April 2, 2020

     In all my 20+ years of teaching, I never experienced a March/ April like this.  We went from expecting a field trip to the Flynn on March 16 to school being closed beginning March 18.  It has definitely been a whirlwind, but also a testament to the strength and support that surrounds our community.   By March 23 the District had created a plan to support maintenance learning. Families collected student belongings and helped students access remote learning menus.  Meals were planned, prepared, and provided for families.  Despite the shock of the pandemic, we all worked to adapt to the situation and continue to nurture and care for each other.  The next phase of remote learning will begin on April 13. This will require us all to adapt and embrace yet more changes.  Based on the involvement and participation I've already seen from students and families, I have no doubt we will be able to navigate and support each other through our distance learning.  Here are some of the fun posts I've had the opportunity to see.

Mira's French Project

Brenna's Collage

March 9, 2020

     It sounds like the Family Dance was a lot of fun and the 4th grade basket was a hit.  Thank you to those who were able to contribute to the "Snow Day"  fun basket!
     We dove right into our 50 States Project during our first week back from break.  Students began by reading about their state and taking detailed notes.  This week they will begin their state essays.  During our theme time we have been looking closely at maps, specifically map features.  Students are carefully creating a map to represent their chosen state.  We will also be using our theme time to practice for our play.

     During the month of March we also get ready for standardized testing.  We will be taking the English Language Assessments (ELA) during the week of March 23.  This week during reading we are practicing test-taking strategies.  This includes understanding the directions, reading passages carefully, using text evidence to support our thinking, and checking over our answers to make sure we've answered all the parts of the question.
     In math we are practicing reading, writing, and decomposing numbers through the millions.  We will also be reviewing efficient strategies we can use when adding and subtracting larger numbers.

February 7, 2020

January was a busy month in 4th grade.

Our study of informational text continued with learning how to read "closely" by rereading, reading in chunks, using text features, and annotating the text.  We began with a series of short text related to the Civil Rights Movement, and most recently have been reading about endangered animals.  Students also learned how to construct a response using evidence from two texts.  Ask your child, "What problems are animals facing, and what are humans doing to help?"  

Students have also been applying their informational reading and writing skills as they learn about Vermont.  This practice will help students as they select a US state to independently research and write about as part of our 50 States Project.  

Meet DASH.  

He's a robot that the students have learned to maneuver using their coding skills.  Each group of students was challenged with coding Dash to travel across the US visiting each of the 5 regions we have learned about.    Check out our trip across the US!

Dash will visit us again when we move into our geometry unit.  Currently, we are finishing up our unit of fractions and decimals.  Students have been learning to compare, add, and subtract fractions, identify equivalent decimals, and locate fractions and decimals on a number line.

January 1, 2020

     Happy New Year!  This time of year is always a good time to reflect on last year's events and think about goals for the New Year.
     We had a busy but productive December in 4th grade.  The highlights include:

Completing our Biography Boxes & sharing them with other 4th graders:

Creating gingerbread houses with our buddies:

Kicking off coding lessons with Mrs. Pius:

Participating in the World Language concert:

December 5, 2019

November was a busy month.  Students finished their guided reading group books and then created dioramas to represent a significant event in their story.  Students  used Seesaw to share their final product and explain the significance of the event they chose.  Here are  a few dioramas currently
displayed in our classroom :

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Students also published their realistic narrative stories which are also currently on display.

In literacy we are now immersed in reading biographies and taking notes to prepare ourselves to write about the selected characters.  We kicked off the unit by reading about the famous Vermonter, Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley.  The assignment was very timely as now our hallway is decorated with beautiful snowflakes and information about this influential Vermonter.  

Hopefully you also "heard" about the amazing sound unit that Miss Sloane led.  The engaging, hands-on lessons helped all the students learn how sound waves travel.  The students designed instruments and put on a parade to showcase their final pieces.

Finally, we are wrapping up Unit 2 in math.  We continue to review and practice our math facts.  This week we are focusing on our 6 facts.  Students will be assessed on Friday.  Any extra practice they can do at home will help them become more fluent with their facts.

November 1, 2019

We had some wild weather to welcome us to November!  The students were in awe of the waters that
had flooded the fields behind the playground.  Although, it didn't sound like the weather kept them
from celebrating Halloween. In class,  Miss Sloane created a very engaging Halloween lesson
incorporating geography. I hope the pumpkin globes made it home safely.  Each student identified
the continents and strategically placed them around the pumpkin to represent our world.  

Reading groups continue to use comprehension strategies to understand the story and participate in weekly
discussion.  We also have been practicing our fluency. Our lessons helped prepare us to meet with
our kindergarten buddies. 

Our narratives are almost finished, but the wild weather did interrupt our WIFI service which prevented
Friday from being our finish-up day.  We will extend our deadline and look forward to sharing our work next
week.

In math students have been doing a great job practicing their multiplication facts.  Next week we will focus
on our 4's. Please remind students to practice as frequently as they can to help build automaticity.  We've
moved into our 2nd unit: Multidigit Multiplication and Early Division.

Students are seeing the benefit of knowing their 1 digit facts to help solve their 2 digit multiplication facts.

We had a successful wrap up to our Geology unit.  Students enjoyed participating an engineering task to
prevent a landslide.  We also complete a summative assessment that was sent home. today. Our new
unit is all about sound.  

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