This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math Workshop

Last week, your child completed the Module 1 Assessment. Early this week students will look at their assessment and discuss what they notice.  We will look at areas of strength and areas that we still need to work on.  After we look as a class, I will send home the packet for you to look at.  There will be a page to sign and return and an area to request practice work on a skill that your child needs more practice with.  I will also ask that you send back the assessment.

We are moving on to our second module on Metric Measurement.  We will look at converting larger metric measures to smaller measurements.  This is a great unit to look for patterns as students notice a very clear pattern when converting.

Writing Workshop

We went on three "field trips" last week during writing.  Hopefully your child told you about all of our excitement.  We took a trip outside in the field, to the beach, and to the famous LL Fun World amusement park!  While we were there, we spent a lot of time using our senses to describe what we observed.  After our field trips we spent some time putting our observations into paragraphs.  Your child can show you his/her paragraph on Google Classroom.  I am sure you will feel as though you are right there with us!  This week we will take our observations and use them to start a new realistic fiction story.  

Reader's Workshop


Students learned that they can grow ideas about more than just characters when they are reading fiction.  We noticed details about setting and noticed when the author was using symbolism, repetition and began to think about theme.  

This week we will learn more about theme and practice naming a number of different themes by watching various Pixar short films throughout the week.  We will also finish reading The Tiger Rising and celebrate the end of the book with a fun activity.  Stay tuned for pictures on Seesaw later this week!

Battle of the Books

Students narrowed our books down to nearly 4 finalists!  There is one tie for the last spot in the final four.  Students will debate which book should receive that coveted spot this week.

This Week in Fourth Grade

Reader's Workshop


This past week, students learned how to write about their thinking in reading.  They practiced writing about character traits they had inferred for "Mr. Beauchamp" in The Tiger Rising.  Students also learned how to quote evidence from the text to support their thinking.

Voting for Battle of the books also kicked off this week.  Students voted for their favorite picture books and there were cheers and sighs as certain books won and others were eliminated.  Voting will continue this week...stay tuned for the results!

Book Orders

Book orders were sent out last week and are due on Tuesday.  Our class code is H3M9C if you are interested in ordering online.

Glow in the Dark Party

Students received their final award on Friday for earning pledges for the Fun Run.  As students arrived on Friday morning, they were given glow bracelets and entered a dimly lit classroom buzzing with music and dancing classmates!  Everyone got a chance to show off their moves and burn off a little Friday morning energy before the day started.  Some pictures were posted on Seesaw earlier today.

Math Workshop

Students started to look for patterns when skip counting by different numbers.  We started to create a multiplication chart by filling out the x1, x2, x5, and x10 columns on the chart.  These facts are the ones that many students already know fairly well or can at least skip count easily.  After filling out these sections, we looked for patterns.  Ask your child the patterns they noticed when looking at the multiples of 5 and 10.  It is important for students to notice patterns to help them when they get stuck on a multiplication fact.  We will continue to look for patterns for the multiples of other numbers as well.

We will also wrap up our first math module this week.  Your child will take an assessment to show what they know.  This unit is a great foundation for the math that we will learn this year.  

Writing Workshop

Students continued to work on their "brave" realistic fiction story.  Your child also worked to meet the deadline for finishing their first story.  As we work through writing pieces this year, we focus on the process we go through as writers.  We will not bring each writing piece to a final product.  When we do create a final product, we will use our editing and revising skills to help us complete the writing.

Your child's story is on Google Classroom, and they are welcome to show you what they worked on.  Ask your child about our writing focus for this piece, which was to use a plan to help us write our story and to tell a story step by step.  You can have your child show you where they told their story step by step in their first story.

This Week in Fourth Grade....

Writing Workshop

Last week we talked about writing parts of our realistic fiction stories step by step.  When authors write step by step, they can slow down the important parts of a story for the reader.  We will continue to work on this throughout this week.  

Math Workshop

A big focus in fourth grade is to explain our thinking clearly in math.  When students answer math questions, they need to answer the question, explain their thinking using math vocabulary, and tell the steps they used to solve the problem.  Last week, the students completed a pre-assessment for explaining their thinking. I took a closer look at what the kids can do for writing in math.  I will now be able to create lessons based on what the kids need.

