Welcome to Room 16! We are off to a great start this year. I am slowly getting to know all the children, and they are all truly amazing people. As we progress forward, it is my hope that we all grow and learn together in a fun and exciting way.
Our Math program is Everyday Math. The students complete a math message at the beginning of the lesson, and then explore the day's concept as a class, in groups and with partners. Children also work on math boxes that enable then to review previous concepts and practice those just introduced. Along with Everyday Math, students in room 16 work daily on Independent Work Folders (IWF). Independent Work Folders focus on math facts and allow children to work at their own pace. Students also teach each other so that fact concepts such as 2digit x 2digit multiplication and subtraction of multi-digit numbers are kept fresh in their minds. This year we will also be implementing Origo Math. This program will keep the children challenged and always actively learning. We are currently focusing on geometry in Unit 1. The students will be bringing home a study guide on Monday in order to study for our Unit 1 test.
In Language Arts, our anthology is called Story Town. Students will read many stories and focus on strategies such as character development, story mapping, cause and effect, inferencing, and so on. Along with the anthology, Room 16 will also be reading class novels. While reading the novels, reading strategies from the anthology will be reinforced. Our first two stories will be Mighty Jackie: The Strike -Out Queen and Kai's Journey to Gold Mountain. The strategies we will be focusing on are character traits and compare and contrast. Many lessons in Enlish Language Arts are also based on a novel I read orally to the class. Right now we are reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. The children seem to be enjoying this novel and many are reading the sequels. It is so much fun to see them take off with a good book!
In Science, we are going to explore weather. We will learn about weather instruments, types of weather and the water cycle. We will be conducting many experiments, and the students display such enthusiasm while practicing their skills as meteorologists! The unit will end with a field trip to the weather station at Blue Hills at some point in October. This is a fun and educational field trip that the fourth grade enjoys each year.
We start Social Studies with map skills and quickly move on to immigration. Students will review concepts such as the continents, longitude and latitude, and map keys. We also read short stories on immigration that help us understand the many difficulties immigrants encountered in the past. We continue to learn about immigration and how a person becomes a citizen of the United States in current times.
Room 16 is already filled with creativity and enthusiasm during writer's workshop. We have spectacular writing happening in the classroom and it is such a pleasure to read everyone's products. All the students will be incorporating vivid verbs, adjectives, figurative language and varying sentences into their writing. Their imaginations are going to soar this year and their writing already brings a smile to my face.
I am looking for a couple of room parents. If you would like to volunteer, that would be very helpful. I also need parent volunteers in my classroom for approximately a half hour each morning. The children would take turns reading aloud to an adult, and this would help each child reach their personal best in reading fluency. If you would like to volunteer in the classroom, or be a room parent, please email me at hotoole@scit.org. Thank you!
Specialist Schedule:
Monday - Library
Tuesday - Music
Wednesday - Art
Thursday - Curriculum Lab
Friday - Physical Education
Warmly,
Heather O'Toole