V.I.P. Club!
Don’t forget to continue your goals in the V.I.P. (Very Intelligent Pupil) Club! There are so many questions that you likely already know! Nouns, verbs, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, synonyms, math fact families, place value charts, Native American tribes, … the list goes on! Remember, 16 stars places you on the Hall of Fame!
Extra Credit Mission Projects
The time for extra credit missions has been upon us! Project guidelines and a few samples from years past are below. I’ll see yours soon!
The final due date is Thursday, February 11th. Be sure to bring it in this week!
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Part of fourth grade California history is the study of the mission system. Students are encouraged, but not required, to build a model of one of the 21 missions of California. This can be a family project, but it should primarily be the student’s own work. Extra credit will be given to the social studies grade if a
model is built.
The requirements and limitations are as follows:
• The model may be made of any type of material: cardboard, wood, pasta, etc. The most successful is foamcore. NO kit models will be accepted and no credit will be given for those that turn them in.
• The base on which the model sits must be no bigger than 16 x 20 inches. This is very important. There are 29 students in our room: the smaller, the better.
• The model must be finished and turned in between the days of February 8th – February 11th. There are many online resources available for help (http://www.mymission.org, http://www.thecaliforniamissions.com, http://www.missionsofcalifornia.org, etc.). Our school library has many mission books available and you are encouraged to go the Gridley library as well.
If you have any questions, please send a note, e-mail, or call me at school. Don’t forget to have fun!
Ms. York
Early February ‘10: Topics-of-Study
Language Arts: Parentheses, Combining Sentences + Review of Synonyms/Antonyms, Main Ideas, Commas/Quotation Marks/Apostrophes
- Parentheses in English (notes)
- Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Compound Sentences, Putting Sentences Together
- Synonyms and Antonyms (movie), Synonyms, Squanky the Tooth Taker: Quiet Quest for Opposites, Squanky the Tooth Taker: Tooth Tally, Same Difference
- Main Idea (movie), Main Ideas, Summarize As You Read, Reading Nonfiction (movie)
- Power Proofreading, Punctuation Paintball, Comma Confusion
Mathematics: Multiplication and Division Word Problems, Long Division, Prime Numbers + Review of Double-Digit Multiplication, Fractions/Decimals, Line Types, Radius & Diameter, Area (multiplication)
- Grand Slam Math
- Snork’s Long Division, Math Baseball
- Prime Factoring, Grid Game
- Two Digit Multiplication Steps (review practice), Study Jams! (video), Basic Parts of a Whole (movie), What’s a Fraction?, Death to Decimals, Fishy Fractions: Fraction and Decimal Match, Comparing Fractions and Decimals, Fishy Fractions: Equivalent Fractions, Fresh Baked Fractions, The Decifractator, Saloon Snap, Tony Fraction (challenging fractions), Lines (review practice), Matho (review of all geometry terms), Area and Perimeter, Everyday Area, Find the Area
- Trimester Two Math Helper (front), Trimester Two Math Helper (back)
Social Studies: Chapter Three — Exploration and Early Settlements
- Extra Credit Mission Project: My Mission, The California Missions, California Missions Foundation
- Explorers/Newcomers, Settlements/Missions (vocabulary practice)
- Early California Explorers (Cabrillo, Cortes, Drake, Vizcaino; Cermeno here)
- Chapter Three Guideline Notes
Science: Chapter Six — Electricity
Compassion Wordles!
Have you ever visited Wordle.net? We have! In fact, after discussing the events unfolding in Haiti, we brainstormed the meaning of compassion and decided to make our own Wordle word clouds! Take a look!
The Way to Start a Day: Yoga in the Morning
After reading the short story The Way to Start a Day by Byrd Baylor, we’ve decided to get into our own routine by learning the Sun Salutation as part of our daily yoga. We’ve been practicing our individual poses all school year (Yoga Pretzels), but now it’s time to put them together. It’s like learning each note of your instrument and finally getting to play a song! If you’d like to practice at home, you can see the sequence here or watch the Flash video below. Enjoy!
Winter Break Homework
Welcome to Winter Break! I hope everyone has a joyous holiday! As your children are aware, we do have a few items of homework over the next two weeks. All are simple, but essential!
* Read two AR chapter books and be ready for quizzes on Monday morning. All students already chose and wrote down their books on the back of the bright pink homework half-sheet.
* Practice cursive handwriting. Many of our current assignments will now be required in cursive, a fourth grade essential standard. Spelling assignments will start this transition.
* Practice multiplication and division facts. Nearly all of January will be spent practicing double-digit multiplication and long division.
* Review geometry flashcards. This light green packet of flashcards will help students review our other important mathematical studies.
See you all in 2010!
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!
Photosynthesis Hands-On Lab
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!
Ch. 1 California Test — Friday
The Chapter One California test will take place on Friday, October 30th. Please be sure to focus your studies by using your brown notebook. Specifically spend time reviewing all vocabulary words and guideline notes. Below, you will find further helpers for review:
Vocabulary Practice:
- CA’s Location/Regions of CA (Lessons 1-2)
- Climate/Vegetation, etc. (Lessons 3-4)
- Life in CA (Lesson 5)
Chapter Review:
Alby & the Carnations
Sounds like it could be a fun band name, no? “Next up, Alby & the Carnations!” 
Actually, it’s our recent science experiment coupled with the fun of our current regions mascot project! Has Alby already been to your home? If not, he’s coming by soon!
