Economy Day Fun!!

Fourth Graders did an AMAZING job with their Economy Day projects! I was so impressed by all of the creativity and uniqueness with each project! Check out some pictures from our big day!!

Week of 3/19

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week we will wrap up Topic 9, by spending some time reviewing and taking our Topic 9 test. Our test will be on Tuesday! 

Religion: This week we will wrap up Chapter 12: Strengthened by the Eucharist. We will also move into preparing for Holy Week and discussing the Triduum! 

Reading and Language Arts: This week in RELA our essential question is: Why do people run for public office? We will read expository as well as fantasy texts related to our question. As we read, we will focus on identifying the author's point of view. 

In Writer's Workshop we will be working on creating a rhyming poem! 

In class novel we are finishing up Because of Winn Dixie, and having our Because of Winn Dixie party! 

Science: Our next topic in our life sciences unit will be life cycles! This week students will explore different life cycles of animals and insects, such as frogs!

Social Studies: Students will begin a culminating project to end our Regions of the U.S unit this week. Students will be creating a Regions of the U.S "lapbook" with information on the regions' climates, geography, landmarks, and fun facts! 

Week of 3/12

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: We are continuing to build a strong foundation with division this week. This week we will focus on how to divide when there are remainders, and we explore different word problems where we have to decide whether multiplication or division is needed to solve. Our Topic 9 math test will be next week. 

Religion: We will wrap up Chapter 11 this week: The Third Commandment, and move on to Chapter 12: Strengthened by the Eucharist. In this chapter we will focus on the Eucharist, and how receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus nurtures and strengthens us to be active followers of Christ. Of course, we are also gearing up for St. Patrick's day this weekend! We will have activities and prayers related to St. Patrick sprinkled in throughout the week :)

Reading and Language Arts: We continue to explore our essential question from last week: How does the government work? We will read nonfiction texts that explore the three branches of the government, and the different jobs related to working for the government such as being a Senator. 

In Writer's Workshop our poetry focus this week is: Haikus! We will read different haiku examples and then create one of our own! 

In Class Novel, we are coming to the end of our beloved novel, Because of Winn Dixie! We will celebrate finishing our novel next week :)

Science: We continue to explore our Science Weekly Five topic of Food Webs this week! 

Social Studies: It's the week of Economy Day! A much anticipated and fun day for everyone involved! We will gear up for Friday's big event by continuing to discuss factors that effect our economy such as supply and demand. 

Announcements:

• Economy Day is THIS Friday, 3/16! Students should bring in their advertisement as well as their good or service they have produced to sell on this day. 
• 4th Grade leads Mass this Friday, 3/16. As always, we welcome all family members to join us in celebration! 

Week of 3/5

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week in math we will begin Topic 9: Dividing by 1-Digit Numbers. We will work on building a strong foundation of our understanding of division. We will explore how we can use mental math and estimate to divide this week. 

Religion: We are exploring and diving deeper into the Third Commandment this week. We will discuss and recognize why it is important to keep the Lord's Day holy, and ways in which we should honor the Lord this day. 

Reading and Language Arts: This week in RELA our essential question is: How does the government work? We will read narrative nonfiction stories as well as expository texts that explore this question. As we read, we will identify elements of cause and effect in the texts. 

In our Poetry Unit in Writer's Workshop we will be creating list poems this week! 

Science: Our next topic in our Life Sciences Unit is: Food Webs! Students will explore the connection between different species in different environments, and recognize the significance of a food web in environments. 

Social Studies: Last week students received the exciting news and directions about our upcoming Economy Day! This week will focus on learning more about how our economy works. We will identify goods and services we use in our lives, and learn about the importance of how supply and demand works. These lessons will help the students make decisions about the "shops" they plan to open! 

Announcements:

• Of course, first up this week we have our field trip to the Baltimore Aquarium! As a reminder, students should wear their winter uniforms and pack a nut-free disposable snack and lunch! 
• Class pictures will be this Thursday, 3/8. Students should wear their winter uniforms!

Week of 2/26

This Week in Fourth Grade... 

We are celebrating Read Across America Week! We have a week filled with many fun reading activities! 

Math: This week we will be reviewing our strategies for multiplying 2 digit by 2 digit numbers. Our Topic 8 test will be this Thursday.

Religion: We continue to discuss the season of Lent, and how this season should be a season of simple living and a time to "go into the desert" with Jesus. 

Reading and Language Arts: We will have a Dr. Seuss themed week, leading up to his birthday on Friday! Each day we will read a different Dr. Seuss book, and take a deeper look into the theme and lessons Dr. Seuss is trying to teach us through the books. 

On Friday we will have a Book Tasting! Students will get a chance to "taste" different genres of books, and make a lists of some new books they are interested in reading! 

