Learning From Home During the School Closure

Hello everyone, 

Parents should have received an initial email from me touching base and explaining that all future communications will be done here on the blog!  

This is a very difficult time for everyone. Routines are thrown off and life is anything but normal. School closures are unchartered territory for all of us and I fully expect things to evolve and change as information is shared and decisions are made in the coming days and weeks. In the meantime, we need to think about ways to keep students busy, engaged and learning from home. In this post you will find optional suggestions and resources that will help you to continue your child's learning journey from home over the next few weeks. Remember that the student portal has MANY useful tools and apps that your child may use remotely to support his/her learning. 

To access the student portal click on the following link: https://sites.google.com/a/ocsbstudent.ca/k-6/

If you do not have access to WiFi and/or a device to access the Student Portal and Google Drive from home, please let me know via email! I will be checking my emails each morning. 

Suggested Routine for Learning in the Area of Language:

• Daily Reading (minimum of 20 minutes per day).  Choose a variety of reading materials including fiction stories, non-fiction books, recipe books, children's magazines, etc.  You may choose to read aloud with a sibling or parent. Create your own dictionary or list of new vocabulary that you come across in your reading. 
• Reading Comprehension Activities -Choose one reading comprehension activity per day from the document posted in the Language Folder/Google Drive. For even more reading prompts visit:www.k5learning.com
• Writing Prompts - Choose one writing prompt per day from the document posted in the Language Folder/Google Drive.   

Suggested Routine for Learning in the Area of Math:

• Daily Math Word Problem - Choose one math word problem per day from the document posted in the Mathematics Folder/Google Drive. 
• Daily Multiplication and Division Facts Practice (20 minutes per day) - Multiplication Facts up to the 9 x 9 times table, Division Facts up to  81 divided by 9.  You may do this orally, download basic math fact worksheets, create your own flash cards out of scrap paper or recipe cards, etc.  Remember that you have a multiplication table in your student agenda which you can use to practice BOTH multiplication and division facts!  For a variety of FREE worksheets to support grade 4 math skills visit: https://www.dadsworksheets.com/worksheets.html

In this week's school newsletter, Mrs. OBrien shared the link below which contains many creative ideas and practical resources to help facilitate distance learning during the school closure.  In the document you will find a detailed list of MANY useful links and suggestions divided by subject area. Check it out: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FqzveDXW3lEWTeXSitqilZQHHPJ4xf4x9BcjWJ3C06U/edit  

Please continue to check the blog for updates every few days. Try to remember that learning takes many forms other than subject-related tasks. Be creative and think of ways to promote learning that suits you and your family during this time. 

Thank you and take care, 

Ruth Stratford