Embedded Files
Let's Play Fair
Let's Play Fair
For the next week or so students in our classroom will be participating in a unit titled “Let’s Play Fair”.
The classroom activities will focus on identifying games as fair or unfair, and exploring concepts such as the probability of a “sure thing”.
You can assist your child in understanding the relevant concepts by working together to look for situations where probability occurs in everyday life, and to help in devising games that are either fair or unfair. Various family activities have been planned for use throughout this unit. Helping your child with the completion of these will enhance his/her understanding of the concepts involved.
If you work with probability in your daily work or hobbies, please encourage your child to learn about this so that he/she can describe these activities to his/her classmates. If you would be willing to visit our classroom and share your experience with the class, please contact me.
Swim Carnival Photos
Swim Carnival Photos
Thank you all for coming out to support your children at the Swim Carnival. You can see photos of the event below.
Maths Focus: Measurement & Probability
Maths Focus: Measurement & Probability
For our last unit, we will be exploring perimeter, area, volume and probability. Take a moment to understand the learning targets for the unit.
Some of the students will be exploring perimeter, and area and incorporate pricing to complete this maths investigation. Take a look at how we use the campus to extend students' understanding.
Student-Led Conferences
Student-Led Conferences
It's been a while since parents joined us on campus for Student-led Conferences; I have updated a parent workshop from 2018 for you.
On Friday, June 3, your child will share their learning with you, and the teachers will allow that sharing to take place with minimal to no interference.
I look forward to seeing you celebrate your child's learning.
2022 How to Make the Most of Your SLC.pptx
Developing Responsive Readers
Developing Responsive Readers
In our sixth unit of inquiry, we have our final book club novel, My Name is Brain, Brian, by Jeanne Betancourt.
My Name is Brain, Brian explores the challenges that our protagonist Brian Toomey experiences in school and with his friends. The story is told in the first person.
There are many benefits of book club. They include:
Gaining multiple perspectives by listening to others
Developing speaking skills by expressing one's thinking
Being responsive to the text by exploring what is said in the story makes them feel and what questions arise as they read the story.
How to help at home:
How to help at home:
Read chapters with your child and model being a responsive reader by sharing your thinking. You can refer to the book club slide in the home learning tab.
Some sentence starters you can use to discuss the book are:
I was shocked about ...
I was surprised when ...
I never thought ...
I couldn't believe ...
I was confused by ...
Sustainable Market Celebration
Sustainable Market Celebration
Thank you for your support and hard work so that we can make the 2022 Market an enjoyable learning experience.
Multiplication and Division
Multiplication and Division
Students were encouraged to view struggle as an essential part of learning. We developed a growth mindset and flexible thinking by solving many open-ended questions.
Here are the learning outcomes for multiplication and division in grade 4:
Uses known times tables facts to multiply any 2-digit number by a 1-digit number mentally.
Solve problems (including real life and word) involving multiplication of large numbers by one- or two-digit numbers using efficient mental and written strategies
Use efficient mental and written strategies for division.
Use estimation and rounding to check the reasonableness of answers to calculations.
Help at home:
Help at home:
Use multiplication activities such as the one seen below. How many possible ways can you solve the problem?
One of the activities we worked on this week connected to division. Feel free to ask your child to show you how they solved the problem, and maybe you can show your thoughts on how you can solve the problems!
Languagehomelearning.docxExpanding Vocabulary & Building Accuracy
Expanding Vocabulary & Building Accuracy
In grade 4, we are working on a new routine to record and review new vocabulary as part of our English language learning.
We are using a modified Frayer Model (examples below) to help us organise our thinking and make connections by using the words in sentences.
Next week, we will introduce the Grade 4 Word Study Home Learning routine in class, so students learn how to independently manage their individual spelling and word exploration programme at school and at home.
We will be using the handy ABC guide on the left. On page 2 of the document, you can find a range of strategies that you can use at home to support your child.
How to help at home:
How to help at home:
Read with your child. If you encounter a new word use context clues to guess the meaning and then use a dictionary to confirm the true meaning.
Imagine new worlds together and write a story. Use descriptive language from novels and help your child craft a story of their own.
