THE GIANT PEACH

Photo Credit: Flickr 304526237_6d1acf58bb

Our class has started a new addition and subtraction unit called Landmark and Large Numbers. In this unit, students practice and refine strategies for adding and subtracting whole numbers up to 10,000.  It is expected that students leave Grade 4 with one addition strategies that they can use fluently and efficiently.  Children are also expect to have access to and an understanding of other possible strategies.  Students continue to develop and use subtraction strategies with the  goal of using at least one strategy efficiently and effectively.  They are solving subtraction problems involving removal, comparison, and missing parts.

Throughout the unit, students are working towards achieving the following goals:

• Read, write, and sequence numbers to 10,000.
• Add and subtract multiples of 10 (including multiples of 100 and 1,000) fluently.
• Solve addition problems efficiently, choosing from a variety of strategies.
• Solve subtraction problems with 3-digit numbers by using at least one strategy efficiently.

In class, students spend time discussing problems in depth and are asked to share their reasoning and solutions.  It is important that the students solve math problems accurately and efficiently in ways that make sense to them.  At home, encourage your child to explain the math thinking that supports their solutions.

Water is a unique earth material, the only material on Earth that occurs naturally in all three states of matter — solid, liquid, and gas. Next to the air we breathe, water is probably the most important thing in our lives. In our newest science investigation, we will learn these interesting things and more as we examine water, its properties, and what it can do.

One of the goals of this investigation is to help students focus their observation skills on water – being able to see water in a new light. Through their investigations into the properties of water, how it reacts to heating and cooling, and the process of evaporation and condensation, students will begin to appreciate how important this unique material is.

You can help you child focus on the properties of water and its uses in several ways. Check out books about water, water conservation, and recycling from the ES Learning Hub. Walk around Nichada or a park and discuss the irrigation systems. Consider ways to conserve water in your home and community. A walk around the block after a rainstorm, looking for evidence of precipitation, condensation, evaporation, and flowing water, can also be eye-opening.

We are all looking forward to the weeks ahead and the exciting investigations that are planned into the world of water!

Photo Credit - ViaMoi's @ Flickr.com

In December, as part of our study of “Influence”, we had a wonderful adventure on the Chaophraya River in Bangkok with the Magic Eyes Barge Program. Throughout the day we learned about how life on the river influences people’s daily life. By looking at water quality, we also learned about how people impact the river, and had great fun modeling interdependence of living things, and how the availability of resources impact populations of living things.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Our class has started a unit in Mathematics about geometry and measurement. During this unit, students practice making accurate measurements of length using U.S. standard units (inches, feet, yards) and metric units (millimeter, centimeter, meter). They are investigating the characteristics of quadrilaterals and other polygons. They will use right angles as a reference to identify the size of other angles, and solve problems about area, the two-dimensional measure of the size of a surface.

In our math class, students spend time discussing problems in depth and are asked to share their reasoning and solutions. It is important that children efficiently solve math problems in ways that make sense to them. To help build understanding, please try to encourage your child to explain the mathematical thinking that supports a solution.

To finish our personal narrative writing, the class embarked on a little digital storytelling project. After identifying a story that the kids felt they would like to share with the world, they began to edit and revise their work. Once they were finished with this step, they created a podcast of their story using Garageband. Next, a series of original multi-media illustrations were created using a digital camera. After digitizing all of the artwork, the boys and girls assembled their podcast and artwork into a digital story using iMovie. These stories have been added to our class channel on Youtube — thegiantpeachTV. You can view the videos by following the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/user/thegiantpeachTV#g/a

We hope that you enjoy our stories and look forward to hearing your comments.

People around the world are constantly making decisions about what to do, what to eat,  and where to live? How did you pick ISB as a school for your children?  In Social Studies, we have begun to look at the concept of influence.  Two essential questions are guiding our study.

The first is, How and why does the physical environment influence people?

In this context, we will look at how and why climate, topography, and resources influence things like people’s habitat, food, religion, clothing, economic levels, societal roles, etc.

The second essential question we will look at is How and why do people influence their physical environment? For example, How does people’s choices, actions or use of new technology impact the environment?

We launched our unit earlier in the week with a pre-assessment that was intended to help kids build their own understanding of the concept of influence, while capturing their current understanding or thinking.

