Post #29

We are plotting points in all four coordinates, working with negative numbers. The girls are in the process of a math project working with latitude and longitude. They determined the coordinates (and read them to the ten thousandths place) for several countries using a coordinate necklace site. The girls created paper dolls and with a partner are writing stories and plays about girls from around the world. We couldn't resist extending World Language Week. Their problem solving was impressive this week. The girls were determined to solve  multi-step problems. They used bar modeling and other strategies. Ask your daughter how she solved these:

To reinforce states and capitals we are combining a little geography with math. Each week the girls will complete a listening math station, solve a few riddles and color the USA. These activities will be in their Google Classroom if you want to take a peak. The girls will complete the unit six assessment on Wednesday. I'll include an individual Musical Moment (Girls- submit your choices). 

Creative writing was off the charts this week. Three Word Thursday was an April Fools' prank and the girls were so creative with their writing. How could you use the words: table, souvenir, letter and include something about this video clip:

Most girls have finished their Stickman adventure writing lab. They imagined the adventure happening and created a radio or TV broadcast. Click here to listen or watch. 

We are reading Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. The novel is set in Copenhagen during World War 11. It's a great story about courage and compassion. 

History4Fourthies has us in the 1920's. The girls learned about the 19th Amendment and charted women's suffrage around the world. I loved it when someone said with indignation, "Can you believe that some countries still don't allow women to vote?" The roaring twenties will be roaring next week. Stay tuned.......

Bike Day is Monday! Details are here.  Girls need to pack a hearty lunch, water bottle(s), sunscreen. And of course everyone needs a helmet.

Please email me a digital family picture. The picture should include mother and daughter (and anyone else). It doesn't need to be recent. We will be using it for a project in the coming weeks. And many thanks to those folks who emailed pictures:)

A Few Notes.....

* Special Week Sign-up Isabelle will be our Special Week girl.

* Carpool Helper Calendar- Alexandra will represent our class next week. 

* Homework-posted for family planning.

* Please sign and return the 3D Design letter. A hard copy went home on Tuesday. Here's a digital copy just in case it was misplaced.

* Play help needed. Please see the sign-up sheet. Costume requirements are posted on our Fourthie site and there is a link to order shoes if your daughter needs a pair.

* Spring Conference Sign-Up 

* Maypole Information

*CARITAS is coming to St. Catherine's April 8th-April 15th. We are collecting non-perishable lunch items (water bottles, fruit cups, cracked, chips, etc.) Sign-up here.

* The girls will spend the morning in Middle school on 5/10. They will go to the Middle School after chapel and return at 12:30. This is a change from Cari's email earlier in the week.

Girls- Your mystery blog question... What amendment gave women the right to vote?   Post your answer here.

Post #28

Spring is here!  The girls are growing beautiful multiplication and division flowers. What better way to celebrate spring and reinforce math skills. The current math unit reviews and reinforces angel measurement. We used both virtual and real protractors for measurement. Problem solving involved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this week and will for the next few weeks. Just keeping things relevant. We will also use the movie sound track for "shake breaks" in preparation for the play.

Musical moments were a little bit country, Broadway, and everything in between. The girls submitted song choices for some math calculation practice. Have no fear, all songs were the clean version. 

We finished reading A Song for Harlem. The girls really enjoyed the book and they did a great job with hashtag summaries. The summaries were so clever we decided to print them. Our next novel study will be Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. The girls chose a biography to read for their next book project. Several girls are reading their book online with Epic. Epic revised their platform and now has a student friendly login. 

This week's writing lab had the girls designing a stick person and going on an adventure. They are retelling the adventure in chronological order and turning the tale into a radio broadcast. Naturally this group of girls wanted to extend the activity and include music and drama. Can't wait to see/hear the final product.

We are still in the 1910's and spent time understanding the tragic loss of the Titanic. The girls worked with data and were outraged by the loss of life and the disproportionate suffering of the third class passengers. We are looking at the causes of World War 1 and trying to make sense out of it all. Pretty heavy stuff for ten year olds. Epic and Newsela are great tools for extending and enriching what we are studying in History4Fourthies. We explored Epic and found several different Titanic themed books on a variety of reading levels.

Celebrating World Language Week was AWESOME!! The girls celebrated in chapel with songs and today they were treated to a Chinese dance program.

Please email me a digital family picture. The picture should include mother and daughter (and anyone else). It doesn't need to be recent. We will be using it for a project in the coming weeks.

A Few Notes.....

* Special Week Sign-up Aseye will be our Special Week girl.

* Carpool Helper Calendar- Meg will represent our class next week. 

* Homework-posted for family planning.

* Bike Field Trip is on April 4th. Details here.

* Play help needed. Please see the sign-up sheet. Costume requirements are posted on our Fourthie site and there is a link to order shoes if your daughter needs a pair.

* Spring Conference Sign-Up (I've really been enjoying our conferences:)

* Maypole Information

* "Insider's View to Middle School" for parents 3/28 @ 8:30.

*CARITAS is coming to St. Catherine's April 8th-April 15th. We are collecting non-perishable lunch items (water bottles, fruit cups, cracked, chips, etc.) Sign-up here.

Girls- Your mystery blog question...... What common spelling mistake did I make in this blog post? Here's a hint.....

                                                                     Post your answer here.

Post #27

Our field trip to the Federal Court was the highlight of the week. The girls learned about the role of a federal judge and a U.S. Marshal. They met Wanda (a very special U.S. Marshal) and saw her at work. The girls were given a tour of Judge Lauck's chambers and spent some time in a jail cell. They  witnessed the swearing in of seventy new citizens from a dozen different countries. It was a privilege to attend this ceremony.

History4fourthies has us in the 1910's. Our study of this decade started with a process paragraph. The girls learned that it was in 1912 that the first Oreo was introduced. Using transition words, the girls wrote a descriptive paragraph about the best way to enjoy an Oreo cookie. This was also the decade when the first crossword puzzle was introduced. They practiced making crossword puzzles using Wordly Wise words.

Student blogs and websites are up and running. The girls will begin blogging weekly. Some have aspirations of a daily post. I do love their enthusiasm.

Division....division....division. We are getting there. The girls are having growth mindsets and are showing incredible persistence and motivation. We talked about the importance of checking and then checking again. Ask your daughter to explain (Does McDonald's Sell CheeseBurgers?). Problem solving included McDonald's commercials and Lucky Charms. Please know I was not pushing a fast food agenda (I loathe fast food) but encouraging attention to detail. 

We continue to talk about the importance of having empathy. I love when the girls recognize a display of empathy. Here's a sample conversation starter about empathy:

I'll end with this week's Three Word Thursday. There were several pretty funny performances!

A Few Notes.....

* Special Week Sign-up Alex will be our Special Week girl.

* Carpool Helper Calendar- Powell will represent our class next week. 

* Homework-posted for family planning.

* Bike Field Trip is on April 4th. Details here.

* Spring Conference Sign-Up

* Maypole Information

* "Insider's View to Middle School" for parents 3/28 @ 8:30.

Girls- Your mystery blog question...... What does the C mean in "Does McDonald's Sell Cheeseburgers?  Post your answer here and be specific. One more thing..... Parent conferences begin on Monday so we want gather in the classroom before school. Fingers crossed for warm spring weather.

Post # 26

Dirty Monkeys Smell Bad... Daddy Mommy Sister Brother.... Everyone has their own acronym to help remember long division. Ask your daughter what acronym she uses to remember the steps.

This week was all about long division. The girls are getting better everyday. I added a step by step video in Google Classroom for the girls to use. Some paused the video after each step and reflected. I love that they are taking control of their learning. We had a heart to heart talk about the importance of knowing all facts (+, -, x, ÷) and the value of daily fact practice. We even added up the amount of assigned homework practice- A total of 19 hours! Our math instruction always exceeds 60 minutes so I don't feel that additional reinforcement (math journal pages) is necessary. That said..... daily fact practice is an expectation. 

"Walking a Mile in Their Shoes" (Newsela empathy initiative) has taken off. The girls are reading articles about different perspectives and experiences and discussing them with each other. The articles have been a real eye opener for many. Summarizing is practiced after each article by writing a summary statement on an "empathy card" for our bulletin board. They also created empathy themed billboards using values.com.

This week's creative writing was student choice. The girls chose Storybirds, Google Stories, Piclits and more. They wrote about popcorn, UVA basketball and well, take a look- here's the link to their creativity.

We wrapped up the immigration unit right in time for our field trip on Wednesday, March 15th. The girls will tour the Federal Court Building downtown and then watch a Naturalization Ceremony. After exploring their last name in Ancestry.com, the girls created a Buncee about their family's heritage. They will present these in class after Spring Break.

And now for the HUGE news of the week.....

Maybe you have heard that your daughter now has her own website and blog? The excitement was palpable. It is amazing what these girls have all ready created on their sites in just two days. You may be asking why does a fourth grader need a blog/website? The reality is that this group of Fourthies is pushing me to think outside the box (and believe me I was already out there:) every day. Their desire for creative expression and innovation is making me rethink and tweak every lesson I teach. The girls are always finding ways to extend and enrich what is taught in class. It's a new world. Their websites will be their opportunity to have a voice and share what they love (cooking, music, pets, sports, crafts, etc.) and most importantly to develop a positive digital footprint.  I'll write more about their blogs and websites in the next post. 

A few notes......

* Naturalization Ceremony Field Trip on March 15th- details here.

* Special Week Sign-up Alex will be our next Special Week on March 20th

* Carpool Helper Calendar- Grace will represent our class when we return from Spring Break.

* "Insider's View to Middle School" for parents 3/28 @ 8:30. Dorothy Suskind will send additional information as the time gets closer.

Girls- Your mystery blog question...... When is our next field trip?  Post your answer here and be specific.