake it is an opportunity to make something new and to grow from it. We also talked about creating a classroom environment in which everyone can learn. So instead of having class rules we are going to post classroom expectations that support a growth mindset environment. For example: "Don't laugh when others make mistakes" or "If something doesn't work the first time, try a different strategy." Lastly, we came up with our own growth mindset goal, and talked about possible setbacks and how we could overcome them. Please ask me about this!

We had music after recess and learned how to Waltz!

In gym we played "running chaser," "4-corners" and "Capture the flag."

Ms. Russell read some more of "The Hobbit" today. Bilbo has just escaped the Goblins and met Gollum down in the Goblin tunnels!

In social studies we finished our drawings of how we get to school, as well as one about how other children around the world get to school. Ms. Russell is going to post these up for others to see the unique differences.

In math we reviewed our number assessments and talked about what each question was asking.

We finished our day at the Library. If you haven't returned your books please do so. Then you can get new ones!

Have a great afternoon!

Ms. Russell

September 14, 2018

Happy Friday!

**Reminder today from 1:30-2:30 there will be an open house for parents to come out check out your child's classroom. Hope to see you there!

This morning we read the story "The Way to School" that talks about the different ways in which children around the world get to school each day. Some have to climb steep mountain paths, some take a zip-line, while others must cross dangerous bridges. Students are making comparisons with their own journey to school.

We had our pop-up museum today! It was wonderful seeing all the great artifacts and learning more about each other! We will be sharing these with the other grade 3/4 classes next week.

After finishing up some work we had time on Ms. Russell's web page doing math games.

Have a great weekend!

Ms. Russell

September 13, 2018

Hello,

*Reminder to bring your pop-up museum items tomorrow to present!!

Today we had a fire drill! Despite the freezing weather we did a great job! - Owen

In gym we did some running movement activities. We also played "rainbow tag" and "capture the flag." - Andre

We had music and we played some dancing games. - Rouha

In social studies we are drawing pictures of how we get to school each day. - Annika

We used the computers for the first time today. We typed up our name poems and our how we learn best paragraphs. When we finished we got free time on Ms. Russell's web page. - Selina

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell and Grade 3/4zzzzzzzzz

September 12, 2018

Hello,

*Reminder if you haven't returned your notices from the welcome package, please do so by Friday!

Today we talked some more about growth mindset. Students recognize that a fixed mindset is one where you feel that you will never get any better at something. Whereas a growth mindset knows that with hard work, effort, and grit abilities and talents can be developed. We also read the story "After the Fall" about what Humpty Dumpty did after his fall. Please ask me about this.

For math today we solved each other's "Figure Me Out" to find out more information about our classmates, and practice our problem solving.

In gym we played "4 corners," "running chaser" and "fortress."

We harvested our "Dreamcatcher Garden" today! We harvested potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, herbs, and onions.

In social studies we talked more about needs and wants. We did a think, pair, share about what sorts of items are needs and which ones are wants. For example a need might be water, whereas a want might be pop. Then we made flip books of needs and wants and had to sort objects into the right category.





**Reminder to bring 3 items for your pop-up museum on Friday!
**Also there is an open house on Friday from 1:30-2:30pm so parents can see the classroom!

Have a great afternoon and stay warm!

Ms. Russell

September 11, 2018

Good Afternoon,

In gym we played "revenge dodgeball" and "pop bottle." - Asyah

We talked about growth mindset which means that you don't give up, you keep trying, you challenge yourself to get better. We did a true or false quiz to see what type of mindset we have.  - Selina

In music today we learned rhythms and beats. - Ahmed

Today in math we played "pig" and we also talked about math language. Ask me about some phrases. - Holly

Today we read a book called "The important book." We then wrote about 5 other objects and why they are important to us. We also wrote about what is important about us. - Elle

Have a great afternoon!

Ms. Russell and Students

September 10, 2018

Good afternoon,

Ms. Russell continued reading the Hobbit today after lunch. - Andre

Today in the gym we played "Running Chaser" and we played "3-corners soccer." - Asyah

Today in math we wrote about what math means to us, or what we think of when we think of math. We did this in our visual journals. - Holly

In social studies we talked about people's basic needs. We also drew 4 pictures of activities we do every day. - Elle

This morning Ms. Russell read the story "The Name Jar." After we wrote poems about us and what makes us unique and who we are.

We also wrote about what type of learners we are, and how we learn best. Please ask me how I learn best!

Have a great afternoon!

Ms. Russell