In class, we’ve been building our understanding of small moments and personal narrative writing.  Personal narratives are often one of the first types of writing that children experience.  As writers, we have all written about ourselves, experiences, and feelings.  Central to our unit of study has helping the kids find great value in their own experiences.  This is an important piece to becoming an effective writer.  The kids become more engaged and invested when they write about themselves because they are the expert on the topics of their life.  When students write the stories of their life, they have a clear problem, solution, character(s), and setting.  As writers, they can continue to improve their craft and develop an original style and voice.  As part of our study,  we have published our stories as podcasts. We hope that you will take a moment to share and enjoy the stories.

To find a specific podcast, click on the “POST” button.  A class list will appear where you can select the podcast that you’d like to hear.  Please feel free to share the link to our blog with friends and family around the world who you think might enjoy our stories.  The kids are excited  by seeing the visitors to our blog and the “global” audience they have.

Everyone knows the importance that eating a balanced diet in helping our kids grow and develop.   Similarly, having a balanced “reading diet”  is also essential for learning.  Many of the books your children will encounter during his or her education will be non-fiction. So, it is important for your children to learn how to read non-fiction in a constructive manner.  Non-fiction or expository texts present facts about subjects, like real people, places, and events. Biographies, autobiographies, newspaper and magazine articles, personal and persuasive essays, histories, and textbooks are just a few examples of non-fiction writing.

Three guiding questions frame our  examination of non-fiction texts.  They are :

Why do good readers read non-fiction texts?

How do good readers make meaning of non-fiction texts?

How do good readers share and grow ideas?

Establishing a purpose for reading is an important trait that all good readers share.  People typically read fiction and non-fiction texts for different reasons.  Fiction and non-fiction texts also have very distinct features, and building an understanding of these features in a central focus of our study.

Although there are many kinds of non-fiction books, many have similar parts. For example, a table of contents is in the front of the book and lists chapter titles or section headings and their page numbers. Other books have a glossary at the back of the book; a glossary contains key words that are related to the topic and their definitions. After the glossary, there is usually an index. This lists all the big ideas and key words in the book and the page numbers where they are explored. An index can contain multiple entries for the same concept so the user can search for the concept in several different ways. Many non-fiction books have pictures, photographs, charts, or graphs. Reading the captions underneath them are an important and a habit that good readers of non-fiction practice.

It is important for the kids to understand that they can’t remember everything they read. Taking notes, stopping and jotting, or leaving reading tracks, as they read is an excellent way to keep track of important information and make connections with their prior knowledge.

Our class is starting a new unit about multiplication and division called Multiple Towers and Division Stories. During this unit, student will build on the work they did in the unit Factors, Multiples, and Arrays. The kids will be solving multiplication problems with 2-digit numbers, division story problems, and problems about factors, multiples, and number relationships. Throughout the unit, the kids will work towards these goals:

- Multiply 2-digit numbers by 1-digit and small 2-digit numbers

- Solve division story problems, 2-digit and small 3-digit numbers divided by 1-digit number

- Use story problems, pictures, or models to represent division

- Multiply by 10 and multiples of 10

- Demonstrate fluency with multiplication combinations through 12×12

In our math class, students spend time discussing problems in depth and are asked to share their reasoning and solutions. It is most important that the children accurately end efficiently solve math problems in ways that make sense to them. At home, encourage your son/daughter to explain their thinking to you.

Our class will work on multiplication and division again later this year in the unit How Many Packages? How Many Groups? when they will solve problems with larger numbers and share a variety of solution strategies.

Our class is has started a new mathematics unit about data and probability called Describing the Shape of the Data.  During this unit, students collect, represent, describe, and interpret data.  They will also be looking at the probability of various events.

In our study, students are working towards:

- designing an effective survey question to compare two groups
- organize and represent data about two groups
- describe the shape of a data set
- use data to compare two groups
- use evidence from a set to support an argument
- describe the likelihood of an event

We live in an information rich world, and it is important for students to experience the various ways that information is communicated and represented in the world.

At home, there are a number of ways that you can help.   As you are reading a newspaper, magazine, website, or blog, point out the various graphs and charts to your child.  Talk about how you make sense of the data, what they mean, and why you are interested in them.  This is a great opportunity for you to show how graphs communicate important information to you and your family.

Should you be watching TV when a weather forecast announces a 70 percent chance of rain, you can ask the kids if you will need to carry an umbrella today?  If you need to make a decision, try flipping a coin.  Would you like milk or juice with dinner?  This can then lead a discussion or experiment into how many times heads or tails would appear if you flipped the coin 20 times in a row?

The ideas and possibilities are endless.  Asking a question and talking with your son or daughter about the math that is part of their everyday life is an wonderful opportunity for learning.