Fifty Nifty United States / Flag Raising Performance

Fourth grade will be performing during January's flag raising.  Here are the lyrics to one of the songs the students will sing, so they can start practicing next week and over Winter Break:

FIFTY NIFTY United States

Fifty nifty United Stated from thirteen original colonies
Fifty nifty stars in the flag that billows so beautifully in the breeze
Each individual state contributes a quality that is great
Each individual state deserves a bow; Let’s salute them now


Fifty nifty United States from thirteen original colonies
Shout em, scout’em, Tell all about’em
One by one, ‘til we’ve given a day to every state that’s
In the USA,


Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Colorado, Connecticut,
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois
Indiana.


Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada



New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York
North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio


Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island
South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas


Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia
Wisconsin, Wyoming
North, South, East, West….
In our cool, considered, objective, unprejudiced
Opinion, FLORIDA is the best of the


Fifty nifty United State from thirteen original colonies
Fifty nifty stars in the flag that billows so beautifully in
The breeze
Each individual state contributes a quality that is great
Each individual state deserves a bow; Let’s salute them now!

St Augustine (Fort Menendez) Field Trip

What a perfect day to participate in several reenactments of Florida's history!  We got tattoos, made candles, impressed our docent with our knowledge of Florida's history (thanks, Ms. Kirkham!), and have a new appreciation for indoor plumbing and toilet paper.  A special thanks to the parents who chaperoned for being extra sets of eyes and ears.  If you took any good pictures, please share as I didn't have the chance to!

We participated in three programs:

Florida Natives Program
Students experience the daily life of the Timucua Natives firsthand. Participate in Native American games, jewelry making, corn grinding and gardening, and learn to use a bow drill. Student take-home project is a shell necklace.

Timuqua Native American war paint

Spanish Colonial/Fort Mose Program

Students experience life as a Spanish settler in St. Augustine including learning about Fort Mose, the first free Black Settlement in Colonial America. Students participate in period appropriate activities including candle dipping, colonial games, tabby making, weaving, woodworking and corn grinding. Student take-home project is a hand-dipped candle taper.

A brief historical reenactment of the Spanish and French in Florida

Early Florida Pioneer Program

Attend class in a one-room schoolhouse and experience a day in the life of a child of the 1800s. Students participate in corn shelling and milling, write with a quill pen, draw water from a pitcher pump, play pioneer games, try out their roping skills and garden with a push plow. Student take-home project is a quill pen writing sample on parchment paper. 

Grinding dried corn into corn meal

 The boys' side of the schoolhouse

Water break, anyone?

Recess!

The Great Sunshine State Debate

Florida is "The Sunshine State"...or is it?

My first year teaching, I asked my students to bring in samples of rocks from the ground here in Jacksonville to observe and classify.  I was surprised when most students returned to school the next day empty-handed, and a few brought in landscape rocks.  Growing up outside Florida, I did not realize the earth here is mostly made of sand!

A similar experience occurred recently, nearly twelve years later.  Students have been learning about Earth's movement, specifically observing how its revolution around the sun allows us to observe different parts of the sky as the seasons change.  I thought it would be fun to have students observe constellations on the weekends twice each month, starting in Fall when the temperature and humidity start to decrease, resulting in fewer clouds and a clearer view of the night sky.  Some of my students expressed worry over not being able to complete the assignment, due to it being too cloudy, even this time of year.  This led me to wonder, if Florida is "The Sunshine State", does it really have more sunny days than the other forty-nine states?

Scientists analyze other scientists' data to help them answer their questions (or think of new questions), so I thought I would start there.

The results were surprising!

So, why do you think Florida is called "The Sunshine State"?

Energy Transfer & Food

What do turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and many more delicious foods have in common?  Energy!  Energy is the ability to do work--causing a change in matter or creating motion.  In our quest to observe and wonder about the natural world around us, in Science over the next week and a half we will pause in our study of Earth and Space to investigate energy and its transfer through observing and researching one of my favorite things--food!

