WELCOME TO MARCH IN FOURTH GRADE

March is an exciting month for us in fourth grade. Because February was extra short with our snow days, our research project on an African American scientist will begin this month. We will be learning skills that we will eventually use to apply to many different projects. I will introduce how to find and document credible sources, use index cards for note taking (paraphrasing and summarizing), and organize information. We will then incorporate what we know about writing from an outline and about revising and editing. This is always a high point of fourth grade!

In Math we will learn divisibility rules, work with multiples and factors, prime and composite numbers, and eventually with square numbers and square roots. After this we will move into fractions and percents. This will be applied to linear measurements. It is a good time to build something together!

This month, in Social Studies, we will explore the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution and some of the inventions that changed our state. We will also incorporate a unit on the Underground Railroad and the conflict over slavery in New Jersey. This will lead us to the outbreak of the Civil War and the contributions that New Jersey made.

In Science we will wrap up our study of matter with a study of how heat travels and affects matter. I will continue to emphasize note taking using outlining, and encourage the students to begin to outline material on their own. Our next unit, which we will begin, is electricity. Static electricity and electrical pathways are two topics we will explore.

Language Arts will include more of the novel, Little House on the Prairie. We are really enjoying this example of historical fiction/biography and learning much about the period. This month we will be learning about the Osage Indian tribe, sharing food and crafts from this time period and making a memory quilt recounting the main ideas from each chapter. Vocabulary and spelling will continue to come from these chapters and from our Orange Vocabulary book. In grammar we will begin to explore adjectives and their important part in our writing.

It’s going to be a busy, eventful month!

Fondly,
Teacher Ginny



Up Coming Events

• March 2: Dr. Seuss Day! FAW Reading Event
• March 5: Bowling for Books, 6-8 pm
• March 8-12: Scholastic Book Fair
• March 10 and 11: Parent conferences (by request) - 3:15pm -6:00pm
• March 16: Lower School Grandparents’ Day, 9:00am
• March 18: Coffee and Tea with Rose and Michelle, 8:30am