Thursday

This morning students practiced their vocabulary words. We watched a power point presentation on the words and then we went through the class and each student had to come up with a good sentence using each word. They made some very interesting sentences. Then we reviewed linking and helping verbs. We started the lesson yesterday, but as we were working through the problems, I just realized we needed another try. So today, we went through the paragraph identifying all of the parts of speech so the students could understand that the same word, used in a different way, can be a different part of speech. I think it went much better.

In math we worked on probability dealing with candy (pictures) and then using a graph, and following specific directions, drew a pumpkin. In the afternoon we reviewed our songs, "Here We Have Idaho," "Idaho Counties," and "This Land is Your Land." Students also were given time to take AR tests.

Have a Happy Halloween

Tuesday parent teacher conference tomorrow

This morning we talked about staying on topic while we write. Students often get started and then veer off into a completely different subject. One of our goals is to help them write a coherent paragraph. We looked at paragraphs that had an odd sentence and figured out which didn't belong. We then reviewed the words for our reading assignment. I explained the meanings of the words students didn't know and then we started the story. During math we covered equivalent fractions. After lunch we rushed over to the book fair, then back to do Social Studies.

Monday parent teacher conference on Wednesday

We studied our spelling words this morning and then went to the computer lab to practice our typing. In math we learned a little about equivalent fractions. We used a number line with 4ths and 8ths. Then students were to look at the number-line and find out which fractions were equivalent. In Social Studies we began learning about the earliest people in Idaho. Then we discussed what archaeologist would find that we had left behind. Students then went to PE.

Friday and Carnival

This morning we took our spelling test and a short part of our reading test. Then the students worked on their writing projects. Students are finishing their "All About Me," and the "Fences" papers. The next project will be a personal narrative. They will be telling a story about their lives. After lunch we make fraction strips and then played a fraction game. Finally we played a game of patterns. It was fun, but it was difficult too.

In the afternoon our room mothers, Mrs. Moyle, Mrs. Henderson and Mrs. Henderson came in and led the children in games. Mrs. Barzee, Mrs. Campbell, and Mrs. Beutler brought treats. Thanks so much for all the people that helped make today fun.

Thursday Halloween parade, party and carnival tomorrow!

This morning students introduced their vocabulary words. They are getting much better on these presentations. We reviewed synonyms and how to write a good sentence using adjectives and adverbs. Students began their genre papers in which they write the genre our weekly story belongs to. Then they answer the questions; how does this story affect me, how does this story affect the world, and then they compare the story to other stories we have read. We also talked about how to use our "writing" paper. This paper should help the students write five paragraph essays without so many re-writes.

In math students started playing with fractions. Tomorrow we will make fraction strips to help students actually see what we are talking about. In Idaho History we finished the movie about the geology of Idaho.

Remember to bring pumpkins tomorrow and be ready for the parade by 12:30. If parents wish to come, come around 12:10 to help your child dress up. You are all invited to watch the parade. We will also be having the Walk of Fame at 2:45.

Wednesday

We read our story today. It is about an entrepreneur who built his own restaurant. It is interesting the things he had to learn, not just from schooling, but from hard work. Students also took their pre=spelling test. Those who studied all of their words did very well. In math we worked more on different ways to multiply numbers, how to re-arrange the factors to make the math easier.

In the afternoon students practiced their handwriting re-writing their spelling words. Then we watched a movie on the geology of Idaho. At the end of the day, students went to music.

Remember to bring pumpkins for our Halloween party!!

Tuesday

Student practiced writing a paragraph today. We talked about what should be in a good paragraph and then we re-ordered sentences to make the paragraph make sense. In math we learned more about factors and prisms. Students used cubes and learned that if you re-arrange the dimensions of a prism, your shape might look different, but you have the same number of cubes. The purpose of this lesson is to teach students that by rearranging the factors, you can find an easier way to multiply. An example might be 5 x 18. We know that 3 x 6 = 18 so we write 5 x 6 x 3. 5 x 6 = 30 x 3 equals 90. That is a lot easier than 5 x 18 = 90. It uses information that the student knows.

