Homeroom
We began a social studies unit on immigration by learning about what it was like for immigrants to arrive in the United States at Ellis Island 100 years ago. In the coming weeks, students will be working in groups to study different immigrant groups and the contributions they've made to our country.
Math
Our third math unit is all about multiplication. Students are learning multiple strategies for solving multiplication problems: making area models, breaking apart large numbers, and finding partial products.
ELA
Students are hard at work revising their personal narratives. This week we talked about the writing strategy "show not tell." Ask you child about how they used video to help them describe the action in their stories! In our reading groups we practiced story mapping. Students identified the main characters and their traits, described the setting, and wrote about the problem, solution, and theme. They summarized their reading by identifying important details from the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
Fun on Friday!
Our math class really enjoys practicing their multiplication facts by playing a competitive dice game called Multiplication War. In ELA, we lounged on bean bag chairs during independent reading time -- many students were surprised by how much they read today and very proud of themselves!
Have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Kyle
Friday, November 4, 2016
Friday, October 14, 2016
10/14: This Week in Fourth Grade
Homeroom
In science this week, students continued learning about Newton's Laws of Motion. We also had a wonderful lesson from Ms. Flaccavento on kindness. Ask your child about what wrinkles our hearts and what we can do to show kindness to others!
Math
In math class this week we practiced adding and subtracting large numbers using the standard algorithms. We also tackled multi-step word problems. I've been very impressed with the perseverance I see in this group! They're learning to organize their work and show their thinking as they break down complex problems.
ELA
In writing, students are using timelines to organize and structure their narratives into paragraphs. We finished our first guided reading book,Stone Fox. We talked about character traits and found evidence in the text to support our thinking.
Fun on Friday!
Homeroom students started assembling their rockets today! We have a lot of work to do to get ready for Rocket Day on Friday, October 28!
Have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Kyle
Friday, October 7, 2016
10/7: This Week in Fourth Grade
Science
This week, homeroom students started learning about Newton's Laws of Motion. We brainstormed examples of Newton's First Law -- that objects in motion will stay in motion, and objects at rest remain at rest, unless acted upon by an outside force -- and illustrated some examples using the Notability app on our iPads. The class made some terrific connections to what they've already learned about friction, drag, and gravity!
Math
Students practiced mental strategies for addition and subtraction this week. We also learned how to round numbers to estimate sums and to use these estimates to decide if our answers to addition and subtraction problems make sense.
ELA
In writing, we are working on creating timelines for our personal narratives. We began a new read-aloud book, The Orphan of Ellis Island, and ended the week on the edge of our seats -- ask your child about the cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 4!
Fun on Friday!
Our ELA class played Vocabulary Pictionary this afternoon. How would you illustrate "essential," "demonstrate," and "humble"?
Enjoy your long weekend!
Mrs. Kyle
This week, homeroom students started learning about Newton's Laws of Motion. We brainstormed examples of Newton's First Law -- that objects in motion will stay in motion, and objects at rest remain at rest, unless acted upon by an outside force -- and illustrated some examples using the Notability app on our iPads. The class made some terrific connections to what they've already learned about friction, drag, and gravity!
Math
Students practiced mental strategies for addition and subtraction this week. We also learned how to round numbers to estimate sums and to use these estimates to decide if our answers to addition and subtraction problems make sense.
ELA
In writing, we are working on creating timelines for our personal narratives. We began a new read-aloud book, The Orphan of Ellis Island, and ended the week on the edge of our seats -- ask your child about the cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 4!
Fun on Friday!
Our ELA class played Vocabulary Pictionary this afternoon. How would you illustrate "essential," "demonstrate," and "humble"?
Enjoy your long weekend!
Mrs. Kyle
Friday, September 30, 2016
This Week in Fourth Grade
Science
We continued our exploration of forces this week, learning about how thrust and lift work together to help an airplane take off. In a hands-on experiment using marbles and ramps, students observed how different variables -- the size and weight of the marble, the length of the ramp, and the texture of the surface the marble rolls across -- affect the distance the marble rolls.
Math
We finished our unit on place value and began a unit on addition and subtraction strategies.
ELA
Our first writing unit is on personal narrative. Students are learning how to tell true stories of memorable moments in their lives. This week we practiced writing leads, adding details that set the scene and make the reader want to read more.
Fun on Friday!
