Weekly Update: Week 14

Wow!  The time and a few snowflakes are flying!

Here’s what we were up to:

Math: We began working on Unit 4 this week.  We spent some time on using our knowledge of multiplying by tens to help us with extended multiplication facts.  We also learned a new way to multiply called partitioning.  One student actually called it magical!   Ask your student to show you this new strategy.  

Read Aloud: We began delving into different types of genres so that we can read a little wider.  We learned more about fantasy, poetry, historical fiction, and realistic fiction.   Ask your student what his/her favorite genre is.  

Reading: We will begin new guided reading books this week!  Ask your student what book they are reading this week.  

PBL: We have been learning about Energy Collisions for our latest PLTW project! Ask your student what the difference is between potential and kinetic energy!

Fact Fluency:  We have several students who are still not secure in their facts.  PLEASE, PLEASE help your son/daughter continue to work on these.  If you need ideas for how to support, please let me know.  

Weekly Update: Week 13

We had a great week! Here’s what we were up to:

Math: We finished Unit 3 this week! We learned about centimeters and millimeters, and how they relate to decimals. We also practiced comparing decimals. Our Unit 3 Assessment will be on Monday of this week. Ask your student which decimal is larger: 0.4 or 0.04

Read Aloud: We finished the Tiger Rising this week! We really loved this book. Ask your student if they liked the ending; if not, how would they have ended the book? Why?

Reading: We will begin new guided reading books this week!  Ask your student what book they are reading this week.  

PBL: We have been learning about Energy Collisions for our latest PLTW project! Ask your student what the difference is between potential and kinetic energy!

Report Card Envelopes: Please send the signed report card envelopes back with your student. Thank you!

A2 STEAM Fall Expo Highlights 2016

Q R Codes From Expo Night

Here is the link to the Q R Codes from Expo.  

Check them out here.  

Weekly Update (Week 11)

Good morning!  The school is very quiet as I write this weekly update.  Everyone is pretty tired, a little relieved and fully satisfied by their performance last night at Expo.  We can all give a big sigh of contentment as we move on to bigger and better things.

Math: This week we continued our unit on Fractions.  We spent the whole week comparing fractions.  We used visual models, number lines, and common denominators to determine order of fractions.  Many students are already feeling very comfortable with this.  We will continue to work on this in the next few weeks.  

Reading: We continued reading Tiger Rising.  This week we focused on digging deep into our main characters, Rob and Sistine.  We used our guided reading time this week to fully prepare for Expo so we will get back to guided reading after the break.  Everyone will begin to read a novel that is at their just right reading level.  I am also benchmarking all students to make sure they are at their just right level.

Writing: We wrote opinion pieces on a concussion related topic.  The students had very strong opinions about these things.  I hope you got a chance to check them out at Expo.  

PBL: Expo prep, expo prep, expo prep.  This is what happened all over the school this week.  Those fantastic presentations you saw last night had to come from somewhere.  :)

Forms to Return: On Tuesday, report cards will come home.  Please sign and date the folder AND the PLP that is inside.  Return the signed copy of the PLP and the folder.  Also, Thanksgiving Break packet will come home at that same time. It is up to your family if he/she chooses to participate.

Upcoming:  Thanksgiving Recorder performance will be Tueday at 9 am and 2 pm.  It will take place in the Multipurpose Room if you are free to join us for one of the performances.

Morning Meeting:  This week we spent a lot of time covering feelings about the election still and expo conversations.

Please enjoy the rest of this beautiful weekend!

My Very Best,
Mrs. B

A Tiny Poem to the World from Kid President

Book Fair Time (Too)

It's Almost Expo Time!!!

Spelling Words for 11.7 through 11.11 are here!

Culver

Huntley

Bertelson

Check this Out!

There is a fantastic game that will help your student with equivalent fractions.  Head to ABCYA to check it out.  

Does your student need help with multiplication fluency?  Multiplication.com has Self Checking Quizes that time them!  Follow this link.   There are also many other fun games that you can do for adding, subtracting, and dividing.  

