PDF: November/December 2009 – English
PDF: November/December 2009 – Spanish
Content: Parent Conferences, Seasonal Breaks, California’s Native Americans, Magical Multiplication Monday
As part of “Magical Multiplication Monday,” this Monday was spent strictly reviewing and practicing our multiplication facts. As stated to both parents and students at the start of the school year, memorizing multiplication facts is one of the most unbelievably important factors (no pun intended, haha!) for success in fourth grade math.
We are now beginning our second trimester. There are nine essential standards to be taught during these next few months. Of these nine, seven require multiplication! If your child does not yet have their facts memorized, this trimester will seem to last forever. Area, prime numbers, double-digit multiplication, division, radius and diameter, fractions and decimals, multiplication and division word problems, … these are our new topics of study. Use our Trimester Math Helpers as a guide.
Please spend 10 minutes each night reviewing the flashcards sent home with your child. You can also visit the Multiplication! page on our class website for online review games, finger tricks, and other ways to help your child. This is crucial. Please make it a part of your nightly routine.
During Magical Multiplication Monday, Ms. York dressed as a Hogwarts professor while guiding students in a variety of multiplication tricks and activities. We reviewed our charts and the concept of the commutative property (3 x 2 is the same as 2 x 3). We drilled our facts with flashcards, sliders, dice, and timed tests. We played multiplication board games, bingo, and online practice. We learned finger tricks, stories, and rhymes to help us remember specific facts. Some of us even exercised to the facts! What a great day!
What a fantastic trip we had! We we able to extend our classroom study of photosynthesis by discussing the functions of stomata, racing to complete the scientific formula, and viewing the light spectrum relative to the chlorophyll found in leaves. The kids impressed the CSUC staff by sharing their extensive classroom knowledge! We finished our labs early because they remembered so much! Way to go, guys!
Our current Accelerated Reading goal is 25.0 points. Our Accelerated Math goal is 40 objectives. 17.5 AR points and 28 AM objectives are required for a passing grade. If your child is behind, time will be given during recess and/or lunch to attain this week's goal. 
