Friday, December 19th

What a wonderful end to the first half of the year!

Our day began with visitors from the Revolutionary War.  Students enjoyed their presentations and asked wonderful questions.

We completed our math assessment today and were able to finish our read aloud.

Thank you so much for all of the lovely cards and sweet gifts.  You are so kind to think of me.  I wish you a wonderful and restful break.  Travel safely and enjoy this time.  See you in 2015!!!

Wednesday, December 17th

We had a busy, busy day and that will continue tomorrow.  We worked hard on our UOI Summative this morning.  Students will have one more hour to work tomorrow.

Students also completed their science assessment today, and practiced for our learning celebration tomorrow.  We hope to see everyone tomorrow at 1:45 for our celebration.

Students will be taking their social studies assessment tomorrow.

Have a great evening!

Tuesday, December 16th

Students worked to complete their published writing pieces. Most students are finished.  Students will begin their UOI Summative tomorrow.  We previewed and discussed the assignment today.

We began classifying triangles today.  Students were able to classify triangles by the size of their angles and length of their sides.  Ask your child to tell you more!

Tomorrow we will have our Science assessment. Students should review the study guide this evening.

Please remind students of the importance of coming to school, arriving on time, and maintaining appropriate behavior for the remainder of the week.  We still have many important things to accomplish in the next three days. With limited time, it is important that we are all ready to learn.  Thank you for your support.

See you in the morning!

Monday, December 15th

Happy Monday!

I was in a planning meeting for our Term 4 UOI this morning, but students worked hard while I was gone.

We took our discussion of lines and angles to shapes today.  Students examined lines of symmetry and what that really means.  They were able to fold different shapes to determine if they are symmetrical in any way.  We also explored the lines of symmetry of a circle and why circles are unique.  Ask your child to tell you more!!

As we packed up today, we forgot our communication folders.  Students will bring them home tomorrow.  In it, you will find your invitation to our Learning Celebration on Thursday at 1:45.  We hope to see you there!!

Have a wonderful evening!!

Lunch Next Week

There will be no salad bar available next week.  We will have hot lunch choices and hummus available at school, and you can, of course, always bring your lunch from home.

December Lunch Menu

Friday, December 12th

Happy Friday!
We completed our final day of MAP testing this morning!  Students are diligently working to publish their writing pieces about the American Revolution.  They will continue this work early next week.  The due date is Tuesday, but that may be changed based on our progress next week.

Students received their science and social studies study guides today.  They should use those for reading this weekend and early next week.  Assessments will begin on Wednesday.  I have provided a link for the study guides below.

Weather Study Guide
American Revolution Study Guide

Next week is a busy week of learning, assessments, and celebration.  Please remind students of the importance of maintain good behavior and high learning expectations for the remaining days before break.  We have a lot to accomplish in a very short amount of time.

I am looking forward to our learning celebration next Thursday at 1:45.  We hope to see you there!
Have a wonderful weekend!!

Thursday, December 11th

We had another successful morning of MAP testing!  Our last day is tomorrow.  Students are working hard to demonstrate their new understandings this school year.

Students collaborated to create their own version of the Declaration of Independence.  They worked to in pairs to create a document that addressed each of the section of the original declaration.  They will continue their work tomorrow.

Next Week
We have a busy week ahead of us.  Students will work to complete their Revolutionary War Books by early next week.  They will also complete a Summative Writing piece over a two hour period next week.

We will begin looking at the Social Studies and Science Study guides.  These assessment will occur in the middle to end of the week.

Our Math assessment will be on Friday.

Don't forget that we will have our Learning Celebration on Thursday, December 18th at 1:45.  Please join us to celebrate our hard work.

Have a wonderful evening!

Wednesday, December 10th

We had a successful morning of MAP testing.  It will continue in the morning at 8:00.  Please arrive on time and have a book to read.

We took a closer look at the Declaration of Independence today.  Students read a "kid friendly" version of the Declaration and used it to answer close reading questions.  We discussed these questions as a class.

We continued our work with angles.  Students worked to find a missing angle based on the given angle's measurements.  Students used their knowledge of angles (right, acute, obtuse, straight) to solve for the missing angle.  We will continue our work with this tomorrow.

Don't forget that we will be having our class learning celebration on Thursday at 1:45.  Please join us to celebrate our hard work!

See you in the morning!

Learning Celebration

Mark Your Calendars:

Please join us for a celebration of learning in our classroom on Thursday, December 18th at 1:45.  We will enjoy some presentations from our class and light refreshments.  Invitations will be sent home shortly.

Tuesday, December 9th

Happy Tuesday!

Congratulations to Wilson!!  He is our class elected Superstar of the Month for November!  We are proud of you!

Students did a great job this morning as we read Voices in the Park and they were challenged to write letters from the perspective of different characters in the story.  They did a wonderful job with their letters!

We transitioned from reading weather maps and charts to discussion the differences between weather and climate.  Students worked at their tables to sort words on a venn diagram into the category of weather, climate, or both.  After discussion, students changed their venn diagrams and documented it in their science journals.

We began utilizing pattern blocks to measure angles. Students first determined the number of pattern blocks that go around a central point (vertex) and used this to determine the measure of each angle.  After this, they used their knowledge of the angle measures and to create addition equations and determine the measure of given angles.

We will begin MAP testing in the morning at 8:00.  Please arrive to school on time.  Don't forget a book to read!!

