October 29th - November 2nd, 2012

• Halloween Fall Festival, Wednesday, October 31st - parties 2:15-3:40. Students may bring a costume to school on the morning of the 31^st and will be given 15 minutes to change before the school-wide parade begins. Please no masks or pretend weapons. This is a school rule.
• BOOK ORDERS DUE:  This Friday, November 2nd.
• Hearing and vision: November 7^th.
• Grandparents Day, November 16^th, 10:50 to 11:50.
• Early Release: Wednesday, November 14th, 1:10.
• Report Cards:  Friday, November 16th,
• Please remember that the Banana Costume and writing are both due Monday, October 31^st

1.  Don't Forget:  Your Banana Writing piece and display is due this Wednesday, October 31st!  Can't wait to see your masterpieces.

2.  We've been working on writing and showing our thinking in Math.  Please read the example below and then complete a math writing on the problem given. This is due Friday, November 2nd.

Example Problem #1

Mary is crazy about books! She has a bookshelf in her room with 7 shelves. Each shelf holds 46 books. How many books does Mary have in her "library" altogether?

Example of Math writing to the above problem:

     To solve this problem I knew I needed to multiply because I saw the clue words altogether, each, and how many. Then I multiplied 6 x 7 = 42 then I mulitplied 40 x 7 = 280. Then I knew to add zero to equal 280. Next, I added to 280 + 42 = 322. That is how I got the answer 322. That's how I know Mary has 322 books on her shelf.

                                         40         6

                                       x  7     x  7

                                      ____    ____

                                       280  +   42   =   322  books

#2 Your problem:

      Sally collected sea shells each morning for a week while she was visiting her grandmother.  By the end of the week she had collected 5 buckets of shells. In each bucket she had 42 shells.  How many shells does Sally have altogether?



(Use the following sentence stems to complete problem number 2):


     To solve this problem I knew I needed to_______________. I knew this because__________________________________________________.
First,____________________________________________________.
Then,____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________.
Finally,___________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________.
The final answer to the problem is________________________________
_________________________________________________________.

Show your math work:

                                          

October 22nd - 26th, 2012

• Early Release day: Wednesday, October 24th. 1:10 dismissal.
• Halloween Fall Festival, Wednesday, October 31st - parties 2:15-3:40. Students may bring a costume to school on the morning of the 31^st and will be given 15 minutes to change before the school-wide parade begins.  Please no masks. This is a school rule.
• Banana Costume and writing are due October 31^st.
• Hearing and vision: November 7^th.
• Grandparents Day, November 16^th, 10:55 to 11:55.
• Please note that the Van Arsdale PTSA (News & School Happenings) and school cafeteria lunch menu links have both been added under the “Classroom Resources” at the top left of this blog.
• November 16^th – Report Cards go home.
• In place of the reading comprehension sheet this week, students will find a writing prompt.  I have also attached a rubric to help guide students on fourth grade writing expectations.  This writing piece and the rubric are due on Friday, October 26th.  Please take the time to read through your son/daughters writing and encourage quality final drafts. Many students need to be reminded to use the flee map, revise and edit; adding those rich descriptive words, and correct spelling and grammar errors.
• 
  

1.  Please read the following prompt and respond in a one page, paragraph form. Remember to construct interesting, and detailed sentences! You must use a circle and flee map.  The final copy, flee map and circle map will be due next Friday, October 26th.  Share with your parents!

If you could choose one food to never eat again, what would it be? Why?

2.

MATH

Let's practice our math facts!  Play the game below for 15 min. 3 times before Friday.  Here's the clencher...you have to click all the clouds!  Have mom or dad sign in your planner that you fulfilled the requirement and I will pay you 5 PAWS.

 

http://www.multiplication.com/games/play/flying-high

 

 

October 15th - 19th, 2012

• Needed: Dry Erase Markers.  Due to the high use of student dry erase boards, we running low on dry erase markers.  We use these boards every day in math, and reading. We would love it if you could help replenish our supply.
• No reaction sheet this next week due to conferences.
• Parent-Teacher Conferences on October 17, 18th. Reminder forms are attached to the reaction sheet in this weeks friday folder. 

     Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend.

• Early Release Day:  Wednesday, October 24, 1:10 dismissal.

• Fall Festival Parties and Parade, October 31, 2:15 p.m. 
  
  
  
  A big thank you to our guest teacher, Ms. Rose Foster, for bringing 26 iPads to our classroom.  We had a great time exploring the cool app she found for us, Barefoot Atlas.  It's a keeper for sure!  She loved our class and promises to come back again throughout the year.
  Thank you Ms. Foster!
  
  Visit the website below for more information about Africa!
  