Have you ever wondered how wheat goes from growing in the ground to being turned into flour, which is an ingredient in many foods we eat?

Florida does not produce wheat.

Now you know!

Multi-Digit Multiplication Strategies

Currently we are learning to multiply multi-digit numbers using three related strategies.

Area Model:

Partial Products Algorithm:

Distributive Property:

We have been working on two, three, and four digit numbers times one digit numbers, but will also use these strategies to multiply two two-digit numbers.  

All of these strategies are important in helping students develop the place value understanding necessary to comprehend and successfully perform the multiplication standard algorithm.  Problem-solvers are always working toward more efficient strategies, so I will introduce the "traditional" way to multiply multi-digit numbers later this year.

Bringing Science Back!

One of my goals for second quarter is to be MUCH more consistent with Science instruction now that we have established Math rituals and routines and I am learning how to adapt our new curriculum materials to my students' needs and time allotments.  Our Math curriculum is very demanding (for students and teachers!), and just like kids (and teachers!) need a break to get outside and move (recess) each day, our brains need breaks from Math too!

Since Science is observing and wondering about the natural world around us, I personally think curriculum pacing should be more season-driven in nature.  So to make content as relevant and meaningful to my students as possible, my plan is to study what's going on currently in the natural world around us.

Here in Northeast Florida, Fall lends itself to clearer skies and milder temperatures, so I thought this would be the perfect time to start working toward mastery of this standard:

Observe that the patterns of stars in the sky stay the same although they appear to shift across the sky nightly, and different stars can be seen in different seasons.

Starting this month, students will be given Northern Hemisphere constellation maps mid-month each month until the end of the school year.  The last two weekends of the month, students will observe the night sky and record their observations on a constellation checklist in their Interactive Science Journals.

From month to month, we will discuss our observations.  Each month we will also observe sunrise and sunset data, making conclusions about the earth's movement as we learn more about its rotation and revolution.

Sadly there isn't a Study Jam on stars (yet), but hopefully this one, which is related, will get you more interested in our study of Earth and space!

Visualizing Rounding with Vertical Number Lines and Midpoints

In third grade, your student used place value understanding to round whole numbers to the nearest 10 or 100.

Fourth graders are expected to round multi-digit numbers from 1-1,000,000 to any place.

Here's how we rounded 399,499 to the nearest thousand using a vertical number line and finding/comparing the number we were rounding to the midpoint:

To use a vertical number line to round our number, first, we thought about how many thousands our number has (399 thousands) since we are rounding to the nearest thousand.   We labeled the endpoint on the bottom.  Then, since we are rounding to the nearest thousand, we thought of the number that is 1 thousand more than 399 thousands, which is 400 thousands and labeled the other endpoint on the number line.  Our number is somewhere between these numbers.

To find the midpoint, some students found it helpful to remember that since we're rounding to the nearest thousand, the difference between how many thousands our number has (399 thousands) and the number that's 1,000 more (400,000) is 1 thousand (or 10 hundreds).  The midpoint splits those 10 hundreds into 5 hundreds and 5 hundreds, so, this means the midpoint would be 399 thousands 5 hundreds, or 399,500.

Next, we placed the number we are rounding (399,499) on the number line.

Since we can see that the number we are rounding is less than half-way, it is closer to 399,000.

So, 399,499 rounded to the nearest thousand is 399,000

This week in class (briefly) and for home learning over the next several weeks, your student will practice rounding four-digit numbers to the nearest thousand, hundred, and ten.  We'll gradually practice rounding five and six-digit numbers to the nearest ten and hundred thousand as well.

Why bother with a vertical number line?  It visually reinforces what is happening when we round numbers--we are looking for the closest number to the number we are rounding, and visualizing greatly helps most learners retain what they are learning.  What students remember they will be able to apply in solving real-life problems!

Adding and Subtracting Fluently Using Standard Algorithms

In third grade, your student added and subtracted within one thousand using strategies based on place value.  This year, we have learned that successful problem-solvers look for shortcuts and are always working toward the most efficient strategy to solve a problem.  Fourth graders are expected to add and subtract fluently (numbers through one million) using standard algorithms.

