Math: How Many Packages? How Many Groups?

Last week we began our work in Unit 8 about multiplication and division. We will work to have many strategies to solve these types of problems including arrays, the US algorithm, and the expanded algorithm.Goals of this unit include:

Multiplication with 2-Digit Numbers

Students estimate products and practice strategies for solving multiplication problems with 2-digit factors.

Strategies for Multiplication

Students practice strategies for solving 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication problems. 

Solving Division Problems

Students use representations and story contexts to develop strategies for solving division problems with 1-digit or small 2-digit divisors. 

Narrative Report Cards

Narratives

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns after reading your child's most recent report card. We truly love your children and hope that the words we wrote helped you to get a snapshot of their life as a learner. 

Math Fact Benchmarks

We included  information in each student's narrative about how he/she was progressing towards meeting the 4th grade benchmarks. Fluency with math fact combinations is so important! It is frustrating for the students who have to stop to think about a math fact when they are working to solve a multi-step problem. We encourage your kids to "hunker down" and really work to meet these goals. 

Here is a reminder of the benchmarks:

4th Grade

• Demonstrate mastery of addition and subtraction facts at a timed rate with a minimum of 96% accuracy: be able to complete 50 addition and 50 subtraction facts in 2 minutes)
• Demonstrate fluency with multiplication facts to 12 x12 with a minimum of 96% accuracy and be able to complete 50 facts in 2 ½ minutes
• Understand the inverse relationship between multiplication and division and the resulting “fact families” of four equations: be able to complete 50 division facts in 3 minutes, 96% accuracy rate.

The best ways t practice are with flash cards, having someone call out facts, playing war with cards, or taking timed tests. Here is a great website for printing timed tests for your child to take at home: http://www.math-drills.com/

School House Rock!

You Are Invited to the

4th Grade Performance

Friday, April 26, 2013

2:30 PM

Dickson Dining Hall

Reception to Follow

What Are Literature Circles?

During the final trimester of 4th Grade, students will read various short stories and novels in literature circle / book clubs. I wanted to share the following information from Getting Started with Literature Circles by Katherine L. Schlick Noe & Nancy J. Johnson: 

What Are Literature Circles? 
In literature circles, small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided by students' response to what they have read. You may hear talk about events and characters in the book, the author's craft, or personal experiences related to the story. Literature circles provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Collaboration is at the heart of this approach. Students reshape and add onto their understanding as they construct meaning with other readers. Finally, literature circles guide students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and extended written and artistic response. 
Perhaps the easiest way to understand what literature circles are is to examine what they are not. 

Literature Circles are . . .	Literature Circles are not . . .
Reader response centered	Teacher and text centered
Part of a balanced literacy program	The entire reading curriculum
Groups formed by book choice	Teacher-assigned groups formed solely by ability
Structured for student independence, responsibility, and ownership	Unstructured, uncontrolled "talk time" without accountability
Guided primarily by student insights and questions	Guided primarily by teacher- or curriculum-based questions
Intended as a context in which toapplyreading and writing skills	Intended as a place to do skills work
Flexible and fluid; never look the same twice	Tied to a prescriptive "recipe"

Gearing up for Literature Circles

We will spend the next several weeks getting the students prepared for literature circles. If we put them in a book club at this point and turned them loose, some good conversations would come. However, with the mini-lessons and activities that we will do in the weeks leading up to our literature circles, the students will be well-equipped to have meaningful conversations. We will study about the social skills necessary for effective small-group discussions, the cognitive strategies that help readers understand texts, and the literary sense that smart readers use to examine and appreciate what they read.

This week we have been focusing on asking thoughtful questions about our texts. I read aloud to the class a Japanese folktale from the Junior Great Books collection called "The Magic Listening Cap." We came up with bad questions that are off-topic, have a simple answer, have a yes or no answer, and are about factual information. Next, we worked to write thought-provoking questions that are analytical, have you looking back in the text, make everyone want to share their ideas, and really make you think. Ask your student about this story! As they are reading independently they are writing their "good" questions on sticky notes.

All Trinity Reads

It's not too late! If your family would like to attend to All Trinity Reads Event this Friday night from 6:00-7:30, please RSVP using this link: https://docs.google.com/a/tescharlotte.org/forms/d/1lQWmQ-6srtF8TjOa8XfE0TFbPlrfGA8LZ0yx_JqMuIE/viewform)