Welcome to 4W!

Hi and welcome! We are having a great year of learning together in 4W, so far!

I will update this site monthly with news from our classroom community and important dates. Please check your child's planner for what's going on daily in our classroom, and our Google Classroom for some of our weekly assignments. I will check planners for notes from you. I will also use email to contact parents from time to time, so please feel free to email back. I will respond between 8:30 and 4:30 during the weekdays.

Please also check the TVDSB and JD websites regularly for updates:

http://johndearness.tvdsb.ca/en/index.aspx

You can also find me on Twitter @WarkLaurie

https://twitter.com/warklaurie?lang=en

What can students do at home?!

See list of links below

(where necessary, usernames and passwords are recorded in student planners)

Read together: Reading aloud tends to drop off in the junior grades and I highly encourage families to read aloud together through these years and beyond. Choose books that may be slightly higher than your child's current reading ability, so that you can read to them and discuss this rich content together. This helps students to develop reading strategies and critical thinking and questioning skills that they may not attain from books they can read on their own. Plus it's a great way to spend time together!

Practice basic math facts: Do you know your math facts up to 10 x 10? We will work on strategies this year, but it's great to practice at home! What's your strategy for adding 24 + 36?

Knowledgehook: This is an online interactive learning experience supported by TVDSB and aligned with the Ontario Math curriculum. It provides students with numerous engaging activities on mathematical strategies and critical thinking skills, and provides me with feedback on their progress. Students can work towards half and full-mathalons by achieving missions appropriate for them, and occasionally I will assign missions based on learning we're doing in the classroom.

Keyboarding practice: I strongly encourage students to improve their keyboarding skills so that we can make more powerful use of technology. Dancemat and Typingclub are excellent, free programs to develop keyboarding skills, but there are many online programs, so if you find one you like better that's great!

Currents4kids: This Canadian online resource empowers students to understand and explore current events around the world. It also helps to develop reading and writing skills through the question and short answer components, which are submitted to me.

mPower: TVO mPower is a creative online game that supports the development of foundational K-6 math skills and STEM skills. Designed and developed with Ontario students and educators, TVO mPower games support the Ontario curriculum and foster positive attitudes toward math and science. Each student in the class has a username and password which is in their planner.

Learn to Code: This is a great skill to develop and Hour of Code is a good place to start! https://hourofcode.com

Create using Mindomo and Google Read & Write: We have had training in both of these, so practice using these at home by writing a story or keeping a journal! Or research something you've always wondered about (Passion Project) and share it with others!