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.