Our focus for Quarter 4 in Writing will shift from informative essays to personal expression. Students will begin Earth Month (April) with an informative piece before moving on to write Autobiographies and Biographies.
This week our focus will be to write a draft of our autobiography using our prewrite. We will work together to create interseting leads for our writing piece that hook the reader. Some examples from Ms. Hudson's class are:
On September 12, 2002 there was a big change in the S_____ household: a star was born! (Anna S)
I hear the
roar of the crowd. It’s the bottom of
the ninth. I step up to the plate. I swing; strike one! I swing again; strike two! I don’t want to let my team down. This time everything is in slow motion. I swing; HOMERUN! I ran faster than Jessie Owens. That is the proudest moment of my ten years
of life, but let’s start from the beginning. (Jack)
There is
nothing that I am crazier about, the one thing I always dream about, and that
thing is racing. Ever since I was born,
I had a need for speed. Here’s the
beginning. (Caden)
A change in
my parents’ life, a baby girl that was born 8 pounds and 7 ounces, a chunky baby.
The nurse at Shady Grove Hospital always teased my mother because after
she gave birth to me, she looked like a girl in a 1970’s disco. (Tori)
The drafting phase should be "completed" by May 1.
As writers, we are always going back to our pre-write to make changes and add more compelling information, so we never really "complete" a piece of writing.
A link to a website for information on the 6 Traits of writing is below:
http://writingfix.com/classroom_tools/post_its.htm
Several students in fourth grade volunteer to meet with students in our School Community Based classes during their lunch and recess. Here is a picture of this group below:
http://writingfix.com/classroom_tools/post_its.htm
Several students in fourth grade volunteer to meet with students in our School Community Based classes during their lunch and recess. Here is a picture of this group below:
Natural Reader:
This tool can be downloaded on your home computers to assist students with reading text that may be challenging. We use this in class for webpage research and for revising our writing. Students can listen to what they have typed and determine if it sounds right to revise. In addition, when gathering research, this tool allows them to read difficult text. We have this program at school, but it is a great tool for home use as well:
www.naturalreader.com
Science: Aquarium Field Trip
During quarter 3 students engaged in a hands-on environmental project to promote habitat restoration in the Chesapeake Bay. This project is an extension of our first quarter science unit on Ecosystems.
Together with WSSC, students in each class made reef balls out of cement. These reef balls will be deposited at the Memorial Stadium Reef on May 10 where oysters will attach to them to increase their habitat and population. In science class, we read materials and gathered research to increase our understanding of how our reef balls will support the health of the Bay.
We are excited to announce that the fourth grade is planning a field trip to the Baltimore Aquarium on Thursday, May 2. During the trip, students will have the opportunity to meet with Aquarium staff in a Chesapeake Exploration Workshop. This is a 45 minute program where students will test water samples, measure oysters, and draw conclusions about the state of the Bay. Students will also have the chance to tour the entire aquarium with their chaperoned group.
A permission slip needs to be submitted by April 26 in order for your child to join us on the trip.. Ms. Hudson applied for and Grade 4 received an Environmental Stewardship grant which lowers the cost of the field trip to $25 per student and $22 per chaperone. Each class can take up to 6 chaperones per Aquarium workshop guidelines. Teachers have chosen the chaperones and requested the $25 fee for chaperone entrance to the Aquarium if selected.
School funds are available if you need financial assistance for this trip. Please contact our counselor, Mrs. Ward, directly at Cherie_S_Ward@mcpsmd.org for details.
Social Studies: The Colonies Thrive
The focus of our unit will be to understand how governemnt works and how people play an active role in the process. We will begin with a pre-assessment that explains the powers and responsibilities of government. Next students will learn the basic forms and functions of government as well as the roles citizens play. Through a case study about Hadley's Park we will learn the complex connections between citizens and their government. We will learn about the three brances and levels of government and how they work toward the common good.
