On Wednesday, December 16th fourth grade will be hosting our fourth grade market.  
It should be a fabulous event! 

 Please be sure your child has prepared all of their materials and are ready for this event.

Check out our commercials...  

Show what you know...Math Challenge

We are Thankful!

Our inspiration...

Our creation...

Simple Acts of Kindness...

A simple thank you can mean so much!

Economics, Multiplication, and more...

  

Economics - Last week we started our study of economics. We started by reviewing needs and wants. The students were very familiar with these concepts and had great discussions about how to classify various things as wants and needs. We then explored goods and services. Again, we sorted things into these two categories and even went on to discuss the difference between public and private goods and services. The students then used their knowledge to rebuild a ghost town. They created a map for their ghost town and made decisions about what goods and services they would place there. Many of them took great pride in designing their town and made very purposeful and thoughtful choices.

Tomorrow we will be heading to The Candy Factory in downtown Columbia to see how their business in action. They will explain and demonstrate how they produce, price, and sell their products. We are so excited for this visit and hope to learn a great deal!

In math, we are continuing to practice our larger multiplication skills in a variety of ways. Today the students became proud owners of their very own junkyard.  They were provided a set number of cars and had to calculate how many of various parts resided in their junkyard.  For example, if they had 542 cars in their junkyard and each car has four tires, they would have 2,168 tires available for sale. They then calculated the possible income for selling each of their tires. For example, if each tire sold for $8, they would make a profit of $17,344. They seemed to enjoy this project and did a fabulous job calculating accurately.  Please know your child has learned a variety of multiplication strategies, but they are allowed to use any strategy as long as it is efficient and accurate. Please continue to work on all math facts at home.

First Day

Today was a busy day of exploring, unpacking, and reviewing expectations for our new classroom. We love it!

We created a list of our favorite things about our new room.  

We love...

- our new windows 

- our new cubbies where will store books, backpacks, coats, and more

- our ability to dim the lights and control the room temperature

- the ease of walking outside to and from the playground

- the water bottle filler and new drinking fountains

- our new line spots

- the tile floor

- the look of our new space 

Welcome to Room 12

Before and after of room 12

It has been a busy few days and there is still more to do, but I look forward to welcoming the kids to this new space tomorrow. 

IMPORTANT News

• Our room is currently in the process of being completely packed into boxes.  The movers will arrive Friday after school and transfer all of our belongings to the new building. Then I will spend the weekend and early next week attempting to unpack and organize our new space.  It will be a big job, but I am truly looking forward to working with the kids to create an inviting learning environment.
• Conferences are quickly approaching...  Please check out the attached schedule and let me know if you need to change your current time.   https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16iLvlURgik4wwnbPpvOAoNHVNtAUOH_fCA_bTGMOJFM/edit?usp=sharing

Global Read Aloud 

We have joined thousands of teachers and students from around the world in an exciting adventure called Global Read Aloud. Together with countless others we will be reading Fish In a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt.  This story is a heartwarming tale of a girl with dyslexia and how this impacts her daily life.  Over the next few weeks we will be busy reading, communicating with other classrooms, and even hearing from the author herself. We are excited about this reading opportunity!

Geography 

We are busy exploring Missouri geography.  We have been learning about the importance of rivers and caves in Missouri, recognizing major cities, and identifying resources of our state.  We also planned and calculated a trip around Missouri. We will have an open-note test on these topics in a few weeks.

Weekly Update

Fourth grade is a busy place! We are continuing to work hard to master our multiplication facts and use them to solve larger, more complex problems.  In order to practice our skills we designed, created, and purchased Lego pieces to create Lego cars. The bumps on Lego's are arranged in arrays. Students had to pay for each Lego they used to build their car.  For example, if the Lego was a 2 x 6 array, it would cost $12.  If they needed 6 of these blocks, the total cost would be $60 or $12 x 6. It was a very engaging activity and the students created some amazing vehicles.  

We are also progressing in Genius Hour.  Most students have selected their topic, submitted their proposals, and will now start researching. We have a wide range of topics and I look forward to seeing what the students discover and create. 

In Social Studies, we have been studying different types of government and the ways in which states are organized.  In order to apply and prove their understanding, students worked individually or together to create a state.  They picked a state name and motto.  They also designed a state flag, seal, money, and described their leadership setup. Many students choose to accept additional challenges of organizing the military, creating programs for the common good, and more. We look forward to sharing our state books with you very soon. 

