We have had a SPOOKY day here in 4th grade! Our morning started with a ghostly story from 3:15. Patrick Carman has created a series of stories intended to excite, thrill, and leave you hanging. Each story has 3 parts. First, students watch a brief video clip introducing the story and building suspense. Second, students read the text. The catch is that the story is cut off right at the climax! Third, students watch a short video for the spine-tingling ending to the story. What a GREAT idea! Separating the climax from the resolution through the use of text and video is a great way to help students understand these different parts of a story's overall plot. Today we read/watched "The Lift". After completing the first 2 steps, students wrote their own creative ends to the tale before viewing the ending. If you wish to check it out for yourself click on the link below for access to the story we did today. There are several more spooky tales available online and for your mobile devices!
Reminder: Wolf Pack trip next week!!An important notice went home today about our upcoming trip to the Hartford Wolf Pack game next Wednesday November 6th. Please check for the blue paper in your child's backpack! Our focus this week...This week out language arts and science units have overlapped each other! In language arts we have been reading about changes to the Earth. We read selections that detail the types of physical changes that occur within Earth's geography, such as tsunamis, plate tectonics, erosion, earthquakes, and volcanoes. We focused on finding the main idea and details in informational text by first identifying the topic of a passage, a topic sentence, and details to support it. To wrap up our week we began a science investigation about how glaciers help to shape the Earth's surface. Students created mini glaciers by freezing small cups of water and sand. Once frozen we rubbed the "glacier" across a bar of soap and observed changes to each.
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Tonight's homework asks students to round multi digit numbers to the millions. Check out the video lesson below to see how we have used the vertical number line strategy in class: Let me know if you have any homework questions! Just comment on this post or email me: [email protected]
~Mrs. D
Nightly Reading Logs...
We've had a wonderful week in fourth grade! In literacy we read a fictional story about a girl who had the opportunity to travel into outer space with her family. As we read the story we worked on the concept of characterization and the ways authors use details to describe characters. Students discovered that we can learn about a character's personality through their thought, feelings, words, and actions. As a class we brainstormed a list of positive and negative character traits to add to our interactive notebooks. This year we are putting equal focus on spelling and vocabulary, as you have seen in your child's weekly spelling/vocab packets. New to our classroom this week is a wall of "word tubes" filled with index cards for all vocabulary words covered in the first marking period. Students are encouraged to use these cards to practice their vocabulary with partners.
Hope to see you all at Open House next Wednesday!
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In the classroom...
Prior to vacation, we focused on story elements and vocabulary. Using the classic movie Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, students completed a literary analysis lapbook. They identified types of conflict in the story, character traits, the protagonist and antagonist, and completed a plot summary where they identified the climax. Their finished products came out great and I will be sending them home next week.
In math we have been working on solving multi-digit addition and subtraction problems. Students have also been using problem solving strategies to work out real-world word problems
This week we began learning about our government and how it works. It has been difficult at first for students to grasp the concept of the three branches. So we went online and looked at some classic SchoolHouse Rock videos! You can check out what the class was doing on our student blog.
Don't forget that students can continue to practice math and literacy skills at home using StudyIsland.com and SumDog.com.
In math we have been working on solving multi-digit addition and subtraction problems. Students have also been using problem solving strategies to work out real-world word problems
This week we began learning about our government and how it works. It has been difficult at first for students to grasp the concept of the three branches. So we went online and looked at some classic SchoolHouse Rock videos! You can check out what the class was doing on our student blog.
Don't forget that students can continue to practice math and literacy skills at home using StudyIsland.com and SumDog.com.
Reminders:
- Report cards come out next Friday. Please contact me if you have any questions about your child's progress.
- The weather this winter has been yo-yo-ing back and forth. Please make sure your child is appropriately dressed for outdoor recess. With the exception of extreme cold, snow, or rain. we will be going outside!
- There is no school Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Enjoy the long weekend!
We have been reading the story Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Through this book, we are discovering what it was like to live in pioneer times. The Ingalls’s family had many customs that we have been able to compare to our own. Food was a rich part of their culture. All of it was homemade and it was stored and prepared in ways very unfamiliar to us. Some foods that Laura and her family ate were quite different from what we are used to today.
As a culminating activity we would like to experience a “Little House” feast on Friday December 20th at 11:00am. At this feast, we would like to sample foods that we may or may not be familiar with. Please help us by sending in a prepared dish to share or a tableware item.
Students may invite up to 2 guests to join us for our feast.
