Mid December Curriculum Letter

Dear Fourth Grade Families,

Please enjoy these updates from our classroom.

Writing

We have begun a unit on persuasive essay. Students brainstormed dozens of essay ideas and have chosen one to grow into an essay. Students are at different points of the planning process, thinking of catchy openings, describing their problems, and listing reasons to support their opinions. Ask your child what topic they've chosen and what their opinion statement is.

Reading

Some students are reading Tuck Everlasting and others are reading The Cricket in Times Square. We are working on identifying story elements: characters, setting, problem, solution, theme, and mood. Students have also set mid-year reading goals. Ask you child what his or her goal is.

Math

We have been working on division story problems and strategies. Some students are drawing pictures of division scenarios, in order to visualize the problem. Others are skip counting until they reach the dividend. Yet others are using multiplication and division facts they know in order to move toward a quotient. When a division context arises, such as figuring out the price of a grocery item per ounce or splitting a bill, ask your child to help you figure out the answer.

Word Study

During morning meeting, we've been spending time learning parts of speech. Student learned about singular, plural and possessive nouns as well as subject, object, and possessive pronouns. Ask your child to point out these parts of speech in their writing or in the books they read.

Social Studies

We have continued our study of West Africa through several read alouds. Students are learning facts about West Africa while they learn vocabulary about the study of culture as well as the skill of note taking. Ask your child one fact or vocabulary word s/he has learned about West Africa.

Book Order

The latest scholastic book order went home last week. If you'd like to order, please hand in the form on Monday or order online with the code FWT22.

Ice Skating Trip: Save the Date

Our class will be going ice skating at Lasker Rink on January 19^th. We will send home permission slip at a later date, but we wanted parents to be able to hold the date. If you would like to chaperone, please let us know, and keep in mind the following guidelines: Refrain from making purchases of any kind during the trip. Families are welcome to bring hot chocolate for sharing as long as there is enough to share with the entire class.

Best,

Nancy and Stephanie

December Curriculum Letter

Hi Fourth Grade Families,

Please enjoy these updates from our classroom.

Writing

Students are just finishing up writing the final copies their memoirs, and are reflecting on the work they've done. Students spend a long time revising and editing their work to make for final copies they felt really proud of. Starting this week, students are also using their spelling try sheets to improve the spelling of their homework.

Social Studies

We have just begun a unit on West Africa. We looked at atlases and make a long list of everything we knew about West Africa. Then, we brainstormed a list of questions we had about the region. As the unit progresses, we will read West African folk tales and learn about the history, culture, and religions of West Africa. If your family has anything you'd like to contribute to this unit, please let us know.

Math

We just finished an investigation of multiplication arrays that focused on the question, "Is it always possible to break apart arrays into smaller pieces and put them back together to find the answer?" Ask your child to provide an example of breaking apart an array into smaller, easier arrays, and then putting it back together. As we progress in our unit, we'll look at multiplication as a comparison, do an investigation on division, study larger multiples, and learn some advanced strategies for multiplying like doubling and halving numbers. Check your child's backpack for a letter about how to reinforce strategies taught in this math unit at home.

Reading

Some students are continuing to read Becoming Naomi Leon and others are reading Edward Tulane. All students are learning to talk about story elements and are writing predictions based on context clues from the stories and prior knowledge from personal experiences. Ask your child to make a prediction about any books s/he is reading at home.

Field Trip

Next Wednesday, December 7, we will be taking a trip to the Newtown Creek Water Treatment Facility to learn about how water is processed. Emily is coordinating this trip as part the science curriculum, and we will be going with Lauren's class as well. Please make sure to send in a permission slip.

Farewell to Emmeline

Emmeline will be returning to Denmark on December 18th, and we will miss her. If your child would like to stay in touch, you can send him or her to school with an email or Skype ID to share with Emmeline. We wish her all the best.

Best,

Nancy and Stephanie