Mrs.Whitford's 4th grade

Good morning,

As mentioned on Class Dojo, I am linking you to the lesson videos for this first topic of Module 5. We will be combining teaching lessons 2 and 3 today and we are skipping lesson 4 as some skills will be review and some will be retaught in lesson 5, but I did include the video in case your child wanted extra practice.

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Classwork will be similar to homework each night.

The entire Fractions unit is very long and we are trying to be on pace with the district. If it seems like we are going fast, I apologize. With this being our first year learning with Eureka Math, it has been quite the experience for us teachers as well as the students. We are all learning together, but I think we have set good habits to help us with this next unit.

Hello 4th grade families,

We are going back to multiplication starting this afternoon. I have added video links to the next few lessons. Please watch with your student if able. The goal of this type of math is not necessarily to find the answer. It is more so for students to develop number sense and understand why an answer has a certain value.

This module on multiplication and division will be completed the end of next week and we will move on to the next until to start March.

I really appreciate all of your support with the new math program and going with the flow as we all try learning and growing from this initial experience.

Lesson 34

Lesson 35

Lesson 36

Lesson 37

Lesson 38

Hello 4th grade families,

I just wanted to remind you of all that is happening at Maples and 4th grade this week.

Spelling test will be on Thursday, 2/14.

Half day this Thursday, 2/14. Dismissal at 11:45. No lunches are served but please provide a snack for your child.

No school this Friday, 2/15 and No school next Monday, 2/18- Mid-Winter break.

 

For Valentine’s day…

Students may bring in cards for their classmates. I will add a list of students to the Class Story area on Dojo.

We have 10 boys and 13 girls.

We will spend the last 30 minutes of Thursday passing out cards and having snack.

 

Math is more division. We will be working on Lessons 27 through 30 this week! If you want your child to have extra practice, they may go onto Zearn.

 

Have a great week and stay warm… Winter should be over in about 6 weeks!

– Mrs. Whitford

Good afternoon,

I feel I need to clarify a few things regarding Spelling…. Spelling homework vs. spelling classwork and spelling tests.

Students have their words for about 2 full weeks. This way, they can really study and become familiar with their words to be successful on their tests. Having this amount of time and holding students responsible for the work is a reasonable amount for 4th graders, who are halfway to 5th grade. Homework and classwork count towards their overall spelling grade, but do not weigh as much as their test.

This morning, we took our test from last week. Students had a total of 13 days with these words and were expected to complete homework and classwork over the last 2 weeks with these words. Sadly, only a handful of students passed their test and even less completed their homework. I have reminded students about all of the information below and hope you are able to check in with their spelling as well.

Spelling homework) Each student is given a spelling word list as well as the Spelling Menu options. Their job is to complete enough activities to add up to 30 points during the week. They are to list the activities the complete on the other side of their paper. Spelling homework is due at the end of each week.

Spelling classwork/ Word work) We use our spelling words as part of Word Work for Daily 5. Students have their words listed in Google Classroom at the start of the week as well as their assignment (Currently, word work is Spelling Tic Tac Toe). Three of these activities are due in class by the end of the week.

Spelling tests) Tests are given every 2 weeks. Typically on Fridays but there have been a few exceptions. Last Friday, less than half the class attended school, so we did our spelling test today. With having Mid-Winter break next week, our next test will be next Thursday, Feb. 14th.

If you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks!

-Mrs. Whitford

Hello all,

We have begun NWEA testing for the Winter. Science testing is all done and we are currently working on our Reading test this week. Next week, students will have the Language Arts test and our last test will be Math.

Due to testing, our daily schedules may be mixed up. This may result in having a little less math homework. Since we usually have a lesson a day, it is easy to have homework every day. But with testing, our math time is shorter some days, so some days will not have homework from the book. Your child is always encouraged to go onto Zearn or Exact Path to practice their math skills.

If you have any questions please let me know.

As always, make sure your child has a good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast, and comes to school on time and ready to focus.

Have a great day!

-Mrs. Whitford

Good morning 4th grade families,

We have just 9 more school days left until we are on our holiday break!

The last day for students is Friday, Dec. 21st. We will return to school on Monday, Jan. 7th.

A few things we are going to wrap up before holiday break:

Math) Multiplying multi-digit numbers using the area model, partial products, place value charts, and then adding in the standard algorithm. The new math program really does a nice job of describing and showing us why we multiply the way we do before just stating facts and having us memorize them. This math is very different than even the way I learned it, but I am glad you all have been patient and continue to encourage your student’s math progress.

Writing) We have really taken a lot of time working on Opinion writing. If you have a computer at home, ask your child to show you their opinion on  bottled water versus tap water. This week, we’re focused on a new prompt: School uniforms.

Science) Sound waves and energy keep our focus for the next few days. We have a few more experiments to enhance what students experienced at the Science Center last week.

Reading) We will continue to work with Mrs. Alcodary and focus on how to identify the theme of a text and how we can show evidence of this in our written responses. We are very focused on getting ready for M-Step in the Spring.

The 4th grade teachers will plan on what to assign as work over break and I will let you know soon!

 

Lastly, our class earned our first compliment party! Students were caught having good behavior as an entire class enough times to fill the marble jar. We will plan on having our compliment party next Friday, the 21st, before we leave for our break. Congrats students and keep up the good work!

Hello, our new reading log will begin today. It is very similar however it gives exact directions on what to do each night. The backside will be done over weekends and the entire completed paper will be due on Mondays.

 

Spelling homework is the same.

 

Just a reminder, no school this Weds/Thurs/Fri. due to Thanksgiving break.

 

Have a great day!

• Mrs.Whitford

Please note the following for this Wednesday, Oct. 31st

 

We will be celebrating Halloween throughout the day. Students may wear costumes, but no masks, blood, or weapons are permitted. Students may bring in candy to share with the class if they would like to. We will also be watching the movie Coco. A permission slip for the movie will be coming home today. We will also be doing Halloween themed math, reading, science, and writing activities.

 

Thanks and have a great end of October!

Hello,

I know it was 80* last week, but this week has become quite chilly.  As the weather gets cooler, please make sure your child brings a coat, gloves, hat, and any other outdoor wear you feel they need to go out for recess.

We have outdoor recess twice a day, once before lunch and once in the afternoon. Unless it is extreme conditions, we will be going outside so please make sure your child stays warm.

Thanks and have a good day!

-Mrs. Whitford

 

Good morning,

A few notes about spelling in our classroom.

 

Every student has the same word list. These are 4th grade level words and all students will encounter them on tests, readings, and in all areas of curriculum during this school year. Practicing the words is a very important task. There are 2 components for practicing spelling that students will be expected to complete: Homework Spelling Menu and In Class Tic Tac Toe for Word Work.

Students came home with a Spelling Menu. They are to complete 30 points worth of activities over a 2 week time span. Our first spelling test will be Fri. Oct. 12th. All spelling activities will be due on that day. We will be adding spelling to our daily planner right under Reading Log. Encourage your student to complete a few activities this week and a few next week, not all at once. If they complete all 30 points by tomorrow and the test isn’t until a week from Friday, they may forget their words and not do as well had they practiced every other day.

Students are also responsible for completing Word Work spelling activities in class throughout the 2 weeks. We have a Spelling Tic Tac Toe board. Students are expected to keep track of their progress and turn this in every Friday in class.

If you have any questions please let me know!

Happy Wednesday 🙂

-Mrs. Whitford