A full month of school!

Dear Families,

We have officially made it through the first month of 4th grade. I'd like to thank you for being so flexible last week with PIN night. A new date will be coming soon! Also, thank you for helping to instill positive work habits in your 4th grader. The jump from 3rd to 4th is big in terms of homework and responsibility. I have been doing my best to check agendas daily but it is your child's expectation to copy correctly the homework from the board and remember to bring the necessary components home and to school.

Dates:
10/7- Park Street Book Fair
10/9- Teacher Day ONLY
10/12- No School- Columbus Day
10/14- Picture Retake

Math: 
Everyone deserves a BIG pat on the back for doing so well on our topic 1 test. With a new math program, there are always challenges and changes to what we are used to in the past. The students have been incredibly flexible with both me and the program and I am super impressed. Topic 2 focuses on fluently adding and subtracting multi-digit whole numbers. Our first couple of lessons have used mental math and strategies that have pushed us to really think. We will be getting into the traditional (standard) algorithm as we move forward. If at any point your child is struggling please encourage them to come see me for extra help during recess or at a convenient time. Also, you may notice that the format of homework has changed. Students are required to do only the highlighted problems for that day but can always do more if they wish or need the practice. Going forward, it is CRUCIAL that your child know from memory their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. As our units progress, we will be using our multiplication and division skills on a daily basis. I am not as concerned about how quickly students are recalling facts but that they are ACCURATELY able to recall the fact. Xtramath, although not always the most desired choice, is a great place to practice these skills at home. I appreciate your support in ensuring these skills.

SS/Science:
Tomorrow will be our first Social Studies quiz on the continents and oceans. A word bank will be provided so I expect correct spelling and capitalization. Map skills will continue to be our focus through October. There will be an end of the unit test as we near the end of the unit. In Science, we are learning about the 4 layers of the Earth (crust, mantle, outer core, inner core), Pangaea, the Continental Drift. This will carry us over to our unit in changes to the Earth's surface.

Digital Citizenship: 
This month we are beginning to discuss what it means to have good digital citizenship. We have discussed the "Rings of Responsibility" and how we are responsible for our own behavior whether it is in the offline world or in the digital (online) world. Once we complete a series of these lessons, we will be moving on to using the ipads and Nexus tablets!!

Writer's Workshop: 
Our first writing unit is underway and it is my favorite- realistic fiction! We have been discussing ways to come up with ideas and really digging into making characters for our stories. I am hearing, "Ms. DiPesa can we write instead?" during all times of the day! Here's a sneak peak into one story  "It was a very snowy morning and my dog Sadie, was playing in the snow in my backyard with me. "Go fetch!" I said to Sadie while the tennis ball was flying in the air. My dog Sadie is a golden retriever. My name is Gabriella. At that moment, I was getting cold so I went inside and drank some delicious hot chocolate. "slurp, slurp, slurp" went my straw."

Penpals- I have officially received our first pen pal letters and we will be reading them soon. My aunt who is also a 4th grade teacher in Norwood will be working with our class throughout the year to learn about a different community through these monthly letters. I anticipate this to be a big hit.

Reader's Workshop
Room 2 is participating in the Global Read Aloud which officially begins on October 5th. We have jumped ahead and are slowly working our way through the first few chapters learning about our main character Ally Nickerson. I am so excited with the great discussions that this book is leading to and can't wait to get into it more.
I continue to be shocked at the love of literature in this class. Students truly love to read! Please feel free to have your child bring in a book to home to use during DEAR time.

Other Notes:
* Star Student will begin next week.
* extra help for math during recess at this point..more times TBD.
* This Thursday we will be treated to Confucious Day to celebrate Chinese culture.

Please let me know if you have other specific questions or concerns. I look forward to discussing curriculum and expectations more with you when we have a rescheduled PIN date.!

Ms. DiPesa :)