Ms. Hodges' Class

This Week in the Speedway - 2/13/12

Did you know that this week marks the half-way point of the 3rd quarter?  I can't believe how quickly this school year has gone!  We still have so much to learn to prepare for moving on to 5th grade.  It's not time to slow down now; let's keep up the speed so that we can cross that finish line!  (Yes, every time I get a chance to apply things to racing, I will!)  :)

Math - We will be moving forward with fractions by learning about proper vs. improper fractions, mixed numbers, and adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers.  We will also review decimals because decimals and fractions are related!

Reading - It's going to be an exciting time for reading as we begin a reader's theater project on "The Sneetches", by Dr. Seuss.  The students will have an opportunity to be involved in reading something in a play format that has rhyme and rhythm, and then they will perform it in front of each other.  I am hoping to record it and play it on the morning news on the morning of March 2, Dr. Seuss's birthday.  I'm very excited! 

Writing - The students have chosen an important person from the Revolutionary War to research.  They will write about that person for their informational writing this quarter.  I can't wait to see how the students have grown in their writing!  Oh, and ask your child about POWER writing...

Social Studies - Why did early explorers travel to North America?  We will answer that question and more as we study about six famous explorers - Columbus, Cartier, Hudson, Ponce de Leon, Balboa, Cabot, and even Marco Polo!  We will be moving very quickly through this unit, so it's important to come to school every day ready to learn!

Science - Forces, motion, and simple machines are the topic of this week's lessons.  We will be learning more about these and why they are important through guided reading groups.  Mrs. Brown has done a fabulous job in the Science Lab with the hands-on experiences. 

Sort 21 Spelling Words - ending -s, soft c and g

 police, sentence, distance, office, science, princess, practice, actress, address, compass, express, possess, midget, gadget, surgeon, challenge, arrange, garbage, manage, luggage, package, village, message, courage

 

Fabulous Fraction Practice

In math we have been studying fractions - what they are, how they are represented, equivalent fractions, mixed numbers, and adding/subtracting fractions and mixed numbers.   That's a lot of information, but the students have been doing a fabulous job1

Equivalent fractions are fractions that name the same amount.  Here is a fabulous way to practice those!

Equivalent Fractions

Also, don't forget that practice can be done at Study Island and with the online math textbook.  Usernames and passwords should be on a label in the agendas.

This Week in the Speedway - 1/30/12

It has been a whirlwhind four weeks since Christmas break!  We are back into full swing in the Speedway!  There is so much learning go on!  Have you asked your child what he or she is learning in school lately?  They should be able to share a lot!

Math - We continue working on fractions - equivalent and mixed numbers; adding and subtracting fractions, etc.  We have learned what it "looks" like, and now we are going to apply our skills into real-world situations.

Reading - Independent reading (and AR) continues to be an important part of our classroom.  Along with IR/AR, we will be working on non-fiction questioning and research as we begin our research on important people of the American Revolution.

Writing - The students will be starting their research on important people of the American Revolution, taking notes, and organizing their notes to prepare for their formal informational writing this quarter.

Spelling - This week's words are Things People Do - (er) dreamer, swimmer, voter, driver, jogger, farmer, shopper, writer; (or) editor, juror, creator, visitor, director, sailor, governor; and Words That Compare - smaller, fresher, smoother, older, younger, later, sooner, stronger, brighter.  Our words for the week can be found at Spelling City.  Play games, practice words, do activities with this week's words!  Also, the students are doing a GREAT job of finding words that fit our spelling patter While We Are Reading and putting their words on the sorting chart.  Great job, racers!

Social Studies - We begin our unit on Explorers!  Where in the world did they all start?  Why did early explorers even want to make the dangerous journey across the oceans to find the "unknown"?  We will be answering these questions in our studies of Early Exploration.  Marco............ Polo!

Science - As we focus on Social Studies, our Science will consist of Daily Geography and Science questions, which this week are focusing on space.  Please study that every night so you can do well on the quiz on Friday!

I look forward to a great week at the Hodges Speedway!

This Week in the Speedway - 12/5/11

Can you believe only two weeks are left before Christmas break?  Me either!  Time goes by quickly when you're having fun, and I think we're having fun in fourth grade!

Math - Students (for the most part!) are enjoying learning long division with TWO-digit divisors.  Yes, I said TWO!  There's some guess-and-checking, but the students are well on their way to mastering this vital (that mean's important) skill.  We will continue to review and practice this week.  Lines and angles are coming next week!

Reading - Independent reading (and AR) continues to be an important part of our classroom.  Along with IR/AR, we are continuing our discussions about fables and will include tall tales and folk tales soon.  The students are still enjoying the adventures of Mr. Jupiter and his Fabled Fourth Graders at Aesop Elementary during the teacher's read aloud time.

Writing - The students have finished their five-paragraph  personal narratives on their fabulous Thanksgiving break.  We will soon be writing a letter to Mr. Jupiter (a character in our read aloud book) as a reader's response to literature.

Spelling - This week's words are Things People Do - (er) dreamer, swimmer, voter, driver, jogger, farmer, shopper, writer; (or) editor, juror, creator, visitor, director, sailor, governor; and Words That Compare - smaller, fresher, smoother, older, younger, later, sooner, stronger, brighter.  Our words for the week can be found at Spelling City.  Play games, practice words, do activities with this week's words!  Also, the students are doing a GREAT job of finding words that fit our spelling patter While We Are Reading and putting their words on the sorting chart.  Great job, racers!