Weekly Update (Week 9)

Happy Saturday!  I am enjoying a cup of coffee and this beautiful sunshine as I write this recap of our week to you.  :)

Math: This week we began a unit on Fractions.  The students took a pre test that will come home at conferences.  They cut fraction circles to help them as we journey through this unit.  We also spent two days on equivalent fractions with more to come next week.  Students HAVE to have a solid understanding of equivalents.  They will learn it three ways.  One, with their fraction circles.  Two, with number lines.  Finally, I will give them a number strategy to determine equivalents.  I am pleased to see that many students already know about equivalents!

Reading: This week our guided reading groups focused on talking to the text.  They were given an informational article and we put symbols all over that represented our thinking.  Then we were able to have a great conversation focusing on those things.  Some groups just got started with this and we will continue next week!  We've also begun a new read aloud called, "The Tiger Rising."  This book is already a favorite in our room.

Writing: We finished our informational paragraphs that will go on our Sensory Models.  We also began planning and writing a script for our PSAs.  The students are really enjoying learning and teaching about the brain and concussions.  

PBL: We continued our learning this week by diving deep into one of the sensory organs.  Students were placed into their Expo groups and are working on researching about, planning, and creating models that represent their sensory organ.  At the same time, we begin planning, writing, and creating our concussion PSAs.  You will get a chance to see these beautiful creations at Expo on November 17th.

Forms to Return: DTE Energy Forms - We need ALL 24 back to get our 100 grant for classroom supplies and fun!  We are getting so close!  Students who have not turned them in have ONE more week!

Upcoming:  Conferences are continuing next week. Thank you to all that came so far.  It was a great time talking with you and your student about their goals for the year.

Morning Meeting:  This week, we are going to continue focusing on growth mindset specific to each subject area.  We've been thinking about it as a whole and now we are going to focus in on specific things that students can do.

Please enjoy the rest of this beautiful weekend!  Continue to ask your child what they are learning about the brain this week.

My Very Best,
Mrs. B

Spelling Words for Next Week are Here!

Ms. Culver's Group

Ms. Huntley's Group

Mrs. Bertelson's Group

Weekly Update (Week 8)

Happy Friday!  I am getting the news out a little early.  What a busy week we've had!  We are right in the thick of our Expo project preparation and things are sure coming together.

Math: This week we finished up our math unit by taking our Unit 2 math assessment.  The plan was to take the test on Friday, but after some dialogue and debate, we moved it to Friday.  The students did not think they could do their best on Halloween.  :)  Please look for the new study links coming home today.  

Reading: We got back into the swing of guided reading and read an article about the different sensory organs of the body.  The students focused on their specific sensory organ and taught the other members of the group the ins and outs of that sense.

Writing: We began planning, creating, and publishing an informational paragraph that will go on our Sensory Models (more about this below).

PBL: We continued our learning this week by diving deep into one of the sensory organs.  Students were placed into their Expo groups and are working on researching about, planning, and creating models that represent their sensory organ.  You will get a chance to see these beautiful creations at Expo on November 17th.

Forms to Return: DTE Energy Forms - We need ALL 24 back to get our 100 grant for classroom supplies and fun!  We are getting so close!

Upcoming:  Conferences are coming up this week or next.  On Sunday, I will send a reminder to parents who will be meeting with me this week.  Then two days before the conferences, I will send another reminder.  :)

Morning Meeting:  We are stretching a little beyond Mindup to focus on Growth Mindset!  We learned the difference between fixed and growth mindset and created a wordle to help us remember those growth mindset terms.

I can't believe we are already  heading into November!  Please continue to ask your child what they are learning about the brain this week.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Woo Hoo!

From Ms. Huckabone...

Dear 4th Graders and Families,

Next week we will start playing the recorder in music class! Every student has been assigned a school recorder.  They may take their school recorder home with the understanding that it will return undamaged to school for the next music class. If students purchased a recorder or are bringing one from home they may leave it at home and use their school recorder at school or bring the home recorder back and forth to school. Students also have the option is bring their home recorder back and forth to school and home. Students are responsible for having a recorder in music class. I will hand out purchased recorders and school recorder assignments next week. If you are bringing in a recorder from home, please do so next week.

We will use the Recorder Karate ​curriculum, which is a sequential program that introduces new recorder notes and songs to students. After students have practiced and perfected playing the correct notes and rhythms for each “belt song,” they can play the song for me to “test” for that belt. (Students will be allowed to test multiple times for one belt, as long as they take time to practice in-between tests.) When a student has earned a belt they will receive a piece of colored yarn to go on their case. I am requesting that the yarn is attached to the recorder case and not the recorder itself.

