Reading: We began our first class novel, Shiloh, this week. Already the students feel invested in this powerful story about a boy who discovers a dog that is being mistreated by his owner. Ask your child about the main character, Marty, about where the story takes place, and about Shiloh.
Writing: We've been hard at work generating ideas in our writer's notebooks. I've taught the kids about give different strategies to brainstorm and keep track of ideas they have, including writing from a list, writing from a name, expanding on a prompt, and writing from literature. We'll continue to establish important routines and expectations through next week before I ask each student to lock down a specific topic to take through the first writing cycle. Ask your kids about some of the topics they've written, or some of the stories they've heard by their classmates during share!
4th Grade Math: This week we began our place value unit. We used the place value chart and learned how to bundle a group of ten and move them over to the next place value unit. All of this background work will help us when we start adding and subtracting multi digit problems. The two strands of common core work this week were:
Recognize that in a multi-digit whole number, a digit in one place represents ten times what it represents in the place to its right. For example, recognize that 700 ÷ 70 = 10 by applying concepts of place value and division.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NBT.A.2
Read and write multi-digit whole numbers using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded form. Compare two multi-digit numbers based on meanings of the digits in each place, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of comparisons.
Read and write multi-digit whole numbers using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded form. Compare two multi-digit numbers based on meanings of the digits in each place, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of comparisons.
Science: What does a scientist look like? When we mention the word scientist everyone has a different idea of what a scientist studies and what they look like. This week we drew a picture of what comes to our mind when we hear the word scientist and then shared them with the class. There were a lot of crazy hair pictures, potions, men, woman, and even scientists that study the environment. Next week we will begin our Land and Water Unit. Ask your kids to describe the scientist he/ she drew.
Social Studies: Due to our short week and our MAP test, we only had one social studies class! We finished showing what we know about the United States on their graffiti maps and then shared them with our class. Next week we will start to learn about current events.
Miscellaneous
- If you're looking for a fun, low-stress way to get involved, please consider volunteering at the Whittier Library! Volunteers come in for about an hour per week to help students check out, locate books, and shelve returned books. If you're interested, please contact our librarian, Laurie Conley, at lconley@op97.org or stop by the library. You will be MUCH appreciated! Thanks!
- The School Improvement Team (SIT) will host New Family Night dinner on September 16th 5:30 to 7:00pm. This night will provide a great chance for families who are new to Whittier to meet some staff members, hear information about Whittier’s resources, and learn about opportunities for involvement in a school activities/organizations. A light dinner and childcare will be provided.
