Sunday, March 30, 2014
Health Growth and Development Videos
The fourth grade health growth and development videos will be shown to students by the school nurse this week during block time. Girls will see their video on Monday, and the boys are scheduled for Wednesday. If you do not wish for your child to see the video, please email me. If you have any questions about the videos please contact the school nurse. Thank you.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Weekly Update 3/28/14
Class Updates:
In math, we have spent this week learning about area and perimeter. Students were able to practice these skills in a variety of ways, including using Cheez-It crackers to help calculate area. Food always seems to help us learn math! We will be having a quiz on area and perimeter next week on Wednesday. Students were also given a yellow Customary Measurement Study Guide with several benchmark measurements. They should be studying these regularly, just as they would basic facts. We will be moving into a measurement unit next, covering both customary and metric measurement.
In reading and writing we are learning about poetry. The students are practicing trying out different forms of figurative language in writing poems of their own. We are also learning to read poems closely to analyze them for author's craft, theme, mood, and imagery. Eventually students will be creating mini poetry anthologies. We are also reviewing the parts of a friendly letter and the children are writing letters to me about the fiction books they are reading.
We have started a new chapter in social studies, which covers events leading up to the Civil War and Missouri's role in the Civil War. Currently we are focused on the issue of slavery and the Underground Railroad. We have read some great stories based on true events that have helped bring this time period to life, including The Patchwork Path and Henry's Freedom Box. We have created quilt squares that represent the hidden meanings used in freedom quilts that helped guide slaves to the north and Canada. Take a look at some of the students' work:
In math, we have spent this week learning about area and perimeter. Students were able to practice these skills in a variety of ways, including using Cheez-It crackers to help calculate area. Food always seems to help us learn math! We will be having a quiz on area and perimeter next week on Wednesday. Students were also given a yellow Customary Measurement Study Guide with several benchmark measurements. They should be studying these regularly, just as they would basic facts. We will be moving into a measurement unit next, covering both customary and metric measurement.
We have started a new chapter in social studies, which covers events leading up to the Civil War and Missouri's role in the Civil War. Currently we are focused on the issue of slavery and the Underground Railroad. We have read some great stories based on true events that have helped bring this time period to life, including The Patchwork Path and Henry's Freedom Box. We have created quilt squares that represent the hidden meanings used in freedom quilts that helped guide slaves to the north and Canada. Take a look at some of the students' work:
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Weekly Update 3/16/14
Important Reminders:
School is closed for spring break from March 17 - 21.
Third quarter has now ended and report cards will be emailed home on March 26.
Spring pictures will take place on Friday, March 28.
Class Updates:
We we excited to welcome a new student, Andrew, to our class this week! This past week was spent finishing up several units in math, science and writing. We reviewed concepts in geometry and electricity, and the students were thrilled to finish up the publishing of their informational books. We used straws to construct pyramids and cubes to review 3D solid shapes and their attributes. The children also made electromagnets.
On Friday, we celebrated the students' accomplishments by taking a "gallery walk" through each of the fourth grade classrooms. The children displayed their completed books and had a chance to read the work of their classmates. Students left comments for each other highlighting things they learned, their favorite parts of the books, and positive feedback about their publishing choices. Here are some pictures of our finished work and celebration. I am so proud of their hard work!
We were fortunate to have cartoonist and writer, Lincoln Peirce visit Long on Friday. He met with grades 3-5 to share his illustrations and discuss his popular Big Nate comic series books. You can learn more about Lincoln Peirce at his website: www.bignatebooks.com
School is closed for spring break from March 17 - 21.
Third quarter has now ended and report cards will be emailed home on March 26.
Spring pictures will take place on Friday, March 28.
Class Updates:
We we excited to welcome a new student, Andrew, to our class this week! This past week was spent finishing up several units in math, science and writing. We reviewed concepts in geometry and electricity, and the students were thrilled to finish up the publishing of their informational books. We used straws to construct pyramids and cubes to review 3D solid shapes and their attributes. The children also made electromagnets.
On Friday, we celebrated the students' accomplishments by taking a "gallery walk" through each of the fourth grade classrooms. The children displayed their completed books and had a chance to read the work of their classmates. Students left comments for each other highlighting things they learned, their favorite parts of the books, and positive feedback about their publishing choices. Here are some pictures of our finished work and celebration. I am so proud of their hard work!
We were fortunate to have cartoonist and writer, Lincoln Peirce visit Long on Friday. He met with grades 3-5 to share his illustrations and discuss his popular Big Nate comic series books. You can learn more about Lincoln Peirce at his website: www.bignatebooks.com
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Weekly Update 3/9/14
Important Reminders:
Friday is a half day of school with an 11:50 dismissal. Please make sure your child knows how they will be going home that day. Lunch will not be served on Friday.
Friday is also the end of the third quarter grading period. This week we will be wrapping up several units, so please make sure to check the classroom calendar for test dates.
March 17-21 school is closed for spring break.
Class Updates:
In math we have been learning about concepts related to motion geometry. Students have practiced determining whether a given shape has line or rotational symmetry. They have also learned how to transform the location of shapes using reflections, rotations, and translations. Finally, we have covered the difference between congruent and similar figures. Children enjoyed making symmetrical designs on geoboards and with using pattern blocks. We will be reviewing this week and having a test on Thursday over coordinate pairs, 3D solid shapes, and motion geometry. A study guide will be handed out on Monday.
Snow days have us a little off-track with our normal spelling routines. Children received their spelling words last Tuesday, and we will have our test this Tuesday. Tic-Tac-Toe sheets will also be due that day.
