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 19th. 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
