Hello, 4A families!
Here is a window in our learning this past week…
In Science, we were blessed this week to have our wonderful EA, Ms. Littler, bring more than six varieties of sunflowers to class, including examples from different stages of development!
Students took part in a hands-on inquiry, observing the sunflowers with their senses and drawing on their background knowledge and reasoning skills to ask questions and make predictions. We also practiced how to formulate scientific questions and make thoughtful predictions.
In Math this week, the key goal was to do deep review of the topics and concepts we’ve already covered so this year (pattern rules, place value, math facts, mental math strategies, math vocabulary, problem solving strategies, working with data and graphing); this process helped prepare students to do their best during the online and paper-and-pencil portions of the FSA numeracy sections.
We also had fun estimating how many seeds might be in a giant sunflower head. Students recorded their first estimates, then worked together to develop an organized strategy for counting the seeds and managing their data.
In Crew this week, we started with the Mark 4:35-41 account of “Jesus Calms the Storm”—connecting and reflecting upon how Jesus is always with us through all weather, and we are called to call upon and trust in Him to lead us to peace. Students were invited to retell the story from memory to the best of their ability.
In exploring Bible stories we approach reading the students’ NIV Bible text first, discuss and define new vocabulary, consider historical/context notes, explore children’s Bible story versions in text and occasionally preapproved video, pray for wisdom, and encourage students to continue exploring with family and friends.
In Crew this week we also challenged our critical thinking by sorting the parts of different items into three categories: essentials, upgrades, and distractions.
We learned that we need to understand an item’s purpose before we can know to what extent all of its parts and features help satisfy or distract from that purpose.
An essential part helps the item do what it is meant to do, an upgrade improves it, and a distraction pulls attention away from its purpose.
guitar?
We also connected this idea to writing: simply adding more words does not make a paragraph stronger if those words do not serve its purpose.
This led to a faith dialogue and discussion about the difference between appearances and what is truly important beyond the razzle dazzle people cloth themselves in. Decorating our lives to “look the part” of Christians is not fulfilling our purpose —rather, how we work in the world should grow from our genuine faith in Jesus and reflect our increasing understanding of and commitment to God’s purpose for our lives.
In Language Arts, we continued discussion using the ideas of essentials, upgrades, and distractions to think about our writing.
Students examined examples and practiced creating strong titles, hooks, and topic sentences.
They also played a creative game called “Upgrade My Sentence,” where they took turns trying out ways to make a sentence more engaging while keeping focused on its purpose.
We also looked at the CUPS approach to proofreading.
Starting today, we are setting a clear standard for all 4A written work (an essential): sentences should begin with capital letters and end with appropriate punctuation.
We will continue to offer gentle reminders, and if students miss these conventions, we will return their work and expect corrections to be made.
In Bible, we continued through Genesis to the study the story of the Tower of Babel.
Personal Reflection Questions:
- What might be a “Tower of Babel” we build in our own lives (not out of bricks, but through our choices)?
- Have you ever wanted to do something mostly so other people would think you were impressive?
- How can we use our talents to help others instead of just getting attention for ourselves?
In Art this week, we did a still life study of sunflowers in oil pastel to continue working on our skills at blending and layering of colour and we will try the same subject in watercolour next week to compare the benefits and opportunities of the two mediums.
We also looked at Vincent van Gogh’s famous painting Sunflowers, noticing its vivid yellows and how the flowers’ different shapes and stages—from fresh blooms to drooping heads—bring the arrangement to life.
