June 22, 2018
ELA
We have spent the last two weeks reviewing test taking strategies in class. We have incorporated these strategies into games such as Stinky Feet. Be sure to ask your child about it. We take the Reading EOG on Monday. Please be sure to remind your child to read carefully, think of an answer and find evidence in the text before actually looking at the test answers. This prevents them from talking themselves into the wrong answer.
We also used the Legos to build our Lego sets based on our ideas from our biography and opinion projects. The students were incredibly creative with their ideas!
Math
Students have review sheets in their math folders that we have been working on in class. Prodigy Games has also been an excellent resource for review. It is really important for students to remember to SHOW THEIR WORK and to ask themselves if their answer choice makes sense. I am so proud of all of their hard work!!
June 8, 2018
ELA
This week we worked on our Reading EOG test taking strategies while reviewing the objectives that we have worked on throughout the year. It is REALLY important for students to look back in the text to identify evidence before answering questions. We reviewed these strategies using a variety of texts and by playing a variety of games, especially Kahoots. We also pretended to be test makers and created our own EOG type questions after reading our Scholastic News.
We also continued to draft our persuasive papers to Lego explaining why our biographical subjects deserved to have a Lego set made for them. Students really worked hard to analyze their papers and look for ways to make them "more academic." We discussed strategies such as adding richer vocabulary and varying the sentence structure throughout our papers.
Math
Now that we have completed the 4th Grade Math Curriculum, we started reviewing math concepts in preparation for the Math EOG. Students have taken two EOG pretests which will be in their homework folders on Monday. I am looking over the tests in order to determine which skills each student needs. I recommend that you look over them on Monday when they come home; but please put them back in their folders since we will be looking at them each day next week!
June 1, 2018
ELA
We finished The Hope Chest this week! We were all very anxious to see how the book would end. The students seemed to really enjoy the ending and were even speculating about the futures of the main characters. We have continued to focus on citing quotes from the text and using them as evidence in order to support our inferences about theme and character. Throughout the past few weeks, students have worked in groups in order to find evidence to support the theme "inequality is an injustice." We will continue to look deeper at the other minor themes that were evident throughout the novel.
Students continued to write their paragraphs explaining their Hope Chest Vocabulary Concept Maps. We also spent time in groups locating quotes from the book in order to explain how and why the main character, Violet changes in the book. Students will use these quotes to write a character analysis essay.
Math
This week completed a very quick unit on line plot graphs with fractions. Line plots are a review from last year; however, having fractions in the data set is a new concept. Students worked in small groups to analyze data in line plots in order to answer questions about the graphs. This was a great way for the students to review adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions by whole numbers. We also worked on being careful readers when answering questions about data that occurs the most frequently and least frequently. It's hard to believe that this is the last unit of our fourth grade year. We will spend the remaining time reviewing for the EOGs.
Science
We continued working with magnetism and electricity in science. This week, we worked on identifying parallel and series circuits. In addition, we experimented with a variety of materials in order to determine which types of materials can complete a circuit!
May 25, 2018
Yearbooks are being sent home today. If you wish to purchase a yearbook, please send in $17 with your child or return the yearbook. Parents that wish to purchase a family yearbook without your child's photo on the front may do so. Please just let me know if you are interested!
This week, we took a closer look at some of the women involved in the suffrage movement by looking at Susan B. Anthony's speech, "Women's Right to Vote." As a class, we also dissected the Preamble of the Constitution and put it into "kid-friendly" language. Check out my class twitter page so that you can see our work. After getting a better understanding of what the Preamble is about, we were able to discuss why Susan B. Anthony referenced it in her speech. We continued reading The Hope Chest, and spent a great deal of time analyzing the characters in the text and discussion symbolism throughout the book. The class also spent time creating concept maps from the vocabulary that we have learned and are now writing paragraphs explaining the connections between the the words and phrases that they used in their maps.
In math, we finished our unit on customary measurement. At this point, students should be able to make conversions within the customary system and should be able to apply these conversions to word problems. We took our unit test on Friday. These are in your child's Friday folder. Please sign them and return them to school in their Friday Folders.
