Monday, December 17, 2012

Spelling 12/17-12/21

Prefix Word Study

unquestionable
unruly
unlimited
unrest
unrelenting
irregular
illogical
irreplaceable
noncomformist
nonexistant

No Excuse Word Study

important
children
night
white
began
grow
river
four
carry
state

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Scale of the Universe

Today in McMath we learned about powers of ten.


We tried out a really cool website that uses powers of ten to explain the size of our Universe. Feel free to check it out tonight. It might inspire your Achievement Fair project :)



Monday, December 10, 2012

Spelling 12/10- 12/14

PREFIX WORD STUDY

between, among = inter-
far away = tele-

interior
intersection
international
interval
intermediate
telemarket
telescope
telephoto
televise
telethon

NO EXCUSE WORD STUDY

between
below
country
plant
school
father
city
earth
light
thought

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Spelling 12/3-12/7

PREFIX WORD STUDY
three = tri-
four = quad-
ten = dec-
mil = one thousand

triplet
trilogy
triathlon
quadrangle
quadruple
century
decimal
milligram
million

NO EXCUSE WORD STUDY

answer
found
study
still
learn
should
America
high
every 
near

Monday, November 26, 2012

Spelling 11/26-11/30

PREFIX WORD STUDY
many = multi-/poly-
in/into = en- em-, in-, im-

multipurpose
mutimedia
multitude
polygon (2-D)
polyhedron (3-D)
embellish
engulf
immigrate
influence
inhibit

NO EXCUSE WORD STUDY
contractions

don't
can't
won't
didn't
couldn't
wouldn't
shouldn't
something
example
together



Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Future Voters of 4M

Happy Election Day!

This morning students had the opportunity to vote for the last name of our mascot Blaze AND did a mock vote for the presidential election tonight. Students also had the opportunity to take a citizenship test. We all agreed it was a VERY difficult test.



So- go out and vote! If you need to find your polling place, use the poll finder. Have a great night!


Thursday, November 1, 2012

Ready to Read!

Today we got ready for our November Readathon. We started our day with a 15 minute read-in. What a treat!


My goal is to read for 40 minutes each night. What's yours? We read for 65 minutes in class today. Way to go!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Brimhall Readathon!

Check out this awesome video that BH parent volunteers made to get us ready for the big Readathon...


 I am so excited to READ, READ, READ with you all month!


*Way to go A! We are so proud of your acting skills :)





Monday, October 22, 2012

Election 2012



Today we started asking questions about the upcoming election. We are very excited- there are so many different vocabulary words to learn! Check out the beginning of our 4M Presidential Election 2012 Museum Exhibit... 



Here are some of the games we looked at earlier today: 

Roles of the President Game

On the Road to the White House

The Election Game

This is what we worked on after lunch:
The Democracy Project





Monday, October 15, 2012

Nepal Guest Speaker



Today, Ms. Elizabeth came in to teach us all about Nepal.
  • We learned that Nepal is a country located between India and China
  • Nepal is home to Mount Everest, the tallest mountain on earth
Please submit other facts your remember learning today in the comment section, I'll add them later this week!
 


Regrouping Subtraction Fun

We had a great time practicing regrouping subtraction today. Some of the 4M students decided to participate in a music video!


Way to go S for planning our awesome moves! A big thanks to W, C, and S for figuring out the lyrics. Impressive stuff 4th graders!







Sunday, September 30, 2012

"Kick Off to the School Year" Kickball Tournament

We had a great time playing kickball on Friday morning. We practiced working as a team, encouraging others and playing fair.

What a great class!
"We've got spirit, yes we do, we've got spirit how about YOU!"




Monday, September 24, 2012

Spelling 9/24-9/28

No Excuse: (Need to spell correctly for the rest of your life)
number
no
way
could
people
my
than
first
water
been
  
4th Grade Words:(Need to know meaning AND spelling)

subway
subject
submerge
subset
subterranean
superhuman
superabundant
superb
supervise
surplus 

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

All About Circles

Here we are pretending to be a tether ball court. Notice the centerpoint (W), radius (W), diameter (G) and circumference! (D, J, Y, P and A) Awesome job 4M!

