Welcome to The Goodwin Gazette! The fourth graders will soon be publishing their personal narrative stories to this site. Please check back often (and “follow” us if you are able to use RSS) because we will be adding new things throughout the year! We’d love your feedback too.
Ms. Goodwin
April is finally here! Thank you for all your extra efforts in March; parent conferences and MEA testing required some extra time and planning. The fourth graders did a terrific job. We have a lot to look forward to in April – participating in cool science experiments, playing on the fields at recess, and don’t forget vacation! We’ll be working hard but as spring comes, the fourth graders will see lots of interesting and challenging activities to keep them excited throughout the rest of the year.
Please feel free to keep in touch with questions at any time. The best way to reach me is by email – goodwine@link75.org but you can also write a note or leave me a message (725-1243) and I will get back to you as soon as possible. I am always happy to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress.
Mathematics: This week, we started a new flexible group rotation for the new unit in math. Unit 8 is all about perimeter and area. We will also be working with scale drawings as students apply what they know about perimeter and area.
Literacy: We tackled some work with nonfiction reading this week. The students read several articles in our National Geographic Explorer magazine. They are getting really good at picking out important details and writing clear descriptions of what they read!
We are also working hard on our Digital Stories – many students are currently picking out images and working on their storyboards. I’m looking forward to seeing them start to add more detail and personal voice to their stories.
In Spelling, all students were tested on the Grade 4 No Excuse Words. Look for your child to bring home a list of words to study over the next few weeks. These are words that don’t necessarily follow any English spelling rules – they are very common words which students need to spell correctly all the time!
Science: Students are in their second week of Spelling and Science flexible groups. Some students are learning about Matter with Ms. Pidgeon, others are working with Mrs. Walling on Force and Motion and the rest are working with Ms. Goodwin on Energy. All students will get to learn about all three parts of our physical science unit over the next few weeks.
Weekend Homework: Reading 20 – 30 minutes per night, Math Facts, Math 8.3 paper, Hunger Prevention Project donations, and Book Order due Tuesday (remember you can order online!)
I hope you had a wonderful week. Thank you to all the parents who have already come in to talk with me about your children. I enjoyed meeting with you, and I look forward to next week when I can talk with all the other parents!
I want to be sure you know about a Community Forum which will be held at Woodside Elementary School on Tuesday, March 24 at 6:30 pm. Dr. Wilhelm will share information from the Comprehensive Strategic Planning Committee’s plan for consolidation and reorganization of the SAD #75 elementary schools. I join Mrs. Trach in encouraging all parents to come to learn more about the new plans. You can also gather further details at the district’s website: link75.org
Please be in touch about questions and connections you have to what we are doing. I welcome your communication at goodwine@link75.org, http://elingoodwin.edublogs.org/ , or 725-1243.
Mathematics: Fractions, fractions, fractions! We are getting into some complicated and challenging skills. Please keep us informed if your child is struggling with homework at night.
Literacy: We have really started to focus on writing Digital Stories. We have been consuming and critiquing many stories which we watch online. It is important to understand the definition of a digital story, to see many types of stories, and to formulate opinions about what makes good digital stories. It is only then that a fourth grader can start writing a story which will become a digital story.
Your child may come to ask for photographs to use in his/her story. If you are comfortable with this, please feel free to email me pictures that we can put into the stories. Some students will choose to draw their own illustrations for this project. We will also be using some safe image sites online to gather images to use in the stories.
I encourage families to look at some of the digital story examples which are bookmarked on the fourth grade website: http://www.link75.org/wds/weblinks/digitalstories.htm. They are a lot of fun to watch!
We have also been doing a lot of work with our read aloud book, Redwall by Brian Jacques. This is a book which is packed with adventures, interesting characters, and plot twists to keep the students thinking. We have been writing about the book and today we went to Brian Jacques’ website (www.redwall.org) to find out more about the author and his books. As we continue to read aloud from this book, students will have the opportunity to “blog” about the book and to share their opinions with their peers. Look for more information about the blog coming soon!
