This Week in Fourth Grade...

Northeast Experts

          Last week, the students became experts on a part of the Northeast Region of the United States.  We had experts in the land of the Northeast, the climate of the Northeast, and what the Northeast is like today.  After taking notes on their part, they were given the big responsibility of teaching their classmates.  The kids were very proud of themselves as they became the teachers of important information about the Northeast Region.  It was great to see the learning that was taking place as the “learners” were able to ask questions of the experts.  We ended with the students sharing something new that they had learned about the Northeast.

          Next week we will “visit” Mount Washington in New Hampshire.  The students will be able to see what it is like to drive up to the top of the tallest peak in the Northeast.  They will then create a special newscast from the top of Mount Washington! 

Reading to Respond…

In reading, the students started to the learn strategies for responding to questions as readers.  We looked at an exemplar response to see what we noticed about this type of written response.  We found that we could use a strategy that we became familiar with in writing.  This strategy is using boxes and bullets.  This strategy helps students to structure their responses.  We will continue to practice this strategy as readers.

Writing a Summary vs. Writing a Scene

          In writing we talked about the differences between writing a summary and writing a scene.  We used this example below about the story, Three Billy Goats Gruff.  The first example is a summary of the story.  The students realized that the summary was a paragraph that went through the story quickly rather than slowing down and providing details.  The summary doesn’t allow the reader to get a clear picture in their mind. 

          In the scene, the students found that the author using thoughts, action and dialogue to describe what was happening in the story.  Students also said they were able to get a clear picture in their mind.  The scene was slowed down by the writer and was more exciting to read. 

          We spent a lot of time writing scenes that used details that create a picture in the mind of the reader.  We focused on trying to find a balance between adding thoughts, action, and dialogue into our fictional narratives.

Picture Re-Takes…

·         School pictures for re-takes and absences are on Tuesday, November 4th with O'Connor Studios.

·        For students that had their picture taken on 9/26 and want to re-take them, they must return the original package to the photographer in order to have this done.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

~Mrs. Lewis