Busy At Work

We have been very busy here in the classroom lately. The students transitioned well back into school after Spring Break. The first of the week was a bit rough on all of us, but we're back into the routine again.

In MATH, we have continued to work on specific skills in preparation for the state assessments coming up in a few weeks. The students have been working on input/outbox boxes, also known as function boxes. This is very basic algebraic thinking for fourth grade. This is a difficult concept for several of the kids to do, so please check their papers and see what you can help them with at home. Next week, we will begin measurement skills as well as geometry. We only have two more weeks to prepare for the big test, so if there is anything your child is struggling with, please let me know so I can help them to better understand the concept.

In READING and LANGUAGE ARTS, we have taken a break from the textbook and are doing an exciting descriptive writing activity. Early in the week we talked about vivid verbs and adjectives and did several activities looking at author's writing. We read different parts of books and tried to create a movie in our head of what we were reading. I then asked them what author's do in order to make their reading fun and exciting for us to read. We underlined the adjectives and verbs the author's used and talked about how different the book would be without these words. Then, I introduced their assignment...to pretend they were an astronaut on a solo mission and have landed on an undiscovered planet. Their job is to describe this planet to me using words that would help me picture this planet in my mind. We are on step two of the writing process which is their rough draft. Tomorrow we will begin revising and peer editing. We will finish these up next week and illustrate our stories before sharing them with the class.

In SCIENCE, Miss Burns has finished up her unit on the Human Body. Students will be tested tomorrow, so they all have their study guides with them tonight. After finishing up the Human Body, Miss Burns will begin teaching social studies. The students will be learning about the states in the Western part of the United States.
Please make sure they continue to work on the names of all the states as we will be testing these as well.

I hope all of you had a wonderful spring break with your children. I can't believe we only have seven weeks of school left! Time flies when you're having fun!

Spring is (Almost) Here!

As I write this post, it's sunny and beautiful outside. If only this weather could continue through next week so the kids could enjoy a lot of outside time over Spring Break.

We have been working extremely hard in the classroom since the last post. We have completed the Kansas Reading State Assessment and the students did a wonderful job of taking the test. Hopefully, soon after we return from Spring Break, we can get some preliminary results and give the kids a better idea of how they did as a grade level. We cannot give out individual scores at that time, but I can let them know if they did well. I cannot tell you all how much they enjoyed the letters from you as parents. Many of them held on to that letter all three days of the test and pulled it out before each test and had it sitting on their desk while they took the assessment. It meant so much to them to have those letters from their parents and family members. Thank you for taking your time to do that for them.

In MATH, we have taken a break from the book this week to work on skills for the Math State Assessment. All three groups are working on skills such as coordinate graphing, variables, Function Boxes, Measurement, and Geometry. These are all tested skills that are not covered well in our textbook, so we have come up with some fun activities to get the kids excited for these skills. We've had a lot of fun this week creating pictures using coordinates to practice that skill. We will continue these skills until the state assessments on April 16, 17, and 18.

In READING, we read a story this week about Inventors. The students enjoyed the story and found out a lot about how much these inventors failed before they became successful. We discussed how it's ok to make mistakes and learn from them and how this makes us become more successful over time.
Next week, we will take a break from the textbook to do a fun descriptive writing activity. The students will have fun using their imagination to write a fun story.

In LANGUAGE ARTS, we reviewed synonyms and antonyms. The students did a great job distinguishing between the two and completing an activity to go along with that. Next week, we will discuss adjectives and verbs in order to help us make our writing activity more exciting to readers.

In SCIENCE, Miss Burns has done an excellent job on her unit of the Human Body. The students have learned the names of many different bones and joints. She will continue her unit after Spring Break when students will learn more about joints and muscles. They will have a test shortly after Spring Break, so be looking for a review sheet to come home the Monday or Tuesday we get back.

Just a reminder that tomorrow, Friday, March 15 is Early Dismissal. Students will be dismissed at 1:20pm, so please make arrangements for them after school and be sure they know what to do.

Have a great week next week and be sure to spend time reading with your child! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

March is Here!

This weeks blog posts were written by students in our classroom:

In MATH, we are doing fractions. In Mrs. Pfannenstiel's group, we are doing mixed numbers with fractions. In Mr. Spreer's math group, we are doing adding, subtracting, and simplifying fractions. In Mrs. Bowman's math group, we are doing a domino game with adding, subtracting, and simplifying fractions.

In READING, last week we were reading the story Adventurers. We did skits. This week we are doing State Assessments. Good Luck!

In SCIENCE, we finished learning about Sound. The last experiment was with a tuning fork and a stethoscope. We put the stethoscope in some water and snapped our fingers and it made sound waves through the water. The sound waves were louder in the water than in the air.
Later this week, Miss Burns will begin her unit on the Human Body. There is a note coming home today (Monday) telling you more about what we will be learning.

Please remember that Spring Break is coming up. Students will still be expected to complete their reading and multiplication calendars this week.

Have a great week! If you have any questions, feel free to contact Mrs. Pfannenstiel.