Students also had their eyes tested during our Idaho History time. So we went upstairs and whisper sang the counties of Idaho. This helped some of the students learn the song better. Remember to bring a pumpkin before Friday. Our costume walk is about 12:30 and the class will have a party decorating their pumpkins after that.

Monday - Remember the pumpkins!

This morning we reviewed our spelling words, worked in the computer lab with our typing, and learned about the commutative property in math. In the afternoon we worked on our cursive writing, it is really improving. Then we reviewed the Idaho State song and the counties song too. We then moved onto geology of Idaho. Finally, students went to PE and we read from the book I survived.

Remember that the Halloween Carnival is this Friday. Students brought home a paper today to tell more about it. Also, tomorrow, look for the parent-teacher conference papers.

Friday

Today students took reading and spelling tests. The spelling tests are corrected and most of the students did quite well. In math we learned about factor trees. Most of the students seemed to get the idea. In the afternoon students finished their haunted house and made autumn leaves to decorate our classroom. Remember, next Friday is the Costume parade at 12:30, pumpkin decorating in our class at 1 and the party at 2:15. We will be contacting parents to help.

Here is a link to some fun math practice. http://www.topmarks.co.uk/flash.aspx?f=hitthebuttonv11

Thursday

Students took their spelling tests today. Some had not studied their word lists and were very unhappy. Fortunately, tomorrow they can try again. We re-read our story about Wells and Fargo and students were to write a question about the story. While studying math we learned about prime and composite numbers. We did most of the worksheet together so they would understand what to do. They finished it at their desks.

On October 25th we will have our Halloween party. All of the 4th graders will be decorating a pumpkin. Your student can bring a pumpkin at any time between now and then. They must have their names on the pumpkins so they don't get confused.

Wednesday

In English we studied capitalization of titles and places. Students worked on their vocabulary words and finally we read our story. We did not take our spelling pre-test today, but we will do that tomorrow. During math we did something interesting. We would take the factors 3 x 16 and then double one number and halve the other number. This made the multiplication easy to do. So, we took 3 and doubled it and took 16 and halved it and got 6 x 8 and then realize that both equal 48. It is an easier way to multiply numbers from difficult products to more manageable products.

This afternoon we went to see the middle school play. The actors did a good job and our class, most of them, behaved well.

Tuesday

In language we covered pronouns again today. Some of the students are getting the meaning of the word. We also covered writing topic sentences for paragraphs. We reviewed the fluency words for our story. We will read it tomorrow and Thursday. In math we learned about finding factors in multiplication. We learned that some numbers have a lot of factors. If you want to see a treat, come and visit the school to see the 4th grade bug collections, they are really well done. Tomorrow the students will be going to a play at the auditorium at 1:30.

Monday

This morning students worked on identifying and replacing irregular verbs. Then we began studying our spelling words by sorting them into groups. It might be a good idea, when your student is spelling words to ask them about the patterns. Finally we went over to the computer lab to practice typing. I am noticing numbers increasing, that is good. in math we started working on multiples which are numbers that can only divided evenly. We discussed factors, the numbers you multiply together to get a product. Then in the afternoon we watched a short movie on Columbus.

Friday

Today was a pretty normal Friday. We took tests, reviewed our math and fixed tests, and made a haunted pop-up house. We did have an issue with some students running through a door and hurting someone. Those were running, even those who did not cause the injury, wrote a letter and will do some service to make up for the injured person.

Wednesday-Teacher inservice Thursday - no students

Students took their spelling tests today. We also worked on our stories. Students should have finished their vocabulary word and we will review those for the test on Friday. I handed out an outline that should help with the essays. In math we reviewed and took an evaluation (the word test is too scary) to see what we need to review. We will review those items on Friday and then move on to module 3. Remember, the insect collections are due on Friday!

