Post #17

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year! I hope you all enjoyed the Gift Service as much as I did. The girls were poised, graceful, articulate, and sounded like angels. I have to compliment this group of Fourthies for maintaining focus and staying engaged in all of our academics this week. They transitioned beautifully and went with the flow with schedule changes and rehearsals.

We wrapped up the decimal math unit. The girls did a great job on the cumulative assessment (test was sent home in work packets on Thursday) and even aced balancing a checkbook. We discussed the importance of absolute attention to detail when working with money and decimals. The girls completed several difficult EdPuzzles that involved multiple steps and large digit multiplication. Ask your daughter about Monty the Penguin, West Jet Christmas Miracle, Canadian Tire Company, and Coke's Random Act of Kindness campaign.

The girls wrote Christmas cards to eight-year-old Sa'fyre Terry of Schenectady, NY. Sa'fyre lost her family in a house fire and suffered severe burns. We talked about the struggles this little girls has and will have in her life. The girls' messages to Sa'fyre were so sweet. There was no formal Writing Lab this week but the girls managed to practice some editing skills with sound bites from The Grinch and "texted" Santa using Wordly Wise words. You can see their faux texts in this collaborative slideshow. Here's a sample:


We reviewed literary elements, particularly the difference between static and dynamic characters. After watching an animated A Christmas Carol, the girls reflected on the literary elements and even wrote an alternate ending to the famous story.

The holiday fun continued this week! The girls had a little green adventure and made candy Christmas trees with a following direction activity. Some did get a little carried away and ended up with mustaches:) But really, shouldn't green mustaches be allowed the week before Christmas??


The girls made mini nativity scenes and we all enjoyed watching the Abstract Noun Animotos. Be sure to check them out. They will definitely put you in the Christmas spirit! And finally here is the best rendition of Jingle Bells that you will ever hear. Enjoy!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a fun filled relaxing vacation. See you in 2016!

Post #16

Christmas Countdowns at WiddlyTinks.com

It's kind of hard to believe that there is just one more week of school in 2015! This week was packed with fun and focus. The girls received their blog credentials and have been exploring Weebly, creating their blogs. Weekly blogging will be a class activity next semester. You might wonder why a Fourthie would want to blog. Written expression is just one aspect of student blogging. The girls blog to establish positive digital footprints while expressing their individuality. They're creating their own personal brand while sharing their passions, concerns, interests and more. Several girls have published their websites. Our sites are password protected. Please ask your daughter to share the password. 

The focus of this week's writing lab was summarizing. We used this clip as inspiration:

The girls out did themselves with their abstract noun project. Most are finished and you can check them out here. 

We are still exploring key events in the 21st century. The girls incorporated their knowledge of the 21st century in a math writing activity using personification. They are so creative! 

Fact fluency/recall is strong with this group of Fourthies. I am impressed with their motivation and determination. As the pace and difficulty of the math curriculum increases, fact fluency will be critical. The girls are well aware of this:) Adding and subtracting decimals was reinforced in a variety of activities this week. The girls will take an assessment on decimal concepts on Thursday. 

Gift Service Information:

Tuesday, Dec 15:

12:30-1:00 (4^th grade recess): Mary, Joseph, Angel, Wise Men and Pages report to LS music room for costumes.

1:00-3:00 LS Choir rehearsal at River Road Church, Baptist. 

Wednesday, Dec 16: 

2:00-3:15  Grades 3 & 4 in LSAR (go through entire service)

Thursday, Dec 17:  

12:00-2:30 Grades 3 & 4 rehearse at River Road Church, Baptist. This is a dress rehearsal and students should come in costume and bring any necessary props with them to the church. String ensemble students bring instruments and music.

Friday, December 18:

8:15 Select students in Grades 3 & 4 (choir, string ensemble, scripture readers) and supervising faculty/parents load buses in McVey South lot. Depart for River Road Church, Baptist.