The fourth graders will attend the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra concert in March at Hill Auditorium. They are invited to play their recorders and sing with the orchestra from their seats! To prepare for the concert we will also be working on another curriculum alongside Recorder Karate called “Link-Up” from Carnegie Hall. The theme for this year’s concert is “The Orchestra Sings”. We have already started exploring some of the concert repertoire through singing and listening. I am looking forward to exploring it with recorders! Each student has been provided with a book containing all the repertoire for the concert. They will get to take the book home and keep it after the concert.

Students are encouraged to practice at home or outside of music ​in order to earn their belts. All our
recorder repertoire from Recorder Karate and the Link-Up Curriculum will be available on the vocal music website in the “fourth grade” section (a2steamvocalmusic.weebly.com) and hard copy.

Here are the three ways students can “test” for their Recorder Karate Belts:

1. Designated times at lunch recess. (Days to be announced)

2. During testing days during music class (students will know dates prior to testing day)

3. Students may e-mail me a video (with parent permission) of themselves playing the song/belt in
which they would like to test. I will watch the video, and if they earn their belt, I will give them the belt at their next music class. Students can record themselves playing on any video device you have at home.

Please remember that the video must be recorded outside of school and can then be e-mailed to me, Ms. Huckabone, at: huckabone@aaps.k12.mi.us

The fourth graders will be performing (without recorders) in the Thanksgiving Assembly on November 22.

There will be two performances, 1:15pm and 2:00pm. Parents are welcome to attend, but space will be limited.

Thank you! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to a great year in fourth

grade.

Fondly,

Ms. Huckabone

huckabone@aaps.k12.mi.us / a2steamvocalmusic.weebly.com

Weekly Update (Week 7)

Happy Sunday!  What a fantastically pretty day.  As I begin my Sunday routine, I am pleasantly anticipating another great week!  Because of my absence on Friday, homework folders, logs, and fact fluency tests will come home tomorrow.  Sorry for the delay.

Math: This week we continued multiplication.  We spent most of the week on a new term:  multiplicative comparison.  We now know that this means how two or more things compare using a multiplication equation.  Its pretty complicated, but students worked hard to understand.  We now have 5 students totally finished with fact fluency skill practice!

Reading: We took a break from guided reading this week to do data conferences to get ready for conferences.  During these data conferences, we looked at our previous data and then our goal for this year.   The students looked at their scores to make some decisions on things they could do to help make that growth possible.  You will get a chance to hear all about this at conferences in a few weeks.  

Writing: We finally finished our letters to Governor Snyder.  We are now turning our attention to another opinion writing piece for Expo.  We can't wait to share those with you.

PBL: Wow!  We have learned a lot about the brain.  We started the week with guest presenters giving us new and important information about the brain.  As the week continued, we focused on how brain processing information and we began to think about how that processing can be interrupted for a variety of reasons.  This will lead to this week where we begin really thinking about concussions.

Forms to Return: DTE Energy Forms - We need ALL 24 back to get our 100 grant for classroom supplies and fun!

Upcoming:  Please let me know if you are a coach or an athlete that would be willing to make a short video.  If you are interested, please contact me at bertelson@aaps.k12.mi.us

Morning Meeting:  We are stretching a little beyond Mindup to focus on Growth Mindset!  Ask your student to talk about what it means to be gritty.  :)

I’m looking forward to another great week!  Please ask your child what they are learning about the brain this week.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Let's Use Our Fantastic Resource!

Please use these IXL practice/extension logs to help focus your IXL work for the next few weeks.

Unit 2 IXL Practice Links

Math Concept	IXL Focus:	Score (Must be Above 90%)
Make arrays	E7 (3rd)
Area	BB3
Find factors	D4
Find multiples	D3
Prime and Composite Numbers	A5
Converting units of time	O1
Triangles	X1, X2, X3
Quadrilaterals	X4
Symmetry	Y1, Y2
Solve a “What’s My Rule Story	D30

Unit 2 IXL Extension Links

Math Concept	IXL Focus:	Score (Must be Above 90%)
Area of complex figures	BB4
Greatest common factor	F6 (5th)
Find multiples of fractions	M3 (5th)
Prime and Composite Numbers	F1 (5th)
Converting units of time	O1
Properties of triangles and quadrilaterals	X5
Rotational symmetry	Y4
Inequalities with multiplication	D28

Week 6 Update

As the weather turns colder, our focus and workload is increasing.  We are going to really work the next few weeks on timely and efficient work and study habits!

