Changing the Earth's Surface

We are studying the Earth's surface and how it changes over time in science! Students have really dug into this science unit and are learning so much. So far we have studied weathering and how it breaks down the earth's surface. We have done this by making a model with sugar cubes and dropper bottles to re-create rain. Students made great noticings and we clarified that the sugar did not melt, rather it disintegrated. We also talked this week how wind can change the Earth's surface by picking up smaller rocks and moving them, which leads us to erosion. Students are being fantastic scientists and they are keeping amazing notebooks. This is a great opportunity for families to discuss learning that is taking place in the classroom.

We are working hard in our notebooks!

Using our "sand blasters" to break down the sugar cubes

Observing the changes

An array of multiplication facts

We are currently working on developing our multiplicative thinking. We are using arrays to develop the concept of multiplication. Arrays are a way to organize items in a rectangular fashion. We commonly use grids that are labeled with dimensions to represent arrays. There are other common arrays that are found around the house including kitchen cabinets, shelves, canned goods in a pantry, perfectly organized toys on shelves in a bedroom (yeah right!). This representation allows students to "see" multiplication at work.

We just started today to utilize multiplication combination cards to memorize our multiplication facts. We are supporting this learning by having students reason to figure out a new problem. For example, if a student is stuck on 6x7: they may use 6x5 to start off with and then figure out what 6x2 is. Once they have figured out those they will then add them together. Mentally reasoning through multiplication like this is powerful and the thinking is amazing!

We are in constant need of your help with learning multiplication facts at home! This is a huge responsibility in 4th grade, and they need practice all the time. Students are expected to learn multiplication facts by January and division facts by May. Thank you in advance for any support at home!

See Harrison page at www.littleptsa.com for parent brochure

The Best Part of Us

Students are currently working on writing about the best parts of them. We are using the mentor text The Best Part of Me, by Wendy Ewald. This is a fantastic book that is authored by 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. They have also had pictures taken of their inspirations, and seeing the product all together is amazing.

Students are working on writing a paragraph about their best parts of their body and why. We will then take the paragraphs to craft it into a poem. This is a very powerful and personal piece of writing. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about their favorite parts of themselves and how they perceive it through 4th grade eyes.

 There are a few interesting platforms that we will be looking at publishing this work, but for sure we will bind it into a book. Parents can use this as a conversation starter to discuss their students writing. By conversing about this it may also spark new ideas and motivate your students as writers.

I can't wait to see and share the final product!

Mrs. Harrison