5/15-5/19

Happy Friday!  It was such a fun week with Fishing Day.  The kids had a blast.  Thank you everyone who helped make the day fun, safe, and memorable.  Take a look at what we've been up to this week...

Fishing Day
It was a blast!  The kids really did such a great job at the different stations, and they also caught a lot of fish.  I loved watching our students learn about and connect with nature, I believe that is so incredibly important!  I haven't had time to get the pictures onto my computer yet, so be on the lookout this weekend for an email saying they're on the blog!

In addition, we had grandparents in our class pass along information regarding a fishing program through the Missouri Department of Conservation called Discover Nature and gives young people more fishing opportunities.  The program is free and includes four lessons.  It sounds like a wonderful opportunity for children and their parents to connect with nature.  Here is the link if you are interested:  http://www.discoverfishingstl.com/

Reading
In our Mythology unit we are continuing to read Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.  Students are really enjoying applying their knowledge of gods, goddesses, and other mythological creatures to their understanding of the reading.

Students also had the opportunity to participate in a Percy Jackson Mythology themed Breakout!  Students were given tools and clues to break into boxes and break into Pandora's Box.  Students focused on problem solving, perseverance, and cooperation with others.

Please remember to read 30 minutes nightly!

Writing
During writing this week, students were asked to choose a favorite type of writing: narrative, opinion, or expository.  They will be planning, drafting, revising, and editing these pieces before the end of the school year.

Math
In math students are going to be learning about how to work with decimals in our "Step Up to Fifth Grade" unit.  In addition, students will also be completing an end of the year activity where they budget and plan for a dream vacation!

Social Studies
We are well into our New Challenges unit!  Students will be learning about and discussing:

• the 1904 World's Fair
• Women's Rights
• The Great Depression
• Civil Rights

Upcoming Dates

• 5/24: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief film shown in class
• 5/25: Last day for students; 1:05 dismissal
• 5/31: Progress Reports go live

5/8-5/12

Happy Friday!  I hope everyone had a wonderful week.  We stayed very busy with a whole school photo and a First Responders Assembly.  Here's what we've been up to in the classroom...

Reading
This week in our Mythology unit we...

• studied how character changes in mythology teaches a lesson
• noticed how strong emotions and reactions signal a lesson
• studied objects and images as symbols
• hunted for mythological references in our modern texts

Please remember to read 30 minutes nightly!

Writing
We wrapped up our Literary Essay unit this week by...

• peer revising with partners
• revising topic sentences
• editing for non-negotiables and complex sentences

Math
In our Patterns and Measurement unit we...

• reviewed measurement concepts by working through multi-step word problems involving conversions
• assessed our learning

Please remember to practice math facts!  In addition, students are welcome to complete any unfinished EnVision work at home in their Pearson accounts.

Science
We wrapped up our Water unit by...

• studying how surface area and location affects evaporation rates
• studying the water cycle
• understanding the effects of erosion, weathering, and pollution
• assessing our learning

Upcoming Dates

• 5/18: Fishing Day Rescheduled
• We are still searching for MANY volunteers!  If you are interested and can help us out, please sign-up on our NEW sign-up link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f49aeab2baaf58-may18th.  Thank you in advance!
• 5/24: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief film shown in class.  
• Make sure permission slips are turned in!
• 5/25: Last Day of School
• 5/31: Progress Reports go live

5/1-5/5

What a week!  I know many of us have felt, and continue to feel, the impacts of the flooding.  In Parkway, we are very fortunate that our schools were not affected.  Our neighboring districts are not as lucky.  My favorite note from one of our students this week:

Reading
We continue to work through our Mythology unit.  The kids are having a blast!  They have really enjoyed connecting mythological references to contemporary literature today.  We even watched Hercules yesterday, and I was impressed with some of the connections and noticings they had made! This week we...

• thought about the lessons myths teach
• identified character archetypes in mythology, then used those identify archetypes in our modern literature

Please continue to read 30 minutes nightly!  It is important to keep up this stamina throughout the end of the school year and summer!

Additional Note:  Permission slips to watch the Percy Jackson film are coming home today.  This is our current read aloud in class.  The film is rated PG, so I need to get permission to show the film.  Please return these as soon as possible!

Writing
In our Literary Essay unit we...

• revised conclusions
• thought about how to introduce and cite evidence into our pieces
• used goal sheets to reread, reflect, and goal set

Math
In our Patterns and Measurement unit we...

• used formulas to find area and perimeter
• used area and width to find the length of an unknown side
• added and subtracted like and unlike units of measurement (gallons, quarts, pints, etc.)

Please practice math facts nightly!  In addition, students may complete any unfinished work in their Pearson accounts!

Science
Water, water everywhere!  It seems fitting that our current unit of study is water.  This week we...

• investigated which materials and water temperatures would float or sink
• looked at different types of water on Earth
• investigated evaporation in relation to location and surface area
• discussed condensation

Upcoming Dates

• 5/8: Wear yellow class shirts!  The whole school will be taking an aerial shot of students and staff spelling out LEADERS.  Each grade level will be their own color.  Fourth is yellow!
• 5/10: Patterns and Measurement Assessment
• 5/11: First Responder Day
• 5/12: Water Assessment
• 5/12: Math 3 Benchmark
• 5/18: Fishing Day Rescheduled
• Woohoo!  They let us reschedule!  Please consider volunteering.  If you can now volunteer, or if you can no longer, please sign up on this link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f49aeab2baaf58-may18th

4/24-4/28

Good morning!  This week was very busy.  One student said, "We are on such a tight schedule!"  The MAP test took up a lot of our time Monday thru Thursday, but take a look at what we've been up to...

