February 13, 2015

Happy Valentines Day weekend!

Thank you for all the lovely valentines!  No school on Monday - enjoy the 3 day weekend in honor of President's Day.

Here's what's been happening in 4th grade:

Math-
Students took their 4th grade Unit 9 test this week.  These tests were sent home in the Friday Folders.   Next week we will be starting the 5th grade math curriculum.  Our first unit is on factorization, arrays, square numbers, and square roots.  We will also be discussing order of operations and solving multistep word problems.  Ask your child what symmetry is.

Reading-
This week in Reading students learned how to make a concept map, looked for and analyzed cause and effect, as well as synthesized information from a variety of texts.  All this information is being gathered to answer our essential question: What are the roles of plants and animals in a diverse ecosystem?  Next week we'll be adding the information we've collected to a matrix.  Students were also introduced to the computer tools that they will have to use to take the upcoming PARCC tests.  Ask your child how they used their iPad and the Inspiration application to make a concept map.

Writing-
In writing students worked on developing their story outlines or plot diagrams.  They generated ideas for their main character along with the setting and problem.  Then we used our mentor texts to understand personification and talked about other figurative language devices we may want to include in our story.  Next week student will begin drafting their fiction stories.  Ask your child about the problem of their story.

Science-
This week in science students began learning about sedimentary rocks with a look at glaciers.  We read a story about how glaciers change the land and create new land formations.  Then we mixed sediment with water and put it in the freezer so that next week we will have our own "mini-glaciers" to experiment with.  Ask your child what a moraine is.

Social Studies-
This week in social studies, students learned about the climate and environment of the Northeast region. Students learned why the Northwest has four seasons and the different kinds of trees (broadleaf and needleleaf) within the region. Next week, we will begin our immigration study! Students will be researching about immigrants' experiences traveling through Ellis Island. Ask your child how the foliage on a broadleaf tree is different from the foliage on a needleleaf tree.

*Don't forget to sign your daughter up for Girls on the Run.  Information about this new running club is in the Hootie Backpack and extra forms are available at school.

Coming home this week in your child's Friday Folder:
-Information on PARCC testing
-Math Unit 9 test
-Reading log

Have a Great Weekend,
Mrs. Ingstrup and Miss Hathaway