Choose a word your child is learning about and one of the activities on page two, to practice with your child.
Unit 5: How We Organize Ourselves
Unit 5: How We Organize Ourselves
Three-Way Conferences: Purposes and Roles
Three-Way Conferences: Purposes and Roles
Kindly read the paragraph below to help prepare for the 3-way conferences, which identifies the structure outlined by the International Baccalaureate for PYP schools for three-way conferences.
Three-way Conferences
Three-way conferences involve the student, parent, and teacher. Students discuss their learning and understanding with their parents and teacher, who are responsible for supporting the student through this process. Students are responsible for reflection upon work samples they have chosen to share, that have been previously selected with guidance and support from the teacher and could be from the student's portfolio. The student, parents, and the teacher collaborate to establish and identify the student's strengths and areas for improvement. This may lead to the setting of new goals, with all determining how they can support the achievement of those goals. The teacher is an integral part of the process and takes notes of the discussion. These notes may then be used in the written report. All of the participants must understand the format and their roles prior to the conference.
Page 52 of Making the PYP happen: A curriculum framework for international primary education
Remember the purpose of the 3-way conference is to:
Remember the purpose of the 3-way conference is to:
teach students the process of reflection and self-evaluation
to encourage students to accept responsibility for their learning
to encourage students, parents, and teachers to engage in open and honest dialogue
Dates to remember
Dates to remember
Monday 14th, March - classes will end at 11h30 to facilitate 3-way conferences.
Tuesday 15th, March - no elementary school classes/three-way conferences continued.
Wednesday 16th, March - Creativity Day
Thursday 17th, March - Sunday 4th, April - Spring break
Tuesday 5th April - Spring trimester begins
Where We Are in Place and Time Vocabulary
Where We Are in Place and Time Vocabulary
You can help your child develop their understanding of history by:
Review the key vocabulary for the unit with your child.
Share important events when you were a child. What was life was like when you were their age?
Help them write interview questions for their grandparents and create an oral history.
Support their research project; find out what they already know about their invention and what else can they add?
Unit 4 Mathematics: Measurement
Unit 4 Mathematics: Measurement
In mathematics, we will focus our investigations on different areas of measurement related to time.
Students will:
Use timelines in units of inquiry and other real-life situations.
Read and write digital and analogue time on 12-hour and 24-hour clocks.
Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes.
Below is an informative video that you can watch with your family.
How to help at home:
How to help at home:
Review the following:
seconds in a minute,
minutes in an hour, hours in a day,
days in a week,
weeks in a fortnight,
days in a common and leap year, years in a decade,
decades in a century,
centuries in a millennium.
Calculate elapsed time on a train ride.
Estimate the time needed to arrive at a destination from a particular location.
Unit 4: Where We Are in Place and Time
Unit 4: Where We Are in Place and Time
Our new unit, Where We Are in Place and Time, aims to introduce the importance and relevance of history to grade 4 students. We will explore important historical events, past and present and historical figures, inventions, and their influence on our lives.
Below you will see an overview of the unit.
How to help at home:
How to help at home:
Connection to self: Share a bit of your family history (hint: this will be an assignment next week).
Connection to home country: Invite your child to learn about the crucial events in your country's past that shaped its present.
Connection to Japan: You can visit many open-air historical sites in Osaka. There are also museums such as the Open-Air Museum of Old Japanese Farmhouses outdoor that you can enjoy.
Realistic fiction: Wild Weather Adventure!
Realistic fiction: Wild Weather Adventure!
Grade 4 writers use their creativity and understanding of natural disasters to craft a subgenre of realistic fiction, survival fiction!
The creative writers are drafting and revising their short stories. The students watched a short video clip (see below) and at each stage of the writing process, the students' conference with their peers and teachers to improve their writing.
How to help at home:
How to help at home:
Ask about your child's Wild Weather Adventure.
Have them read an excerpt for you; yes, they can take their writing journals home.
As about the characters, setting and actions involved in the story.
Geometry I: 2D Shapes
Geometry I: 2D Shapes
In this unit of mathematics, we aim to:
Draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute, obtuse), and perpendicular and parallel lines. As well as identify these in 2D shapes.
