Hello Families,

It was definitely a cooler week in our classroom as we near our first week of October!  Within the past few days, I have seen a BIG change in our classroom environment.  Students are collaborating, respecting one another, taking risks, and working like a team.  I love seeing how independent they become just one month into the school year. This week in Science, we are studying how bees pollinate. Students had the opportunity to pollinate their own plants in class and are continuing to record data and make. In social studies, we are learning about the 6 U.S Symbols and are in the process of creating “isymbols” or “ipads” to explain their importance and to understand what they represent.  You will see an example in our blog below!

 In math, we are nearing the end of unit one, as we finish learning about angles, lines, quadrangles, and perimeter.  Today, we used our online SRB and completed a study guide in class to help reinforce skills.  I am observing students becoming more comfortable with this online tool.  This is a great resource for students to explore previous lessons, gain extra practice with problems, and play games to solidify their understanding.  It is not required that students use this resource at home, it is just another way for students to access the curriculum outside of school. 

In reading, students worked to monitor their comprehension by having inner conversations.  This was modeled earlier this week and students grasped the concept very well.  This strategy will be utilized in both fiction and non-fiction to engage students in their reading and to foster conversation about the text.  Below, you will see the codes students use when “tracking their thinking”.  If you see your student pick up a book this week, ask them to make a track for you and explain what it means.  I think you will be just as impressed as I was!

A popular activity in our classroom right now is our Spooky Narrative Writings.  We began last week by organizing and brainstorming, and we are now writing our entertaining beginnings.  Students are learning to use sounds, dialogue, and questions to make their introductions exciting!  We have a lot of very creative thinkers in here.

Thank you for taking the time to read our weekly email.  It’s a quick snapshot into our lives here at South, and I am very pleased of all the hard work and positive attitudes I see every day in our classroom.  As a friendly reminder, our field trip to Holly Hill is Wednesday, October 12^th, and Wednesday October 5^th is an early release.  Wishing you all an enjoyable and relaxing weekend!

Sincerely,

Ms. Wentworth :-)

Tracking Our Thinking and having inner conversations improves comprehension  

Creating our Isymbols!

We all had our first turn in Homeworkopoly  :-)

Hello Families,

We have completed another full week of fourth grade, and we are off to a great start!  This week, we began formulating ideas for a spooky Halloween narrative that we will start to write on Monday.  We are focusing on creating entertaining beginnings, and adding a lot of detail and structure to our writing.  As we approach October, I can see everyone's creativity flowing and there's a lot of excitement around this topic.  I look forward to reading their final drafts in weeks to come! 

This week in reading, we read My Brother Martin, a story about Martin Luther King told through the perspective of his sisters. As we read this narrative, we focused on the structure of the story, learning to recognize the entertaining beginning, the suspense, the main events, and the conclusion.  We will use our narrative diamond throughout this term while reading as well as writing.  Our reading program this week also focused on types of sentences. Students identified and wrote exclamatory, declarative, command, and interrogative sentences.

In science, we are continuing with botany and learning the parts of the flower.  We are still observing our Wisconsin Fast Plants and already we can see buds coming in.  Every morning, students rush over to see how their plants have progressed, it's exciting to watch.  In social studies, we have been learning about the land forms in the eastern, western, and middle part of the United States.  Our continent quiz has been moved to next Tuesday, the 27^th, so students have a few more days to study.  Today, they came home with another completed study guide.

To finish off, we will end with math! This past week, students were given an open response to complete in class.  This challenge was called "The Muffin Code".  Students applied critical and creative thinking skills to solve the code.  It was a good challenge and a skill we are going to continue to work on.  Today, we reviewed the rules of rounding by starting our morning with a fun game of spin and round.  Students loved the chance to review this concept with a hands on approach.

I wish you all a relaxing weekend, below are some questions for school conversation.

-Ms. Wentworth :)

·  Which part of the narrative diamond has "red flag words?"

·  What will your Halloween story be about?

·  What was the muffin code? Did you find it hard?

·  What types of landforms can be found in the Eastern, Middle, and Western part of the US?

Showing off our Green Thumbs!

Spin and Round Review!

Ordering the parts of a narrative.

September 15, 2016

Hello Families,

It was a pleasure meeting you all this past Wednesday at our Back to School Night.  Thank you so much for coming, I look forward to a successful and enjoyable year ahead! We have had another productive week as we complete our first full week of fourth grade.  In math, we are working on place value and rounding/estimation.  Students have been identifying digits by place value and describing relationships between these places.  We have been using our knowledge of place value to help us round numbers, making them friendlier to work with! We have also received our usernames and passwords to access our Student Books online.  Your child has their information stapled in the front cover of their agenda books.  This can be used for playing games, reviewing concepts, and even printing homework.  Students will be using Chromebooks weekly to become more familiar with this website.  In Science, students have planted their Wisconsin Fast Seeds and have turned into botanists as they observe their plant and study the life cycle!  It’s a great hands-on approach to science and this unit is always a lot of fun.  We have been quite busy in social studies as well, identifying our 7 continents as well as the oceans that surround them.  Next Thursday, September 22, we will have our first quiz on labeling our map.  As the year progresses, we will learn more about each continent!  Today in Social Studies, we even studied the constitution to further our understanding for Constitution Day this Saturday.  It’s always a great lesson to help us reinforce our own classroom rules. It’s hard to believe it’s only been a week since school started, seeing as how we have learned so much.

Thank you for supporting your child and helping us begin the year on a positive note. Below, you will find some questions for weekend conversation, enjoy the beautiful weather!

Sincerely,

Ms. Wentworth :)

1.       Can you name all of the 7 continents?

2.      What is the purpose of a seed coat?

3.      What does rounding estimation mean? Can you give me an example?

4.      What normally happens at morning meeting?

5.      Do you enjoy raising your hand to participate?

Learning about Constitution Week!

