How Can I Support My Child in Math??

Measurement and Geometry 

These are links to videos and activities that will help you support your child at home as we begin our investigation of Measurement and Geometry in the middle of December and through all of January. 

angles and degrees

measuring with protractors

Finding Area of Rectangle

Measuring Area

Measuring perimeter

Choosing between perimeter and area

Converting Measurement

Length Measurement Tools

Measurement Benchmarks

Measuring Accurately

Angles and Degrees

Classifying Triangles

Mirror Symmetry

Points, Line Segments, and Parallel Lines

Polygons

Quadrilaterals

December Happenings

Reading

This month in reading we are focusing on the comprehension strategy of making inferences.  The focus of the modeled lesson is on how we can take our background knowledge on a topic, merge that “BK” with text clues, and then make an inference.  The inference may pertain to the meaning of an unknown word and result in an inferred meaning.  It may be an inference based on photographs, artifacts, or text features in nonfiction text.  Additionally, students will be inferring to interpret the deeper meaning of language, as well as the big ideas and themes of nonfiction and fiction text. I will be looking for the kids to apply the strategies modeled as they work independently in Reading Workshop.  They will use graphic organizers, sticky notes, and entries in their Reader’s Journal to demonstrate their application of and understanding of the strategy of making inferences.  Lastly, the kiddos with be crafting written responses to their reading in which they will construct a well organized and detailed paragraph sharing what they learned from their reading.

Writing

The month of December finds the kids diving deeper into the process of persuasive essay writing.  Throughout this two month unit the kids have learned how to use transition words and phrases to articulate and organize their thoughts, they have learned how to elaborate on the reasons they planned to support their theses, and how to support those reasons with detailed examples.  As we round out this writing unit, the kids will learn how to write a counterclaim to make their argument more persuasive as well as how to finalize their essay with a call to action for the reader.

Math

This month we find ourselves deep in the heart of Unit 3, Multiple Towers and Cluster Problems.  As we complete our investigation of this unit, the students will examine the mathematical relationship that underlies the pattern they see when a number is multiplied by a multiple of 10.  Additionally, they will develop strategies for solving multiplication problems with larger 2-digit numbers by breaking the problems apart in order to use number relationships that they know.  

Some of you have expressed interest in supporting your child at home with the strategies we are using to multiply and divide.  Prior to the week of Thanksgiving Break I sent an email home with links to videos and examples that you may use to support with this task.  I also posted the links on the blog.  I hope you find these helpful.

Social Studies

As we continue our study of Colorado History, the students will learn about various groups of people who have lived in or helped develop Colorado; the Native Americans, the European Explorers, the Fur Traders, Gold Rushers, and the early European Settlers.  Our study of these groups will involve the analysis of the positive and negative impact each group made on the other group and how each group influenced our current culture.  Ultimately, the kids will select which group of people they feel had the most influence on CO, and they will then construct a persuasive essay using the skills they learned in our current writing unit to persuade their classmates why they believe their selected group was the most influential.

Sustainable Traditions Project

With the spirit of giving in mind, this month we will learn about sustainable traditions.  A sustainable tradition is a tradition that can be done each year.  We will focus on sustainable traditions that “give back”.  As we build background knowledge on this subject matter,  we will read various texts with real life examples.  For instance, one article is about a 15 year old boy who started a group that gives new shoes to homeless children.  Another is about an 11 year old boy from Utah whose lemonade stand profits purchase wheelchairs for people in developing countries.  

The kids will explore how they can create holiday traditions with their family that can incorporate this spirit of giving back.  For instance, the kids may choose to create a sustainable tradition in which each year they bake and decorate cookies with their family and they bring the cookies to a local nursing home to spread holiday cheer to the residents.  Another example might be to gather their gently used and no longer played with toys and books, wrap them, and bring them to a local women’s shelter to share with the children there.

The kids will create a digital presentation for the class which you will be able to view at home through their gmail account.  Each year I am amazed at the creativity the kids exhibit with this project.  I have received a good deal of feedback over the years as many parents and kids  have chosen to follow the plan created in school and have made it a tradition for their family.  I hope you find it to be a good talking point for you and your family, regardless of whether or not you choose to partake in the tradition.

How Can I Support My Child in Math??

