Word Study - November 14th

Word	Definition	Sentence	Synonyms or Examples	Antonyms or Non-Examples
explain	make something clear to someone by describing it in more detail	Please explain why your homework is not done.	clarify, define, justify	confuse, obscure, complicate
hostile	unfriendly, antagonistic	The desert is an extremely hostile environment.	inhospitable, nasty, malevolent	pleasant, friendly, welcoming
cease	bring or come to an end	Without the sun humanity would cease to exist.	halt, terminate, quit	begin, persevere, continue

Word Study - October 27th

Word	Definition	Sentence	Synonyms or Examples	Antonyms or Non-Examples
announce	make a public statement about a fact, situation, or plan	Mr. Taylor will announce when the basketball practices are.	declare, state, reveal	conceal, suppress, withhold
huddle	crowd together	People in cold climates huddle together for warmth.	bundle, cluster, crowd	disperse, scatter, separate
conflict	a serious disagreement or argument	Try to solve a conflict yourself before telling a teacher.	rivalry, clash, struggle	peace, truce, harmony

Word Study - October 20th

Word	Definition	Sentence	Synonyms or Examples	Antonyms or Non-Examples
anxiously	in a way resulting from worry or nervousness	The grade fives waited anxiously to see if their eggs would break.	nervously, warily, guardedly	carelessly, thoughtlessly, easily
influence	affecting the behaviour or thinking of someone	A good speaker can influence many people.	incite, induce, motivate	disturb, unnerve, discourage
harsh	unpleasantly rough or jarring, cruel or severe	A harsh wind blew on that chilly February evening.	bleak, bitter, grim	kind, gentle, courteous

Word Study - October 11

Sentence	Synonyms or Examples	Antonyms or Non-Examples
We should never hesitate to ask for help.	pause, stall, wait	continue, persist, advance
The teacher could feel the tension during the test.	discomfort, uneasiness, stress	relaxation, ease, calmness
I am never opposed to helping someone in need.	unwilling, averse, resistant	willing, inclined, eager

Word Study - September 20th

Word	Definition	Sentence	Synonyms or Examples	Antonyms or Non-Examples
drowsy	sleepy and lethargic, half asleep	If you don’t sleep well you might be drowsy at school.	dazed, dozy, sluggish	alert, awake, energized
navigate	travel over a stretch of water or land carefully or with difficulty; direct the course of a form of transportation	Ship captains need to navigate through rocky waters.	maneuver, pilot, negotiate	forget, get lost, misdirect
claim	a statement that something is the truth, usually without proof	Your claim that you won the lottery is completely unfounded.	assertion, declaration, statement	disavowal, dispute, denial

 

Math Quiz on Thursday

Grade 4 - number and shape patterns and pattern rules
Grade 5 - number and shape patterns, pattern rules, patterns in multiplication

Word Study – September 9^th

 

Word	Definition	Sentence	Synonyms or Examples	Antonyms or Non-Examples
abolish	formally put to an end	The goal of Nelson Mandela was to abolish Apartheid.	rescind, eradicate, cancel	create, sanction, allow
frequently	often, regularly	I frequently sleep through my alarm clock.	oftentimes, regularly, usually	rarely, seldom, inconsistently
gist	The main meaning or idea of a speech or text	Did you get the gist of that speech about butterflies?	point, essence, thrust	insignificance, meaninglessness, unimportance

 

Welcome Back!

Welcome to another year at Givins/Shaw! By now the thrill of the first day is over and the children have settled in to room 16. I’m thrilled to be teaching grades 4 and 5 this year and I look forward to a fun, productive and busy year! We’ve already begun working on a number of units, including patterning in math and structures and simple machines in science. As well we are reading every day and have already started our first writing activity.

You can help your child by ensuring he/she is well prepared for school every day. A list of required materials can be found on this blog. Also, please ensure that your child has a quiet place and a scheduled time to do homework. Check your child's agenda every day. All due dates, homework and important dates will be recorded there. Being on time for school is crucial - please assist your child in getting to class on time.

Our new website is up and running! Please bookmark this link for easy access: http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/givinsshaw/Home.aspx. By clicking on my name you will be directed to our classroom blog. Keep up to date by following us. If you need to reach me please email at debbie.stockton@tdsb.on.ca.

Finally, talk to your child about school. Below are some questions that move beyond the traditional "How was your day?"

What did your teacher read today?
What are your working on in math, science, etc.?
What are you looking forward to doing tomorrow?
Were you able to finish all your work today?
Do you have any questions that you want to ask your teacher?
What was your favourite part of the day?

Welcome to Grade 4!

Welcome to another year at Givins/Shaw and your child's first year in the junior division. We're only two weeks into the year but we've already begun several exciting learning activities in Room 16. In Math we are reviewing number sense and learning about big numbers and place value. In Writing we're working on using precise nouns and vivid verbs to make our writing more interesting. The students will be building a contraption using pulleys and gears in Science, and we've already begun our first unit in Dance!

You can help your child by ensuring he/she is well prepared for school every day. A list of required materials can be found on this blog. Also, please ensure that your child has a quiet place and a scheduled time to do homework. Check your child's agenda every day. All due dates, homework and important dates will be recorded there. Being on time for school is crucial - please assist your child in getting to class on time.

Scientists in the School - Matter

We will be having a scientist in our classroom on Thursday, May 21. We will be learning all about matter! I would like to have one parent volunteer - if you're interested and able please email me. Thanks!

AUTHORFEST

Authorfest  will take place next Wednesday, April 1, at Dovercourt P.S. Permission forms will come home shortly. Parent volunteers are welcome. This year's author is Eric Walters.

ISLAND TRIP FOR TOMORROW CANCELED

I'm sorry to announce that the ferry will not be running tomorrow so we will not be able to proceed with the trip. We will put another plan into place and communicate it to you as soon as possible.

SKI TRIP CANCELED

Google Docs

Room 16 will be learning how to use Google Docs! For those of you unfamiliar with the programs, Google Docs are free online wordprocessor, speadsheet and presentation programs. Using Google Docs will allow the students to work together on projects and share information online, and to work at school or at home. In order to use the programs, students will need an email address. I will be creating these gmail addresses for school purposes only. I will maintain the passwords and accounts, and I will delete all accounts in June upon request. The email addresses will all be firstnamegivinsroom16@gmail.com. If you have any objection to the creation of a gmail account for your child please let me know. Thank you!

Television Viewing Habits

In our next unit in math, we will be learning about the collection and organization of data. Over the next couple of weeks your child will be working on a number of tasks to do with gathering data, organizing data, and presenting the data graphically. To begin this unit, I will be asking students to keep track of how much television they watch over a seven-day period. It is important that your child think about how to collect and organize the data, as the method used will be discussed in class. The students will have opportunities to present their data graphically and to compare their data with the information collected by their classmates.

Thank you for your continued support!

 

TWOONIE SALE

Givins/Shaw's annual Twoonie Sale will take place this week. Room 16 will be going on Tuesday morning. Please ensure that your child has a couple of loonies or twoonies to purchase a few items.

Abundance Program

Rooms 12 and 16 are working together to provide for a needy family for the holidays. We are asking for $20 per student to contribute toward the purchase of gifts and necessities for a particular family. Please send your contribution to school by Friday, December 12th. Thanks for your generosity!

Call for Thermometers

We need about 6 thermometers for our science lesson on Wednesday. If you have one you can spare please send it to school with your child on Wednesday.  Thank you!

Math Quiz

There will be a quiz on adding and subtracting on Wednesday, November 26th.

Photo Order Forms Due Immediately