Weekly Update

Happy American Thanksgiving! I hope you had a lovely long weekend with family. I love this time of year as we are reminded to give thanks for all we have. It is important to stop, reflect and be thankful. This weekend, I was sitting in the sun and relaxing on India’s Goan beaches and I was so thankful for my experiences here in India both in and out of the classroom.  Everyday I get to work with an exceptional group of teachers, students and parents. I am a lucky lady!

Please read below to learn what’s happening in our units of study this week:

Tech Rotations: Monday Afternoon
We have another round of fourth grade tech rotations on Monday. Different teachers visit the room and teach students five different mini-lessons regarding technology. This session's lessons are:
**Leaving Quality Comments (led by Ms. MacDonald)
**Compfight/Creative Commons Photos (led by Ms. Carlina)
**Citation Machine (Led by Ms. T.)
**Digital Footprint (Led by Ms. Chris)
**Google Search Tips (Led by Ms. Priya)

Math:  Multiplication and Division Assessment

We took a multiplication and division assessment before break. It was a hard test. We knew it was going to be a hard test. The skills used will continue to be addressed throughout the year. Not surprisingly all students need to continue to work on multi-step word problems. Often students do the first step and miss the second part of the question. This is why we ask students to start a word problem by determining what the answer sentence will be, to determine what the problem is asking them to do.

We will review the assessment on Tuesday and send it home to share with parents. Remember, this is a continuing skill set. We will continue with word problems and long division this week. Next week, we will begin decimals and fraction equivalents.  More on decimals and fractions next week!

Social Studies:  Data Mining in South Asia

Students are working in partnerships on a Data Mining project to learn more about life in South Asia.  In this project, they create graphs on different data points, then make inferences about life in those countries based on that data.  For example, last week students looked up the literacy rates for men and women in ten different countries, including four South Asian countries and their home countries.  This week, we will create graphs, compare and contrast data, and make inferences regarding poverty, school-life expectancy, and life expectancy.  Data Mining is fun and so, so educational.  Be sure to ask your fourth grader what they’ve been learning in social studies this week!

Reading and Writing Workshop:  Non-Fiction Research and Non-Fiction Writing

This week, students will begin drafting a non-fiction piece of writing on a topic related to water.  We will have specific mini lessons in reading on:

**Note-taking strategies for non-fiction texts.

**Finding the main idea in a non-fiction text.

**Creating a vocabulary word bank and “using the lingo” of experts.

**Using photos and captions as ways to gather information.  

We will have specific mini-lessons in writing on:

**Drafting a non-fiction text based on what we know.

**Making a plan to research what we don’t know.

**Adding useful text features to a non-fiction text.

**Writing captions.

Have a great week, everyone!

Weekly Update

Announcements for the Week:

Field Trip: Rescheduled for Thursday, November 20^th

Field Trip:

It was unfortunate that our field trip was postponed due to rain last but we are rescheduling it for this coming Thursday, November 20th.  Please pack a lunch and come prepare students for a great day of learning about the world of organic farming!

Literacy:  Non Fiction: Water is Life

Last week, we began our non-fiction unit research unit by using an I see, I think, I wonder strategy to build our background and make connections to water.  Students will be thinking about water based on six different themes:  Water and People, Water and Conflict, Water and Land, Water and Technology, Water and Government, Water Changes/Water Stays the Same.  

On Monday afternoon, we will team up with 4A and visit the CIC with our librarian, Jett Willette, will give us an overview of the online and print resources we will use for our research unit.

In Reading Workshop this week we will focus on “Non-Fiction Reading Basics”:

·                Learn about different text features (bold face, italics, heading, captions) and identify how these help the reader.

·                Learn how reading non-fiction requires different comprehension strategies.  We will practice asking questions and making connections.

·                Read non-fiction texts in partnerships and share our thinking with others and in writing.

In Writing Workshop this week we will focus on categorizing water-related words and ideas and identify possible water-related topics.  We will:

·                Create a word bank of water vocabulary, then categorize the words based on our water themes.  

·                Group words together, and form topics.

·                Ask “Thick Juicy Questions” about our topics.

·                Identify possible topics, and think about what we know, and what we might like to find out about these topics.

Math: Multiplication and Division

We continue to work with multiplication and long division concepts, including function problems called “in and out boxes” which involve recognizing patterns and using algebraic thinking.  “In and Out” Boxes look like this.  

Again, the math objectives are:

·                Solve double digit multiplication problems.

·                Solve long division problems with a one-digit divisor and a four digit quotient.

·                Use reasoning skills to assess if your answer is correct.

·                Use an algorithm to check to see if your answer is correct.

·                Find factors of numbers through one-hundred.

·                Solve two-step word problems.

·                Discuss problems that have more than one right answer.