In science, we started our unit on electricity and magnetism. This week, we explored magnetism. Students explored with test objects and discovered that not all metals are magnetic; only metals containing iron are magnetic. We finished off the week by completing a lab called Breaking the Force, in which students discovered that the number of plastic spacers between two magnets, impacts the force between the two magnets.
May 18, 2018
We have been really busy since tracking back in last Friday! Please be sure to check your child's Friday Folder. This week, we are sending home a letter containing important dates for you to put on your calendar! You can also find these dates in the Important Dates section of our website.
Reading
We continued reading from the Hope Chest this week. Students worked in small groups to identify the theme from the chapter and then use quotes fromm the text in order to support their thinking. This week, the prominent theme was "Inequality is an injustice." Students analyzed the characters and their actions to find examples of this theme. Students honed in on how differently both women and African Americans were treated during the early 1920s. I have been SO impressed with the conversations that the students have had this week. If you would like to know more about the book, ask your child some of these questions:
Why doesn't Mrs. Merganser believe that she will ever have the right to vote?
What does Violet realize after meeting the woman who was waiting for her son to be shipped back to her?
What is your opinion of Miss Dexter?
Math
This week we focused on the Customary Unit of Measurement. Students should now be able to make conversions involving length, weight and capacity within the customary system of measurement. Students have worked this week on a flip book which will be completed on Monday. This flip book can be used as a study guide in preparation for their test next week.
April 13, 2018
We had an incredible week! Super Crocs Day was a HUGE success. Thank you to all of those that were able to come out and visit with us as we rotated through the stations.
Reading and Writing
This week, we continued reading and analyzing The Hope Chest. This week, we went back into the text to find quotes and other evidence to help us determine which characters are Suffragists and which are Anti-Suffragists. The students are really doing an amazing job of finding quotes and being able to talk about the "gist" of what they have read. Additionally, we completed several activities in which they analyzed artwork inspired by the book. Students had to use quotes from the text in order to make connections between what they saw and what they read in the book.
We are wrapping up our biographies! Students will use the information that they collected for these essays in order to create opinion pieces when we get back from track out.
Math
In math, we started a unit on the Metric Unit of Measurement. This was a great transition from our decimal unit. We will continue working on converting lager units of linear measurement, capacity and mass to smaller units within the Metric System.
April 6, 2018
Reading and Writing
This week we started our new class novel, The Hope Chest. This is a historical fiction piece that takes place from 1918-1922 and is told from the lens of a young girl during the Women's Suffrage Movement. We have had EXCELLENT conversations in class about equality and what that means. Additionally, we have talked about what it means to live in a democracy and the importance of the 19th Amendment. The students have worked hard to analyze the text and using quotations to support their thinking. We have used context clues to to identify they ways in which both anti-suffragists and suffragists viewed the roles of women during this time period. Your children are doing a wonderful job of building their vocabulary with meaningful content specific vocabulary from the text.
In writing, we have started gathering our research for our research pieces on influential people. The students have finalized their "trailblazer" and have eagerly been researching the ways in which these men and women influenced society.
Math
In math, we continued working on decimals. This week, we worked on identifying decimals between tenths, comparing decimals and converting fractions to decimals. We have worked on expressing these decimals in fraction and decimal notation. This will come in handy next week as we start to explore the Metric System!!
Social Studies
In Social Studies, students are working with Mr. Liberti on a Road Trip project. This requires students to research places, products and events of interest in North Carolina!
March 29, 2018
Reading and Writing
This week, we continued to dig deeper into Number the Stars by analyzing Annmarie's thoughts and actions throughout the book. Using evidence from the book, students determined the theme of the book. Students worked with partners to create theme statements and supported their ideas with quotes from the text. On Tuesday, we also completed a Performance Task in which students had to answer a prompt by analyzing two pieces of text. While it may have seemed challenging at first, students worked hard to address the prompt and did an excellent job of supporting their ideas with text based evidence.
This week we celebrated our writing pieces by eating bugs. Yummy! Thank you so much to the parents that donated money for us to purchase our chocolate covered critters and thank you to those of you that came to our writing celebration. The kids really enjoyed sharing their writing pieces with you!
