4th Grade News
March, 2020
Over the Hump
We are right in the middle of the 3rd quarter, and we are so proud of all of the hard work our students have put in so far this year! Your child has put in over 100 days of perseverance and effort! As the year progresses, we are continuing to look for independence, both academically and socially, in our soon-to-be 5th graders.
Supply Replenishment Appreciated
As you may know, our students were hit hard by illness last month. Any donations of tissues & hand sanitizer to help replenish our limited supply are very much appreciated! Please feel free to send in with your 4th grader as soon as possible.
Reading News
We'll spend some time this month building our research skills to teach someone about a topic - any topic - that is interesting! Students will practice synthesizing information from a variety of sources into a project of their choosing.
Additionally, we will have another round of novel-reading to quench our thirst for literary text. We will also spend some this time looking for "signposts" - places in the text to stop and think - and analyzing character, setting, plot, and themes in our novels.
Students will always be asked to prove their point by citing text evidence.
As your child is reading at home, encourage them to talk about their book. You could ask, “Do you like the book and why? What does the writer do to keep you interested? Do you think it is well written?” Have your child give specific examples from the story to support their answer.
Math News
As we enter March, we will be wrapping up Unit 7 and moving into Unit 8 - Measurement & Geometry. Students will work with shapes and types of lines, and even measure angles!
During and after this unit, students should be able to say...
(This is our only Geometry unit this year; all standards/targets come to mastery.)
→ I can identify and name points, line segments, rays, lines and angles.
→ I can identify perpendicular lines, parallel lines, and intersecting lines within shapes.
→ I can classify triangles and quadrilaterals.
→ I can identify and draw a line of symmetry in a figure.
→ I can construct angles by drawing 2 rays that share a common endpoint.
→ I can identify types of angles (acute, right, obtuse, straight) within a circle.
→ I can communicate an angle measurement with reference to a circle.
→ I can use a protractor to measure and draw angles.
→ I can identify a larger angle as the sum of two angles.
Science & Social Studies News
Our next science unit focuses on Physical Science - with an emphasis on Energy & Waves.
Energy: This introductory energy unit will encourage students to think about the energy that things need to move. Students will explore how energy makes things go, from powering vehicles to moving one’s body. Students will experiment with rubber band racers to discover the relationship between how much energy is stored in a material and how much is released. They will investigate the role that hills play in making roller coasters move and the energy transfer that happens when two objects collide. Students will realize that thinking about the world in terms of energy helps them make sense of how and why things speed up and slow down. Hands-on activities focus on engineering, testing hypotheses and using results to develop their ideas.
Waves of Sound: This unit helps students develop the idea that sound is an actual thing, a wave of vibrations traveling through the air. Equipped with this understanding, students can begin to make sense of how sound and music work.
We wrap up this unit by building our own machines inspired by the designs of Rube Goldberg Stay tuned for a list of common household materials you can send in to aid the construction process!
Writing News
As we head into March, students will continue with their hard work on developing a personal opinion on a topic of choice. In the classroom, to help students organize their details and supporting evidence, we have been using an organizer called boxes and bullets. Students will be using their organizer as an outline to help them write a well developed essay. As we move through this progression students will support their writing with evidence and “mini-stories” that help validate their opinions. Students will be stretching their claims by using their evidence as well as adding “juicy” details to encourage others to also support their opinions. Ask your child to share different ways an opinion, or claim, can be supported in an essay.
Important Dates in March
4th: 2-hour early dismissal
6th: Class Pictures
11th: Helping Hoops Game @ UHS (Admission = 1 non-perishable item to benefit the Greater Urbana Food Bank)
13th: Field Trip to the ESSL (Hallock, Maenner, & Mills' classes only)
20th: Field Trip to the ESSL (Cafarelli, Kelley, Lasko's classes only)
24th: Science Fair @ CES
The CES 4th Grade Team
Sandy Cafarelli
Karla Hallock
Dreda Kelley
Melissa Lasko
Jill Maenner
Caitlin Mills