Today in math we studied CIRCLES. We compared circles to our favorite recess sport- TETHER BALL!

If we are trying to remember the different parts of a circle, all we have to do is think of a tether ball court.

Circumference is the measurement around the court= BOUNDARY LINE

Centerpoint is located exactly in the middle of the court= POLE

Radius is from the pole to the boundary line = ROPE ON A STRING

Diameter is the line that goes straight through the pole and touches on the other side = HALF WAY LINE

Who knew learning math terms could be so much fun?

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Addition Practice

Are you having a tough time with your addition facts? Check out the following websites, videos and games. 

Helpful Addition Websites:

http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/addition-tips-tricks.html

http://www.helpingwithmath.com/resources/math_facts/mat_basic_facts01.htm


Youtube Addition Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkC3g0Bk8sk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdIzuGPRhRQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsWzVyCWfz0


Addition Games Online:

http://www.factmonster.com/math/flashcards.html

http://www.math-play.com/one-digit-addition-game/one-digit-addition-game.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/numbers/ch1.shtml

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

FACTS FACTS FACTS!

This afternoon we practiced math facts galore. We realize that math facts aren't the most interesting to learn, but they are CRUCIAL (another word for really, really, REALLY important) for us to know in order to succeed in 4th grade math.

I strongly encourage you to practice these facts tonight at home. Remember... the link is in the upper right. It is labeled "Math Fact Practice".



Tonight is the perfect night to curl up with a good book. See you in the morning!

-Ms. McCormick

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Searching for LINES and ANGLES in Pieces of Art

We had a great time in math today. Last week we worked on identifying different angles (our class perfected the angle dance).

Students know the difference between acute, obtuse, reflex and right angles. Students also worked on identifying different types of lines.

We can identify parallel, intersecting and perpendicular lines.

Today we applied these skills to some famous pieces of art (provided by Mr. Moore). Check it out!



Thursday, September 6, 2012

4M RAZ Kids

Here is the link to sign into RAZ Kids. I look forward to seeing how many points each of you score this month.


Our class username is 4McCormick. Once you sign in, you can find your account and read away!

-Ms. McCormick

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

First Day of School

We had a great first day of school. The new 4th graders worked on the following:

* Addition timed test
* Brimhall Bengal pride expectations
* What is math? brainstorm
* Routines, routines, routines!
* Lunch pin number practice
* Bus # practice

We also had our first library session with Ms. Zbacnik. Students checked out books and are bringing them home to read tonight.

See you bright and early!
-Ms. McCormick

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Meet the Teacher Night

Welcome to Meet the Teacher Night!

I am so excited that you are here. I have been looking forward to meeting you. Check out the "To-Do" list on your desk and take a peek around the room.

The 4th graders from last year wrote you a note on the easel.

We are going to have a fantastic year together.

-Ms. McCormick

This is where you will turn in assignments and do lunch count every morning.

Check out the new addition to our classroom library!

Our classroom supplies

Thursday, May 17, 2012

1. We took the Math MAP test in the 4/5/6 hallway. We spent 2 hours and 25 minutes in the computer lab working on math!

2. It was a beautiful day outside. We went on a run after recess.

3. We watched Turtle: The Incredible Journey. Tomorrow we will create different events and put them in chronological order.

4. Our day ended in music with Mrs. Sharp.

I am just so happy about your MAP test this morning. You all put forth your best effort. The growth you have made this year is HUGE. You are ready for 5th grade :)

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

1. In math we did 6 mini-lessons to prepare us for tomorrow. I was so impressed on how focused ALL of you were! We are becoming professionals at multiplying and dividing!

2. In literacy we partner-read and practiced reading fluently. A lot of us are working on pausing at the correct punctuation

3. I did a "book talk" on Egypt. Some of the books I shared included, The Egypt Game, 100 Facts: Pyramids and The Hieroglyphs of Ancient Egypt.

4. We ended our day by running for 9 minutes in Phy. Ed. You all did a FANTASTIC job. Everyone ended the 9 minutes at a running pace.

