The fourth grade poetry celebration was yesterday morning. Students first did a share of what they learned this unit, a poem that they were proud of, and why they were proud of that particular poem.  Students then worked with family and friends to create “magnetic” poetry. They were given slips of paper with words on them, and were tasked with creating a poem by mostly using the words on the slips of paper. Many students enjoyed sharing out these poems. It was wonderful having so many family members at the celebration.

 

Hello everyone! It is after the new year, and we are getting back into our routines. Students are settling in and getting back into the swing of things.

Writing – In writing, we are getting ready for our Poetry Celebration. The celebration will be next Wednesday, January 18th 8:45-9:30. I hope students’ families will be able to join us. Please email me to let me know if you will be there. Students will share some of their work with the group, they will share their poetry book with you, they will teach you strategies they have learned for coming up with a poem idea when they feel stuck, write a poem with you, and share the created poem with the group. It should be a fun morning. I hope you will be able to join us.

Math – We are getting ready for our math test on Friday. The focus of the test is on fractions and decimals. A review packet was completed in class. This is going home with students today. Students are encouraged to study concepts that were challenging for them the first time, and are now corrected. We will begin a new math unit next week.

Spelling – Students are in groups working on spelling words that focus on a particular rule. It is really important that students complete their spelling homework each night. It not only helps them to learn the particular words, but also helps them to internalize the particular spelling rule.

Reading – Students are learning to TTQA, Turn The Question Around. This a strategy for making responses stronger. For instance, if the question is “Who is the main character in the book?” the response would begin “The main character in the book is…”. Students are also making sure they are writing with capital letters and punctuation in the correct places, and that they are using their best spelling.

Social Studies – In social studies, students are learning about mapping and the United States. Students are finishing up a map project, where they fill in a large map of the U.S. On the map, students must list the countries that surround the United States, list the state names, list the state capitals, list the major rivers, and so on. Students are also working on a project in technology that focuses on the regions of the United States.