Hello, families. I am very proud of our 4th graders. They are hanging in beautifully and continuing to work hard and stay focused, even as the calendar on the wall clearly shows us the dwindling number of days left in our school year. Everyone has been trying their best to grasp addition and subtraction with negative numbers this past week, which has been quite challenging for all. We begin the mastery of these skills in 4th grade, aiming for secure status in 5th grade, but many in our class are approaching mastery this year! We have been reviewing and practicing the Unit 11 lessons this week, and will take the final test around the middle of next week. We have also been working on volume and capacity, using both the customary and metric measures. This is also quite challenging, and it has helped us to be able to experiment with measuring cups and containers, pouring water, comparing liters and quarts, etc.
Social Studies is the favorite subject these days, with each student well into their research for their State Presentation, drawing maps and collecting facts and pictures for their poster board. We have decided on a deadline of next week Friday to try to be done with the project. Even though we can devote at least one class period most days to working on this project, some students need to spend some time at home typing or printing their information and pictures. This group does so well with self-directed learning - their own motivation and excitement over discovering new information is the driving force, which is so exciting to witness. In Science, we have been examining very cool samples of a wide selection (5 tubs!) of rocks and minerals. We will wind up our study this coming week with some teamwork research on facts about igneous, sedimentary, and igneous rocks and their origins.
This week on May 17, which is the Norwegian holiday of Syttende Mai, we were surprised with a very special treat from Cecilie and her family to celebrate this day commemorating independence for Norway in 1814. We extended our afternoon recess outside to eat vanilla ice cream topped with fresh strawberries and blueberries - wow! Thank you so very much!
We still have at least one spelling list to master, as well as another writing assignment or two! As we approach the last two weeks of school, we have been making plans to fit in some special activities, like some Mad Libs stories (great for reinforcing parts of speech), some breathtaking National Geographic videos of our national parks, our field trip day on May 31st, some extra outdoor games, a walk in our prairie... We will come to our last days together with a flourish! We will keep you informed! Melanie
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