Welcome to the Year 4 webpages! This year’s team comprises
Mr. Damien Barry, Mr. Martin DeBarr and Ms. Charlotte Mortimer. Mrs. Merry
Sugiarto is our Educational Assistant. The students have settled in extremely
quickly this year. Already, we have been on our first field trip to China, Light
and Power (CLP) as part of our energy unit and plans for this year’s camp in
Mui Wo are at an advanced stage already.
You will find a host of information about what is currently
taking place in the Year 4 classrooms on these pages. We have also posted some
video clips and photos of learning that has occurred already this year. We have also posted our PPT
presentation that was used during our Year 4 parent information evening.
Under the Maths tab, you will find a downloadable PDF copy
of the different addition and estimation strategies we have been using in class
so far this year. These will be regularly updated as we change focus in class.
We hope that you will find all of the information posted on
these pages useful and informative.
If you have any inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Language
Unit of Inquiry Title: Recount/ Surveys and Questionnaires
By the end of this unit, most students should be able to:
Use the structure and features of a recount.
Uses appropriate language features of recounts. (Tenses, paragraphs, sentence
starters)
Select appropriate events and develop supporting details.
EXPLANATIONS We are studying explanations in our new language unit. The explanation texts used, closely follow our Unit of Inquiry “From field to Table.” We explore and analyse texts which explain a food process from the ‘field’ to our dinner table and other related texts. Eventually, we write an explanation to describe why we should or should not buy a product, from the supermarket.
Please use the Writing Fun website to view the structure of an explanation text. http://www.writingfun.com/
Here are some key tips to writing an explanation: Explanations Guide
Maths
CURRENT MATHS UNIT Central Idea: Standard units allow us to have a common language to measure and describe objects and events
Lines of Inquiry
Ways of measuring different objects
Ways of measuring different events
PREVIOUS MATHS UNIT(S)
Central Idea: Patterns can be represented using numbers and other symbols.
• Patterns can be found in our everyday life • Patterns can be found in numbers and number sequences • Rules and equations can be created to describe these number patterns
Central Idea:
Directions can be used to describe pathways.
• Location can be described in a variety of ways. (Coordinates and compass directions) • The pathway between two locations can be described. (Compass points, angled turns)
Central Idea: Our number system is a language for describing quantities and the relationships between quantities.
• The meaning, order and size of whole numbers
• Calculating using a range of mental, paper and calculator strategies
• The relationship between the 4 operations.
• How does our number system work? (function)
• How does the value of a digit change when it is in a different place?
• What strategies can we use to add/subtract/divide and multiply?(function)
• How are the four operations connected? (connection)
These targets show some of the things your child should be able to do by the end of a particular year level. These expectations are from the English National Curriculum, which is the basis of the ESF Scope and Sequence document, which along with the IB Scope and Sequence informs the curriculum for primary at Discovery College.
Some targets are harder than they seem and not all children will be proficient on all of them by the end of a given year. Therefore classroom programmes are flexible and aim to meet the needs of groups of students working at the different levels of the curriculum.
Transdisciplinary Theme- Who we are An exploration of the nature of the self; of our beliefs and values; of personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; of our families, friends, communities and cultures; of our rights and responsibilities; of what it means to be human. Central Idea Our bodies are made up of interrelated systems Lines of Inquiry
The systems of the body and how they function
Ways in which these body systems are interrelated
How to maintain healthy body systems
Transdisciplinary Theme – Where we are in place and time An inquiry into orientation in place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between and interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives. Central Idea - Human migration is a response to challenges, risks and opportunities Lines of Inquiry
Reasons for Migration
The effects of migration on the community
The challenges faced by migrants
Transdisciplinary Theme - How we organise ourselves An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment. Central Idea -Foods are transported and/or processed before they reach our tables. Lines of Inquiry
How we choose the food we eat
The stages of food production from field to table
The impact on humankind and the environment of food production
Energy
Transdisciplinary Theme - How The World Works
An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and the environment. Central Idea – The use of energy has an impact on the planet. Lines of Inquiry
Please see below for this week’s Year Four weekly update. Unit of Inquiry Central Idea: Cultures have stories that can be told in different ways to express values and traditions. This week, students brought in some cultural artifacts to share with their classmates. Each student gave a brief outline of the artifact and what culture it belonged to. We will now be moving into the independent inquiry aspect of our unit of inquiry. Please see this week’s homework for more details. Maths We will be finishing up and assessing our unit on 2D and 3D shapes this week. We will then be beginning our next unit on fractions. This week’s homework contains a number of websites that will give students an introduction to the concept of fractions and what they are. Language We will continue to work on how to write different aspects of a narrative in class. A major focus in this unit will be trying to get students to use more descriptive language when they are writing stories. As ever, if you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Regards Year Four Team
Multimedia
2009-12-08 In the below videos and photos, you will see examples of work that has been taking place in the Year Four classroom over the last four weeks. There are examples of number and pattern work as well as videos and photos showing the students preparing for and creating their summative assessments in our field to table unit, using commoncraft to illustrate their understanding of the central idea.
Video
Making our Common Craft videos Here are some video clips of Year 4 during the process of making their Common Craft videos. The children had already written their explanation text to describe the process of their food product from field to table, and were making the props needed to support their video.
Algebra Lesson Year 4 have just kicked off their next Maths Unit (Algebra). This short clip shows the first lesson as children begin to experiment with concepts such as : What is a pattern? Can patterns be repeated? and Can patterns be coded? These basic, concrete activities will help the students develop more complex ideas about Algebra later in the unit. Powered by 3DEN
In year four for our Unit of Inquiry "From Field to Table", we have
been investigating the processes that go into making certain types of
food. Here is a short video of us explaining how we make butter from
cream.
