I can’t believe we are already into 2017! We have been extra busy in 4th grade leading up to Holiday Break and now we are happy to be back in the swing of things. Check out the kid’s individual blogs to find out some of their New Year Resolutions and Goals for 2017! Our class jar is almost full of tokens so keep an eye out for a reward announcement.

Before break, we finished up Unit 3 in math which focused on fractions. We took our assessment and those scores went home on Friday. Last week we began Unit 4 which focuses on multiplication strategies. We have already learned how to use the area model to help multiplying multi-digit numbers. Today we began learning the partial-product strategy.

In writing we began our trimester long study of informational writing. Before break we wrote informational pieces about topics we already know all about. We learned how to write a complete paragraph using the hamburger paragraph strategy. We wrote, revised, edited, and published complete pieces. In the next few weeks we are going to learn how to do research and create written reports from different resources.

During reading we have also been focusing on informational texts. We have spent a lot of time on identifying the main idea of articles and books we are reading. We have learned a variety of strategies to identify the main idea and supporting details. We will be using this information to learn to write summaries of what we are reading.

In social studies we finished up our study of Vermont history. We learned about Vermont’s role in the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and it’s road to statehood. Our next social studies unit will begin this week. We are going to study the Regions of the U.S.A. We will start learning about the Northeast this week.

Coming back to school can be hard after a long break. Last week we spent a lot of time reviewing expectations at school. We are also learning how having a Growth Mindset can help us at school. Here is a great article about how you can foster a Growth Mindset at home: 5 Parenting Strategies to Develop a Growth Mindset

I am so excited to be back at school and I’m ready for some great learning in 2017!

Wow! This week has been busy! We started the week with an unexpected snowstorm! Almost everyone including myself was super late to school because of the roads! Thanks to the Lighthouse Teachers who banned together to help! We watched Zootopia and used the movie to spark a discussion about theme and message.

The rest of the week was just as exciting and action packed! In math we have been focusing on strategies we can use to compare fractions. We have learned a variety of strategies such as same numerator, same denominator,  using 1/2 as a benchmark, and finding a common denominator.

In writing we have been focusing on informational writing. We spent a large amount of time planning our pieces and finally we began to write paragraphs. We are writing about topics that we already know a lot of information about so we can focus on writing great paragraphs.

During reading we have also been focusing on informational texts. We have reviewed nonfiction text features such as diagrams, photographs, maps, text boxes, glossary, and index. We have practiced using them to learn new information. We have also learned to stop and react to new information, as well as to ask questions before, during, and after reading.

In social studies we have been learning about Vermont history. We have learned about the Abenaki, Samuel de Champlain, the French and Indian War, and the New Hampshire Land Grants.

Ford’s Friends also filled our class token jar with all of our positive behavior in class! We will vote on our class reward next week!

A Few Reminders: 

• Please send students with boots, coats, snow pants, and other winter gear as it gets colder and snowy! Try to make sure all gear is labeled with student names.
• Remember sneakers on Monday and Wednesday for P.E.
• This is a friendly reminder that your Reading Club orders are due by 12/12/16. You can place your orders online at scholastic.com/readingclub using my class activation code: ML2DM

I will be posting class updates every few weeks and important announcements as well. In addition, check our class blogs for updates directly from the kids themselves!  Happy Weekend!