Remember, you get to take the MAP Math test tomorrow. This test will show how hard you have worked at math in 4th grade. You are expected to do very well. Have a great night, get some good rest, and I'll see you tomorrow morning.

-Ms. McCormick

Thursday, May 10, 2012

1. This morning we took our end of the year Reading MAP Test. Students did a wonderful job. It is so much fun to see the growth each of you had made in reading this year.

2. In math we discussed multiplying and reducing fractions. Fraction homework due tomorrow!

3. This afternoon in literacy we continued to work on our creative writing project. We took our ideas from yesterday, and started organizing them into topics.

4. We ended the day learning how to play Frisbee golf. I am really looking forward to the Minnesota Birthday Party tomorrow. Parents are encouraged to join us from 1:30-3:00!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

1. In math we took a test on number sense and dividing with two digit numbers. Our MAP Math test is next Thursday. This Friday we will take the Unit 12 Math Test

2. Ms. Tami stopped by and we finished The Secret of Zoom. What a fantastic ending!

3. In literacy we continued our work with conjunctions.

4. We started our end of the year creative writing project- Students brainstormed about what they will be doing twenty years from now.

Monday, May 7, 2012

1. In math we studied Unit Rates. Students completed Lesson 12.6 in their math journals. 4M students practiced adding and rounding decimals. We also plotted points on a graph to make a shape.

2. We started studying Minnesota's history. We learned about primary and secondary resources. We look forward to reading stories about Minnesota's past later this week.

3. In literacy we learned about conjunctions. A conjunction is a type of word that links other words or clauses in a sentence.

4. This afternoon we performed our music concert for the entire school. You guys did a really nice job.

The concert tonight is at 6:30. My room will be open at 6:00. Students should come to my room and then we will go to the concert together. Wear dark pants, and a colorful t-shirt!

Monday, April 30, 2012

Check out this new website I discovered!

http://wonderopolis.org/




Perhaps we can learn about Poetry Slams during snack tomorrow :)


Thursday, April 26, 2012

Yesterday we celebrated Administration Assistant Day AND took the first part of the math MCA. What a great day!


Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Maud Hart Lovelace Birthday Party

Join the Red Balloon Bookstore as they celebrate Maud Hart Lovelace’s 120th birthday (Wednesday is her actual birthday!) and learn who the 2012 winners of the Minnesota Youth Reading Awards (MYRA) are in Division 1 for grades 3-5 and Division II for grades 6-8.  Maud Hart Lovelace (the history player) will be at the Red Balloon Bookshop to talk about her writing. Those attending will be the first to receive the list of books nominated for the 2013 awards and to hear a special announcement for Minnesota student readers. There will have a chance to win a $20 Red Balloon Bookshop gift certificate (sponsored by MYRA), and we will get to eat birthday cake! 

When: Wednesday, April 25th at 7:00 PM

Where: Red Balloon Bookshop

Questions? www.redballoonbookshop.com 
 

Thursday, April 19, 2012

1. In math we discussed different units of rate. Students completed lesson 12.2 in their math journal.

2. We started our new social studies unit, our focus is the 50 states and their capitals. Students took a pretest, we look forward to seeing our scores improve!

3. In the afternoon we went to library with Ms. Zbacnik. We practiced a tornado drill. We also took a survey (and took it very seriously) about how library has gone this year. We love library with Ms. Z!

4. We created our own gallon men! I can't wait to hang them up in the hall.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

1. We completed sections 1 and 2 of the MCA. Students did a fantastic job of searching for evidence in the text, eliminating answers, and using context clues. Bring on sections 3 and 4 tomorrow.

YOUR JOB:
* Go to sleep by 9 PM
* Eat a healthy breakfast
* Think positive thoughts

Nice job today. I am proud of you!

Monday, April 16, 2012

1. In math we got our new "Rock the Test" Study Guides. We had a good time listening to rock and roll and reviewing math concepts learned earlier in the year.

2. Before lunch, students took a practice MCA Reading test. We look forward to taking the actual test tomorrow and Wednesday.

