Math Tools

Toss and Talk (about the Distributive Property)

This year we will be using many different "tools" that will help strengthen the student's mathematical skills.

The Distributive Property was a focus this week during math time.   Students worked at breaking apart numbers into two simpler problems.  Creating arrays on graph paper to help visualize was one strategy.  After several days of practice the students really started getting the hang of it and showed deeper understanding.
 
A new tool is the Scott Foresman website. Each topic is introduced via a quick video.  The video includes vocabulary needed for the lesson.  Previewing vocabulary before the lesson helps activate the learning. There is also an engaging, guided story problem based on the concept being learned.

Students will have also have access to the Scott Foresman website at school and home.   The student text is available on line as well. Usernames and passwords will be given out this week.  Perhaps you could spend an evening checking out the site with your child.

Built into the math block is a game which correlates to the day's lesson.  Students played a "Toss and Talk" game to practice breaking numbers apart.

For homework students will be given at least one question where they will need to "explain" their answer.  Explaining using math vocabulary/numbers or diagrams will be modeled in the class all year long.

An Interactive Math Notebook will be used to aid the students. It will be a used as a resource where students may refer back to the concepts and explanations.  (More to come on this topic at another time!)

Math manipulatives will be a regular part of the classroom.  Using base ten blocks, fraction tiles, power polygons, protractors will give students an opportunity for hands on learning during math.

Finally, other math websites will be used to compliment the learning.   Some favorite sites include XtraMath (to practice math facts - username & passwords will be given out this week); Sumdog (a subscription based site that practices facts & more - usernames & passwords will be given out this week.) & Sheppard Online Math Games.

With the help of these varied tools the students are sure to have a wonderful year in Math. 

Students: What has been your favorite math tool so far?

Reader's Theater Workshop Wednesdays

Wednesday afternoons in our class has been dubbed "Reader's Theater Wednesdays."

For a half hour or so each Wednesday afternoon the class will participate in by performing a Reader's Theater.  A Reader's Theater is a 'play' based on literature or poetry.  It may contain parts for two or more readers.  The readers are using their voices to perform instead of gestures or action.  Typically, it doesn't involve memorizing.

Students build confidence in public speaking while building reading comprehension and fluency.  Our first workshop consisted of a short 'play' about punctuation.  Working with a partner the students took turns being Reader 1 and Reader 2.  Roles were then reversed.  A final reading was done where students practiced the passage using expression.  Several pairs came to the front of the room and read for the class.  As the year progresses I plan to use more complex Reader's Theater pieces.

If you would like to read more about the benefits of  Reader's Theater, Linda Cornwell's article in Scholastic, goes into detail. She describes it as an "integrated approach for involving students in reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities."

Certainly the students were very excited, and said they were looking forward to the next one! Love the enthusiasm of this group!

For my students:  What did you like/not like about the Reader's Theater?

Snowball Fight in September!

Snowball fight!  Yes, you heard it right!  Our class actually had a 'snowball fight' on the first day of school.   It's an unusual activity for school, but it served several purposes.  The biggest idea behind the snowball fight was for students to share information about themselves. 

Students completed the 'snowball worksheet' and when finished crumpled it into a 'snow'ball.  (The worksheet contained 'getting to know you prompts' such as "Something I like to do..." "Something I'm nervous about this year..."  "One thing I'm excited about this year...")  Names were purposely left off the papers.  When everyone was ready the class was divided in half and took their places on opposite sides of the room.  With their 'snowballs' in hand, we counted to three and let the snowballs fly.

When the 'exchange' was over students picked up a snowball and opened it up making sure they didn't have their own.  Then, they tried to guess who the paper belonged to by reading and sharing the clues.  It was a great way to learn something new about one another.

Papers were returned to their owners and then we had another discussion (based on this lesson from a New York Teacher).  Students were asked to get all the wrinkles out of the paper.  Impossible right? I told the students the wrinkles represented harsh words or actions and no matter how hard you try to fix it or say your sorry - a mark is still left. 

We vowed to be good to each other and I believe this class will be true to their words!  It was a great start to building a strong 4th grade community.
 

