Weekly Update

Writing

Students are celebrating their final Informational Books this Friday with the whole fourth grade!  I am excited for them to share their hard work and learn about their friends' topics!  

Reading

We have started book clubs and have a good start in the books.  Students are interested in the books and are having good conversations so far.  It is important that they keep up with the assigned reading (a few chapters) and book club role sheet so that they don't let their group down!  Book clubs meet every Wednesday and Friday.  

Math

We have started Chapter 10 on decimals and fractions.  So far, we have converted fractions with denominators of 10 (tenths) or 100 (hundredths) into decimals.  Next we will add those fractions and write the answers as decimals, order and compare decimals, and work with word problems involving decimals.  This chapter goes fast, and the Chapter 10 Test is set for Monday, March 7th.  

Science

We have finished our study of static electricity and are working with current electricity.  This is such a fun and interesting subject for the students, and they are enjoying it! 

  Other Important Info.

• This Friday, 3/5 is a Half Day with dismissal at 11:50.  Please make sure your child knows how they are going home.  
• Friday also marks the end of Third Quarter.  I am currently updating grades into SIS.  

Weekly Update

Writing/Spelling

Students have finished drafting Chapter 2 of their second informational books.  Tomorrow, we will begin drafting Chapter 3 (the diary entry).  The next Spelling Test is this Friday, 2/26.

Reading

This past week we have started book clubs!  Book clubs meet twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays.  Students are responsible for filing out the assigned book club role sheets (discussed in an earlier post) and in reading the assigned chapters before every meeting date.  I am excited to hear all of the great conversations that will take place!

Math

Last week we reviewed Chapter 9 and worked on the study guide.  The Chapter 9 Test is Monday, February 22nd.  Chapter 10 will cover fractions and decimals. 

Science

On Monday we will start our electricity unit in Science.  We will start discussing static electricity and then current electricity.  There are many fun activities and labs with electricity!

Weekly Update

Writing/Spelling

Students have finished drafting Chapter 1 (the big topic) of their second informational books.  Tomorrow, we will begin drafting Chapter 2 (the focused topic).  Students will get their spelling words this week. The next Spelling Test is Friday, 2/26.

Reading

We are about halfway through our read aloud, "Rump."  Watch the blog next week for information on our upcoming book clubs. 

Math

So far in Chapter 9, we have added and subtracted fractions with like denominators, including mixed numbers.  We will work on multiplying fractions by whole numbers this week and review this chapter.  The Chapter 9 Test will be next Monday, February 22nd.  Chapter 10 will cover fractions and decimals. 

Social Studies/Science

The Chapter 5/6 Social Studies Test will be this Thursday, February 18th.  Students took home the study guide on Friday.  We will be reviewing and working on the study guide this week.  After this unit, we will switch to studying electricity in Science.  

Valentine's Day Party

A big THANK YOU to all parents involved in the planning and production of the Valentine's Day party!  The kids had a blast!  

Weekly Update

Writing/Spelling

Students have finished researching their topics for the second informational book.  They have also written the introduction for Chapter 1 and started writing under their Chapter 1 headings.  They are doing great, and I can already tell that these books will be even better than the first ones!  This week we will continue to write Chapter 1 and work on text features.  

Reading

In reading we discussed tricky words in nonfiction and started the glossary for our informational books.  We are about halfway through our read aloud, "Rump."  

Math

The Chapter 8 Test on fractions is tomorrow, 2/8.  Students should have a completed study guide at home.  Chapter 9 involves adding and subtracting fractions, including mixed numbers.  They will also multiply fractions and whole numbers.  

Social Studies

This week we played an interactive game where we were slaves that had to escape the plantation we worked (see pictures below)!  We we will finish our study of slavery and Chapter 6 this week. 

  Other Important Info.

• This Wednesday, 2/10, is an Early Release Day with dismissal at 1:40.  Please make sure your child knows how they are going home.  
• The Valentine's Party is this Friday, 2/12, from 2-3pm.  Please ensure that every student receives a valentine if your child plans on passing them out.  We have 25 students, and class lists will be passed out tomorrow in class.  You can also find a copy of the class list here.  We are making Valentine's Day bags in class on Thursday.  Students can bring in any craft materials to help decorate their bags on that day.  
• Six Flags Read to Succeed Reading Logs are due this Friday, February 12th!
• There is no school on Monday, February 15th.

SURPRISE!

Yesterday I surprised the students with some exciting news!  We do mad libs to practice our parts of speech whenever we have a minute or two of extra time.  Check out the mad lib we created yesterday! 

That's right- Mrs. Leighton is expecting baby #2 this July!  That means that I will get to finish the year out with our class!