We were so proud of the students last night at their Spring Sing. They did a wonderful job at rehearsals and in the program. Our Young Athletes event was awesome today! Great weather, fantastic coordination by Mr. Tim (McDonald), and an inspiring event. We also enjoyed two assemblies this week, one by the Oak Park Public Library about their summer reading program (more information here), and a "Prairie Assembly" all about our great state of Illinois. Just remember if you are planning summer vacations that all 4th grade families can go the the National Parks for free this year. Click here for more information!
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Reading: Due to the two assemblies, Young Athletes, and a few music rehearsals, we didn't have much reading this week! We continued reading Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper and talked about how Melody's new friend Rose treats Melody the way we aim to treat our Young Athlete buddies. Our students have taken turns assisting Mr. Tim with his adapted PE class this year and have met some new friends with varying disabilities; with the culminating event today it was a fantastic way to relate the topic of the book with real life. We also worked on citing evidence from a text in informational writing. It's a skill on which we've focused all year and one that still needs work! Talk to your kids about what books they'd like to read this summer. Do you have any old favorites to recommend to them?
Writing: We're starting opinion writing! We read the book Hey, Little Ant and gathered in groups to argue for or against squishing the ant using evidence from the text. This opinion writing unit blends nicely with some of our informational reading standards, like supporting a statement with reasons and including evidence to strengthen it. Ask your child if they think students should be able to grade teachers. What other opinions have they formed about their worlds?
Math: This week we continued our decimals unit. We took a midterm test on Monday and reviewed it together on Thursday. Many students did very well showing the area model and drawing the decimals. Graphing and writing the expanded notations was a little harder for them but we reviewed it together. There is an option of a retake that students can do on Monday. We also learned how to convert fractions and add tenths and hundredths. Ask your child if they can add 3/10 + 53/100
Social Studies: The students continued to research the West or Southwest Region with their group this week and have started their presentation. They are making a google slides, keynote, or book creator presentation to share with the class. Since half the class studied a different region, the presentation will be a teaching presentation. Ask your child how they will present their region and who they are working with!
Science: Our class is studying Ecosystems with Mr. Lukehart this trimester. Ask them what they did this week.
Miscellaneous Information
