4th Grade
Mrs. Conley, Mrs. Marcks & Mrs. Norton
Friday, October 5th! Our first S'More!
This is the first newsletter of this year. We want to take a moment to say WELCOME to a brand new year! It was been great getting to know your child as a reader, mathematician, and scientist! It is amazing what we have already learned in such a short amount of time!
A couple of "talking points" have come up in every classroom and we would like to comment as a grade level:
- Assignment notebooks: These are used for communication and for sharing the "Big Ideas" of the day. If your child says that nothing happened during the day, open the assignment notebook and begin to ask deeper questions.
- TenMarks: Should be checked nightly to ensure your child is up to date with current assignments. Remember, please use hints and videos as good practices while working on TenMarks assignments. They are purposefully there to help and assist.
- Homework: Will ALWAYS be 20 minutes (or more) of nightly reading. Additionally, checking in on/completing TenMarks. Word Study homework (along with studying high frequency words) will be coming home during the weeks we have Word Study.
- Math Test Study Guides: We encourage all families to work through the math study guides we send home before an upcoming test. These are for your child's reference and do not need to be turned back in. If your child (or you) would like feedback on a study guide, then please, turn the study guide in to the classroom teacher. An answer key will be included on all study guides.
Reading Workshop/Language Workshop:
Readers are finishing up the first unit of the year - Community. We have read 5 books in Language Workshop that support building an understanding of community. Today students wrote about how people in a community help one another. Students were required to use text evidence to support their thinking, using the books that we have read together in Language Workshop.
Many readers have also been involved in Literature Discussion Groups. Not all readers are in a discussion book at this time, as we rotate our groups. Please know that if your child is not in a literature discussion book right now, they will be very soon!
Writing Workshop:
Writers are finishing the first unit - Narrative Writing. Students will be writing an "on demand" summative. They will have a 45 minute period on Monday to write a personal narrative, using all that they know about good narrative writing. Please take a moment to talk to your child about a small moment story from their life that they could use for Monday. Thanks!
Talking Points for ELA:
What was your favorite book from our first unit?
What story ideas do you have for your writing on Monday?
How have your grown as a reader/writer so far this year?
Math Workshop:
Mathematicians have been working hard learning about growth mindset and how it applies to different math situations - problem solving, TenMarks, independent work time, small group work time, and completing a task (just to name a few). We finished the unit of Patterning and have moved into our beginning Place Value unit. Today, Friday, will be our first of a couple tests in this unit of place value. Next week your mathematician will move into a more advanced understanding of place value and begin working on Rounding 6 digit numbers (to the hundred thousands place, ten-thousands place, thousands place, hundreds place, and tens place).
Please note, at the beginning of each unit a "Math Moment" Newsletter will be shared with you. This math moment includes information on how to help your child at home as well as the unit's "Big Ideas". Please ask if you should have any questions.
Talking Points for Math:
What is the value of 5 in the number 356,721
What is the difference between a factor and multiple?
How do you say the number 802,046?