Math
We started our unit on decimals this week. This is really just a continuation of our fraction unit. Students already know how to to add tenths and hundredths. This week, they worked on expressing the sums of these expressions in decimal notation. We also worked on creating visuals of the decimals and locating them on a number line.
March 23, 2018
Reading and Writing
In reading this week, we finished our read aloud. It was hard to put down!! We are working hard to analyze character thoughts and feelings by analyzing character quotes and actions in the text. Students are learning to look back in the text to pick MEANINGFUL and SIGNIFICANT quotes. It has been really neat to watch the kids discover how Annmarie channels the other characters in order to help her be brave. Students are beginning to realize how each character is strategically placed in the text. We also analyzed a poem and a drama based on Number the Stars. Students worked in small groups to identify the similarities and differences between the two texts.
In writing, we worked on adding evidence and content specific vocabulary to our Should People Eat Bugs? papers. Overall, these papers look great! I am so proud of how far these kids have grown as writers over the last quarter. We will celebrate next Thursday at 12:00 with our writing celebration. You are more than welcome to attend!
Math
In math, we spent the week reviewing all math concepts from the 3rd quarter. Fractions are so important to understand, especially in the upcoming months! Students who demonstrated an understanding of the concepts worked on individual math extensions.
March 16, 2018
Reading and Writing
In reading this week we started our new class read aloud Number the Stars, a historical fiction piece about the challenges two friends face during the Nazi invasion of Denmark during World War II. We are working on identifying character traits and documenting how and why characters change throughout a story. We are also analyzing the way in which an author uses supporting characters in order to facilitate a change in the main characters. Students are working hard to cite evidence such as character quotes and actions in order to support their character change analysis.
in writing this week we worked on organizing our opinion pieces. We really worked on making sure that our topic sentences are supported with adequate evidence in our body paragraphs.
Math
In math we finished our unit on fractions. This week we worked on finding fractions of a set and adding tenths and hundredths. Additionally, we used our knowledge of fractions to solve word problems. We will spend the last week of the quarter reviewing the concepts that were taught this last quarter.
March 9, 2018
Reading and Writing
This week we wrapped up or poetry unit. We spent time analyzing character change in Love that Dog. In small groups, students worked to identify quotes that would support how a character is described throughout a text. Students will work together to create an essay in which they are able to describe in detail how a character changes from the beginning to the end of a book. We also worked on interpreting figurative language, especially personification, similes and metaphors. Next week, we will start our class novel, Number the Stars.
In writing, we began researching for our next opinion piece: Should We Be Eating Bugs? This week, we analyzed the benefits of eating bugs. We will begin next week by looking at the negative effects of eating bugs. Students will then start formulating their own opinions, constructing topic sentences and organizing their evidence into a 5 paragraph essay.
Math
In math, we continued working with fractions. This week, we worked on using visual aids to find equivalent fractions. Using this information, we were also able to compare fractions. There are several strategies that we used this week when comparing fractions. Students should use their knowledge of benchmark fractions, visual aids or a common denominator when comparing fractions. We did review a method for CHECKING our work. This is called the butterfly method.
March 2, 2018
in Reading and Writing:
We Have had a very busy week! In reading, we have been analyzing and digging deeper into poetry. This week, we have been using graphic organizers to help us locate figurative language such as metaphors, similes and personification. we have also talked about the importance of visualizing what we are reading in order to have a better understanding of the text.
we also finished love that dog by sharron creech. we took a closer look at the poems in the book and discussed how they inspired the main character in the story. we spent a lot of time analyzing the character's actions and collecting quotes which we will use next week in order to answer the question: how did jack change from the beginning of the book to the end of the book?
in writing, we finished our ultimate valentine's candy opinion piece. next week, we will start collecting information for our opinion pieces on whether or not bugs should be considered a food resource! we will also continue practicing adding evidence a reasons to our essay on how characters change from the beginning to the end of a book.
In math:
in math, we started our unit on fractions. this week we worked on adding fractions, decomposing fractions, converting improper fractions and adding/subtracting mixed numbers.