Students went to music and learned about playing recorders. Later in the afternoon we went to the middle school meeting room. Jackie Leavitt came and taught the students about the importance of balancing screen time with other activities. Students should have brought home a paper to discuss what they learned.

Tuesday - Walk of Fame on Friday

Our new student arrived today. She fits in nicely with the class. We reviewed our vocabulary words from the text. Then the students stared their fluency tests for the month of October. We are about half done with that. Then we ready the story, "Starting a Business." It is quite short but talks about different businesses students could start. In math we learned about seconds and how many seconds are in a minute. We played a game, students shut their eyes and then raised their hands when they thought a minute was up. Some did very well.

We will have our spelling tests tomorrow. Then at 2:30, our class will be going to the new middle school meeting room and be taught about the Isafe program. It is designed for children, about how to keep themselves safe. There is no school for students on Thursday though the teachers will be here for inservice. Friday we will have the Walk of Fame at 2:45. All students that have reached 50 AR points will be walking.

Monday - Book order is due tomorrow

We have a new student coming tomorrow. Her name is Samantha Kirby. We have been expecting her for some time, so it will be nice to have her here. We sorted our spelling words today, the students have their list and need to write each word three times. Please make sure they are writing neatly. Then we went to the computer lab, some students are at 2 words per minute and some are above 20 words per minute. In math we practiced changing hours from minutes and minutes to hours. I sent pages home with some of the students that were struggling with this.

Students went to science class today. They are learning about animals. Remember the insect collections need to get finished. We ended the day with another report and a birthday party.

Friday

Today we had our spelling and reading tests. Then we worked more on understanding time. This seems to be a real problem for a lot of students, reading analog clocks. It would be great if you could help them with this at home.

In the afternoon we learned about different ancestors. From Jesse James, to protectors of Joseph Smith, to a little girl whose father wouldn't let the doctors amputate her legs, we learned a lot. Most of our ancestors came from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Germany and the Scandinavian countries, although there were a few Native Americans too.

Next week the students will go to Miss Lu for science. Remember to get the insect collections finished!

Thursday tomorrow Family History Day

This morning we learned how to use words in our writing that give place and location. Then we discussed things that need to be fixed on our tests. Students are expected to write complete sentences on their tests. We went through some ideas and talked about how to write the answers correctly. Students were warned that they will start losing points starting with tomorrow's test. We also reviewed the homework pages and how to do them correctly. In math we learned about elapsed time. Some students struggle with telling time on an analog clock and so we worked on that too.

Tomorrow afternoon students will be telling us about their families, where they came from (country), showing pictures and artifacts from their family and telling us stories that have been handed down in their family. This ties in with our study of Idaho history. Please help your student find something to tell or bring to class.

Wednesday

Tomorrow will be an interesting day. For the last month students have been earning $5/day in 4b money for their jobs. They have lost money for specific infractions. But we have struggled with behavior issues. So today, every time a student didn't follow instructions I warned, "Tomorrow you will lose $5 or $10 for that." And tomorrow, they will. We cannot learn when students are not involved in learning. Tomorrow, not being involved will be expensive.. I hope they will learn what is acceptable in 4th grade.

Today we learned about words that signal time order. Then we had our spelling test. Finally,students worked on their writing pages. In math we started working on word problems, that is always a little exciting. Then, in the afternoon we learned about timelines. Each student made their own. We talked about the purpose of learning history which is to teach us what works and what does not. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. Then the students went to music.

Book orders will be sent in on October 8th, which is next Tuesday. Please make sure all orders are in by that date.

Tuesday

Today we learned about the difference between nouns that are plural and nouns that are possessive. We talked about the difference between the aim, purpose, and audience when we are writing. We reviewed the fluency lists for Daedalus and Icaraus and then reread the story in teams. Finally students worked on finishing their vocabulary words.

In math we added multiple numbers together. The students are pretty familiar with this and it wasn't hard for them at all. We worked on making our handwriting legible. In social studies we learned about the geography of Idaho. Then students went to the library. Remember, there is a spelling test tomorrow.