Reading
We started a new read aloud, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief to kick off our new reading unit of study, Mythology!  Students are very excited to begin.  We will be studying the impacts mythology has on our contemporary texts today.  We spent this week introducing our new read aloud and building our background knowledge of Greek and Roman mythology.

Please remember to read 30 minutes nightly!! 

Writing
In our Literary Essay unit, students stayed busy with their pieces.  We worked to...

• revise our leads to state a claim and three reasons
• include a "mini-summary" of our books
• elaborate upon our evidence

Math

This week we worked on reviewing basic fourth grade math concepts such as addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication.  Next week we will continue our Patterns and Measurement unit by focusing on area, perimeter, and multi-step word problems.

Please remember to practice your math facts nightly.  Students may also complete any unfinished EnVision work in their online accounts.  This would be excellent review!

Science

We are excited to start our new science unit of study, Water!  This week we focused on...

• previewing the basics of the water cycle
• weather measurement tools

Upcoming Dates

• 4/29: Barretts Blast
• 5/4: Fishing Day
• Our class is desperately still in need of 4 volunteers to chaperone student groups from station to station.  These spots must be filled!  Please consider volunteering in order to make Fishing Day fun and safe!  Sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4aabaf2fa5ff2-fishing
•  5/21: Barretts Day at the Ballpark
• 5/25: Last Day of School

4/17-4/21

What a week!  We had a 4th grade orchestra concert, 4th grade musical, and a multi-cultural assembly all on one week.  We still were very productive in class.  See what we've been working on...

Reading
In reading this week we have been focusing on testing strategies to prepare for the MAP next week.  Students learned how to become confident test takers!  Please remember to read 30 minutes nightly!

It was too beautiful not to spend a day reading outside this week!

Writing
In out Literary Essay unit we...

• learned how to cite strong evidence from our books
• developed reasons to support our claims
• planned and drafted our literary essays 

Math
In Patterns and Measurement we...

• learned to follow rules and look for features in a pattern
• used rules and features of a pattern to predict numbers or shapes in a pattern
• learned how to convert customary units of length, capacity, and weight
• learned how to convert metric units of length, capacity, and mass
• solved area and perimeter problems

Please remember to practice your math facts nightly!  These are the foundation to 4th grade mathematical concepts.  In addition, Online Practice Buddies are assigned nightly.  Although optional, the Practice Buddies are highly encouraged.

Upcoming Dates

• 4/24-4/27: MAP testing for 4th grade
• Please do not schedule appointments for your child during these day if possible.
• Make sure your child has a good night sleep and breakfast!
• 5/4: Fishing Day
• We are still in need of MANY volunteers!  Each class needs 4 chaperones in order to split students into groups.  If you are interested, please use the link to signup.  Thank you in advance!
• http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4aabaf2fa5ff2-fishing

4/10-4/13

Good morning!  We had a wonderful week.  Check out what we've been up to...

Reading
This week we've been focused on reviewing concepts taught throughout the year:

• identifying main idea
• supporting the main idea with key details
• working with inference questions

Please remember to read 30 minutes nightly!

Writing
In our Literary Essay unit we...

• studied characters to develop ideas and claims about them
• elaborated upon our ideas with thought prompts to deepen our thinking
• tested and developed claims to write about in our essays

This unit will require additional homework.  You child should be bringing their notebook and literary essay book home nightly.  They should be working to reread their books to mark spots where they can support their reasons and claims with evidence from the text.

Rational Numbers
We wrapped up our Rational Numbers unit by...

• placing decimals and fractions on a number line
• comparing decimals
• solving word problems involving money

Please remember to have your student practice math facts nightly!  These are the foundation of mathematical concepts.  In addition, students are assigned Online Practice Buddies daily.  Although optional, they are a great way for students to practice the concepts taught in class.

Geometry
We wrapped up out Geometry unit by...

• identifying line symmetric figures and lines of symmetry
• drawing shapes with line symmetry 

Upcoming Dates

• 4/14: No School
• 4/19: 4th Grade Evening Strings Performance
• 4/20: 4th Grade Musical Performance; arrive at 6:40
• 4/24-4/27: MAP Testing
• If possible, please do not schedule any appointments for your child during this time.
• 5/4: FISHING DAY!
• Please make sure your child returns their permission slip ASAP.

Geometry Review

Marshmallows,

Use these games and activities to help you review for your Geometry Assessment tomorrow.

Parallel, Perpendicular, & Intersecting Lines

1. Quiz
2. Line Shoot

Measuring Angles

1. Measuring Angels
2. Measure Angels with a Protractor
3. Measuring Angels - ABCYa

Classifying Triangles

1. Triangle Splat
2. Drag & Drop
3. Study Stack

Classifying Quadrilaterals

1. Classifying Quads
2. Classifying Quadrilaterals - IXL
3. Call of Quadrilaterals

Symmetry

1. Shape Game
2. Complete the Pattern
3. Mission Symmetry