Friday, March 29, 2019

Hi Families,
I have not posted anything for quite a while! Since we recently had parent conferences, I feel like you mostly know what has been going on in the classroom. Here's the rundown:

In math we are working with fractions. We started off with simple halves and fourths.  Then we moved into learning about equivalent fractions and how we can tell if two fractions are equivalent. Next we learned how to tell which fraction is larger, mostly by thinking about the size of the unit fraction and by drawing models. This week we started learning how to order fractions and place them on a number line.  This is still difficult for many of the students! We will continue practicing this skill as we move into more work with decimals and adding and subtracting fractions.  Understanding fractions conceptually is critical for fourth graders. Feel free to help your children with this at home!

If you look through your child's backpack today, you should see a completed literary essay. This writing piece was quick! We started just a few weeks ago and today everyone printed what they had completed. They learned to come up with a big idea about a book, write a thesis, and use evidence from the book (including quotes) to prove it. I'm pleased with the work the class did considering that this is their first attempt at this kind of work.  Next we will write a "research paper" about the Revolutionary War.

During reading, we have been researching the Revolutionary War and learning how to take notes, find the main idea, look at primary sources, and consider perspective. This is A LOT to learn, on top of trying to wrap their heads around all of the facts and events. When they take notes or highlight, they still think every single line or fact is critical. We are learning to tease out critical to know, good to know, and interesting to know. All of this research is getting us ready for our research paper, coming up soon!

We are also learning about Vermont's history, which is giving students another opportunity to consider perspective and how we learn about history. We have spent a lot of time learning about the Abenaki, both past and present. Next week we will begin building our own model Abenaki village, and the students are really excited about that. We will also move along our history and begin learning about Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys.

I think that's a wrap! As always, let me know if you have questions or concerns.

Have a lovely weekend!

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