We had a blast at our pajama party and read-a-thon today! Students
enjoyed introducing their stuffed animal friends and, most importantly,
reading lots of books!
We also were privileged to participate in a wonderful presentation on the Diwali festival by Joey's mother, Bonie Williamson. Students were able to interact with many artifacts from this region of the world. Thank you to Bonie for making this possible!
In
Reading this week, students delivered book talks in which they recommended some great realistic fiction literature! We also began reading an informational book about the Pilgrims. Students used nonfiction text features such as the
table of contents and
headings to answer questions about the text.
In
Math, students practiced their multiplication facts. We used many strategies to become more familiar with the facts, including playing games, writing raps, and making flashcards.
Starting next week, students will be asked to study their multiplication facts each night for homework. There will be a sign-off at the bottom of students' nightly homework worksheets for parents/guardians to verify that they have practiced their facts. Some ideas for studying include writing lists of facts, being quizzed by a family member, writing poems/songs related to the facts, or using flashcards. I will also be introducing students to some websites to help them practice their facts next week. Fact mastery is crucial for students' success with math in the fourth and fifth grades.
In
Writing, students enjoyed presenting their personal narrative stories to peers and visitors during our writers' celebration! We have begun a new unit on informational writing. Students began the initial stages of brainstorming and planning for an informational piece.
In
Science, students continued investigations with sound. We explored a model eardrum to learn about how the human body perceives sound in the environment. We also completed explorations with string and soundboards, investigating how length and tension affect pitch.
In reading, we are continuing to study the Pilgrims. This
week, we learned about why the Pilgrims chose to leave Holland and how they
paid for their journey. We are creating informational books to describe the
Pilgrims’ story. We participated in readers’ theater this week to learn more
about this subject.
In math, we have begun learning about division. We are
spending time learning how to identify division word problems. 
In math, we have practiced creating rectangular arrays to
represent multiplication expressions. Arrays are visual displays composed of rows
of equal columns. To the right is an example of a 3x4 array. 
In Math, we
marked multiples of the numbers 1-10 on the hundreds chart. We looked for
patterns among the multiples. For example, the multiples of two are all even
numbers. Also, multiples of five all end in the digits five or zero. We also
played a game to practice multiplication facts. An electronic version of the
game may be found here.
In Science, we
investigated how length, pitch, and frequency are related. We observed how
the sounds produced by rulers of shorter length have a higher frequency and pitch
than those of longer rulers. Similarly, we investigated how shortening the
length of an air column on a whistle produces a higher pitch. 
In Math, we started
a new unit on multiplication! We solved multiplication word problems involving
equal groups. Also, we used “skip counting,” addition, and pictures to solve
multiplication problems.
