Class Update 2/11/19

There are so many exciting things going on in 4th grade right now!

Lots of people have asked about exchanging Valentine cards. Your child is welcome to bring cards to exchange just before we pack up on Thursday. We will not have a party, just a few minutes for those that made cards to be able to pass them out. If your child chooses to make valentines, please make sure they make one for every classmate.

Maddie     Dylan     Jackson    Noelle     Alex     Sarah     Camille     Aydan     Carter     Eli

Kayden     Rihanna     Jack     Mickenzie     Rebecca     Finn     August     Addy     Wyatt     Theo

Brendan     Conner

This week HES is holding a canned for drive. Please help us collect non perishable food to send to the OCIM food pantry.

This week in reading we will begin historical fiction book clubs. Students are grouped across the grade level and may be working with either myself, Mrs. Garrison, Mr. Kaji,  or Ms. Sinicrope. All students are reading books set during some part of the Civil Rights Era. We will begin with predicting, then move to describing how characters change across a text and making connections between our book club books and recent read alouds.

Today in science we began our unit focused on rocks and minerals. We will spend a few weeks studying the different types of rocks and how they are formed and then spend a few weeks on different types of fossils.

In math we are wrapping up adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers and also looking a how to find a fraction of a set. (For example- 3 is 1/3 of 9)

In writing students have created research questions based on our study of the Civil Rights Era. After finishing up their research they will create an exhibit for our 4th grade Civil Rights history museum. The museum will be open for you to visit on Thursday March 14th from 10-11:30- more info to come on this later!

Important Dates:

February 25-       Teacher Workday (all of OCS)
March 15-           end of the 3rd 9 weeks, report cards go home
April 8-               first day of the 4th 9 weeks
April 19-             no school- Good Friday

Happy New Year & Welcome Back!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a fun and relaxing winter break!

Thank you so, so much for all of the kind and thoughtful gifts that you shared with me!

Here is an overview of what we will be working on for the next few weeks in 4th grade:

Reading & Writing:

This quarter the 4th grade will be reading and studying non-fiction texts in the context of historical events, as well as historical fiction in its application to real-world events. This unit offers the opportunity to combine ELA and Writing standards to maximize student engagement and take-away. The 4th grade uses the Civil Rights Movements of the United States from the Restoration Era to the 1960's as the content vehicle to deliver these lessons, focusing on major historical figures and events that contributed to the Movement. Students will begin learning about the real-world history of the Civil Rights Movement by reading non-fiction historical texts; we will be reading both 1st-hand and 2nd-hand accounts to give students factual background knowledge about the environment and factors that contributed to the Civil Rights Movement, identifying and ordering events and their consequences. Some of the events we will be reading about include:

• The Greensboro 4, and the Sit-Ins
• The Birmingham Riots
• The Selma March
• Martin Luther King, Jr., and his non-violent protests and influence
• Montgomery, Alabama
• The Washington, D.C. March and the I Have a Dream Speech

Math:

Week 1: Basic Fractions 3rd Grade Review

Week 2: Fractions (Equivalent, Unit Fractions)

Week 3: Fractions (Comparing)

Week 4: Fractions (Comparing)

Week 5: Decimals

Week 6: Fraction/Decimal Conversion

Week 7: Adding/Subtracting Fractions & Decimals

Week 8: Adding/Subtracting Fractions & Decimals

Week 9: Review & Assessment

Science:

We will begin the quarter with our brief but interesting unit about phases of the moon. This small unit focuses on the cause of day and night and how the appearance of the moon changes.

A few reminders:

 PLEASE remind your child to charge their computer each evening. Most days we use computers in class for at least one or two activities and things run much smoother if everyone has a working computer.

Please also help your child to remember to bring a sweatshirt or jacket each day. Unless it is extremely cold or raining we will be having outdoor recess.

