We had such a wonderful time today celebrating those who served in the military. Our assembly this morning provided students with the history of Veteran's Day, a beautiful song that the choir sang to thank our veterans, and introductions for the 40+ veterans who attended today. Mr. Woyach joined us in our classroom to answer questions about his service in the Air Force. The students had amazing questions and learned a lot of information about what life was like as a military police officer in the Air Force. They went to recess in awe of all that our veterans have done for our country!

We finished up our lessons on area model this week. Each student is now able to multiply up to 4-digit by 1-digit numbers! It was so awesome to see how proud each of them were to accomplish these tasks and be able to say they could do it! We learned how to use estimation with multiplication to see if an answer is reasonable. This lesson was very quick because both classes learned it so fast!

We also started multiplying using the standard algorithm this week. When it comes time to take the Unit 2 test, each student will get to choose which method of multiplying they would like to use. They have the option to do area model or standard algorithm. Some students may even decide they want to do both so they can check their answers! Next week we will work on multiplying 2-digit numbers.

We created our very own skeletons this week! We made sure that our skeletons were positioned correctly based on the different kinds of joints and how they move. We also labeled different bones and the functions of each bone. We worked on remembering the three different types of joints and examples of each by playing Simon Says. The kids had fun moving around the room and practicing their joint types. We were able to take a look at some of the X-rays that students have been bringing to class for this unit. They were so neat and the kids really enjoyed being able to see real-life bones in an X-ray!! If you have any images from X-rays, MRI's, etc. and wouldn't mind letting your child bring them in, we would love to take a look at them! It's one thing to teach students about bones, muscles, joints, organs, etc., but it is another thing for the students to actually see what they look like from real examples!

Reading: This week we continued to work on learning how to study and grow ideas about the characters in our books. We began the week by looking at a formula to write a theory on a character. First, we thought of an adjective to describe the character. Then we needed to support that theory with actions the character does throughout the book. Finally, the theory was completed with specific examples the character’s noted behavior. The students did a great job! Practice at home by coming up with theories on characters in movies you watch this weekend! We also started to realize that our characters are not always predictable. The students were challenged to come up with a time their character acted “out of character.” They had to come up with theories to explain why this may have happened. We did finish Out of My Mind for our read aloud. I love hearing some families and parents are reading the book with their kids again. It usually ends up being a favorite from 4th grade. With one done, we began our new read aloud, The City of Ember.

Writing: The class continued working through our realistic fiction. This week we made sure that our readers are not left in the dark, and that we remember to write the setting of the character’s action. The students were given a “self checklist” to go over all of our mini lessons, and to see the rubric for what they will be scored on. A few students rushed through and quickly checked they had everything…only to find out, that writing is a process, and that we need to take our time with each draft. A few students began to peer edit, some are still typing, some are writing in their notebooks…and some are ready to meet with me for their final score! Thankfully, we have had a few parent volunteers come in and help listen to the students’ stories! We love having you come in, so thank you!!

Email: dewilyn@pewaukeeschools.org
Phone: (262) 701-5557