This has been another busy week in year 4 with students constructing the meaning of probability and chance, working on a ‘feel good book’ for our buddies and working on a new set of burning questions connected to our inquiries into food security.
In math students have been constructing their knowledge of chance and probability. We looked at the vocabulary statements of situations that could be “possible” or “probable” and used the mathematical language of Impossible, Unlikely, Even Chance, Likely and Certain to describe the chances of these situations occurring. Students listed different scenarios and working in teams categorized them under these new mathematical terms.
Students also played various probability games with dice, spinners, coins and two colored counters to deepen their understanding of probability and chance.
We read the FEEL GOOD BOOK by Todd Parr and were inspired to create a Year 4.4 Feel Good Book. We practiced the steps of the writing process by planning, drafting, revising, editing then publishing pages of what made us feel good. We also worked on some pages with our Prep 3.1 buddies. We decided to donate our book to our Buddy class.
Unit of Inquiry
In our Sharing the Planet unit, we continued inquiring into factors that affect food security.
This time looking at a local perspective – Ms. Jasmine came in to share the work that she and a group of people do at an orphanage in Viana – providing fresh fruit and vegetables to supplement the children’s’ diet and that the orphanage can become more sustainable and have regular access to fresh fruit and vegetables.
This presentation inspired a series of new questions from the children…
“How much food does each child get daily? “
“Is it food from all the food groups?”
“Do the children get enough nutrients?”
Why don’t they have access to more food?
Why don’t they have access to water? “
“How can we help the children there?”
““Can people get better once they are malnourished?”
“Do the children get sick from not eating enough food?”
“Do they have money for malaria medicine?”
Ms Andrea who also helps the orphanage access fresh fruit and vegetables came in to help the students answer some of their burning questions.
We are working on connecting our burning questions to our unit of inquiry concepts – how we access food, how we utilize food, how we ensure our food resources are stable and how much food is available.
We will continue our research next week and begin thinking about how we can show our learning across the unit.