Revolutionary War Day

Are you interested in helping students learn about the American Revolution? Do you like to act? If you answered yes or even maybe to those questions, we need your help. The 4th grade team is planning its 2nd American Revolution Character Day. We ask teachers and parents to come in dressed as an historical character from the Revolution and briefly discuss his/her impact on history with students. Characters can be real (Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Phyllis Wheatley, etc.) or can be fictional/semi-real (a character from a story, a family member). 

The event takes a bit over 1 1/2 hours and you would travel between classes. The date is Friday, 12/19 from 9:30-10:30. 

Please consider helping with this. The parents who volunteered last year are encouraged to "reprise" their roles and return, but we would love to have more characters. If you are willing to volunteer or have more questions, please contact Mrs. Holden at lholden@csdecatur.net.

Monday, December 8th

We had a busy Monday, getting our week off to a great start!  There are a lot of announcements below, so be sure to read all the way to the end of the blog post for today.

Students were introduced to narrative perspective today.  They were able to identify 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person narrative perspectives by utilizing key terms.  They learned that narrative perspective is not dependent upon the dialogue.  This can be tricky to ignore.

We continued note taking today for our writing pieces.  Several students are in the early phases of drafting.  We modeled how to structure a paragraph utilizing our notes, and students were given a checklist of items to help them self assess their drafting process.

Congratulations to Graham and Teagan!!  Graham will be representing our class in the school Spelling Bee this January, and Teagan is our runner up.  We are proud of you!!

Students worked to complete their Math mid-module assessment today.  We will continue our work with angles tomorrow.

If you wish to place a scholastic book order and forgot to send it in today, you can use the link below to order on line.  I will submit the orders this evening.

Book Orders

Don't forget that you can access Compass Learning through our Superstar Symbaloo.  These are great at home activities that support your child at their learning level and prepare them for MAP testing.
Our MAP testing will occur on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week at 8:00.  Please arrive on time to school.
If you have hats, glove, and scarves that are no longer worn and are in good condition, please send them to school for our drive.  We want to fill our basket!!!
Walk and Roll to school has been cancelled for this week.

Have a great evening!!

Friday, December 5th

Happy Friday!!!

We had a very busy day!  We explored inferencing as we read through our entire collection of poems from My Man Blue.  Students utilized their inferencing skills to complete a task independently.

We talked, in detail, about the remaining battles and outcomes of the Revolutionary War.  Students enjoyed this discussion and are looking forward to our continued exploration on Monday.

We continued exploring angles today.  We determined how angles are related to turns and utilized everyday items, such as clocks and compasses, to discuss their turns in relation to angles.  Students also began our mid-module assessment for math and will complete it on Monday.

Looking Ahead:

Next Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we will have MAP testing beginning at 8:00 each morning.  Students should arrive on time to school and have a book to read.

On Thursday, December 18th at 1:45 our class will have our Learning Celebration.  We hope that you can join us in our classroom as we present our learning and information about this term's UOI.

Have a great weekend!!

Thursday, December 4th

We continued our note taking for our informational writing pieces.  Students are utilizing information from books and printed resources provided to gather information on their selected topic.  I anticipate drafting to begin next week.

Students compared weather maps and learned about the symbols on them.  We discussed different types of pressure systems and fronts and the type of weather they typically bring.  Ask your child to tell you more!

We continued our work with angle measurements today.  Students worked to measure and draw angles with given angle measures and a protractor.

We also began working with our Revolutionary War Reader's theater.  Each student has a role and was able to locate their role in the script today.

Please send in your Scholastic book orders by Monday.  I will be placing the order Monday after school to ensure its arrival before the break.

See you tomorrow!

"I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning to sail my ship." -Louis May Alcott

Wednesday, December 3rd

We continued our work with making inferences using poetry today.  Students discussed and documented their inferences in the making meaning journals.

We began our note taking for our informational writing.  Students utilized books and other printed materials to gather information about their selected topic.  We will continue this process throughout this week, so students will be prepared to begin their drafting.

We continued our work with angles.  Students utilized protractors to measure a plethora of angles and compare their measurements with a partner.  They will continue this practice this evening for homework.  If they did not have a protractor, they were to borrow one to complete their homework and return it tomorrow.  It is recommended that students have a protractor of their own to complete their homework.
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Are you interested in helping students learn about the American Revolution? Do you like to act? If you answered yes or even maybe to those questions, we need your help. The 4th grade team is planning its 2nd American Revolution Character Day. We ask teachers and parents to come in dressed as an historical character from the Revolution and briefly discuss his/her impact on history with students. Characters can be real (Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Phyllis Wheatley, etc.) or can be fictional/semi-real (a character from a story, a family member). 

The event takes a bit over 1 1/2 hours and you would travel between classes. The date is Friday, 12/19 from 9:30-10:30. 

Please consider helping with this. The parents who volunteered last year are encouraged to "reprise" their roles and return, but we would love to have more characters. If you are willing to volunteer or have more questions, please contact Mrs. Holden at lholden@csdecatur.net.

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Have a great evening!

Monday, December 1st

Welcome back!  I hope you enjoyed a restful week.

We enjoyed the comedy of Laughing Matters to start our day.  This comedy duo performed improv in the multipurpose room and had us cracking up.  We even had some students from our class asked to participate.  Ask your child to tell you more!

We explored weather instruments today.  Students examined pictures and discussed each instrument and how it is used to collect weather data.  We also began collecting our own weather data.

Students began breaking down circles into angles.  We measured and divided our circles in to fractions that represented benchmark angles of 45 and 30 degrees.  Students began using protractors today.  We will continue to practice with this tool.  Students are encouraged to bring their own protractors to school.

Have a wonderful evening!