Weekly Update

Math 

This past week we continued our Geometry unit with Chapter 19 on symmetry, congruent and similar figures, and transformations such as rotations, reflections and translations.  Ask your child about the trick they learned in telling the three transformations apart!  Our MAP word of the week was symmetry, so it fit perfectly with our math studies.  We used reflection and rotational symmetry in making designs on a grid.  See some of our creations below!

Reading
A big focus this week in Reading and Writing was poetry.  In Reading, we read an assortment of poems from many different authors.  We dug deeper into the meaning of these poems using a reading technique called close reading.  This means that we read the poem on our own and noted our own thoughts.  Then, we read it together and in small groups.  Each time we read the poem, we were able to notice more about it and make more meaning.  We will continue to learn more about poetry next week!  Also next week, students will start their new book club books.    

Writing/Spelling
In Writing, we are in the process of collecting a variety of poems from different poets to add in our poem portfolio. Some poems are funny and some are serious and thought-provoking.  Some are haikus and some are free verse.  Students then wrote a paragraph for each poem describing why they picked that particular poem.  Our literacy MAP word of the week was root words.  Therefore, in Spelling, our new word sorts contain either a prefix or suffix.  The next spelling test is Friday, April 4th.  


Social Studies

We have started Chapter 6, "A Growing State," in our Social Studies curriculum.  This week we learned all about slavery and the underground railroad.  We read many books and even watched a few short videos to help us in understanding the details of this time in history.  Students found this topic very interesting.  After reading a book titled, "The Patchwork Path," students chose their own quilt piece to decorate.  We found out that these quilt pieces were code for runaway slaves heading towards freedom.  Mrs. Leighton is currently making our class quilt, so check the blog for the finished product soon!  

Hannah is decorating her "Bow Ties" pattern, which told the slaves to dress in nice clothes.
 Raph is decorating the "Carpenter's Wheel" pattern, which reminded slaves to "run with faith."

Lola is decorating the "Drunkard's Path" pattern, reminding the slaves to
follow a zig-zag path instead of a straight line.

Important Info.

Report Cards were emailed home this past Wednesday.  Please let me know if you have any questions or if you did not receive an emailed report card.  Fourth graders will view the Health Growth and Development videos on Monday (3/31) and Wednesday (4/2).  The girls will watch their video on Monday during block, and the boys will view their video on Wednesday during block.  If you do not wish for your child to see the video, please email me.  If you have any questions please email Amanda Klahs, our school nurse.  Missouri's Arbor Day is the first Friday in April, so students took home an Eastern Redbud tree on Friday to take home and plant or to give to a loved one as a gift.  Students also took home information for planting and caring for the trees.  We discussed that these trees should be planted ASAP in order for them to survive.