Creative Juices Are Flowing!

It was a fantastic week! I did not tweet a lot, but that certainly doesn't indicate our workload. Your children were rock stars from math all the way through to IE this week!

Everyone is at least 1/3 of the way through our three fraction topics for those who do math with me. I am pleased with our work effort coming back from winter break, and I can tell we are motivated to get into the fifth-grade material at the end of the year! Now that we have mastered equivalent fractions in Topic 8, students either add and subtract fractions or multiply fractions. It is time to do some baking at home. Challenge your kids to cut the recipe in half... or double it! 

In language arts, we are halfway through Because of Winn Dixie. Students turned in the first reading journal and did a fantastic job with it. We are working hard to make inferences, focus on character development, and write complete sentences. This coming week we will start the second journal, and we will add some vocabulary skills to our work as we navigate the book.

Finally, the students opted to do the mini bird unit before starting the American Revolution. They have done a great job in class, researching their individual birds and preparing multi-paragraph essays. I have been pushing them hard on mature writing. I know a couple of children are frustrated by reworking their drafts a few times, but the end products are impressive! At home, children should be working on their 3D models. This model needs to resemble (as much as possible) the actual bird chosen. We have looked at the models from other classes and have seen clay, feathers, duct tape, wood, and painted styrofoam. Your fourth grader can use whatever materials you have at home as long as it is not a 2D bird made of plain construction paper. 

I also want to take this opportunity to announce that we will be getting a student teacher this spring. Our teacher-in-training is joining us from Kent State University, two days a week. As I get more details, I will share them. So far, I am enjoying my email exchange with Miss Rice, and I think the kids will like her! 

Upcoming Dates to Know:
January 17 - No School
January 24 - In-Service Day (no school for students)
January 26 - PTA meeting
January 28 - Book Fair begins
January 28 - Bath Team Hero Shirts / Popcorn Friday