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Howdy. Last September I began teaching
4th grade at Brookside. I am happy to be returning for my
second year at this wonderful school. I have previously
taught middle school at Room Nine Community School here in
Shoreline, and before that my teaching experience was at the
Muckleshoot Tribal School and College.
Welcome to Mr D's 2007-2008
Fourth Grade Class
What Are We Learning Now?
Math: We have just finished our unit on “Dividing
Large Numbers.” Students did a lot of work using the long
division algorithm that most of us learned years ago.
Remember “Dead Monkeys Smell Bad?” If you have
forgotten, ask your child what possible connection it has to
division. We have just begun an investigation of
“Decimal Fractions.”
Writing: The past month we have been focusing on narratives.
Your child wrote three narratives after extensive work on story
elements. Our next focus will be on report writing. The
kids will be studying Medieval Times and then choosing a role
(example: knight, noble, lady, etc.) to research. Look for a
detailed note coming home on soon.
Reading: We will soon break into Readers Theater groups
after finishing our work with The Horse’s Tale. Each
group will be practicing parts in order to deliver a smooth and
entertaining theater experience once a week. I am looking for
theater pieces that focus on medieval times. This is an
excellent way to increase our reading fluency--the foundation for
good comprehension.
Readaloud: During WASL weeks we are reading short and
chilling selections from Michael Teitelbaum’s The Scary States of
America.
Spelling: Spelling has been on hold during WASL, but we are
back in business this week with ‘ei’ and
‘ie’ words.
Science: Students have been studying the vertebrate
body of rodents from dissection of an owl pellet.
Social Studies: Students are studying the conflicts between
early pioneers and the Native American inhabitants of what will
soon be Washington State. Activities are designed to help
students gain a feeling of empathy for both groups.
In the Documents section I
have will have links for you to read or download my biweekly
newsletters, plus your student's schedule and major assignment
sheets.
See the
yellow Weekly Assignment sheet for current homework updated
daily.
In the Image Gallery you will soon see some
fine examples of our students' work, as well as candid classroom
pictures. Still posted are a few pictures of some of last
year's student projects
The Links section will
contain links to a variety of educational websites that you and
your student will find useful and interesting.
--Mr Tom Dailey
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