Poetry

- focus on rhythm and free verse
- goal is to increase students' confidence in writing poetry

* Poetry writing activities from Quick Poetry Activities You Can Really Do by Jacqueline Sweeney

Fossils and Rocks

Grade 4 Science Core Unit

Students will:
1. Provide evidence of Earth's history
- Compare igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.
- Explain how igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks form.
- Explain that soil consists primarily of rock which has been broken down.

2. Describe how fossils are formed
- Examine the relationships between sedimentary rocks and fossils.
- Classify fossils.
- Produce mold and cast reproductions of a shell or other artifact.
- Compare mold and cast reproductions to fossils.

3. Recognize how inferences are made.
- Explain how fossil evidence can be used to make inferences about dinosaurs.
- Explain how inferences about the Earth's history are made.

Landforms
- Earth's layers
- Earth's plates
- Earthquakes
- Mountains
- Erosion
- Volcanoes (Pompeii)
- Geysers

Archaeology
- Simulation dig
- Study of specific digs (Jorvic Viking Centre)
- Identifying what we can learn about cultures from archaeology
- Predicting what archaeologists of the future will be able to discover about us
- Archaeology as a career
- Specific archaeologists
- Dating methods
- Tools used by archaeologists
- Facts about ancient civilizations

Dinosaurs
- Historic time periods (vegetation and animals of each period)
- Facts about specific dinosaurs
- Relation to archaeology and museums
- Scientific names
- Fossil fuels

Fractions

Students will be able to:
- demonstrate the concept of a fraction as part of a group of objects and as a point on a number line
- demonstrate fractions using correct symbols
- understand that fractions represent partitioning into equal-sized parts of the whole
- demonstrate equivalent fractions by using manipulatives and pictures
- understand the relationships between the concrete, pictorial, verbal, and symbolic representations of fractions and mixed numbers
- order fractions having like denominators and having like numerators
- understand and use the terms numerator, denominator, equivalent fractions
- convert to a decimal fraction (vice versa) a common fraction with a denominator of 2 and 10
- solve problems involving the addition and subtraction of fractions with like denominators

Decimals

Students will be able to:
- recognize and solve problems involving addition and subtraction of decimals
- determine the size of a decimal by comparing it to a benchmark (1/4,1/2,1)
- understand the relationship of common fractions to decimals for 10ths
- illustrate decimals by using models and diagrams
- order decimals by using manipulatives or pictures
- generate patterns using decimals
- express decimals in words and numerals
- compare any two decimal numbers greater than or less than one
- use manipulatives and pictures to illustrate addition and subtraction of decimals
- use mental calculation to estimate sums and differences of decimals
- add and subtract decimals by aligning similar place value columns

Theme Related Activities
ie.
- Wire Dinosaurs
- Stone Statues
- Dinosaurs to Scale
- Rock Polishing
- Dinosaur Songs
- Designing Dinosaurs
- Creative Dance Related to Poetry
- Poetry Response to Art and Music

(continued from March)

Anger Management
- How to identify and handle angry feelings
- Strategies for resolving conflicts

Decision Making
- Lions Quest - Grade 4 Unit 3

Skipping
- directions, speeds, patterns

Creative Dance
- basic movement patterns
- based on student-written poetry

On-Going
- Anecdotal Records
- Day to day assignments (checklists, notes, on-going development)
- Spelling Tests (weekly)
- Week in Review reflections (sent home with a positive comment from me)
- End of the month reflection (self-assess.)
- Behaviour Checklists (self-assess.)
- Portfolio Selection (self-assess.)

Specific to Month
- Theme tests and quizzes
- Projects (Rocks & Soil Centres, Dinosaur Reports, Language Arts Centres, Various Experiments, Poetry Anthologies)
- Chapter Challenge

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