Mystery Graph Pictures

After finishing the test on long division, the fourth graders worked on mystery graph pictures for Christmas. They did a great job using the clues and the grids to color the corresponding squares to make a Christmas tree, reindeer, candle, Santa or Gingerbread house.

Equation Station

 A fun activity that we started today is called "Equation Station". I have a bulletin board in my classroom with a grid of 16 numbers. The students have to find as many equations as they can using the numbers that are connected in the grid. Points are given according to the length of the equation. All operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide) can be used. Some students even used parentheses and wrote algebraic equations! Several of us, including Mrs. Riepe and myself, are trying to figure out an equation using all 16 numbers in one equation. This activity is great for all levels of students.  It's been a fun challenge! :)

These boys are working together to write equations at the Equation Station.

We changed the rules a little bit...we made equations longer than 6 numbers!!

Very Thankful

Check out our Kidblog posts to go along with Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for! I am thankful for this wonderful bunch of kiddos that are in my homeroom this year. What a great group! 

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone! :)

Click HERE to visit our Kidblog.

Kakooma and Inside Recess

Has your 4th grader been talking about Kakooma? This math puzzle is a great way for students to practice their fact fluency. It's even fun for adults, too! Kakooma was developed by Greg Tang and can be done on paper, a website or as an app. Have your favorite 4th grader explain it to you. :)

Kakooma on paper...

Kakooma on gregtangmath.com

The Kakooma app for iPad, iPod or iPhone

Today we were stuck inside for recess because of the rainy weather. I tried to snap a few photos of my homeroom kiddos while they were busy during inside recess...

Constructing things with magnets

Playing "Headbanz"

Moby Max

Today was our first day using MobyMax. The fourth graders logged into their new accounts, took a pre-test and some even began completing some lessons on MobyMax. For every minute spent on MobyMax they earn "game points". MobyMax replaces the "ALEKS" program that our school district used to purchase for our students. MobyMax covers all curriculum areas, but I will be focusing on the math portion of it during my math classes. It's new to me, so I'll be learning right along with the students! 

http://www.mobymax.com/

Kid Bloggers

Has your fourth grader told you about our Kidblog? They are beyond excited about it! Kidblog is an online blogging tool for classrooms. I used it with my first graders at Morning Sun for several years, so I knew the fourth graders at Mediapolis would do very well with it. I introduced it to the kids yesterday and showed them how to log in on the iPads and they caught on very quickly!

The exciting thing about blogging is that the students' writing isn't hidden in a notebook in their desks at school. It is visible for others to read and comment on. We talked about reading each other's writings and leaving positive comments for each other. For their first posts the students were asked to use some of this week's spelling words.  Their writing isn't perfect, but it will give them the opportunity to work on their editing skills.

I welcome you to check out our Kidblog and leave comments if you'd like! All posts and comments go through me first for approval. So, if you don't see your child's post or a comment you've left, that means it hasn't been approved or published yet.

We will continue to use Kidblog to write about various different topics. Stay tuned for next week's fun Kidblog posts! :)

https://kidblog.org/class/MsHiltons4thGrade

Our Kidblog: kidblog.org/class/mshiltons4thgrade/

Our First Time Blogging with Kidblog on PhotoPeach

Math Games

Some of the time spent in our classroom is on math games to practice basic facts and skills. One of the games that I just added to the shelf is "Capture the Factors". The fourth graders are getting good at knowing the factors of a number (1,2,3,4,6 and 12 are factors of 12) and if the number is prime or composite.

Capture the Factors

"Zoom" is a fun card game that gives the kids practice on multiplication. We are continuing to work on our fact fluency and on multiplying 2, 3 and 4-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers. This game gives them more practice on these skills.

Playing the multiplication card game "Zoom".