Fourth Grade Blog

General Studies with Mike: This week in math class, we wrapped up our math unit on adding and subtracting decimals. Students can now add and subtract up to the hundredths place value. We began a new chapter on angles, and students have been introduced to several new vocabulary words. Feel free to incorporate words like “acute,” “obtuse,” and “right angle” into discussions at home. We also kicked off a new round of book clubs, with students reading historical fiction books set during the Civil War. The titles for this round of books are “Iron Thunder” by AVI, “Freedom Crossing” by... Read More

General Studies with Mike: It was great having the chance to chat with so many of you at conferences last week! I look forward to meeting with more families this coming Monday! This week in math class, we wrapped up our math unit on decimal place values. Students can now identify numbers up to the hundredths place. They can also translate fractions to decimals (and vice versa) by creating equivalent fractions with 10 or 100 as the denominator. Students breezed through this unit and are well prepared to begin computing with decimals in the coming weeks as we enter a... Read More

General Studies with Mike: Welcome back to class! In math class, we began our new unit on decimals. As there is a large emphasis on decimals within the second half of the curriculum, we will remain on this concept for the next few months. Early in the week, students were introduced to a new place value – the tenths place! And then later in the week, they learned the hundredths place! Students were excited to see how fractions and money connect to decimals. We continued our read aloud, Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin, discussing possible themes (life lessons) from... Read More

General Studies with Mike: We completed our unit on fractions early last week and moved into a mini unit on data and probability. The students are practicing finding the mean, median, mode, and range of various different data sets. When we return from break, we will jump right into decimals. Over break, you might want to preview the concept with discussions of money. (Ask, “What does it mean if I have $1.01 vs. $1.10?) Students are now well into their book club books, responding to the texts in their book club journals, and taking on various roles in discussions. The... Read More

General Studies with Mike: We are nearing the end of our unit on fractions. Students can now add, subtract, and multiply fractions. We spent the bulk of this past week solving real-world problems (word problems) involving fractions. We will end the unit at the beginning of the week with and in-class assessment. You can help reinforce new math vocabulary at home when helping with homework by using words and phrases like “numerator,” “denominator,” and “simplest form.” We are about halfway through our second read aloud, Rain Reign, by Ann M. Martin and have continued to chart a class list of... Read More

General Studies with Mike: Congratulations to all fourth graders on a fantastic Martin Luther King presentation! We are at the midpoint of our math unit on fractions, and students have now learned how to add and subtract fractions and convert mixed number fractions to improper fractions (and vice versa). Students have enjoyed working with fraction tiles to represent equivalent fractions with differing values in the denominator. You can help reinforce new math vocabulary at home when helping with homework by using words and phrases like “numerator,” “denominator,” and “simplest form.” We are well into our second read aloud, Rain Reign,... Read More

General Studies with Mike: Happy New Year! We began the second semester with new student groupings and new seats within the classroom. Students are enjoying the opportunity to work with new partners and groups. Shortly before Winter Break, we completed our math unit on whole number multiplication and division. During this short week back to school, we began the next math unit on fractions. We reviewed how to add and subtract fractions with common denominators and how to reduce fractions to simplest form. We will continue to manipulate fractions, turning improper fractions into mixed numbers and adding and subtracting unlike... Read More

This week in Judaics the students returned to text study as we continued the stories of Jacob and Esau. We learned specifically of Rivka (Rebecca’s) instructions to Yaakov (Jacob) to prepare a stew and receive his father’s blessing. Students ended the week by bringing the text to life with elaborate and dynamic skits! For a preview of the skits see pictures below (videos to come).

General Studies with Mike: Congratulations to all fourth graders on a fantastic Hanukkah play! We are wrapping up our math unit on whole number multiplication and division. Students have learned the algorithm for two-digit by two-digit multiplication as well as the algorithm for long division. The algorithms we’re using in class are likely the same ones parents learned in school. Looking for a fun family activity this weekend? Ask your child to take on the role of teacher and show you how to solve a long division problem. This will help them prepare for next week’s unit assessment. We completed... Read More

General Studies with Mike: We just began our math unit on whole number multiplication and division. Students have learned the algorithm for two-digit by two-digit multiplication, and will continue to practice throughout the remainder of the unit. Students should continue to memorize their multiplication times tables through the number 12 at home. You can find multiplication games at timestables.com/games. We’re nearing the end of our read aloud, The Tiger Rising By Kate DiCamillo, and are beginning to discuss the literary theme of the story. We define literary theme as a “life lesson,” and identify the theme of a book by... Read More