Students identify 2D figures based on the lines (perpendicular or parallel) and size of angles (acute, obtuse, or right). They can also identify line symmetry and draw a line of symmetry in 2D figures.
How to help at home:
How to help at home:
Identify flat shapes around your house and neighborhood and discuss how 2D shapes can combine to form 3D shapes.
Below you will find a new activity that you can use at home to review the key concepts covered in geometry over the past four weeks.
Student Agency
Student Agency
An important part of being a lifelong learner is deepening your understanding of a topic or issue that you are passionate about and then taking action based on what you learned.
Student-initiated learning comes from The guide below can help you decide on what action you can when you investigate a topic of interest.
Below, you will find a Book Creator non-fiction book written by Ishan Das after he is personal inquiry into our solar system. What would you like to share in 2022?
I invite you to take some time this holiday for wonder and exploration. Share what you have done and we can add your own project on the class portal.
I wish you a wonderful holiday with your family. Click here for pictures from the last week of school for 2021!
Photos of the Week
Photos of the Week
Click here for more photos from the past two weeks.
Book Club
Book Club
Book club is meant to help students deepen their understanding of a novel through, reading, identifying important details, sharing their ideas and questions within a group, and listening to the perspectives of others.
It is your child's responsibility to complete the learning at home but it would be good if you could help support them in the following:
1. Make sure they do the reading and take notes either on sticky notes or in their reading journal.
2. Help them understand the reading when they need it.
3. Encourage them to pack the materials in their bags to bring to school the next day.
Thank you for helping us strengthen our home-school partnership.
Take a moment to view the slideshow below for more details.
Digital Citizenship
Digital Citizenship
Unit 3: How The World Works
Unit 3: How The World Works
Did you know you can find information about the most current unit on Managebac?
You can see a screenshot of what Managebac shares when you log in. Below the screenshot, you will find the key vocabulary of the unit.
How to help at home:
Review the key vocabulary in English and your home language
Watch news reports about natural disasters and discuss how they affect people's lives
Explore different natural disasters with your child using grades 3/4 resources from the SOIS Library
Print out or refer to the Google Document for the key vocabulary words for the How the World Works unit, remember to discuss these words in English AND your home language.
Week 13 in Photos
Week 13 in Photos
During the last days before our fall break, the grade 4 students:
presented their poems and art to parents, teachers, and students during the poetry cafe.
reflected on their learning in different subject areas.
spent a morning in Kita-Senri Park.
If you want to view more pictures from the week, please click here.
How We Express Ourselves
How We Express Ourselves
The grade 4s have worked on crafting poems that make you think about issues that matter most to them.
You will see art, music, and poetry that evolve from the students' interests and creativity.
In the library, we will have a:
welcome introduction
poetry sharing
conversation with the poets and artist
Your child's artwork and additional poetry will be visible in the library.
How to Help at Home:
How to Help at Home:
Listen to your child perform their poem and give them feedback on how they can improve their presentation
Several poems were created at school, we are working on using figurative language in their poems. You can be their editing buddy and help them with their word choices.
Week 11 in Photos
Week 11 in Photos
Click here to view photos from Monday 1st - Friday 5th of November, 2021.
Click here to view photos from Monday 8th - Friday the 12th of November, 2021.
Home/School Connection III: Seesaw
Home/School Connection III: Seesaw
Seesaw is an important medium for students to document and share the learning experiences from the classroom with their family and friends. Students have agency as they use the Seesaw tools creatively to share the concepts they learned.
Teachers provide students with feedback to each Seesaw post they assign. Parents are strongly encouraged to read and comment on their child's learning as well. The benefits of feedback are profound.
How to Help at Home:
How to Help at Home:
Take a look at what your child has posted on Seesaw and leave a comment on what you see. A good rule of thumb is to have one sentence that praises them for what they did well and one sentence carefully identifying how they can improve next time. Choose only 1 area of improvement at a time.
In some videos you may notice that there was a major misunderstanding of an idea or concept. You may also notice important information might be missing. Take some time to ask your child to explain their thinking then repost the activity with your help.
Take a moment to watch the video below for a brief introduction to Seesaw for families.
