Star Student of the Week! 9/28

Damien earned Star Student this week by always showing OUTSTANDING work ethic during class! He works very well with other students, and has proven that he follows directions extremely well. You ROCK, Damien!

Chapter 1: Word Problem Tutorial

Chapter 1 Test Prep: Word Problems

Chapter 1: Rounding Tutorial

Chapter 1 Math Test Prep: Rounding (Watching back the video, I accidentally read the final number as "445,... when I clearly wrote 545,... Sorry about that! Sometimes my mind slips me :])

Chapter 1: Expanded Form Tutorial

Chapter 1 Math Prep: Expanded form example and explanation!

Air Pressure Lab

Here is a video of our class "Air Pressure Lab." Greater air pressure ALWAYS moves to areas with lower air pressure. When we turned the vacuum on, many people might say "the air was sucked out!" This is a false statement! What Gio explains is that the air pressure inside of the bag becomes less than the air pressure outside of the bag. Because GP (greater pressure) moves to areas of LP (lower pressure), the GP wanted to be inside with the LP and therefore PUSHED against the bag!

Star Student of the Week! 9/21

Hailey earned Star Student this week by setting a fantastic example for her classmates. She is ALWAYS trying her best  and helping her class mates and especially her teacher. Take a look at some of the adjectives her class mates used to describe her. Way to go, Hailey! 

Centers!

This week in 4th grade we started our first rotation of centers. The students did great and really seemed to enjoy them! We did a simple version this week to start off with. Each week I will add to each center. We have 5 center rotations total.

Station 1: Read to Self - I ordered whisper phones online which are in the mail, but as of next week we will incorporate these into our centers. A whisper phone is used like a telephone. The students choose a book on their reading level and "whisper" into the phone which echos into the other end of the phone. This allows the students to HEAR themselves read! This is a wonderful tool for students to practice fluency and comprehension.  

Station 2: Read to a Friend - This station is important because it helps the students build their confidence with reading aloud. There is an App I use on the iPads that actually calculates words read per minute. The students chart their results and we will repeat the same stories in the second half of the year so they can compare their progress. Then, each student will take turns reading to their partner by choosing a book in our classroom library. At the end of the story, the partner will ask questions from our comprehension cards to help the reader understand and comprehend what they read.

Station 3: Listen to Reading - Each student has their own headphones that are connected to the same iPod or CD player. Our weekly story will be playing into their headphones for them to listen to. This enhances comprehension even more. Since we have a test on our weekly story every Friday, this helps the students hear the story in a different way.

Station 4 - Word Work - As you know, vocabulary and learning how to use words properly are a very important and foundational skill. In the word work station, the students will be on the iPads and laptops working with our weekly spelling words, word skills, and grammar skills.

Station 5- Writer's Workshop - Writer's workshop is when the students get to work one-on-one with me to improve their writing skills. We will always have a weekly writing topic with a different type of writing. Eventually, the students will create a book of all of their best writing!



Multiplication Flash Cards

As you know, fourth grade math is when the concepts start becoming more difficult. I believe that knowing multiplication facts 0-9 on inpulse is a huge advantage proceeding into harder concepts. Every Friday I am going to give a timed multiplication quiz with 50 random multiplication facts to be done in 3 minutes. I gave a diagnostic test this past week using this method and the kids loved it! I treat it as a game so there is less stress involved. I highly suggest the students practice these facts. Last year, after about two months of these multiplication fact quizzes, EVERY student in the class was getting a 100 % and I noticed a HUGE difference during math class. These facts became second nature and they will know them so well that they won't even have to think about it! This is a foundational skill and will stick with the students their entire lives!

Here is a website I found with printable multiplication flash cards from 0-9. They will only be quizzed on single digits.

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/math/multiplication/flashcards/

Welcome!

Welcome to Fancy in Fourth with Ms. Guarino! This blog will be filled with information, upcoming events and important dates, reminders, homework, project rubrics, study guides, and best of all- updates of the fun ways we learn in fourth grade!