Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Four Winds

Here are some photos from Four Winds this past week. Students explored the relationship between the sun and the earth.





Attention!!

         H.O.C. Parent and Student Informational Meeting:

           Monday, October 3rd at 4:00 p.m. in the Library
It is expected that all students attend and advantageous if a parent can be there as well.  Meanwhile, please fill out the forms that were sent home on Friday, Sept. 23rd.

Medications that will be sent to H.O.C. need to be left with Mrs. Sudol in the original containers.  This includes evening medication that will be administered by a teacher.  Please forego vitamins and fluoride for these two days at H.O.C.  She has asked that you get this information to her as soon as possible, please.  You may contact her at:  jsudol@wcsu.net

*Reminder:
The bus for the ECHO Science Center leaves promptly at 8:00a.m. on Friday, Sept. 30th.  Pack a large lunch & snack in a backpack.  Also, have your child dress in layers so we can go outside too.  Remember that we won't be returning until 3:30.


Monday, September 26, 2016

Math Family Letters

Here are the links for the Family letters for unit 1 and 3. We are finishing up unit 1 this week so this will give you a good idea of what we have covered and what to expect for the next month or two. I've also included "Related Activities to Try at Home". Enjoy!

Unit 3-Family Letter
Unit 3-Related Activities to Try at Home
Unit 1-Family Letter
Unit 1-Related Activities to Try at Home

Friday, September 16, 2016

Sept.16th Update

Hello Parents,

We cannot believe we are already 3 weeks into school! The time is already flying by! The 4th graders are getting into the hang of all of our classroom routines and we have already covered so much.

These last few weeks in writing, students have been working on the skills to plan for realistic fiction stories. We have practiced as a class creating t-charts to track external and internal character traits, giving our characters struggles and motivations, plotting story arcs, and developing ways to brainstorm seed ideas. These 4th graders are digging deep for story ideas that are important to them and allow them to write with feeling. They are also basing their stories off of their own experiences in order to write something they can relate to. It's amazing how many mature ideas they have!

We finished the first section of Unit 1 on Factors, Multiples and Arrays today. Students had the opportunity to find all of the arrays or factors of a number using grid paper. We discussed that prime numbers are those which only have two factors, 1 and the number itself and composite numbers are those that have more than two factors. We also practiced telling multiplication story problems and playing games to brush up on multiplication facts in order to be more efficient in solving arrays. Next week we will begin more work with multiplication. Students have been sent home with multiplication cards that they should be practicing for about 10 minutes each evening. Once they become fluent with them they can narrow it down to the ones they are still learning.

Thank you to those of you, who considered chaperoning our H.O.C. trip but Dave Steele has committed to come to H.O.C. for the full 3 days. Thank you Dave! We look forward to having him join us for this exciting trip!

We are looking forward to seeing you at Parent Information Night this Tues., Sept.
20th from 7:00-7:30.
Best,
Kelley and Cindy

Think3d! Research Study

Hello Parents,

I am writing to let you know about an exciting opportunity our 4th grade class is getting to try a new spatial thinking program, called Think3d! Your child was sent home today with some more information about this program. This is a research study created by Tufts University and our school is being given the chance to test it out. I am really excited about the 6 sessions in this unit, which will be taught on Fridays during math. The packet that has been sent home with your child, includes information about the study as well as a consent form for you to sign in order for your child to participate. I am really excited about this study and I think the 4th graders will enjoy it and look forward to it each week. Stay tuned for more about our experience with Think3d!

Best,
Kelley & Cindy

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Fourth Grade Class Rules

Fourth Grade Class Rules
2016 - 17

*Work together as a cooperative team.

*Treat others the way you want to be treated.

*Be respectful.

*Be kind.

*Follow directions.

*Make safe choices.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016



Students sorting rocks during science.
Sept. 6, 2016

Hello Parents,

     We had a short busy week but it was filled with good practice of routines and new learning.  This is not to mention how glad we all were to see one another.   Our room is newly painted for those of you. who did not make the Meet Your Teacher Night.  Additionally, there is no fountain in our room anymore so please send a water bottle to school.  We are using a different model from last year and both Miss Willis and Mrs. Siegler should be emailed or contacted since Miss Willis rotates between both third grade and our class.

     Lots of H.O.C. money has been collected!  The amount of coins is a bit overwhelming so it would be great if someone would volunteer to help Mrs. Lackley with adding it all up.  Please keep collecting and we will hope to see the cans again at the end of September.  WE STILL NEED A FATHER(OR TWO) TO CHAPERONE OUR H.O.C. TRIP ON OCT.12-14TH.

     Tonight Book Talk forms for September will be coming home.  The Fourth Grade reading homework expectation is for 20-30 minutes of reading a night.  A Book Talk will be expected each month on one of the books that your child has read.  Please don't let them wait until Sept. 29th to write it.  Pacing is a skill that needs to be taught!

     We started a Geology Study last week, where we shared our own rocks, sorted others and learned that there are three types of rocks.  We will continue with small cooperative group activities as we learn about minerals this week.  We have a field trip to the ECHO Science Center in Burlington on Friday, Sept. 30th from 8:00-3:30.  We need two chaperones to join us as we learn about the geology of Lake Champlain.

      4th Grade math is off to a great start. We began with math stations last week to give students the opportunity to refresh their math brain and get back into the swing of working with their classmates. They worked incredibly hard and we were very impressed to see how well they worked together and how much they enjoyed playing math games and doing surveys with each other. This week we are beginning our first math unit “Multiple Towers and Division Stories”. Students will begin by exploring the different strategies we use to multiply and divide and creating stories to go along with equations. It is especially important in this unit for students to know their multiplication facts in order to be efficient and confident in their strategies. We will be sending home flash-cards to work on fluency at home. Thank you for helping to keep these facts fresh!


Best,
Cindy & Kelley