Home/School Connection II: Vocabulary
Home/School Connection II: Vocabulary
In grade 4 we focus on understanding vocabulary in context, and you can help by reinforcing these words with them. Below is a guide that emphasizes some words that have been used in the unit.
How to help at home:
How to help at home:
Review the key vocabulary with your child.
Check your child's understanding of these words.
Read and discuss different forms of art, and use the key vocabulary of the unit.
Create an at-home personalized spelling list with these words and vocabulary from their novel.
Halloween Highlights
Halloween Highlights
Click here for more pictures of our learning this week!
Home/School Connection I: Co-creating Poems
Home/School Connection I: Co-creating Poems
Grades 3 and 4 will host our first poetry cafe, for parents, students, and teachers on Tuesday the 16th of November, 2021 in the SOIS library. This will be the first shared event involving families as an audience in quite some time. We are all excited to have this opportunity to share the students learning and creativity.
To foster a closer home/school alliance our grade 3 and 4 poets will present one poem created with their parents at the poetry cafe. We encourage you to write the poem in your home language. Don't forget to brainstorm ideas with your child for a topic that you both are passionate about.
You can use the Features of Poems, list (see below) that the grade 4 class created, before or after your first draft, for inspiration.
Before you create your poem with your child, please read the section below.
How to help at home:
How to help at home:
Find poems written by poets from your home country and talk about how it reflects your national or cultural identity
Read your favourite poems as a child to your child and discuss the poets' message
Model reading poetry with expression and share how it makes you feel when you reflect on the pauses and mood of the poem.
Use questions help to provoke thought about the themes and universal lives and in the world
An Overview: How We Express Ourselves
An Overview: How We Express Ourselves
2021 How We Express Ourselves Overview.pdfUnit 2: How We Express Ourselves
Unit 2: How We Express Ourselves
Click here to view the PDF.
Week 6 in pictures
Week 6 in pictures
This week's pictures include highlights from:
Circle time - part of the grade 4 SEL program
Context clues learning groups
Landforms reflection at the end of our Sharing the Planet inquiry
Math explorations
Click here if you want to see more pictures showcasing learning in G4.
Research Skills
Research Skills
We are coming to the end of our inquiry into Sharing the Planet, and students developed their research skills through:
Information literacy:
Information literacy:
Evaluating and selecting appropriate information sources based on the task - by using SOIS library links we used Pebble Go, BrainPOP, Google Earth Interactive to find information to help us answer questions from the unit.
Data gathering and recording - we decided what were the relevant details from information sources, created concept maps, short notes, sketch-notes, and paraphrased information in our own words.
Data gathering & reporting:
Data gathering & reporting:
Using all senses to find and notice relevant details - we went on a nature walk, observed the SOIS compost, as well as plants and fungi.
Recording observations by drawing, annotating diagrams, note-taking, and writing statements - we made detailed scientific drawings, sketchnotes, and wrote our predictions based on what we observed.
How to help at home:
How to help at home:
Ask your child what they might want to learn more about. These questions may connect with their learning on the unit (biodiversity, ecosystems, food webs) or a topic of personal interest.
Use the library links to help them during the research stage. Talk about what new information they discovered.
Then create or take some action based on what you learned.
Place Value Review
Place Value Review
The students have reviewed their understanding of place value using the questions shown in the Google Slides on the left.
How to help at home:
How to help at home:
Modify the questions to practice the concepts covered in class.
Review this Math Antics video alone or with your child to design your own questions on place value.
Week 5 in pictures
Week 5 in pictures
Peace Day & International Mindedness Week
Peace Day & International Mindedness Week
This has been a short and eventful week in grade 4.
We celebrated Peace Day on Tuesday and we listened to Mr. Peter Heimer's read-aloud about the fight for access to public spaces by differently-abled persons. On Wednesday we learned facts about the challenges of people around the world with the grade 11 students Rena Kawasaki and Kent Narita. On Friday, the elementary students gathered in our first assembly for the school year to celebrate diversity in our community.
As a class, we watched the video below. Here are some comments the students made:
Be kind; get to know people before you judge them.
Use your knowledge to find a solution.
Don't judge people by their religion, how they look, or by their culture.
Keep your opinions to yourself.
Ask questions to learn more about someone.
