3rd & 4th Grade - February

In third and fourth grade, we have been very busy! This month, we had our Iowa State Testing for a week, which the third graders took for the first time this year. It went really smoothly for having a majority of the class do testing for the first time.

We started our second reading BINGO sheet this month, which includes genres like: biographies, graphic novels, realistic fiction, animal fiction, etc. We have two students who have already gotten 3 BINGOs and are on their way to getting a blackout before their first BINGO is due! In order to get a BINGO, they have to read five books in one row of the sheet. We also have been working on nouns, verbs, and will start adjectives next week in grammar. We have also been working on creative writing prompts and the students come up with some pretty great stories! It's awesome to see what they can imagine up!

In math, we have started learning about multiplication in third grade and in fourth grade, we can multiply up to 4 digit numbers! The students really love multiplication because it makes sense to them and they can do it easily with some assistance from other peers or myself. They have been asking for more math so I call that a win!

In science, we have finished our solar system unit and are moving on to physical science. We are also doing a coding program with the Ericson Public Library, which the students absolutely love! They have to problem solve in order to figure out how to get the code to do what they want it to do and it is frustrating sometimes when we don't know how it works, but so rewarding when they finally figure it out. We can't wait to code with Mr. Z some more this week!

In social studies, we have been studying African American heroes for Black History Month and the students are currently working on a "Fakebook" page for a person of their choice. They had to read three different biographies and choose someone based on what they read. We have also been learning about the Underground Railroad and the Civil Rights movement.

Music is quickly becoming one of the favorite classes. We play a lot of music games that involve movement and call and response singing that helps develop their voices and their musical knowledge. Our favorite games are "Charlie Over the Ocean," (which is like duck duck goose, but with singing) and "Lucy Locket," which involves a hidden object and changing the dynamic (loudness) of the singing based on if the seeker is closer or farther from the object.

We cannot believe it is almost March and are looking forward to the season of Lent and reflecting on our own sin and what Jesus did for us on the cross.