9:30 Gift Service

10:15 Conclusion of service; all students and faculty load buses to return to campus. Students return to classrooms where they will be picked up by parents.

Girls-

Your blog question is...... What is your homework next week?

Post #15

It's the most wonderful time of the year..... but have no fear... 

"The Lamp of Learning is Still Burning" in room M02!

The girls have been super busy keeping the spirit of the Christmas season in their hearts while engaging in academic tasks. The Fourthies have (1) they're very own site- Holiday Frolics with curated content just for them. 

Christmas lights were earned during fact practice in math. They used the lights to decorate  (2) there homes (the faster your fact recall, the more lights you earned). From there the girls wrote persuasive letters to the mayor, doing their best to get (3) there house on The Tacky Light Tour. Look for these letters in next week's work folder. We have several wreaths on our windows and they were looking quite drab. To remedy this, the girls are decorating the wreaths with "mathaments"- think ornaments with a math connection. Each time they complete a math challenge they earn a "mathament" to decorate.

The Holiday Frolic site includes the 12 Days of Edpuzzle. Ask your daughter about a vegan Christmas, the lonely snowman, a tiny dancer, etc. Papers with muted ornaments are where the girls solve (4) they're EdPuzzles. Be on the look out for these: 

We took a look at Christmas by the numbers and solved equations involving huge numbers. Did you know that the United States produces 1,760,000,000 candy canes each year?

This week's writing lab was all about collaboration- but not with another Fourthie. The girls worked collaboratively with Rudolph and wrote letters to the reindeers asking for kindness and for the bullying to stop. We used Google Story Builder. The girls were quite clever. Take a look at (5) they're creativity.

A language arts project was started this week. The girls are writing scripts, gathering images, and making recordings that incorporate abstract nouns that represent their feelings and memories about Christmas, family traditions, and celebrations. The final project promises to be a heart-warming treat.

We finally got around to our 50 Compliment Celebration. The girls voted and decided on some sweet treats and an hour of sharing. I loved this idea. They shared their movie creations, animations, stories, and journals with each other. It's amazing to me how they enthusiastically expand on what we are doing in class. I can't say enough about their creativity!

Assorted information to ask your daughter about:

* The SCAN Christmas Service Project (hand-out is in agenda). Our class has been asked to bring in small gifts that would appeal to a 15 year old girl. We brainstormed ideas such ask thick winter socks, lip gloss, scarf, a notepad for journaling, gift card, etc. 

* The Spelling Bee (handout in agenda, digital copy). This is an optional activity.

Girls- Your blog question.......Please correct my homonym errors! Write your answer on the little slip of paper in your agenda.

PS- Blog credentials will be given out on Monday!!!

Post #14

Happy Thanksgiving!

Post # 13

A good chunk of our week was spent testing. The girls are working hard to keep their focus and to bring their best effort to each test. We did manage to work in several fun, creative, and innovative activities. We dabbled with Buncee, which is a web based multi-media creation tool. The girls had a blast and once again their creativity shined. The girls will use Buncee to tell a story using their Wordly Wise words. Here's an example of a Buncee slide:

The girls played Decimal Turkey War and created a Decimal Turkey. They listened to decimals and combined their geometry skills to build a turkey with vivid colors and geometric shapes. Several girls are going to town with Solve me Mobiles. And more girls are asking for accounts to participate in this number sense thinker! I joked around and told the girls that I could sit back during the fraction unit because they have mastered basic skills and can teach the unit:) While we are on the topic of math enrichment, Greg Tang has put together a Thanksgiving challenge similar to what the girls did on Halloween. The challenge is optional and due on December 2nd. Mrs. Applewhite left a set of math masters (also optional) for the girls to work on since we missed our time with her due to ERBing (we made ERB testing into a verb).

A special thanks to Lucy for bringing delicious muffins for us all to enjoy! 

Some important information:

* The Outreach Canned Food Drive ends on Monday. Please check your pantries and send in what you can.