Math: This week was a full week of multiplication.  We began the week with factors and multiples and then ended with prime and composite numbers.  There are SO many vocabulary words in this unit and it is so important for students to be able to manage those.  We spent much of Friday catching up on unfinished pages.  If this habit continues, we may begin bringing our math books home.  We have so much work to do and we have to make sure we are keeping up.  We now have 5 students totally finished with fact fluency skill practice!

Reading: Our guided groups continued this week and we really focused on our reading response letters.  Every week students will write a reading response letter to me about a book they are reading.  At some point, we may share these letters with you.   

Writing: We are almost finished with our first drafts of our letter to Governor Snyder.  Next week, we will offer a rebuttal to a counterargument and then wrap up those letters.  The next step will be to publish those and get them sent off.  It was sad for many of us to know that our persuasive letters had turned to opinion letters, but we talked about how relevant PBL topics sometime don't work out in the perfect way.  :)

PBL: We left our government unit behind (mostly) and began a new and exciting unit on the brain.  We began with a fun entry event where students attempted to save Mr. Egghead from a wild ride.  We then spent the next three days rotating between the 4th grade teachers who expertly shared some new information with us on the brain.

Forms to Return: DTE Energy Forms - We need ALL 24 back to get our 100 grant for classroom supplies and fun!

Upcoming:  Please let me know if you are a coach or an athlete that would be willing to make a short video.  If you are interested, please contact me at bertelson@aaps.k12.mi.us

I’m looking forward to another great week!  Please ask your child what they are learning about the brain this week.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

It's time to use our brains. :)

October 2016

Dear 4th Grade A2 STEAM Families,

This week we began an exciting new unit in our classrooms! As you might know, in our school we use the teaching method of Project Based Learning, or PBL, to help students learn better. A project motivates students to gain knowledge, and they remember it longer. Projects give students the chance to apply the skills they learn in school to personally relevant and real-world situations. Your child also learns skills in PBL such as how to think critically, solve problems, work in teams, and make presentations. These skills will help students succeed in the future, both in school and in today’s work world.

Our project is based off of the Project Lead the Way curriculum, and is called “Human Brain:  Input and Output”  This project will last through the middle of November.

In this unit, students will learn about:

• Regions of the brain
• Sensory input to the brain
• Impacts of trauma or injury to the brain
• Raising awareness about concussions in everyday life

Our driving question for this project is, “How can we, as students at A2 STEAM, raise awareness and prevent concussions in school aged children?”  They will spend extensive time learning about the brain, the impact of concussions, and ways to raise awareness in both parents and students.  The end result will be three-fold.  They will create a PSA to a specific audience around preventing or determining the symptoms of concussions, a physical model of brain, and a persuasive writing piece about an activity that could lead to a concussion.  All of these will be shown off at our EXPO on November 18th.  

More details will be sent home as we get closer to Expo. We hope you will be able to attend!

As parents, you can support the project by:

• Sending in a video about your prior experience with concussions.  Please email Mrs. Bertelson at bertelson@aaps.k12.mi.us for more information
• Talking with your student about how they can stay safe in their everyday life
• Reading articles about the brain/concussions with your student

E-mails, websites, and newsletters will keep you updated throughout the unit.  If you have any concerns or questions about your child’s project, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Bertelson, Ms. Culver, and Ms. Huntley

4th Grade Teachers at A2 STEAM

Need Help Choosing Books?

Here are a few places to find great, 4th grade appropriate books!

Great Schools List

GoodReads List

Imagination Soup List

The Reading Nook List

Week 5 Update

Can you believe that it is Week 5 already?  Where did the time go?

Math: This week we took our Post test for Unit 1 and the kiddos did fantastic!  We also spent a few days learning/reviewing how to make arrays and how to find the area of a rectangle.  They also took Unit 2 pretest, which came home in their Friday folders.  If you noticed that your son/daughter struggled with any of concepts on the pretest, these would be great things to practice on either IXL or the home links.  These are on top of the math fact fluency practice that they should be doing.  There are now 4 students completely finished with fact fluency!

