AWESOME AUTUMN!

Fall is in the air! The weather has been so nice lately and I hope you all will have a chance to enjoy some of the fun activities that come with Fall. As the weather becomes cooler, please remind your students to bring their jackets as we go to recess around 10:30 each morning. Unfortunately, cold and flu season has also arrived and we are going through a lot of tissues! Hand washing is vital to staying healthy.   

Congratulations to Caleigh and Sadie! They were selected to serve on the Lighthouse Committee to promote “Leader in Me” principles and practices in our school. We are proud of their leadership.

Congratulations to Ben! Our class elected him to represent us as a member of the Student Leadership Team. Tatum was elected as the alternate. She will be there to serve in Ben’s absence when necessary. We know they will both do a great job!
Congratulations to Maggie! She was selected by her classmates as our "Leader of the Month,"  for practicing the 7 Habits and for leading by example! We will be proud to see her featured on the new wall display in the school lobby. 

MATH:  Our work on addition and subtraction of whole numbers has been quite successful for most but challenging for others. We have assessed our skills but will revisit addition and subtraction, will have another test in the near future, and will apply the skills often in our Math work, especially in solving word problems. We started multiplication and division this week and have practiced using vocabulary and strategies that will help us as we move forward during the next few weeks. Fact families are so important, so please practice those X facts daily! Remember, there are many ways to do that – websites on this blog, flash cards, writing the facts, and playing games with friends and family.

Standards: 

MCC4.OA.1 Interpret a multiplication equation as a comparison, e.g.,interpret 35 = 5 × 7 as a statement that 35 is 5 times as many as 7 and 7 times as many as 5. Represent verbal statements of multiplicative comparisons as multiplication equations.

MCC4.OA.2 Multiply or divide to solve word problems involving multiplicative comparison, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem, distinguishing multiplicative comparison from additive comparison.
MCC4.OA.4 Find all factor pairs for a whole number in the range 1–100. Recognize that a whole number is a multiple of each of its factors. Determine whether a given whole number in the range 1–100 is a multiple of a given one-digit number. Determine whether a given whole number in the range 1–100 is prime or composite.
MCC4.NBT.5 Multiply a whole number of up to four digits by a one-digit whole number, and multiply two two-digit numbers, using strategies based on place value and the properties of operations. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.                                           

SCIENCE: Our study of weather and climate will continue. Today we went to the Science Lab to learn more about warm and cold fronts and how they affect weather conditions. We were glad to have our volunteers, Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Hernandez, and Mrs. Sivley there to help us. Another volunteer, Mr. Reece joined us in the Science Lab. He is the father of a  first grader and a member of the FBI (Fathers Being Involved). Thanks for helping us learn!   
Question: What is the Difference between Weather and Climate?

Answer: The difference between weather and climate is easy! Every day when you climb out of bed, you must plan your day around the weather. Rain or snow, hot or cold, humid or dry, your daily events will likely be affected by the current weather conditions. In fact, even with a five day forecast, you are likely to still look out the window to see what the weather is doing. Therefore, Weather changes on a daily basis.

In general, if you live in Alaska, your closet is not likely to be full of beach attire and flip flops. Similarly, it is doubtful that a store selling wool mittens and triple layer winter coats will be very successful in Florida. Therefore, Climate is determined by the trends in weather patterns over an extended period of time. Not days, or weeks, or months but years.

Climate Data Comes from Weather Data 
Scientists keep day-to-day weather statistics for 30 years in order to draw conclusions about local and regional climates. It is only when a location has 30 years of weather statistics that meteorologists can describe the climate of a particular area. Overall,, the difference between weather and climate is time. Weather happens daily and climate happens over longer periods.

Standards:  S4E4. Students will analyze weather charts/maps and collect weather data to predict weather events and infer patterns and seasonal changes.

a. Identify weather instruments and explain how each is used in gathering weather data and making forecasts (thermometer, rain gauge, barometer, wind vane, anemometer).

b. Using a weather map, identify the fronts, temperature, and precipitation and use the information to interpret the weather conditions.

c. Use observations and records of weather conditions to predict weather patterns throughout the year.

d. Differentiate between weather and climate.

SOCIAL STUDIES: We have completed our study of Maps and Globes and have acquired skills that we will apply throughout the year as we study the history and development of America. We will begin to learn about some of America’s first peoples and how each group survived in and interacted with their particular environments.

Standards:

Historical Understandings SS4H1 The student will describe how early Native American cultures developed in North America.

a. Locate where Native Americans settled with emphasis on the Arctic (Inuit), Northwest (Kwakiutl), Plateau (Nez Perce), Southwest (Hopi), Plains (Pawnee), and Southeast (Seminole).

b. Describe how Native Americans used their environment to obtain food, clothing, and shelter.
Geographic Understandings

SS4G2 The student will describe how physical systems affect human systems.

a. Explain why each of the Native American groups (SS4H1a) occupied the areas they did, with emphasis on why some developed permanent villages and others did not.

SPELLING:  Sort 8 will focus on words that contain “r-influenced a in accented syllables.” (spelling patterns –ar, -are, -air)

Parents, the “trial test” homework assignment seems to be making a difference J. When those misspelled words are identified early, students can focus on them. Go to the website, Spelling City, from the Spelling Practice page on this blog, to type in those troublesome words and practice, practice, practice! Parents, thank you for helping and encouraging your children to become better spellers!