3. In literacy we completed "4M's 10 Terms we NEED to Know". Check out the impressive results!



4. We ended the day in art with Mr. Moore.

Your homework tonight:
Sleep for 8.5-9.5 hours.
Eat a healthy breakfast that has protein.
Believe in yourself- you are all going to do great tomorrow :)

Spelling April 16-20

amusement
attention
champion
creation
election
freshness
happiness
pavement
shipment
sickness

No excuse: wait, warm, wind, winter
Challenge: argument, cement, education, government

Math Mission: Number Line

On Thursday we completed our first"math mission" of the year. Students worked in small groups to order decimals, fractions and percentages on a number line.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Spelling April 9-13

ageless
agreeable
beautiful
countless
enjoyable
forgetful
lovable
penniless
thoughtless
wonderful

No Excuse: turtle, TV, wish, word
Challenge: constable, doubtful, excitable, successful,

Saturday, April 7, 2012

4M had a THrilling THursday! (Check out that use of alliteration!)

1. In math we tried out "Hands on Equations". Ms. Sherratt taught her first mini-math lesson and did a FANTASTIC job! Students completed some difficult algebra problems, by solving for x.



 




2. After lunch we read A Long Walk to Water and talked about the term "unjust". We discussed the many different current events that are happening in Africa. So many of our classmates had wonderful background knowledge to contribute to the discussion. I learned A LOT.

3. We took an extra recess and practiced translations, reflections and rotations in groups of 4 by laying on the ground and moving around.

4. We celebrated 20,000 tickets and the upcoming MCA testing with an assembly at the end of the day. The Bengal Tiger made an appearance and danced to "Why MCA?" Our student council member, P did an awesome job presenting her test taking strategy. Way to go P!

Monday, April 2, 2012

1. In math we started Unit 10. We spent our morning using transparent mirrors to create reflections. We also used these mirrors to play a game of darts and billiards. HOMEWORK: Math Boxes 10.1 and 10.2

2. We discussed the dangers of drugs use while reading The Great Body Shop. Students made a list of their assets.

3. We had library with Ms. Zbacnik. Students picked out new books for the week.

4. In Phy. Ed. students practiced rollerblading around the gym with Mrs. Brink.

Spelling April 2-5

above
across
against
around
behind
below
beside
during
toward
within

No Excuse: glad, glass, try, world
Challenge: beneath, beyond, except, through, *CHOICE WORD*, *CHOICE WORD*

Friday, March 30, 2012

1. In math we pretended we were working for a textbook company and students created multiplying and dividing decimals activity sheets. Activity sheet and answer key are due on Monday :)

2. We went down to the computer lab and practiced taking the math MCA. Ms. Fleming said it was the best behaved class she has seen yet this year. Way to go 4M!

3. After lunch we read The One and Only Ivan. Students then continued to work on their biographies. Remember, the entire rough draft of your biography is due on Monday,

4. We said goodbye to our classmate J. We are really going to miss her, we wish her the best of luck at Falcon Heights!

MCA Testing

The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA's) are coming up. 4M is ready to rock the test! Check out this site to get some extra practice before the big day!


Take the practice test in 7 easy steps: (I did it this morning- it's really good practice)

Sign in under "Guest".
Select 4th Grade
Click "Start item sampler"
Click on "Select"
Click on "Yes, start the item sampler"
Click "Continue"
Click "Begin item sampler"

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

1. In math we took our Unit 9 math test. Many of you did very well, if there are any concerns about your test, a note will go home in your planner tomorrow.


2. We started our new Great Body Shop unit about the many dangers of using drugs. Students discussed rules for taking medicine at home.


3. After lunch we practiced fluency while reading The One and Only Ivan. We decided that good readers do the following:
A) Read with expression (pause at punctuation, use voices)
B) Go at an appropriate speed
C) Picture the story in their head while they are reading

4. We ended the day by working on our biography book reports. The first draft of their newspaper articles are due on MONDAY. Ask your student about this tonight at home.

Have a great night!
-Ms. McCormick

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

1. This morning we had POWER math. My group of students worked on finding the area and perimeter of strange shapes.

2. We reviewed for our Unit 9 Test tomorrow. STUDY GUIDE DUE TOMORROW MORNING! Make sure you know how to multiply and divide with decimals---> estimate first!

