Recently, 4KE just finished their Google Slide presentations on the different Natural Regions of Alberta. Students learned about what makes up a natural region, including vegetation, climate, and landforms. Students were then organized into groups with each member researching one of the natural regions from Alberta. They compiled their research into planning documents before transferring the information into one final presentation. The presentations looked beautiful!
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As our next simple machine, the Grade 4s learned about pulleys. First they were challenged to lift a weight from the floor, using everyday materials. Each group was given a pole, a toilet paper roll, paper clips, string, and whatever else they thought would be useful from the classroom. Eventually, groups began to discover how to design a pulley, successfully lifting their weights.
We then worked with actual pulleys, making models of the 3 basic types: fixed, moveable, and block and tackle. 4KE learned about the advantages and disadvantages to each kind of pulley. We then looked at a few examples of pulleys used in the actual world. A lot of exploration took place! (Only a few more simple machines to go!) In English Language Arts, 4KE recently completed their assignment on how to write a postcard. First, we used our laptops to look at a few examples of postcards and to label the different sections such as a date, greeting, and postscript. We then practiced writing a couple drafts on Google Classroom before making a final handwritten version with matching illustrations. The postcards were written and shared with 4KE's reading buddies this week. Please take a look at the process above!
As part of our unit on Simple Machines, students first made a box car. This car used the simple machine known as a Wheel and Axle. Students tried different putting their axles in different positions on the wheel to see how it would make the car move. We had some really bumpy and funny results. After using the cars for a while, students then noticed a problem, that the axle and wheels were really wobbly. I challenged them to find a way to make their cars more stable, and to make them travel farther. There were some really creative ideas, including really large wheels, some outlined with foam, and others with popsicle sticks glued on! Not all the designs worked perfectly but we learned about the process of design: making plans and using trial and error to improve upon what we had created. Lastly, we added the modification of a balloon for some extra energy! The balloon added both potential and kinetic energy to the cars, making them shoot off much farther. Students had much frustration but also fun, racing one another and seeing the results of their building and design skills! For our most recent art project, 4KE first learned about the different reasons for different types of art. We watched and discussed a couple videos on the topic of graffiti and whether or not is could be truly considered a form of art or a crime. We then looked at different kinds of graffiti and more specifically graffiti tags -- the signature or name of a graffiti artist. Students sketched then painted various styles, keeping in mind some common themes of graffiti tags such as stylized letters, bright colours, and bold outlines. The completed results turned out to be quite unique and creative! Just before the winter break, 4KE made Pop Can Cars. The cars were powered by elastic bands and students learned about the concept of potential and kinetic energy. They experimented and discovered that the more you wind up a rubber band, the farther the can would go.
4KE also added wheels to their cans, turning the roller into a wheel an axle. Testing the new edition to their cars, they learned about the benefits of wheels vs. rollers, and why we would use wheels instead of rollers on most vehicles. Overall, there was some frustration with broken cars or cans going in wild directions, but we still had fun! Please check out some of the photos above! |
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