What A Week!

With two early release days, and the excitement that always comes with snow, there was a lot of excitement this week!

We had our fraction assessment yesterday, and everyone did an AMAZING job!  Hard work and practice paid off!  Our study of fractions will continue over the next week as we apply our knowledge to multiplication of fractions.


During Creative Arts Friday, we continued to work on writing our scripts and explored recording using WeVideo.  We also learned about famous African American poets, and will be writing our own rap poems.  We have also been working in teams to research a National Park to create a travel brochure.


We are moving through our interactive read aloud, and have enjoyed the adventure of the children from Norway!  We are learning how to write brief chapter summaries and are looking a figurative language to see how that impacts the author's storytelling.  During independent reading, the children are working to vary their reading genre and pushing themselves to try new authors/series.  We continue to practice the routines of reader's workshop.

On Thursday, we were excited to participate in our first Mystery Skype, with a class from eastern PA!  Mrs. A. Williams helped us connect to her cousin's class.  The children asked excellent yes/no questions and answered questions about our location in the US.  What an authentic way to practice using our map skills!  Ask your child about this!

We finished our study of the Northeast, took a quiz and presented our projects.  The students showed some terrific learning! Next week we will take our travels across the U.S. to Washington, D.C.  We will be learning about reading nonfiction and strategies for research.  This project will be done both at school and at home, and will be due in early March. Students are NOT expected to work on this project over February vacation. More information will be sent home next week.

We will be celebrating Valentine's Day on Wed. with "Party in a Bag".  Please remember, if your child is handing out Valentines, make sure that everyone is included. 


We finished our week preparing for the "Measurement Olympics".  Students will be working with friends across the grade to participate in 5 measurement challenges. Check back early next week for pictures of these events. 

Mrs. Merten loved reading all of the reasons why 4th graders LOVE our class!

Check out this student! She wrote an informational piece about hockey, and shared it with our class!  Way to keep learning!!!

Many of our students participated in the Hearts of Kindess Project!  Way to Go!  (I'm sorry if I missed any photos.)

Our Week In Review

A snow delay and winter temperatures did not stop the learning in room 24 this week.  

We continue to work on building our community with  Monday morning 4th grade meetings. These meetings set the stage for our week, and are a wonderful way to reconnect with our friends after the weekend.  

Yesterday we celebrated World Read Aloud Day!  The children enjoyed meeting their new first grade friends, and reading with them.  We painted pictures as well!  The 4th graders are working on a presentation which will share their paintings and learning from this day.  Look for this next week!

We are enjoying learning about the adventures of the children of Norway in our Interactive Read Aloud, Snow Treasure, by Marie McSwiggan.  This historical fiction novel takes place during WWII, and is full of exciting adventure.  The students have been practicing visualizing the story, through identifying the figurative language in the story, and sharing how this helps to get a picture in our minds.  We have also been working on writing summaries by finding the main idea, and supporting evidence in chapters.  Finally, we will begin to discuss cause/effect in this story. 

Many of our classmates have embraced the opportunity to give book talks, and share their love of a particular book.  What an awesome way to practice speaking in front of an audience!  Check with your child to see if he/she has given a book talk this year.  If not, please encourage them to do so.

Our study of essay writing is coming along nicely.  In the next week, we will finish planning and begin drafting. We hope to publish before vacation!

We will wrap up our study of the Northeast region this week, and will  take our travels across the United States to Washington, D.C. Students will be completing a Washington, D.C. research projects both at school and at home.  More information will be sent home this week.

During Math we have continued to learn about addition and subtraction of fractions and mixed numbers. Students are growing in their understanding and developing more confidence.  We will have our topic 12 math assessment on Friday.

During Creative Arts Friday we have been working on researching a National Park, writing snowflake poems and creating scripts in preparation for our videos.  Your child should have a lot to say about this as this was many students' "best part of the week".

Looking Ahead:

• Washington, D.C. projects will be assigned this week.
• Math ~ topic 12 assessment, and introduction to multiplying fractions
• Continue reading Snow Treasure and celebration (after vacation) 
• February vacation ~ 2/19-2/23
• Remember to keep up with us through our Twitter account. Tweets can been seen in the side bar on the right, or follow us @mertenladybugs