Cruisin' Along

Thank you to all of the families that attended the Parent Luncheon last Friday.  We had a fabulous turn out and the kids showed an immense amount of leadership and pride.  

In math, we are continuing to explore multiplication. This week we wrote word problems, practiced multiplying by multiples of ten, and planted array gardens. Students need to continue to practice their math facts at home as it will pay off greatly in their ability to accept larger math challenges.  

We are currently studying government.  In order for students to build their understanding of government, they are creating their own state. This week they created their state flag, motto,  seal, and leadership setup. Next week we will begin designing laws, state symbols, and more.  All of these designs and creations will be shared by creating an informational book about their step.  We look forward to sharing these with you soon!

Quick Reminders:
- We are collecting Box Tops - Please be sure to send any you have collected by October 30th.
- We hope you will join us at the Stallion Stampede on October 17th. It should be a fun and interactive fundraising event!

Parent Luncheon Presentation

This week we learned about the purpose of our skull. We tried to practice our engineering and cooperation skills as constructed a structure to protect our egg (brain). It was a blast!

Chaperones Needed...Please!

Our Jefferson City Field Trip is quickly approaching and we are in need of additional adults to join us.  During this trip we will visit the Capitol and the Governor's Mansion.  Please contact Ms. Kunkel ASAP if you are able to help out.  Thanks!

Thursday, September 17th

Week Two Update

This week we have continued setting up our routines and going deeper into various content areas. In reading, we have practiced our expectations and focused on building our stamina.  We are currently breaking our reading into two small chunks of time.  This will allow us to build our reading muscles and ensure all readers are successful during our reading workshop. 

Reading Stamina Expectations:

- Pick a SMART spot to read

- Be prepared with just-right books

- Start reading right away

- Stay focused and enjoy a good book

In science, we are very busy studying the human brain.  This week we focused on the anatomy and learned about different parts of the brain.  Some of those parts included the hippocampus, amygdala, occipital lobe and more. Our goal is to learn about the brain and then learn how we can control it. This will include understanding how our emotions, memory, and learning processes work. My hope is if students understand how their brain works they will embrace new academic challenges and be able to appreciate learning struggles as moments of growth.  Next week, we will discuss how to keep the brain healthy, control emotions, and be mindful.  

We have spent the past few weeks of math refreshing our place value and addition skills. Next week we will begin our multiplication unit. Multiplication will be a major focus of fourth grade math. Basic multiplication facts should be mastered and memorized, but I understand they may have lost a little bit over the summer. 

Homework?

I am still pondering the best way to do homework this year. The most beneficial thing you can do for your child as homework at the moment is to practice math facts and encourage them to read. These two things will make a world of difference!

First Full Week of Fourth Grade

We had a fabulous first week of fourth week.  This week we worked to establish our routine for reading workshop.  We are building our stamina by reading for small chunks of time. We also spent this week exploring different math ideas.  We looked for patterns in numbers using Pascal's Triangle, explored different types of visuals, and accepted number challenges like the one below.

Challenge -  You may use only four fours to create all numbers between 1-20.  You may use any operations to combine the numbers.  For example 4 x 4 + 4 - 4 = 16

We also spent the week gathering ideas in writing.  On Tuesday, we brought our memory boxes and learned a great deal about each other.  The students enjoyed sharing their precious items and stories.  Other writing activities included creating memory maps and a variety of lists to use to spark writing ideas in the future.

Technology will be a vital part of our classroom.  This week we worked to setup our classroom blogs and Google classroom accounts. We had some technical difficulties at times, but the students were patient and helped each other work through any hiccups. Thank goodness! Students are able to access their blog and Google classroom account from home. Enjoy!  

Conversation Starters - Ask your child about the following topics
- The One and Only Ivan
- Google Classroom - Letters to Ms. Kunkel
- The Brain (we just started our investigation)

Way to Go Safety Patrol!

Congratulations to Anna and Max for being chosen to be a part of Shepard's safety patrol. We are so proud of you both!

Blogs

Mr. Villasana joined us today to set up our learning blogs. These will be used to share our learning throughout the year. It was so much fun!

Day One of Fourth Grade

2015-2016 Parent Information Form

Welcome to Room 117

We look forward to seeing you at Open House on Thursday, August 13th from 4-6PM.