Fourth Grade Update
December 5, 2014
Dear Parents,
Please be sure that students are recording the minutes spent reading and practicing
their math facts. This should be recorded on the reading and math logs sent home
every three weeks. If you need resources for these logs, we have shared numerous
resources for both reading and math through Google Drive, so that students can
access these from home. If you can, please have your child show you the reading
and math Web links that have been shared with them.
There was no pink “Progress Update” sent home this week due to the Thanksgiving
holiday, but they will be sent home this coming Monday (12/8). Be sure to look over
this sheet for any comments and/or areas of concern and return it the next day
(don’t forget to initial it).
This week we started division. Please, please, please, do not instruct your child to
use the “long division” method. In fourth grade students are using their knowledge
of place value and multiplication to solve division problems. This will look very
different from what you may be comfortable with. If you are unsure how to support
the homework we are sending home, please send in a note and we will provide
further instruction. To help, here is a great link that students use to show a division
model as taught in the new curriculum: Building Division Arrays. Your child should
be able to explain how this resource was used in class.
Please continue reading below to see what we did this week and what will be coming
up soon.
Thanks,
Mr. Jason Sherwood
Mrs. Michelle Wilson
Grade 4 Website
What we did this week:
Math

Reading
Converted units of
measurement (pounds to
ounces and various units of
time)
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Identified and defined domainspecific words in a sample
community profile
Used visual resources to collect
data about our community

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Solved word problems that
required conversions of
measurement
Used arrays to represent
and solve division problems
(2-digit dividends and 1digit divisors with and
without remainders)
Writing


Gathered information about
the Damascus Community
using a variety of online
resources
Drafted paragraphs for a
community profile

Science/Social Studies

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Questions to ask your child…

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How can you use your
knowledge of multiplication
to convert units of
measurement?
How are multiplication and
division related?
How can you represent a
division problem with a
picture model/array?
What are some new or
interesting facts you
learned about the
Damascus community?
How do different pollutants
affect an ecosystem? How
can humans prevent and/or
stop this pollution?
What is your
prediction/hypothesis for
the science investigation
starting next week?
Met in groups to discuss book club
novels and guided reading texts
Identified and explained how
natural events impact an
ecosystem
Identified and explained how
human-influenced events impact
an ecosystem
Gathered information about
common pollutants (road salt,
fertilizer, and acid rain)
Designed an investigation to test
the effects of pollution on a model
ecosystem
Dates to Remember

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Upcoming curriculum topics…
 Math – Dividing by single-digit divisors
12/8 – Chick-fil-A Spirit Night (58pm)
12/11 – Woodfield Choral and
Instrumental Music Concert (7pm)
12/24-1/2 – No School for
students and teachers (Christmas,
Winter Break, and New Year’s
Day)

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Reading – Research and paraphrase information about early explorers
Writing – Describe a community based on researched and collected data
Science – Investigate the effects of pollution on a model ecosystem
Social Studies – Interactions between early settlers and Native Americans.