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