News
and Notes
From Fourth Grade
The Playbook
A
quarterback has a play in mind, a pitcher has a pitch in mind, and every good
reader comes to a book with a comprehension strategy in mind. This week the fourth grade reading community
discussed the importance of having a specific plan in mind to guide our
understanding while reading. All readers
have experienced those moments when we read word after word without truly
taking in any content. Even for the most
proficient reader, it happens more often than we'd like to admit. For the developing readers in fourth grade,
it is extremely important that we focus on comprehension when we "do
reading." This means explicit instruction
and dialogue surrounding comprehension strategies. Our first strategy is to determine
importance. This means we are learning
how to use the structure of nonfiction texts (text features) to help us find
the "big ideas" and supporting details in the text. Coming to a text with a specific strategy in
mind makes us better readers, and in turn, more effective and engaged learners.
The Fruitfulness of Multiplication and
Division
The first topic of study in
fourth grade math is a general overview of concepts surrounding multiplication
and division. In these first few weeks
we have identified the Zero, Identity, Commutative, and Distributive Properties
of Multiplication. We have reviewed
multiplication and division vocabulary and definitions. We have worked with hands-on manipulatives
and transitioned to visual representations and then to number sentences and
written words to describe computation work.
The fourth grade mathematicians have worked with arrays and bar diagrams
to demonstrate concepts of multiplication and division. By the end of this week we were taking all of
these concepts and applying them to many "real life" problems that
could be solved using division and multiplication. How exciting it is to see how our content and
skills have so many applications to our daily lives!
Zooming Out and Zooming Out
As the
fourth graders begin work on their first assigned writing piece, we practiced
zooming in and out. First we took a
large topic of personal interest (hobbies, vacations, special memories,
favorite places, etc.) Then we zoomed in
to find a "small moment" to write about. After discovering this focus, we dug deeply
to brainstorm as many specific details we could find. In the end we had a great brainstorm to guide
us in the coming days as we begin drafting these personal narratives. The brainstorming and prewriting stages of
the writing process can sometimes feel tedious and unnecessary, but when we see
how much this work helps our actual writing, we find it is time well spent!
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