Northeast Region Quizlet

Hey, gang!  The amazing Mrs. K made a Quizlet to help us  learn the states, capitals and abbreviations in the Northeast.  Click here to start the Quizlet!  Thanks, Mrs. K., YOU ROCK!

Author Alert!

Thanks to Mrs. A. Williams for letting me know about this event!  I can't wait to go!!!!  I LOVE Judd Winick and the Hilo series.  If your family is interested in going, check out the information below!

Come meet Judd Winick, creator of the award-winning HILO series. Calvin and Hobbes meets Big Nate meets Bone in HILO-the hilarious, action-packed New York Times bestselling graphic novel series that kids, critics (and robots!) love! "A Total BLAST," says the Miami Herald! Chock full of more monsters, more action, more laughs, more FUN! Jeff Kinney will be our host, so you know we're going to have a blast!

DJ and Gina are TOTALLY ordinary kids. But Hilo isn’t! Has Hilo finally met his match? Not if D.J. and Gina can help it! ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! Mega Robot Monsters are suddenly waking up all over and they’re TOO BIG and TOO STRONG for Hilo to fight on his own! Luckily, he doesn’t have to! He has GINA and some brand new SUPER POWERS on his side! Being heroes can be super fun-but it can also be SUPER dangerous! And the closer Hilo and Gina get to saving their world from the monsters—the closer Hilo gets to the dark secret of his past. Does he really want to know? Do WE?!

REGISTER HERE!

ABOUT JUDD:
JUDD WINICK lives in San Francisco with his wife, their two kids; and their cat. Judd has scripted issues of bestselling comic series, including Batman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Justice League, and Star Wars. Judd also appeared as a cast member of MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco and is the author of the highly acclaimed graphic novel Pedro and Me, about his Real World roommate and friend, AIDS activist Pedro Zamora. Visit Judd and Hilo online at juddspillowfort.com or find him on Twitter at @JuddWinick.

Event date: 

Thursday, February 8, 2018 - 5:00pm

Event address: 

Hilo Book 4: Waking the Monsters (Hardcover)

By Judd Winick

$13.99

ISBN: 9781524714932

Availability: Available to Order

Published: Random House Books for Young Readers - January 16th, 2018

Way to Go

Congratulations to our Dancers of the Week and to the recipient of our WOW note!  #hardworkpaysoff

Our Week In Review!

What a week of learning!  Even though our week was short, the students are working hard to learn new concepts. Though it has been a few weeks, with the snow days and long weekend, some students are still adjusting to the return to school after break.  We are all looking forward to a full week next week!  

READING/WRITING UPDATE

Students continue to share books they love through our daily book talks.  All students are encouraged to give a book talk when they find a book they love.  Please encourage your child to do this, too!  We extended our Little Dog, Lost unit, with reading nonfiction.  Students have been reading nonfiction books about dogs, and watching short nonfiction videos about dogs, with the goal of writing a short essay about a specific dog.  We discussed the author's purpose when writing nonfiction.  We connected this work to our writer's workshop, where we are learning how to write essays and the structure of essay writing.  Students have done a wonderful job reading like writers and writing like readers. On Monday, we will  finish writing our dog summaries, and will discuss what type of family would be a good fit for this dog.  We will wrap up our study with a Dog Day celebration on Wednesday.  Your child took a notice home about this on Friday.

Sorting homophones by part of speech

Sorting homophones by part of speech

Sorting homophones by part of speech

Sorting homophones by part of speech

Book Talk

Book Talk

Book Talk

Check out our Reading Reflections:

MATH UPDATE

We will be wrapping up the first part of our fraction learning on Tuesday, with a fraction assessment.  The students have worked very hard to learn these new concepts. Many have expressed that fractions are "hard".  Students should begin to feel more comfortable in the next few weeks, as we continue learning about fractions.  Students were assigned a fraction project (homework) which is due on Thursday.  Information went home with students yesterday.  In our next math unit, we will build on our fraction knowledge and extend it to addition and subtraction of fractions.  If your child is still feeling unsure about fraction concepts, these suggested at home activities will help develop the concepts, and will help with studying:

• Practice multiplication and division facts.  Knowing these facts automatically will help when finding equivalent fractions. This will also help to understand and identify prime and composite numbers, as well as finding factors and multiples of a number.  There are several websites on our Curriculum Links page which can help with this, but simple flashcards are also effective. 
• Play online math games ~ the children love to have computer time. This is a great way to reinforce their learning.  Math games can be found on the Curriculum Links page, and there are some fun games for comparing fractions and finding prime and composite numbers. on that page.
• Use the Pearson Realize website.  There are many games there. Students can also find the "Center Activities" when they log into Pearson. These are some of the math games that we use in class.
• Students can play "Build a Hexagon". This is a dice game and the students use pattern blocks to represent fractions.  Students are able to bring these home if interested.

In class, we will continue to have a teacher table during math, and the students can also check in with a teacher first thing in the morning or at the end of the day.  We are working on reflecting on our learning, being responsible for our learning, and asking specific questions.  For example, rather than saying, "Can you help me with fractions?", students are asked to be specific, such as, "Can you help me when comparing fraction on a number line?".  This allows the students to realize and celebrate their successes while understanding areas that need a little more time and practice.

using fraction strips

using fraction strips

using fraction strips

using fraction strips

using fraction strips

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES UPDATE

During Social Studies, we have taken our US travels to our home region, the Northeast.  We will stay in the Northeast for about 3 weeks, before traveling to Washington, D.C.  

During Science, we have started to look at animal adaptations, and enjoyed checking out the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam.  Students can observe adaptations of these birds!

learning about the Northeast with other fourth grade classes

Animal Adaptations

Animal Adaptations

Animal Adaptations

Animal Adaptations

Animal Adaptations

CREATIVE ARTS FRIDAY UPDATE

We were happy to get back to Creative Arts Friday! During Project Based Learning time, we are working on researching a National Park , in order to complete a project about that park with our group.  During Technology Workshop we began to think about creating videos to share some learning with other fourth graders. We brainstormed ideas this week.   In poetry workshop we learned about Robert Frost and will be writing free verse poems using strong imagery in the next few weeks.  Here is Robert Frost reading  his poem  The Road Not Taken.

From the Teacher's Desk:

Overall the students continue doing a fine job completing homework and returning it to school.  Some students are struggling with the organization of this; completing the homework at home but leaving it there, leaving materials at school, or forgetting to obtain parent signatures on reading logs or in assignment notebooks.  At the end of each day we have a 15 minute dedicated time to write in our assignment notebooks, get our mail and pack up our materials.  Please check in with your child to see how he/she feels homework is going.  Though our fourth grade focus is on "independence and responsibility", students master this at different rates. If you have been returning to school regularly after hours to collect materials for homework, please let me know.  If your child is having difficulties, perhaps an assignment notebook check at home daily would help. Checklists or an added teacher check could also be something to help with this as well.  

Though I've posted the tips below before, I wanted to share them again.  Sometimes making one adjustment to homework time can make a big difference.  As always, please contact Mrs. Merten with any questions or concerns specific to your child.

GENERAL HOMEWORK TIPS FOR PARENTS 

(Reposted from the Department of Education. You can see the full article here.)

✪ Make sure your child has a quiet, well-lit place to do homework. 

Avoid having your child do homework with the television on or in places with other distractions, such as people coming and going.

✪ Make sure the materials your child needs, such as paper, pencils and a dictionary, are available. Ask your child if special materials will be needed for some projects and get them in advance.

✪ Help your child with time management. Establish a set time each day for doing homework. Don‘t let your child leave homework until just

before bedtime. Think about using a weekend morning or afternoon for working on big projects, especially if the project involves getting together with classmates.

✪ Be positive about homework. Tell your child how important school is. The attitude you express about homework will be the attitude your child acquires.