•  http://pbskids.org/africa/

1.  Main Idea Practice:

MATH

Follow the link and play the math factor game.  This is  great multiplication practice too.  I started with the factors of 12 and played two rounds on each multiple up to 40, but the game goes up to 72, so feel free to exceed my expectation.

 http://www.coolmath4kids.com/times-tables/math-lines-xfactor-32.html

Have a parent verify that you played two rounds on each multiple up to 40

3.   Here’s an “ap-peel-ing” contest, and a fun and creative way to celebrate October’s top holiday. First, design a costume for either a real or plastic banana. Use a variety of materials, such as paper, cloth, paint, glue, markers, glitter, yarn, or whatever. Create a setting and a nameplate for your banana. Bring your completed project to school on October 31^st. We will have a “parade” of costumed bananas and a panel of judges will choose the four “top bananas”.  Awards will be given for the Top Banana, Scariest Banana, Most Creative Banana, and Funniest Banana.

For a language arts connection, each student will write a story featuring their banana as the main character. This project will be completed at home as homework. The afternoon of the 31^st, we will share our stories while we enjoy banana splits (with new bananas of course!).

Attached you will find a rubric that will be used to grade you project.

Reminders:

·         The paper should be typed in 12 point, Times New Roman Font.

·         The paper should be a minimum of 1 page typed, double spaced.

October 8th - 12th, 2012

• Mid term reports will be sent home on friday, October 12th's  folder.  Parents, please sign and have your son/daughter return them on Monday.  I look forward to discussing these with you at conferences.

• Fall Party:  has been changed to Monday, October 31.  Mrs. Lopez has volunteered to be our classroom liaison!  She will be calling parents that indicated that they could help with our party.
• Parent-Teacher Conferences are October 17, 18.   Confirmation Notes will be sent home in next weeks Friday Folder. If there’s a conflict with your time, please call me as soon as possible.
• Thank you for helping your son/daughter study their multiplication facts! Many students are lacking knowledge of their multiplication facts!  Without this basic knowledge of facts, students may fall behind in math this year.  10 or 15 minutes a night of studying multiplication facts or first thing in the morning will promote this essential learning and pave the way for future math assignments.
• Early Release Day - October 24th, 1:10.

MATH

This week we are starting our second fourth grade math unit.  We will be focusing on the operations of multiplication and division.  We will be finding factors and multiples, writing and solving multiplication and division word problems, solving multi-digit by single-digit multiplication and division problems, and continuing with Mountain Math, estimation, equivalent equations.

Review the math vocabulary below in anticipation of our new unit...

A factor is a number that can go into (divided by) a larger number evenly. 

So, 6 has 4 factors:  1,2,3, and 6

     12 has 6 factors:  1,2,3,4,6, and 12

A multiple is the product of a quantity by an integer.

So, Some multiples of 2 are 4,6,8,10,12, and on and on...

     Some multiples of 6 are 12,18, 24, 30, etc...

Ok...Let's try a few.

What are the six factors of 18?  (_____ ,_____ ,_____ ,_____, _____ ,_____)

What are the six factors of 20?  (_____ ,_____ ,_____ ,_____, _____ ,_____)

What are the factors of 40? (____,____,____,____,____,____,____,____)

What are the first three multiples of 10?  _____,_____,_____

What are the first three multiples of   5?  _____,_____,_____

What are the first three multiples of   3?  _____,_____,_____

Play the factor game below to sharpen your factor finding skills:

http://hoodamath.com/games/factorfeeder.php

2.  Please read the following text on Fingerprints and complete the diagram as instructed.

3.   Here’s an “ap-peel-ing” contest, and a fun and creative way to celebrate October’s top holiday. First, design a costume for either a real or plastic banana. Use a variety of materials, such as paper, cloth, paint, glue, markers, glitter, yarn, or whatever. Create a setting and a nameplate for your banana. Bring your completed project to school on October 31^st. We will have a “parade” of costumed bananas and a panel of judges will choose the four “top bananas”.  Awards will be given for the Top Banana, Scariest Banana, Most Creative Banana, and Funniest Banana.

For a language arts connection, each student will write a story featuring their banana as the main character. This project will be completed at home as homework. The afternoon of the 31^st, we will share our stories while we enjoy banana splits (with new bananas of course!).

Attached you will find a rubric that will be used to grade you project.

Reminders:

·         The paper should be typed in 12 point, Times New Roman Font.

·         The paper should be a minimum of 1 page typed, double spaced.

September 24 - 28th

 

·    Thank you for helping your son/daughter study their multiplication facts!

·    Parent Teacher Conferences are October 17 - 18th. If you haven’t already signed up for a time, let me know.

·    Friday, September 28^th, early release at 1:10.

·    Students are working on getting their class work and homework in on time. Students are responsible for bringing a late assignment note home for any missing homework.  This is a fourth grade expectation and a sign of responsibility.

·    Intermediate Field day - Wednesday, September 26^th.

·    Most students have done an awesome job keeping up with the weekly blog and completing the homework assigned. Included in this week’s blog is a rubric for at home writing prompts (under the important forms tab). Please encourage your son/daughter to read the rubric and edit and revise their writing before turning it in.

·    ·    After giving the first round of our acuity test to students this past week, I noticed that many students struggle with determining the main idea, summarizing, and author’s point of view in reading and writing.  We will continue to spend time in class working on these skills.  Spending time at home to reinforce these strategies will only benefit your son/daughter.  I appreciate your help.