Please click on the following links for instructional videos that will model the strategies your child is learning in class.  These links were taken from the Pearson Realize website.  Your child can access this site from school and home.  The following links pertain to solving multiplication and division problems.  

https://www.pearsonrealize.com/community/program/48eae5df-3449-3740-9953-67af3204dda8/19/tier/ca82c3ed-3f8a-38ee-91b4-968075d56ec0/20/tier2/bea98f70-297b-3b79-b55a-ee87458b0e61/20/lesson/56fde32b-e621-39ae-9588-5227657108e2/20/content/53049e97-e1be-3c62-ace3-ed0e5ee2aa2c/15

https://www.pearsonrealize.com/community/program/48eae5df-3449-3740-9953-67af3204dda8/19/tier/ca82c3ed-3f8a-38ee-91b4-968075d56ec0/20/tier2/bea98f70-297b-3b79-b55a-ee87458b0e61/20/lesson/4b2d32fe-f0f5-3249-b2d2-02e006047d55/20/content/78f562d8-a4ed-37a3-8550-0a70705251e3/15

https://www.pearsonrealize.com/community/program/48eae5df-3449-3740-9953-67af3204dda8/19/tier/ca82c3ed-3f8a-38ee-91b4-968075d56ec0/20/tier2/bea98f70-297b-3b79-b55a-ee87458b0e61/20/lesson/56fde32b-e621-39ae-9588-5227657108e2/20/content/53049e97-e1be-3c62-ace3-ed0e5ee2aa2c/15

https://www.pearsonrealize.com/community/program/48eae5df-3449-3740-9953-67af3204dda8/19/tier/ca82c3ed-3f8a-38ee-91b4-968075d56ec0/20/tier2/bea98f70-297b-3b79-b55a-ee87458b0e61/20/lesson/82af4ba9-d05c-307c-b71d-1b7053051a97/20/content/df0268c4-6b15-377e-937f-7c15995bc43c/15

https://www.pearsonrealize.com/community/program/48eae5df-3449-3740-9953-67af3204dda8/19/tier/ca82c3ed-3f8a-38ee-91b4-968075d56ec0/20/tier2/afe3dbc2-bff8-3c0a-82a0-310c15d69477/20/lesson/5684baba-0025-3711-bb87-3e2a9ca7fdf3/20/content/cc066a83-6254-3888-93ca-abc7a3107df8/14

Honoring our Veterans

Today we had the opportunity to meet Brendan Egan, Luke's father and a Major in the Marine Corps.  He spoke to the kids about the significance of and history behind Veterans Day.  The kids were inquisitive and reflective, as usual.  Thank you to Major Egan!

Writing:
We are learning about the genre of opinion writing. The kids are learning how to create a strong thesis statement (claim), support that statement with powerful reasons and a multitude of examples, and provide a strong concluding paragraph. Thus far, we have practiced our skills by writing opinion essays about important topics relating to us (for example, favorite type of ice cream, favorite genres of music, favorite restaurants, favorite type of animal, etc.). The kids have tried to be persuasive in their writing and convince others to believe in their thesis statement. As we further develop our skills in opinion writing, we will broaden our topics and begin to craft thesis statements based on bigger ideas that impact larger groups such as our community, country, and our world.  With the approach of Thanksgiving, the kids will also be writing an essay about the three aspects in their lives for which they are most thankful.  (This is great to share at the table on Thanksgiving!)

Reading:
In reading workshop, students have been continuing their work with the comprehension strategy of questioning. For instance, while reading articles, leveled texts, chapter books, technology resources, etc., they have been asking questions (thick vs. thin) and connecting their new learning to their newly gained knowledge as they read a variety of texts. Students are using sticky notes to annotate their text and questioning graphic organizers. Students are asking questions, activating schema, recognizing unfamiliar/unknown vocabulary, inferring, and identifying new learning.  Students have been working on developing written responses to higher level questions.  They are being asked to respond to the questions, explain their thinking, and reference the text using page numbers and examples.  I am proud of students' effort and work completed so far. These strategies are used cross curricular.