* Book Fair is on 12/2 @ 2:30

* ERB Schedule

Girls-

Blog question.... Not a question this week, but a request. Please bring a grocery bag to school for cubby cleaning and organizing.

Post #12

What if Fourthies could line the highways with billboards? The girls photographed our beautiful school and their beautiful friends and made motivational billboards that celebrate who we are. We uploaded the billboards to values.com (a site that we visit often for discussion starters and pick-me ups). Several of the billboards are now published on values.com and all are posted outside our classroom.

History4fourthies has taken us into the turn of the 21st century. We discussed the events of September 11, 2001 and looked at the emergence of technology in society. Did you know that the first iPod was a big hit in 2001? The girls now understand how many hours, days, jubilees, etc. they have been alive and practiced rounding and reading big numbers. This history4fourthies job included a reflection on gratitude. The girls added up their blessings and all that they have to be grateful for. Sometimes you just need a little reminding:) Magazine covers featuring the presidents was the culminating activity for our presidential research:



Our class book clubs were formed this week. The girls are reading All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor. The novel is set in New York City at the turn of the 20th century and tells the story from the perspective of the five young daughters. The girls will read and discuss the novel with their book club. Each week a different member of the club will lead the discussion. There should be some lively conversation.

Decimals were the hot topic in math. The girls read, wrote, compared, and plotted decimals. We also worked with order of operations and had a little fun "Splating" the answers to the equations. The literary device, personification, was introduced in language arts and also spotlighted in some EDPuzzle problem solving- Oreos are milk's favorite cookie and Goldfish is the snack that smiles back. The girls included personification in their writing and made dog food, pencils, phones, flowers, and animals express feelings and opinions. More on personification next week. Boy Band Friday was back this week. The girls practiced their calculation skills listening to N Sync and Justin Timberlake was voted as the class favorite.

We enjoyed watching the book trailers created in Animoto. The girls chose themes, pictures, and music that represented the plot and conflict of their book. I love their creativity!

ERB testing is next week. The schedule is posted on the blog. We chatted about the importance of rest and a positive attitude during a long week of testing. Unlike in third grade, ERBs are not read to the girls. This seemed to please most of the girls. There will be no written homework next week nor a fact check. The girls should continue to review and study their spelling and Wordly Wise words for quizzes on Thursday and Friday.

One more thing.... This fabulous group of Fourthies earned their second 25 compliments! I am so proud of them and the way they work as a team, support one another, and model our school values. A celebration is in the works.

Girls-

Your blog question is.......

What color is Justin Timberlake's shirt? Click here to submit your answer. Click here to make a suggestion for our Compliment Celebration.

Post # 11

It's hard to believe, but the first quarter of fourth grade is over! 

What a bountiful fall week we had! The field trip to Mt. Vernon was picture perfect. Ellie S. was the class photographer. She was hard at work capturing the beauty of George Washington's home. The girls toured the property, watched several 4-D movies and spent time in the education center. We were even treated to a private fife march with one of Mt. Vernon's guides. Our bus driver told me that she has never driven a finer group of students. She was amazed by the girls behavior and manners. 

President slideshows are being presented. The girls are practicing there public speaking and learning about the presidents of the 20th century. We are moving into the decades beginning with the turn of the the 21st century. The girls will learn about key event from the current millennium and from their we will go back in time. 

The girls worked with they're Halloween candy data. They created spreadsheets, analyzed there data, imagined opening a candy story, wrote a slogan/jingle. Several girls even composed music to go along with their jingle. Here's a graph sample:

We assessed Unit Three on Monday and are moving into Unit Four which focuses on decimals. Ask your daughter to explain the connection between decimals and manners. I couldn't resist working in a little character development when we started the decimal unit. 

As you know, our book reports are created in class and will always involve a multi-media element. The girls developed a story map, chose images that represented key events, and music that reflected the tone of they're novel. The plan was to create an iMovie book trailer. The plan fell through. iMovie was having a failure to thrive so we quickly shifted gears and used Animoto for Education. I used my frustration/disappointment as a life lesson and (hopefully) modeled the importance of being resilient and looking for alternatives when confronted with a stumbling block. Here's the good news.... the book reports look amazing. Several girls have finished; others will do so next week. Take a sneak preview here. 

