Weekly Newsletter March 11 - 15, 2019

Grade 4

Weekly Newsletter

March 11 - March 15, 2019

Language Arts 
This week students will be developing their non fiction book chapters and writing informational paragraphs from their notes.  Students will be looking to include relevant transition words and figurative language.  In addition, they will be taught how to "push their thinking" and explain their thinking more clearly by providing examples or establishing their own inferences (based on facts).

Math 
This week in math the students will begin looking at how to multiply fractions with whole numbers. They will practice doing so by using equations, area models and number lines.  We will then go into solving word problems that apply the multiplication skill.

Science
This week students consider data and inferences they can make about fossils, and help construct a scientific argument about what the environment of Desert Rocks National Park was like in the past. They use data from fossils found in the area to help construct their arguments. Students then use what they discussed in their Evidence Circles to write a scientific argument, which serves as a Critical Juncture through which students demonstrate their understanding of the chapter’s content. At the end of the lesson, the whole class briefly reflects on the Chapter 2 Question: What was the environment of Desert Rocks National Park like in the past?

Announcements

• March 11th - March 15th: ES Library Book Week! 
• March 13th: Book Swap - Students bring in their coupons to choose new/used books                         (10 coupons maximum)  
• March 15th: Red Hat Book Character Dress Up Day
• March 15th: Author visit-Matt Smith (Comic book illustrator and ISKL Alumni!)
• March 18th: NO SCHOOL - ISKL Faculty Inservice
• March 25th -March 29th: NO SCHOOL - March Break 
• ES Dress Up Days: plan your days in advance click HERE for dates and details. 

Resources
Here is a video and a game to reinforce how to decompose fractions:
Video:
https://learnzillion.com/lesson_plans/8474-decompose-fractions-into-unit-fractions/
Game: https://www.classk12.com/grade-4-math/fractions-operations-nf/decomposing-a-fraction-using-visual-fraction-models-eg-38-18-28-2-18-1-1-18/4055
To further support our exploration of non-fiction text log on to Newsela, which is an online news website that has the capability of breaking down the text into different reading levels that all readers can access.  https://newsela.com/ (focus on Science)