Math:
Our current math unit is on two-digit by one-digit multiplication and division.  The kids are learning how to decompose larger multiplication problems and use simpler, known problems to help them solve the larger problem.  Additionally, they are creating multiplication stories to help them take abstract multiplication problems and put them in context; they are creating a real-world situation to help them make meaning of the abstract problem.  With regard to division, we are learning how to use multiplication to help us solve division problems. Again, these division problems are embedded in division stories.  Some result in remainders.  The kids are learning how to interpret these remainders.  For instance, instead of stating 4 R1, the kids are interpreting the quotient and saying each student gets four dollars and the remaining dollar can be broken into quarters.  Each student can then get a $1.25. 

Social Studies:
After the end of our Science unit on ecosystems, we began our first Social Studies unit for the year, Colorado History.  Thus far, we have studied the geography of Colorado and how the geography of where we live helps shape how we live.  In addition, we studied the early Native Americans who lived in Colorado and how they influenced how we live today.  As we continue our study of Colorado history, we will learn about fur traders, explorers and gold rushers. Our main focus in the study of these individuals is analyzing how these groups positively and negatively impacted Colorado and how they influenced the way we live today. 

Spelling Homework

Words Their Way Spelling Homework

Each Friday, your child will bring home a collection of spelling works that have been introduced in class. Throughout the week, your child is expected to complete a different activity daily to ensure that theses words and the spelling patterns they represent are mastered.  These activities have been modeled and practiced in school so your child can demonstrate how they work at home.

Monday:  Cut and Sort Words

Remind your child to cut and then sort the words and then sort the words into spelling patterns as practiced at school.  Your child should read each word aloud during this activity.  Ask your child to explain why the words are sorted in a particular way and what the sort reveals about spelling in general.  Encourage your child to sort their words a second time as quickly as possible.  You may time the activity for fun. Your child will prepare an answer key that will go home each Friday.

Tuesday:  Sort

Have your child sort the words and record them on the Sort and Record Form.

Wednesday:  Star Sort

Write one header in the center of each star.  Write each word that matches the header on the inside line of every star.  If there is not enough space to write on the inside of the star, the outside can also be used.

Thursday: Written Sort

In preparation for Friday’s spelling test, complete a writing sort by having your child first write each header on the form.  Call out all of the words one by one from your child’s word sort in random order.  Each word should be written under the correct header without seeing the words.  Call out any words your child misspells a second or even a third time.  If your child places the word in the wrong category, discuss why it does not belong and help him/her move it to the correct category.  Discuss any spelling patterns or “rules.”

Thank you for your support!

The Fourth Grade Team

Here's What's Happening in September

Math

We will begin September continuing our study of arrays, factors, and multiplicative comparisons in unit 1.  The kids will continue to find factors and factor pairs of numbers and cement their understanding of the concepts of prime, composite, and square numbers.  Toward the end of the month the students will demonstrate their knowledge of the concepts learned in unit 1.  We will then enter our second unit on measurement.  Our investigation of measurement will begin by gathering data on the height of fourth graders and our second grade buddies.  The kids will then learn how to represent and compare the data they collected using bar graphs and line plots.  Finally, they will draw conclusions based on the data.  Our study of measurement will continue into October.

Science

We are now fully into our exploration of ecosystems.  Thus far the kids have studied biotic and abiotic factors that exist in ecosystems.  As September begins, we will dive deeper into the unit by studying the five characteristics of all living things, how biotic and abiotic factors impact each other, how plants and animals adapt to their environment, food webs and chains, and explore a variety of physical and behavioral adaptations.  As we do so, we will  study the different ecosystems that exist in our world and how human behavior impacts those ecosystems and the animals and plants that live there.  Toward the very end of the month, the kids will each choose an endangered species to study.  They will research its habitat, diet, adaptations, its place in the food chain, the reasons it is endangered, and then they will craft a call to action with ideas on how to save the species.  This information will turn into a brochure that the kids will create and share with one another.

Reading

This month in Reading Workshop we will continue to apply the reading comprehension strategy of activate and connect.  The kids will continue to study a variety of nonfiction text while activating their background knowledge on the subject material.  They will then connect their new learning to their background knowledge as they create new thinking on the subject matter.  I will continue to model this strategy and these techniques at the start of each lesson and then gradually release the kids to apply the strategy on their own with leveled text I have provided them with.  I will connect our scientific study of ecosystems to reading as I provide the kids with a variety of texts centered around ecosystems and animals.  They will use sticky notes, graphic organizers. and record their new learning in their Reader's Journal as they annotate their text, identify important and interesting information, and merge their background knowledge with their new learning.  As always, as the kids are reading and applying the strategy I will be conferring with them individually and in a small group format.