The girls will be introduced to many different ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES during the second quarter. Soon there will be an ENRICHMENT page on our Fourthie site. Enrichment is not just for early finishers. All girls are encouraged to stretch themselves and explore areas of interest. I introduced Solve me Mobiles this week. Solve me Mobiles take number sense to a whole new level. Accounts were created for interested girls. Maybe your daughter can explain:

Spelling is no longer a one size fits all. Girls are welcome to move along at there pace as long as they're spelling in written work continues to be correct. I will continue to assign spelling lists every other week for those girls who feel comfortable at that pace. All are welcome to come in for "Jump Start" Tuesday through Friday (beginning at 7:30) to take spelling quizzes early, work on enrichment activities, or simply get ready for the day.

Girls- The blog post mystery question is...... What homonym have I used incorrectly throughout this post? Type your answer here or you can wait until Monday.

Post #10

Innovation Day, Halloween Party, and Wordly Wise Dress-Up Day! What a week!

I'll begin this post with TWO BIG events happening next week. Fourthies will be taking their first field trip on Tuesday. The forecast calls for sunny skies and 70 degrees temperatures. Cross your fingers that the forecast holds- this will make for a perfect experience at Mt. Vernon.

Mt. Vernon field trip details

Mt. Vernon Food Court prices

Fourthies will attend the St. Catherine's Day Service on Friday. The service has been moved to All Saints Episcopal because of the renovation being done at St. Stephen's Church. The girls will need to wear a dress, skirt, or nice slacks. Of course they may bring a change of clothes for PE.

Now on to this week's highlights. One of my favorite quotes is Albert Einstein's comment about intelligence and creativity.

AND our week was filled with creativity. The girls worked on a Wordly Wise project creating "Breaking News" banners, texting with a president, and rewriting the Star Wars opening crawls using Wordly Wise words. The items were mashed into a Google Drawing page and can be viewed in your daughter's Google Drive. Here are a few examples of chats with presidents and a Star Wars crawl:

The girls finished their presidential research and created a slideshow. Presentations will begin next week.

Beautiful fall themed picture books were written during our writing lab. We used Storybird; several of the girls were familiar with the site and were able to offer assistance to others. Storybird begins with thought provoking images that spark a story.

The girls are becoming adept at reading non-fiction while becoming globally aware citizens at the same time. This week they searched Newsela by location and read articles of personal interest. The articles were summarized and added to a collaborative map. The map will reinforce geography skills next week.

Math centered around Halloween themed problem solving using infographics and UNICEF statistics. The girls completed a unit review for their test on Monday (my original plan was to test this Friday- WHAT WAS I THINKING!!). The review is in their backpacks. There is math homework this weekend. The girls need to tally their candy. We will use the data for a graphing activity nest week.

Thursday's Innovation Day was a big hit. The girls worked well with their first grade partners. Pictures of the event are posted on the blog. Friday was filled with fun and friendship. The girls were so clever in their Wordly Wise outfits. A big shout-out to all the parents who helped out with treats, games, and most importantly their time. I am so very appreciative-so are your daughters:)

Girls- Your blog question is.........

What is the Tuesday forecast for our first field trip?

Post #9

I enjoyed our conferences and sharing the home/school connections. I feel so very fortunate to be the teacher in room M02. Such a caring, motivated, and creative group of girls! 

I was very proud of the girls'  forgiveness themed chapel. I was hoping to post the chapel to the blog but the file is much too BIG!

We continue to work with literary elements in fiction stories. During our writing lab, the girls developed a strong setting using imagery and their senses to describe some spooky scenes. Our writing lab was finished and all groaned that there wasn't more time to write the entire story. All writing labs are in your daughter's Google Drive for quick access and easy viewing. 

