Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Spring Fun & Learning

Hello Spring!

It's almost here!  With Spring comes many exciting events, new learning opportunities, and some important dates. 

Non-Fiction

We have been learning how to determine the main topics of a non-fiction text by skimming and scanning the text features.  We are also learning how key details can support our understanding of the main topics in the text.  We will be starting a project in the classroom that will help solidify this concept and help us practice our newly learned skills.  Partnerships will read about a topic and determine the main topics and key details from the reading.  They will then create a presentation using Prezi present their topic to the rest of the class.  Prezi is similar to Power Point but more exciting!  When they are finished we will share!

Writing a Response to Literature

We are working on understanding questions so that we know what they are asking of us.  This will help us better think about and answer them.  We are also learning how we can categorize our evidence which helps us come up with answers or reasons. (Ask your child about my Grandmother's purse!)  Yesterday, students wrote some beautiful responses to a question about an excerpt from Because of Winn-Dixie.  I thought I would share one response below so you can see what fourth graders are expected to do (and are capable of!)


Number Lines

Today we will begin looking at fractions on number lines.  We have gotten very good at partitioning tape diagrams and area models into halves, thirds, fourths, fifths and sixths.  We have also learned what equivalence means.  Our next step is seeing this same concept on a number line.  We will then move on to using number lines to help us think about the sizes of different fractions and putting them in order.

Potential and Kinetic Energy

We are nearing the end of our unit on potential and kinetic energy and it has been a blast.  Yesterday, students made adjustments to an experiment we had done together to see if they could make their cars travel even further down the ramp.  They determined their own variable and designed their own experiments.  Some added height to the ramp, others added weight to the cars, some adjusted the tracks.  Today, students will present the results of their experiments.

Important Dates

March 25th - No School
March 30th - Report Cards Go Home
April 1st, 4th, 5th - MCAS ELA

Donations

We are looking for some things to replenish our supplies!  Anything you could send in would be greatly appreciated!

Pencils
Magnets for our whiteboard
Clorox Wipes

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