We have reached the final stages of our informational book projects! Children are finishing up all revising and editing, and have been busy selecting text features to add to their books. Students are working hard to pick out text features that will help elaborate on the most important teaching points in their writing. Text boxes, maps, timelines, photographs, and glossaries are among the features students have chosen. This week will be dedicated to publishing final drafts and assembling them into books. We will also add source pages to our writing. All final drafts are due by Friday. Some students may need to do additional work at home in order to have their work completed by the deadline.
In science, students have been learning how magnetism is related to electricity and that energy can change into various forms. We have also been learning how electromagnets and generators work. Monday and Tuesday will be review days in class and our unit test will be on Wednesday. Students have study guides for the test in their binders.
Friday is a half day of school with an 11:50 dismissal. Please make sure your child knows how they will be going home that day. Lunch will not be served on Friday.
Friday is also the end of the third quarter grading period. This week we will be wrapping up several units, so please make sure to check the classroom calendar for test dates.
March 17-21 school is closed for spring break.
Class Updates:
In math we have been learning about concepts related to motion geometry. Students have practiced determining whether a given shape has line or rotational symmetry. They have also learned how to transform the location of shapes using reflections, rotations, and translations. Finally, we have covered the difference between congruent and similar figures. Children enjoyed making symmetrical designs on geoboards and with using pattern blocks. We will be reviewing this week and having a test on Thursday over coordinate pairs, 3D solid shapes, and motion geometry. A study guide will be handed out on Monday.
Snow days have us a little off-track with our normal spelling routines. Children received their spelling words last Tuesday, and we will have our test this Tuesday. Tic-Tac-Toe sheets will also be due that day.
We have reached the final stages of our informational book projects! Children are finishing up all revising and editing, and have been busy selecting text features to add to their books. Students are working hard to pick out text features that will help elaborate on the most important teaching points in their writing. Text boxes, maps, timelines, photographs, and glossaries are among the features students have chosen. This week will be dedicated to publishing final drafts and assembling them into books. We will also add source pages to our writing. All final drafts are due by Friday. Some students may need to do additional work at home in order to have their work completed by the deadline.
In science, students have been learning how magnetism is related to electricity and that energy can change into various forms. We have also been learning how electromagnets and generators work. Monday and Tuesday will be review days in class and our unit test will be on Wednesday. Students have study guides for the test in their binders.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Weekly Update 3/2/14
Important Reminders:
This Friday is a half day of school with an 11:50 dismissal. Please make sure your child knows how they will be going home on that day. Lunch will not be served on Friday.
Class Updates:
In math, we spent the week practicing how to write coordinate pairs for points on a grid. We also spent several days learning about three dimensional solid figures, such as cubes, triangular prisms, and cones. Students played a game where they had to guess the figure hidden in a bag based on clues describing the figure's attributes, including the number of faces, edges, and vertices a figure has. Children also had a chance to fold their own solid shapes using paper templates.
We continued our study of compare and contrast this week by looking at similarities and differences in point of view when two different authors tell the same story. We read several versions of the Three Little Pigs to see how perspective and point of view can change based on who is narrating the story. As you can imagine, the pigs and the wolf have very different points of view! We also spent part of the week getting ready for Read Across America Week. Classrooms throughout the school are decorating their doors to represent their favorite books. Our class did Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Each student did a sketch of one of the characters in the books and together we designed our door that included the 30 story Wayside School building.
In writing, we spent the week working on the third chapter of our books, which is a narrative form of informational writing. Students wrote either a journal entry or a letter telling the story of a small moment related to their book's topic. We also started our fourth chapters, which will be persuasive essays about the importance of the topics they have been researching. Chapter four will also serve as the conclusion for the books. This week, students will need to be finished with the rough drafts of all four chapters and will be working on revising, editing, and selecting text features to add to their books. Some work at home may be required if your child is behind in order to keep on pace to publish our books before spring break.
Students had a fun week in science as they continued to build circuits. This time, groups made both series and parallel circuits, added a second light bulb to their circuits, and incorporated switches to open and close their circuits. The children also made mini-books about current electricity. At the end of the week we learned about magnets. Children should be studying their science vocabulary words nightly for a quiz on Thursday.
This Friday is a half day of school with an 11:50 dismissal. Please make sure your child knows how they will be going home on that day. Lunch will not be served on Friday.
Class Updates:
In math, we spent the week practicing how to write coordinate pairs for points on a grid. We also spent several days learning about three dimensional solid figures, such as cubes, triangular prisms, and cones. Students played a game where they had to guess the figure hidden in a bag based on clues describing the figure's attributes, including the number of faces, edges, and vertices a figure has. Children also had a chance to fold their own solid shapes using paper templates.
We continued our study of compare and contrast this week by looking at similarities and differences in point of view when two different authors tell the same story. We read several versions of the Three Little Pigs to see how perspective and point of view can change based on who is narrating the story. As you can imagine, the pigs and the wolf have very different points of view! We also spent part of the week getting ready for Read Across America Week. Classrooms throughout the school are decorating their doors to represent their favorite books. Our class did Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Each student did a sketch of one of the characters in the books and together we designed our door that included the 30 story Wayside School building.
In writing, we spent the week working on the third chapter of our books, which is a narrative form of informational writing. Students wrote either a journal entry or a letter telling the story of a small moment related to their book's topic. We also started our fourth chapters, which will be persuasive essays about the importance of the topics they have been researching. Chapter four will also serve as the conclusion for the books. This week, students will need to be finished with the rough drafts of all four chapters and will be working on revising, editing, and selecting text features to add to their books. Some work at home may be required if your child is behind in order to keep on pace to publish our books before spring break.
Students had a fun week in science as they continued to build circuits. This time, groups made both series and parallel circuits, added a second light bulb to their circuits, and incorporated switches to open and close their circuits. The children also made mini-books about current electricity. At the end of the week we learned about magnets. Children should be studying their science vocabulary words nightly for a quiz on Thursday.
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