Reading: We continued with our Columbian Exposition reading and highlighting, this week focusing on informational texts. We also enjoyed a very long slideshow presentation of primary sources from the fair, like photos, notes, and advertisements. These resources, plus more online sources coming next week, will serve as our bank of information as the kids begin their World's Fair Chapter Books in writing next week. We will also start two novels next week. The first is a Newbery Award winning novel called Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. It is a beautiful and sensitive story about two friends, one Jewish, one not, who live in war-torn Copenhagen during WWII. A favorite every year among students and us teachers. The second is our "One Book, One School" selection. It will be announced and kicked off at an assembly next Wednesday! Ask your kids about some of the inventions and other amazing facts about the Columbian Exposition. They all expressed interest in going; ask what they'd like to have seen.
Writing: We start our next writing unit on Monday. It will be an informational unit in which the kids write a chapter book about the Columbian Exposition. They actually get to combine all the genres they've done this year and it's great fun! Ask your kids about their latest Harris Burdick free-write this week (the pumpkin picture). Ask them to tell you what simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, alliteration, and onomatopoeia mean, and/ or to give you examples. We had a lot of fun with these this week!
4th Grade Math: Our Unit 4 all about Geometry, angle measures, and plane figures is done! The kids took their assessment today after wrapping up unit lessons and reviewing this week. Our last unit this year focuses on fractions. Start to talk to your kids about fractions. Frame it in terms of "parts and whole." You can do this while baking/ cooking, when budgeting money or time, when talking about a part of a group (of family members, of Skittles, of anything!).
Social Studies: We wrapped up our note-taking of the Northeast. Next week the kids will work in small groups to research the other four regions of the US, gathering information in the same way we modeled as a class. They'll compose a Google Slides presentation to teach their classmates about their region. If you've ever been to (or lived in) a state in the northeast, feel free to send in pictures or stories! Talk to your kids about places you've traveled or would like to travel in the US. Talk to them about different parts of our country and what makes them unique.
Science: Our class is studying life science with Mr. Lukehart for third trimester, we just started this week! Ask your scientists about their first two classes with Mr. Lukehart.
Miscellaneous:
- Our yearbook team is hard at work, and now's your chance to make it into the pages! Send any 4th grade photos that you or your child may have from the year to sofiavillafuerte@gmail.com. Deadline is April 12th.
- Ask your kids about the jokes I started posting on our Google Classroom site. Ask them about the morning openers we've been doing on the white board. Ask them about the amazing refugee assembly we had on Wednesday morning. Ask them who they sit next to for the month of April, and what they're reading independently.
