Happy October to our 4H Families!
We began our second month of 4th grade with our first field trip of the year, and luckily picked perhaps the last beautiful summerlike day on Wednesday to tour the World Dairy Expo. It was such a fun day and our students were all swept into a new world for a couple of hours. We will never find another place in which to see such a collection of the most pampered and cleanly groomed cows in the world - they were clearly treated like princesses! We learned about milking machines, and showmanship, and the dairy industry. A highlight for everyone was the chance to pet fuzzy Holstein calves curled up in crisp, clean straw beds. We met Alice in Dairyland and had a lesson in nutrition as well. Our kids were very well behaved, listened with good focus, and asked (for the most part!) intelligent questions of the many guides we encountered. Linley and I want to thank Trisha Pinka, Heather Bogner, Shaney Andler, Stephanie Reinke, and Vincent Pugliese for joining our group and keeping us all together as we wound our way through barns, tents, and the coliseum. We will have many good pictures to add to our classroom photo album.
Meanwhile, back in the classroom, we have continued with our progress in math class with place value, analyzing and creating tally charts and graphs, using data to figure the maximum, minimum, mode, range, and median values, as well as some substantial practice with carrying in addition. Next week, prepare for substantial practice with borrowing in subtraction. In another week we will be coming to the end of Unit 2 already. Please continue to examine your child's math books and work, ask them about these skills, and set aside time to practice basic facts as consistently as possible. I just heard of another study which reports that ability to accurately recall basic facts is one of the highest indicators of success in math. Both the 4th and 5th grade curriculums expect proficiency here, and all lessons are based on this expectation.
In reading class, we are developing our awareness of character traits and the influence this has on the entire story and our comprehension of the story. Our class read-aloud of "The One And Only Ivan" has been a perfect example of this - the better we get to know Ivan, the more we understand his story, and every aspect becomes so much more meaningful. The kids are responding to this so well - it's been really fun to share with them! In writing class this week, we celebrated how much writing we have produced so far, spreading all our projects across our desks, and organizing them into folders. We are in the process now of choosing our favorite piece to bring through the editing and publishing phases. I can tell many of our students are proud of their work. They ask to share their writing with the class, and that is also a valuable experience for everyone. We could spend half of every day just reading and writing - and some days, we just about do that! Also, the October Scholastic Book Orders went home on Friday, and we have until Monday, October 15 to turn in orders. The annual Scholastic Book Fair takes place in the WM Library all this coming week - flyers about this went home as well. I look forward to seeing many of you as you come to browse with your student.
We did make time to dig into developing our mapping skills this week. Everyone had chances to spread out their own Wisconsin State Road Map across their desks, and we have taken several 'trips' around our state, following each other's directions to find cities, rivers and lakes, highways, campgrounds and other landmarks. This is a perfect lead-in to our first chapter in our social studies books as we become experts on our state this year.
One last note: I will be leaving our classroom in the very capable hands of Linley Carlson and Shaney Andler on Thursday and Friday of this coming week, the 11th and 12th. I grew up in southern California, and It's tough to admit, but my 40th high school reunion takes place next weekend in Encinitas, just north of San Diego. I really debated about going, knowing it meant I'd miss a couple school days, but I decided I can't pass up the chance to see so many of my childhood friends and some of my all-time favorite places, all in one visit. I am even going to see one particular high school English teacher who was such a huge influence on my own writing and teaching journey. I can't wait to tell her how important her work with me became in my life (oh, what a taskmaster she was!!). I will catch up with you again the following weekend with my newsletter, and bring you all up to date again.
Thank you once again for tuning in to my notes, and for the privilege of working with your children.
Melanie Hannam
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