Happy New Year to you all!

I hope everyone enjoyed their December break and got to relax and recharge!

We have had a busy week in fourth grade, and a great start to 2016.  On Monday we talked about setting goals and thinking about how we want the New Year to go.  We reflected on 2015, and took some time to write out things we would like to accomplish in 2016. 

In writing workshop we did some revision of our essay drafts.  These opinion pieces are turning out great, and we are now in the process of writing our final clean copy.  In the last bend of the unit we will be focusing on persuasive essay.  We will dive into that early next week. 

In reading workshop we have been comparing expository vs. narrative non-fiction reading.  This week we were exposed to some narrative non-fiction texts and we charted the differences between expository and narrative.  We learned how some fiction strategies that we used while studying characters can also help us when we are reading narrative non-fiction, since this type of text often tells us a story about someone, while also teaching us something.  We are coming to the end of the unit, and I know that the fourth graders have enjoyed growing their ideas and learning about new topics.

In math, we finished up topic 8, multiplying by 2-digit numbers. We learned how to use an array to help us find partial products, and we also learned how to use the standard algorithm to multiply.  Keep practicing those math facts!

We dove right into our science unit this week, literally!  We are studying floating and sinking, and the students have enjoyed making predictions and testing out various objects to see if they float or sink.  We know that size and shape are two characteristics that can affect floating and sinking.  We have also discussed buoyant force, forces, and gravity. 

This week with our buddy class, we learned the pledge of allegiance in sign language!  Ask your child to show you at home. They are becoming sign language experts!

Just a reminder that we have our Glenmont concert coming up on Tuesday, January 26th at 7pm.  This year the concert will be held at Glenmont!

Enjoy your weekend, 

Mrs. Riegel