Social Studies: Life in South Asia

We will shift our focus this week to studying Life in South Asia.  We will begin with a big data mining project where students will compare and contrast different data points in South Asia and around the world.  We will consider, in the coming weeks, life expectancy, school life expectancy, poverty, and access to water.  This is a powerful unit!  Students will begin to see the discrepancies in the quality of life related to resources.  We hope that students will share some thoughts with their families.  Some of the things we will do are:

·                Create graphs comparing and contrasting data around resources.

·                Make inferences about life in countries based on what we see in graphs.

·                Expand our thinking in writing about graphs and data.

·                Work collaboratively to create a presentation about the data we research.

Ask your fourth grader about what they are learning in social studies this week!

Have a great week!

Field Trip Cancelled

Due to heavy rains and flooding, we have cancelled the 4E Field Trip to the Farm.
We will reschedule next week.
Thank you for understanding.

See, Think, Wonder: beginning the water unit

A quick video from Tuesday's nonfiction unit launching activity.
Students are looking at pictures of water in different contexts: political, geographic, with humans, animals, irrigation, pollution, drinking, washing, etc.
We asked them to write a sentence about what they saw, what they thought about what they saw, and what they continued to wonder.
Here is a 1 min 43 second glimpse into the focus and attention they gave this activity!

4E Field Trip

Friday November 14th, 4E will be going on a StoryTrail's field trip to the farm.
This will be an all day field trip.

All students need:
--a lunch and water for the day
--a sunhat, sunscreen, and mosquito repellant
--clothes that can get dirty, a Sport's day shirt, if they have one, and flip flops.

We need three adults for the field trip. I am one! Please contact me, if you are interested in joining us for a day full of fun!

Weekly Update

Thanks so much for all of the contributions and participation in the Halloween festivities.  A special thanks to Nicole Muller and Simona Matuonto for organizing the forces as well as the team of moms who helped decorate the room! And, thanks to all of the parents who came to celebrate, and brought so many great treats for our party. It was so much fun! Many pictures of the whole class was taken. Please share your photos with everyone! We would all love to see!

Announcements:

Trimester One Report Cards:  Available electronically on Skyward Friday, November 7th.

A few notes about the report cards:

Standards-based reporting represents a change for students, parents and teachers.  In writing the reports, I realize that we all have to change our mindset about what standards-based grading means.  Keep in mind as you read the reports:

Many standards are year-long.  This means that we will continue to work and assess the standard and many marks will change for the next trimester. Most students are in beginning and developing at this time.

I think the best thing to keep in mind when looking at the marks on the report card is that, if your child is really struggling in class in an area, we have already talked at Student Led Conferences.  I am extremely proud of the overall progress of the class and feel that every single student should be proud of the progress made this trimester.  I am always available for conversations about your child’s progress and work within the classroom. Please email me at anytime to schedule a time to meet.

Please read below to learn what is happening in our Units of Study this week.

Reading Workshop:  Podcasting in Book Clubs!

Students have been meeting in book clubs to share their ideas, questions, and connections about a book they are sharing with others.  This week, each book club will create a podcast of their thoughts.  Look for these to be popping up on the students’ e-portfolios.  Students will:

·                Prepare to share their ideas using specific details from the text.

·                Follow agreed upon rules for sharing within discussions.

·                Ask “thick” questions and participate in discussions, which address the questions.

Writing Workshop:  The First Literary Essay

Students grasped the concept of the five paragraph essay based on their feelings about India and we moved quickly onto the literary essay, which is much more challenging.  All students worked to read the text closely and form a hypothesis about a character.  This week students will put together their essay.  Our teaching points will focus on:

·                Writing a simple summary, along with a strong thesis statement in the introduction.

·                Weaving in a direct quote from the story to act as strong evidence.

·                Using transitional phrases to help the flow of an essay.

·                Revising for publication.

Math:  Factors v. Multiples

Thinking about math in real world situations is a perhaps the most important thing we will do this year.  Often, these get called word problems.  This week, we use the four functions and apply them to real world situations (which, yes, are usually in the form of word problems).  This week, our teaching points will include:

·                Identifying factors of numbers 1-100.  

·                Identifying prime and composite numbers.  

·                Exploring the different algorithms for multiplication and division.

·                Use all four functions as a way to solve different types of math problems.

Social Studies:  Making Salt-Dough, and Making Salt Dough Maps of South Asia

We are finishing our imovie about how South Asian mountain range and river systems are born. These will be published on our portfolio sites within the next two weeks.

As a final assessment of the landforms of South Asia, and explaining how South Asia has changed over time and continues to change today, students will make salt-dough maps.  And, to practice precise measurements, we will also be making the salt dough ourselves.  Salt dough is made with only flour, salt, and a small amount of oil.  It doesn’t stain clothes, usually, but it is best if the students come prepared to get a little messy on Wednesday.