This Week In Fourth Grade

Conferences

Conferences are coming up on April 9th & 10th.  There are many families to meet with and less conference slots than we would like.  If you are unable to get a time slot to meet with us, please let us know and we can work to accommodate you after April vacation with either a conference before school, a phone conference, or one at 3:00 PM.

If you feel you do not need a conference at this point, let us know and we can certainly share your child's accomplishments and goals via email.

Conference Link

Tracking Our Growth

During reader's workshop this week, students looked back at their first attempt to write about their comprehension...something we call open response.  Students were amazed at how much they have grown!  All students have made incredible growth in their abilities to write about their thinking, include evidence and summarize parts of the text that support the thesis statement or answer the student is attempting to prove.  

We will share this growth with parents at conferences and send the examples home to those unable to attend.

Preparing for MCAS

MCAS is right around the corner.  I have explained to students that everything that they have learned to do this year is the types of things that they will do on MCAS.  They will answer multiple choice questions about the selections they read, they will write open responses about their thinking.  We talked on Friday that the test could be considered a game that they are trying to beat.  We played some games and students learned that in order to beat a game they need to make sure they read and follow the directions, understand the different parts, use the strategies they have learned, never give up, and work carefully.

Students will preview the text next week and review strategies that they can use to "beat the test." 

Minute to Win It

We spent some time last week in math placing fractions on a number line.  To help us gather some authentic data, we played Minute To Win It games and created fractions based on the results.  Students then placed the results on a number line to help them practice ordering fractions on a number line.

We also spent time last week adding and subtracting fractions.  We will continue to work on adding and subtracting fractions as well as placing fractions on a line plot.

Minute to Win It....Marshmallow Toss

Sticky Marbles....very intense!

Writing Workshop

Our paragraphs for our research writing is starting to take shape.  Some students were able to begin putting some of their writing onto their websites.  We also talked about writing main idea sentences to start each section of our writing.  Students were able to make connections about what they have learned as readers trying to find the main idea to writers creating main idea sentences.  This week we will start to think about the text structure of our facts so that we can create a structure in our writing that makes sense.

This Week in Fourth Grade....

Conferences

The link to sign up for conferences was sent out on Friday by the school.  We look forward to meeting with everyone!

Time Capsules

On the last day of school, we have a Time Capsule Closing Ceremony as a way to celebrate the fourth graders finishing their elementary school years.  For this ceremony, students will be creating a Time Capsule.  Students should begin to collect items for their time capsule over the next few months.  It is easier to add items little by little instead of rushing at the end to put items into the time capsule. 

Your child will be coming home with a list tomorrow of optional items that he/she might want to place in his/her Time Capsule (the list is also linked below).  All of the items are suggestions, but your child can really make it what they want it to be.....a celebration of elementary school!  Your child's job for the next few months is to get a box (similar to the ideas below) and start putting items in the box.  Students will bring the Time Capsule boxes to school at a later date.  During our Time Capsule Ceremony on the last day of school, the fourth graders will close their Time Capsule and make a wish!  

Time Capsule Ideas Letter

Size of a shoe box

Poetry

Students continued to read poems from the My Man Blue collection by Nikki Grimes.  A lot of wonderful discussions were had as students learned to focus in on words and phrases that helped them to visualize or know what was happening.  Below you can see students discussing the poems and several examples of how students marked up the poems to help with comprehension.

 ELA MCAS

The ELA portion of the MCAS is coming up on April 25th & 26th.  Please make every effort to have your child in school that day by avoiding vacations and doctors appointments.  We will begin to prepare for the test here in school by exposing students to the format of the test and different test taking strategies that will allow students to show off all that they have learned in their elementary years.  If your child expresses any questions or concerns please let us know so that we can make everyone feel ready and comfortable.

Social Studies

Students were assigned focused topics within the Southeast to begin researching.  They will turn their research into a presentation to teach the rest of us about their topic.  Some of the topics included: Hurricane Katrina, the Florida Everglades, tourism, caves, climate, Washington D.C., and people who made a difference.  Students are looking forward to diving into their research next week!  

Writing Workshop

Students began to categorize their facts on dolphins, whales, and sharks last week.  After creating categories they were able to see which topics they needed to do more research on.  This week we will be starting to organize our facts into an order that will make sense for our readers.

This Week in Fourth Grade....

Report Cards

Report cards will go home on Friday.  Please sign the envelope and send back to school with your child.

Book Orders


Book orders are due tomorrow.  The code for online ordering is H3M9C.

Reader's Workshop


Last week, students learned about different types of non-fiction text structures and how we can organize our notes according to the way the text is structured.  This week, students will learn how to write about their comprehension for a non-fiction text.

In addition to the non-fiction learning we are doing, students have also been learning comprehension strategies for poetry.  We have been reading poems by Nikki Grimes from a book entitled, My Man Blue.  The individual poems come together to tell the story of the relationship that grows between a young boy who is "the man of the house" and his tough-looking, kind-hearted mentor.