✪ When your child does homework, you do homework. Show your child that the skills they are learning are related to things you do as an adult. If your child

is reading, you read too. If your child is doing math, balance your checkbook.

✪ When your child asks for help, provide guidance, not answers. Giving answers means your child will not learn the material. Too much help teaches your child that when the going gets rough, someone will do the work for him or her. 

✪ When the teacher asks that you play a role in homework, do it. Cooperate with the teacher. It shows your child that the school and home are a team. Follow the directions given by the teacher.

✪ If homework is meant to be done by your child alone, stay away.

Too much parent involvement can prevent homework from having some positive effects.  Homework is a great way for kids to develop independent, lifelong learning skills.

✪ Stay informed. Talk with your child‘s teacher. Make sure you know the purpose of homework and what your child‘s class rules are.

✪ Help your child figure out what is hard homework and what is easy homework. Have your child do the hard work first. This will mean he will be most alert when facing the biggest challenges. Easy material will seem to go fast when fatigue begins to set in.

SciShow Kids

Mrs. A. Williams found this really cool science site.  Check out this video!

Florida Eagle Cam

I have been watching this live stream of baby bald eagles in Southwest Florida  It is fascinating! The parent eagles (a mother - named Harriet, and father- he isn't named  yet)took turns keeping the eggs warm, and in late December, two babies hatched!  Think about our animal adaptations, and see what you notice about how these animals will survive in the wild. Comment below with your ideas!


You can find the history of the Eagle Cam here.

Spotlight On...

... this martial artist from room 24!  She made the competition team ~ Team Seishin!  Way to Go!

Wow!

Way to Go!!

T-Shirts of the Day

Positive Messages 

 (Yes, she can!)

Effort is everything (Just ask these students!)

Our Week(s) In Review

We returned from the December break ready to learn!  Students reconnected with their friends during our fourth grade meeting on Tuesday morning.  We enjoyed sharing information about our vacations!  Last week, we were able to review our class rules/routines/expectations, and we began our next math unit, about fractions.  We also had an amazing experience skyping with scientist Jean Pennycook.  She studies Adele Penguins in Antarctica, and she skyped LIVE from that continent! We had the chance to see penguins in their natural environment, and we were able to ask questions in real time!  What a fabulous way to kick off our study of animal adaptations!

Scientist, Jean Pennycook

During this week's fourth grade meeting, we welcomed a special guest- our principal, Dr. Ashley.  We discussed recess safety and the many ways that we can work together to make the games outside fun and safe for everyone!

Practicing Multiplication Facts

Practicing Multiplication Facts

 On Monday we had a program from Boston's Museum of Science.  We learned more about animal adaptations during this program. Thank you to the Kennedy PCC for bringing this experience to us!

This week, we celebrated writing by sharing our fiction stories.  What wonderful authors we have in room 24!  If you would like to read your child's story, he/she can find it in their Google Drive.  

During Reading, we have been reading nonfiction texts in order to find the main idea of the texts.  We have been reading books and articles about dogs, and working at gathering important information from those books.  We will use information gathered in order to create a response to these readings.  We also continue to share our love of books through our daily book talks.  Ask your child if he/she has given a book talk yet!  We hope to hear from everyone by June!

We enjoyed exploring various nonfiction texts with partners.

Exploring Text Features

A Book Talk

 Our Write Around was many students' highlight of the day on Wednesday.  Ask your child about this reading/writing activity.

We did not let the weather ruin our fun during recess!  

Today our chorus concert was wonderful!  The children were very proud of their hard work!!  Please check out our twitter feed on the right for videos of some of the performances.

Learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. with the 4th grade

Looking Ahead:

In the coming week, we will:

• Continue our study of fractions in math
• Continue to read nonfiction and write about what we learn
• Write essays during writer's workshop
• Travel to the Northeast Region of the United States during social studies
• Learn more about Animal and Plant Adaptations during science