Please look at the food list that was sent home and chose a dish to prepare. We want to make sure that there will be a variety of foods so please contact your child’s teacher as soon as possible to let us know what you will be bringing ([email protected] or [email protected], send in a note, or comment on this post). A list of foods and tableware items being brought is posted below. Please check to see what items are needed so we can have a balanced meal.
As a culminating activity we would like to experience a “Little House” feast on Friday December 20th at 11:00am. At this feast, we would like to sample foods that we may or may not be familiar with. Please help us by sending in a prepared dish to share or a tableware item.
Students may invite up to 2 guests to join us for our feast.
Please look at the food list that was sent home and chose a dish to prepare. We want to make sure that there will be a variety of foods so please contact your child’s teacher as soon as possible to let us know what you will be bringing ([email protected] or [email protected], send in a note, or comment on this post). A list of foods and tableware items being brought is posted below. Please check to see what items are needed so we can have a balanced meal.
"Little House" Feast - Food Listmashed potatoes - Kiersten corn - Kiersten silverware - Kiersten hasty pudding - Katie venison stew - Morgan vinegar pie - Eden scrambled eggs - Nick sausage - Nick bacon - Dominik johnny cakes (cornbread) - John paper goods - William apple pie - Lilly O. pumpkin pie - Mrs. D boiled eggs - Eli bear(soup)!! - Tessa venison - Ben pumpkin bread - Ben |
It has been a short but busy week in fourth grade! Students have been working hard on a real-life inspired math project. They have been using long division to solve problems inspired by the idea of owning their own movie theater. For example, yesterday students needed to use long division to determine how to evenly divide $12,150 between 135 employees for a yearly bonus. We have been working as a whole group and in partners. At the beginning of this project we set up some guidelines for working with partners. Our first and most important guideline it to maintain positive communication between partners. If students continue to follow these guidelines then they will be rewarded once this project is completed!
Today we watched Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving and enjoyed a "traditional" Charlie Brown feast. The class all agreed that they would be able to cook this feast for tomorrow's dinner. However, if you're looking for a little help in the kitchen tomorrow our students should be well prepared! In the spirit of gratitude, students watched video clips on how to bake a turkey to to gain appreciation for the time and effort that goes into creating such a delicious meal. You can check out the clips the students watched by clicking the button on the left! | In literacy this week we wrapped up our unit on figurative language. Students were assessed today on the knowledge of similes, metaphors, idioms, hyperbole, alliteration, allusion, personification, and onomatopoeia. They did a great job and I am proud of their efforts! |
I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving! ~ Mrs. D
A few weeks ago, Mr. Westkott began our school day with the above alternate pledge. He has since challenged students to write their own pledge. Their pledge could show respect for their country, self, or school, illustrate how to make positive choices, or be an expression of gratitude. Students who write their own pledge will have the opportunity to read it to the school during morning announcements. Tomorrow's announcements will feature a pledge written by our own Katie and Morgan! Congrats girls, you did a great job!
We honor our flag both day and night
While it stands before us, so big and bright.
To believe in this day and every other.
To love and cherish one another.
- Katie and Morgan, grade 4
All you need is a little Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust… … or, as we discovered at EMPOWER last week, Respect, Trust, and Teamwork! While on our trip last week students worked hard through both physically and mentally challenging activities. There were tears and triumphs as students learned that they needed to work together to achieve. Before we left for our trip I asked students to write down one goal they had for our day. Students wrote that they hoped to build their friendships with others, learn to get along better, and learn to always try their best in challenging situations. After our trip I asked students to reflect on the activities they participated in. I asked them to describe how their team worked well and what difficulties they had. One students said: My team worked well most of the time. What worked well is that we listened to our ideas. What did not work well was the communication between us during the memory game. My favorite activity was the golf ball pipeline. I liked this because it was fun and we had to communicate and work together to get the ball into the bucket.
You can help at home by reinforcing the lessons learned at EMPOWER! Play board games as a family that involve working as a team. Have your children work together to complete household chores. Whatever you choose to do, remember to be supportive and encourage them along the way. Our goal is to help all students become respectful problem-solvers. We need your help to achieve this and for the lessons learned at EMPOWER to last. “Respect yourself and others will respect you.” Gratitude Our school principal, Ms. Westkott, has begun working with the fourth grade class on gratitude. This is the perfect time of year to discuss giving thanks and being appreciative for the everyday gifts in our lives. Students will be involved in group discussions and journal writing which will be carried over into our classroom curriculum. |
Thank you to everyone who came out for conferences this week! It shows your child that you respect them as a learner and I can't think of a better way to teach respect then by modeling it! ~Mrs. D :-)
Author
Mrs. Stacie Dempsey
Fields Memorial School
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