December Update

Hope everyone is having a fantastic December! I just wanted to take a second and let you know about some current happenings in our 4th grade classroom!

Reading- In my reading group we are currently reading Judy Moody Saves the World. We are practicing our reading fluency through partner reading and just basically reading out loud. We are also in the beginning stages of learning about literature elements and what can help us understand our stories. Through our literature circle group students are able to learn about connecting, summarizing, illustrating and finding great vocabulary words through the text. Students should also be studying their spelling words each week! Be sure to ask your 4th grader about whats happening in their reading group!

Math- We keep cranking out our Multiplication. A few times a week we do minute fact tests. As stated at many of our conferences, most students will benefit from practice at home! We also worked on factor trees and finding prime and composite numbers. Be sure to ask your student to show you one of our factor trees! =-)

Writing- We are working on keeping our journals up to date. Each week typically on Monday we write weekend news. That is where students share events of their weekend.

Enrichment- During my enrichment group students are reading and planning a project with a novel. Students were able to choose one of two books, plan their timeline to get their project done and also complete and work in a literature circle. Discussions have been great and students seem to enjoy working in their groups. I can't wait to see their completed group projects after Christmas Break!

Social Studies- We just finished our unit learning about all different types of cultures and how they have contributed to America. We will next move on to learning about different United States regions.

Science- In Science we have completed units on Matter and Body systems. Next we will learn about Electricity and Magnets.

Other Classroom Updates- I was lucky to receive a grant through this website:
http://www.petsintheclassroom.org/

You may have noticed students bringing home a magazine looking flier on Pets. Through the grant I received a 10 gallon aquarium and a coupon for a fish discount. Currently we have 2 fish in our tank and they seem to be holding strong! I just signed up for donorschoose.org to help get more supplies and animals for our tank. If you are interested in donating I will post the link (maybe through a business?) once our project is approved. If you are interested in donating supplies for our tank contact me at raethkej@molallariv.k12.or.us

Have a great December!