In Writer's Workshop we are beginning our Poetry Unit! Students will explore different poems this week, and build our background knowledge of the different types of poems. 

Science: We are continuing our Animal Adaptations weekly five topic this week! 

Social Studies: We are wrapping up our Regions of the US unit! This week students will take their final regions test on the West Region. Students should use their "West Booklets" to prepare for their test on Wednesday. 

Students will also get an introduction to our upcoming Economy Day project! We will go over our project, and next week begin our lessons about the Economy. Be on the lookout for instructions coming home with your child. Economy Day will be Friday, March 16th! 

Announcements:

• Field Trip Update! We received a call from the Baltimore Aquarium, and were able to reschedule our trip. Our trip will now be Monday, March 5th. I know this is right around the corner! Please be on the lookout for a new permission slip coming home with your child. We will need these permission slips back THIS week! 

Week of 2/19

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week in math we will be continuing to build on our knowledge of multiplying 2 digit numbers by 2 digit numbers. We will make connections from the expanded algorithm and begin practicing the standard algorithm for multiplying. Our Topic 8 math test will be next week. 

Religion: We will dive deeper into the season of Lent this week! We will discuss and recognize the importance of this season as preparation for the Church's greatest celebration: Easter. 

Reading and Language Arts: Our essential question in RELA this week is an interesting one: In what ways can advances in science be helpful or harmful? To explore this question, we will read different nonfiction persuasive articles. As we read we will be able to recognize the author's point of view, and also make conclusions for ourselves. 

In Writer's Workshop we are beginning a new unit: Poetry! I am so excited for start this fun and creative unit with the students! They will have an opportunity to explore all different types of poetry, and write many of their own poems as well! 

Science: This week in science we will begin our new unit: Life Sciences! Our first topic of study will be animal adaptations! 

Social Studies: We continue our travels through the Western Region of the United States this week in SS! We will begin to summarize what we have explored, and review important features of the West. Our West Test will be next week. 

Announcements:

• Read Across America Week is next week! We have so many great activities planned for this fun week! Friday, March 2nd we celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday, and we have Dr. Seuss themed activities planned for the whole week leading up to it! One of our activities involves planting seeds. If you have any plastic egg cartons, or plastic strawberry containers at home- if you could please donate those to our planting project that would be great! We will doing our planting on Friday! 

Week of 2/12

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week in Math we will be moving into Topic 8: developing dluency with multi digit multiplication. Last topic we focused on building a strong foundation and understanding of multi digit multiplication. This week we will focus on building up to learning and practicing the expanded and standard algorithms. 

Religion: This week we wrap up Chapter 10: All About the Second Commandment. And we move into the season of Lent! We will gather as a school community on Ash Wednesday to celebrate Mass and recognize all the beauty this Church season has to offer. We will discuss the significance and meaning of Ash Wednesday, and take time to prayerfully consider how we can deepen our faith lives this Lent. 

Reading and Language Arts: With our shortened week last week, this week in RELA we will continue to explore our essential question of: How can words lead to change? 

In Writer's Workshop we are wrapping up our persuasive writing unit. We can't wait for you read our persuasive essays!

Science: In Science we are wrapping up our Energy Unit! Our Energy unit consisted of students exploring electricity, natural resources, and properties of matter! To conclude our unit, we will be start a culminating project this week. Students will develop their own "Energy Robots" that must use different forms of energy to operate. 

Social Studies: We have almost traveled through the whole United States! This week we enter our last region: The West! Students will explore the geography, climate, and tourism of the West region! 

In addition, we have our big Mystery Skype Challenge scheduled for Monday morning! Stay tuned for pictures and video clips of this awesome opportunity we get to take part in! 

Announcements:

• No school Friday, 2/16 or Monday, 2/19. Spelling Homework will start again this week, but students will have two weeks with these words. This homework will be due Friday, 2/23.

Week of 2/5

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week in math we will be reviewing our Topic 7 concepts involving multiplying 2 digit by 2 digit numbers. Our Topic 7 test will be Thursday 2/8.

Religion: This week in Religion we start Chapter 10: The Second Commandment. In this chapter we will focus on ways we can honor and respect the name of God. 

Reading and Language Arts: Our essential question in RELA this week is: How can words lead to change? We will read biographies that introduce us to people who answered this essential question. 

In Writer's Workshop, students are beginning to start their final drafts of their persuasive essays! We can't wait for you to read them! 

Social Studies: This week we have a lot going on in Social Studies! We are wrapping up our Midwest Region Unit, and students will take their test on Friday. We will complete review activities during school, but students should also use their Midwest booklets as study guides to study at home. 

