Reading: I passed out our Shiloh booklets this week and we did some learning about point of view, round vs. flat characters, and genre. We also read Chapter 3, stopping a lot to notice how the author, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, wrote developed the story to make us think or feel a certain way. The kids are so into it! Ask your reader what has happened in Shiloh so far. Who is a round character? Why? Who is a flat character? If they have their book, offer to reread a chapter to them and ask them to point out parts they like.
Writing: Our writers continued to explore new ways to collect and develop ideas. This week we wrote from a word and went back into writing we've already done to "lift a line" that we might use for another piece. We hope you enjoyed reading our "Best Part of Me" poems that hang above our lockers, as well as our drafting that hangs on the first floor "Writer's Wall." Ask your what it means to write from a word. Tell them about things that you like to read about or write yourself.
Math: This week we continued our place value unit. We learned how to write numbers in word form, expanded form, and number form. We also used the place value chart to compare large numbers. On Friday we took a performance task assessment to see how well students understand place value to this point. Next week we will move on to rounding large numbers and work on a mid-term assessment. More information about the mid-term (a study guide) will be sent home before the assessment. Ask your student if they can write the number 325,918 in expanded form. (the answer is 300,000 + 20,000 + 5,000 + 900 +10 +8)
Social Studies: This week we continued with our Social Studies unit on current events. We looked at local events and read the Wednesday Journal. Students worked with partners to complete the current events sheet. We then shared our information. We also watched our "Week in RAP" video on flocabulary.com. It's a lot of fun to watch the news in rap! Lastly, we made cards for my Uncle who is 95 years old and going on a Honor Flight for Veterans. He was in the US Coast Guard during World War II. We made thank you notes for him and he will receive them at a mail call that day.
Ask your students about the week in rap video and if they learned anything new from it.
Science: We started our Land and Water unit this week! To kick it off, we discussed the three different types of science: earth, physical, and life. We watched a presentation with pictures of different types of scientists (pure shocker to the kids that they don't all wear lab coats and work with goggles). We set up our notebooks and launched the unit with observations of photos of various landforms around the world. They did a fantastic job making "scientific" instead of opinionated observations and discussing them in a mature way. Ask your kids about the different types of scientists they saw!
Miscellaneous:
- A huge thank you to our PTO for generously contributing to our beginning of the year funds. We used our gift for several new books, classroom supplies and decorations, and desk name tags. We are very grateful!!
- Join Girl Scouts: Hey fourth grade girls! If you're interested in joining Girl Scouts, now is the time! Have your parent email Mary Furman or Jen Mitchell (marefur24@yahoo.com/jenwmitchell@gmail.com).
- Check out this month's D97 Librarian Newsletter for book and research resources, book recommendations and more! - https://www.smore.com/g0qx9-d97-elementary-library-news"