If you are from a different culture and people judge you, don't judge them or peace will be destroyed.
How to help at home:
How to help at home:
As your child's first teacher and role model, I encourage you to click on the link Mirrors & Windows to learn more about discussing diverse characters in a story.
Use picture books, to introduce themes of diversity, inclusion, prejudice, and discrimination to your child.
Talk about cultural and historical events in your own culture to help your child develop their sense of identity.
Mathematics: Place Value
Mathematics: Place Value
After two weeks of logic and reasoning exploration in mathematics, we started inquiring into the concept of place value. This week we learned about:
the base-ten number systems and their values.
different ways to express numbers including word form, base-ten form, expanded form, standard form, etc.
mathematical vocabulary, such as the definitions for place value, digit, expanded form, etc.
Next week we will learn about:
Modeling numbers to the 100,000's and beyond using the base-10 value system
Reading, writing, and comparing whole numbers to the 100,000's
Using numbers up to 100,000 and decimals to one decimal place in real-life situations
How to help at home:
How to help at home:
Ask questions for example:
-> "How is the base system connected to time, money, measurement?"
-> How does the base-10 system help us in our everyday lives?
Regrouping numbers 1,562 can be grouped into 1 thousand, 5 hundreds, 6 tens, and 2 ones. OR 15 hundreds and 62 ones ... can this number be grouped in different ways?
Counting forward and backward by 10's, 100's, and 1000's crossing decades, century, and millennia. For example:
-> What is one more than 439,999? Extensions can be: what is 100, 1000 more ...
-> What is one less than 801,000? Extensions can be: what is 100, 1000 less ...
Here is an open-ended activity that we will explore in class, try it yourself!
Week 4: A Look at Our Learning
Week 4: A Look at Our Learning
Click here for more photos from grade 4.
BHH Reading
BHH Reading
Two years ago I was introduced to Disruptive Thinking, Why How We Read Matters. I learned more about why it was important for all readers to have an emotional response, to what they read. By making personal connections to what we read, reading now has a purpose, which motivates us to read more.
In grade 4, students are learning about the traits of a good reader and how to connect to their reading. We started the year by using the Book, Head, Heart (BHH) reading framework.
BHH encourages students to think deeper about the text that they are reading. Students organize their thinking based on the facts found in the text (book), their understanding of what they have read (head), and their emotional reaction to the text (heart).
How to help at home:
How to help at home:
You will receive BHH bookmarks that the students made. Use the questions to help you talk to your child about what they read.
Click here for more pictures from week 3 of learning!
Sharing the Planet
Sharing the Planet
We celebrated the opening of the new library on Wednesday, the 1st of September, 2021 and the students were impressed with the new design and layout. Click here for pictures of the students' first day in the new library and more pictures from this week. You can see some of our class pictures form week 2 in the carousel below.
We are starting this year off by investigating biodiversity. Take a look at the slideshow below for more details about our 6-week investigation into the relationships among living things and how you can help.
Welcome to Grade 4
Welcome to Grade 4
Dear students and parents,
This is the beginning of a wonderful learning journey in grade 4.
In the first couple of weeks, we are developing our classroom routines and learning expectations. On Friday the 10th of September, 2021 from 17h - 19h we will have Back to School Night (BTSN). You will receive more information about this next week Friday.
Our class portal is an important hub of communication. There will be regular updates on the class portal with information on learning, subject overviews, and pictures of students' learning. Home learning for the week will be posted every Monday evening with the due dates for each activity listed. Please note that there will not be any home learning assigned for the first two weeks, however, your child is expected to read each evening.
I highly recommend setting a recurring weekly calendar reminder to check the class portal with your child. Please go to the "Library & Learning Links" tab for quick and easy access to the websites listed below.
Username and passwords
Username and passwords
BrainPOP: username: osakais /password: reads1
Tumblebooks: username: osakais / password: reads1
IXL: a letter will be sent home with students individual usernames and passwords
EPIC!: class code: dug7160
Specialist teachers will communicate primarily on Seesaw. You may receive emails from me, but this will not be a weekly occurrence. Please enjoy the pictures of our first week together.
Thank you,
Claudelle Lewis
Report abuse