Miss Gill's Grade 4 Class

“Let all your feelings roll on past.” – Wyatt

Dear Families,

We have reached the end of another month and soon entering “April showers bring May flowers!” As the temperatures become more and more ‘spring-like,’ I am noticing a rise in the energy level of my students as well. I believe we are all ready to soak in some vitamin D and the warmth of the sun. Please keep doing the ‘sun dance’ as I would like to utilize opportunities to be outside to do D.P.A., and other school-related learning!

Gym – Basketball Unit:

As many are aware, another one of my passions is sport and coaching. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to teach, mentor, and develop skills in various sports; in particular, basketball. Many junior students are trying out for, and have tried out for our New Lowell basketball team. As a result, I decided to introduce a basketball unit to help my students develop their skills and schema in this area. Here are the following skills I have introduced with my students with specific success criteria to help them achieve these fundamental skills; please ask your child about these and to demonstrate them at your home.

Success Criteria for Safely Dribbling and Ball Handling Under Control:

· Keep head and eyes up

· Push ball down using finger pads

· Keep ball low and close to the body

· Flex knees and lean forward

· Keep dribble low (below the waist)

· Flex wrist and fingers

· Protect ball with body

· Cushion ball on up bounce

Success Criteria for Chest Passing from the Dribble:

· Ready position

· Position feet shoulder-width apart. Point toes straight ahead with dominant foot slightly forward.

· Flex hips and knees

· Hold ball close at chest level

· Keep eyes up and focused on the target

· Keep elbows relaxed, flexed and away from the body

· Extend arms and flick wrists outward

· Step in direction of target and aim for the team mate’s chest area

· Follow through with fingers pointing in the direction of the pass

Success Criteria for Pivoting:

· The first foot to hit the floor after receiving a pass or holding the ball from the dribble becomes the pivoting foot

· Most of body weight is shifted to the pivoting foot

· Non-pivoting foot helps to turn the body

· Square the feet, hips and shoulders toward intended direction of pass or shot, and use a balanced stance

Success Criteria for Lay-Ups:

· Assume an athletic stance

· Keep eyes on the target

· Move toward basket from 45 degree angle

· Keep both hands on ball

· Take 1-2 steps, jumping off foot opposite shooting hand

· Extend elbow and release ball from finger pads such that the ball will hit the target (use backboard)

· Shoot with palm facing up and toward target

Math – developing Learning Goals with Success Criteria:

As stated in last week’s blog, I said I would post pictures of my students as they accountably worked with a peer to develop Success Criteria in the area of 2D & 3D Geometry. I was extremely proud of their efforts as they collaborated effectively to help them consolidate their learning in this strand of mathematics. Students were then permitted to use their Criteria to assist them when they wrote their assessment – well done boys and girls! I have put up their work in our classroom for us all to acknowledge and celebrate! In the coming weeks, your child will be challenged to create their own math success criteria at the end of a unit to utilize for a test. We have been working towards this from the beginning of the year and I have every confidence that each student will achieve this!