Week 14: Just Dance: CPCS Version; Giving Thanks and Recognition

This week, students continued to learn strategies for multiplying larger numbers.  We took the strategies outside (before the arctic blast!) and practiced with sidewalk chalk.  There is a dance we use as a mneumonic device to help us multiply two double digit numbers:  "Tens times your tens, ones times your ones, tens times your ones and your ones times your tens".  Ask your fourth grader for a demonstration!  We also integrated some geometry and measurement concepts as students learned to use area models to help solve multiplication problems.

       As we continue our unit on erosion, we explored our new resource, BrainPop.  Students may access this site at home too for videos, games, quizzes on various topics.  Next week, we will begin to design models of an eroding area of our school campus.  Teams of four will then engineer a solution to the problem and present it to a board of judges who will decide which solution is the most cost -effective, earth friendly and feasible.  In the spring, we will put that plan into action when we revisit the concept of erosion when we begin our Smith Island unit.

          In language arts we are at the midway point with our novels.   I’m encouraging students to take more of a leadership role in discussions.  Part of this process requires them to prepare questions before their group meets.  I’ve asked them to create three types of questions that inspire different types of thinking.  Most of the students recognize that questions that aren’t answered with “yes” or “no” answers prompt us to think more deeply about the story elements and plot development. 

           Students wrote letters to the fifth grade students to thank them for inviting us to tour their “wax museum”.  It was an impressive experience and we took the opportunity to practice writing with specificity.  Instead of just writing “It was awesome!” the students used graphic organizers to list specific ways the 5^th graders worked to make the experience so informative and realistic. Then the students used their notes to write their letters.  Many of the students filled a page or more with positive detailed feedback for the fifth grade class!  I was especially pleased that some of the students initiated writing a second draft because they wanted to be proud of what we send to 5^th grade.

            In social studies we talked about the elements of culture that can make a group of people unique.   Our Maryland newspaper contained an article about the lifestyle of Native Americans.  Many cultural customs and beliefs were explained.  We compared and contrasted the Native American way of life with modern American life.  Some of the students have chosen to write poetry about cultural connections and the importance of bridging the gap between cultures through understanding.   We’ve been given the opportunity to submit these works to the “Maryland Connects Writing Project.” This a project open to 3^rd – 12^th grade students in Maryland.

Week 13: Splitting Strategies, Novels and Leadership!

         Over the last two weeks, we have been conquering LARGE multiplication problems.  No longer are we focusing on basic facts, we are applying our fact fluency to calculate larger products.  In fourth grade, students explore several different strategies for multiplying large numbers so that they have a solid foundation for how multiplication and our entire number system works.  So far, students have used the "splitting strategy" and the distributive property (who remembers that term from high school algebra??).  Basically, students are "dissecting" the larger factor into its values, then multiplying them each by the other factor [example: 341 x 6 = (300 x 6) + (40 x 6) +  (1 x 6)].  Next week, we will learn to use these same strategies, but with 2 digit factors times 2 digit factors...this is trickier, so there is a song/chant to remember the steps, so be ready for musical math!  Don't worry, the standard algorithm for multiplication will be just around the corner...

           In science, we had a guest teacher share her experiences with erosion, the one and only Ms. Frizzle! Students responded to the lesson with a writing response, but submitted it to me electronically.  It was like a real online course through www.discoveryeducation.com!   I will be giving them feedback on their writing, so they can check in on the site to see if I've read their work yet.  We also conducted a virtual lab on the same site that allowed students to test 3 different variables that effect erosion.  They can access this site from home to show you what they discovered and to try level 2 if they'd like (they can even watch the Magic School Bus again!).  We will be building on the model presented in this lab to re-create the hill outside our classroom and engineer solutions for the erosion problem happening there.  

             In language arts we are well into our chapter books.  We have been reading together in small groups and individually noting connections, reflections, and predictions on sticky notes.  (The students place the sticky notes on the section of text that supports the thoughts they recorded.)  An important skill in all types of reading is the recognition of cause-effect relationships.  Sometimes these relationships are stated directly in the text and sometimes the reader has to make inferences to determine the probable cause or effect of a certain event.  At this point most students are identifying directly stated cause-effect relationships, but some students are starting to look deeper and think more reflectively.  In connection with the students’ study of erosion in science, we read an informational article in National Geographic’s “Explorer” magazine about different types of weathering.  The students identified cause-effect relationships that occur during these processes. 

             In our written language study we’ve been reviewing what distinguishes a complete sentence from an incomplete sentence.  The students found that this can be more challenging when there is a compound subject or predicate.  We played “How High Can You Fly” to practice labeling the subject and predicate of a sentence and identifying the roles of key words in sentences.   Our spelling unit this week focused specifically on singular and plural nouns.   The students also wrote thank you letters to the Fire Department for their visit at the end of October.  We are working to include specific detail and description in all of our written work.

            In social studies we’ve started using the student newspaper, “Maryland Studies Weekly”.  This publication presents educational information about the history of Maryland in the format of a newspaper.  Last month we learned that the Piscataways and Nanticokes were two of the largest Woodland Indian tribes in Maryland.  We recently read about some of the smaller tribes.  Using Maryland maps, we discovered the number of rivers, and even towns, that have been named for these tribes!  In light of Election Day, and CPCS student council elections, we explored the concept of leadership.  The students exchanged ideas about what a leader is.  They identified qualities they believe a good leader should possess.  I believe many 4^th graders will be future leaders in some capacity!