August 27: Welcome Back to School!
Welcome to 4th grade! Each week we will send our newsletter to you through our Grade 4 Blog. Please be sure your child's homeroom teacher has your email address. That way you will receive an email each time we update this blog!
Our first two days of school will be spent reviewing procedures in 4th grade as well as sharing our new Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS), a schoolwide approach to rules/procedures.
More information about PBIS can be found on the link below:
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/studentservices/pbis/index.shtm
Helpful information for 4th grade:
9:05-10:25: Writing
10:30-11:15: Specials (T,W, & F) Science (M & Th)
11:20-12:40: Math
12:45-1:45: Recess & Lunch
1:50-3:15: Reading Block
*We invite students to bring a nut-free snack to class each day, as our lunch period is late in the day.
*We invite all students to bring a water bottle to class also.
*Students are also encourage to bring a removable (flash drive) with them to school as well. We do a lot of our work on the computer & many students like to save on their drive to share at home and school. It is not required!
Writing:
This week we will set up our writer's notebooks and write intrduction letters to our teachers. Students will write to inform teachers about their likes/dislikes, family, summer vacation, and anything else they wish to include.
A link to a website for information on the 6 Traits of writing is below:
http://www.edina.k12.mn.us/concord/teacherlinks/sixtraits/sixtraits.htm
Life Science:
Students construct, observe, discuss, and read about land and water ecosystems. Throughout the unit students will explore the concepts of living things and their basic needs, how organisms are classified, the features that make organisms well-suited to their environment, the flow of energy and matter, and how organisms interact with each other and the environment.
This year we are asking you to send in 16-20 oz soda/water bottles instead of 2L. Please rinse them out and send the cap too! We will use these to create mini-terrariums.
Math 5:
Math classes will begin on Thursday. The first two days will focus on pre-assessments and introduction to the reference books.
Topics for Unit 1 include:
• Determine and apply the greatest common factor and least common multiple of numbers.
• Recognize and represent functional relationships using graphs, tables, and rules. • Compare and order integers on a number line.
Math 4:
Topics for Unit 1 include:
- *Recognize and apply place value patterns in numbers through millions.
• Organize, display, and analyze data using line plots and line graphs.
• Determine and distinguish among mean, median, mode, and range, using concrete materials.
• Classify angles as acute, obtuse, or right.
• Identify and describe the sides, angles, edges, vertices, and faces of solid figures.
• Draw circles, triangles, and quadrilaterals given their dimensions. *Identify and describe points, lines, line segments, and rays.
A great website that allows students to work at their own pace on word problems/real world application of multiplication & division:
http://www.thinkingblocks.com/
We continue to use the Khan academy website to help practice our math at home. This is a great site where students (if a login is created) can track their progress and have example problems to work on. It has been featured in CNN as an up and coming way for teachers to assess individual students learning.
http://www.khanacademy.org/
Reading:
Students will be using various roles to create literature cirlce discussions about text they choose to read. Teachers will model each job in class and give students the chance to practice each role. Once all roles have been modeled, students will participate in a trial literature circle before participating in their own literature circles. This will take us about two weeks to model & practice before students will use the feedback given to have their own literature circle discussions.
Vocabulary Finder: Students will read their text and find words that they wish to share with their group. These words can be words they do not know how to say, what it means, words that add to the author's description of an event, or words they find interesting
Questioner: As students read their text, they will develop questions to ask their group members about what was read. Questions should be "thick" instead of "thin." A "thick" question requires thought and should not be answered right in the text. It may be an opinion as well. (Would you have acted the same way Sally did?) A "thin" question can be answered right in the text (Who is the main character? What is the setting?)
Connector:
Summarizer:
