Book Club Update!

Dear Parents,
We've concluded our book discussion on The Jacket (Andrew Clements), and have begun a Historical Fiction book called Number The Stars (Lois Lowry). The story takes place in Copenhagen (Denmark) during World War II, and takes us on an amazing journey of loyalty, friendship, hope, and survival in tough times. We've begun our discussion by building background; the students shared what they know about WWII and the Holocaust. We discussed the fact that the Germans at the time had a dictator who had many followers, but there were some citizens who chose to resist and help Jews even at the risk of losing their lives. We will see the theme of loyalty run through the entire story and we will make connections to our own lives.This is a great opportunity for character building - bring the discussion home!

Please Note: This book has many words that will require the students to use a dictionary. It would be VERY HELPFUL if your child has a junior dictionary at home available to them (available on amazon, barnes&noble, etc. Scholastic also has a very nice one). They will be required to look up words they don't know in preparation for book discussions. Thank you for your help!

Chanukah Recital Tomorrow!

 Dear Parents and Students,

A Quick Reminder:

Chanukah Recital will be tomorrow at 10:30! Students should be in school regular time, wearing dark skirts (uniform) and white shirts. We will have pizza and doughnut treats for everyone as well. Please join us and bring family/friends! See you there...Happy Chanukah!

Reminder- Trip Tomorrow!

Dear Parents,
Please note that tomorrow morning we will be going on our trip to the Transit Museum. Please be sure to be on time so that our trip can run on schedule.
Thank you!

Math Update

Our current unit includes some of the following topics:

• Multiplication and Division strategies and practice, including taking a 50-Facts Multiplication Test periodically to test progress
• World Tour: using our Math Reference Books to look up mathematical information about various countries (average high and low temperature during given months, bordering nations, average rainfall during given months, etc)
• Finding Air Distance using a globe scale. We learned that the SCALE for a typical globe is approximately 66 miles per 1 inch. We learned how to translate that to various distances between countries.
• Number Stories: there's a method to the madness! Step 1: Understand the problem! (Reread if you need!). Step 2: Plan what to do! Step 3: Carry out the plan and show your work! Step 4: Look back and see if your answer matches your original estimate.
• Recognizing TRUE or FALSE number sentences, as well as identifying if there is not enough information to solve the problem.
• PARENTHESES in number sentences tell you which operations to do first! For example, the sentence 28-6+9=31 is TRUE as is 28-6+9=13 depending on WHERE the parentheses are placed...

Science Update

 We've been learning and exploring plants: what they need, what they are made of, and what they do. We learned about a plant's four needs: sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and minerals/nutrients. We learned about photosynthesis which takes place in the chloroplasts; this is what makes the plant green... We also learned about different types of roots and their roles. We discovered that carrots, radishes, and beats are all taproots that hold extra "food" for its plant! We studied photosynthesis and learned that  leaves not only make sugar-food for the plant, but through their stomata (small openings) they absorb water and carbon dioxide, as well as expel water vapor and oxygen. This helps our environment. Did you know that not all plants have true roots? Check out this air plant below!

Reader's Workshop

 We've launched our Book Club! We've been reading and discussing "The Jacket" by Andrew Clements, a favorite children's author. The beginning of the book establishes the seed of a problem: Phil's brother leaves his lunch money at home, which forces Phil to search for him in the hallway at school. However, the problem grows when Phil grabs the wrong kid by the jacket, and it turns out that the wearer of the jacket isn't his brother at all...The drama continues with the fight that ensues, which leads to a big question: would Phil have reacted differently had the owner of the jacket not been African American? Phil begins to explore the meaning of PREJUDICE and struggles with his own attitude toward people who are different than himself.

We've been practicing on using DETAILS from the text to support our opinions about the problems and the characters during the book discussion. This is an important skill that good readers do. Please enjoy the pictures. I've attached the link for the Andrew Clements website if you'd like more information about the author!

http://www.andrewclements.com/

TRIP this WEDNESDAY: PLEASE READ

Dear Parents,
We are going on a trip to the American Museum of Natural History this Wednesday. We will need to leave at exactly 8:45 am. PLEASE be on time; we will be forced to leave latecomers behind. In order to make it to our scheduled show "field trip to the moon", we must stick to a very tight schedule. Thank you for your cooperation!

