4K Conversation Starters

Wondering how you can support your child at home with what they're learning in school? Check here for conversation starters on what they're up to in the classroom. Engaging in conversation about what they're doing at school helps children reflect upon and reinforce concepts they're studying and learning. There will be monthly updates to reflect our current curriculum.

March:

• Math
  • What are some customary units of length measurement? Liquid volume? Mass and weight?
  • Which system do you think is easier to use, metric or customary? Why?
  • What is elapsed time? What strategy works best for you to figure out elapsed time between events?
• Reading
  • What book are you reading in your literature circle group? What is the main social issue of the book?
  • Can you summarize the last chapter you read? Try to use summarizing language of “first, next, then, finally.”
  • Have you made any connections to the main character, especially around feeling different or going through something challenging?
• Writing
  • What is your new writing goal? Have you started any strategies to try to work towards it?
  • How have you organized your Famous Californian notes into paragraphs? What has been challenging about the organization of this project?
  • How is writing a biography different than writing an informational essay?
• Social Studies
  • What famous California landmark are you researching?
  • What is most important to understand about Westward Expansion in the U.S.?
  • What is the Pony Express?
• Social Emotional Learning/Other
  • What does neurodiversity mean?
  • What learning differences are you learning about (ADHD, anxiety, dyslexia, dysgraphia)?
  • What are some of the strengths and challenges for people who identify as having one of the learning differences you have learned about?

February:

• Math
  • Can you explain the relationship between units in the metric system?
  • How can you convert metric units? For example, how many meters equal one kilometer? How many millimeters equal one centimeter?
  • What are some customary units of length measurement? Liquid volume? Mass and weight? (starting late February)
• Reading
  • Who have you been reading about during your Famous Californian biography unit?
  • What are some traits that the person you have been reading about possesses? How do you know?
  • What is your Famous Californian known for? What is their legacy?
• Writing
  • What is figurative language? What are some types of figurative language you've used in your poetry?
  • What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor? How are they similar?
  • What are line breaks? Why are they important in poetry?
• Social Studies
  • What is Westward Expansion? What were some of the reasons Westward Expansion occurred? (starting 2/10)
  • What is the idea of “Manifest Destiny”? Do you agree with it? (starting 2/10)
  • Who are some groups of people affected by Westward Expansion? Did it affect them mostly positively or negatively? (starting 2/10)
• Social Emotional Learning/Other
  • What have you learned about parts of the brain?
  • What happens in the brain that helps us learn? What are some things you can do to help your brain learn?
  • What are some presenting skills you have practiced in class? (starting 2/10)

December/January:

• Math
  • What is division? What is a remainder?
  • What are the steps in a long division problem?
  • What is an example of a problem where you have to "ignore" the remainder?
• Reading
  • What are some strategies you use to engage in discussion with your literature circle group?
  • What takeaways do you have from your literature circle book? In what ways did the character(s) change and/or develop?
  • How does your literature circle book connect to California history?
• Writing
  • What is persuasive writing? What are the two main types of persuasive language?
  • How do you build a strong paragraph?
  • What is one important thing to do during revision?
• Social Studies
  • What are the California Missions? Who were some of the groups of people involved in them?
  • Do you think the Missions were overall a positive or negative thing in California history? What makes you say that?
• Social Emotional Learning/Other
  • What is identity? How does it shape how we think about ourselves and others?
  • What are some identifiers of the main character from your literature circle book? How does their identity shape their experience?

November:

• Math
  • Can you show me how to multiply a 2 digit number by another 2 digit number?
  • What is a dividend? A divisor? A quotient?
  • What is a remainder?
• Reading
  • What is fluency? What do you need to keep in mind to read fluently?
  • Who is/are the main character(s) in your book club book? What is the setting?
  • What strategies have you used to engage in discussion with your classmates? What makes a good discussion?
• Writing
  • How do you write a strong expository introduction?
  • What’s an example of how you elaborate on your details in expository writing?
  • What is persuasive writing? What are some persuasive techniques you have used? (starting 11/14)
• Social Studies
  • What is cause and effect? What are some causes and effects of the California gold rush?
  • Who are some groups of people who were affected by the gold rush? What are some of the positive and/or negative impacts that occurred because of it?
  • What is a major takeaway from your learning about the gold rush in Coloma?
• Social Emotional Learning/Other
  • Why is it important to take care of yourself? Others? The environment?
  • What is one way that you have practiced taking care of yourself, others, or the environment recently?
  • What are multiple perspectives?

October:

• Math
  • What are some different ways to represent multiplication (array, area model, equation)? (starting week of 10/7)
  • What are factors? What is a product?
  • Can you explain how you would find the area of a rectangle?
• Reading
  • What is theme? What is one theme of your read aloud book, Tiger Rising?
  • What are some nonfiction text features you’ve learned about? (starting week of 10/7)
  • What nonfiction book are you reading in class? What have you learned about the topic?
• Writing
  • What makes a complete sentence?
  • What techniques have you incorporated into your narrative writing (dialogue, simile, showing vs. telling, etc.)?
  • What are the main parts of a paragraph? (starting week of 10/14)
• Social Studies
  • What Native American group(s) are you learning about? (starting week of 10/7)
  • How is the Native American perspective different than other groups that have migrated to California?
  • What form of note-taking have you practiced when researching?
• Social Emotional Learning/Other
  • What are some important identifiers?
  • What is SLANTing? Why is it important? How have you been practicing it in class?
  • What is perspective taking? How have you practiced it in social studies, reading, or other subjects? (starting week of 10/14)

September:

• Math
  • What is place value?
  • What are four different ways to represent numbers? Can you show or explain them to me?
  • How do you round a number to the nearest 10? Then nearest 100? The nearest 1,000?
• Reading
  • Tell me about your Readers’ Workshop book, The Tiger Rising.
  • How does "jotting" help you as a reader?
  • What are the important elements of retelling a story?
• Writing
  • Tell me about your goals for 4th grade.
  • Who did you interview for your "Meet the Class" interview? What did you learn about that person?
  • What is the difference between revising and editing?
• Social Studies
  • What is migration? Why is studying it important in social studies? What do you already know, wonder, or want to learn about migration to California?
  • What are the four regions of California?
• Social Emotional Learning/Other
  • What are some ways you have practiced teamwork this year? Tell me about the experience.
  • How have you practiced risk-taking this year? Why is risk-taking important?
  • What is growth mindset? How have you used growth mindset this year?