We had a little fun with our Wordly Wise words. The girls worked with their weekly partners and "texted" each other. They used their WW words in the faux texts and included a value/virtue. Here's an example:

We'll do more of this next week. Maybe the girls can have an imaginary conversation with the president they are researching. Should be interesting.....

Presidents were randomly chosen and research is underway. The girls are using sites found on history4fourthies as well as the library databases to gather their facts. Next week the girls will create a slideshow and present their president to the class. I plan on videotaping them and posting to the blog.

The girls learned prime factorization and have become skilled at dissecting numbers and finding factor pairs. We worked with maps and scales and interacted with a map with some pretty unique names.  Problem solving featured populations and distances. The girls learned how candy corn is made and did some problem solving as well. Unit 3 math assessment will be next Friday. Look for a completed review on Thursday.

Did you trick or treat for UNICEF? St. Catherine's is participating in this wonderful cause. It brought back so many memories for me when the girls constructed their container. My hometown participated in "Trick or Treat" for UNICEF every year. Please ask your daughter about the video they watched and how this program helps children around the world. 

Fiction books should be finished by Friday. The book report will be a book trailer- similar to a movie trailer. The girls will use iMovie for this project. This is an opportunity for their creativity to shine.

The girls should spend some time reviewing the weekly homework page. There are many details about Wordly Wise dress-up, the recorder project, Innovation Day, etc. A few girls mentioned they were having difficulty with the recorder project. I am open for "Jump Start" beginning this Tuesday. The girls are welcome to come to the classroom beginning at 7:30 to get extra help, work on enrichment activities, their music project, or organize for the day. "Jump Start" is every Tuesday-Friday.  

On the horizon:

Thursday, October 29th (School begins at 10:00 and Innovation Day)
Our class is paired with Mrs, Thornhill's girls
Friday, October 30th (Wordly Wise dress-up day, Halloween Party 9:00-10:00)
Tuesday, November 3rd (All day field trip to Mt. Vernon- details here.)




Girls- Your blog scavenger hunt question.........
How many WW words are Madison and Grace's text?

Post #8

It was all about collaboration this week. The girls pulled together and created a unique forgiveness themed chapel that they will share with the Lower School at 8:15 on Monday morning. I love the way they go into high gear and become completely focused on a project. 

Three Word Thursday creative writing was a little different this week. The girls added their creativity to a shared slideshow. 

The girls were introduced to story elements and are taking notes on the fiction book they are reading. The book report will be completed in class and will include some snappy multi-media. Speaking of book reports, the girls were unsure where I posted their animals reports. Check them out.

We are working with factors, multiples, prime and composite numbers, and multi-step problem solving. Ask your daughter about the bar method of problem solving. The girls are completing interactive "worksheets" in Matific with great accuracy. They are becoming math rock stars earning multiple medals in Manga High. We had a little Halloween fun with math, creating candy corn factor trees, costume problem solving and reasoning. Next week's fact check will be on the 5x tables. 

One of the favorite Fourthie activities is Wordly Wise Dress-Up Day! Details below:

                                                                   

Do you dream about a special WW word? Do you get happy when you see a WW word in a book you are reading or hear a WW word in a song?  Do you answer questions and deliberately try to use WW words in your responses? If you have answered yes to any of these questions then you officially have WW Fever! No need to be worried. It happens to most Fourthies and it’s a cause for celebration. We will celebrate WW Fever on 10/30/15. Start thinking about a word that tickles your fancy. How could you dress to represent or explain the word? What clever outfit could you create? Each Fourthie is encouraged to come dressed as a WW word ((from lists 1–5) on 10/30/15. We’ll take pictures and create our very own picture dictionary. So, develop an idea but don’t utter a word to anyone. You may be eager to share your ideas with your peers. Resist the temptation to disclose your outfit. We want everyone to be surprised. We can’t wait to applaud your creativity.

Girls- What word can best describe the Girls Rock Star, concave or convex?

