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How can it already be December?  Even though December is a busy month, we have 3 weeks of uninterrupted instruction.  I look forward to the explorations and learning we will do before the winter break.

Items of Note:

• Social Studies test on the Northeast will be on Wednesday
• P.T.O. Meeting is on Wednesday, December 3 at 6:00 pm in the Multipurpose Room
• The Book Jacket project due date is coming up quickly. Your child should have finished his/her book and have begun work on the project.

READING

Read Aloud:  Little Wolf’s Book of Badness by Ian Whybrow.  What type of thinking are we doing?  Predicting, text-to-text connections, character motivation. Keeping thinking notes in reading notebook.

26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie DePaola - Review and discuss chapter 3.  Identify and clarify ideas from the time period (1938).  Identify how the importance of family comes up over and over.  Assignment:  Read chapter 4 and complete activities.

Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing  by Judy Blume - Review and discuss chapter 3.  Summarizing - building strategies to summarize big ideas and not to dwell on minute details.  Continue character analysis of Fudge.  Assignment:  Read chapters 4&5 and complete activities.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis - Review and discuss chapters 3&4.  Character Analysis of Peter.  Assignment:  Read chapters 5&6 and complete activities.

Mrs. Hill has been checking in with students on their independent reading. Students have been working with her to generate reading goals.

WRITING

Thanksgiving Traditions:  Students will use their new knowledge of the traditions of Thanksgiving to make personal connections to identify their own family traditions.

MATH

Unit 4:  Decimals and Their Uses

In this unit we will explore the base-ten place-value system of decimals.  Students will use manipulatives to understand the values of numbers in the tenths place and in the hundreths place.  Students will learn to add and subtract numbers with decimals by lining up the decimal points and puting in a zero place-holder.  We will review the metric units of measurement and see the relationships between different units and how the decimal point moves.  And of course, decimals and money!

Lesson 4.1 Decimal Place Value

Lesson 4.2 Review Basic Decimal Concepts

Lesson 4.3 Comparing and Ordering Decimals

We will continue the basic facts quizzes up to the Winter Break.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Monday we will review the major concepts of the unit.  Homework will include the end of chapter review.  The test will be on Wednesday - multiple choice and short answer. Students have been taught on multiple occassions how to write complete answers.  Points will be deducted from the test if there are incomplete sentences or ideas.

SCIENCE

Changes in Matter - We will explore what matter is made of, physical and chemical changes, and find answers to the question “How does matter react chemically”.  Many ideas and concepts explored in our previous chapter will carry over to this unit of study.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing all our families a wonderful holiday weekend. 

Murray has partnered with the YMCA to create an after school program.  On Friday an enrollment packet was sent home outlining the program and enrollment procedures.  Please visit the YMCA link to find out all the details:  http://ymca.murrayblogs.org/   Here are a few important facts to know.

• There is no fee for participation in the program.

• Forms will be accepted and processed in the order received.

• Forms will be accepted NO EARLIER than 8:00am on Tuesday, November 25th.

• Megham will be stationed in the Gym to accept forms on Tuesday, November 25th, beginning at 8:00am.  The line will form indoors on the Murray side of the gate.

• Students in Kindergarten through 6th grade are eligible to enroll.

• Space is limited! We have an enrollment cap of 80 students for each block (MWF, TuTh).

• We will maintain a waiting list after available slots are filled.

• The program will run M-F 2:30pm-6:00pm.

READING

The fourth graders will be helping the Kindergartners in Ms. Laws’ class with a weaving project on Monday and Tuesday.  To compliment this activity, we have been reading Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles.  In this Native American story, we learn about a young girls struggle to accept that her grandmother is near death.  The art of weaving is threaded throughout the story.

We had a great first week of Guided Reading!  The students were very focused and offered valuable insight into our group discussions.  Students did a great job working independently on their reading assignments as well as their independent reading.  Keep up the great work!  Mrs. Hill, our literacy support teacher, has been coming in to meet with students one-on-one to discuss progress with independent reading and to help the children establish short-term reading goals.

Each student has been assigned to one reading group.  We will continue work this week with the following stories:

26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie DePaola - Review and discuss chapter 2.  Identify and clarify ideas from the time period (1938).  Assignment:  Read chapter 3 and complete activities.

Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing  by Judy Blume - Review and discuss chapter 2.  Identify strategies used to maintain understanding and record thinking for longer chapters.  Begin a character analysis of Fudge.  Assignment:  Read chapter 3 and complete activities.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis - Review and discuss chapters 1&2.  Identify elements of fantasy. Redefine the genre of fantasy.  Assignment:  Read chapters 3&4 and complete activities.

WRITING

Thanksgiving Traditions:  Students will use their new knowledge of the traditions of Thanksgiving to make personal connections to identify their own family traditions.

MATH

Unit 3 Review and Test on Wednesday.  Monday and Tuesday will be review days.  A study guide/review packet will come home on Monday for homework.  Test on Wednesday.

Social Studies

Lesson 3:  The Plentiful Sea - we will explore how pollution affects watermen and the Chesapeake Bay community.  Identify similarities between watermen and lobstermen.

We are near the end of the chapter.  There will be a chapter test the week of December 1.

• Thank you to all of the parents who came for Report Card pick-up on Wednesday.  It was wonderful having a few moments to check in with each other.
• The next book response has been assigned.  Students will be creating a New Book Jacket for the book they have read independently.  We went over the parts of a book jacket extensively in class and reviewed the need to always write in our own words.  It is never okay to copy directly from another source and make it seem like it is our own writing.  The description of the project and grading rubric were sent home on Thursday, November 13.  The project is due Thursday, December 11.
• Parents:  If you want to contact me through the blog, please go to the link at the top that says “Contact Ms. Finke”.  This will give you my email address.  The “Comments” section of the blog is for you to comment on things that have been posted on the blog that you would like other people to read.  Email will be just between you and me.  And, I check email daily where as with the blog I only sign-in once a week to update the information. 

READING

As I started to do a quick review of the First Thanksgiving, I realized we had a lot of missing pieces.  We spent the two days last week learning about the first Harvest Feast and took time to differentiate the facts from the myths.  We worked with a cool interactive website that help us to research information as a true historian does http://www.plimoth.org/education/olc/index_js2.html .  Since we spent our time on that, we did not get to the intended read aloud.

Read Aloud:  How Many Days to America: A Thanksgiving Story, by Eve Bunting

Reader Response:  Students will compare the challenges the characters faced in this story to the challenges of the Pilgrims who arrived in the 1600s.

Read Aloud:  Little Wolf’s Book of Badness, by Ian Whybrow

Reader Response:  Keeping thinking notes and providing evidence for our thinking

Guided Reading Groups Begin

Students will be reading one of the following books with me in a small group:  26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie DePaolo, Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis.  Students will meet with me a couple of times a week for discussions and will read on their own to prepare for each meeting. More details to come next week.

MATH

Game:  Division Arrays to further explore the relationship between multiplication and division

**Lesson 3.7 Finding Air Distances (journal page 65)
**Lesson 3.8 A Guide for Solving Number Stories (journal page 66-68)
**Lesson 3.9  True/False Number Sentences (journal pages69-70)
**Lesson 3.10 Parenthesis in Number Sentences (journal pages 71-72)

Wednesday, November 12:  Parent/Teacher Conferences

 I sent home a slip on Tuesday 11/4 to remind you of your conference time.  Please remember that our conferences are only 10 minutes each.  Parking can be challening on this day so please give yourself some extra time.  I will observe the schedule in order to meet with all parents. If additional time is needed, we can plan a conference for a later date.

READING

Read Aloud:  How Many Days to America: A Thanksgiving Story, by Eve Bunting

Synopsis:  This story begins in an unnamed Caribbean Island where there is conflict between soldiers and citizens.  A father and mother decide to steal away in the middle of the night with other families to sail to America.  They encounter many challenges in their search for freedom.

Students will keep thinking notes and also work on making predictions.  The predictions will be recorded on a chart and will require further evidence to support thinking.

Reader Response:  Students will compare the challenges the characters faced in this story to the challenges of the Pilgrims who arrived in the 1600s.

Nonfiction Reading:  Students will read current issue of Time for Kids magazine.  Students will write a letter to President-Elect Obama to share issues that are important to them that they would like him to address while in office.

MATH

We will further explore the relationship between multiplication and division.  Students will create arrays to help identify how equal groups can be made to multiply and divide.

Here is an example of an array that represents 5 x 4 = 20:

* * * *

* * * *

* * * *

* * * *

* * * *

Basic Facts quiz on Friday.  Please help your child to set up a routine to study multiplication and division facts nightly.  Studying a variety of ways helps children to recall facts in different situations.  Students have been encouraged to:  Study fact triangles, make flashcards, find computer games, and skip count.  Skip counting helps students to develop sense of multiples and factors.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will begin our study of the Northeast.  In this unit of study students will develop an understanding of the geography of the region, thriving natural resources, and industry.

Homework:  Students be responsible for reading and taking notes at home.  Reading and note-taking strategies will be reviewed in class.

SMARTboards in Action! 

We had a great week and were thrilled to incorporate the Smartboard into many different lessons.  Above you will see a few students sharing the map they designed using Google Maps.  I was very impressed how quickly the students were able to navigate and create detailed neighborhood maps. In addition, I was wowed by how quickly the students got the hang of manipulating the Smartboard. 

Last Day Accelerated Reader

Wednesday, November 5.  Please remember students are only permitted to take one test this week since it is the end of the quarter.

No School

Friday, November 7

Monday, November 10

Tuesday, November 11:  Veteran’s Day

Wednesday, November 12:  Parent/Teacher Conferences, I will be sending home a slip on Monday 11/3 to remind you of your conference time.  Please remember that our conferences are only 10 minutes each.  Parking can be challening on this day so please give yourself some extra time.  I will observe the schedule in order to meet with all parents. If additional time is needed, we can plan a conference for a later date.

READING

We finished Because of Winn-Dixie!  What a wonderful story that was loved by all students.  We dedicated most of our literacy block to Winn-Dixie this past week so this week we will be focusing on finishing our narrative writing. 

WRITING -

Unit 3:  Multiplication and Division; Number Sentences and Algebra

We started our unit on multiplication on Thursday, October 30.  We had a chance to study the multiplication chart to find patterns and really identify how many facts we already know.  After eliminating multiplying by 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s because the patterns are obvious, we discovered there were 38 basic facts to learn.  We were then able to cut that number in half because of turn-around-facts ( 6 x 7 = 42, 7 x 6 =42).  So, with that, students have 19 facts that need to be memorized.  They have been instructed to GET MOVING!  Students cut out fact triangles to help study nightly. The multiplication chart as well as flashcards, computer games, etc. can help them practice.  Mastery of the multiplication facts is needed as the facts will be applied to more difficult concepts as the year goes on.

• Basic Facts quizzes each Friday (this week Thursday).  Students will have 3 minutes to solve 50 problems.  Sample sheets will go home this week.
• Patterns on the Multiplication Chart
• Strategies for remembering the 9s
• Relationship between multiplication and division

SCIENCE

• Chapter 11 Review packet was sent home on Thursday, October 30
• We will play Jeopardy on Monday to review
• Chapter Test on Tuesday

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Presenting Google Map projects

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Ms. Finke

SMARTboards have Arrived!

Look what’s new!  We now have a SMARTboard in Room 203!  A SMARTboard is an interactive chalkboard that allows images from the computer to be displayed on a large whiteboard.  The touch-sensitive display allows me and the students to interact with the software application directly from the display board.  It is possible to write on the board and use multimedia application including: working calculators, dice that roll, number grids where you can highlight patterns, and much more.  The pages can be saved to a file and printed if desired for later review. 

Fundraising from Murray’s P.T.O. helped to purchase this SMARTboard and the one in Mrs. Foluke’s classroom.  The hope is to raise additional funds this year to purchase more boards for the school.  This tool will be used across the curriculum.  The first great use of it will be this week when students present the maps they created in social studies.  Students will be able to share and interact with their individual maps for all classmates to see.

Murray Family Math Night - Tuesday, October 28

Come to Murray from 6:00-7:30 p.m. for hands-on activities and leave with practical strategies and resources to strengthen the home school partnership in math.  There will be a short keynote presentation and then families will head to small group sessions organized by grade level.

Book Advertisement

The Book Advertisement project is due Thursday.  

End of 1st Quarter

The end of the first quarter is quickly approaching.  The last day for Accelerated Reader tests is Wednesday, November 5.  Please remember, students are only permitted to take one A.R. test the last week of the quarter.  This was noted in the Back-To-School Night brochure and the 4th Grade Fact Sheet.  Report Card Pick-Up is Wednesday, November 12.  Next week I will send home a reminder slip to identify your time.

READING

• We will finish Because of Winn Dixie (Chapter 26)
• Finding examples of friendship in the story
• Discussing the theme of acceptance
• Predict the ending - What do you think happened to Winn Dixie?
• Reader Response :  How has Opal been a friend to other characters in the story?
• There will be an all-book test early next week

WRITING -

Due to Learning First Testing, we did not make as much progress in writing as planned last week.

MATH

• Subtracting across zeros:  How the regrouping works, strategies to eliminate careless mistakes
• Unit 2 Review:  Place value to 100 millions, Graphing (line plot, bar graph, line graph, and pictograph). Identifying landmarks to analyze data, adding and subtracting with regrouping.
• Unit 2 Test on Wednesday

Unit 3:  Multiplication and Division; Number Sentences and Algebra

• Patterns of multiplication
• Strategies for learning the facts using a multiplication table
• Weekly basic facts quizzes for multiplication will begin the week of November 3.

SCIENCE

• Lesson 3:  Review investigation from last week to review the idea of solubility and develop a better understanding of why some solids can dissolve and others cannot.
• Begin Chapter 11 Review - there will be a test the week of November 3.

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Thursday will be the last day in the computer lab to work on map projects. Students should have 5 places located on their map including a title and 3 places should have a short description.
• Friday - Students will begin to present their personal maps using the SMARTboard.

Learning First Testing Begins on Monday.  The schedule is as follows:

• Monday 9:00 a.m. - Reading Passages and Multiple Choice Questions
• Tuesday 9:00 a.m. - Math Multiple Choice Questions
• Wednesday 9:00 a.m. - Reading Extended Response
• Wednesday 12:30 p.m. - Math Extended Response

Please help your child to be on time each day. If a student arrives late, he/she will have to make up the test at another time and will miss out on instructional time.

Walk-A-Thon on Thursday, October 23.

Murray students have been raising money for the Murray Fall Walk-A-Thon.  We will be walking the neighborhood. Please send your child in appropriate dress.  Wearing layers often helps as students can add and remove as needed.  Room 203 is still in need of parent volunteers to walk with us on Thursday. I only have one volunteer at this time.

Murray Family Math Night - Tuesday, October 28

Come to Murray from 6:00-7:30 p.m. for hands-on activities and leave with practical strategies and resources to strengthen the home school partnership in math.  There will be a short keynote presentation and then families will head to small group sessions organized by grade level.

Book Advertisement

Time is running out.  The Book Advertisement project is due October 30.  Students should be finished with their books and begin work on the draft of their projects.  The best way to help your child is by helping them to plan and gather materials.  This is inevitably their project.

READING

Because of Winn-Dixie 

•  We will read through chapter 20.
•  Analyze changes in characters
• Discuss themes
• Reader Response:  Would you eat a Littmus Lozenge?
• Possibly a quiz at the end of the week

WRITING

• Revision:  Students are learning various “cutting and pasting” strategies for their narrative writing
• Moving from Draft 1 to Draft 2 

 MATH

• Lesson 2.7, part 1 - Adding multidigit numbers using the partial sum method
• Lesson 2.7, part 2 - Adding multidigit numbers using column addition method (traditional method)
• Lesson 2.8 - Subtracting multidigit numbers using column subtraction
• Unit 2 Math Test is coming up.  It looks like it will be on October 29

SOCIAL STUDIES

• We will continue work on our computer mapping projects.  Be sure to ask your child about the work he/she is doing in the lab.  We have make great progress in just a few days.

SCIENCE

• Mixtures and Solutions - exploration to identify which solids can dissolve
• Solubility
• Chapter Test will be Week of October 27

• Monday, October 13 is Columbus Day - No School
• Picture Day is Friday, October 18.  Order envelopes have been sent home.  Orders must be made and paid for by Friday.
• Learning First Testing will begin on Monday, October 20.  We will begin first thing in the morning so please help your child to be on time that week.
• Fall Walk-A-Thon will be on Thursday, October 23.  The proceeds of this fundraiser help to pay for our technology services, events at Murray like World Language Festival and African American History Fair, and classroom projects.  Room 203 is in need of parent volunteers for this wonderful activity. Please contact me by email or note to let me know if you can join us.
• Has your child selected his/her book for the book advertisement?  Remember, projects are due October 30.

Thank you for checking in.  Enjoy the long weekend!

Ms. Finke

READING

Because of Winn-Dixie 

•  We will read through chapter 18.
• There will be a quiz on chapters 11-15 probably on Wednesday. We are working on how to write complete answers to the questions on the quizzes.
• Continue adding to the character chart and begin discussions on how characters are changing in the story
• Theme Discussions:  Friendship and Loneliness
• Posing questions to ask partner during book discussions

WRITING

• Continue work on discovery draft
• Finding the heart of our stories and developing this part of the story even more

MATH

• Graphing
• Finish up any loose ends on bar graphs
• Line graphs - read and interpret data on line graphs; create line graphs with given and collected data
• Pictographs - read and interpret pictographs; create pictographs with given and collected data
• Heads Up - next week we will review adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers.  We will review regrouping strategies.  Students should feel comfortable and confident solving these types of problems.  Please check-in with your child to see how they are doing with this.

SCIENCE

• Lesson 2
• States of Matter - Teacher demonstration to observe the changes in the states of matter
• How particles are arranged in the 3 states of matter

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Mapping project in the computer lab - Students will be designing a map of their neighborhood using the Google Maps application. 
• Students will need to complete the organizer that was sent home on Thursday, 10-9 before they can begin work on the project in the computer lab.

Items of Interest:

• Progress Reports will be sent home on Wednesday.  Please sign and return to school by Friday October 10.
• Picture Day is Friday, October 17.  Order forms were sent home on Friday.
• This year we will have a Fall Walk-A-Thon which will be held on Thursday, October 23.  Information was sent home on Friday.  This fundraiser will replace the fall candy sale.   There will be a Spring Walk-A-Thon as well.
• The 2nd Book Response project has been assigned.  Students are to take one of their independent books and design a book advertisement.  An information sheet and grading rubric was sent home on Tuesday.  Please help your child to make a plan for choosing a book, reading the book, gathering materials, writing a rough draft, and putting it all together.  Please remember this is your child’s project, but helping them to make a plan will help them to be successful.  The advertisement is due on Thursday, October 30.
• We will be starting a mapping project with Mr. Mills.  Please be on the lookout for information and some homework that will be done before we can start the project.

Thank you for checking in.  Have a wonderful week!

Ms. Finke

READING

We will continue reading Because of Winn Dixie.  The students have done a great job diving into this lovely book.  We will have a quiz on Chapters 6-10 at some point this week.  In addition we will continue to:

• Keep thinking notes with each chapter
• Add character traits and evidence to our character chart
• Begin to look for themes in the book
• Work with our reading partners to discuss important events and people in the story

WRITING

• Writing and revising leads for our personal narrative stories
• Write discovery draft

MATH

Unit 2 - Using Numbers and Organizing Data

• Lesson 2.4 - Practice place-value using a calculator
• Lesson 2.5 - Gather, organize, display, and analyze data using a tally chart
• Lesson 2.6 - Gather, organize, display, and analyze data on a line-plot graph

We will take a step away from Unit 2 in order to further study the various types of graphs that are used to display data.  This week we will revisit Bar Graphs.

Please encourage your child to study his/her basic facts for 5-10 minutes each evening. We are coming to the end of our weekly quizzes but students are still encouraged to practice nightly.

SCIENCE

New Unit - Properties of Matter

• Exploration to compare and contrast the mass of water, corn oil, and corn syrup
• Lesson 1:  Using physical properties to identify matter
• Note taking and homework activities

SOCIAL STUDIES

Reading a street map and using the cardinal directions to move to various points.

Things to Remember this Week: 

• “Getting Ready for Science” chapter test on Wednesday.  The end of chapter review will be assigned for Monday homework, a review game on Tuesday in class, and test on Wednesday.
• P.T.O. meeting Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m.
• Progress Reports will be sent home Wednesday, October 8.

READING

We will begin our novel study Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo this week.  This is a wonderful story about how a lonely girl’s world is turned upside down when she meets a scruffy dog at the local Winn Dixie grocery store.

We will read the book out loud in class, with partners, and independently.  Most work will be completed in class; however, there will be evenings when children are expected to read a chapter or two for homework.  Students will keep thinking notes, character charts, answer various comprehension questions, and complete response activities throughout the book.  In addition, there will be quizzes every 5 chapters or so. 

WRITING

• Students will review the stories that have been collected in their writer’s notebook and select one to develop into a narrative story.
• Strategy:  Storytelling over and over.  Students will have the opportunity to practice telling their story over and over to help relive the moment and remember clear details.
• Strategy:  Writing a great lead to pull in the reader. We will use various published works to look at the first sentence of the story to see how the author draws in the reader.

MATH

UNIT 2- Using Numbers and Organizing Data

Overview of Unit that will be outlined in the letter coming home on Monday:

• Explore how numbers are used in everday life
• Read, write, and say numbers up to 100 million
• Add and subtract with regrouping
• Collect, organize, and analyze data

This Week:

• Extended Response - students will practice answering an extended response question.
• World Tour Stop:  Washington D.C. - read information about Washington D.C. and identify the ways numbers share important information.
• Name Collection:  Finding various ways to write the same number
• Place Value:  Define whole numbers, review place value chart

SCIENCE

• Review chapter in class
• End of chapter review for homework on Monday
• Jeopardy game in class on Tuesday to review vocabulary and main idea
• Chapter Test on Wednesday

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Reading a street map
• Using cardinal directions to move from point A to point B
• Reading the map key to identify symbols on a map