Lots of Learning!

Reading groups who have been working with Ms. Gray wrapped up their work this week and we will shuffle and consolidate groups a bit next week. Students are reading various texts, including fiction and nonfiction selections, and are practicing oral reading fluency and comprehension strategies, specifically summarizing and inferences.

Third and fourth graders mathematicians are beginning unit 6. Fourth graders finished their work with geometry and angles with a unit 5 assessment on Friday. In grade three, unit 6 focuses on geometry and in grade four, the unit is about multiplication & division, data & fractions. Third graders completed and reflected on a pre-assessment for the unit, and finished April number corner activities with a bang! Please encourage and remind your mathematician to practice his/her math facts at home. Third graders have weekly “quick facts” checkups, and are working to master all of their multiplication facts.

After constructing a working definition for what a ‘peacemaker’ is the week before break, students learned about large-scale peace efforts over the past several decades. Students have selected a peacemaker to study and will be completing a research project over the next several weeks, which will eventually culminate in a celebration with families. So far, students have selected their person/topic, and have started reading about and gathering information about why this person was/is considered a peacemaker. Ask your child who s/he has chosen and what s/he’s learned so far. This project will be a good counterbalance with our SBAC testing schedule over the next couple of weeks.

Our informational text pieces are becoming more and more sophisticated each day! Students are working hard to include elaboration to their writing, including relevant facts and details from both background knowledge and current research. Students were expected to have first drafts finished by this Friday. The next two weeks will include revision, editing and opportunities to add nonfiction text features (photos and captions, diagrams, maps, glossary, etc) to their finished product.

SBAC News: Third and fourth grade students will be taking SBAC tests beginning next week. Thank you for remembering to have consistent, early bedtimes next week, as well as encouraging your third or fourth grader to relax and do their very best in the testing sessions beginning next Tuesday. Stamina, stamina, stamina!! Please help make sure your child has plenty of water and a protein-rich breakfast and snack(s) especially over the course of the next few weeks.