Tips of the Week March 23- 27

Welcome back everyone!

It was wonderful to hear so many stories this morning about students' travels near and far. Many interesting remnants were shared, including sand dollars, photos, ticket stubs and much more!

Pizza orders will be sent home today and are to be returned by FRIDAY.

Scholastic orders were due today. Late orders will be accepted until Wednesday (latest please).

Math- Grade 4s: As mentioned before the break, this week we will begin a WEEKLY Multiplication Quiz for Grade 4 students.

On Mondays, students will be assigned 2 times tables, and will be quizzed on their understanding of those 2 times tables on Fridays.

This week, Grade 4s are asked to study the 0 and 1 times tables up to 12 (e.g. up to: 0 x 12 = 0, and 1 x 12 = 12). Next week will be the 2 and 3 times tables, the following week the 4 and 5 times tables, and so on, up to the 12 times table.

I have provided a BLUE study sheet for students to use for their at-home studies. I will be sending home the quiz results every Monday to be signed (regardless of the grade), to acknowledge that it has been received at home. Thank you kindly for your continued support!

Grade 3s: Grade 3 students will begin their weekly EQAO homework beginning on Friday.

In addition to our in-school practice, each week grade 3 students will be receiving a take home EQAO question.  These questions are authentic as they have been taken from previous years’ tests.  Students are expected to apply the skills and strategies they are learning in class when completing this homework. Though students are to complete the work independently, parents are strongly encouraged to sit with their child and help them work through the question(s).  Details of strategies used in class and other ways to support your child at home will be outlined in the take-home EQAO folder.

EQAO folders/ homework will be taken home Fridays, and will be due at school on Tuesdays.

In class this week we will continue to work on our Geometry unit, specifically comparing and contrasting polygons and quadrilaterals. If time permits, we will be moving on  (within our unit) to classifying and comparing various 3 Dimensional shapes, based on their attributes.

Language- Though editing and checking our work carefully is always a focus, we are also focusing this week on main idea. Students will be working on identifying the main idea within stories both read and heard aloud. We will be using a variety of resources (flyers/ ads, novels, articles/ newspaper, etc.) as the sources from which we will be looking for the main ideas. 

It is important to note that students often get confused between what is the MAIN IDEA and what are the SUPPORTING DETAILS.

After some practice identifying main idea, our goal will be to use that ability to more concisely and effectively relay our own messages, whether it be sharing aloud during remnant circle, writing, or even talking casually with a friend or family member.   

After watching television, reading a book together or even simply having a conversation, ask your child some or all of these questions:

• Do the pictures provide clues?
• Are there boldfaced headings or titles? (these may contain the topic and/or main idea)
• Have you listened/ (or read) carefully to the first and last sentences in the paragraph? (these are usually helpful, e.g. in paragraph writing this is where we state the focus/ topic)
• Have you noticed any repeating words? ( these often indicate the topic)
• Are there significant details that all point to the same issue/topic?
• What is the text 'mostly about'?

Have fun working and being together!

E. Sullivan