Writing

During Writing Workshop in September, the kids will mine through the seed stories they have written in their Writer's Notebook as they select a story idea for their first realistic fiction piece.  I will model how to take a story idea for realistic fiction and create a main character who has fully developed internal and external characteristics and one or more conflicts to solve.  We will being workshop each day by working on a class story that I will lead and the kids and I will craft together.  By doing this, they will see how we use techniques such as figurative language, dialogue, apt word choice, details and description, and paragraphing to create a detailed realistic fiction piece that shows vs tells about the character, his or her struggles and how he/she works to solve those problems. Once the kids have selected their own story idea, they will learn how to create a story arc to develop the plot of the story. They will create scenes for the story arc (all modeled by me first) and then ultimately begin their rough draft using their story arc and planned scenes as a guide.  

Technology

The first week of September I will be co-teaching with Mrs. Fleet, our technology teacher.  She and I will guide the kids at they learn how to use Seesaw as a tool for sharing their learning and progress with their families.  They will reflect on the work they completed during a math project last month.  The kids had to find all of the factors of two numbers and create all of the arrays for those two numbers.  They will defend their solutions, explain the strategies they used to find all of the factors of the numbers, discuss any challenges they had as well as any changes they would make if they were to engage in the process again.  

Buddy Time

Our class met with Mrs. Graham's class at the very end of August.  The kids learned a bit about their buddy during this time.  Soon they will have the opportunity to introduce their buddy to you using Seesaw.  (I have not yet sent out an email inviting each of you to join Seesaw and have access to your kiddo's  account.  I will do this once we have it fully up and running.  Please know only you will have access to your child's material, unless you decide to share it with others.)

Upcoming Dates

September 15th:  Western Night

September 27th:  Parent Teacher Conferences

September 29th: Digger Dash

October 5th: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Field Trip AND Parent Teacher Conferences 

August Happenings

Language Arts

As the school year begins, we are setting the tone and foundation for Reading Workshop; we are practicing what it looks like to engage in sustained reading, to think about our reading, to share our thoughts in a clear manner while being active listeners as other share, and we are working on building our reading stamina.  As the month progresses, we will learn how to annotate our reading by leaving tracks of our thinking in the text.  We will ask question, identify important information, make connections, and share our annotations with one another.  As always, I will model this strategy first, guide the kids through practice, and give them ample time to independently practice the strategy.  

Writing 

We begin fourth grade by studying the components of a paragraph; a topic sentence, detail sentences, and a concluding sentence.  In addition, we will work to elaborate on the details and add more meat to the text.  The kids had their first experience doing this as they chose a summer memory to write a few short paragraphs about.  During this process, we touched on figurative language, appropriate use of punctuations, and transition words.  As we move into September, we will begin our first writing unit.  The genre is narrative writing.  September's blog post will contain specific information regarding the crafting techniques taught in this upcoming unit.  

Math

Our first unit of study is on factors and arrays.  Thus far, we have explored a large group of objects and used our background knowledge of multiplication and repeated addition to create a variety of arrays that represent that group of objects.  We have used manipulatives when needed to assist in the creation of arrays.  Throughout the month of August, we will continue to build the foundation for one-digit by one-digit and two-digit by one-digit multiplication through our creation of arrays.

As I mentioned at Back to School Night, the kids will soon receive their password and log-in information for Pearson Realize.  They will then have digital access to the student math handbook.  (Please note that the pages must be printed and can not be completed digitally.)  This may be used in case homework is left at school.  Again, as mentioned at BTSN, I will post a few links to videos from Pearson Realize that will give you examples of what we are doing in class.  Your child will have viewed/completed the majority of the videos/tasks in class.  You may use them at home to keep yourself informed of what we are doing in class and/or to support your child at home if necessary.

Science

Toward the end of August we will begin our study of ecosystems.   We will start by investigating biotic and abiotic factors, studying the characteristics of all living things, as well as create food webs and food chains.  Check out next month's blog post for further details. 