Exploring our online Everyday Math Program

Sharing thoughts and questions about the 7 continents

First Week Updates

Hello Families,

I want to welcome you and your child to fourth grade!  I am very much looking forward to working with this wonderful bunch of students this year. Within just four short days, I have already seen our classroom transform right before my eyes. Our room is buzzing with excitement as we focus on building our classroom community and begin familiarizing ourselves with a new routine and schedule.  I have observed a group of 24 excited fourth graders work as a team to welcome one another and make each student feel comfortable and accepted in their new classroom.  I have gotten the pleasure to learn about each child and have seen many smiles throughout our days. It is a joy to be back to School and I especially can’t wait to meet many of you next Wednesday, September 14, for our back to school night.  During that time, you will learn about your child’s fourth grade curriculum, homework, field trips, and all you need to know to ensure this is a successful school year!

I welcome any form of communication and check my email frequently, so please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.  Every Friday, I will send an email with a link to our updated blog. This email will keep you connected with upcoming events within the classroom regarding what your child is learning that week as well as what is to come!  I will also include content specific questions to ask your child about his or her day.  This hopefully will help expand the conversation about school rather than always hearing the day was “good or fine” :-) We keep quite busy throughout the day, and already I am impressed and proud of all they have done!  Again, I look forward to meeting you all, and wanted to send you a quick update on our productive few days together.  Below, you will find some suggested questions to ask your child about their week.  Have a wonderful evening. 

Sincerely,

Ms. Wentworth :)

Questions for Conversation
1. What are the blue tickets for?
2. Tell me your classroom rules.
3. Who do you sit next to?
4. What do you like about your room?
5. What are you most excited to learn about this year?

Our first "What Stuck With You" reflection 

Weekly Specialist Schedule

Day 1: Spanish with Mrs. B
Day 2: Music with Mrs. Cheung
Day 3: Computers with Mrs. Hanlon
Day 4: Art with Mrs. Rollins
Day 5: Gym with Mr. B
Day 6: Library with Mrs. Daly

Meet Ms. Wentworth

Hello Families,

 I am so fortunate to be returning to Hingham Public Schools for my third year of teaching and my fourth year of working in the district.  I graduated with a degree in Psychology and a Masters Degree in Education from the University of New Hampshire. As an educator, I have been fortunate to have had a wide variety of experiences that have shaped my beliefs and greatly furthered my aspirations of becoming a classroom teacher.  I have a passion for teaching, and especially love working at the 4th grade level.  Outside of school I keep busy with my puppy Ellie and enjoy spending time with my family and friends! I also enjoy working on projects around my home :)

Welcome Letter

Dear 4W Families,

Welcome to fourth grade! I am delighted to have your child as an important member of our classroom community.  I very much look forward to our time together and want to thank you in advance for all of the support you provide to your child during our academic year.  This blog is to provide you with some general information and to give you a sneak peek into your child’s 4th grade classroom!  

Communication

Home Folder: This folder will come home every Monday through Friday. All important notices from school can be found in this folder. Please send any signed forms or notes back in this folder each day.

Email and Phone: If you have a question or a concern that you would like to contact me about and you do not wish to send a note, please feel free to email or call me. That information can be found in the contact information above. Please note, I do not always have time to check my voicemail during the day. If there is something urgent, please contact the secretary, Anne Thompson.

Classroom News :As we progress with the curriculum, I will be sending Friday emails/blog updates regarding important information about things we have going on in our classroom. Primarily this will include academic questions you can ask your child to spark conversation! This is a great way to find out what your child is doing in school and staying current with the curriculum.

Homework

Each week, homework consists of reading, math, and spelling. (On occasion there will be also be science and social studies homework to study for upcoming quizzes) You can expect one math link a night reinforcing that day’s lesson.  Grammar and vocabulary worksheets will also be sent home regularly throughout the week, correlating with the weekly anthology story.  In addition, students will receive a spelling list each Monday.  The spelling notebook will be sent home Monday and should be returned Friday.  Your child has attached a spelling schedule to the inside of this notebook that he/she can refer to for nightly assignments.  If you find your child is struggling with homework, please feel free to contact me at lwentworth@hinghamschools.org

Spelling Schedule

Monday: Print each word 2 times

Tuesday: Write each word in cursive 1 time

Wednesday and Thursday: Put each word into a sentence.

Friday: Pass in journal, prepare for quiz

Classroom Management

Throughout the school year I use a discipline approach to teaching called The Responsive Classroom. This approach was developed by classroom teachers to create a learning environment where children thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. The Responsive Classroom approach teaches children to take care of themselves, each other and the school environment so that everyone can learn and reach his/her personal success. Although this approach encompasses the entire curriculum, there is a discipline piece and a Morning Circle piece; you may have heard your child refer to this as Morning Meeting. There are other positive behavioral approaches in place in the classroom as well. Some include, The Blue Ticket System and The Marble Jar. Please feel free to discuss these systems with your child, as he/she learns more about them and how they work in the classroom.

Dismissal

If your child is not going home his or her usual way, you must write a note letting myself and the office know of any changes. If there is an unplanned dismissal change the day of, please contact the office directly.  That way we can guarantee clear and immediate communication. Thank you!

Birthdays

We love to recognize and celebrate each child’s birthday on the exact day or as close as we can get it.  Of course I want to make students feel as special as I can on their day! Summer birthdays will be celebrated at the end of the year. Due to the new state regulations, students are prohibited from bringing in food to celebrate their birthday. Instead, if you choose to, you could send in something non-food related in place of a treat for your child’s birthday. Stickers, pencils, trinkets, etc., are a welcomed substitution for sugary treats.