*Please note that these are only general ‘snapshots’ of what your child is doing in school. More specific instruction varies upon the needs of each child and individual needs were catered to within these areas. Ask your child for more details and please check out the Grade 4 Learning Space for ideas to practice at home. Please see Curriculum section for curriculum details for each unit if you would like to know more about what is next.
Websites of the Week:
Last week we featured Biblionasium.com as a website of the week but I want to explain it to you so that you can log in and connect to your children’s reading. This is the format we are using to log students reading both at home and at school. Once you create an account, you can see your child’s reading history, reading logs, favorite books, reading preferences, book reviews and more.
Build an understanding of the value of large numbers.
Problem Solving strategies- How to identify what information you have, what information you need and then use that to calculate.
Earlier this week we looked at a picture of the newly created dot wall. Our class wanted to figure out how many dots their were. We started this problem in class Feel free to discuss it with your child to see if they can work it out and explain their thinking.
Response writing- how to write about a work or experience and make judgements about it
Introducing Biblionasium to log reading time, books and share their reading with each other
*Please see Curriculum section for curriculum details for each unit if you would like to know more about what is next
Website of the Week:
BiblionasiumParental encouragement at home can make a considerable difference in students’ reading success. With Biblionasium you can see your child’s reading history, reading logs, favorite books, reading preferences, book reviews and more.
We are teaching students how to choose appropriate leveled and interesting books but you might also want some ideas on books that might interest your child. Here is alist of booksthat last year’s Grade 4 students recommended at the end of the year. Here are the books that last year’s students voted astop ten best books they read that year.
Last week at Back to School night we discussed with you all the different avenues for communication I will be using during the year. Aside from email I shared the class blog, twitter and also the Grade 4 Learning Space. Each of these are linked below.
Grade 4 Learning Space – here is where we have full details and specifics regarding the curriculum that we are teaching in the classroom, including web resources and ideas for games to play at home. At the bottom of this page you are also able to access your child’s individual blog / portfolio.”
We also discussed the Home Learning Grid – which should go home with the students next week. The grid focuses on Reading, Physical Activity and Housework as being important things that students should be doing daily. You can sign, stamp or date the grid, which should come back to the school every two weeks, so that teachers can check to see that students are being active readers, active individuals, and active helpers in the household.
Week in Review:
Math: We have been focusing on place value and rounding. We have been using 1,000 books to help model place value. We have also been practicing solving problems using the strategy of rounding.
For example students mentally added 533 + 469 by rounding 533 to 530 and 469 to 470. Adding those together to make 1000 and then figuring out that they needed to add 2 from before they rounded to make 1002. They then applied this strategy to other problems.
The students have been introduced to Khan Academy as a means to practice place value and rounding. To practice at home just go to this link and the students can login and get started. I will be able to see their progress and can help them with difficult concepts in school.
In reading the students were using the 6 thinking hats to take notes and reflect on what they were reading. They used articles from Newsela for this.
In writing the students were learning to write response texts. They did this by writing a response to the field trip we had last Friday.
Grammar Focus: Judgment words (positive and negative), past tense verbs
UOI: We investigated the soil samples that we collected from our field trip. Making careful observations in order to answer what is soil made of?
Video made by Jae Yeon and Emily
I-Time: Students designed and carried out their own experiments by creating models related to the earths surface.
Other: Former SpaceX engineer Philip Kassouf visited and spoke with the Grade 4 students this week. He spoke about overcoming challenges and taking advantage of the opportunity they have to study at UNIS
Khan Academy: Students get assignments that are catered to their individual level. There are videos that help when students get stuck or when they want to push themselves to learn something new. I can see their progress and then help them in school.
Newsela: Class Code-WHTGKZ A great website full of news articles that are written in kid friendly language. Students can adjust the difficulty level of the text to fit for them. I can assign specific articles for them to read. This week I have made a set of articles related to our unit. They can also choose articles that interest them.
September 19 – 21 MAP testing
September 19 UNIS Hanoi 30th Birthday Celebration Afternoon (children should wear blue)
September 20-Snack Sale
September 28th- Moon Festival (children should wear and Ao Dai)
October 3 Parent teacher conferences – Student Free Day
“Peace cannot be kept by force it can only be achieved by understanding.” -Albert Einstein
Our class is participating in a world wide peace crane project. They have been busy writing letters, poems about their home, folding peace cranes and making videos. These will all be sent to America where author/illustrator Sue DiCicco will take them on a school tour as a way to promote understanding between students around the world. Below is a video Luca made about what peace means to students at UNIS.
Week in Review:
Math: Identifying patterns in numbers to 1,000. Learning word problem solving strategies.
English: Writing friendly letters and poems to students in America. Learning and practicing reading strategies.
UOI: Practicing making scientific observations. Inquiring into how the movement of water changes the earth’s surface.
I-Time: Learning the inquiry process of asking questions and setting up experiments to answer those questions.
Back-to-School Night, Thursday, September 7th @ 6:00pm
Field Trip to Sac Son Friday, September 8th (Where sensible walking shoes!)
Students should have a hat and water bottle every day.
Students should have a pair of headphones to keep at school.
HEALTHY snacks only, please!
A note from P.E.:
Next week Monday and Tuesday we will be doing our PE class outside with water activities. There is a good chance that you will get wet during class. Please be sure that you wear your PE clothes and have your change of clothes so you don’t have to spend the day wet!
MONDAY: 4C and 4D
BRING TO PE:
PE clothes, change of clothes, hat, water bottle
What did you learn this week?
“We learned new reading strategies. We learned how to check for understanding and we learned cross checking.” – Aisiyah
“I learned that scientist can learn by looking at things really closely and you can be a scientist as a kid. You can learn a lot from studying normal rocks.”- Seunghun
“You can solve math problems in different ways.” Ivana
Thank you for coming to back to school night. For those of you who missed it, here is the slideshow.