Week 15 Update!

                   

What a treat to see the first snow of the season on Wednesday! We had a great time trying to catch the huge snowflakes on our tongues on the way to lunch. It's looking like we might get some additional snow tomorrow. I'm told I need to wear my pajamas inside out, put an ice cube in the toilet and flush (one for each inch of snow I want), and put a spoon under my pillow. Have fun and stay safe!

It's been so fun seeing all of the cute outfits the girls have been wearing to school every day. I never knew there were so many hat and headband accessories out there! 

                

The girls enjoyed making clothespin/popsicle stick ornaments for the 4th grade Christmas tree outside by the playground. We have been talking about abstract nouns, so they chose a noun that reminded them of Christmas, wrote it on the front or back of their popsicle stick, and then decorated it. We are so lucky to have Mrs. Cavallo's artistic talents. She made the beautiful garland!

In math, we continued working on finding equivalent fractions, reducing fractions to lowest terms, and comparing fractions. We put fractions on a number line and then determined which fraction was greater based on if it was closer to 0, 1/2, or 1 whole. We also talked about how to multiply to find a common denominator (and create equivalent fractions), so that it's easier to compare fractions that are very close together on the number line. Give your daughter two fractions, and ask her to apply the strategies we talked about this past week. We wrapped up the week with a fun game of Fraction Golf.

In Language Arts, the girls continued to work on their magazine covers and articles (Sirena's is shown above). They interviewed a classmate in Mrs. Hiscock's class, wrote a detailed article about her, and then used a website to create a magazine cover. They are turning out really cute. Also, the girls chose an abstract noun related to Christmas and started drawing a picture to go with it. When they finish their pictures, they will attach small strips of paper with their word written on it. To spread Christmas cheer, anyone walking by is welcome to tear off one of the strips. Wow- this group of girls really understands the meaning of "attention to detail"! The drawings are looking great, but I'm not sure we'll get them out in the hall in time for winter break!

Chris Van Allsburg is such a great author, so we will be reading several of his books throughout the year. In "The Stranger", Van Allsburg gives clues throughout the book and challenges the reader to guess the stranger's identity. This is a perfect book to practice the reading comprehension strategy inferring. When we make an inference, we combine the clues the author gives us and our background knowledge to construct meaning from the text. We will continue to practice this skill with our class read aloud "Fish in a Tree" next week. We also discussed chapters 4 & 5 from "All of a Kind Family". I'm hoping to finish the book before break. We might read some chapters together in class. Please see the homework calendar for more information on this. Finally, the girls continued to work on their Book Reviews. I made my final comments on their Google Docs, and they are working to complete their Buncee presentations.

In History, the girls completed Job #1 for the 1900's. They watched a clip of the first narrative movie called "The Great Train Robbery". They wrote a movie review in their composition notebooks. They were pretty tough critics!

Reminders and General Information

                                Information needing a parent response is highlighted.

***Please let me know if your daughter will NOT be at the Gift Service on December 19th- Ms. Priddy was asking for this information.

*Parent How-To Videos for accessing Quia, Newsela, and That Quiz!

***Here are the details about the Gift Service that were sent home recently via e-mail:

* Homework- Posted for family planning.

Special Week: Grace

* Carpool Helper-  Sirena will represent our class.

Class Leadership Week of 12/10

Ambassadors/Flag Raisers- Ava Jane and Chloe

Girls: Your blog question is...What time is dismissal on the last day before Winter Break (December 19th)? Post your answer here and then go ask your mom or dad to see if THEY know the answer!