Post #7

The girls enjoyed a fun Friday with doughnuts and loveys as they celebrated their first twenty-five compliments! They are on their way to the next twenty-five.

Girls Innovate! 

Everyday our girls innovate. They are creating, exploring, collaborating, and thinking critically in all that they do. The girls were treated to a presentation by Danielle Feinberg. She is a Director of Photography specializing in Lighting and Pixar Animation Studios. There were many "aha moments" when the girls realized the similarity between Ms. Feinberg's demonstration and what they are learning with Mrs. Hamilton-Dixon during their technology design classes. Today, we got to experience a little of the Middle School's Innovation Day. The Fourthies were invited to visit with the middle schoolers and their guests and see the varied products created with Littlebits. Below is a quick video explanation of Littlebits.

Doughnuts were featured in math this week. Function machines were introduced; ask your daughter about Mighty Doughnut Head. 

The girls used their innovative spirits and created their own doughnut function machine. They wrote about multiplication, explored factors and multiples using rainbows, and problem solved a Halloween without candy. Fact Checks will focus on the times tables for the next several weeks. Next week's check will be the 4 x table. Practice really does make progress! You can check your daughter's fact fluency by logging into her That Quiz account.

We have a couple of short weeks so Wordly Wise and spelling (list 4) will be assessed during the week of October 23rd. Wordly Wise was reinforced in many creative ways this week. The girls created movies in GoAnimate and made breaking news banners. 

WordlyWise #3 by Grace Sutten on GoAnimate


Newsela is strengthening the girls critical reading skills. I encourage the girls to take advantage of this fantastic resource and read, read, read current events from around the world.

Wednesday's writing lab got us in the Halloween spirit. Ask your daughter about the witch's spell. Halloween writing will be posted outside the classroom for all to enjoy.

Fall conferences begin next week. Please refer to the sign-up schedule if you are unsure of your date/time.

Girls..... Your blog question is......
What are the two Wordly Wise words used in the featured Breaking News?

Post #6

Happy Birthday St. Catherine's!

I've been enjoying the smell of chlorine this week:) And the girls are enjoying swimming. I love how they come back soaking wet, sometimes out of breath but ready to tackle the day. The girls completed their first cumulative math test on Thursday. The test included an audio component, Musical Moment, and a writing prompt. There will always be a thorough review prior to a cumulative assessment. The girls independently checked their review using QR codes and answers hidden in cubbies. This freed me up to meet individually with each girl to check her understanding of key concepts.

Look for the math test in the next "work packet." Work packets are in backpacks. No need to send the papers back to school- an empty folder will do. We are moving into unit 3 but will continue to work with geometry terms and concepts as they relate to our Fourthie Design Project. Unit 3 focuses on number sentences, multiplication, division, and problem solving. The girls completed their Geometry/Abstract Art project. We decided to display them in the classroom because they are beautiful works of art. Here's a peak at the completed projects:

Click here to listen to our Blabbers.

The first book report is in the works. The girls are summarizing the animal they chose and using the library data bases to find additional information. Their summaries are written in first person. Here's the fun part- the summaries are dictated into Blabberize. Some are quite comical! See what you think?




Ask your daughter about her Piclit writing. The girls love sharing their creativity. Grace P. was the first to share her Piclit. Her Piclit received a spontaneous round of applause from the class. I love the way this group of girls support and celebrate one another.

Piclit by Grace P.

Piclit by Austin

And now for the best news of the week!

The girls earned 25 compliments and we are now ready to celebrate. Compliments are earned by working together, modeling our school values (daisy pedals), living our monthly virtues, and by being our best selves. I'm very proud of the girls. On Monday, we will practice the concept of a direct democracy (taught earlier in September) and the girls will choose the celebration. Good times ahead.

