April 24-28

Our Very Own 

Rock and Mineral Gallery

This Tuesday we will be setting up a Rock and Mineral Gallery in the classroom to celebrate the end of our unit.  Students are invited to bring in their personal collection to display for the class.  Each student will display their collection on their desk, and we will take a gallery walk to enjoy our specimens.  Your child is allowed to bring only what can fit on their desk.  Please check to make sure their collection is suitable.  If possible, please help your child identify the names of their rocks and minerals.  We will be making small name tags wherever possible.

STATE TEST PREPARATION

Last week we took another look at the Smarter Balanced Practice Test.   

http://www.smarterbalanced.org/assessments/practice-and-training-tests/

Testing is only 1 week away!

         English Language Arts Tests - May 8, 9, 10
                   Mathematics Tests - May 18-19

READER'S WORKSHOP

                                  

                                  

Our "matchbook" summaries continued...

Opinion WRITING

Most students are finishing up their first persuasive essay, and many have begun to plan out their second.

This week we will take some time to share our opinions in class.

MATH

This week we nearly finished up our fraction unit as we explored the following concepts:

Equivalent Fractions

 

Adding and Subtracting Fractions

                         

With like denominators
(3rd grade)





With unlike denominators
(4th grade)

Mixed Numbers and Improper Fractions

Simplifying Fractions

We will be taking a two-part assessment on Fractions this week.  

Science

Last week we finished up our final mineral test.

Which of our minerals are crystals?

Some minerals are considered crystals.  If the mineral breaks along geometric lines, which provides evidence of an organized crystalline structure, it is considered a crystal.  

If a mineral breaks in no particular pattern, then it is not a crystal. This was the focus of our final mineral test.

This week the students will be identifying the 12 mystery minerals below.           

The main learning goal here was not for the students to be able memorize the names of these 12 minerals, but rather experience the scientific process of examining physical properties, testing minerals, and recording observations.

IMPORTANT DATES

May 8, 9, 10 - Smarter Balance Language Arts Test

May 18-19 - Smarter Balance Math Test

June 1 - Portland Bridge Tour 

This Week's Spelling List

Unit 6:  Freedom                                                  

Week 1                                                                                                                                                                                               

                                                               

This week we are reading “The Story of the Statue of Liberty” by Betsy and Giulio Maestro.  We will focus on some vocabulary words in this story.  It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these words at home with your child.  Also, on this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the week.  Please practice these words at home as well.  Students are expected to practice the first 15, 20, or all 25 of the words.   Be sure to refer to the spelling rule described below.  Please listen to your child read the spelling words aloud.

Vocabulary Words:  unveiled, unforgettable, tablet, torch, models, symbol, liberty, crown

Spelling Rule:  Vowel Sound in tooth and cook

The vowel sound in tooth can be spelled oo, ew, ue, and ui: 

           school, few, glue, fruit.

 The vowel sound in cook can be spelled oo and u:                                        cookie, cushion.  

1.  few      2.   school      3.   true      4.   goose      5.   fruit      6.   cookie      7.   cushion      8.   noodle      9.   bookmark    10.   balloon

11.  suit         12.  chew      13.  glue      14.  Tuesday   15.  bushel

                                 EXTRA CHALLENGE WORDS

16.  bamboo           17.  mildew           18.  soothe           19.  barefoot           20.  renewal               EXTRA  CHALLENGE WORDS                          21.   zoologist           22.   askew             23.   recruit           24.   accrue         25.   residue

April 10-21

STATE TEST PREPARATION

This week the students completed their first practice test on the Chromebooks in preparation for the upcoming Smarter Balanced Reading Test.   The students seemed very comfortable logging in and completing this practice. Overall, the class demonstrates confidence when it comes to technology, so that seems like one less hurdle to overcome.

To see what a practice test looks like, you can access them at the link below.

http://www.smarterbalanced.org/assessments/practice-and-training-tests/

Testing Schedule

         English Language Arts Tests - May 8, 9, 10
                   Mathematics Tests - May 18-19

READER'S WORKSHOP

                                  

                                  

Students are busy reading their new novels and completing a fun project making "matchbook" summaries.

Please consider coming in during any of our Reader's Workshops.    I will continue to welcome multiple volunteers during each workshop session.  Just send an email to let me know you are coming.  

Thank you!

Wednesday 9:30-10:30

Thursday 9:30-10:30

Friday 10:00-11:00

WRITING

We are deep into our Opinion Writing Unit.  So far, we’ve spent time discussing what we know about opinion writing and reading some fun little stories that demonstrate the art of persuasive writing.  

These texts were meant to prompt discussions about the important "parts" of persuasive writing.  The chart below shows what was discussed.  

We then brainstormed many possible topics for our persuasive writing pieces. This is what they came up with.

After committing to their idea, they began planning out their persuasive essay.