3. We went to the library and learned about how to find non-fiction books.

4. At the end of the day 4th graders watched the 3rd grade concert.

Monday, March 26, 2012

1. Students worked on dividing decimals and completed lesson 9.9 in their Everyday Math journals. (Multiplication/Division of decimals activity due tomorrow)

2. We read Jane Goodall's Rickie and Henri. We discussed what it would be like to observe primates out in the wild. You would have to be very patient!

3. In literacy we wrote our first newspaper article for our biography newspaper. Students discussed the difference between explaining someones childhood vs. their life accomplishments.

4. Students pointed out adverbs in sentences. An adverb is a word that modifies, or describes, a verb, adverb, or adjective. Most adverbs tell how, when or where. Many (but not all) of them end in the suffix -ly.

Homework: Reading Charts and Graphs/Cursive due tomorrow

Spelling March 26-30

always
eagerly
farther
forever
forward
later
quite
sleepily
tomorrow
usually

No excuse: funny, game, going, gold
Challenge: basically, especially, eventually, frequently

Thursday, March 22, 2012

1. We started our day by taking the LAST CML of the year. You guys did GREAT!

2. Students traveled to different rooms for POWER math. My group worked on finding supplemental angles and circumferences of different sized circles.

3. In literacy we continued our work with with idioms. Congrats to our TOP 3 idiom competition winners. All of you submitted wonderful artwork for the contest, I look forward to hanging them up :)

4. We reviewed onomatopoeia by singing a silly song about the rain forest.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

1. In math we continued our work with "percent off" story problems. We learned TWO different methods to help us solve these problems.


2. We had time to work on our ACHIEVE folders.

3. After lunch we went to library. We finally got to vote for our favorite Maud Hart Lovelace book online. We look forward to finding out the Brimhall winner!

4. In literacy we discussed beginning, middle and end. We also practiced writing complete sentences and creating ten-word summaries.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Welcome back! It was so great spending the day with all of you.

1. In math we did "percentage of" problems.

2. We wrote stories about our spring breaks. We are going to read them throughout the week and see if we can guess the "mystery author" behind them!

3. In literacy we discussed idioms. Idioms are phrases that mean something different than what the words actually say.

4. Today was our first day using our ACHIEVE folders. We are working on being focused and productive while completing independent work so that we are better prepared for 5th grade.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Spelling March 19-23

This week is all about pronouns!

anyone
its
me
mine
myself
nobody
someone
something
those
yourself

No Excuse: fallen, fine, guess, have

Challenge: everybody, ourselves, several, whom, percentage, pronoun

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

1. At 9:50 Brimhall students all met for the WORLD READ ALOUD. 4M continued our study of Onomatopoeia  by reading The Rain Stomper. 
 
2. This morning we met for power math. My group worked on rounding numbers. We learned an awesome rap. Check it out!

3. In library students picked out a biography to read over Spring Break. 4M students will complete a biography book report at the end of March.

4. The hallway was turned into a math museum. We looked at different percentage math masterpieces. It was fun taking a break from the classroom to do math in the hallway!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Comic Strips with Onomatopoeia




1. In math we worked on Lesson 9.2. We are currently studying "percentage of" problems. Students are allowed to come up with TEN "percentage of" problems on their own to earn a Bengal Pride ticket tomorrow morning. Check out this example problem:

Ms. McCormick's class has 22 students. 50% of them received a perfect score on their spelling test. How many students received a perfect score?

Answer: 50% = 1/2. 1/2 of 22 is 11. 11 students received a perfect score.

2. Mrs. Brown came in to teach science. We thought about different materials we could use to make our petroglyphs. A petroglyph is a rock engraving.

3. After lunch we looked at different examples of personification that occur in the media. We read a segment from the novel, Bunnicula. This story is from the dog, Harold's perspective. Students thought of a pet and then created their own diary entry from their pets perspective.



4. We ended our day reading The Great Kapok Tree. We pointed out the different examples of onomatopoeia that occur throughout the book. 

Homework: Spelling sentences, Pet diary entry due tomorrow (students had time to complete this in class), Extra Credit math option.