Weekend Homework: Reading 20 – 30 minutes per night, Multiplication and Division FACTS!, Math 7.10 paper, & Hunger Prevention Project donations (baked beans and spaghetti sauce), Book Fair $ (optional), go over Portfolio the night before your parent conference
Upcoming Events:
Friday, March 20th – Woodside Book Fair (school hours each day and evening hours Mon. and Wed.)
Thursday, March 26th:
Tuesday, March 24th: Community Forum at Woodside – 6:30 PM. See above for more details.
Friday, March 27th: Early Release Day – school dismissal at 11:30
Friday, March 27th: Evening In Tuscany Dinner at Woodside – starts at 5:30. You can reserve tickets
ahead of time but reservations are NOT required. Come join us for this fun (and free!) event. All donations go toward the playground fund.
Monday, March 30th: No School!
Well, we’ve done it! Congratulations to all the fourth graders who finished the MEA testing with a lot of good attitudes and willingness to give it their best efforts. I was very impressed with the students’ hard work and their enthusiasm. Apparently, the best part was the great snack each day!
Please be in touch about questions and connections you have to what we are doing. I welcome your communication at goodwine@link75.org, http://elingoodwin.edublogs.org/ , or 725-1243.
Mathematics: Students are continuing to work with fractions and probability in unit 7. Each flex group is working with fractions by focusing on the skills specific to the needs of the group. You may notice that homework papers are slightly different some nights because some of the homework papers do not match up with the work the group of students is doing in class.
Here’s what I thought about the MEA MATH section: ______________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Literacy: Now that we have finished with testing, we will return to focus on comprehension skills – looking at types of questions which are asked about typical fourth grade fiction and nonfiction passages. We are talking about “In the Book” vs. “In my Head” questions. Look for your student to be able to identify types of questions and to be able to know HOW to answer each type of question. We will continue to employ the Better Answers strategy as we work on comprehension strategies.
This week, we finished up a round of flexible grouping for Spelling. Each student was given a post-test to see how much improvement was made. We will re-form our groups according to the skills each group needs to work on, and I will share the results of the post-test with parents at our upcoming conference.
Here’s what I thought about the MEA LITERACY section: __________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
We have been reading a great book during read aloud! Redwall by Brian Jacques is one of those fantastic books that really grabs the attention of most fourth graders. I love to share it with students because there are so many complex characters, many complicated and interwoven plot lines, and fantastic cliffhangers which require the students to keep lots of information in their heads over a period of time. Reading this book on their own would be quite challenging for many fourth graders, but it is important for them to be challenged to comprehend stories at a higher level. I encourage you to talk with your child about this great book.
I think Redwall is a _______________________ book because ________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Science and Social Studies: This week, we have been focusing on learning about the three branches of the US government. Using a story about a fictional King Louie who is exhausted at having to do everything to keep the country running, we talked about sharing the responsibilities of governing the country. Students have been identifying jobs of each branch of the government and are taking an assessment today in class.
Weekend Homework: Reading 20 – 30 minutes per night, Multiplication and Division Facts, Math 7.6 paper, & Hunger Prevention Project donations – spaghetti sauce and baked beans are badly needed.
Welcome back from vacation; I hope your family had a relaxing and fun-filled week.
We have a lot of upcoming events including the MEA testing which will take place next Friday, March 6 – Tuesday, March 10. Please be sure your child will be in school each day of the testing. We will provide extra snacks and breaks during the day but you can help by being sure your child gets a full night’s sleep and eats a good breakfast every day. We have been practicing for the test but also emphasizing that this is a way for students to show what they know and we will all work hard but not get stressed out over tough questions or worry about their performance affecting their grades, etc. We want the kids to be prepared – not stressed out! I am attaching a sample set of questions for the reading and the math section of the MEA; please feel free to look over it with your child and to use it as practice at home. You may have some great test-prep advice to share with your child!