What are standard algorithms?  They are a processes or steps that when followed correctly in a given situation, will always allow you to arrive at the correct answer.  Translation: it's the way we learned to add and subtract numbers vertically with "borrowing" and "carrying" (which we now call regrouping/renaming).

HOORAY!  Well, at least that would be how I would feel if I was was the parent of a fourth grade Math student.  Finally something you know how to do that isn't taught differently!

Here's the catch--students need to understand what's going on with place value when using these algorithms (as opposed to just crossing out numbers and making them one less, then making the number to the right ten more).  Here's a sample of a think-aloud I will model in class:

Instead of teaching the addition and subtraction algorithms in isolation, I will teach the addition algorithm through using it to check subtraction, as an inverse operation.

So, the think aloud for using the standard addition algorithm to check the subtraction in the example above would sound something like this:

8 ones and 4 ones is 12 ones.  12 ones is 1 ten 2 ones.

8 tens and 4 tens is 12 tens, plus 1 ten from regrouping is 13 tens.  13 tens is 1 hundred 3 tens.

5 hundreds and 5 hundreds is 10 hundreds, plus 1 hundred from regrouping is 11 hundreds.  11 hundreds is 1 thousand 1 hundred.

1 thousand plus 1 thousand from regrouping is 2 thousands.

So, my sum is 2,132, which is the same as the minuend in the subtraction problem, which means I subtracted correctly.

  2,132     minuend
- 1,584     subtrahend
     548     difference (addend when checking with addition)
+1,584     addend
  2,132     sum

We Have the Power to Transform Matter!

Happy Fall!

I firmly believe in making learning enjoyable and connected to the real world, even though we are a "testing grade".  Yesterday, we made "school-made" applesauce in a slow-cooker.  Little did I know that this fun Fall activity would lend itself so well to introducing so many science concepts!

Wednesday was the Autumnal Equinox (first day of Fall), so we discussed Earth's movement (rotation and revolution) in relation to seasons.  Apples are in season during Fall, and I love food, so this lead to a conversation about matter--we observed both qualitative properties (color, form, state, sinks/floats in water, magnetic/not magnetic, reacts to acids [vinegar]) and quantitative properties (I reviewed using a balance to measure mass) of an apple.

Thank you to all the parents who sent in these beautiful, delicious apples!

Then we talked about energy's role in changing the form (shape) of apples when our bodies transfer potential energy from the food we eat to kinetic energy used to cut the apples,

Thank you, Mr. Drugg, for helping cut apples!

and how the transfer of electrical energy to thermal energy changed solid apples to liquid applesauce.

I am even looking forward to future Math connections to this activity, such as when we learn to measure angles later this year and recall that Earth's axis tilts 23 degrees, or when we learn to use multiplication to convert measurement units (pounds to ounces).

8:00 Thursday

9:30 Thursday

11:00 Thursday (right before I made it nice and smooth with my immersion blender)

After chilling the applesauce overnight, we enjoyed it today with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

(I forgot to snap a picture before we devoured our treat today!)

We even integrated Language Arts!  I introduced haiku poetry, and while we lined up for transitions, both classes composed haiku poems about Fall.  Haiku poems originated in Japan and are 3 lines: 5, 7, and 5 syllables per line, and rarely rhyme.

Fall Haiku 

By: Ms. Kirkham's Homeroom

Summer into Fall
Leaves are so cool and awesome
Leaves are red and brown

Fall Haiku

By: Mrs. Remley's Homeroom

Fall is not scary
Fall, Fall, wind, breeze, trees, grass, leaves
(Can you think of a 5-syllable line to finish our poem?  :-))

What do you enjoy most about Fall?  

I love the colors!  I remember the first time we visited my husband's family in Virginia during Fall.  I was amazed at all the colors of the leaves; he was so embarrassed when I asked him to stop the car so I could get out and take pictures of trees in peoples' yards!  He also thought I was crazy for wanting to rake leaves (I did it to be able to jump in the pile of leaves, of course!  :-)).

