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!

MCA PRACTICE TEST

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"

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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!