Door Decorating Contest

Check out Ms. Z's blog for pictures of the Brimhall Door Decorating Contest. Winners will be announced on Thursday after Learning Bingo.

Monday, March 5, 2012

1. In math we started Unit 9.1. We are working with percentages. Example problem included things like, what is 10% of 100? 300? 150??

2. Students learned about onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia is the use of words whose sound make you think of their meaning. We brainstormed a large list of words that would fit this description. Students created comic strips and gave four different examples onomatopoeia (FINAL COPY DUE TOMORROW)

Students worked very hard on their comic strips


3. We continued to read The One and Only Ivan. Author Katherine Applegate is very talented at using similes and metaphors.

4. We read a story about an archeologist. An archeologist is a person who studies human society usually through the use of artifacts.

Homework: list of 25 words, final copy of comic strip.

Have a great night.
-Ms. McCormick

Spelling March 5- March 8

Words will continue from last week. FOUR challenge words have been added:

onomatopoeia
synonym
antonym
homonym

History Center Field Trip

We had a fantastic time at the history center!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

PARENTS:

Please check out our School Wide Improvement Plan

Happy Leap Day 4th Graders!

1. This morning we had a surprise POWER MATH session. My power students worked on rounding numbers to the nearest tens and hundreds.

2. We read about the Minnesota logging industry in the 1830's. We look forward to visiting the History Center this Friday.

3. After lunch we all sat in the library and finished Gary Paulson's Hatchet. We discussed the meaning of prologues and epilogues. We then wrote notes to Gary Paulson suggesting titles for each of the 19 chapters. (It was a great practice for finding the main idea!) Literacy FLEW by. We were all shocked when it was time to pack up our things and go to music with Mrs. Sharp.


4. We played the drums with Mrs. Sharp. We look forward to our concert that is coming up later this spring.

Homework: February Math Calendar DUE TOMORROW. Spelling Evidence-options: paper plane, bubble letters, comic strip, sentences.

Have a lovely evening. I am very proud of all of your hard work today.
-Ms. McCormick

Monday, February 27, 2012

Brimhall Barometer

Our class was featured in the Brimhall Barometer! Check out Ms. Zbacnik's a-z library section.

1. In math we discussed volume. To find the volume of a shape you measure L x W x H.

2. We started a our new health unit, Common Sense in The Great Body Shop.

3. In literacy we used a Venn Diagram to compare contractions and abbreviations. We learned that an abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or name. Most abbreviations start with capital letters and are followed by periods.

4. We ended our day watching the 4th, 5th and 6th grade band/orchestra performance. Way to go M and E. You guys did a great job!

Spelling February 27-March 1st

This week our focus will be abbreviations!

Ave.
Dr.
ft
gal
Jan.
Mr.
Mrs.
NY
qt
Wed.

No Excuse: at, be, feel, idea
Challenge: Bldg., Blvd., Corp., Hwy., anniversary, valuable, civilization, passage, historian

Friday, February 24, 2012

1. This morning we had our first POWER MATH session. I worked with a great group of 4th graders on rounding big numbers. What did YOU do in your power math session?

2. We took a "coffee break" and read Scholastic News. It's important to be able to summarize what you have read. People constantly are summarizing the news in real life. We had fun explaining articles to our friends. We also discussed the origin of democrats and republicans.

3. In Phy. Ed we "Jump Roped for Heart!" It was very impressive seeing all of you work so hard!

4. We ended our week with a perimeter and area museum walk. Thanks for such a successful week. I look forward to reading your notes from this morning later tonight.

-Ms. McCormick

Thursday, February 23, 2012

1. In math we discovered a short cut to find the area of ANY triangle. Simply take the base, multiply it by the width and divide by 2! We know this works because ANY triangle is always half of a parallelogram. To find the are of a parallelogram you take its base and multiply it by its height.

2. Mrs. Brown came to teach engineering.

3. We read more of Hatchet. We thought it was brilliant that the character Brian made a fish pond to hang on to fresh fish.

