Art that's Out of this World!

We have been learning about Space in Science this month. We have learned vocabulary like: constellation, Polaris, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Orion's Belt, galaxy, lunar, earth, rotate vs revolve, and solstice. 

As we learn, we add our new understanding on to our Non-Fiction flipbooks! Here is a picture of some of our flipbooks so far.

Today, Ms Elder taught us how to make a piece of artwork that looks like a galaxy. We know galaxies can be shaped like spiral, elliptical, pinwheel, irregular, or more!

We used different media to make our paintings. We painted with paintbrushes for the background, then with sponges to make the galaxy shape, then we used a splatter technique to create the stars in the background.  It was lots of fun!

"I liked this because we get to learn about things that aren't a part of Earth." ~ Effie

"I liked the artwork because we got to be much more messy than we usually can be." ~ Kaira

"I liked the art with all the cool shapes the galaxies are formed in and all the cool colours." ~ Cora

"I liked the art because we can use our creativity to put the colours and stuff." ~ HC

"I liked the artwork because I like learning about Space and galaxies are really cool." ~ Viaan

"I liked the art because galaxies are really cool and we tried making them realistic." ~ Fatima

"This artwork is really cool because it shows how hard it is to actually form galaxies." ~ Oscar

"The best part was, if we made a mistake, you could just wipe it all off and redo it." ~ Jackson

"I think we did this artwork so that we could have fun and learn about galaxies." ~ Kaira

"I really like the galaxy because I'm going to be a scientist when I grow up." ~ SA

"Some of us didn't like it at first but we just wiped it off and redid it." ~ Oliver

"I used a tissue so when I cover the artwork, then remove it, the artwork looked good." ~ Davyd

Intro to Multiplication

This week with Ms Elder, we started learning about Multiplication in Math. 

Multiplication means repeated addition. It is making groups and counting up the total. The two numbers you are multiplying are called the factors and the answer to a Multiplication equation is called the product. We can represent Multiplication by drawing pictures of groups or arrays. 

This week, Ms Elder put us into groups and assigned each group a times table. With our group members, we are responsible for making a poster that shows the strategies you can use to multiply by that number. We will also put patterns we see and a hundreds chart with the multiples highlighted. Here is an example we made together, with some tips to make a great poster: 

Here are some photographs of us hard at work:

By the end of Grade Four, we need to have memorized our multiplication facts up to 12 x 12. There are games and songs and ways to practice posted on the Google classroom.

Library Presentation: Fact or Fiction?

Today, we listened in on a Calgary Public Library program called Inside the Newsroom with CBC Calgary. We met Jenny Howe, who is a CBC radio host. She taught us how to sort information to know if it's "real" or "fake."

She suggested that we ask ourselves these three questions to right away help us decide if the information sounds likely true or likely untrue:

• Does it sound super strange?
• Have you seen it in only one place?
• Where did this information come from? Are they a reliable source?

These questions help guide us when we figure out if the information is real or not. Here are some tips from her:

• Look for the same information in 3 or more places
• Find a newspaper, published book, or reputable news source on TV (CBC, CTV, BBC)
• Look at the source: check the web address. Does it look real, like cbc.ca or unusual like 8143.ai.se
• Ask an adult/guardian/teacher

If your source isn't reliable, then don't spread the information as "true."

If it's a picture that looks unexpected, or "weird," you can use this website to check: https://tineye.com/. It is posted on our Google Classroom. On our Google Classroom, you can also find a link to reliable sources for if you're doing research.

If you make a mistake, and spread information that you think is true and then discover it's not, do your part to tell people that you made a mistake and that was wrong. Correct the information you spread.

For more information about Jenny Howe or her show,  click here

Alien Inline

 A little bit belated, but please enjoy a window into our experience with inline skating before winter break! It was a great opportunity to put our perseverance learning into practice!

How did you show perseverance during Alien Inline? 💪

• By trying to do 4 laps without falling - A.A.
• I all ready knew how to skate but learning some of the tricks was hard so I told my self that I would get used to it. - Cora
• I didn't give up even if I fell down - H.C.
• I did show perseverance by how when i fell down i got up again - Oscar

What did you enjoy? 😀

• I enjoyed inline because I love skating and learning new tricks. - Jackson
• I loved alien inline at first it seemed scary because you feel like you would just fall but it was easy!!!!!!!!!! - Oliver
• I enjoyed just skating and learning it was pretty hard but now I know how. - Davyd

Landfill and Composting Field Trip

Today, we went on a field trip to the Composting Facility and Landfill with someone who worked there named Shannon. First, we visited the Composting Facility. 