Buddies

We will be buddies with Mrs. Graham's second grade class this year.  We have not met yet, but we will shortly.  Buddy Time is an amazing opportunity for the kids to develop bonds, build friendships, and share their learning with others - that and it brings smiles to all of their faces!

Digital Citizenship Week

Welcome to Fourth Grade!

Dear Families,

            Welcome to fourth grade at Gold Rush Elementary.  My name is Jennifer Poli, and I will be your child’s teacher.  I am excited for the journey of a new year to begin and to experience it with all of the children and you!

            Allow me to tell you a little about myself as I will be spending a great deal of time with you and your child.  I earned my undergraduate degree in psychology from William Paterson University, a small school in northern New Jersey.  My teaching degree is from Rutgers University in New Jersey, and I earned my Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from Temple University in Pennsylvania. I have been teaching for thirteen years; my experience ranges from Kindergarten to fifth grade.  I was a stay-at-home mom for three years after relocating to Colorado from New Jersey.  I enjoyed my time at home, and after three years decided it was time to re-enter the field of education.  I had the privilege of doing that four years ago here at Gold Rush as the full day kindergarten teacher.  For the past four years I have been a teacher on the fourth grade team.

            Outside of school I enjoy spending time with my family.  I have two children; Brayden is eight and will be attending third grade at Gold Rush.  My youngest is six.  Her name is Brynn, and she will be in first grade this year.  My “third child” is a black Labrador named Jack.  In my spare time I enjoy exercising, cooking/baking, reading, and cheering on my children at their sporting events.

            I look forward to working with you and your child in the upcoming school year!  If you have any questions over the summer, please feel free to email me at jennifer.poli@dcsdk12.org.

Sincerely,

Ms. Jennifer Poli

Upcoming Dates

Writer's Afternoon with Parents: Tuesday, May 30th at 2:15 

Field Day: Wednesday, May 31st

4th Grade Class Picnic with Parents: Friday, June 2nd 

More details will follow via email regarding the writer's afternoon and the class picnic.  Field Day is organized by Mrs. Warner.  More information will come regarding this day as well.

Information Regarding Class Placement

Class Placement Process

Creating balanced class lists that meet the needs of all students is a difficult endeavor.  This process involves hours of thoughtful dialogue between classroom teachers, administrators, and other staff members.  We take this responsibility very seriously.  Our process for creating class lists is detailed below.

· Teachers identify the social and academic needs of each student.  They refer to existing data and record pertinent information to assist them in their decision-making.

· Teachers meet as grade level teams to form class lists that are balanced.  Balanced classrooms meet each student’s academic, social and emotional needs.  Teachers consider each child’s personality, academic strengths and needs and friendships.  Learning specialists and the specials team also collaborate with classroom teachers to provide feedback.

· Each grade level team types a draft of their class list, which is then submitted to me.  I review each child’s placement and ensure that all parent input has been considered. Classroom teachers approve any additional changes to ensure classes remain balanced. 

· Class lists are finalized in August to reflect the addition of new students.

This process is consistent across grades K-4.  Our 5th grade team collaborates with teachers at Cimarron Middle School to ensure students’ success in 6^th grade.

We strongly believe that this detailed and collaborative process creates learning environments that benefit all students.  It is a delicate balance that takes tremendous thought by professionals who know and care about your child.  Please remember that our ultimate goal is always to create balanced classes that promote the success of each child.  Please also know that your child is placed in a classroom for very specific reasons and that our process benefits all students.  Because of the input and thought given by teachers, parents, and administrators, we are reluctant to make changes once this process is complete as moving one child can disrupt the balance of an entire classroom. 

We do value parent input and welcome any insight you wish to share about your child’s strengths, needs and learning style.  We will take into consideration all pertinent information that you share with me on or before FRIDAY, April 28th.  While we welcome your input, we cannot honor specific teacher requests.  Please put your thoughts in writing and address them to me (Jenny Brown).  I will accept either a letter or email (jjbrown@dcsdk12.org).

I cannot express enough how important it is that your thoughts are in writing.  As you can imagine, I receive a great deal of parent input and verbal information is nearly impossible to track.  Further, please direct all of this communication to me, as I am ultimately responsible for reviewing final class lists in July when teachers are not available.

What's Happening in April?