Last week, the kids also took an Addition and Word Problem assessment.  Your child will come home with the assessment and a scoring rubric that I used to see specific areas where each child had difficulty.  At the bottom of your child's scoring rubric you will also find the specific goal that your child will work on to help lift the level of their math thinking.  

Reader's Workshop


Last week, students learned that characters can be complicated.  This means that they are not always the same way in every situation.  We also learned that there are certain "stop signs" in books that clue us into some very important details.  These stop signs include when a character displays intense emotion, or acts differently than normal, when an author repeats something over and over or when a character realizes something.  When students come across these types of details in books, they signal us to stop and think about what the author may be trying to tell us.

This week, we will continue to read texts closely and grow ideas from the details that beg us to stop.  Students will also be encouraged to consider whether or not their ideas are debatable.  We will also learn more about how to write about our comprehension.

This Week in Fourth Grade....

Closing Ceremony
Each day before the bell rings, we come back together as a community to celebrate kids we saw going above and beyond to be an outstanding community member that day.  Ask your child about the actions of themselves and/or a classmate that got a "shout out" each day!  It is a nice way to end the day on a positive note!  

Writing Workshop
We started writing our "brave" realistic fiction stories last week.  Students worked on creating a plan for their story by thinking of a time that they were brave.  We made these story ideas fictional by changing either the character in the story and/or by changing the event. Ask your child about how their story shows that a character is brave.

Science
The blue team has spent the past few weeks in science learning about sound. Students have learned about how animals use sound to communicate.  We have also practiced using specific vocabulary to describe the sounds that animals make.  Students worked hard at creating a "What's My Code?" flip book that teaches the reader about animal communication.  The green team will switch from social studies to science this week.  The blue team will move to social studies.

Reader's Workshop

Students are learning how to make inferences about the characters they are reading about.  We learned to look for repetitions in what characters say, think, and do.  We also learned that authors typically do not write anything on accident, which means every detail matters!  As you read with your child this week, ask them what the author seems to be repeating about their character and what that repetition makes them think.

Social Studies
The green team has spent the past few weeks in social studies learning about maps.  They have gotten to know the map of the United States better and have built up their vocabulary with words like, equator, northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere, and lines on longitude and latitude.  On Friday students played a game that helped them practice their newfound knowledge of latitude and longitude lines.

This Week in Fourth Grade

Homework

The participation rate for homework improved greatly this week!  A separate email with the homework for this coming week will be sent via email.  Students will also copy the homework down at school so that they are able to take ownership of the expectations.

The character trait vocabulary booklet will have an added expectation this week.  Students will be asked to illustrate the character they choose that represents the trait doing, saying or thinking something that matches the trait.  They will also still be expected to write the sentences that they were doing last week.


Reader's Workshop

Last week students learned to envision (make a movie) in their minds as they read.  We talked about how if the movie in their mind is clear and full of detail, then they are most likely understanding the book they are reading.

When you are reading with your child at home, pause at one point and ask them what they are envisioning.  Ask them what the character is doing, how that character might be feeling and what the setting looks like.  Encourage your child to use their schema to add details to their envisioning that might not be in the text.

Water Bottles


Students are encouraged to bring water bottles into the classroom to stay hydrated.  Bottles of gatorade, lemonade, juice or soda are not allowed.  Thank you so much for your support with this!

Writing Workshop


Last week, we focused on building stamina as writers.  We did a couple of quick writes.  This activity was to help kids quickly get their ideas down on paper with a brainstorm about a particular topic or prompt.  Then they typed their stories or answered the prompt on the computer.  We also talked about how we edit our work.  When we edit, we focus on just ONE goal at a time as a writer.  Our goal last week was to focus on writing complete sentences. 

This week we will begin our Realistic Fiction writing unit.  Students will be able to use what they have been learning about in reading and apply it as a writer. Students will think about the arc of a story or how a story typically goes.  

Math Workshop

Last week, students learned about rounding numbers.  Students focused on skip counting by 10, 100's, and 1000's to help us think about larger numbers.  Rounding is a topic that can be tricky for fourth graders, so we are spending some extra time thinking about the "why" behind rounding.  Students will begin a project to apply their knowledge of rounding this week.