I have scheduled many parent conferences already. Thank you if you have already returned your form. You should have gotten a pink conference form from me giving you details about our conference date and time. Please be sure your child will be able to accompany you to the conference. I will send home your child’s portfolio the night before our meeting so you can look over his/her work ahead of time. If you have not returned your form yet, please let me know about your schedule as soon as possible so we can set up a meeting time in the near future.
My Parent Conference is scheduled for: ___________________________________________________
Please be in touch about questions and connections you have to what we are doing. I welcome your communication at goodwine@link75.org, http://elingoodwin.edublogs.org/ , or 725-1243.
Mathematics: After vacation, we started working on our fraction unit (Unit 7). Students have been working with manipulatives and new vocabulary this week. Our flexible groups started today with students gathering together according to the fraction skills they need to practice. This unit is challenging to many students because (like decimals) the 4th graders are not used to talking about parts of a whole. You can help at home by using common fractions (1/2, 2/3, 3/4, etc.) when you are doing everyday tasks (like cooking, splitting up parts into pieces to share, measuring, etc.).
We have been comparing fractions too. One suggestion is to use “grilled cheese sandwiches” instead of “pizza” when comparing fractions. Rectangles are much easier to draw and compare, so in class your student will be drawing many “sandwiches” as they learn how to identify equivalent fractions and to compare fraction sizes. See the examples below.
Literacy: In addition to continuing our work on writing clear paragraphs and answers to questions using the Better Answers strategy, we have started to focus on reading comprehension. I have noticed that many students are not meta-cognitive (aware of their own thinking) when it comes to what they understand about their reading. Many students can decode (read) anything but the important part of reading is understanding what’s happening! We are working on strategies to check your own comprehension level, questions to lead you to understanding, and ways to look at questions which will help you know how to find the answers in your reading. I am impressed with the way the students are diving into figuring out if questions are asking for “In the Book” answers (right there in the passage) or if they are “In My Head” questions (which require students to infer, use their own prior knowledge, and form opinions). We will continue to work on this throughout the rest of the year.
In our Spelling flexible groups, students are coming to the end of a 6-week cycle. We will be reassessing students and I will be able to share more information on your child’s progress when we meet for our conference.
Upcoming Events:
Monday, March 2nd: Read Across America Day / Dr. Seuss’ Birthday – students are invited to dress as their favorite book characters. Please be sure your child’s costume is school-appropriate and will not interfere with learning. This is an optional activity! We will have a community member come in to read to the students during the day and do some other celebrations of Dr. Seuss and reading.
Friday, March 6th – Tuesday, March 10th: 4th Grade MEA Testing
Monday, March 23rd & Wed., March 25th: WES Book Fair will be open until ~7:00 PM during conferences. The book fair will be open during the day for students and parents all that week.
Friday, March 27th: WES Evening in Tuscany Dinner in the cafeteria
Weekend Homework: Reading 20 – 30 minutes per night, practice multiplication and division facts, Math 7.1 paper, Conference Request Form, and Book Order due Thursday, March 5th (Remember you can order online! See the book order packet.)
If you are available, please come to the Movie Night / Chowder Dinner and Dessert Auction TONIGHT at Woodside! It is a fun evening and the dessert auction is always entertaining and the rewards are delicious! I’m making a triple-chocolate cheesecake – it is crazy good! Come and get it!
I will not be sending a Peek at the Week the day before vacation. Please have a relaxing and fun vacation!
Mathematics: We are finishing up on Unit 6. There have been a lot of new skills introduced in this unit – using a protractor, coordinate grids, scale drawings, map skills, and of course division! The students are doing a good job managing all the new information. Please know that the math program will spiral around so the kids will get a lot more practice with these skills.
We will do the Unit 6 test on Monday and Tuesday and most students have already finished the Mid-Year Assessment. It is great to see that they are retaining a great deal of the new information. I’m impressed with how much the students have learned so far this year. Keep it up!