In math class, we ended our day with a Properties of Addition Kahoot! Students used their iPads to "buzz in" and answer questions about the commutative, associative, and identity properties of addition in a game show-like competition.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Kyle
We continued our exploration of forces this week, learning about how thrust and lift work together to help an airplane take off. In a hands-on experiment using marbles and ramps, students observed how different variables -- the size and weight of the marble, the length of the ramp, and the texture of the surface the marble rolls across -- affect the distance the marble rolls.
Math
We finished our unit on place value and began a unit on addition and subtraction strategies.
ELA
Our first writing unit is on personal narrative. Students are learning how to tell true stories of memorable moments in their lives. This week we practiced writing leads, adding details that set the scene and make the reader want to read more.
Fun on Friday!
In math class, we ended our day with a Properties of Addition Kahoot! Students used their iPads to "buzz in" and answer questions about the commutative, associative, and identity properties of addition in a game show-like competition.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Kyle
Friday, September 23, 2016
This Week in Fourth Grade
Students are settling nicely into the fourth grade routine!
Science
We began our unit on Flight, Force, and Motion this week with a lively discussion about flying. Students learned about two of the forces that influence flight: gravity and drag.
Math
We continued working on place value concepts, focusing on the relationship between neighboring digits in large numbers, comparing numbers using greater-than and less-than symbols, and rounding.
ELA
We began a vocabulary unit and practiced identifying declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences. In our guided reading groups, we started reading Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner.
Fun on Friday!
Our ELA class did such a wonderful job working quietly and collaboratively on their vocabulary assignment today! We ended our day with a "write around." Working in groups of three, students co-wrote a creative story with a beginning, middle, and end. They each had four minutes to write and had to include a parakeet and a pickle! We had many laughs as the students read their stories aloud.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Kyle
Science
We began our unit on Flight, Force, and Motion this week with a lively discussion about flying. Students learned about two of the forces that influence flight: gravity and drag.
Math
We continued working on place value concepts, focusing on the relationship between neighboring digits in large numbers, comparing numbers using greater-than and less-than symbols, and rounding.
ELA
We began a vocabulary unit and practiced identifying declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences. In our guided reading groups, we started reading Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner.
Fun on Friday!
Our ELA class did such a wonderful job working quietly and collaboratively on their vocabulary assignment today! We ended our day with a "write around." Working in groups of three, students co-wrote a creative story with a beginning, middle, and end. They each had four minutes to write and had to include a parakeet and a pickle! We had many laughs as the students read their stories aloud.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Kyle
Sunday, September 18, 2016
This Week in Fourth Grade
Students did a great job switching classes for math and ELA this week!
Social Studies
We explored our classroom atlases and learned about cardinal and intermediate directions, reading a map key, and latitude and longitude.
Math
We talked about the growth mindset -- When we struggle and make mistakes, our brains grow! -- and began a unit on place value. Students practiced reading and writing numbers in the hundred thousands using numerals, number words, and expanded form.
ELA
In reading, students practiced making connections to the text. They are really enjoying our read-aloud book, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing! Working in teams, they brainstormed character traits for the six characters we've met so far.
Fun on Friday!
Our homeroom plays Silent Ball at the end of the day on Fridays. The hand-eye coordination in room 236 is most impressive! :)
Mrs. Kyle
Social Studies
We explored our classroom atlases and learned about cardinal and intermediate directions, reading a map key, and latitude and longitude.
Math
We talked about the growth mindset -- When we struggle and make mistakes, our brains grow! -- and began a unit on place value. Students practiced reading and writing numbers in the hundred thousands using numerals, number words, and expanded form.
ELA
In reading, students practiced making connections to the text. They are really enjoying our read-aloud book, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing! Working in teams, they brainstormed character traits for the six characters we've met so far.
Fun on Friday!
Our homeroom plays Silent Ball at the end of the day on Fridays. The hand-eye coordination in room 236 is most impressive! :)
Mrs. Kyle
Friday, September 9, 2016
A Great First Week!
What a busy first week in room 236! Students shared about themselves, explored the classroom, and learned about fourth grade expectations. They set goals for the year and applied for classroom jobs. We are learning how to be good partners and team members, and I'm impressed with the kindness and helpfulness I've seen around the classroom!
We launched our science unit on Flight and Force this week by designing, constructing, and dropping paper parachutes. Ask your students what they observed about the qualities of a successful parachute!
Please help students remember to bring in their "Me In a Bag" materials on Monday.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Kyle
We launched our science unit on Flight and Force this week by designing, constructing, and dropping paper parachutes. Ask your students what they observed about the qualities of a successful parachute!
Please help students remember to bring in their "Me In a Bag" materials on Monday.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Kyle
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