Hello to all of our 4H families! We are looking at the last days of January already, and find ourselves immersed in such a wide variety of topics and activities. It surely does make our days fly by. In math, all 4th graders took the Unit 5 test by week's end. You should see the results coming home in the next week for your signature and return of the test papers back to school, so we may keep them organized in folders for conference time in March. Your support with extra practice on multi-digit multiplication has made a difference with this new skill, and if you could continue to throw some problems like these in front of your student regularly during the coming weeks, that will grow their comfort level and efficiency (as well as provide the needed extra practice with basic facts - still very important for most!). I have been thrilled with the renewed enthusiasm by many of our kids for reaching their goal of correctly answering 100 basic facts in each of the operations within 3 minutes. Bringing home their first semester statistics and seeing their numbers graphed out on a plot line made it very clear that some extra effort is needed by many. The payoff for those who did put in the extra practice was evident this week in a big way for several students - we had some exciting rises in scores! Woohoo! We can't emphasize enough how important proficiency in all the basic facts will smooth the way for success in math classes for the coming years in school. On one extra note, you should notice a new blue sheet of 100 division facts in your student's take home folder sent home Friday. We had been using a sheet with 80 division facts up to this point, and it always bothered me that we weren't using a full selection of facts like the other three operations. So I did raise the bar with use of the new sheet this week, and it did force many students who had proudly achieved their 'perfect 80' to adjust to a new goal (not without some groans and complaints). We discussed it together and ended up with mostly good natured resignation to Mrs. Hannam's 'adjustment' - and a few students found they were able to reach well over 80 facts in 3 minutes with the first try on Friday! A few more weeks, and I know many others will have reached their new goal level.
In social studies and science, the current news about a significant 'solar storm' on the sun and the resulting effect on earth with the aurora borealis gave us a chance to see some spectacular video and still shots through our computer and smartboard setup in the classroom (the perfect intro to our study of the solar system). Closer to home, we have been back to our maps of Wisconsin, now identifying five distinct regions of our state, comparing and contrasting their features, and learning more about the Great Lakes. We could spend all day on these topics and the related subjects and questions that come up in our study and discussions. We were still able to carve out quality time to write this week - each student has begun a writing project creating a family who 'lives' on the Fantasy Island they mapped out this past month, and the adventure this family experiences on their own island. Jotting down some notes and details before beginning the rough draft made it easier to get started on the story writing.
The results from this week's spelling test was a mixed bag. There are those in class who should be discovering that they are not spending enough time preparing and practicing their new words! Future lists will come with additional homework requirements to guide students' study! ;)
Art class is in our news this week! Mrs. Hyland taught our kids a Japanese artform involving handmade looms and yarns and a fancy way of braiding, and everyone just couldn't put these projects down once they started! To see what has our kids excited and to see some of our students being interviewed, please go to Mrs. Hyland's website: www.artsmarties.tumblr.com Also, in music, Ms. Bodell has brought in an artist-in-residence with expertise in drumming! The sounds coming from that classroom are amazing - ask your kids about that experience.
If you want to help our class with our next holiday celebration, we will be holding a Valentine's Party in our room on Monday, February 13th, from around 2:00pm till close that day. We have chosen this date because the following day on the 14th, we have a CRT Day, and students will be heading home by 11:00am already! Please let me or Sharon Pertzborn-Jensen know if you would like to contribute a snack, guide a game, or just come and hang with us and help out with serving. Students will be able to distribute valentine cards to each other during this time. I will send home with each student a class list of names - and please remember to include everyone if cards are given out.
One other news note: BOX TOPS are back!!!! The PTO is promoting one more collection contest for the entire month of February. It sounds like our class wants to hold on to our Championship status, soooo...... it is scrounging and begging time again! Thank you! The first contest netted $900 worth to go toward West Middleton's playground equipment goals.
I will be back in touch next week! Thanks for reading, and don't forget that the homework page on our classroom blog is updated every day right after school. Sincerely, Melanie Hannam
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