Coming up this week....

February Vacation Reading Challenge

             I was so excited to see how many students participated in the February Vacation Reading Challenge!  The kids came in to class very excited and proud that they had taken time to read over the vacation week.  A few kids forgot their page at home, so I am taking them tomorrow as well.  After that, I am going to tally the results of the two challenges and share the results with the class.  I will keep you posted!

Coming up this week…

Fraction Work

      We are continuing to learn about fractions in math.  We have been using tape diagrams to break apart a whole into smaller pieces.  The visual picture that we use is really helpful for the kids.  Here is an example of a tape diagram below. 

        We will use tape diagrams as we continue our work with fractions over the next few weeks!

Applying what we know…

      In writing we are talking about what we have already learned as writers so far this year.  We started our discussion today, and it is amazing to see all that the kids have learned.  Over the next few weeks we are going to be using our learning and trying to raise our writing to the “next level.”

Each student will be taking a closer look at his/her own writing.  Ever student has made progress in writing this year.  We are going to celebrate those accomplishments!  Each student will also be thinking about how they can improve their own writing.  We are going to be setting small achievable goals and putting in the effort to meet the goals. 

At this point in the school year, I am trying to push the kids to believe in their writing ability.  They have learned many strategies this year.  At this time of year, they need to be able to have the confidence in their ability as a writer! 

This Week’s Homework…

I am going to post the Reading in the Edges prompt and the Good Evening Math for the week.  If your child forgets the papers at school you can print the page or they can at least see the problems so that they can complete them on separate paper. 

Reading “IN THE EDGES”

Reading in the Edges- Reflection:  At the end of the week you need to reflect on your reading for the week.  You should keep “notes” about your book on sticky notes or on a separate piece of paper so that you can answer the question below. 

Pretend you are one of the main characters in your book and write a diary entry about something that is happening in the story and how you feel about it.  Use details from the story to support your answer.

•          I have the date.
•          I have a greeting (Dear Diary,)
•          I have the diary entry explaining an event in the book.
•          My diary entry explains HOW I feel about the event.
•          I have evidence from the story.
•          I have a closing (Your friend,) and a signature (the name of your main character).
•          I have edited my answer with one LENS (capitals, punctuation, spelling)-circle one

Monday	Tuesday
What do a trapezoid, parallelogram, square and rectangle all have in common? A:  ________________________________________	Compute to find the value of T: 4,533 – T = 489 A:
The first underlined digit is _________________ times as many as the second underlined digit 52,783   74,275 A:	Tell the place of the underlined digits 2,139,668     23,034,782     3,340,219 1. 2. 3.
Write an equation for the following problem and then answer the question. 9 groups of kids join the Basketball Club.  If each group has 25 kids in it, how many kids joined the club altogether? A:	Find the sum 375,572 + 242,825 A:
Wednesday	Thursday
Round to the nearest thousand 835,745                     A:	I want to give each kid in 4th grade a candy bar.  There are 156 kids in 4th grade.  If the candy comes in boxes of 9, how many boxes will I need to buy? A:
Over vacation I went to Florida and walked on the beach.  I collected 75 shells each day I was there.  I was there for 8 days.  How many shells did I collect altogether? A:	Draw and label a right angle, obtuse angle, and acute angle. A:
How many lines of symmetry does the figure below have?    A:	Compute:  8,472 divided by 5 Make sure you CHECK your work! A:

Have a great week!

~Mrs. Lewis

            We are getting ready for another short week!  I hope everyone was able to shovel out and find a place to put all of this snow!  Hopefully you are going someplace warm next week for vacation.  I know I have heard a few kids talking about going away. Even though I am not, I can’t wait to hear all the warm weather stories!  J

Battle of the Picture Books

       The kids have been working hard reading the 32 picture books for our Battle of the Picture Books.  This week we will start voting for the BEST picture book!  They have worked on taking notes about the books, thinking about setting, characters, and theme.  The kids have done a lot of deep thinking about these picture books.  It will be fun to see what book comes out on top!

Wrapping up Geometry

            We will be wrapping up our Geometry unit in math early this week.  We have learned a lot about angles, different types of lines, and describing the attributes of shapes in this unit.  It is fun (and would be a good review) to look for different examples of angles and lines in the real world.  Also, it is important that the students can describe the attributes of shapes, such as right angles, parallel lines, the number of vertices (points) on a shape.  Practicing this and trying to describe shapes with real world objects would be a fun way to keep up with all that the kids have learned so far. 

