Announcements:
MAP Testing
This week, we begin the final round of MAP testing. Our
schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, March 3rd 1:30-3:30 Science
Thursday, March 5th 1:30-3:30 Reading
Tuesday, March 10th 8:45-10:15 Language Usage
Thursday, March 12th 1:30-3:30 Math
Math Bridge/Building Project Due Monday March 9th
Literacy Letter Due Tuesday, March 10th
Please read below to learn what is happening in our units of
study
A note on MAP testing:
There is no need for anyone to stress about the MAP tests that
will be administered in the next two weeks. The results are one measure
of how a student does and are not used in any way to determine achievement in
the fourth grade.
However, I always feel compelled to teach students a
few test taking strategies that I hope will serve them in the future, since
most of them will take standardized tests regularly throughout their academic
lives. The first few are simple--stay relaxed, get a good night's sleep,
and eat a healthy breakfast. We will also practice "eliminating
silly answers" and dealing with "brain fatigue".
Reading Workshop
Last week, students met in their book clubs to make plans and
agreements about how they will share books they read together. They read
picture books and began exploring the concept of Historical Fiction novels. This
week they will begin Historical Fiction Novels. These are student-driven book
clubs, which are different than the teacher-led book clubs from last trimester.
Students take full responsibility in deciding how much to read and how to
share in their clubs. Our book clubs were formed between both 4A and 4E
(Ms. MacDonald's class) and will meet at the end of the day between 3:00-3:30
on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. This will allow us to continue reading
independently and conferencing during the language arts block. This week
we will focus on the following reading skills and concepts:
·
Beginning historical
fiction books by collecting details and noting story elements.
·
Learning about the
world and history through fiction books.
·
Considering how
historical events affect people (as we observe in our historical fiction
texts).
·
Thinking as someone
else--considering point of view in historical fiction texts.
Writing Workshop
The next writing unit is called Bringing History to
Life. In this unit, students will research a historical event,
much like they did in the non-fiction unit. Then, using what they've
learned, they will create something to teach others about the event. It
is an open-ended project and while students will be taught more advanced
research skills and analysis and reflection skills, we will encourage them to
feel free and creative in terms of how they present what they learn. This
week, we start from the beginning. Our driving question this week is
"What is History and why is it important?" The objectives for
the week are:
·
Brainstorm the historical
events we know about from history. (With so many cultures
represented in one class, this is always an exciting and interesting lesson!)
·
Define history and
historical events in terms of historical significance. How
have some events changed the lives of people and society?
·
Categorize events and
understand that value of researching sub-topics.
·
Identify areas of
interest and begin choosing topics that students want to explore in the coming
week.
Math: Concept Review
This week, with the limited amount of math time, we will return
to past units. Our objectives include:
·
Identifying equilateral, isosceles,
and scalene triangles.
·
Measuring angles for accuracy.
·
Using complimentary
angles and supplementary angles to determine unknown
angle measures.
·
Converting measurement between
km and m
·
Use decimals to share fractions with denominators
of 10 or 100.
·
Multi-digit operations:
adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing big numbers
·
Solving word problems
Science: Solar Cookers
Students have applied what they know about solar energy to
create some pretty clever plans for solar cookers. This week, we will take
them into the sun for testing! After testing, students will reflect and
retest their devices using what they learned.
No comments:
Post a Comment