The 4th graders are beginning their reading unit on Animal Defenses. In this unit, students explore animal defense mechanisms. Students will build proficiency in writing an informational piece that examines the defense mechanisms of one specific animal that they have researched. Throughout this unit student will read: Animal Behavior: Animal Defenses by Christina Wilsdon, Venom by Marilyn Singer and Can You Survive the Wilderness?

Students should work on:

• Memorizing multiplication and division facts up to 12x12

• Understand and solve problems that involve phrases such as “3 times as many”, “twice as much”, “4 times more than”