Social Studies - We are continiuing our Native American unit.  We've talked about the Inuit, Kwakiutl, and Nez Perce.  Ask your child how these tribes are alike and different.  What natural resources did they use for clothing, food, and shelter?   We will continue with the Seminole, Pawnee, and Hopi tribes.  Our unit test will be next Thursday, December 16th.  **Please make sure that your child is in attendance.  I don't want them to have to wait over two weeks (the break) to make up the test!

Science - As we focus on Social Studies, our Science will consist of Daily Geography and Science questions, which this week are focusing on space.  Please study that every night so you can do well on the quiz on Friday!

I look forward to a great week at the Hodges Speedway!

This week in the Speedway - 11/15/11

Here we are in the last week before Thanksgiving break.  Where has the time gone?  Our racers have been keeping good pace as they move from subject to subject, and unit to unit.  There is certainly a lot to learn in 4th grade, but if they keep working hard, they are going to see that finish line! 

This week in class:

Math - We will be moving from 1-digit divisors to 2-digit divisors.  Division is a multi-step skill that takes a lot of practice, which means a lot of patience!  Please make sure to ask me any question you have regarding division.  There is no shame in asking for help, my friends!  It is also VERY important to master your multiplication (and division) facts!  I can't say it enough: If you don't have those facts mastered, it makes everything else more difficult.  Keep working hard!

Reading - We start our Fables/Folk Tales/Tall Tales unit this week.  To begin the unit, we will be starting a new read aloud story, The Fabled Fourth Graders at Aesop Elementary. It is a fun adventure that we will be taking with an unruly class of fourth graders, tamed by a new teacher, Mr. Jupiter.  Through this story we will be revisiting some old fables told in a new way - same morals, new stories. 

Writing - As our monster stories have concluded, we will focus on a response to literature for our finshed read aloud, Rascal.  We read the book.  We watched the movie.  Now we will create a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the two, then write an essay in response to that. 

Language - We will continue practicing our simple/compound subjects and predicates, pronouns, contractions, and simple/compound/complex sentences.

Spelling - Our words this week come from Sort 14 in our Words Their Way book.  The patterns this week are words that end with le (saddle, couple, angle, needle, bundle, struggle), el (level, angel, novel, vowel, cancel, jewel), al (total, metal, signal, pedal, local, journal), and il (April, fossil, evil, stencil, pupil, council), and 2 oddballs - special and fragile.  Be sure to be looking for our spelling words AND words that fit the patterns to add to the "While We Are Reading" poster! 

Social Studies - We will continue mastering landforms and the regions in which they appear.  Our unit on Native Americans will also begin this week. 

 

This week at the Speedway - 11/8/11

 

This week in:

 

 

Math - We are continuing our learning about division - one digit divisors with 2 digit dividends.  Remember that when a divisor increases, the quotient decreases.  When a divisor decreases, the quotient increases. 

Reading - We will be starting a unit on fables, tall tales, and folk tales.  Good stuff is coming!

Writing - We are finishing our monster stories and publishing them on the computer.  Our display will be in the hallway soon!

Spelling - Our sorts for this week are VCle, VCCle (doublet), and VCCle: able, bugle, table, cradle, bridle, rifle, cable, battle, rattle, bottle, settle, scribble, middle, paddle, jungle, sample, handle, scramble, single, muscle, tremble

Social Studies - Native Americans will be our focus for the rest of the quarter.  We will be learning about six different tribes: Seminole, Kwakiutl, Inuit, Pawnee, Nez Perce, and Hopi.

 

Math Bowl Competition

Some of our 4th and 5th graders have been partcipating in a Math club this year.  Well, on Friday, April 1, 2011, they competed with 6 other schools in our area at a Math Bowl competition.  While our school didn't win, they did a FABULOUS job.  I am so proud of them!  Next year we'll show 'em!  :)

You can find a video explaining the event if you're interesting in seeing what it's all about!

Cobb County School District - Just find the "KSU Math Bowl" video in the list of videos on the right side of the page.

CRCT - It's here!

Time to show 'em what you got!  CRCT testing will be Tuesday, April 12th through Monday, April 18th.  The order of testing is as follows: Reading, Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies.

We have been working so hard this year making sure that our brains are filled to the brim with fourth-grade information.  It's not for one or five days of testing.  It's for life! 

Please make sure to get a good night's rest each night, eat a healthy breakfast each morning, get to school ON TIME each day, and DO YOUR BEST! 

I am so excited because I know everyone in my class has been working hard! 

Go, racers, go!!!  The "finish line" is getting closer and closer!

(Please note: Learning does not end with the CRCT.  Normal learning will resume on April 19th.)

CRCT Practice Lab

This Saturday is our last day for practicing the CRCT online in the computer lab.  You can come in ANYTIME from 9:00-12:00 to work on the Georgia Online Assessment.  Remember:  Parents MUST stay with students.  I hope to see you there!

Median, Mode, and Range

We are learning all about Median, Mode, and Range (MMR) in Math class.  How is it represented on a line plot?  Did you want to practice?  Check out this fun site!

Line Plots

Median, Mode, and Range*

(*This one does have MEAN - Just find the sum of all the data and divide by the number of items to find the mean. It's the "average" of the data set.)