We are looking forward to this amazing learning experience which is bound to be fun as well. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Shabbos Party

Every Friday at Mazel we have a special pre-Shabbos get-together where the children reflect on the week that has past and share with each other what they are thankful for. It is really beautiful! The children sing Shabbos songs, and get a special treat. This past week, because it was the first day of the Hebrew Month of Cheshvan, we had a special pizza lunch as well. Enjoy the short but sweet video!

Book Challenge!

We've officially launched our 4th Grade Book Challenge 2011-2012! The goal is for each student to read 25 chapter books. In order to complete a book, the students must  respond with thoughtful reviews or summaries of the main points of the story, including: Setting, Characters, Problem/Conflict, Solution/Resolution, possible lesson, as well as the Main Idea/Theme of the book (such as sacrifice for friendship, overcoming a challenge, etc). For every five books, another "medal"  is earned along with a book-related prize (awesome book covers, bookmarks, etc). When 25 books have been read, the student has earned a TROPHY and is admitted to the Reader's Hall of Fame!

Rachel, from last year's Hall of Fame

In these pictures the students were posing for their Hall of Fame portraits.

Math Update!

We've been busy completing our 2nd Math Unit. Here's what we've been working on:
1. Analyzing a set of Data and finding its Landmarks such as median (middle number), mode (most frequently occurring number), minimum, maximum, and range.
2. Different methods for addition with multiple numbers: We explored "partial sums" method as well as "column addition" (which uses trading, similar to traditional addition).
3. Different methods for subtraction with multiple numbers. We explored "partial differences" as well as "Trade-first" methods.
4. We used 3 types of graphs/tables to display data: Tally mark tables, line plots (a rough draft of a bar graph), and bar graphs.

For analyzing data and using data graphs we collected information about numbers of raisins per box, people-per-household in Mazel Day School families, as well as head sizes in grades 3-5. Not only was it educational, it was also fun:-)
We also reviewed for our Math Assessment with a great game of Jeopardy! Enjoy the pictures.

Sukkos Recap

We did special Sukkos activities this past Monday and Tuesday in honor of the holiday. We tied the Sukkos/Simchas Torah theme into our Writing: we wrote Acrostic Poems, where each letter of the word "Sukkos" or "Torah" began a new phrase that described the holiday. We really enjoyed that! Please check out our work!

We also had food-fun! We built  delectable Sukkahs out of crackers, wafers, and candies and glued it all together with Marshmallow fluff. It was a challenge to keep those Sukkas standing! We decorated with green-colored coconut and icing...yum. We also made edible Torahs which were sweet to remind us that Torah makes our lives sweet!

Science Update

We've been exploring animal ADAPTATIONS - physical features or behaviors that help the animal get food, protect itself, move, or reproduce. We learned that all animals need FOOD, WATER, OXYGEN, and SHELTER to survive. The better the animal's adaptation, the better it's chance for survival. We learned about many fascinating adaptations. For example, did you know that Rock ptarmigan (bird) has feathers that change with the season? In summer, its dark, colorful feathers blend in with its surroundings and help protect it from predators; In summer, it sheds its dark feathers and blends in with the snow!

We discussed the difference between an inherited trait (physical feature like brown fur, sharp beak), and an inherited instinct (a behavior the animal is born with, such as MIGRATION, HIBERNATION). We learned that not all behaviors are inherited; some are LEARNED. Animals can learn by trial and error, or by observation. The class was especially interested in the fact that not only can offspring learn from their parents, but parents can actually learn from their offspring (like the case of the monkeys that learned to wash sweet potatoes in the river by watching their offspring's example)!

(The cub learns to pounce on its prey by practicing on the mother's tail)

Math Update

We're well into our 2nd Math Unit, and have explored a number of topics:

1. Uses of Numbers and Organizing Data: 

Numbers have many uses and we explored some of them within the context of the "World Tour" we're taking. We traveled from New York to Washington D.C. where we found these examples of Numbers:

Numbers are used to COUNT: there are 132 rooms in the White House!
Numbers are used to MEASURE: the cast iron dome on he capital building weighs 9 million pounds!
Numbers are used as a REFERENCE SYSTEM: the average high temperature in October is 68* Fahrenheit.

Numbers are used to COMPARE: D.C's population of 600,000 is greater than the population of the sate of Wyoming!
Numbers are used to IDENTIFY and CODE: the Lincoln Memorial is located at C-1 on our maps!

2. Many Names for Numbers:

We explored the meaning of "equivalent names" for numbers and know that in Math, we can use a combination of digits and operations to reach the same number. For example 24/4, 12/2, 2x3, 4+5-3 are all names for 6!

