This week in LL38....

It was so nice to see so many families on Friday!  The kids were very proud to show off all of their hard work.  I hope everyone had a great weekend as well!

Reading Workshop 

We will start to talk about Summer Reading this week.  We will take a look at what happens to readers when they don't read over the summer.  We will also start to think about books that we are interested in reading over the summer as well.

Book Clubs

Many of the kids did a great job coming to school each day last week ready to discuss the chapters that they had read as part of their book club book.  Please continue to encourage your child to read and stop and jot this week.

Math Workshop

We will be wrapping up Module 6 on decimals this week.  The kids will be taking an assessment this week.  After the assessments are corrected I will be sending them home as I have done this year.

Writing Workshop

Some students will need to finish typing any of their chapters 1 and/or 2 this week as part of their homework.  Since some kids were in the process of finishing last week, they will have until Friday to finish the rest of their chapters.  We will not spend any additional time typing this part of our research in school.  Students that have not finished will receive a reminder note tomorrow.  Thank you for your help with this.

We will continue the essay  portion of the research project this week.  Your child will be able to present their persuasive essay in one of three formats.  They will choose from either creating a persuasive commercial, a brochure, or an iMovie convincing people to visit their region.

I hope everyone has a good week!

~ Jen

Reading at Home-Update

Reading in the Edges UPDATE!

* Your child will be coming home with this notice today.  Please sign and return the bottom of the notice.  Thank you in advance for your help with this!!

We are beginning an exciting new chapter in our reading classroom…..book clubs!

Students have had the opportunity to join a book club of their choice and make independent decisions with regards to the types of ideas they want to track during their reading and how they will set up their reader’s notebook to do so.  They will decide with their group how much they would like to read each day and what they will discuss during their meetings.

The main purpose of this is to build readers and thinkers that are ready for the independence and responsibility that Quinn Middle School requires and to reignite the love of reading after a long spring of standardized testing.

One big change that you will see concerns the Reading in the Edges homework.  Most nights, students will be bringing home their book club book and notebook and will be required to read and take notes in preparation for their book club meeting the next day in school.  This can be done during the 20 minutes of required reading each night.

It is extremely important that students complete their required reading and note-taking!  In order to have productive, fulfilling book clubs, students need to be prepared for their meetings.  I am requesting that you support your child with this homework by encouraging them to complete it to the best of their ability.

Mrs. Groom and I will continue to support students in the classroom each day so that they can be successful with this endeavor.  We will provide tools, resources and coaching so that students gain the strategies they need to continue to grow as readers and thinkers.

This week in LL38....

A few reminders for this week....

• There is a 1/2 Day on Wednesday.  The kids will be dismissed at 11:40.
• Memorial Day Program- This Friday at 9 a.m.
• 4th Grade Success Day- Following our Memorial Day program- 10:00

Success Day

     We have been working very hard on following the writing process as nonfiction writers over the past several weeks.  During our 4th grade Success Day, your child will get the opportunity to show you where they are in the writing process as a nonfiction writer.  

     Our class will also share with you the entire process that they have followed as readers and writers to publish a portion of their writing of nonfiction on one of the Regions of the United States.

     We look forward to seeing you on Friday during Success Day.

Secret Snack

     You should have received a note from your child on Friday regarding a "Secret Snack" to help us celebrate during our Success Day on Friday.  I will be sending home a paper bag with your child tomorrow, so that you can fill it for Friday.

T-Shirt Notice

     Your child should have also come home with a notice regarding 4th Grade Class T-Shirts.  Please make sure you send in this notice with your child regarding his/her shirt size so that we can order one that will fit each child best!  These are due by Friday,  May 27th.

I hope everyone has a great week!  I hope to see many of you on Friday!

~Jen

This Week in LL38....

I hope everyone had a great weekend!


Writer's Workshop

We have been very busy as writers this past week!  The kids have been working very hard at becoming experts in their region.  We will be starting to wrap up our nonfiction writing over the next week or so and moving on to writing realistic fiction stories that weave facts from our research into our writing.

