Reading: We are enjoying reading our "One Book, One School" novel, Stuart Little! This week we read a chapter with our book buddies. Our 4th graders were excellent models for the little ones. This book is a wonderful opportunity for you to read at home with your kids; ask them to reread a chapter with you and talk about Stuart's personality, his adventures, and what you think might happen next!
The kids should be about halfway through their independent biographies. I've been reminding them daily to take notes on what they read, and we've done several lessons on how to choose (and write) the most important information. Check in with your kids on how their reading and note-taking is going. They've got another week to complete their books.
Writing: Our writers completed their research for their mini-research projects. Next week we start drafting projects! The kids had four choices to present their research: a poster, a picture book, a brochure, or a news "paper." The choices are varied and appropriate to their topics, I'm thrilled to see such great effort and thought put into these. Our plan was to complete them for conferences but with quite a few interruptions in our schedule these last two weeks (PARCC practice, snow days, etc), we may not meet our original deadline. Stay tuned! Special thanks to our parent volunteers for the extra hands-on support! Our learning targets for the next phase, the visual presentation are listed below. Ask your kids which genre they chose to present their information, and ask them to share some new facts they learned!
- I can write an informative text to explore my topic and share my information clearly
- I can clearly explain the ideas from my resources in my text
- I can produce clear writing that is developed and organized. It is appropriate to the assignment, the purpose and my audience.
- I can use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing
Greek & Latin Roots: We wrapped up the root "terr" this week. Next week we'll move on to "trac, tract" which means to pull, draw or drag.
4th Grade Math: This week we have continued to work on our fraction unit. We have learned how to compare fractions with different denominators and add and subtract numbers with common denominators. On Thursday we took a "check-in" for students to see how they are understanding the unit. The check-in went home on Friday and we will be having our mid-term assessment on Monday. Ask your child how they did on their check-in!
4th Grade Math: This week we have continued to work on our fraction unit. We have learned how to compare fractions with different denominators and add and subtract numbers with common denominators. On Thursday we took a "check-in" for students to see how they are understanding the unit. The check-in went home on Friday and we will be having our mid-term assessment on Monday. Ask your child how they did on their check-in!
- Standard: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.NF.A.2 Compare two fractions with different numerators and different denominators, e.g., by creating common denominators or numerators, or by comparing to a benchmark fraction such as 1/2. Recognize that comparisons are valid only when the two fractions refer to the same whole. Record the results of comparisons with symbols >, =, or <, and justify the conclusions, e.g., by using a visual fraction model.
Social Studies: This week we continued learning about the Northeast Region. Students are reading and taking notes in their Social Studies book about the region. We lost a day of work because of our snow day but we split up work in Social Studies today and everyone will teach us what they learned about the NorthEast next week.! Ask your students what they wrote on their post-it note!
Current Events : We took a week off of current events but the next group will present on 2/13. Jonah, Demari, Zaniya, Christian, TJ will present.
Spelling: We had a few hiccups with our spelling launch; more info to come!
Science: Our students are with Mrs. Darley this trimester for Magnetism and Electricity. They are enjoying their work with magnets, batteries, wires, switches, lightbulbs, etc, as they learn the properties of magnetism and electricity. Updates will be sent as received from her regarding tests or projects. Ask your kids about what they did this week!
Growth/Fixed Mindset: This week we continued our conversation about Growth/Fixed Mindsets. We talked about Effective Effort in class. We read a book, Koala Lou by Mem Fox and then talked about the 6 parts of effective effort. You need to take the time, focus, be resourceful, use strategies, use feedback, and show commitment. We talked about each part and then the students took a quiz to see how effective they feel their effort is right now. Here is a link to a quiz for you to take about them. You can then talk to your student and see how they answered the question. It might be interesting to compare your answers!
Quiz: https://docs.google.com/a/op97.org/forms/d/1gqLdTPxr-P1aU6BLTh_Afo-Jqa1tcpCaR5msjDclA-8/viewform?c=0&w=1
Mindsets...Our attitude, thoughts, and beliefs about something
Fixed: The belief that you are born with a certain amount of intelligence or potential and that's it!
Growth: The belief that we are capable of working hard! We are never as smart as we can be!
Miscellaneous: Below are three links to familiarize yourself with the upcoming PARCC assessments in March.
Current Events : We took a week off of current events but the next group will present on 2/13. Jonah, Demari, Zaniya, Christian, TJ will present.
Spelling: We had a few hiccups with our spelling launch; more info to come!
Science: Our students are with Mrs. Darley this trimester for Magnetism and Electricity. They are enjoying their work with magnets, batteries, wires, switches, lightbulbs, etc, as they learn the properties of magnetism and electricity. Updates will be sent as received from her regarding tests or projects. Ask your kids about what they did this week!
Growth/Fixed Mindset: This week we continued our conversation about Growth/Fixed Mindsets. We talked about Effective Effort in class. We read a book, Koala Lou by Mem Fox and then talked about the 6 parts of effective effort. You need to take the time, focus, be resourceful, use strategies, use feedback, and show commitment. We talked about each part and then the students took a quiz to see how effective they feel their effort is right now. Here is a link to a quiz for you to take about them. You can then talk to your student and see how they answered the question. It might be interesting to compare your answers!
Quiz: https://docs.google.com/a/op97.org/forms/d/1gqLdTPxr-P1aU6BLTh_Afo-Jqa1tcpCaR5msjDclA-8/viewform?c=0&w=1
Mindsets...Our attitude, thoughts, and beliefs about something
Fixed: The belief that you are born with a certain amount of intelligence or potential and that's it!
Growth: The belief that we are capable of working hard! We are never as smart as we can be!
Miscellaneous: Below are three links to familiarize yourself with the upcoming PARCC assessments in March.
- Girls on the Run: Whittier now has a Girls on the Run team for 3rd - 5th grade girls! The team will meet Mondays and Thursdays after school from 3 - 4:15. The program runs 10 weeks beginning March 16 (does not meet over spring break) and ending on Race Day Saturday, May 30th in Grant Park! Register on-line at http://gotrchicago.org by February 22nd to be part of the team. If you have any questions please contact kristenalfonsi@gmail.com.
- Our book fair timeslot is Friday, February 13th at 8:50.