Literacy: We have stepped up our work on the Better Answers strategy as it applies to writing responses to test questions. I’m being tough when scoring written paragraphs and asking the students to rewrite their ideas into clearly articulated paragraphs in order to share what they mean to say. This is a tough transition for many students because they know what they want to say – it just doesn’t make it onto the paper. It takes a lot of practice to write what you mean and to back up your statements with detailed examples. We will share a lot of this work at conferences; if you would like to see any of your child’s writing, please feel free to come check out his/her portfolio at this point.
Science and Social Studies: We have been focusing on why people come to the United States as immigrants and why some of these people choose to come to Maine. Please talk with your student about how your family came to live in Maine and/or how your family came to the United States of America.
Weekend Homework: Read 20 – 30 minutes each day, Math Homework p. 6.9, Practice multiplication and division facts (5 seconds each), Knitting Club next week is on Tuesday and Thursday, Book Orders due Tuesday (remember you can order online – see sheet with book orders), HPP Collection in February is baby items (formula, diapers, and food)
Upcoming Events:
TONIGHT! Movie Night / Chowder Dinner and Dessert Auction at Woodside School, 6 – 7:30 PM
Wednesday and Thursday, February 11th and 12th: Woodside Musical: Sunshine! Performances are scheduled for both evenings in the Woodside gymnasium
Friday, February 13th – Sunday, February 22nd: VACATION (please note there is an extra day! No school on
Friday!)
Wednesday, February 25th : 4th Grade leads the Woodside Whole School Morning Meeting (rescheduled due to the last snow day). This is the day to wear EARMUFFS in honor of Chester Greenwood.
Monday, March 2nd: Dr. Seuss’ birthday / Read Across America Day – we will be celebrating as a school and
in our classroom. More info to come.
Friday, March 6th: Tuesday, March 10: MEAs for fourth graders. These are the three days which are currently scheduled for out testing. We will be testing in the morning only and will keep to our regular schedule for the rest of the time. Please be sure your child is here on each of these days!
Friday, March 13th: End of Second Trimester. I will send home a conference sign up letter after vacation. I
look forward to talking with you and your child about his/her progress this year.
Friday, March 27th: Evening in Tuscany Dinner at Woodside School (5:30 – 7:30). More info to come.
Dear Parent/Guardian,
We’ve been busy in class this week!
Mathematics: In math, students have been working on the partial-products strategy in division. This is a great strategy because it allows all students to look at the problem in their own individual way and to solve it using division problems they know. It is a stepping stone toward doing the traditional long division algorithm that you learned in school but it also allows students to understand the place value and the division part of what they are doing. Check out the example I did and the example your child did here.
We are also starting to use protractors to learn about angles and degrees in a circle. Students will also work on coordinate grids on maps. The unit 6 test will be before vacation and the students are already taking the Mid-Year assessment for the Every Day Math program. I will share out all this information at our upcoming conference. If you have any questions about our progress in math, please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time.
Literacy: One of our main focus areas over the next several weeks will be to prepare students to take the MEA tests. We will be focusing on test-taking skills, on looking at sample test questions, and on using their Better Answers strategy skills to work on constructed response questions. It is important to help the students see these tests as part of their overall education – they’ll be taking many tests like this in the future and knowing how to tackle them is important so they’ll be confident and will be able to put in their best effort while still seeing the bigger picture of becoming an educated adult.
Science and Maine Studies: Our focus in Maine Studies until vacation will be on why people come to live in Maine. We will talk about the reasons people moved to Maine in the past and in the present (for land and jobs). Please talk with your child about how your family came to live in Maine.
Weekend Homework: Read for 20 – 30 minutes each day, Math HW = p. 6.6, Practice multiplication and division facts, HPP collection for February is baby items
Upcoming Events:
• Friday, February 6th from 6 – 7:30: Movie Night, Chowder Dinner and Dessert Auction at Woodside. There will be more information coming home on other notices.