We will also be using this week to prepare for an exciting event we have next week! On Monday, 2/12, 4th graders will be participating in a Mystery Skype Challenge! We will be skyping with another fourth grade class somewhere in the United States. The challenge is to ask yes or no questions back and forth and figure out where in the country they are! Students will have different roles during the challenge to ensure we are able to keep up with questions we are asked, as well as ask the best questions. Stay tuned! 

Announcements:

• Our field trip to the Baltimore Aquarium is Monday, 2/5! Students may still wear their PE uniforms and shoes on the trip, as well as the appropriate outerwear. Please remember to pack your child a disposable snack and lunch. 

Catholic Schools Week 2018 Recap!

What a fun and faith filled Catholic Schools Week we had! Check out some of the highlights! 

Making blankets during our day of service! 

Our creative and sweet kindness rocks to place around the school grounds! 

Photo booth at the school dance !

Our AMAZING Saints Projects! I am so proud of the students for all the effort, creativity, and hard work that went into creating their presentations! We had several classes come and visit our "Saint Museum"  :) 

Week of 1/29: Catholic Schools Week!

Happy Catholic Schools Week 2018! This week we get a chance to take a step back from our normal routines, and spend more time in prayer, service, and gratitude for the blessing of being apart of a Catholic School! Take a look at the exciting events we have planned this week.

Daily Themes:

Monday: Celebrate our Nation- 4th grade students will get the opportunity to visit the National History Fair, and observe and learn from their fellow schoolmates!

Tuesday: Celebrate our Call to Service- In the morning, we will be making fleece blankets which will be delivered to the pediatric unit of University of Maryland Hospital. In the afternoon, students will work with their buddies to tend to the school grounds and sprinkle a little bit of kindness around with their creation of "kindness rocks". 

Wednesday: Celebrate our Community- Students will visit the travel fair today to learn and ask questions from their fellow schoolmates.

Thursday: Celebrate our Students- We have an exciting day of basketball games in the morning, followed by the student dance in the afternoon! 

Friday: Celebrate our Families- Please join us for Mass at 9AM to end our celebration of Catholic Schools Week 2018!

In addition to our school wide activities, 4th graders will be presenting their Saints Projects to one another, and fellow schoolmates this Friday! I can't wait to see their unique and creative ideas come together! 

We will also be continuing on with topics we were focusing on last week. Towards the end of next week, students will take their Topic 7 math test, as well as their Midwest Region social studies test. Be on the lookout for review and study guides coming home with your child in the near future! 

Week of 1/22

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week we move into Topic 7. We are continuing to build a strong multiplication foundation. Using what we learned from Topic 6, Topic 7 will focus on multiplying by 2 digit numbers. We will start with using arrays to help us build our understanding, and move onto multiplying by multiples of 10 this week. 

Religion: This week in Religion we move into Chapter 9: The First Commandment. In Chapter 8, students learned about God's covenant with the Israelites and the Ten Commandments. Chapter 9 will focus on the First Commandment, which teaches us that there is just one true God. 

Reading and Language Arts: We continue to explore our essential question from last week: How can one person make a difference? We will read biographies of inspirational people who helped to make a change in the world, whether that be big or small. 

In Writer's Workshop we are moving into the revising and editing stages of our persuasive essay rough drafts! 

In Class Novel, we continue to read Because of Winn Dixie- the students are really enjoying this one! Be sure to ask your child questions about our novel! 

Science: We begin our last topic in our Energy unit this week, Properties of Matter! Students will explore the different forms matter can take on such as solid, liquid, and gas. 

Social Studies: Our travels through the Midwest Region continue! 

Announcements:

• Last Friday, students had the choice of participating in our Classroom Spelling Bee. I was SO proud of all the students who joined in, and tried their best! 4th grade is the first year that students have the opportunity to participate in the Spelling Bee, and it can be an intimidating experience for many. I was touched by the students encouragement and support of one another throughout our class bee. A big congratulations to our top 4 finalists who will be moving on to the School Spelling Bee this week: Porter Taylor, Josh Piazza, Anaiya Bennett, and Eugene Agbor-Enoh! Way to go everyone! 
• The School Spelling Bee is open to parents as well, and will take place Wednesday 1/24 at 1:30 PM in the school hall. 
• In more exciting news, our field trip to the Baltimore Aquarium has been rescheduled for Monday, February 5th. Be on the lookout for a new permission slip coming home this week! An email will be sent out to gather a couple more chaperones due to conflicting schedules of some of our previously chosen chaperones. 

Have a blessed week! :)

Mrs. Drury

Week of 1/16

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week in math we will be reviewing our Topic 6 concepts and skills. Students will practice using the expanded form as well as standard form for multiplying 2, 3, and 4 digit numbers by 1 digit numbers. Our Topic 6 test will be this Thursday! 

