Lines and Angles

We have been busy in fourth grade learning about lines and angles. We've learned about parallel, intersecting and perpendicular lines. We've also learned how to measure angles and today we worked on constructing angles. The fourth graders think protractors are pretty cool! 

Below are some pictures from this week in my classroom...

Fourth graders working on the Problem of the Day and some review questions about lines.

MathAntics.com has excellent instructional videos that we use in our classroom.

This is part of the video that we watched on MathAntics.com about angles.

mathplayground.com has a great "game" for practicing measuring angles.

Here's a fourth grader using our new favorite tool...a protractor!

First In Math

Yesterday I introduced all of the Mediapolis 4th graders to the website: firstinmath.  

firstinmath.com

We went to the elementary library computer lab to explore the website. The students were able to check it out and try some of the activities and games. We will use this website throughout the year to get extra practice in math by playing games and completing tasks. Your child has his/her log in information and may access this website from home for more practice in math.

Be sure to ask your favorite 4th grader about firstinmath.com!

I'm Learning Too!

What have you been doing while your student teacher is full-time teaching in your room the past few weeks? In one word...READING! :) I have kept busy reading books and researching Math Workshop and Guided Math groups. I'm excited to get back into my classroom and apply what I've learned from all of my reading!

Words Their Way

As you probably know, we have begun a new spelling curriculum in all of the fourth grade classrooms. We are using "Words Their Way". Each student was pretested to determine which "word sort" they were developmentally ready for. For right now, we will spend two weeks on each "word sort". 

The fourth graders spend time sorting their words, writing sentences, looking up definitions, playing games (http://www.spellingcity.com/mepo4/) and highlighting spelling patterns in their words. By the end of the second week your child should be able to sort and spell all of the words in the sort.

Practicing words with a window marker.

Using the iPads to look up word definitions on dictionary.com

Playing games on Spellingcity.com to practice words.

Highlighting spelling patterns

Ms. G and Halloween

The fourth graders are excited to have a new face in our classroom! Ms. Geurink is our student teacher from Iowa Wesleyan College. She will be with us until the beginning of December. Ms. G did a really fun math project with the students called "Create Your Own Classroom". They had to use many important math skills.

The fourth graders had fun last Friday during the Halloween Party. Thank you to everyone that contributed to our party! :)

Dog Yard

We have been working on figuring the area and perimeter of rectangles in fourth grade math. The fourth graders applied those skills when working on their "Dog Yard" project. They had fun planning and constructing their dog yards. :)

Equal Shares

This week we did some activities exploring fractions. We talked about "equal shares". We worked in groups to solve problems about splitting items up evenly. One example is: If you had 4 people and 6 brownies, how much would each person get?" The fourth graders drew pictures and talked with their desk groups to figure out the answers. We talked about their answers, how they solved the question and how to write their answers. 

This activity came from the book Extending Children's Mathematics; Fractions and Decimals. I will continue to use activities from this book all year long to help the students grasp the concepts. Below are some examples of how students worked to solve the problems.

The Py(ramid) Game

This week I introduced the Py (pronounced "pie") game to the fourth graders. The Py game is a great way for students to practice all of the basic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. It is a game that I used with my first graders at Morning Sun, but is easily adaptable to all levels of learners. We are fortunate to have quite a few sets of the game in our classroom! Be sure to ask your favorite fourth grader about the Py game. :)

Playing the Py game gives students extra practice in basic math computation.

A Py game in progress.

The winner of the Py game is the player that places his/her game piece at the top of the pyramid.

Mr. Hopper

Kira brought a visitor to class today...a toad! He was in a bucket and was rather loud during class, so we decided to release him in our outdoor classroom. We took a quick break and went outside to give him a new home. Mr. Hopper, so affectionately named by the girls in our class, didn't take long to hop away into the plants. :)

The view out our classroom window of the outdoor classroom.

YOU

"Mrs. Willis, why did you put the word YOU twice on that board?" a student asked me the other day. He was referring to the large sign I made on our classroom wall. The one pictured at the top of this blog. It says "Be the best YOU you can be." He thought I had put an extra YOU in the saying by accident. I went on to explain to him that I meant to put the word YOU twice. I told him that sign was there to remind everyone to be your best YOU. Don't try to be better than anyone or even try to be like anyone else. Everyone has their own talents, gifts and strengths. Try your best, be YOUR best! Be the best YOU you can be. 

Spelling Practice

We are into Week 3 of Spelling and the fourth graders are doing a great job learning their words each week. We do several different activities each week to practice our words. One favorite activity is using the window marker to write the words on our classroom window.

I have been encouraging the fourth graders to write some of the spelling words in cursive handwriting. They spent so much time in third grade learning how to write in cursive. This is the perfect way for them to get more practice and to refresh their memories on how to write in cursive. :)

Another way to practice the spelling words is to use the website Spelling City. Each week I put our spelling list on the website for the students to access. They play games to practice the words. Usually on Thursdays we use the school iPads to use the Spelling City app. You can also use this from home via an iPad (or similar device) or on a computer. The link to my Spelling City page is: https://www.spellingcity.com/LaurelBeth/

As of right now there are 20 words on each weekly spelling list. Very soon I will be adding 5 "Challenge Words" every week for the fourth graders to earn extra credit points!

A Great Beginning

We've had a great start to the 2016-2017 school year! I am enjoying getting to know the fourth graders in my homeroom class. Thank you to those of you that were able to make it to our Back to School Night. It sure makes the first day of school go so much more smoothly!

The fourth graders are doing a nice job switching classes and teachers during the day. It takes a little bit of time to adjust, but they are doing well with it. Please make sure you check your child's planner and take home folder for any notes and/or homework that needs to be returned to school.

In my class for math we have been reviewing Place Value. We have also been doing some Kakooma and Sudoku. Ask your favorite fourth grader to tell you about these puzzles. Any extra practice at home with multiplication facts would be helpful.

Have a wonderful weekend!!  

Mrs. Willis :)

Math Quiz Game Show

Today we had fun in Math class with the "Math Quiz Game Show". We played Boys vs. Girls and had a great time! It was a great way to review math skills learned throughout the year.