Calling All Gamers!

Lately we've been learning how to read and write numbers in standard, word, and expanded form.  We've also been comparing numbers.  Do you play video games or games on a phone?  Take a moment to brag comment below--tell your favorite game, your highest score (in standard form) and how you would read that number.  If you're really proud of yourself, compare your score to someone else's using comparison symbols (< = >), then use words to write your comparison statement ho you would read it.  And if you really want to rub it in, you can even tell how many more points your score is than the other person's!

I don't play many games, but I delight in playing beating my brother in Words with Friends.  We haven't played in a while, but it might be time because I just noticed he is one game up on me!  My best score against him was 424 (four hundred twenty-four) to his average game score of 290 (two hundred ninety).  424 > 290 (Four hundred twenty-four is greater than two hundred ninety) or 290 < 424 (Two hundred ninety is less than four hundred twenty-four.).  424 is 134 more than 290, or 290 is 134 less than 424!

How's the Weather?

My 96-year-old oma (grandmother in Dutch, my dad's family is from Holland) lives in California like the rest of my family and checks the weather in Jacksonville in the newspaper every day (She had all boys, who had more boys, and I am her only favorite granddaughter.  :-)).  When I talk to her every other week, the topic of weather always comes up.  Why?  Weather is something that happens all the time, all around us, so we are constantly observing it.

It is only about 4 weeks into the school year, but have you observed any changes in the world around you?  We're just a little over a week away from the Fall Equinox (which is September 23 this year), or the first day of Fall.  To understand the reasons for and effects of seasons in our Science studies this year, first we must be able to make observations and collect data about our climate, which is related to, but different than weather.

Need a refresher about weather and climate?  Have you heard about Study Jams?

Study Jams are terrific Math and Science tutorials that are great for introducing or reviewing concepts.  Watch this Study Jam on Weather & Climate to prepare for upcoming reading, discussions, and activities we'll be doing to explain why we have seasons!

Have you ever lived somewhere other than Florida?  Where?  What is the climate like during the different seasons of the year there?  Post your response below or write it down and bring it to class this week to earn Chief Cash for Always Doing Your Best!

I was born and raised in San Diego, California, but have lived in Jacksonville nearly half of my life.

San Diego's climate is similar to Jacksonville's in that there are not huge differences between seasons.  San Diego's temperatures, like Jacksonville's, are mostly mild throughout the year.  However, in San Diego, the air is much drier, and San Diego receives a lot less precipitation than we do here in Jacksonville.  Summers in San Diego are warm and dry, winters are cooler and dry.  It is strange to think that I never owned a winter coat until I moved to Florida!  :-)

Common Core "Math"

(Thanks to Ms. Kirkham for sharing this with me.  I got a good laugh because if anything, it supports the need for Common Core Math standards, which include understanding place value and not relying on "cute" tricks and shortcuts.)

Sometimes I feel like Math shouldn't be called "Math" anymore because arithmetic (computation) is just one part of the problem-solving process.  The methods for teaching Common Core Math are vastly different than simply teaching arithmetic because the end goal is not just a correct answer, it is genuine understanding of what is happening during the problem-solving process.

Outside school, I'm often asked what I think about Common Core Math.

Is it perfect?  No.

Do I agree with everything?  No.

Is there value in it?  Yes.

Most educators argue that the point of Common Core is to ensure that students are college-ready, but honestly, it goes beyond that.  For many reasons, we live in an intellectually lazy world, and that is a dangerous thing.  Kids will eventually be adults, citizens who will make decisions that affect not only themselves, but others.  We need to raise up a generation of thinkers and communicators who are able to question, analyze, and evaluate what they observe.  Our world needs problem-solvers.  "Math" is just one way to develop and practice these critical life skills.

Making Observations, Collecting Data, & Recording Observations

In Science this week, we learned that we make observations whenever we receive information (data) from our senses.  We can describe our observations qualitatively, with words, or quantitatively, with numbers, measurements, and/or units.

