October 31st is Sneaking Up!

We are preparing for a bit of fun in the afternoon on Friday, October 31st!  We are actually going to be doing a bit of computer "code" writing.  The students have really enjoyed this in the past, and it is highly engaging and great for critical thinking.  We would also like to enjoy a little treat on this day.  Are you willing to send in a few fresh, crunchy apples or a container of soft-serve dipping caramel?  After doing our last health unit on eating more fruits and vegetables, apples seem like a good compromise. :)  Please send us an e-mail if you can help with sending in these items.  You are appreciated.

Routines

Routines

In the fourth grade, we take a lot of pride in helping our students learn and maintain routines that lead to ongoing success. This is why we spend a lot of time working on establishing and practicing day-to-day organization skills. Below, we have included our Back-to-School night presentation, which discusses some of our routines.

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Harrington or Ms. Kinsman. We are here to help!

And in the Classroom...

We had another busy week. With school pictures, our first spelling tests, and technology class, there was not a dull moment to be had!

Math

We are nearly to the end of our first unit on multiplication. The students have been learning about different strategies they can use to solve simple multiplication problems. Many of these skills will be transferred into more complicated equations in the coming months. 

In addition, we have continued using our longer math block to provide daily math fact fluency quizzes. For students that need the practice, we will continue to focus on subtraction fluency through the end of the month. About eight of our students have started their multiplication facts; in November, all of our kids will be practicing multiplication facts.

Language Arts

We are wrapping up our study of My Name is Maria Isabel and will be assessing the students ability to identify the main idea, characters, and theme of a story by reading Tómas and the Library Lady next week. 

In addition, we started reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing aloud. Next quarter we are going to look at how the story has been adapted into different formats, like plays and films. Plus, it is a great read.

Our students also finished their family writing essays. These pieces of writing will be ready for you to read at conferences next month. For many of our learners, this is their first "five paragraph essay". We have been very impressed with their hard work and dedication in making these great pieces of writing.

Technology

We also had our monthly technology class last week. The students reviewed the logging in process, opening Word documents, and practiced using a search engine. Our hope is to provide students with enough exposure and education to technology that they can use it with ease and responsibility. Our new state tests are computer-based and will require a good deal of typing. We are very fortunate to be able to offer this class to our students to help them prepare for the spring!

Back to School Night Presentation 2014-2015

Back to School Spanish2