Shannon showed us a diagram that explained how composting works. Here are the steps: 

1. Compost is dumped onto the Tipping Floor. We could see this through the windows of the classroom!
2. Then, it is put through the shredder. 
3. Then, it is put in a vessel where it stays for 3 weeks. They add water and oxygen to help it decompose! Bacteria need water and oxygen to survive. Wood chips are used to filter the bad smell out of the air.
4. Next, it is screened. They use a magnet to pull any metal out of it. They use a cyclone to blow any plastic out of it.
5. Then, it is put in the Curing Shed for 3 more weeks. 
6. Now, they test it to make sure it's safe to sell/give away.

This is the tipping floor. They are adding wood chips to the bio-solids.

Shannon took us on a tour of the landfill. At the Eco-Centre, we saw spots for hazardous waste, like batteries, propane tanks, old bear spray, cleaning chemicals, e-waste, like computers, pesticides, paint, helium tanks, aerosol containers, antifreeze, motor oil and more! There was a spot for fridges and freezers to have their freon removed. We also saw a pile of tires, lawnmowers, and groups of bikes. There was also a spot for styrofoam.

The Hazardous Waste area of the Eco-Centre

There was a compost area for big yard waste, such as Christmas trees and tree branches, that can't go in your compost bin.

The landfill layers

In the landfill, we learned about its layers. We used fabric to make a mini hand-fill. :) A landfill has these layers: 

1. Clay 
2.  Plastic lining
3. Gravel
4. Garbage
5. Soil
6. Leachate filters

We saw just how much garbage the city makes and it's A LOT! We've learned where things should go to avoid sending them to the landfill, like in the recycling, compost, or thrift stores. Overall, we had a lot of fun and learned so much!

Here is the Trash Master at work!

"I didn't know how long of a process composting takes." ~ Wynn

"I didn't know that there was so much garbage. I thought it was going to be one hill." ~ Gillian

"In the landfill, there was a lot of things I didn't know about, like the layers they do, and that they shred it up and all of the machines." ~ Effie

"I did not know that just this city produced a LOT of garbage each year." ~ HC

"I saw the Trash Master going over the trash so it's all compacted together." ~ AA

"We became secret agents." ~ Davyd

"In the end, I have to agree with my brother, it DOES smell bad." ~ EF

"I'm surprised how tall the landfill is built up." ~ Cora

"I learned how if you put organics in the landfill, they won't decompose." ~ Oliver

"Overall, composting is not just a pile of scraps that turns into soil." ~ Oscar

"It surprised me enough that composting and recycling are at the 5 spot for goodness." ~ Jackson

HOMEWORK: Prepare for Waste Quiz

Students, this is a friendly reminder that you have a Science Assessment on Friday, January 23. You will need to be able to: 

• Compare different methods of waste management (landfill/dump, recycling, compost)
• Identify different ways we can reduce the amount of waste we make
• Distinguish between waste that is easy to decompose and not
• Identify hazardous materials and how to dispose of them safely

If you have any questions, please contact Ms Elder. If you're looking for ways to practice, review the material under "Classwork" -> "Science" on the Google Classroom.

Design-Thinking

Today, Ms Elder introduced us to the design-thinking model. We know that the steps are: 

1. Discovery/Empathy: find out what the problem is

2. Define: restate what the problem is and check with the person to see if that's correct

3. Ideate: brainstorm ideas to solve the problem.

4. Prototype: build a model invention to solve the problem

5. Test: test it and make changes so it works better/solve the problem better

We read the ridiculous and silly book, Stuck, by Oliver Jeffers. In the book, the main character Floyd keeps throwing things up in a tree to knock down his kite. 

We listened to the story and learned about Floyd's problem. We restated the problem to make sure we understood it. Then, we brainstormed by drawing pictures in our visual journals. This time, we are not going to do Steps 4 and 5. Stay tuned 'til our Space unit in Science...

Here are some pics of our ideas: