Fourth Grade

Tagxedo- Word Clouds!

Tuesday Math

Tuesday... Math Time ... 

IxL is a wonderful math site. 
Please focus on Decimals, Fractions, and Data

I x L Math

ABCya has lots of different computer and iPad activities for you to try. Today we will just focus on math. Scroll down until you see the 'NUMBERS' heading. You may work on the following activities: Fraction Bingo, Fraction Fling, & Adding Decimals.

ABCya

Take a Look at our Blog!

Take a moment to look at our fourth grade blog. 

Students add to it a number of times each month. 

Please feel free to submit a comment as a guest if you'd like! 

Sign of Spring

Pretty flower

Running by that pretty little flower…

I love the colors on it,

Yellow like the sun. White like milk .

No way this thing Is so pretty

Go get one of them.

Put it in a vase

Give it to mom.

Pretty flower.

By Paige 

Close Reading

We have been studying Vermont History during Social Studies. 

Literacy and subjects such as social studies are incredibly intertwined. Below, fourth graders are doing an excellent job working on a 'close reading' of the text Vermont: The State With a Storybook Past. 

They first read the text, then they return to it and make it their own! This means highlighting, underlining, writing in the margins, asking questions, making connections. Fourth graders are wonderful close readers! Reading can teach us so much! 

Signs of Spring!

Last week, we worked hard in our school gardens. 

Fourth graders prepared soil for lettuces and other transplants. We also planted peas! Some peas, we planted outside, and some we planted inside. Look at these peas sprouting! It is a sure sign of spring! Please take a moment to check out our fourth grade blogs to read more signs of spring. 

Float My Boat Experiment

Today, fourth graders challenge was to build tinfoil boats and test different designs to 

see how many pennies they could load without sinking their boat. They dove right in!

Happy Holidays!!

Poets at Work

Week of October 22nd

          Greetings Families,

            The first quarter has come to an end. With it, many projects and units have also come to a close. This week, we have jumped into new projects and new learning. 

            In Social Studies, we will continue to study the history of Vermont. At the moment, we are discussing what life was like for Vermonters in the 1800’s. We have also been studying photographs of what the landscape looked like in the 1800’s. Fourth graders all agree that it looked much different than it does now! 

            To compliment our study of Vermont, we are working on a writing piece. This piece focuses on the Heath Family, whose cemetery we explored at Groton State Park. Students are exploring what life was like for this family in the 1800’s. Using a brochure about the family, and their imagination, students are writing about each family member. Fourth graders have great insight as to what life was once like for Vermonters. 

            In math, we are looking at bigger multiplication problems. We have discussed how to solve these large problems. Together, we recorded notes and steps for solving these problems in our math notebooks. Students have done a great job working on the lifelong skill of note-taking. They are also doing their best while tackling these larger, more difficult multiplication problems. 

             If you have a computer at home, please make sure to head over to our classroom website. This website contains our weekly newsletter, photographs, helpful links, and our class blog. Students have been blogging about fourth grade, and interesting facts they have learned about Vermont’s unique history. They are very proud of their blogs, and I am sure they would be overjoyed to share them with you! 

            I enjoy working with your student each and every day. This class is a kind, thoughtful, and energetic group. They are excited learners, who make it a wonderful experience to come to ‘work’ every day. Thank you for all you do! 

          Enjoy your weekend!

Week of October 8th

    Hello Everyone,

            I hope this letter finds you all well and ready for the weekend!  

            This past Friday we traveled to Groton State Forest. This field trip’s purpose was to expand our knowledge of how Vermont’s landscape was shaped. We are also beginning to think about Vermont’s cultural history. To begin our discovery of Vermont culture, we explored the Heath family cemetery which dates back to the 1800s. Fourth graders took notes about the head stones and found an old stone wall. They also thought about what it would have been like to live over 200 years ago. We will be writing historical fiction pieces on the Heath family over the next few weeks. Students will use documents from the Peacham Town Office, and their imagination to write these pieces. 

           Fourth graders also hiked up Owls Head with Vermont State Naturalist, Brian Aust. We wanted to learn why the landscape looks the way it does today. Why are the mountains a certain shape? Why are there boulders in the lake? Why is the lake named Kettle Lake? What are the names of these mountains? Mr. Aust taught students about the deep history of the landscape. He also taught expert groups about  mountains, lakes, and lichen. These groups then taught the rest of the class. They did a great job! 