4. In literacy we worked on our acrostic poems. I look forward to publishing some of the poems on the blog tomorrow.

Thanks to all those families that have come to conferences. It has been such a pleasure meeting with you!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

1. In math we cut apart parallelograms in order to find their area. We discovered that finding the area of parallelograms is very similar to finding the area of a rectangle.


2. Ms. Tami came to read to us before lunch. We are more than halfway done with The Secret of Zoom!

3.We read chapter 13 together in Hatchet.

4. In literacy, we started our new poetry unit. We studied the history of acrostic poems. Students worked on their own to complete their own acrostic poems about a famous person or thing.

Homework: Area and Perimeter Activity (due tomorrow), two rough drafts of acrostic poems **we will pick our favorites to begin our final copies tomorrow**

Math Journal Math Boxes to page 239 due FRIDAY. This should be easy to complete if you are taking advantage of independent work time in class.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Happy President's Day!

Happy President's Day 4th Graders! 

Enjoy your Monday off, I look forward to seeing many of you with your parents at conferences tomorrow.

-Ms. McCormick

Friday, February 17, 2012

1. In math we did stations with Legos to find area and perimeter of different shapes (thank you to T's family for donating the Legos- we plan on using them A LOT!)


2. In health, we finished the Great Body Shop unit, "Keeping Cool, Staying Clean".

3. In literacy we read more of Hatchet. Can you believe we are already on the 12th chapter?

4. At the end of the day we had art with Mr. Moore.

Have a lovely long weekend. I look forward to conferencing with many of your parents on Tuesday night. See you Wednesday!

DON'T FORGET: 
     *Conferences next week
     *Field trip $ due next week

Thursday, February 16, 2012

1. In math we learned more about area and perimeter. We used these graphics to help us understand that area measures the amount of space inside of a shape and perimeter measures the rim or the distance around a shape.
 2. Mrs. Brown came to teach us more about engineering in science. When I came back to the room after lunch, it smelt like soap!

3. We had library with Ms. Zbacnik. It was fun seeing the different genres all of you are trying out this February. Good readers read different types of literature.

4. In Phy Ed we were surprised with a DROP EVERYTHING AND READ session. What a treat it was to read in the gym!



Wednesday, February 15, 2012

1. In math we worked on scale.

2. Our math was interrupted by a sudden Drop Everything And Read.

 
3. Ms. Tami came to read to us before lunch.

4. We had music with Mrs. Liadova- what a treat!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

1. In math we looked at perimeter and area. We each were given a hexagon, 3 triangles, 3 rhombuses and 3 trapezoids. We had to figure out how to make the smallest perimeter. We did this by putting the long sides together first. We then tried to make the largest perimeter. We did this by putting the shortest sides together first.

2. We studied engineering in science with Mrs. Brown.

3. In honor of "I love to Read!" month, we had surprise Drop-Everything-And-Read time. It was so neat that all Brimhall students were reading at the same time. We look forward to more DEAR time later this week. Remember, you should have a book with you at all times :)

4. We worked on our angry verbs. A verb is an action word. Check out our fantastic art! Parents, you'll be able to see this outside our classroom door at conferences next week.


Homework: Study Link 8.2, Spelling Sentences (due tomorrow), final copy of door decoration (due Thursday).

Thanks for such a fantastic day 4th graders!
-Ms. McCormick

Monday, February 13, 2012

1. In the morning we met up with our 6th grade buddies in Mr. Kolden's class to hear their superhero stories.



2. In math we started Unit 8, Perimeter and Area. By the end of this unit, 4th graders will know how to find the perimeters and areas of a variety of shapes.

3. After lunch we studied the prefixes re- and pre-. Prefixes are a group of letters that change the meaning of a root word. The prefix re- means "again". If you were to redo your spelling homework, it means you would do your spelling homework again. The prefix pre- means "before". Many of you attended preschool before attending Brimhall. This is the school you attended before elementary school.

4. We started to prepare for our student-led conferences that are taking place on February 21st and 23rd. We look forward to sharing all of our 4th grade accomplishments with our families.

HOMEWORK: StudyLink 8.1 (remember, it's in your new math packet). Spelling sentences due on Wednesday.