April 3, 2019

     Spring has sprung and we are 2/3 through 4th grade! It has been a busy year and the students have grown so much. This third trimester always flies by so I am ready to enjoy every moment with these amazing kids. We will be traveling the Oregon Trail in Social Studies. In Science, the 4th graders will be exploring energy, motion and electricity under the umbrella of engineering. Our math studies will be taking us from fractions to decimals and then into geometry. The National Park report will be our focus in writing. Interwoven into all of these studies will be our Religion studies of gratitude and love of God. We are ready for a busy spring! 
   

Working by the heater is a favorite spot in 4th grade!

 At math time, we continue to work with the iPads on ThinkCentral to engage the lesson. Then we go through the lesson together ending with partner work. The 4th graders are getting so fast at the math work that many are finishing homework in class. I love how engaged this class is at math time! 

Working together on the daily math concept.

As the 4th graders learned about the adventures of Lewis and Clark, they explored the journey in many ways. Here are a few...

Readers theater about Sacawegea meeting her brother.

Creating a comic representing the Corps of Discoveries journey.

Exploring Lewis and Clark HyperDoc in the computer lab.

Finally, thank you for your support in finishing the book report for the second trimester. The oral presentations were outstanding! From Malala to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the 4th graders were well spoken and knowledgeable. We all learned and were inspired by the amazing people each student chose. 

 

January 26th 2019

     Book Clubs started this week with 5 groups of 4th graders reading a book the group selected from 3 choices. Each group created a schedule, breaking up the book into 6 parts to match the 6 meetings. When a book club meets, the members take turns as leader who facilities the discussion. Each member comes to the Book Club meeting with 2 questions and vocabulary words to share and discuss. The Book Clubs created rules and guidelines they agreed on to help the meetings run smoothly. So far we have had 2 meetings and there are some seriously deep discussions going on. 

       In Science the students continue to explore sound waves. in this week's lesson, the 4th graders learned that sound must have some form of matter to travel through. Ask your 4th grader to explain it to you!

     Catholic Schools week starts tomorrow at the 10am Mass. Please join with your 4th grader dressed in his/her uniform. See you then!

God Bless, 

Jenn Langhus

January 14, 2019

January is a time to set goals and get things done. As you can see from the goals made by your Fourth Grader, we are off and running this new year. We had a busy re-entry to school from Christmas break with leading Mass last week and starting new concepts in most subjects. We are deep into division in math. I appreciate your dedication to working with your 4th grader at home on some of these more difficult concepts. It is so powerful for your 4th grader to see you model working through math concepts. This is an opportunity to show grit~ how to stick with it, take your time, make mistakes and most importantly when to take a break when frustrated.

In Science, we ended 2018 learning about the human body as a machine. The students explored how muscles bulge and explored how our senses work. Starting the new year, we are focusing on how sound is an actual thing and that sound waves are vibrations traveling through the air. Science continues to be the most fun when students can experiment with concepts and see them in action!

The 4th graders lead the all school Mass this last Thursday. The students study the readings by reading them in pairs and discussing what the word of God is trying to tell us. This work leads to a theme for the Mass and helps direct the prayers of the faithful. Our next Mass will be on February 14th and the students have already decided to make a movie for this next Mass. Mark your calendar and join us!

In Social Studies, the 4th graders will be focusing on the expedition of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery the next couple of weeks. Each student chose a member of the Corps to do research on and present his contribution to the team. This is always an interesting unit for the students so be sure to ask about what's going on with the Corps of Discovery in class.

That's the latest from the 4th grade classroom!
God Bless,
Jenn Langhus