         This week we have been working on NECAP tests. These tests provide us one way to measure how our students are doing. Fourth graders have been doing very well on these tests. The class has been respectful, responsible, and prepared every day. I couldn’t be more proud of these hard workers! Thank you for everything you do at home to support our work at school.  

         Enjoy your weekend! 

Descriptive Writing Group Brainstorm

Our Hopes and Dreams

Week of September 24th

 Hello Families, 

                It was another productive week in fourth grade! 

                In math, we continue to work on MULTIPLES and FACTORS. A multiple is the product of two factors. It is also like skip counting. 2 x 3 = 6 Multiples of 6 are 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, etc... A factor is one of the two numbers that multiply together to form a product. The factors of 6 are 1,2,3,6 because     1 x 6 = 6 and 2 x 3 = 6. All of this is work that will come in very handy once we begin thinking about fractions and division. Next week, your student will begin bringing home multiplication cards to practice. 

            Our Daily Five time is going very well. Students enjoy having a choice of what to read and what to write. Our word work time centers around our spelling book. The spelling book is new! It really encourages students to be independent and take time to think problems through. 

          Next week, on Thursday, October 4th, you are all invited to our Math/Literacy night. The night will run from 5:30-6:60 with dinner to follow. After all of the work we do together, you will surely have worked up an appetite! Please mark your calendars and try to join us. 

         Our first 4th grade field trip is Friday, October 8th. We will be visiting Groton State Park and looking at how the landscape of that area was shaped. Please feel free to join us as a chaperone if you are able! It should be beautiful and educational. 

       

Earth Studies

Labeling Continents and Oceans 

Week of September 17th

          Hello! We have had another full week at school. In Social Studies/ Science, we continued learning about the make up of the earth. We looked at maps of the major and minor continental plates, and explored how these plates move. Using Oreo Cookies, we created divergent, transform, and convergent boundaries. There are two large vocabulary words we used as we explored plate tectonics with our cookies. Those words are ASTHENOSPHERE, and LITHOSPHERE. Ask your fourth grader about what these words mean! 

           As you noticed, we began our spelling program this week. This year, spelling is a mix of working with, and learning, 16 or 20 words, vocabulary, writing, latin roots, dictionary work, and more. We are working with a spelling book during the day. You may have seen this spelling book come home on occasion. If your student does not complete their work during our Word Work time, they may bring their books home to finish a section. Along with finishing the sections in our spelling books, please make sure your student practices their spelling words each night. This is fairly open! You may practice in a variety of ways. If you would like more guidance with spelling, however please let me know.    

           Please mark your calendars for October4th. On October 4th, BES will be hosting a Literacy/Math night from 5:30-6:30 with pizza to follow. For parents of students in my class, we will spend half an hour together talking about math and half an hour talking about literacy. We will do some activities and you will learn what your student will be doing in each subject this year. It should be fun, and hands on with plenty of time for questions and conversation about fourth grade. I truly hope you can make it! 

          This weekend looks terrific! Enjoy it to the fullest! 

       

Week of September 10th

Hello Everyone, 

      Our first full week of fourth grade has come and gone! Although it was long, the class did great work throughout the week. 

      In math, we are beginning to review multiplication. Multiplication is the foundation for much of what we will be doing throughout math this year. If your student is still working on their math facts, reviewing them nightly will help them do their best during math class. Resources will be sent home for practice, but please let me know if you would like further support at home!

      We began jumping into science this week. Our major focus this year will be our beautiful state: Vermont! We start by thinking about the earth. What are the layers of the earth? What are the continents? What was pangaea?! In short, why does the earth look the way it does? 

      Each student writes their own hopes and dreams for their fourth grade year. Students worked on bringing this first writing project through the writing process this week. Their final pieces look wonderful! They will be displayed in our classroom throughout the year. 

      Hopefully some things are better late than never! Your fourth grader’s special schedule is as follows.  Monday: P.E. Tuesday: Guidance. Wednesday: Music & Library Thursday: Art Friday: Technology, Music, & P.E. Let me know if you have any questions about this schedule! 

Sincerely, 

-Miss Durkel

Pictures From Our Straw-Engineering Project!