Religion: We spent more time celebrating the Epiphany last week than planned! It was so wonderful to capture the beauty of the season with the students #worthit ! So this week we will wrap up Chapter 8: Learning About God's Law with review, and an open book test. We also are giving a warm welcome to Deacon Tom who will be joining us during Religion class once a week! We are so grateful to have him join us! This week he will be focusing on discussing Adoration with the students. 

Reading and Language Arts: Our essential question this week in RELA is: How can one person make a difference? We will be reading nonfiction pieces of text that focus on the fight for Civil Rights, and we will highlight on the efforts and difference Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made for our world. We will even take a look at King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Through our readings and discussions students will learn new vocabulary words such as boycott, protest, and injustice. 

Science: This week in science we are continuing our weekly five topic of Natural Resources! Students will explore renewable, nonrenewable, and alternative forms of natural resources. 

Social Studies: Along with our readings and activities related to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we will also continue to explore the Midwest Region. We will focus on learning the states and capitals, as well as popular attractions in the Midwest! 

Have a great week! :)

Mrs. Drury

Week of 1/8

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week we will continue to build our understanding of the standard algorithm of multiplication. We will multiply 2 digit, 3 digit, and even 4 digit numbers by 1 digit numbers. If students are grasping this skill this week, our Topic 6 test will be next week. 

Religion: Happy Epiphany! This Sunday the Church celebrates one of it's most important feast days! We will spend some time discussing and celebrating the Epiphany in our classroom! We will also continue Chapter 8: Learning About God's Law. We will continue to focus on the Ten Commandments as God's Law. Our Chapter 8 test will be later this week. 

Reading and Language Arts: This week we will continue to explore our essential question of: In what ways can we help our community? We will keep reading our realistic fiction stories that explore this question. 

In Writer's Workshop we are moving on to working on how to write the best conclusions for our persuasive writing pieces. We will put together all the pieces this week and create our rough drafts! 

In Class Novel we are just beginning our new novel, Because of Winn Dixie! We will explore character traits this week of the characters we are introduced to, and make inferences! Be sure to ask your child what we are reading about in our novel, and if they are enjoying it! 

Science: This week we wrap up our topic of Electricity! Students had a blast building series circuits where they made a light bulb light up, and made a motor spin. They were also able to create electromagnets! Our next topic in our Energy unit is Natural Resources! 

Social Studies: This week we travel to our next Region of the United States- the Midwest! Students will be introduced to the geography, and important features of the Midwest Region! 

Announcements:

• As you are aware, unfortunately we had to cancel our field trip to the Aquarium last Friday due to the delay. We are working on rescheduling this trip, and I will keep you all updated as soon as we finalize a new date! We may need some new chaperones so stay tuned! 

Week of 1/2

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a very blessed Christmas, and a wonderful break spent with family! 

We have so much to look forward to in this new year, and it starts this first week back! 

This Week in Fourth Grade...

Math: This week we begin Topic 6, which will build off of the foundation of multiplying by 1 digit numbers we learned in Topic 5. We will explore the use of arrays and learn an expanded algorithm for multiplying, before making the connection to the standard algorithm.

Religion: We start our new year off with a new unit in religion class! Unit 2 is all about learning how the commandments can help us to love God. Our first chapter in this unit focuses on learning about God's law. We will read about God's covenant with Moses and the Israelites, the promise God kept by sending his Son, and finally Jesus' teaching about God's law. 

Reading and Language Arts: Our Essential Question in RELA this week is: In what ways can we help our community? We will read realistic fiction as well as expository texts that explore this question. While reading, we will focus on the comprehension strategy of identifying the author's point of view. 

In Writer's Workshop, we are continuing to work on our persuasive writing pieces! This week we focus on building strong supporting details and evidence to back up our opinions. 

Before break, students completed our closing activity for James and the Giant Peach. I was SO impressed with how our projects turned out! They are hanging up in our hall, and I hope you get the chance to stop by and see our amazing work! 

I am excited to share we will be starting a new class novel this week! Our next novel will be Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. This is a GREAT one! I am so excited! This week we will preview and make predictions for our novel!

Science: Our new unit in science is Energy! Our first science weekly five topic to kick off this unit will be Electricity! This will be an exciting topic, as students will have an opportunity to build series circuits and electromagnets! 

Announcements:

• Be on the lookout for our January Math Enrichment packets going home this week. This an optional math resource for students to complete during the month of January, to reinforce concepts and skills we will be learning. 
• Genius Hour T2 starts this week! Students are excited to vote and begin a new Genius Hour class! 
• Our class field trip to the aquarium is THIS FRIDAY! Students will need a nut free, disposable, snack and lunch to bring with them for the trip. Students should wear their SAS uniform and the proper outerwear.