          Below are some posters that explain how we have talked about angles and lines in our Geometry unit. 

          We will be moving right along into our next unit before the start of vacation.  This next unit is all about Fractions.  I did teach this specific unit of EngageNY last year (as a trial) to my class.  I have never seen so much deep understanding of fractions as I did with this unit last year.  I know that many of the kids overall have a much deeper understanding of numbers and math this year thanks to EngageNY, but I am really hopeful that students will continue to have this deep understanding about fractions.  Last year it really made a lot of sense to students in their understanding of fractions. 

Practicing Over Vacation….

          Since we have had so many snow days and February vacation is right around the corner, it would be beneficial for all of the kids to continue to read over vacation.  Reading even 20 minutes each day over vacation is a simple way to help your child as a reader.  We will talk this week about finding time to read. 

          I am attaching the February Vacation Reading Challenge that I will explain to the kids this week!  

          The information below will be sent home with your child later this week.

                                            

                                             February Vacation

Reading Challenges

We have more vacation time coming our way.  During this time away from school, I hope that many of you will take advantage of this time to do some reading.   I know I will!  To motivate some of you who may not open a book, I have come up with two different challenges.

Challenge #1:  Group Challenge – the girls against the boys.  For this challenge, you’ll need to record how much time you spend reading each day.  The team that averages more time reading each day will win!

2/14 Time: PS:	2/15 Time: PS:	2/16 Time: PS:	2/17 Time: PS:	2/18 Time: PS:	2/19 Time: PS:	2/20 Time: PS:
2/21 Time: PS:	2/22 Time: PS:	PS= Parent Signature

Challenge #2:  This will be an individual challenge – who can read the most books?  This challenge is simple!  Read a chapter book and record it below.  Please record the title and author.  You can go on a separate piece of paper if needed.

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

Prizes will be rewarded for the readers who read!  In order for your books to count, you must have this sheet when we come back to school!  Good luck, happy reading, and see you in a week!

  

I hope everyone has a great week!

~Mrs. Lewis  J

                

I hope everyone enjoyed the snow days this week!  Hopefully Mother Nature will give us a break from all this snow for (at least) the next couple of weeks.

This is a very busy time of year in fourth grade.  We are working hard on Geometry in math, working on note taking in Reading Workshop, and continuing to work on writing literary essays. 

Math Homework Changes

        Tomorrow your child will bring home a new math homework sheet, called Good Evening Math.  This is a replacement to MAH.  Many of the students have become fluent with the multiplication facts, which is great.  Good Evening Math will give the students a review of previously taught math topics.  If you feel as though your child needs more practice with multiplication facts, please feel free to have him/her practice a few minutes a day. 

Below is the notice that will be coming home about Good Evening Math tomorrow. 

February 4, 2015

Dear Parents,

          Now that many of the students have become more fluent with the multiplication facts, MAH (Math at Home) will be changing.  Starting this week, your child will receive a weekly Good Evening Math page.  This homework has 3 problems assigned per day.  Your child needs to complete the 3 problems each night and return the Good Evening Math paper to school the next day.  Since this is a review page, we will correct it together as a class each morning.  Any problems that are incorrect will need to be redone for homework that night.  This means that some students might have to complete the nightly 3 problems and correct any incorrect problems from the previous night. 

          Please sign and return this page, stating that you are aware of the changes to your child’s math homework.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Lewis

     I am also attaching a copy of the Good Evening Math for this week.  It doesn't copy over very well to the blog, but if your child were to forget his/her page at school, he/she could write the answers on a separate piece of paper.  This week they will not have to complete Tuesday's Good Evening Math unless they want to!  :)  (It might take a little while getting used to bringing homework to and from school each day.)

Name:  _________________________                            Week of  February 2, 2015

MAH-Good Evening Math

Directions: This is a nightly review of math that we have been learning in school.  Please do your work on a separate sheet of paper and then put the answer in the box where the problem is located.  If you have a hard time with a problem, do your best.  You need to bring this page back to school EACH DAY!!!  You will buddy check your work the next day in school.

