Post #24

Celebrating 75 compliments!

The girls worked together and earned seventy-five compliments just by being their best selves. Such a great group. We enjoyed some corn (of the popped variety as we say in fourth grade), watched an episode of The Jungle Book, and snuggled with lovies. Speaking of The Jungle Book, you've probably heard by now that the Fourthies will be preforming the play in April as a tribute to the seniors. All parts are equally important regardless of the amount of lines spoken or lyrics sung- that's the message I hope the girls brought home. The parent show is on Wednesday, April 6th at 2:30. I'll share more details abut the play in next week's post.

The Jungle Book  will be popping up throughout our curriculum for the next several weeks. The girls used a clip from the movie to solve division and multiplication word problems. Long division and multiple digit multiplication continue to be reinforced in math. Additionally the girls practiced decimal computation with an audio activity. We will do more of these kinds of math activities in the coming weeks.

Our grammar activities focused on using compound sentences to strengthen written expression. Ask your daughter about her emoji writing lab.

We are leaving the 1910's in history4fourthies. To sum up this decade, the girls worked collaboratively to create a poster of key events of World War 1. They also learned that the first crossword puzzle was introduced in the 1910's and created their own puzzle using Wordly Wise words. We will roar into the '20's next week.

Historical fiction books were finished and the culminating activity was a newspaper article of a key event. Here's a sample:


We are about to finish up A Song for Harlem by Patricia McKissak. The setting is in 1928 in Harlem, NY. The girls will learn even more about this time in our history when we enter the 1920's next week.

I want to brag a little about the girls' Wordly Wise quizzes. Their mean score was 97% and these were some tough words! Our next quiz isn't until after SPRING BREAK.

And now the second installment of "It's Good To Be Us!"
The girls worked on a collaborative writing activity. As you might imagine, this can be tough for 9 and 10 year olds. The girls spent some time reflecting on their role in the assignment and filled out a self-assessment rubric (look for this in next week's papers). They were thoughtful and honest in their responses. Here they are, hard at work:

A few FYIs:
* Don't forget that we are collecting non-perishable lunch items for CARITAS. Fourthies will assemble the lunches.
* Spring Conference sign-up
* Please encourage your daughter to check the carpool helper calendar.
* Please ask your daughter if she has working headphones/ear buds. We use them almost everyday and it creates a hardship when the girls are without them.

Girls- Your blog question.......
Which two Fourthies are in the front row in the compliment celebration picture?
NO jump start on Monday- I'll be on playground duty.

Post #23

A belated happy Valentine's Day! Sorry about not posting last week- things got a little crazy in the McCallum household. All is going well now and I appreciate your support and kindness. The girls had so much fun celebrating with each other and modeling their Wordly Wise creativity.

I talk often about how special St. Catherine's is and how blessed I am to teach at such an incredible school and spend my day with this special group of Fourthies. So for the next couple of weeks I'm going to post a short video demonstrating what makes this school such a great place to teach and learn. I'll call these clips- IGTBU! (short for "It's good to be us!") Imagine 18 highly excited 9 and 10 year olds in crazy outfits, enjoying a little morning sugar, running from class to class with cards and treats. You get the picture. One minute later they are engrossed in math problem solving. Take a look:

On to the week's highlights.... We are celebrating mistakes and staying the course with difficult math. The girls are learning long division. They have turned up their focus and determination dials. I loved when one student remarked, "This is a lot easier than it was yesterday." It's all about having a growth mind-set- valuing learning and thriving in the face of challenge. The girls problem solved with Lady GaGa and our national anthem using long division and large digit multiplication. Fact 

Has your daughter mentioned her friendship machine and her company/product that fosters friendship? The girls imagined a machine or product whose sole purpose was to encourage friendship. They wrote about their machine, explained how it works and how it benefits society. They even created business cards:

The girls created abstract art with their voices. They wrote a descriptive paragraph describing their "art" and what it represents to them. Later they isolated specific parts of speech in their writing. Editing practice included Charlie Brown's valentine angst.  Wordly Wise creative writing involved unique pancakes.  Be sure to ask your daughter to show you her creative writing book. The girls are so very clever and imaginative when they work with their vocabulary.

This week's 3Word Thursday required the girls to use the words:branch, rocking chair, and head-band and include something about this image. 

They read about emojis and a young entrepreneur in their Newsela accounts. I visited the Newsela headquarters when I was in New York last week. It was great to see the organization that is opening up the world for our girls-one current event at a time.

Girls- Your blog mystery question is....... What does IGTBU stand for?

Post #22

So much to talk about after a full five days of school!

The girls are multiplying large numbers with great accuracy. We are sticking to the traditional method from now on as that will be the expectation next year. The girls practiced rounding large numbers and have been watching the world's population grow- one person at a time. Your daughter can fill you in on this. We took a look at the powers of ten and working with exponents. February is the month of chocolate and valentines and Fourthies will be celebrating as they learn. The girls started an equation problem solving activity. I love watching them work together and the excitement when equations are solved. Their number sense is impressive. Problem solving involved an 800 pound best friend. The Osmond Brothers were featured in Boy Band Friday. There was no consensus regarding our favorite Osmond brother. Boy Band Friday is just a silly way to practice solving equations and why not be silly on Fridays?!

Newsela articles were read with great accuracy and attention to detail. The girls read about Rosa Parks and some of the myths surrounding that important day in 1955. They discussed Mattel's new Barbie Doll and why the changes were long overdue and then went outside of our world to learn about the drought in South Africa. Many of the girls are extending their reading by exploring independently in Newsela. 

Hilarious! That's the only way to describe their Wordly Wise writing this week. They were so clever retelling the story of a family's adventure when the mom goes on a trip. Could you spin a tale using this week's words after watching this clip?

History4Fourthies is moving along in the 1910's The girls learned that Oreos were introduced in this decade. We watched a few commercials and that prompted the girls to write a process paper explaining their method of eating the popular cookie. 

A few informational items:

* Maypole letter went home this week. I hope your daughter is interested in participating in the tradition. 

* Wordly Wise Dress-Up Day is Friday.

* Valentine's Day Party is Friday. The girls should bring a container to hold their valentines.

* Health class begins next week. Mrs. Blanton did a fabulous job creating a web site with all of the resources.

* I will be away on Monday and Tuesday. Sloan Hiscock and I are presenting at the Global Forum on Girls' Education in New York. I know the girls will do a great job while I'm away.

Girls-

Blog question......What is the name of the web site Mrs. Blanton made? Type your answer here. Be on the lookout for a Padlet (like we used during the snow days). I'll put it on the blog and we can keep in touch. Remember to always show more kindness than is necessary. I'll miss you all.