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.