This Week in Fourth Grade...

                                                  

Don't forget school pictures are tomorrow!

Red Homework & Communication Folder

Please continue to check your child's folder every day after school.  Important notices are sent home in this folder.  Starting this week, we will also be having students record their homework each week and keep it in their folder.  

Open House
Thank you to all the families able to come out to Open House last week.  If you weren't able to attend, your child came home with the handouts from our presentation.  

One handout was asking you to tell us what topics you are interested in learning more about to support your child in school.  Please send that handout back as soon as possible.  We are hoping to create videos on Seesaw that we can share with you that will help you support your child at home.  

Here is a link to the letter that was sent home last week after Open House:
What are you wondering? Parent Form

Math Workshop

We had some VERY excited Million Dollar Winners last week!  The kids were so excited to learn that they had "won" a million dollars on Monday.  This led the way for our first math project of the year.  The kids could buy a house, a car, and plan ahead for college.  They used their winnings to purchase these items.  This project allowed the kids to practice reading and writing large numbers.  They also were able to practice writing numbers in different forms, such as expanded form, word form, and standard form.  Students who finished the practice part of the project were able to create a Seesaw video to share what they bought with their money!

Writing Workshop
We are continuing to work on our personal narratives in school.  Last week, the kids also learned about writing complete sentences.  Fourth graders tend to write all of their thoughts down and forget about the punctuation to make sentences complete.  We focused on what goes into a complete sentence.  

This week your child will need to complete his/her personal narrative at home for homework.  Some students have already finished in school, but many have not. This homework will be due on Wednesday!

Reader's Workshop

This week we learned how to cement our comprehension by pausing and retelling at times while we read.  Students practiced this with our read aloud novel, The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo and with their own "just right" books.  

As discussed at Open House, students are expected to read every night for 20 minutes.  They will not have to fill out a reading in the edges sheet this week, but are still required to read.  I will check in with families in a couple of weeks to find out how things are going and to see if there is any way that I can support you.

This Week In Fourth Grade

Just a reminder.... we have Open House on Tuesday this week starting at 6:30.  We hope to see many of you there!

Reader's Workshop

This week students began a reading challenge called Battle of the Books in the classroom.  16 different picture books were introduced and students were challenged to read all of them.  In a few weeks students will begin to vote on their favorites in a bracket similar to March Madness.  At the end only one winner will be left!

Coupled with this challenge, students have been learning to read with intensity.  This means that they read as if every detail matters and they take time to grow ideas as they read.  Next week students will begin to learn about character traits and how to infer these traits as they read about different characters.

Reading At Home

We talked a lot about reading at home and fitting our reading into our busy schedules.  It is expected that every student read for at least 20 minutes every day.  We spent some time in the classroom brainstorming how to be successful with this.  

The Reading in the Edges homework assignment was due on Friday.  We will have the same assignment this week with the hope that it encourages students to think about how they can fit reading into the edges of their day.  Please let me know if your child is struggling with this.

THANK YOU!

I cannot thank everyone enough for their generous donations from my (Mrs. Leger's) wish list on Amazon.  There are a number of books on the list that I can't get from Scholastic, and it has been exciting to know that students will have access to them because of your support!


Math Workshop


Last week, students learned how to read and write large numbers.  They were able to use Seesaw and practice reading larger numbers.  This week we will work on a project to give them more practice with writing numbers in different forms (expanded, standard, and word form).  After school tomorrow, ask your child what they "WON" in math!

We also talked about using specific math vocabulary when we are talking about the problems we are solving.  It is important for students to practice talking like a "mathematician."  For example, I introduced students to the word digit.  We will focus on using that vocabulary word instead of saying that we have written a number with 3 numbers, we would say that we have written a 3 digit number or we could talk about the value of a particular digit in a number.  As we come across important math vocabulary, your child will be introduced to the words and be expected to use them in their discussions.

Science

We started our science unit on Sound.  We will be learning about how whales communicate with sound.  Students will also learn how to describe the different sounds that whales make to help them communicate.  Over the next few weeks, we will complete a variety of experiments to help us understand sound a little better!