Math 5: Unit 5 Linear Measures and Geometry
In Unit 5, students develop measurement skills and explore transformational geometry. Students apply what they have learned about measurement to multi-step problems involving area, perimeter, and volume.
For more information, access the parent newsletter by clicking the link below:
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/math/elementary/grade5/MathNewsletterGrade5Unit5-English.pdf
This week our focus will include elapsed time, area and perimeter.
We are excited to announce that the fourth grade is planning a field trip to the Baltimore Aquarium on Thursday, May 2. During the trip, students will have the opportunity to meet with Aquarium staff in a Chesapeake Exploration Workshop. This is a 45 minute program where students will test water samples, measure oysters, and draw conclusions about the state of the Bay. Students will also have the chance to tour the entire aquarium with their chaperoned group.
A permission slip needs to be submitted by April 26 in order for your child to join us on the trip.. Ms. Hudson applied for and Grade 4 received an Environmental Stewardship grant which lowers the cost of the field trip to $25 per student and $22 per chaperone. Each class can take up to 6 chaperones per Aquarium workshop guidelines. Teachers have chosen the chaperones and requested the $25 fee for chaperone entrance to the Aquarium if selected.
School funds are available if you need financial assistance for this trip. Please contact our counselor, Mrs. Ward, directly at Cherie_S_Ward@mcpsmd.org for details.
Social Studies: The Colonies Thrive
The focus of our unit will be to understand how governemnt works and how people play an active role in the process. We will begin with a pre-assessment that explains the powers and responsibilities of government. Next students will learn the basic forms and functions of government as well as the roles citizens play. Through a case study about Hadley's Park we will learn the complex connections between citizens and their government. We will learn about the three brances and levels of government and how they work toward the common good.
Math 5: Unit 5 Linear Measures and Geometry
In Unit 5, students develop measurement skills and explore transformational geometry. Students apply what they have learned about measurement to multi-step problems involving area, perimeter, and volume.
For more information, access the parent newsletter by clicking the link below:
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/math/elementary/grade5/MathNewsletterGrade5Unit5-English.pdf
This week our focus will include elapsed time, area and perimeter.
Math 2.0:
Our focus of this transitional unit will be to examine unit fractions.
This week we will represent fractions on a number line. We will use hash marks on a number line to locate fractions of halves, thirds, fourths, sixths, and eigths.
We will continue to make "fraction trains" to identify fractional values in multiple ways: area models, number lines, and numeric representations. This will help students determine various representations for the same fractional value.
An area model is a picture model of a fractional value.
A numeric representation is a number model of a fractional value.
A number line shows a fractional value in relation to whole numbers.
*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 log in 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:
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 log in 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:
For the month of April, we will focus on various reading strategies in our Guided Reading Groups. We will begin the week by summarizing key ideas and supporting details. We will determine which details in a passage contribute directly to understanding the main idea of the text chapter or of the entire passage.
Our focus will then shift to determining relevant information about a character to draw conclusions about the character's actions and words and the reaction of other characters towards him/her. Students will work in smaller guided reading groups to create a poster to show a character trait of their character, a definition, an illustration of the character in action, and a description of a specific event in the story that demonstrates that trait. We will then present these posters, hopefully on Friday.
Our focus will then shift to determining relevant information about a character to draw conclusions about the character's actions and words and the reaction of other characters towards him/her. Students will work in smaller guided reading groups to create a poster to show a character trait of their character, a definition, an illustration of the character in action, and a description of a specific event in the story that demonstrates that trait. We will then present these posters, hopefully on Friday.
Spelling:
*Our spelling program involves the use of developmental word study rather than traditional spelling books. This“Words Their Way” approach allows students to practice target spelling patterns that best address their individual needs as a speller. Students work in spelling groups to analyze the pattern and look for clues as to how to generalize the correct spelling of words within that pattern/sound.
Our next spelling assessment will take place on May 3.