Reading: Our guided groups went swimmingly this week.  We created names for our groups and read several articles about the branches of government.  We focused on the strategies of prediction, using prior knowledge, previewing a text, and asking questions of texts.  We did this with both our informational texts AND our independent reading books.  

Writing: We published our personal narratives and finished publishing our Bio Poems.  These will be up in the hallway outside of our room so stop by and check them out.  This week will begin writing our letters to Governor Snyder about HR Bill 4822.

PBL: We spent this week diving into a unit on the government.  Our driving question is, "How can we as students make sure our voices are heard at A2STEAM?  We are learning about a House Bill that is being sent to Governor Snyder that states that those who are not reading by 3rd grade do not move to 4th.  We are having some very interesting discussions around this.

Forms to Return: None at this time.  :)

Upcoming:  Our next unit on the Human Brain will be starting next week.  Please let me know if you are a coach or an athlete that would be willing to make a short video.  If you are interested, please contact me at bertelson@aaps.k12.mi.us

I’m looking forward to another great week!  Please ask your child what they are learning about the brain this week.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Let's Play Some Games!

The kids are super excited about a fun website we are using called icivics!  Please follow the link below to play.  You don't need to make an account.  When you get to the homepage, just press play!

iCivics!

Week 4 Update

We accomplished a lot this week!

Math: This week we had a full week of five math lessons. We focused on subtraction, converting lengths, some geometric concepts around lines, and perimeter.  Whew!  It was a lot.  If you noticed that your son/daughter struggled with any of these concepts on the pretest, these would be great things to practice on either IXL or the home links.  These are on top of the math fact fluency practice that they should be doing.  We want to work on everyone getting 90 percent or better on their first math assessment that we will take on Tuesday.  

Reading: We know have our reading block time down. Last week, every group met and discussed our goals as a group.  This week we will begin reading together articles about the US government.    

Writing: This week we continued our personal narratives.  We wrote for an extended period of time, added description and details, and wrapped up our stories with great conclusions.  We are beginning to publish these and will have them available for you at conferences.

PBL: We spent this week diving into a unit on the government.  Our driving question is, "How can we as students make sure our voices are heard at A2STEAM?  We are learning about a House Bill that is being sent to Governor Snyder that states that those who are not reading by 3rd grade do not move to 4th.  We are having some very interesting discussions around this.

Forms to Return: Recorder Form and money, Blue DTE Form ONLY if you wan to OPT out.

Upcoming:  Our next unit on the Human Brain will be starting next week.  Please let me know if you are a coach or an athlete that would be willing to make a short video.  If you are interested, please contact me at bertelson@aaps.k12.mi.us

I’m looking forward to another great month! Its hard to believe that we are already a month in!

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

The B Hive Selfie Project 2016 is complete

The B Hive 2016



What does this video teach you about our individuality?

We Love IXL!

Remember to use the correlation chart attached to their pre test to help them focus their IXL use at home.  We will be taking our first math assessment on Tuesday.  I know they are ready!

Weekly Update #3

Here’s what we were up to this week"

Math: This week we had four math lessons and a flex day.  We focused on estimation and traditional addition strategies.  If you noticed that your son/daughter struggled with any of these concepts on the pretest, these would be great things to practice on either IXL or the home links.  These are on top of the math fact fluency practice that they should be doing.  We want to work on everyone getting 90 percent or better on their first math assessment in a few weeks. 

Reading: Students have been doing a great job getting into our routines during reading. We finished up benchmarking last week and most of us finished the NWEA Reading Test.  We will begin guided groups this week.    

Writing: This week we began personal narratives.  We focused on special people, places, and events in our lives.  We created a beginning, middle, and end plan to map out that story.  We also wrote fantastic leads that pull our readers in.  Finally, we added dialogue to our stories to help the reader know how our characters were thinking and feeling.   

PBL: We spent this week on a mini PBL unit about healthy brains and bodies.  This week we will begin a fantastic unit on our government.  

Forms to Return: A permission slip went home with your student on Friday. Please sign it and have them return it. 

Upcoming: A link was sent to you this week to sign up for conferences.  If you have not done so yet, please sign up here.  

I’m looking forward to another great week! Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.