Week of September 27th

I thought this was a great picture that captures our science unit perfectly. Four students working together to complete an experiment while making observations and forming conclusions that will assist them as the unit progresses. These kids are testing the pore space of our four soil components, and identifying which components become saturated and which do not. There were a lot of little hands, and minds, working together which always puts a big smile on my face. Our next experiment will be to run water through a larger source and to see if that changes how the land and water interact.

I was really proud of how the kids performed on their first math test. They did a nice job on the first unit and began to get a better idea of the pacing we use in fourth grade. We began our study of multiplication and division this week with a handful of lessons on estimation, rounding, and factors. My colleagues and I met as a team yesterday and one of the results of our conversation was an overall feeling of a lack of fluency skills with basic math facts for this group of students. To that end, I am working with the kids on fluency each morning as I put together a practice multiplication packet for each of the digits 2-12. We will progress through these over the next couple of months, but ANYTHING you can do at home to support this skill will truly be beneficial to your child. Imagine how difficult learning multiplication and division will be without knowledge of basic facts.

We continued learning about character traits and character development for our writing unit. The kids are identifying traits that they want to infuse in their characters and their stories. We are beginning to flush out our stories through the creation of multiple story arcs, each arc adding a different scene to our story. In reading, we really concentrated on envisioning the story as we read; making movies in our mind. The more we can picture the author's words, the greater our comprehension should be. To that end, I had the kids complete one of my favorite projects. I read the rich-text picture book, 'Come on Rain' while the kids were lying on the floor with their eyes closed. I wanted them to picture the book in their mind as I read out loud to them. Then, I had them illustrate one of the pages that they heard, without ever seeing the corresponding picture from the book. Lastly, they added that actual words from the page they illustrated. The results are truly amazing and beautiful and adorn the walls outside of our room.

A couple of extra events from this week were our author's visit on Monday and our Student Council elections. The kids were enthralled with the author and her subject matter, Superheroes. I really want to give a shout out to each of the members of my class who took on a responsible risk and ran for Student Council. It is never easy putting oneself out on the campaign trail, and especially for a nine year old when there is an election involved. None-the-less, I had over 20% of my population stick their neck out in a very visible manner. The election speeches were well prepared and age appropriate. I ask that when the second term rolls around (after the first of the year) you encourage your son or daughter to take a responsible risk and run for Student Council. It is a great leadership opportunity and the council performs some wonderful deeds for the Central School community and the surrounding communities as well.

Enjoy the long weekend. Happy New Year to those celebrating!