Young Ameritowne Field Trip

On Wednesday, April 5th we will make our much anticipated trip to Young Ameritowne Headquarters.  By now the kids have been well trained in their job responsibilities and they are ready to go to work!!  I will post pictures from our trip once we return.
(Scroll down for the YAT pictures.)

Reading Workshop

Starting the middle of April, we will begin our study of the comprehension strategy of summarize and synthesize.  Synthesizing information helps readers to see the bigger picture as they read.  The kids will learn how to be thoughtful readers who integrate new information with their existing learning to come to a more complete understanding of the text.  Their thinking will begin to evolve as they encounter new information.  I will model application of the strategy using text on the Maya, the true story of a young Afghan refugee, ancient Egyptians, and humpback whales.  As always, the kids will be given text at their reading level to read and independently apply the strategy.  

Writing Workshop

As you saw at conferences, the kids are very engaged in the informational writing process.  They have become experts on their selected topic and are currently in the process of completing their rough drafts, editing, revising, and publishing them.  At this point in the process they are paying extra special attention to using a teaching tone and incorporating text features in their piece.

Science

Now that our unit on YAT has concluded, we will switch gears and focus on Science for the remainder of the year.  Our next unit of study will be on the sun, moon, and stars.  We will study the path of the sun and its various positions in the sky as well as how and why shadows are formed.  We will also gather and analyze shadow data to develop logical conclusions about the sun's position.  

Finally, we will study the various phases of the moon as well as constellations.  

Math

During the month of April we will continue our study of fractions and decimals.  For the remainder of this unit we will multiply fractions by whole numbers, as well as multiply, add, and subtract fractions.

Upcoming Dates

Monday, April 10th Book Fair Preview Time for our class 

Monday, April 10th- Thursday, April 20th Book Fair

Friday, April 21st - No School

March Update

Math

Our current unit of study pertains to fractions and decimals.  The kids are using their fraction cards (area representations for fraction and mixed numbers) as they compare and order fractions on a number line.  We will soon begin comparing decimals in the same fashion using decimal cards,  representations that include decimals in the tenths and hundredths place.  We will then begin to add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers.  Problems that involve measurement will be incorporated into this investigation.  Finally, we will end the month and begin April by multiplying fractions by whole numbers and mixed numbers.  

In case you missed it in the email or last blog post, you and your child can log on to Pearsonrealize.com at home, just as we do in class.  On this site, your child can access their homework pages, instructional math videos that I have already assigned them in class on google classroom, as well as math games tied to our current unit.  

                  

We constructed a fraction number line with the fraction cards created at home.  Throughout the process, the kids discovered many equivalent fractions and used the area representations they drew as well as their knowledge of parts and wholes to order their fractions between 0 and 2. 

Reading Workshop

This month in Reading Workshop we have begun reading a variety of fictional and nonfiction text.  We have used these readings to determine the theme and main idea as well as identify evidence from the text to support our thinking.  We have then written short essays (two to three paragraphs) based on our thinking.

Moving on, we have been using a site called Digital Readworks.  This site allows me to provide the kids with leveled text tied to our content.  They can highlight and annotate the text online and show their comprehension of the text by responding to multiple choice and open ended questions prior to electronically submitting their work to me.  We have used this site to explore theme and main idea.

Additionally, we have read narratives and then used the main idea from those narratives as a spring board to write our own narratives as we connect reading and writing.  

Finally, during our monthly co-taught technology sessions with Mrs. Fleet, we have introduced the kids to a new website called Discovery Education. This gives the kids access to leveled information presented in the form of reading passages, boards (similar to infographics), and videos.  We have used Discovery Education to study videos and boards as well as Digital Roadworks for articles all related to the same topic.  The kids then determined a common theme in all three resources and wrote essays stating the common theme using evidence from all three.  

Here are a few screenshots from Discovery Education and Digital Readworks.

Writing Workshop

During the month of March we will continue with the genre of informational writing.  Thus far, the kids have completed their research, they have used their notes to create an outline, and have used the outline to begin drafting their chapters.  This month's mini-lessons will focus on incorporating text features, crafting captivating leads by using questions or shocking facts, writing with a teaching tone, and writing a reflective and powerful ending.
The kids are becoming experts on their topics and can't wait to share their learning with one another and with you!