Date, memos, etc:
* Swimming is next week- Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. The girls may come directly to the classroom when they arrive at school. We'll hang out and then go to the Kenny Center together.
* Please consider joining us for Parents' Technology Night on October 8th. We use a great deal of technology to enhance and enrich our curriculum.
* Weekly homework is posted on the blog each Friday. I'm encouraging each girl to develop a study plan based on her activities and schedule. It's all about time and management.
* Blessing of the Animals 8:15 on the Green (explanation in work packet).
* Lend a Helping Paw Outreach Project ( explanation in work packet).





* Recorders are needed in music next week. Ms. Merrick has shared a letter outlining the role of the recorder in music class.

Girls- Your Blog Scavenger Hunt Question......

What season is displayed in Austin's Piclit?
Do you have an idea for our Compliment Celebration? Click here.

Post #5

Swimming begins on Tuesday!

The PE department has shared these details with us regarding swimming. The girls will go to the green top and playground as they do every morning. I will meet them in front of McVey and walk with them to the pool. Please pack an extra snack on swimming days. Swimming tends to leave the girls famished!

History4Fourthies is all about the job of the president. The girls learned about the requirements and responsibilities of POTUS. They balanced the federal budget, chose advisors, and held a press conference. Each girl will research a president next week. We'll use the many LS library databases. 

The girls independently completed their Wordly Wise quizzes. These quizzes are tough. Ask your daughter to log into her Quia account to see her progress with Wordly Wise. The girls use the Wordly Wise words during math instruction and complete creative writing assignments using the words. Check out your daughter's creative writing composition book. 

The focus of our writing lab was using varied and specific transitions. Fourthies have a tendency to overuse 'then' and 'but' and we are working to remedy that.  The girls work in their Google Drive account and I'm able to read, comment, and make suggestions on their document as they are writing. This makes for an active and ongoing revision process. Piclits were introduced this week. Piclits are image inspired writing. Piclits reinforce parts of speech, strengthen vocabulary and give the girls a creative voice in their writing. Next week's writing lab will feature Piclit writing. Writing labs can be found on our Fourthie Site. 

We worked with data, large number computation, geometry/abstract art, and problem solving in math. The girls were introduced to a variety of ways to solve problems. The girls will take their first cumulative math test next Thursday. A study guide will always be provided prior to the assessment.

Interested in learning more about the technology integration in Fourth grade? Please join us for a Parents' Technology Workshop on October 8th.

Fourthie enthusiasm at the Women's Jr. Cycling Race!

Girls-

Your blog question.......

What does POTUS stand for?

Post #4

Shhhhhh! How quiet can you be? Every now and again we need to gather our thoughts and center ourselves as we get ready for the next activity. The girls accomplish this task with bouncing eyeballs.

The girls asked me to post the eyeball link to the blog. Maybe they are planning quiet time at home:)

The Fourthies are officially Fourthies. The girls signed the Fourthie pledge and received their one of a kind hats. The girls should bring their hats back to school to keep in their cubby.

The girls' creativity was in full force this week. They applied their geometry knowledge and completed an art/math project and wrote about angles and quadrilaterals. We continue to look at geometry in our world. Each week we spice up our math work with an audio component. Here's an example. Everyone wanted to talk about a favorite summer memory. What's better than talking? Writing, of course. The girls summarized and shared a memory. The memories were added to a collaborative map The girls will calculate distances and review cardinal directions using their "Summer Memory" map. Synchronized skating and horseback riding also made an appearance in math instruction this week.

Spelling quizzes were taken online today and will be in work folders next Friday. You can log into your daughter's Spelling City account and review her grades. No spelling next week due to the PE field trip. Our writing lab reinforced editing and sentence expansion. The girls saw how a simple sentence can grow when strong imagery is used. They used an animated image and "grew" their paragraphs using specific verbs, descriptive adjectives, an several senses. The girls logged into Newsela and read an article about 3D-printing. The article reinforced their technology lesson which introduced the Fourthie design project. Ask your daughter for details on this.

Important News/Dates:
PE Field Trip (9/25)
Swimming Letter (swimming starts on 9/29)
Parents' Technology Night (10/8 @ 6:30)
Fall Conference Sign-up
Special Week Sign-up
Lunch Bunch with Mrs. Sterling


Girls- Your blog question is:
What color are the eyes in this post?

