Planning Ahead

Hello All!

We did a little 'planning ahead' work in our agendas today.  Here are the notes we added (as well as a few I noticed at the end of the day when checking email).

In addition to these notes, please note our MAP testing dates below.  Please try to schedule any doctors appointments around these if possible!  Thank you!

Mrs. Porter's class MAP testing dates: 

Tuesday (12/3) Math 10:35-11:40

Wednesday (12/4) Reading 10:35-11:40

Thursday (12/5) Language Arts 10:35-11:40

Also, there is still time to sign up to volunteer for our first Exploration of the school year!  Here is the link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1XRatbBfOJkl4bI_WJCf7Y1DCz03MovKIGLDKBkCZrk/viewform

Other assessments on the horizon will be in Math (testing standards NF.1 and NF.2- equivalent fractions, simplifying fractions, comparing and ordering fractions, mixed numbers and improper fractions).  Following this assessment we will move on to our final math standard of Term 3, NF.3 (adding and subtracting fractions).  In addition to math, we will have a test on Sound in Science (our standard to work with after Light).  There will also be an optional home project assignment coming home after the break.  We will also continue to work with our ELA standards and opinion writing.  We will have a busy 3 weeks in December!!!  :)

As always, thank you for your continued support and enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday!!!  See you in December!

Busy Week!

What wonderful presentations last night at Literary Cafe!  I was so proud of all of our kids for overcoming stage fright and speaking in front of family and friends.  Thank you for participating!  If you weren't able to make it, you were missed!

Cozy lighting, jazz music in the background, colorful tablecloths, fun 'bookworm' centerpieces, and a 'stage'!

In math we moved on from finding fractional parts to working with mixed numbers and improper fractions.  We will continue this skill tomorrow as well.  Here are our notes from today:

There is also a BrainPop video on mixed numbers you can check out as well as videos on LearnZillion.

This week in ELA/SS we have continued our work with events that led to the Revolutionary War.  Today we followed up from the Boston Tea Party and the Intolerable Acts with the First Continental Congress.  We worked in small groups to read and compare notes and then worked as a class to rank our factual notes in order of importance. It's been great to hear the conversations and opinions as they relate to our central idea: Challenges can be addressed with individuals organize for a common purpose. The colonists sure are coming together to form a united front! Tomorrow we are on to Lexington and Concord!

Before lunch we were able to get in our refraction lesson with prisms as we investigated with how light travels through prisms.  We worked in groups with prisms and explored with light sources (natural light from the window and artificial light from light bulbs and our projector).  We also watched a BrainPop video, rainbows before we ended the lesson with some note-taking:

Well, that's our update today!  I hope you all have a great evening and we'll see many of you at lunch tomorrow!  Remember our lunch time tomorrow is 12:20-12:50.  You can meet us downstairs or see us out on the playground by the cafeteria before we go in to eat.  Cost is $5 cash for an adult lunch.

Friday Fun

While the weather outside looked cold and dreary, we didn't let it slow us down!  We kept up cheerful spirits as we worked all day!
In math today we continued with comparing and ordering fractions.  We practiced two ways: one, by drawing a model and two, by converting fractions to like denominators.  After a partner task of ordering the amount of sugar in ice cream (yikes! some flavors have so much!), we moved on to group games of Fraction 'War'.  It was loud in our room but productive!

Following Math we moved into ELA/SS and continued our work on the events leading to the American Revolution.  Today we focused on the Boston Massacre and began talking about the Tea Act and Boston Tea Party.  Our note taking is going well as we go!  Next week we will start with our notes on the Tea Party then move to the 1st Continental Congress and Lexington and Concord.  We will close the week with a timeline project of all the events leading up to the Revolutionary War.

Before lunch we investigated light and refraction with concave and convex lenses in Science.  What fun we had exploring!!! We also watched a short video clip, a demonstration, and took some notes.  But by far the hands-on exploration with the lenses was the highlight of today's lesson!

After a spaghetti lunch, a spelling test and indoor recess it was time for the weekend to begin!  Have a great one!

Lots of Learning Going On

We have been busy studying the causes and effects of the French and Indian War as we lead up to the American Revolution.  This week we have worked with comparing the government in England and in America.  From there we have started discussing many of the taxes that were imposed on the colonists to help pay for the war; namely the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Quartering Act, Navigation Acts, Tea Act and Townshend Act.  We have also written drafts of opinion letters to King George III stating our opinion of British Rule and the taxes.  In our small groups, we are working on summarizing the text as well as taking notes as we close read.

Comparison of the Government in England and America

In math we have moved to comparing and ordering fractions.  We have discussed that there are 2 ways we may see fractions to compare (like and unlike denominators) and how to change denominators to make fair comparisons.  Yesterday we took notes for these methods as well as did some guided and independent practice.  We closed with a group problem solving activity comparing the amount of a candy bar two kids ate to see who ate more.

Group Work Examples: 

Class Updates

I hope you all had a great weekend and perhaps stopped by the Planetarium Friday night for the open house. :)

Learning Update:
In our integrated ELA and SS lessons we wrapped up causes of conflict in the west and events that led to the French and Indian War.  We studied the war, effects of the war and the British response.  We also discussed how the colonists had to begin to help pay for the war and did a little 're-enactment' with a King, Parliament members, tax collectors and soldiers.

This week we will be learning about the taxes that resulted from the cost of the French and Indian War and wrap up the causes and events that lead to the war.

In Math we are working on equivalent fractions and fractions in simplest form.  This week we will wrap those skills up and move on to comparing and ordering fractions.

In Science we are working with the properties of light.  We worked with reflection last week and this week we will work on refraction, comparing reflection and refraction, then move on to concave and convex lenses.

In other news:

1. Term 2 Report Cards and Naglieri test results are in your child's red folder today.

2. We have had 2 coaching sessions with our Literary Cafe coach and the kids are getting so exciting about standing in front of their classmates and sharing their poetry.

3.  Literary Cafe (4th grade) is Tuesday, November 19 from 6:00-7:30.  We will all gather in the multi-purpose room for some student presentations before breaking into class groups in individual classrooms.

4.  Thanksgiving Lunch (4th grade) is Thursday, November 21.  Our lunch time is 12:30 - 1:00 if you'd like to join your child.

Bradley Observatory Walking Field Trip

 

What a great morning for a walk to beautiful Agnes Scott College! We joined Mrs. Weaver's class on a great tour of the observatory.  We started outside on the plaza learning about the sundial and seeing models of the 8 planets to scale with comparison to the sun.  Included in the sundial was also the tracks/orbits of each planet.  Next we headed inside and up a stairwell to the dome which houses the 30-inch Lewis H. Beck telescope.  The kids oooohhhed and awwwed as the dome opened up to reveal the sky!  Then we made our way to the planetarium.  As the kids got comfortable in the plush auditorium, the lights dimmed and we had a lesson in the sun, moon and stars.  The highlight may have been when the lights went black and the constellations appeared!  We throughly enjoyed our visit to the observatory and thank Mr. De Pree for his tour and presentation!

PS.  There is an open house this Friday night (free of charge!).  The doors open at 7:30pm.  Coffee and cookies will be available.  You can also tour the dome and attend a presentation about what's happening at the Galactic Center at 8:00pm.