We have been starting to look at mentor texts like the I Survived series and looking at how authors are able to write a fiction story but put facts into the story as well.  We have also learned about the Jim Crow Laws and have been studying how the author of a story called White Water has weaved historical facts into the story.  We will continue to use mentor texts to help us learn how authors write fiction stories with facts written in them as well.

Math Workshop

We continued to work with decimals last week.  We learned how to compare decimals.  We also learned that drawing a picture is one way to compare decimals that are tricky.

We have MCAS testing this week on Tuesday and Thursday.  We have learned so much in fourth grade math this year, so we spent a little time each day playing a review game to keep all of that knowledge fresh in our minds!  :)

As you know, we have talked a lot this year about having a growth mindset and the power of positive thinking!  In the past, some parents have chosen to write their child a little note of encouragement for their child on the morning of the MCAS test.  I have found that these little notes of encouragement give the kids a little "boost" of confidence!  You can also ask your child the strategy that they use when they face a tricky problem.  We have talked a lot about positive words that we can say to ourselves if we are feeling discouraged or getting tired on a test question.

                                                         

Reading Workshop

To go along with our writing unit, we read White Water, a book about segregation.  This book is an amazing book that gets the kids thinking about a difficult situation from a different perspective.  We had many great discussions about this book last week.  The kids still had many theories about what Michael (the main character) learned about the "white" water.  Ask your child what they were thinking at the end of this book.

                                                        

Here is a page from the book that your child could share their thinking about.

                                       

Have a great week!

~Jen

This Week in LL38.....

                                                             

Happy Mother's Day!  I hope everyone enjoyed the day (and the sun!).

Congratulations to all the kids and families that participated in Screen Free Week.  Please remind your child to bring their recording sheet into school tomorrow.

Math Workshop

We are working hard on understanding the value of decimals.  The kids came to the realization last week that adding a ZERO to the end of a decimal doesn't change the value of a decimal.  This took a lot of trying out with a bunch of different decimals to really convince some kids that it is true.  Below is an example of what we were learning last week.  This is a very important concept for fourth graders to understand.
                                            
This week we will start to compare decimals and order decimals.

This is also the time of year that we are reviewing concepts that were taught earlier in the year.  We have had a lot of discussions about what the kids want to review.  Division and rounding seem to be the two topics that most kids want to review.  We will be reviewing those in school this week.

Feel free to ask your child if there are other concepts that they would like to review at home.  I can send home review sheets so that they can get some practice in at home and feel more comfortable with the concept.  Feel free to send me an email and I will send some review sheets home.

Writing Workshop

The kids have come a long way in their writing last week.  They started to type the first section of their nonfiction writing.

We talked a lot about audience last week.  It is important for the kids to understand who they are writing this for (their peers, you, and other adults).  It is important to consider what their audience might know about their region and think about the type of background knowledge that they need to add to their research so that it makes sense to the reader!

The kids are really starting to show that they are becoming experts in their region!

I hope everyone has a great week!

~Jen

This Week in LL38....

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  I can't believe that it is already May!  The kids couldn't believe on Friday we only had 37 more days of fourth grade!  The days start to get filled as we near the end of the school year.  Be on the lookout for a notice coming home with your child this week about some upcoming 4th grade events! 

This week also starts Screen Free Week.  If you and/or your child are participating he/she will receive a pledge card.  Also, attached to the notice last week there was sheet to record the activities that you and/or your child completed during Screen Free Week.  Have fun!!

Math Workshop
We started our 6th module in math last week.  We are learning about Decimals. Your child should have come home with a Homework Helper packet as well as a Parent Letter.  This is a fun unit because the kids are able to see the connection between fractions and decimals.  Fourth graders need to be able to read decimals to the hundredths place.  Reading decimals tends to be tricky for 4th graders.  Below is a poem I shared with the class last week to help them remember  how to read decimals.  This might help at home as well when your child is completing homework.

                                                  

Writing Workshop

We are continuing to learn about our region in writing.  Thanks to several families for sharing their vacation pictures with our class.  The kids loved to see the different states that people visited.  

We will be close to wrapping up our initial research for our nonfiction writing.  The next step in the writing process will be to determine an order that makes sense and how to write so that our audience can  understand it.  

I hope everyone has a great week!  

~Jen