Today we observed, collected data, and recorded data about gummy worms.  We used hand lenses to observe qualitative characteristics and rulers to collect quantitative data (length of gummy worm and stretched gummy worm).  We even tied in some Math (fractions) when we used a number line to practice measuring to the nearest half, quarter, eighth, or sixteenth of an inch.  We also discussed how we can tell equivalent measurements in simplest form using the fewest units possible.

Read Draw Write

During Math Centers the first few weeks of school, we are learning about Mathematical Practices, or habits of successful problem-solvers.  Two of these habits are persevering (keep trying) and think about Math.  This year, we will use the Read Draw Write (RDW) problem-solving process to help us be successful problem-solvers.

Before solving a problem,

READ the problem carefully.  

• Read the problem a second time to visualize the situation.  
• Think about what you know.
• Think: in your own words, what you are trying to solve?

During the problem-solving process,

DRAW a picture or a model (equations can be models).  

• Solve the problem.  
• Think: does your work make sense?

After solving the problem,

WRITE an equation.

• Write a complete sentence that tells your answer.  
• Check your work with another strategy or inverse operation.  
• Think: is your answer reasonable?

Welcome 2015-2016 Fourth Graders & Families

Ms. Kirkham and I enjoyed meeting many of you on Friday during Meet and Greet!  Thank you for bringing school supplies and helping us organize them so the First Day of School will go smoothly.  I forgot to tell you this, but your student will need a personal dry erase marker to practice for weekly Math fact fluency assessments, so please send that in as soon as possible.  Thanks!

Fourth grade students report to their homeroom teacher's classroom beginning at 8:00.  Ms. Kirkham and I host Study Hall from 7:50 (TOTs)/8:00-8:25.  This time allows students to copy home learning assignments and reminders, get organized, ask for help on home learning assignments or classwork, and get started on make-up work upon returning to school from an absence.  Students may also use the computers for online resources such as Reflex Math, Achieve3000, and i-Ready during this time if the student does not have access at home.  Each class has four student stations, which are used on a first-come, first served basis.

Students: To earn Chief Cash for reading the blog, please write me a note and tell me, What has been your favorite part of fourth grade so far?

Florida Standards Assessment: Math--It's Almost Time!

Tomorrow and Wednesday, fourth graders will take the new FSA Math tests.  Our students have worked hard, and I am excited for them to show what they know!

Our classroom is ready:

 We are ready:

Thank you for writing cards and notes of encouragement.  We know our students cherish these and many students wanted to share theirs with their peers!

First Formulas!

Last week, students learned their first mathematical formula!

Though adding all the sides is still an effective strategy ("gets the job done") for finding a figure's perimeter, when finding the perimeter of a rectangle, it's much more efficient (faster, involves fewer steps) to use a formula, which we learned is an equation that can always be used to find the answer efficiently in a certain situation.

When finding the perimeter of a rectangle, most students prefer using the formula P = 2l + 2w, but we discovered that P = 2 x (l+w) also works and discussed why it does.

Today students learned another formula that can be used to find a rectangle's area.  Most students made a connection to working with arrays when learning multiplication last year in third grade.  The rectangle's length and width are the factors; the area (how many squares cover the inside) is the product (total) of the array.  We can efficiently use the formula Area = length x width, or A = l x w,  to find the area of rectangles!

Line Symmetry

Yesterday we learned a new attribute/property that can be used to identify some plane figures.  Symmetric shapes have one or more lines of symmetry, which means they can be divided into two equal parts that overlap perfectly when folded on the line of symmetry.  Lines of symmetry can be diagonal, horizontal, or vertical.

Here's a Study Jam to review line symmetry!

What forces cause erosion?

In Science, we've been learning about changes on Earth's crust.  Last week, we learned that water, wind, ice, plants, and temperature changes can weather rocks.

What happens to these pieces of weathered rock?