In this Maths exercise, students were required to make 4 digit numbers with a given set of
digits. They had to show their answer on their whiteboards and then they had to represent
these numbers in small groups using solids, flats, rods and cubes.
In this Maths exercise, the students were required to make the biggest and smallest
numbers that they could using the digits 4,3,5 and 2. They then had to add their answers
together and represent their answer using solids, flats, rods and cube
In this Maths exercise, students worked in pairs with a 0-9 dice. Each student tried to
make the biggest 4 digit number they could. Each player had to decide after each go,
where to place their number. Once they made their choice, they could not change it. In
this video clip, Joshua and Ira try to decide where is the best place to put each digit. The
winner of each round is the person with the biggest number. There is a PDF copy of this
game in the Year 4 Maths section if you would like to download it and play it at home.
The learner profiles we will be focusing on in this unit are being knowledgeable,
reflective and a thinker. In these two video clips, Maya and Kennedy explain how we
might demonstrate these learner profiles through pictures, words and symbols.
Welcome to Chinese. We are your Chinese teachers, Susan Peng, Suvy Shu
and Debbie Tai. Below is some general information about Chinese class
this year. It may help you know how we learn.
Lesson
Each topic/ lesson will contain vocabulary, characters, sentence
patterns, and integral applications. We will use several learning
materials as our resources. If you have any questions about our lesson
plans, pedagogy, or suggestions, please contact us through the student
diary or E-mail, which you can find on the school website.
Homework
This year, our homework policy remains the same as last year. We will
give out homework on Monday and collect the previous week’s homework at
the same time. There will be two folders; one for homework and one for
classroom work. The classroom folder will be kept at school and made
into a learning portfolio at the end of the year. Year One doesn’t have
any writing homework.
Expectation
We expect students to always come to class with stationery, Chinese
folders, and prepared minds for learning. Meanwhile, may we ask the
parents to kindly make sure students complete their homework and bring
them it in on time. When parents and teachers work together, the
possibility for successful learning will be maximized! Before and
after holidays, there will be a week for preparation and revision so
homework might be in an alternative format.
On-line resources
There are some helpful web links for Chinese learning. It can give you
a hand when you do homework or learn at home. Find out what they are
about!
-Online Dictionary http://us.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php
MDBG is a free but very useful online Chinese-English dictionary. This
website offers dictionary both in Chinese to English and English to
Chinese, flashcards, quizzes, text annotation, Chinese text input and
more.
More will be coming…
Textbook
In non-background class, all the lessons are by theme. There is not a
sole textbook we use as resource. If any student wants to do some extra
learning, support books called “Chinese Made Easy” can be found in PTA
shop. They come in textbook and activities books. There are four
levels. Parents can help the student to pick the level suits them.
(Year Three starts with Book 1) In background glass, teachers are using
小学华文 as textbook. Each selected lesson will be copied and given to
students. The publisher of 小学华文is called 人民教育出版社. The distributer can
be found in Hong Kong as following information:
SAP Publications (HK) Ltd.
23 Nam Long Shan Road, Aberdeen, Hong Kong
Tel.: (852) 2553 9188 Fax: (852) 2533 0099
You can place an order from the following bookshops:
T H LEE & Co Ltd (天利行有限公司)
Mongkok Branch - Tel. No.: 2388 1743
Causeway Bay Branch - Tel. No.: 2527 7430
Ling Kee Book Store Ltd (齡記書店有限公司)
Kowloon Branch - 2394 3486
Central Branch - 2545 1540
Other Mandarin Questions
1. How are the students divided into Pathways?
The Mandarin Pathway system is common to all ESF and PIS schools. It
has been established to help students learn Mandarin at their level.
The range of Mandarin proficiency is very wide, as some students enter
the school with no experience of the language while for others it is
their mother tongue and they are proficient at speaking and listening
when they enter Year One. Each of these groups of students has
different needs. At Discovery College we have three Pathways and three
teachers. Students are tested either at the beginning of the year or in
some cases at the end of the previous year. They are then divided into
their groups. Over the year students may move from one group to another
if, in the judgment of the teacher, their needs will be best served by
doing so.
2. How does the homework system work in Mandarin?
The purpose of Mandarin homework is to give students opportunities to
practise skills learnt in class and to share what they are learning
with their parents. Homework is given to students on Mondays, they then
have a week to complete it and it is returned to the teacher the
following Monday. A special folder is used to organize the homework.
3. How proficient in Mandarin can I expect my child to be?
It is important to understand that while Discovery College is committed
to providing a comprehensive Mandarin program our language of
instruction is English. We do not provide an immersion program in which
some subjects are taught in Mandarin, neither are we a bilingual
school. With this understood, we aim to provide a program which will
allow students to achieve a standard of proficiency over their time at
the school commensurate with their ability and commitment. Many parents
choose to supplement the school program with after school tutoring in
order to give their children the opportunity to achieve a higher level
of proficiency than can be achieved by in school classes.
4. How can I contact my child’s teacher?
If you have any other questions about Mandarin please forward them to Debbie Tai at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
and
we will endeavour to answer them in future newsletters. If you want to
discuss your child’s progress with their Mandarin teacher please email
them to make an appointment. Email addresses for all the teachers are
on the web site In the mornings they are very busy preparing for the
day and cannot give you the time both you and they need to talk about
your child’s progress.
Hope the above information can help you and the learning!
Addition Methods