Post #3

The Fourthie routine is officially underway and we are smooth sailing. We are all looking forward to our first full week. It was so nice to see so many of you on Thursday for our Parents' Night. The girls are a remarkable group- so pat yourselves on the back.

Our academic highlights:
The girls have been busy writing and navigating their Google Drives. They are becoming responsible digital citizens. The first Writing Lab included sentence structure with attention to capitalization and punctuation. The girls are writing a "mystery paragraph" about themselves and will embed a pixilated image. These will be on display outside the classroom. The younger girls enjoy reading our Fourthie writing. We are also working on summer memories. The memories will be added to a collaborative map. More on this in our next post. We focused on identifying verbs, adjectives, and nouns as well as editing sentences. We are using some silly Parry Gripp songs to reinforce these skills. It's raining tacos in room M02!

Wordly Wise list #1 was assessed on Thursday. The girls take these quizzes through their Quia account. I loved reading their Wordly Wise creative writing and seeing how they used images to inspire their writing. Spelling was introduced on Friday. The girls will practice and assess spelling in Spelling City. The list is brief and includes both commonly misspelled words and frequently used words from Wordly Wise list #1. I'll differentiate as needed in the coming weeks.

The girls are earning medals in Manga High. Manga High is a great site that reinforces computation and problem solving. We worked with reading and writing large numbers and place value up to the hundred millions. Problem solving using multiplication and addition were reinforced in our EdPuzzle. Each Tuesday we have Station Rotations in math. This is a great way for me to informally assess your daughter's progress. Granny multiplication was the favorite station. Your daughter can explain.

History4Fourthies will focus on our government and the role of the president.

A few reminders.....
Parent Conference Sign up
Special Week Sign-up
Parent Technology Night-10/8
Picture Day is next Thursday (9/17)

Girls- Please write the answer to your blog question in your agenda.

How many tacos are pictured on this blog post?

Post #2

Fabulous Fourthies for sure! The girls of Room M02 are an impressive bunch. They have already earned 6 class compliments for being responsible citizens who consistently modeled our school values. We are off to a great start and I feel like I have known them forever and not a mere four days. You can glimpse our week by viewing the class photos. Each week a "student photographer" will use the class iPad to capture memories. Campbell did a great job this week. In addition to a class photographer, we also have a class tweeter. Our classroom has a Twitter account that will spread the news of academic and team building activities in our classroom. Austin filled this role during the first week. The Fourthies set goals after watching a persistent squirrel who refused to give up. We talked about the importance of having a determined attitude and taking advantage of help when needed.

Academic highlights:
The girls were introduced to Wordly Wise, our vocabulary program. Wordly Wise is more than a workbook. The girls will engage in creative writing activities, movie making and more using WW words. There are many practice activities on our Fourthie site.

Let's talk about "Three Word Thursday", also referred to as 3WT. During this activity the girls write creatively using random words. Ask your daughter to show you her 3WT notebook next week. 

I hope your daughter shared her math fact contract with you. Fact fluency will be reinforced each week with a quick fact check every Friday. We use "That Quiz" for assessing. More on "That Quiz" during "Parents Night." We will be working on Units One and Two simultaneously for the next several weeks. Unit One focuses on geometry terms and Unit Two on number sense, place value, and using data landmarks. Musical Moments reinforce computation skills and data landmarks. Friday Musical Moments will feature Boy Bands. We use EdPuzzle for fun problem solving. Take a look at this week's EdPuzzle.

Homework is posted each Friday and I encouraged the girls to preview the week and make plans in regards to their own schedule and after school activities. 

I hope to see everyone next Thursday at "Parents Night." I look forward to getting to know both you your daughters.

Girls- Your weekly blog question is...... 

Write the name of one girl in the front row of our class picture at the top of the blog. Write your answer in your agenda.