Mrs. B's 4th Grade @ A2 STEAM

Friday, January 20, 2017

Want to learn more about natural selection?

Here are some games that you and your child can play.

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/asset/lsps07_int_buildafish/

http://www.sciencechannel.com/games-and-interactives/charles-darwin-game/

An Exciting Author Visit!

Paper copies of this form will come home soon!

Weekly Update 1/20 through 1/27

Here’s what we were up to last week:

Math: We took our Unit 4 Post test and our Unit 5 pre test. Students will be placed into groups daily based on the outcomes of their scores. The Unit 5 pretest will come home in the Friday folder next week. We had one lesson in unit 5 on unit fractions. Ask your student what this term means.

Read Aloud: With the short week, we did not finish our read aloud. We will finish up this week and begin Hoot. This week we focused on asking questions of the author and the characters. Ask your student about questions that they have about our book or a book that they are reading at home.

Reading: Guided reading is still going strong. Most groups will be finished with their book this week and will begin a realistic fiction book. Ask your student what book they are reading this week.

Writing: We began a realistic fiction writing unit this week. Ask your student what they will be writing about.

PBL: We began a new unit on adaptations of organisms. We played a fun game that taught us about natural selection and then we learned more about natural selection and Charles Darwin. Ask your student about their definition of natural selection.

Ms. Jones will begin taking over more and more of the instruction as the month progresses. I will shift more into a small group role as she gets her feet wet with delivering content. We are lucky to have two teachers for the next few months!

It has been very wet outdoors. Please keep sending in boots so they have an extra pair of shoes they can wear in our classroom to keep the mud to a minimum. Thanks in advance!

Friday, January 13, 2017

Weekly Update 1.16 - 1.20

Where did the snow go? Rain in January?

Here’s what we were up to last week:

Math: We finished Unit 4. We worked on multistep story problems and finding the area of rectilinear shapes. A review sheet will be coming home this weekend to study for our Unit 4 Post Test on Tuesday. Ask your student what a rectilinear shape is.

Read Aloud: We are currently reading From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Have you read this book? Its an oldie, but a goodie. We will finish this up next week and begin reading Hoot. Ask your student what his/her favorite part is.

Reading: We are continuing with our guided reading. A few groups have started new books and others will begin new texts next week. Ask your student what book they are reading this week.

PBL: We finished our Energy Collisions unit this week. Students worked with a partner to create a system that converted energy and helped some one move things from one place to another. Ask your student about the system he/she created.

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.

Ms. Jones will begin taking over more and more of the instruction as the month progresses. I will shift more into a small group role as she gets her feet wet with delivering content. We are lucky to have two teachers for the next few months!

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Weekly Update: 1.9 - 1.13

Welcome back! I hope you had a chance to rest and relax and spend time with family and friends.

This is what we will be finishing up this week:

Math: We will finish Unit 4 this week and take three tests. We will do the Unit 4 post test, a cumulative test of what we've done so far and a pre test for Unit 5. I know that it seems like a lot, but this information is so help! Ask your student about how they did on these tests by the end of the week.

Read Aloud: We will finish up From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Ask your student what his/her favorite part is.

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

PBL: We have a few more days of PLTW Energy Conversions and then will move to a science unit on organisms. Can't wait to get started with that one.

Reminder, we do not have school on Monday, January 16th to celebrate MLK day.

Friday, December 9, 2016

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!

Sunday, December 4, 2016

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.