Tuesday	Wednesday
Write all of the factors of 38.	Tell the value of the underlined digits   2,139,648    _____________________ 22, 034,782     ___________________ 3,540,219  ______________________
Show two strategies to solve 5,233 x 4.	Tell the place of the underlined digits 23,949,688    ______________________  2,234,582    _______________________ 17,540,219  ________________________
Using a straightedge, draw       . Draw        parallel to       .	Compute 54 x 26

Thursday

There were 47,569 Patriots fans attending the Super Bowl Game. The stands held 69,985 fans. How many fans were not Patriots fans?

There were 48 players on the team. Each member drank about 50 ounces of water during the first half. About how many ounces of water was consumed? Is your answer reasonable? Why or why not?

Compute: 324 divided by 6

Valentine’s Day

      On February 13^th we will be exchanging Valentine’s Day cards.  I am putting the list of the students in our class below.  Per the school’s health policy, please do not send in any candy with your child on Valentine’s Day. 

Domonick

Sadie

Taylor

Eva

Joe

Jessy

Dan

Marissa

Olivia

Gracie

Sam

David

Brooke

Sydnie

Lucas

Halle

Celina

Jake

Eve

Nolan

Evans

I hope everyone has a great week! 

Mrs. Lewis

Reading in the Wild…

        Last week we got a chance to “Read in the Wild!”  When we came back from lunch on Thursday there was a bag hanging on our door.  The note on the bag said that we needed to read the book just to have fun and enjoy it.  There was a lot of excitement around this!  The kids absolutely love being read to and just sitting back and enjoying the book.  After our class had a chance to read the book we got to pass the book to another classroom. 

Here is the book we read last week….

Hard Workers…

        The kids took their Mid-Year Math Assessment this week.  I am  proud of the kids because they really worked hard and put forth a great effort.  I noticed that kids were going back to double check their work which is always encouraging to see!

        Based on the data that the mid-year has given us, Math At Home (MAH) will be a little different this week.  The kids are going to take a closer look at their assessment and determine what they feel as though they need to work on as a mathematician.  For MAH this week, they should complete the review sheets attached to the MAH page based on the topic that they need to work on. 

What’s the big idea?

        We are continuing to work on reading nonfiction texts during Reading Workshop.  We have been working on determining the main idea of an article or short text.  Thinking about the main idea and the supporting details of a text is typically difficult for fourth graders.  It really takes a lot of practice to become successful at determining the main idea and supporting details. 

        Here is the way that the students have been learning about main idea and detail.

Step 1:  What is the topic?  (Usually one word)

Step 2:  What does the author want us to learn about this topic?  (This is the main idea.)

Step 3:  What are the important details that say something about the main idea or support the main idea.  (These are the details.)

        We have also talked about thinking about a stool or chair when talking about main idea and detail.  The main idea is the seat of a chair and the details are the legs of the chair. The legs/details are there to support the main idea.

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend!

~Mrs. Lewis

LL38 Update

Nonfiction Readers….

        Last week we started our nonfiction reading unit.  The kids got to “shop” for nonfiction books from our classroom library.  They had a lot of fun picking out these books. 

        We are going to be spending a lot of time determining the main idea or what the article or text is mostly about.  This skill can be difficult for fourth graders.  We talk about what is the author trying to teach us about a text or what is most important to know about this text. 

        We also have been working on determining text features in nonfiction texts.  We have spent a lot of time looking at text features and thinking about why the author adds them to the text.  We also think about how these text features can help us better understand a text.   Below is a picture of some text features that are common in nonfiction books.

Fun Facts

        Since we have started our nonfiction unit, we have been trying to find interesting facts to share with our classmates.  We are trying to learn a “fact (or more) a day!” 

When I introduced this to the class last week, I showed them a website called Wonderopolis.  It is a great website and app that presents an interesting question and then gives the answer.  If the kids are interested in the topic they can find out further information about the topic by clicking on other links in the Wonderopolis article. 

Marvelous Mathematicians

        We are moving onto our next unit in math which is Geometry.  This is usually a nice “break” for kids since geometry is very visual and hands on.  I sent home the parent letter from Engage NY with your child today. 

The geometry unit does have a lot of vocabulary that goes along with it.  Practicing the vocabulary words at home with your child will help them as they do their work in class.  They should be able to identify the vocab words based on their definition and they should also be able to draw a picture to represent the vocabulary words.  I will be sending home a set of flash cards that your child will also have in school so that you can practice them at home.

        We will be learning these words throughout the unit.  Your child should be able to tell you if they have learned the word in class.  Students should practice the words as they are learned.

I hope everyone has a great week!  

~Mrs. Lewis