It's been awhile since we've blogged, so we thought we'd catch you up on what's happening in fourth grade!
In math we've been practicing multiplication, and we even learned how to do two-digit by two-digit multiplication! Some of us like to use the lattice method to solve these problems, and some of us like to solve them the "traditional" way. On Thursdays our YouthFriends join us for the last half of math to play math games. Today we experimented with pentominoes; we have yet to figure out the solution to the puzzle!
In reading this week we are working on Flat Stanley projects. We are reading the book "Flat Stanley" by Jeff Brown; it's about a normal boy named Stanley who becomes flat when a bulletin board falls on him. He has many adventures as a flat boy! We're writing a flat story, in which we each become flat and have our own adventures, just like Stanley! Our newest project involves making our own flat people; we are going to email pictures of our Stanley's to our parents, and ask them to forward them on to others, who can email us and tell us where they live. We're hoping to get an email from each of the fifty states!
We recently finished listening to Ms. J. read "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix; after Veteran's Day, many of us were interested in learning more about World War II and the Holocaust, so we began reading "Yellow Star" by Jennifer Roy. So far we think it is an amazing story; it's even more amazing because it is the true story of a little girl named Syvia who survived living in the Lodz Ghetto in Poland.
In social studies, we have been learning about the Northeast. We are also starting to learn the fifty states song. You can hear it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LmGYjJzzcY&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1. We all want to have it memorized by Christmas!
In science, we just finished learning about animal adaptations, and began a new unit about magnets. We watched a funny BrainPOP video about magnets, and learned that each magnet has a north and south pole. Magnets have many uses in our lives; tomorrow we're going to be doing an exciting experiment with cereal and powerful magnets! Stay tuned for more!