Young Ameritowne

As you know, YAT is our current Social Studies unit as it focuses on financial literacy. This has been our focus for the past month or so and will be until the middle of April when we begin our next Science unit.  As of today, the kids have been learning the importance of saving for short-term and long-term goals, budgeting, how to balance a checking account, and how to invest their money based on their personal assessed risk tolerance.  They have interviewed for their jobs at YAT and have been placed in their positions.  Next week they will begin their job training.  

As you know, our field trip is April 5th.  More details will come via email from the fourth grade team providing you with more information about the field trip.  Registration for the trip has been open for a few weeks now, and I have most kids registered.  Please let me know if you have any questions about this.  

Thank you for visiting and learning about what your kiddos are working so very hard on!

Instructional Math Videos (Originally from an email)

Good morning parents.

I am emailing you links to a variety of instructional videos for our current math unit on fractions and decimals.  These videos and the activities that follow some of them, come from our online curriculum resource.  Your children watch these videos throughout the math unit to supplement and help cement their learning.  I assign them to them on the Pearson Realize website.  (Your kids know their log-in info. It;s also written in the front of their HW planner.) 

Many of your kids have utilized the website at home as they have gone on to print homework they left at school.  These videos are also available on the site under math tools.  Your kids are very familiar with using the site. 

 I am sending these to you in case you want to familiarize yourself with the material we are learning in class.  (The kids have not viewed all of these yet as we are only part way through the unit.)

Please let me know if you have any questions.  I hope these videos prove to be useful tools for you. 

Have a great day!

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Kindness Week

Hello parents!

As you know, we recently celebrated Kindness Week here at Gold Rush.  Your kids came up with very creative and thoughtful ways to show their kindness to others.  In addition to engaging in acts of kindness, our class participated in the door decorating activity held throughout the building.  Mrs. Faulkner and her daughter, Amelia,  "kindly" helped create our amazing door display, and the students each contributed their part.  Here is the end result!

February Highlights

Reading Workshop

This month in Reading Workshop, we will continue to apply the comprehension strategy of making inferences as we read non-fiction texts.  As a class, we have been reading about Mt. Everest and the Cheyenne while exploring how we can make meaning out of inferential headings, how we can infer to answer our questions about the text, and how we can take our background knowledge, add it to information we learned from the text, and then make a strong and meaningful inference from our reading.  We can then continue reading the text and either affirm the validity of our inferences or make changes to them after acquiring new knowledge.  As always, these techniques are modeled during reading workshop.  The kids practice them together as a class and are then off to read their leveled text and apply their strategies independently while I circulate around the room and read with them.  Additionally, I have been modeling how to write a reading response using information from the text.  We are just beginning this response to reading and will work on enhancing our skills as the year progresses.

Writing Workshop

Our unit on informational writing will continue this month.  Thus far, the students have completed their note taking on their selected topic.  They worked very hard paraphrasing notes and quoting notes when necessary.  We then moved on to organizing our notes into an outline in order to plan for the drafting process.  Some students are still organizing their writing while others have moved on to the drafting process.  As they draft, I will model how to write with a teaching tone, how to incorporate transition words to make their writing flow, and how to write complex sentences and detailed paragraphs.  The next step will be adding text features such as charts or tables to each of their chapters.

Math

By the second week of February the students will have demonstrated their knowledge of measurement and geometry and will have begun to explore parts of a whole as we begin our study of fractions and decimals.  As always, support with be provided as needed as will enrichment opportunities.

Social Studies

Our unit on financial literacy, Young Ameritowne, has begun.  The students are learning how to manage a budget, invest, weigh opportunity costs, and how to successfully interview and maximize their abilities, to name just a few.  This is an exciting unit that has the kids very intrigued.  There are many opportunities for parental involvement with volunteer positions as you have seen with recent emails.  As always, thank you for your support.

Technology

This week we will be back in the S.T.E.A.M. lab using our knowledge of area and perimeter as we write code with Dash.

The S.T.E.A.M. Lab - Meet Dash and Dot

Meet Dot...

           

and Dash!

Today we engaged in the "Blockly Math Challenge".  

The kids used the Blockly app to find fractional portions of a 120cm strip.   Their knowledge of coding to create paths, multiplying, and dividing were challenged today!