Writing Workshop

We started with our new writing genre last week....research!  The kids were able to choose the topic that they were most interested in.  They had the choice of sharks, whales, or dolphins.   The kids are going be creating their very own website chock full of all of the great facts that they learn over the next few weeks.  They will begin to build their website over the next month or so and then it will go "live."  More information to follow!

Math Workshop

Last week the kids worked on the Trimester 2 assessment that is administered district wide.  This was based on the work that we have done throughout the second trimester.  I am able to see the relative strengths of the class as a whole.  I am also able to take the data from this assessment and find areas that were a general weakness for most kids.  We will be able to focus on these topics over the next few weeks as a review at the start of math during our discussion time.

Since there is never enough time in the day, you will receive an email soon regarding additional work to be sent home with your child so that he/she can practice areas of individual weakness. To any parent that requests this additional practice, I will send it home by mid-week. 

This week we will be moving onto comparing fractions on a number line.  We will start by spending some time comparing fractions to benchmark numbers such as 0, 1/2, and 1.  We will then take that learning and start to compare other fractions.  

Social Studies

Students continued to learn about the Southeast Region this past week.  Next week, partnerships will be assigned a more specific topic in the Southeast Region to research and present using Prezi.  Students will be able to apply what they have been learning during Reader's Workshop during this project!

This Week in Fourth Grade....

Read Across America Day!

We celebrated Read Across America Day on Wednesday this week.  We were a little late due to NAEP Testing and the snow day.  Officer Chad joined us and read Fox in Socks which certainly knocked our socks off!  Thank you so much for joining us Officer Chad!

Writing Workshop
     This week the kids will be finishing up a writing piece from a different character's point of view based on a narrative writing prompt.  They have spent the last few days drafting and focusing on point of view. 
     We will then be moving on to informational writing.  This type of writing is great because it incorporates what the kids have been learning in Reader's Workshop with Mrs. Leger and apply it as a writer.  Students will be choosing a topic to become an expert on.  They will be able to become an expert on whales, dolphins, or sharks.  As they begin to become experts on one of these animals they will create a Google Site which will be their very own website full of all of the information that they have learned. Information will be sent out as these become published over the next few weeks!

Math Workshop
We continued our fraction work last week.  We spent a lot of time discussing equivalent fractions.  Students worked to build an understanding of what equivalent fractions are and how they can use manipulatives to prove equivalence.  Some students began to build on this understanding to create a "rule" or way of finding equivalent fractions when they don't have fraction tiles available.  It's great to see the progress in their learning over the past week.

This week we will start to show fractions on a number line.  We will also be able to use the number line to compare fractions.

Science
Both the green and the blue team got to experiment with mirrors in science last week.  It was amazing to see the excitement around such a simple object.  The kids learned a few new tricks with these mirrors as well.  This week we will begin to explore how mirrors and light interact with each other.

Reader's Workshop
 Students continued to learn non-fiction reading strategies this week with a focus on inferring the main idea and supporting details.  They learned that non-fiction is full of information and it can be overwhelming!  Identifying the main idea and supporting details can help us keep this information organized in our minds and remember it better.  We also practiced taking notes in an organized way.  To practice, students read books about dolphins, sharks or whales.  They will use the information they learned with Mrs. Lewis in Writer's Workshop next week.

Social Studies
Students took what they learned during Reader's Workshop and applied it during Social Studies this past week while reading about The Southeast region of the United States.  We will continue to read and learn about the Southeast this week.  After students are "experts" they will create presentations using a website called Prezi that is similar to Powerpoint (but way more fun!).

We have been talking a lot about how as the year progresses, students will be required to take their learning from one subject and apply it in another subject more and more.  The learning that is taking place in Reader's Workshop, Writer's Workshop and Social Studies are perfect examples of this.  Below are pictures of partnerships working together to apply their reading learning during social studies.

This Week in Fourth Grade

Social Studies and Reader's Workshop

The green team prepared to dive into the regions of the United States by teaching each other the vocabulary they will need to know.  To wrap up, students played a memory game that had them hopping, skipping, zombie walking and crab walking through the cafeteria.  It was a great way to end the week!  Next week, students will begin to learn about the Southeastern region of the United States.  They will take what they are learning about reading non-fiction during reader's workshop and apply it as they read about the Southeast and organize their notes about it.

Once students are "experts" about the Southeast, they will be assigned more focused topics about the region to learn and teach their classmates about.  

Below are some pictures of our memory game today! 

MCAS

The ELA MCAS test for fourth graders will take place on April 25th & 26th.

The math MCAS test for fourth graders will take place on May 7th & May 8th.

Please avoid scheduling appointments and vacations on these dates.  It is always helpful for students to take the test with their peers and keep a normal schedule during this time of year.

Math Workshop


We started our unit on Fractions last week.  We started to look at how to break apart or decompose a fraction into smaller parts. We will continue to explore fractions using manipulatives this week. 

Your child will be coming home with an Angles assessment this week.  Your child took the assessment before vacation, I reassessed last week, and then pulled small groups for reteaching on Friday. Your child will come home with this packet of work for you to see his/her progress.