Dear Families, It is hard to believe we only have one more week of school before spring break. The time between winter break and spring break is a solid stretch of time allowing us to truly delve into our curriculum with few interruptions. By this point in the year, students are comfortable in the routines that were established in the fall and the expectations of the classroom. It has been during this time that I have watched students step out of their comfort zones academically and socially, develop a willingness to take risks, and feel a sense of ownership for their learning. I can only imagine this will continue to flourish throughout the spring. Click HERE to view the slides and videos from the basketball presentation from All School Meeting. Below are a few curriculum highlights: Math
Social Studies Fourth graders have completed their themed maps of the midwest. Check them out! Language Arts
To support our social studies curriculum and focus of the midwest, fourth graders have started reading Little House on the Prairie. Assigning the reading for homework allows us to have more time to discuss the book and complete collaborative comprehension activities at school. The students are asked to bring the book back and forth to school since we will be using during our discussions. Have a wonderful weekend! Warmly, Brigid Dear Families, Fourth graders did such a wonderful job sharing their work at their student-led conferences. I was impressed by their ability to reflect on the strengths and goals from the fall and identify areas they want to work on for the remainder of the year. Thank you for your continued support from home! Below are a few curriculum highlights: Social Studies Students have started learning the states and capitals for the states of the midwest. Each child has chosen a different topic to research for all of the midwestern states. Some topics include: food, flowers, mottos, birds, etc. Students will draw a small representation of what they learned on a map. Language Arts Fourth graders continue to publish stories during writer’s workshop. Once they finish a story they will pick a new one to work on because publishing is an ongoing process. Students will have a choice of publishing a fiction or non-fiction story for their next piece. Book clubs are finishing up their books during reading workshop. Once the book is complete, students will complete two different activities to represent their understanding of the story. Possible activities include: writing a letter to the author, identifying the story theme(s), completing a graphic organizer of important story elements, writing about a favorite part, or picking character quotes that stand out. They will then use the activities to discuss their book club book with members from different groups. Math We have continued to work with data and graphs during math class. Students learned how to read stem and leaf plots as well as insert data into a stem and leaf plot. Students practiced using phrases such as certain, more unlikely, less likely, equally likely, impossible to describe possible outcomes. We have not had much snow this year but fourth graders took advantage of the little we did get! Check out some pictures below! Have a wonderful weekend!
Warmly, Brigid Dear Families, We will be having our student-led conferences on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of next week. The students have been busily reflecting on their goals from the fall. They have spent time looking through their work to identify pieces that represent growth since the fall, as well as set goals for the remainder of the year. Please let me know if you have any questions about your conference time. Curriculum Highlights: Math During math class we have been finding the mean, median, mode, and range of a set of data. To continue this practice, students have the option to bring in a container filled with small objects to be estimated by the class. During math class, students will estimate how many objects are in the container. We will then work together to find the mean, median, mode, and range of the estimations that were made. Objects can be anything from rice to cereal to legos. The objects must fit in a container that is no larger than a loaf of bread. The person sharing must know ahead of time how many objects are in the container. If students would like to participate, they should bring in their share by the end of February. Language Arts There is a lot happening in fourth grade language arts! During writing workshop, student continue to work towards publishing a fiction story. They have been focusing on the organization, word choice, and conventions of the story. We also spent time identifying nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs in short paragraphs. The goal of doing this is to encourage students to use a variety of words in their own writing. During reading workshop, students are working on finishing their book club books. We have also started the class read aloud, The One and Only Ivan. Along with reading and writing, students have various academic choice projects going. Social Studies As we move to the midwest, fourth grade has been learning about the native people that lived in the area before becoming the United States. Students read about various tribes that lived in the region to learn about different aspects of their life. I look forward to seeing you all next week. Have a wonderful weekend! Warmly, Brigid |
Welcome!Learn more about fourth grade happenings by reading this newsletter. Archives
May 2019
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