This week, we learned that water, wind, and ice (glaciers) can move weathered materials such as sand, soil, pebbles, rocks (even boulders!) during erosion.

Erosion in Action

When these forces can no longer move weathered materials, they are deposited, or dropped, in a new place.  This process is called deposition.

Erosion and deposition are big problems for some Floridians.  Check out this news clip to see Google Earth satellite images of beach erosion over the years in Ponte Vedra Beach, just south of us.

Here's a Study Jam on Weathering and Erosion.

So, fourth grade scientists, what is the difference between physical weathering and erosion?

Measuring Angles

Last week, we used a familiar tool to introduce benchmark angles.

Like benchmark numbers and benchmark fractions, benchmark angles are easy to visualize and useful in helping us figure out the measurements for other angles.

If we know that a right angle measures 90 degrees, then we can figure out measurements for all of these polygons' angles.

We found out that if we fill the space inside a right angle with the white rhombus' acute angle, it takes 3 to do so.  Since we know a right angle is 90 degrees, and all three parts are the same size, we can figure out the missing angles using addition:

90 degrees = _____ degrees + _____ degrees + _____ degrees

90 = 30 + 30 + 30

The white rhombus' acute angle is 30 degrees.

For each pattern block, we "solved mysteries", using what we knew and addition (sometimes subtraction) to figure out each angle's measurement.  We represented our solutions with equations.

Is it convenient to carry around pattern blocks whenever you need to measure an angle?  What if the angle you're trying to measure cannot be made by the sum of benchmark angles or the angles of pattern blocks?

You'll need a different tool:

A protractor is a tool used to measure angles.  Check out this Study Jam to review how to use one!  We'll be practicing measuring angles with protractors this week in class and next week for home learning.

Still unsure how to measure angles using a protractor?

 

A Sweet Lesson on Weathering

This week, we learned that weathering is the breaking down or wearing away of a rock.  We've read about how water, wind, ice, and plants can weather rocks.  Today we started testing how forces cause rocks to wear away with peppermints, sand, and jars.

 First each group gently shook their jar for 1 minute,

made observations,

 and recorded their observations with pictures or words.  We repeated this procedure 3 times, then did it again with another peppermint, but this time shook vigorously.

 From left to right: our control (a peppermint that wasn't shaken), a gently shaken peppermint (see the small chip at the top?), and a vigorously shaken peppermint (see how a bigger piece broke off at the top?).

 Most students also noticed a change in color as the stripes wore off.

Check out this crack after some vigorous shaking!

On Tuesday,  we'll debrief this activity to discuss the relationship between strength of forces and effect on rocks/Earth's crust.

Types of Lines

We're continuing to observe properties (attributes) of geometric figures, and this week, we're on the lookout for parallel, intersecting, and perpendicular lines.  Not sure what to look for?  Check out this Study Jam on Types of Lines.

 

Celebrating Black History Month

*Sometimes* I miss teaching Social Studies.  I love a good story, so I enjoy learning about peoples' lives.

Benjamin Banneker was born on November 9, 1731 in Ellicott City, Maryland.  Benjamin's parents were former slaves, but he was born free and raised on a tobacco farm where he attended school.  However, Benjamin learned science mostly through teaching himself.  He worked most of his life as a farmer, but he was also a successful problem-solver.  When Banneker was 24, he studied how clocks work by taking apart a watch, reassembling it, and making his own clock from wood.  He taught himself astronomy (the study of the moon and stars), and published a popular almanac (a book published every year that contains facts about the movements of the sun and moon, changes in the ocean's tides), Benjamin Banneker's Almanac, from 1792 to 1797.

Also a mathematician, Benjamin surveyed (made maps) of the land that was to become Washington, D.C.  Benjamin worked on calculating the precise measurement of meters.

Benjamin exchanged letters with Thomas Jefferson about slavery and how blacks were just as intelligent as whites. 

Benjamin never married; much of his personal life is now a mystery, as his papers and belongings were destroyed in a fire that occurred on the day of his funeral.

 I am looking forward to reading this book!