Welcome Class of 2013-2014

Welcome to the Fourth Grade.  Planning on you having a wonderful year of learning with your classmates and me! This blog will provide a "window to our learning" for you, your families, relatives and hopefully many others.  (What I love about this blog is that you and your families can leave a comment in the section below!)

Fourth grade is such an exciting year.  We will spend the first week or two getting to know one another and working on some team building activities.  We will also spend time building our reading stamina. We will start out small and reach the goal of reading at a sustained pace for 30 minutes! You will be hearing a lot about the Daily5 which will give you many CHOICES on your reading journey. This year there is a new math program called EnVisions.  I think you are going to enjoy learning math with the help of this new program!  

We are going to have a great year!  Looking forward to meeting you and getting to know you.  Please fill out this "All About You" Survey. (click on these words: All About You) It will help me get to know you before we meet face to face!  Click and you can get to know more about ME!

I'll be looking out for you on the first day of school.

End of the Year Activity - Roller Coasters

Desperado, Nitro & Goliath are just a few of the roller coasters students learned about on the last 2 1/2 days of school.   This thematic unit (designed by a teacher, Lovin' Lit,  from Louisiana) included activities that related to all areas of the curriculum from reading non-fiction articles, recording and analyzing statistics, using map skills, to comparing and contrasting kinetic & potential energy.

Videos and pictures of roller coasters were used to engage students.  Sharing their war stories about being on a roller coaster helped them make connections.  Then following directions students slowly created a lap book using the information about the roller coasters.   They made bar graphs, learned about energy through this song.  The final activity was to build their own roller coaster using simple materials.  The designs were unique and many worked.  I believe if we had more time - ALL of them would have completed the challenge.



 As the temperatures remained high during the day, so did the level of engagement.  Students are encouraged to visit the eBoard site to design their own roller coasters via an internet program.

It was a great way to end the school year.  Please feel free to leave a comment (and especially leave a comment if you visit a roller coaster this summer!).


 

Back to the Basics of Writing

      Written by: Grace M. (& Mrs. Carroll)

     On Thursday, June 6th, we were lucky enough to Skype with Jerry Blumengarten, author of the book “Energy Kids”, written for and energy company similar to NSTAR. He is a former New York City Teacher and Librarian.  He now compiles resources and houses them on his own "Cybraryman Man's Educational Websites."

     During our discussion, Mr. Blumengarten gave us helpful tips about writing and the many steps you have to take to write a book.  He used his "Cartoon Book" to guide us through the process.

    We Skyped just in time for our “Night At The Museum” project.  It will definitely improve our grades because he spoke to us about taking our time researching and writing a detailed script.  For The Night at the Museum Project we will be researching a famous person then writing a script and performing as though WE are that person.  Night at the Museum will be held June 20th for parents.

Culminating Activities for Little House

Written by: S. Grant (and Mrs. Carroll)

Little House in the Big Woods is a story about a little girl's experience in the great woods of Wisconsin in the mid 1800's.  The students in the class completed many activities.

They have read the book, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Then, they filled out their lapbook. The lapbook was made from two folders stapled together and when they got to a certain part of the story, students would write in the space provided for that subject. After writing, they would decorate and color the inside and outside of the paper.

Lapbook

Next, students filled out their Log Cabin shaped vocabulary book. The book was filled with the words that they didn't fully understand. Students researched the words in the student dictionaries provided.


After the story, they created the Characters in a Can and made a "person" out of a can based on a main character from the story. On the 24th they had their Prarie breakfast and the Hoedown. The breakfast consisted of eggs, pancakes, breads, juice and much more.

Character in a Can Project

The last part of the day was the most exciting...A whole school assembly highlighting the fourth graders for our Annual Hoe Down.  The whole school was invited to wear their country western gear to get in the spirit of the activity.  Fourth grade students learned several country western dances including the Virginia Reel and Cotton Eyed Joe.  After each class performs the dance they choose members of the audience to try the dance with them.  The final dance consists of the entire school doing a line dance!

Through these activities life in the Little House comes a little bit more alive for the students!