EVERY CHILD. EVERY PARENT. EVERY DAY.

DID YOUR CHILD MEET THE ADDISON FALL BREAK READING CHALLENGE? DON'T FORGET TO SIGN AND RETURN THE READING LOG FOR A SPECIAL REWARD TO BE PRESENTED BY MRS. HALLMARK AND MR. COHEN.

READERS ARE LEADERS!

FALL BREAK IS IN VIEW!

Thank you all for making me feel so special! My birthday got off to a great start yesterday with all the beautiful cards, flowers, snacks, and gifts from my sweet thoughtful students! I appreciate each and every hug and wish. And we all get next week off to continue the celebration :) Enjoy Fall Break and some family fun!

When we return:
In Math, we will begin multiplication, so please have your kids brush up on multiplication facts 0-9. Try those great websites on the Math Practice page.

We will begin our Social Studies unit about America's first peoples as we concentrate on six Native American tribes: Inuit, Kwakiutl, Nez Perce, Hopi, Pawnee, and Seminole. We will learn about their cultures and the ways they lived in their various environments.

Weather will continue to be our focus of study in Science.

Please remind your girls and boys about Addison's Reading Challenge for Fall Break. Readers become Leaders!

SOME THINGS ABOUT SEPTEMBER

It is hard to believe that we are half way through the first quarter of this school year. Progress reports, intended to give you a snapshot of how your child is progressing in fourth grade, will be going home on Thursday. Please keep in mind that these are preliminary grades and there is time for improvement before the first report card. 

SCHOOL PICTURES will be taken on Tuesday. All students will be photographed for the yearbook regardless of whether or not you order prints.

FALL BREAK is just around the corner! Enjoy time with your family September 15 - 19.

TAKE A PEEK AT NEXT WEEK:

MATH:  Addition and subtraction of large whole numbers will continue this week with special attention being given to regrouping. We are showing every step to avoid careless mistakes. We are applying our skills to solve word problems, being sure to label each number as we set up the problems on paper.                                                   In class, we enjoy our daily Number Talks. A Number Talk is a short, daily routine that provides students meaningful ongoing practice with computation. A Number Talk is a powerful tool for helping students develop computational fluency because the expectation is that they will use number relationships and the structures of numbers to add, subtract, multiply and divide. Parents, I encourage you to engage your children in number talks, too. For example, on shopping trips, have your child compare prices. If one pair of shoes costs $49 and another costs $35, ask him or her to use mental math to figure out how much would be saved by purchasing the less expensive pair of shoes. Then ask for an explanation of how the answer was found . . . there are multiples ways of thinking!

LANGUAGE ARTS:  During the month of September, we will be tackling the grammar concepts of subject/predicate, proper use of capitalization and punctuation, and skilled sentence and paragraph construction. We will be writing narrative and informational pieces, applying the grammar concepts we learn. We will work on organizing and developing our writing while adding descriptive details to support our main ideas and adding flavor to our work.

SCIENCE:  Mark Twain once said, “Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get.” Weather is the atmosphere at a given time and place.  Climate is the average weather of a particular region over a long period of time.  Meteorologists refer to climatic changes because of the current weather patterns. In order to make an educated forecast, meteorologists must understand the uses and operations of various weather instruments. Meteorologists not only predict the weather, but also help keep you informed.

Weather maps show information about fronts, temperatures, and precipitation in a certain area. Fronts are the moving boundaries between two air masses.  Air masses contain the same temperature and humidity throughout a specific section of the atmosphere.  These air masses create either cold or warm fronts.  Cold fronts push cold air out and under warm air creating a thunderstorm.  Warm fronts push warm air out and over cold air masses which create rain.  Weather maps indicate a number of atmospheric conditions ranging from types of precipitation to temperature to fronts.  

We have studied the water cycle and had lots of fun learning about types of clouds and how they are formed. Thanks go to Mrs. Hernandez, Mrs. Brown, and Mrs. Sivley for helping us in the Science Lab with our shaving cream clouds! Our Volunteers learned that learning can be very messy!

We are ready to investigate weather and learn how forecasts are made. By the time we finish our unit on weather,

STUDENTS WILL KNOW:
·                 thermometers measure temperature
·                 rain gauges measure the amount of precipitation
·                 barometers measure atmospheric pressure
·                 wind vanes measure wind direction
·                 anemometers measure the speed and force of the wind

STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
·                identify and use weather instruments
·                read a weather map
·                use data to predict weather patterns
·                differentiate between climate and weather

     
You and your child can access our textbook online to review or preview any of our units of study. Go to https://www-k6.thinkcentral.com/content/hsp/science/hspscience/ga/gr4/se_9780153734168_/flashNavhigh.html?page=toc

   SOCIAL STUDIES:  You and your child have access to our textbook online. This site provides many opportunities to practice vocabulary and work with interactive maps. Login to http://eduplace.com/eservices. Students’ username is… cobbstudent4 and the password is… password. 

READING:

Parent involvement in education is like the frosting on a cupcake, it makes it complete and oh so sweet!    
~ ~ Anonymous