Question of the Week

This week I introduced my homeroom to our "Question of the Week". I used a website called padlet.com to create the board. Each week there will be a new question for the fourth graders to answer. We will use the information for different types of graphing. This is also a great way for the students to practice their writing, editing and typing skills. They are asked to type their answers in a complete sentence and justify their answers. Once their response is "approved" by me, it appears on our Question of the Week board for everyone else to read. You can see our Question of the Week board by clicking HERE, or by clicking the link on the right side of my blog menu under "Quick Links". 

(Click on the photos for a larger view of them.)

Our first Question of the Week board on padlet.com

Question of the Week

Using the laptops in our classroom to type answers to the Question of the Week.

Aren't They Cute?

Our ornaments are finally done! Aren't they cute? Thanks for sharing your sweet little fourth graders with me in 2017. I'm looking forward to spending time in 2018 with them. We still have a lot to learn in Math! :) Have a merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!

A Brief Update

Yesterday I introduced two new math puzzles to the fourth graders. They are pictured below. Both puzzles came from Greg Tang (www.gregtangmath.com and tangmath.com). They are fun ways for the students to practice problem solving and basic facts at the same time. They seem to really enjoy doing these math puzzles! Ask your favorite fourth grader to tell you about them.

 We have begun making our Christmas ornaments in my homeroom. To say that the fourth graders are excited to make their ornaments would be an understatement! :)

Simple Things

The school year ended last spring and I didn't get a garden planted like I had wanted. The weather didn't cooperate and I was too busy with end of the year things and home projects. But, at the end of June I was able to prepare my garden for some planting. Pumpkins and squash occupied most of the garden, along with the large rhubarb plants for which I am so thankful.

I planted the mini pumpkins for my future students. The ones that I didn't know yet, but share my classroom with now. I was so excited to watch the pumpkins grow and hoped that they'd be ready just in time for my new fourth graders.

In late September I began harvesting the mini pumpkins and some larger ones too. I ended up with plenty of pumpkins to share. Little did I know, giving a mini pumpkin to each of my homeroom kids would be such a big deal to them. They saw the basket full of pumpkins sitting in our classroom and waited for the day I would let them pick one out to keep. Last Friday was the day and they were so excited! Such a simple thing...

https://photopeach.com/album/cr2v62

 

The Amazing Race

 We did a fun activity last Friday as a warm-up in Math. The activity is called "The Amazing Race". I found it on the website MrElementaryMath. It's a great way to build number sense. The fourth graders worked in groups and had to come up with equations for the number that they were given.

" 

We made a list on the board of all of the equations that they came up with. This was just a practice round, as we didn't really play it as a race. Now that they know how to do the activity, next time we might try it as a race!

First in Math

The 4th graders are very excited about "First in Math". They have their log-in information on their Student Planners and are welcome to access it from home to get extra math practice.

The Py Game

Today I introduced the 4th graders to the "Py" game. Py (rhymes with my and by) is short for pyramid. This game is a great way for students to practice basic math facts. I am lucky enough to have quite a few of these games in my classroom for the kids to use. Ask your favorite 4th grader to tell you about the Py game.