Haiku Poems and Line of Symmetry

Students created Haiku poems on their Great Bay Critters that they researched. Next week they will assemble their books! 

Line of symmetry. Students reviewed symmetrical lines and objects all around us that have line(s) of symmetry. Below they created a fall painting with a line of symmetry. 

Great Bay Critter's Booklet, Writer's Notebook Cover, Regions of the USA

The beginning stages of designing our Great Bay Critters Booklet. 

Creating our Writer's Notebook covers! 

We have transitioned to learning about the regions of the U.S.A. The remainder of this social studies unit will further explore the Northeast Region . In addition, students will be learning the capitals of each state. 

Using protractors and learning about the Salt Marsh Hay Harvest

Using a protractor to measure and categorize  angles.

Listing the steps , with details and illustrations, of the Salt Marsh Hay Harvest after reading an informational article. 

Some more practice on using a protractor to measure  angles in a game around the room. 

Lines, segments, rays , continents, oceans

We reviewed lines, line segments, and rays. We started learning how to use a protractor to measure angles (right, obtuse, acute,straight, etc)!

Continents and Oceans Review 

Great Bay Mapping

Working together to label a map of the Great Bay! 

Rebecca Sitton Spelling

Dear 4EX Families,

I wanted to take this moment to explain to you the spelling program we will be using this year in 4EX. In third grade we used Scott Foresman  for our spelling and reading, however, Scott Foresman is not continued into fourth and fifth grade. This year, I am going to be using Rebecca Sitton’s “Sitton Spelling and Word Skills.” Mrs. Lupoli and Mrs. Connolly both rave about this spelling program, giving me the confidence to delve into using this program for the very first time! 

“Sitton Spelling and Word Skills® sets itself apart from other programs by bringing together unique elements which enable students to master spelling,language, and word skills. These important skills strengthen the students’ word knowledge to help them to become better writers.” The program emphasizes correct spelling in everyday writing, not just to memorize words for an end-of-the-week test. 

Every week students will be given ten words to practice. The ten spelling words will come from the mandated five “core words,” a couple of “no excuse words,” and then I will choose words I would like the students to practice whether it is content words, words I see often misspelled in their writing, or it can be tricky words.  

 “Core words” are words that Rebecca Sitton has decided are used most frequently in writing.  Core words are the words by which students are sequentially taught skills and concepts, which show how and why words are spelled certain ways. These words comprise the daily instructional component of the program. “No excuse words”  are words that the students are always accountable for in their writing across the curriculum.

On Fridays students will take a formative assessment of the high-frequency writing words via a “cloze story test.” When students are formally assessed it is for long term achievement of all words introduced in the program. Students are responsible for all previously taught words as they cycle through the program.

Spelling lists will be distributed on Mondays. Students will have spelling homework a couple times a week. In addition, I will provide a website (on a weekly basis, most likely at the bottom of the spelling list)  that students can access spelling activities at home to help them practice the “core words.”

Please feel free to go to http://www.sittonspelling.com/ and http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/literacy/spelling-grammar/sitton-spelling-and-word-skills/about-the-program to access more information about Rebecca Sitton’s Spelling Program. 

Beginning of the year get to know you activities

Our first week in fourth grade was fantastic! We spent the week getting to know each other, something we will continue with next week as we also dive into content learning! In addition, we created 4EX's expectations, went over logical consequences , how to be a bucket filler, created our hopes and dreams, went over how to use items  in our classroom, took our spelling inventory and some addition, subtraction, multiplication timed fact practice sheets, and started building our community classroom family culture. The students will be hearing those  vocabulary words and topics from the Responsive Classroom approach (classroom community, family, making good choices, logical consequences ) all year. This is going to be a great school year!