4th grade students are definitely in the swing of things, and they already have so much to share with you at Curriculum Night this Thursday. The students will be writing you a letter about 4th grade. If you are unable to attend Curriculum Night, please feel free to let me know and I'll have your child bring their letter home.
Student Council permission slips went home this Monday. If students would like to participate in the election process, please fill out their permission slip and return it by Wednesday, September 19th.
I am happy to say that the "blurt alert" cards worked out very well, and the students have made wonderful progress. Our new current goal will be to transition from one activity to the next in a quick and quiet manner, while following all directions.
READING
September is about launching the reading workshop, setting up reading expectations and getting ourselves into the reading mind frame. Reading typically starts with a mini-lesson followed by independent reading time. We have spent time talking about the inner conversation that readers have in their mind, and how listening to those thoughts will help us monitor our comprehension. Students will monitor their thinking while recording their thoughts on sticky notes. Currently, I am assessing students to gain a better idea of their independent reading levels. This will help them choose just right books over the course of the year.
Here are a few reading mini-lessons that we've discussed so far this year:
- Different ways readers choose books
- Choosing "just right books" for ourselves
- Readers listen to the inner conversation in their head
- What happens when you've realized you've been reading on autopilot
- What happens when you get stuck or have a "huh" moment
- Why do readers abandon books? When should you abandon the book and when should you try to stick it out?
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| When reading is the best! |
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| Monitoring our inner conversation |
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| What happens when we're reading on autopilot? |
WRITING
In September, the writing focus is about launching writing, and creating "The Important Book." One part of the launching unit is the writer's notebook, which is a place for writer's to gather seed ideas for future writing assignments. In addition, the back section of the notebook is a resource for students that include different writing strategies that they will learn about. One strategy that we're currently working on is sensory details (see, hear, taste, touch, smell). Students wrote an entry about their favorite place. Next, they planned out different sensory details they could have included, and wrote another entry. All the students agreed that their second entry had better details, which would pull the reader in. Parents, something you can do to help enforce this idea is to be descriptive when telling stories, and try to include different sensory details that will enhance the story.
We've been working on a special "Important Book" project based off The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown. Students generated a list of 100 important things about themselves. They then narrowed their list from 100, to 10, and finally 4. Following the same format as The Important Book, students wrote four paragraphs about themselves, using their top four important things. This project helps launch the writing process, and breakdown the different steps that writer's take (brainstorm, plan, draft, revise, edit, publish). We will use all recycled materials for this project, and it will be on display at curriculum night!
MATH
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| Finding factors and determining if it's a prime, square or composite number |
Our first math unit is on factors, multiples and arrays. Students are working with multiplication combinations up to 12 x 12. We've talked about the best ways to represent multiplication (using arrays rather than detailed pictures) and how to write multiplication story problems. A few games we have played, to help practice our math facts are, Factor Pairs and Multiple Turn Over. If you're interested in having a copy to practice at home, I'd be happy to copy the materials for you!
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| Math Fact Flash Cards |
In order to build fact fluency, I recommend daily math fact practice for 10 to 15 minutes at home. Students will be taking a fast facts test every Friday. They must be able to answer the problems in three minutes or less in order to move to the next level. In addition, students have created multiplication flashcards, that they can use to study. Students are allowed to bring these cards home, but should keep them in their M.O.O.S.E. so that they are also available to them at school.
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| Using start with equations to help figure out the answer |
There are a lot of fourth grade math vocabulary words, and it's important that students review them frequently. Students have started a math vocabulary flashcard ring. On one side is the vocabulary word and the other side is the definition, along with illustrations to help them remember. They can also keep this in their M.O.O.S.E. so they can have it available to them at home and at school.
SCIENCE
Our first science unit is rocks and minerals. We started by reading the book Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor, which outlines ten rules for picking the perfect pet rock. Using these rules, students set out on their own rock hunt, and found their own pet rock. Students then observed their rocks as geologists would, by looking at different properties. We then began the "Mock Rock" part of the unit, which is one of my personal favorites. Students received a "mock rock," made by Mr. Wolfe and I. They observed the different properties such as color, luster, shape and size. This will lead into several experiments, which will be taking place in the next few weeks.
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