Beginning this quarter there will be a slight change in our classroom behavior policy. For the first half of the year students who did not earn a strike (the yellow slips used as a consequence/home communication for breaking a classroom rule after being reminded of the rule) each day earned a dum dum at the end of the day. Now students who make it to the end of the day without getting any strikes will get a “Dolphin Dollar”. Over the next few weeks the students as students begin to accrue money they will help me determine a list of things to spend their Dolphin Dollars on. Some possibilities include:

• Wearing a hat for a day
• Working with their shoes off
• Sitting with a friend from another class at lunch
• Working in my reading chair
• Exemption from a lap at recess

Hi Everyone! 

We will go to Old Salem next Friday, December 7th. Please fill out and return the permission slip your child brought home today. If you plan to chaperone, make sure you have let me know and you have completed the OCS background check this school year.  All students will need a bag lunch and parents must meet us at Old Salem. We plan to arrive there around 9:45.

For recess during the winter months we plan to go outside as long as it isn't raining or the windchill isn't below freezing. Please make sure you child has a sweatshirt, jacket, or other appropriate clothing for the weather each day. 

Students should be keeping their computer chargers at home, please help your child remember to charge their computer each night. Many students are saying they plug their computers in at home, but they are dead the next day at school. Please help them find a good place to charge and make sure they are correctly plugging everything in. 

In math:
We are finishing up our unit on multi digit multiplication and division. Each Friday I send home that weeks math classwork. Today students are bringing home work from this week and the short week last week. Many students are still struggling with these concepts solely because they have not yet memorized multiplication facts (through 10's). Please check with your child to see which fact families they need to work on, if any. For those that do, we have been working to identify which families they have not yet memorized and practice those. Some ideas for practice:

games on either: 
www.sheppardsoftware.com or 
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

flash cards
songs
quick practice in the car to/from school

In reading and writing we will wrap up our study of nonfiction with a mini unit focused on winter holidays around the world. Be on the look out for a letter coming home Monday with more about that unit and celebration at the end :)

In science students are completing writing and Google slide presentations about an animal they have researched, focusing on the adaptations that help that animal survive. By the end of next week we will begin sharing student presentations.

Important Dates:

Dec 7       Field trip to Old Salem (see info above)
Dec  14    Last day for students, report cards go home
Jan   7      First day of the 3rd 9 weeks 

Hello Everyone & Happy Fall! 

Here is a peek into our classroom. Right now is one of my favorite times of the year because we're doing lots of integration between academic areas!

In reading we are continuing our study of nonfiction, specifically looking at how readers handle new vocabulary and organize new information. Our science and writing units follow perfectly along with the nonfiction work we've already done this quarter- we will be studying animals and adaptations that help them survive and researching to write and create a slide show about one specific animal.

In math we will begin a unit that has many new objectives. We will start with 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication and end this quarter with division. The 4th grade curriculum requires that students will learn several different methods for multiplication and division. I know this can sometimes feel frustrating because this is not the way you and I were taught multiplication and division. As we look at different methods in class I will share examples of them here in case you need them to help your child complete classwork at home. Our main goal is to make sure all students learn a method that works for them, that they can understand and use consistently and independently. 

Next week HES will have our Fall Book Fair. Our class will visit the bookfair first thing Tuesday  (11/6) morning. 

Next week we will take NC Check Ins for both reading and math. These are standardized tests that are much like the EOG's. 

Important Dates:
Nov    6    Book fair
Nov   12   Veteran's Day, no school
Nov  21-23  Thanksgiving Break 

Dec  7  Old Salem Field trip
 info letter going home Friday 11/2
Dec  14   Last day of the 2nd 9 weeks

Welcome Back!

In reading this quarter we will focus most of our time on nonfiction. So far we have compared and contrasted fiction and nonfiction (characters vs. actual people, illustrations vs. photos, graphs, maps, etc) I am asking that students read nonfiction books for their independent reading time for the next several weeks. We have created interest list/brainstormed topics of interest such as animals, planets, places to visit, famous people, historical events, etc.)

In math we have reviewed place value and looked at 2 different addition methods, both methods were a review. Next we will review the method student learned in 3rd grade for multidigit subtraction and the move on to the standard algorithm (traditional method, borrowing). This will be new for most 4th graders. 

In social studies we have studies the Lost Colony, the different theories of what happened, and new info that proves the Lost Colony wasn't actually lost! Next we will study Native American groups in NC and groups that settled across the 3 regions of NC.