3. Place Value with Whole Numbers:

In our base-ten system of numbers we use the digits 1-9 as our counting numbers, and 0-9 as our "whole numbers". We have an infinite amount of variations because the VALUE changes based on its PLACE. When we put 2 in the tens place, and put 2 in the hundred thousands place, they mean very different things... We also worked on grouping the numbers correctly, and reading a large number by naming each group on it's own (reading 567,382,101 as five hundred sixty-seven million, three hundred eighty-two thousand, one hundred one.

4. Place Value Using a Calculator

We paid great attention to the transition of digits when counting up or down on a calculator. For example, if we were asked to count DOWN by 1,000s beginning with 834,985 - we paid close attention to what operation we were doing (subtracting), and which digits were changing. Then, we exercised changing only a SPECIFIC digit in a specific column (for example, in the hundred thousands place only) for a particular replacement digit. We had to figure out which operation to use, and what we had to add or subtract in order to get the desired number.

We have covered many topics so far; to get a good idea of what we are covering each day, I encourage you to look over your child's homework which directly corresponds to what we are learning:-)

Shana Tova!

Dear Students and Parents,

May you and your family be blessed with a "K'tiva V'Chatima Tova" - a happy, healthy, and sweet new year! May we merit a year of true peace, success, and contentment! 

Have a wonderful Rosh Hashana,

Morah N.D.

4th Grade Update

 Welcome again to our very own 4th Grade blog! We've been doing an amazing amount of learning in 4th Grade since we've started the school year. We hope this blog will keep you informed about some of the learning experiences we have and some of the content material we learn.

MATH: In Unit 1, which we've just completed, we focused on Geometry. We discussed polygons and their properties, types of lines, line segments and rays, and various types of circles (concentric, congruent). We used compasses and straightedges to create various geometric constructions. We learned the difference between regular polygons, irregular polygons, concave polygons, and convex polygons...among the many concepts we covered. We know that trying out our compasses was new and maybe difficult in the beginning,  but with practice we are sure to become more proficient!

SCIENCE: In chapter 1, we began the way real scientists do...we asked a great question: what are all living things made of?? We then explored with the microscope, and took a close-up look at an onion skin. We were quite surprised! You can actually see the individual cells through the lens! We were amazed to know that although our human cells are different than a plant cell, all living things are made up of cells that contain a nucleus, cytoplasm, etc. We learned about the necessary functions of all living things, and then explored how scientists group plants. The students brought in leaves which we grouped according to edge-type, and agreed that scientists use certain criteria to divide plants as well (how they get water and nutrients, and how they reproduce)! We brought in plants (grass, bamboo, moss, celery, etc.) and some of us brought in illustrations of types of plants. We learned about the classification of animals as well. We learned about Vertebrates and Invertebrates...AND got an Invertebrate pet- a water snail! now we can observe it from up close...

ELA: Reader's & Writer's workshop have begun in full speed! We've gathered ample tools in both areas - reading and writing - so that we can not only be good readers and writers, but will read to write and write to read... We know that by reading well, and noticing what the writer's craft was, we can incorporate that in our writing. As writers, we need to be mindful of our readers- we must write so that our readers will read! We've been practicing noticing patterns, asking deeper questions, making inferences, etc. We've been reading some beautiful books by Patricia Polacco, including 'Thunder Cake' in which we discussed Conflict & Resolution... (Patricia had many fears, and her Babushka helped her overcome them). We'll be incorporating that into our writing. The student's have asked for the recipe in the back of the book, so you can find that below! We've also been discussing the making of a good paragraph, and identifying topic sentences...

That's the news for now! Ask your 4th Grader for more...

Thunder Cake Recipe:

Thunder Cake!

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together one at a time:
1 cup shortening
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, separated
( blend yolks in. Beat whites until they are stiff, then fold in.)

1 cup cold water
1/3 cup pureed tomatoes

Sift together:
21/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup dry cocoa
11/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Mix dry mixture into creamy mixture. Bake in two greased and floured 8
1/2 inch pans at 350 degree for
35 to 40 minutes. Frost with chocolate butter frosting. Top with
strawberries.

ENJOY!!!

WELCOME!

Welcome to 4th Grade at Mazel for the 2011-2012 school year! I invite you, students and parents, to participate in our blog. We will use the blog as a means to communicate important messages, updates, and most importantly to keep you posted about our learning and experiences at school!

I am looking forward to a year of great learning and growth,
Morah Nechama Dena