Grade 4 December News
from Mrs. Davis' Class
Math Matters
The class has just finished Unit #3; Factors and Multiples! Score reports have been sent home that let you know how your student faired on the end of unit assessment.
Now that we have begun Unit #4, Computation, it is essential that all students be FLUENT in their multiplication facts. Fluency means that the student can recall the fact within 3 seconds. There are many ways to help you child master the multiplication facts. Here are just a two!
- Multiplication War: Using a regular deck of cards, have each of the two people "flip" a card at the same time. The first person to say the product (the answer) gets to take both cards. Play until 1 person has all of the cards. You can assign a value to the face cards (Jack=11, queen =12, king =13), have all face cards as wild, or remove the face cards from the deck.
- Skip Counting: Give the student a random number between 1 and 12. Have them skip count by that number! Time them to see how fast they can get to the given number x 12.
As you can see, both of these practice strategies are fast, easy, and do not require a computer, or a pencil and paper! Additionally, multiplication games and flash cards are available for check out from the classroom.
Writer's Workshop
The FEATURE ARTICLE unit is in full swing! All students have finished researching their chosen tribe and are hard at work revising, editing, and adding TEXT FEATURES to complement their composition. Using the mobil lab has allowed the entire process to be done on COMPUTERS! The finished products will be presented on Tuesday, December 16th. Students who have chosen to create the optional diorama, at home, should bring in their creation on that day.
As part of the Writer's Celebration, students will be providing feedback to their peers AND we will have a "Taste and Try" luncheon with Native American inspired foods!
Reading Report
Informational text continues to be the focus during instructional time. Students have learned that authors organize information in multiple ways, known as text structures. Additionally, text features allow an author to provide more information
.
Many students are working hard to increase their independent reading both at school and at home. Recording independent reading on book cards is being reinforced. Is your child completing their book cards? You might want to ask them!
Coming Next Month!
- Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Oh, my!
- A trip to the Garde Arts Center
- Huge multiplication problems
- Persuasive writing
- MAP testing
- SNOW?