**This week we will have PE on both WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY since we have missed the last 2 Thursdays because of storms.Please make sure you child wears sneakers BOTH 
days**

Enrollment for 2019-2020

HES will host another school tour for prospective families on Wednesday, October 17th at 8:30 am. Additional tour dates and times are listed on our website.  If you know of a family that will have a kindergarten student next year, are new to the community, or just want to be part of our HES family, please encourage them to visit us to get to know about the learning opportunities we have to offer.  Applications are encouraged for new K-5 students and will open in November. Returning families will also re-apply given first priority in November.

OCS Math Nights

• The district will be hosting 4 math nights this school year to provide parents with an overview of content, including strategies and  games/activities to do with students to support the curriculum.
• The 2nd of 4 math nights will be November 1st - Efland Cheeks hosting  

Important Dates:

October    29      Teacher Workday
November  5-9   Fall Bookfair at HES
November 12       No School- Veteran's Day
November 21-23   Thanksgiving Break

Hi Everyone!

We have just finished our 5th week of school, here are a

few updates and reminders and a peek into 4th grade!

We are continuing our character study during reading time.

We have finished Tiger Rising and are now reading

Because of Winn Dixie. So far we identified common

themes such as characters struggling with loss and

friendship helping characters that have lost something

important. Next week we will compare and contrast the

main characters of the 2 books and identify similarities

and differences in their struggles. Please continue to have

your child read for at least 20 minutes each night.

In math we have moved from area and perimeter to

multiplicative comparisons (for example- recognizing/understanding

that 12 is twice as much as 6, 15 is 5 times as much as 3, etc)

Next week we will extend that work into word problems.

We have finished our intro to NC unit and started out first

science unit, magnetism and electricity.  So far we have tested

a variety of materials and identified commonalities between

magnetic and non magnetic objects. Next week we will build

circuits to operate light bulbs or motors.

Next week we have a HUGE treat! Thanks to the PTA, local poet

Phillip Shabazz will be with each 4th grade class for an hour a day

of poetry workshop. He has been  coming to HES for many years

and is AMAZING at getting children to write some pretty amazing poetry.

Today your child is bringing home their interim report and some

of what we’ve been working on in math for the last 2 weeks.

Please sign and return the interim report.

IMPORTANT DATES:

August 22 early release at 11:35

August 23 picture day

September 3 no school- Labor Day

September 14 last day of the 1st 9 weeks

Hello Everyone!

….and just like that we are in our 4th week of school!

In reading we are continuing our work with describing and analyzing characters
through our read aloud book, Tiger Rising by Katie DiCamillo. We are following the
characters Rob and Sistine as they both struggle through tough times and big life
changes. Students are also working to build stamina during independent reading time.

In math we are moving on from our getting to know you/graphing unit on to our work
with area & perimeter and multiplicative comparisons. As I mentioned at Parent Info night,
having their multiplication facts memorized makes almost every part of 4th grade math
much easier. Please continue to practice those at home. 4th graders are expected to master
facts through the 10’s.

We will finish the last of our SS unit this week (and begin science next week). We are
studying all the different state symbols of NC and students will create their own state
using and justifying the symbols that they think best represent our state. A part of our
SS work has been to practice spelling important words like Hillsborough Elementary,
North Carolina, Orange County, etc correctly.

In writing we are continuing to build a “writing life” by gathering ideas and writing about
important people, places, objects, and memories in our writer's notebooks. Soon we will
choose one of these ideas to “grow” into a full story.

IMPORTANT INFO ABOUT COMPUTERS:

This year the district expectation is that students charge their computers at home at night. We will no longer have the charging cart in our classroom. Please help your child remember to charge their computer each night.

Heads up!

In the next couple of days I will send home info about signing up for parent conferences at the end of this quarter. I will make sure it is on bright paper and hope to send it home either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Important Dates:

August 10 Read-a-thon kick off

August 13-17 Read-a-thon week

August 22 early release @ 11:35

August 23 fall picture day

September 14 last day of the first 9 weeks

October 8 first day of the second 9 weeks