• Friday, Feb. 13 – Friday, Feb. 20: VACATION! Please note that there is an extra day (Friday) of vacation which is a staff development day. See you on Monday, Feb. 23rd!
• March 2 – 20: MEA tests for grades 3 – 5. Our fourth grade tests will probably be in the middle of this timeframe (we don’t have the official days but I’m guessing it will be starting somewhere around the 5th and ending somewhere around the 11th). The fourth graders take reading and math tests as part of the MEA. Please make every effort to be sure your child is here for the testing. If you have questions, please contact me or Mrs. Trach and Ms. French at any time.
• Friday, March 13th: End of Second Trimester. I will be contacting you to schedule a parent conference during the next few weeks.
• Friday, March 27th 5:30 – 7:30: Evening in Tuscany Dinner at Woodside. More info will follow.
I hope you had a wonderful week. We were so busy! We were all relieved to finally have “regular” days on Thursday and Friday. We’ve had lots of excitement and the usual schedule feels great!
Literacy: Each day, the students spend about 25 minutes in Reading Zone. I’m very impressed with all the reading that is happening in school. Students should be reading the same book at home and at school. I keep track of the amount of reading that is done at school each day and I’m looking to see that the student has read at home too. Please help your student find a quiet time to read for 20-30 minutes each day. If you need book suggestions, please let me know. I can share some ideas or steer your child toward some students who can recommend appropriate titles.
Math: We started Unit 6 in math this week. Our flexible groups are working on the connections between multiplication and division. Students are using a template to help them organize their work on * and / word problems. During this unit, we will focus on learning division strategies (especially what to do with remainders) and tackle more work on geometry by learning about angles and compasses.
I need your help to be sure your student is working hard to learn his/her multiplication and division facts. Each Wednesday, we do a fact test and have started graphing the results. Some students are seeing good growth but others are still struggling. Please help your student to practice math facts (s/he has set a goal each week to focus on certain facts) EACH NIGHT!!! The goal is for each student to be able to do each multiplication and division fact in 5 seconds.
Content Areas: This week we continued to talk about famous Mainers. We read about and watched a short video about the celebration honoring Chester Greenwood in Farmington, ME each winter. Chester, as your student knows, was a Maine teenager who invented the ear protectors (earmuffs) to keep his ears warm while ice skating in Farmington. We study him because he is not only a famous Mainer, but he is also a great example of an inventor who saw a need and thought of a way to solve his problem! We’ll talk more about him during our Inventions unit.
We spent some time talking about the Inauguration Ceremony this week. Students practiced the oath of office, which President Obama recited, learned about inaugurations of former presidents, and discussed the ceremony and speech after watching it with the rest of the school. We also read a biography of President Obama – the students were impressed to see that many of the skills they struggle to learn (like perseverance and working independently) are skills they will need to be successful adults like our President.
Upcoming Info: Next Wednesday, the fourth grade will be in charge of the Whole School Morning Meeting. We will be sharing information we have been learning about Maine. Please ask your student to tell you about our plans! AND if your child has earmuffs, please let him/her wear them to our meeting on Wednesday!
Weekend Homework: Read for 20-30 minutes each day, math page 6.2, practice * and / facts. HPP collection of health care products, bring EARMUFFS on Wednesday (optional)
Dear Parent/Guardian,
We’ve had a busy week! I hope you have a lovely long weekend with your family. We’ll look forward to Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Inauguration Day next week.
Please be in touch about questions and connections you have to what we are doing. I welcome your communication at goodwine@link75.org, http://elingoodwin.edublogs.org/ , or 725-1243.
Mathematics: Students completed a test on Unit 5 today and we are sending home the materials for Unit 6 today (Family Letter and SRB pages). Unit 6 will introduce division and continue to review all previous concepts. You can help your student by continuing to practice multiplication and division facts (especially those division facts!) at home. Every Wednesday, we take a fact test and students will be moving on to focus on division starting next Wednesday. If you need more papers to use for practice, please let me know.