ELA
We have spent the last two weeks reviewing test taking strategies in class. We have incorporated these strategies into games such as Stinky Feet. Be sure to ask your child about it. We take the Reading EOG on Monday. Please be sure to remind your child to read carefully, think of an answer and find evidence in the text before actually looking at the test answers. This prevents them from talking themselves into the wrong answer.
We also used the Legos to build our Lego sets based on our ideas from our biography and opinion projects. The students were incredibly creative with their ideas!
Math
Students have review sheets in their math folders that we have been working on in class. Prodigy Games has also been an excellent resource for review. It is really important for students to remember to SHOW THEIR WORK and to ask themselves if their answer choice makes sense. I am so proud of all of their hard work!!
June 8, 2018
ELA
This week we worked on our Reading EOG test taking strategies while reviewing the objectives that we have worked on throughout the year. It is REALLY important for students to look back in the text to identify evidence before answering questions. We reviewed these strategies using a variety of texts and by playing a variety of games, especially Kahoots. We also pretended to be test makers and created our own EOG type questions after reading our Scholastic News.
We also continued to draft our persuasive papers to Lego explaining why our biographical subjects deserved to have a Lego set made for them. Students really worked hard to analyze their papers and look for ways to make them "more academic." We discussed strategies such as adding richer vocabulary and varying the sentence structure throughout our papers.
Math
Now that we have completed the 4th Grade Math Curriculum, we started reviewing math concepts in preparation for the Math EOG. Students have taken two EOG pretests which will be in their homework folders on Monday. I am looking over the tests in order to determine which skills each student needs. I recommend that you look over them on Monday when they come home; but please put them back in their folders since we will be looking at them each day next week!
June 1, 2018
ELA
We finished The Hope Chest this week! We were all very anxious to see how the book would end. The students seemed to really enjoy the ending and were even speculating about the futures of the main characters. We have continued to focus on citing quotes from the text and using them as evidence in order to support our inferences about theme and character. Throughout the past few weeks, students have worked in groups in order to find evidence to support the theme "inequality is an injustice." We will continue to look deeper at the other minor themes that were evident throughout the novel.
Students continued to write their paragraphs explaining their Hope Chest Vocabulary Concept Maps. We also spent time in groups locating quotes from the book in order to explain how and why the main character, Violet changes in the book. Students will use these quotes to write a character analysis essay.
Math
This week completed a very quick unit on line plot graphs with fractions. Line plots are a review from last year; however, having fractions in the data set is a new concept. Students worked in small groups to analyze data in line plots in order to answer questions about the graphs. This was a great way for the students to review adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions by whole numbers. We also worked on being careful readers when answering questions about data that occurs the most frequently and least frequently. It's hard to believe that this is the last unit of our fourth grade year. We will spend the remaining time reviewing for the EOGs.
Science
We continued working with magnetism and electricity in science. This week, we worked on identifying parallel and series circuits. In addition, we experimented with a variety of materials in order to determine which types of materials can complete a circuit!
May 25, 2018
Yearbooks are being sent home today. If you wish to purchase a yearbook, please send in $17 with your child or return the yearbook. Parents that wish to purchase a family yearbook without your child's photo on the front may do so. Please just let me know if you are interested!
This week, we took a closer look at some of the women involved in the suffrage movement by looking at Susan B. Anthony's speech, "Women's Right to Vote." As a class, we also dissected the Preamble of the Constitution and put it into "kid-friendly" language. Check out my class twitter page so that you can see our work. After getting a better understanding of what the Preamble is about, we were able to discuss why Susan B. Anthony referenced it in her speech. We continued reading The Hope Chest, and spent a great deal of time analyzing the characters in the text and discussion symbolism throughout the book. The class also spent time creating concept maps from the vocabulary that we have learned and are now writing paragraphs explaining the connections between the the words and phrases that they used in their maps.
In math, we finished our unit on customary measurement. At this point, students should be able to make conversions within the customary system and should be able to apply these conversions to word problems. We took our unit test on Friday. These are in your child's Friday folder. Please sign them and return them to school in their Friday Folders.
