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!