Literacy: Our focus this week was on some nonfiction reading and note-taking skills. The students read part of a National Geographic Explorer magazine and took notes about several animals about whom they read. Note-taking skills are important for all students but it takes time for fourth graders to learn what pieces of an article are the most important to record, to transfer notes into their own words, and to organize the notes into a format which can be used in a meaningful way. The students are also answering constructed response questions using their notes to help them give details.
Our Spelling Flexible groups continue to meet twice a week to focus on specific spelling and vocabulary skills. Please ask your student about his/her group.
Science and Social Studies: Many students are finishing up on their Maine product page in our class book. The final drafts look wonderful and reflect a lot of learning and skill-building. We will be sharing our book as well as our learning with other students and parents.
We have also started working on learning about Famous Mainers. Students are researching interesting people from Maine – in the past and present. If you would like to check out some fascinating people from our state, check out the Kids Page on Maine.gov which is linked to our fourth grade page on the Woodside website (http://www.link75.org/wds/weblinks/4th.htm).
Weekend Homework: Reading 20 – 30 minutes per night, Math Unit 6 family letter and SRB pages come home, & Hunger Prevention Project donations
Upcoming Events:
Monday, January 19th – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, January 20th – Inauguration Day – The fourth graders will be joining all WES students to watch the Inauguration and Inaugural Address in the gym.
Friday, February 6th, 6:00-7:30 p.m. – K-5 Movie Night AND the Chowder Dinner/Dessert Auction. Fun, fun, fun! The Chowder Dinner is at 6:00 and the Live Dessert Auction bidding is from 6:30-7:30. Desserts will be displayed in the lobby during the day for silent auction purposes. Live bidding in evening starts at highest silent auction price. To submit your best dessert / donated dessert, please e-mail Kristen Roberts at karoberts@suscom-maine.net. All proceeds benefit the Partnership and Playground Funds.
Friday, March 27th, 5:30-7:30 p.m. (1/2 school day) – The famed Woodside ‘Evening in Tuscany’ Dinner. Donations at the door benefit the Partnership and Playground Funds. FMI, to volunteer, or to donate, please contact Dave Remis at DBRemis@aol.com.
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Welcome back from vacation. I wish you a happy and healthy 2009!
Please be in touch about questions and connections you have to what we are doing. I welcome your communication at goodwine@link75.org, http://elingoodwin.edublogs.org/ , or 725-1243.
Mathematics: We have started new flexible groups in math to work on multiplication and working with large numbers. I am attaching a template which many students use to solve 2-digit x 2-digit multiplication problems. It helps them set up the problem correctly because it has spaces for all the needed partial products. I encourage you to keep this template with your homework materials as it may prove to be helpful for your student. Please let me know if your child is struggling with multiplication, as I would be happy to give you more practice sheets and/or hints to help at home. We’ll do a unit test toward the end of next week.
Literacy: We continue to focus on comprehension strategies and on learning to write quality answers to questions. For example, students are reading articles in the National Geographic Explorer magazine and answering questions using the Better Answers strategy. I am pleased to see many students getting better at restating the question and at adding detailed examples to back up their thoughts. We are still working on the concluding/”recycling” sentence, as this is a tough concept for many fourth graders.
Our spelling flexible groups are working hard too. Each student is working on skills at his/her level and they are practicing common spelling patterns and syllabication rules. Please ask your child about the activities from our spelling groups.
Science and Social Studies: In our study of Maine, students are working on their product pages. Each student chose a Maine product, researched the product, and is now summarizing the important information. The final project will be a page in a class book, which will include writing, pictures, regional map, and flow chart of how the product makes money for a Mainer. We will make the book available to families to enjoy.
Weekend Homework: Reading 20 – 30 minutes per night, Math 5.9 paper, Book Orders due Tuesday & Hunger Prevention Project donations. The RETEST for the New England states is on Tuesday, January 12. Knitting Club starts on Tuesday.
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