In science, we started our unit on electricity and magnetism. This week, we explored magnetism. Students explored with test objects and discovered that not all metals are magnetic; only metals containing iron are magnetic. We finished off the week by completing a lab called Breaking the Force, in which students discovered that the number of plastic spacers between two magnets, impacts the force between the two magnets.
May 18, 2018
We have been really busy since tracking back in last Friday! Please be sure to check your child's Friday Folder. This week, we are sending home a letter containing important dates for you to put on your calendar! You can also find these dates in the Important Dates section of our website.
Reading
We continued reading from the Hope Chest this week. Students worked in small groups to identify the theme from the chapter and then use quotes fromm the text in order to support their thinking. This week, the prominent theme was "Inequality is an injustice." Students analyzed the characters and their actions to find examples of this theme. Students honed in on how differently both women and African Americans were treated during the early 1920s. I have been SO impressed with the conversations that the students have had this week. If you would like to know more about the book, ask your child some of these questions:
Why doesn't Mrs. Merganser believe that she will ever have the right to vote?
What does Violet realize after meeting the woman who was waiting for her son to be shipped back to her?
What is your opinion of Miss Dexter?
Math
This week we focused on the Customary Unit of Measurement. Students should now be able to make conversions involving length, weight and capacity within the customary system of measurement. Students have worked this week on a flip book which will be completed on Monday. This flip book can be used as a study guide in preparation for their test next week.
April 13, 2018
We had an incredible week! Super Crocs Day was a HUGE success. Thank you to all of those that were able to come out and visit with us as we rotated through the stations.
Reading and Writing
This week, we continued reading and analyzing The Hope Chest. This week, we went back into the text to find quotes and other evidence to help us determine which characters are Suffragists and which are Anti-Suffragists. The students are really doing an amazing job of finding quotes and being able to talk about the "gist" of what they have read. Additionally, we completed several activities in which they analyzed artwork inspired by the book. Students had to use quotes from the text in order to make connections between what they saw and what they read in the book.
We are wrapping up our biographies! Students will use the information that they collected for these essays in order to create opinion pieces when we get back from track out.
Math
In math, we started a unit on the Metric Unit of Measurement. This was a great transition from our decimal unit. We will continue working on converting lager units of linear measurement, capacity and mass to smaller units within the Metric System.
April 6, 2018
Reading and Writing
This week we started our new class novel, The Hope Chest. This is a historical fiction piece that takes place from 1918-1922 and is told from the lens of a young girl during the Women's Suffrage Movement. We have had EXCELLENT conversations in class about equality and what that means. Additionally, we have talked about what it means to live in a democracy and the importance of the 19th Amendment. The students have worked hard to analyze the text and using quotations to support their thinking. We have used context clues to to identify they ways in which both anti-suffragists and suffragists viewed the roles of women during this time period. Your children are doing a wonderful job of building their vocabulary with meaningful content specific vocabulary from the text.
In writing, we have started gathering our research for our research pieces on influential people. The students have finalized their "trailblazer" and have eagerly been researching the ways in which these men and women influenced society.
Math
In math, we continued working on decimals. This week, we worked on identifying decimals between tenths, comparing decimals and converting fractions to decimals. We have worked on expressing these decimals in fraction and decimal notation. This will come in handy next week as we start to explore the Metric System!!
Social Studies
In Social Studies, students are working with Mr. Liberti on a Road Trip project. This requires students to research places, products and events of interest in North Carolina!
March 29, 2018
Reading and Writing
This week, we continued to dig deeper into Number the Stars by analyzing Annmarie's thoughts and actions throughout the book. Using evidence from the book, students determined the theme of the book. Students worked with partners to create theme statements and supported their ideas with quotes from the text. On Tuesday, we also completed a Performance Task in which students had to answer a prompt by analyzing two pieces of text. While it may have seemed challenging at first, students worked hard to address the prompt and did an excellent job of supporting their ideas with text based evidence.
This week we celebrated our writing pieces by eating bugs. Yummy! Thank you so much to the parents that donated money for us to purchase our chocolate covered critters and thank you to those of you that came to our writing celebration. The kids really enjoyed sharing their writing pieces with you!