We will be finishing these up this week.

MATH

This week in math we completed several activities aimed at extending and applying students knowledge of fractions in the context of measurement.  

We started by examining the fraction relationships inherent in the units of length--feet and inches.  

                                 1 foot = 12 inches
                                 1/2 foot = 6 inches
                                 1/3 foot = 4 inches
                                 1/4 foot = 3 inches
                                 1/6 foot = 2 inches
                                 1/12 foot = 1 inch

The students completed a hands-on activity with this concept in order to help them "see" the relationships visually and mathematically. 

  They then used the visual pieces to help them solve complex conversions between feet and inches.  

Next, we visited several units of volume from earlier in the year--gallons, quarts, pints, and cups.

We completed an activity to help us see the relationship between them. 

                                   

We began with 4 pieces of colored construction paper, each representing a different unit of volume.

We chose the yellow one to represent 1 gallon.

                                 

To understand the relationship between gallons and quarts, we took a second piece of construction paper and folded it into fourths.  After unfolding the paper and cutting out the squares, we labeled each square 1 quart.

                                        

This visually showed that 4 quarts is equal to 1 gallon.

Next we took a third piece of paper and again folded it into fourths and then folded it one more time creating eighths.  We unfolded the paper, cut out the rectangles, and labeled each rectangle 1 pint. 

                                     

This visually showed students that 8 pints is equal to 1 gallon, and 2 pints is equal to 1 quart.

                                    

The final piece of paper was again folded into fourths, and then eighths, and then one more time creating sixteenths.  After cutting out sixteen small squares we labeled each square 1 cup. 

                                      

This visually showed the students that 16 cups is equal to 1 gallon. 

Now that we had these visual models of the relationships between these units, we spent some time identifying various equivalencies.

Next up, we will use these to examine the relationships between these units of volume as we describe their equivalencies using whole numbers, as well as fractions. 

For example, the relationship between gallons and quarts can be described as:

1 Gallon = 4 Quarts

(whole numbers)

 1 Quart = 1/4 Gallon

(fractions)

                                             

Fraction Benchmarks

The students were introduced to the concept of using the fraction benchmarks-- 0, 1, and ½.

I started by asking them to name a fraction that was close to 0, and another that was close to 1 whole.  We talked about how we knew this and even drew a model to show these amounts as being “almost nothing” and “almost the whole thing”.  We then took a look at fractions that were “close to ½” but not exactly.  

4 5

10 8


Both of these fractions are close to half.  

One is slightly smaller than half, one is slightly larger than half. Seeing this "relationship to half" makes it super easy to see who's larger.

This careful look at the size of the numerator in relationship to the denominator was what I was aiming at.  This estimation came easy for some, but not always for everyone. 

                          

Our first practice opportunity with this concept involved fraction dice.  Each student was given a pair of fraction dice, which they rolled and compared using the fraction benchmarks on a number line.  

The fractions that were kind of stumpers were the ones where both fractions were less than or greater than 1/2 or both close to 1 whole.  It was here that most students had to rely on another strategy, such as drawing a model in order to see the larger fraction.  It was fun to see the layers of challenge emerge throughout the activity.

For our second day with this concept we traded dice for playing cards.  This time they played fraction war.  

We used the ace through 10 playing cards to represent the numerator and denominator of the fraction.  They were given a black strip of paper to represent the fraction line.  Groups of two or three worked together to flip up cards and compare the three different fractions created. They were given the fraction benchmarks on a number line in order to help them determine who’s fraction was the largest.  

SCIENCE 

The students have spent the last 2 weeks examining, testing, and identifying 12 mystery minerals.  

    

Mineral Test #1:Odor

Mineral Test #2: Luster

Goal: Classify each mineral as...

 glassy

dull

 waxy

 metallic

Mineral Test # 3: Streak

Goal: Identify the color of the streak left on a black or white ceramic tile.           

   

Mineral Test #4: Hardness

Goal: Test the hardness of each mineral, and classify each as soft, medium, or hard. (ask your child about this test)

   

Mineral Test #5: Light

Goal: Classify each mineral as..

                translucent - light can pass through

                transparent - light and shapes can be seen through

                opaque- no light can pass through

Mineral Test #6: Magnetism

Goal: Classify each mineral as..

 magnetic

not magnetic

Soren's Wish

On Friday afternoon I shared something special with the students.  I took a moment to talk about my son Soren's battle with cancer and the "Wish" he was granted from the Make-a-Wish Foundation.  His wish was to become a super-hero in his own movie, and his movie is available for viewing on youtube.  The students loved Super Soren the Monster Hunter!

  

IMPORTANT DATES

May 8, 9, 10 - Smarter Balance Language Arts Test

May 18-19 - Smarter Balance Math Test

June 1 - Portland Bridge Tour