Math
We started our unit on decimals this week. This is really just a continuation of our fraction unit. Students already know how to to add tenths and hundredths. This week, they worked on expressing the sums of these expressions in decimal notation. We also worked on creating visuals of the decimals and locating them on a number line.
March 23, 2018
Reading and Writing
In reading this week, we finished our read aloud. It was hard to put down!! We are working hard to analyze character thoughts and feelings by analyzing character quotes and actions in the text. Students are learning to look back in the text to pick MEANINGFUL and SIGNIFICANT quotes. It has been really neat to watch the kids discover how Annmarie channels the other characters in order to help her be brave. Students are beginning to realize how each character is strategically placed in the text. We also analyzed a poem and a drama based on Number the Stars. Students worked in small groups to identify the similarities and differences between the two texts.
In writing, we worked on adding evidence and content specific vocabulary to our Should People Eat Bugs? papers. Overall, these papers look great! I am so proud of how far these kids have grown as writers over the last quarter. We will celebrate next Thursday at 12:00 with our writing celebration. You are more than welcome to attend!
Math
In math, we spent the week reviewing all math concepts from the 3rd quarter. Fractions are so important to understand, especially in the upcoming months! Students who demonstrated an understanding of the concepts worked on individual math extensions.
March 16, 2018
Reading and Writing
In reading this week we started our new class read aloud Number the Stars, a historical fiction piece about the challenges two friends face during the Nazi invasion of Denmark during World War II. We are working on identifying character traits and documenting how and why characters change throughout a story. We are also analyzing the way in which an author uses supporting characters in order to facilitate a change in the main characters. Students are working hard to cite evidence such as character quotes and actions in order to support their character change analysis.
in writing this week we worked on organizing our opinion pieces. We really worked on making sure that our topic sentences are supported with adequate evidence in our body paragraphs.
Math
In math we finished our unit on fractions. This week we worked on finding fractions of a set and adding tenths and hundredths. Additionally, we used our knowledge of fractions to solve word problems. We will spend the last week of the quarter reviewing the concepts that were taught this last quarter.
March 9, 2018
Reading and Writing
This week we wrapped up or poetry unit. We spent time analyzing character change in Love that Dog. In small groups, students worked to identify quotes that would support how a character is described throughout a text. Students will work together to create an essay in which they are able to describe in detail how a character changes from the beginning to the end of a book. We also worked on interpreting figurative language, especially personification, similes and metaphors. Next week, we will start our class novel, Number the Stars.
In writing, we began researching for our next opinion piece: Should We Be Eating Bugs? This week, we analyzed the benefits of eating bugs. We will begin next week by looking at the negative effects of eating bugs. Students will then start formulating their own opinions, constructing topic sentences and organizing their evidence into a 5 paragraph essay.
Math
In math, we continued working with fractions. This week, we worked on using visual aids to find equivalent fractions. Using this information, we were also able to compare fractions. There are several strategies that we used this week when comparing fractions. Students should use their knowledge of benchmark fractions, visual aids or a common denominator when comparing fractions. We did review a method for CHECKING our work. This is called the butterfly method.
March 2, 2018
in Reading and Writing:
We Have had a very busy week! In reading, we have been analyzing and digging deeper into poetry. This week, we have been using graphic organizers to help us locate figurative language such as metaphors, similes and personification. we have also talked about the importance of visualizing what we are reading in order to have a better understanding of the text.
we also finished love that dog by sharron creech. we took a closer look at the poems in the book and discussed how they inspired the main character in the story. we spent a lot of time analyzing the character's actions and collecting quotes which we will use next week in order to answer the question: how did jack change from the beginning of the book to the end of the book?
in writing, we finished our ultimate valentine's candy opinion piece. next week, we will start collecting information for our opinion pieces on whether or not bugs should be considered a food resource! we will also continue practicing adding evidence a reasons to our essay on how characters change from the beginning to the end of a book.
In math:
in math, we started our unit on fractions. this week we worked on adding fractions, decomposing fractions, converting improper fractions and adding/subtracting mixed numbers.