Happy New Year! We are counting our blessings in 3rd and 4th grade…and they are numerous.
3rd and 4th grade is pressing on with our academics. Our 3rd graders learned how to read bar and picture graphs. They also learned how to collect data and display that information in their own graph. 4th Graders were introduced to prime and composite numbers, factors and multiples. We also keep drilling our math facts and see a lot of students getting new personal bests on their timed multiplication tests.
In reading, we have worked hard on duet reading for fluency. Students push themselves to increase their reading speed and fluency. By being fluent readers, more brain function can be devoted to comprehension rather than to decoding words. We are preparing for the official FAST tests that are given statewide. We also are working on our big biography project. After a visit to Ericson Public Library to check out books on a notable historical figure, students read, researched, and presented information in a lapbook. They also made a “bobble-doll” of their historical figure and wrote an essay about their life. The lapbooks and dolls were on display for the open house for Lutheran Schools Week and will be part of a special presentation at the Ericson library in February.
We are studying the ins and outs of digestion in science. Students are making life-size 2-dimensional models of the digestive system. They also love singing about the esophagus, peristalsis, liver, and stomach! The unit will end with a hands-on experiment that models the digestive process from yummy beginnings to stinky ends!
We were sad to say goodbye to two members of our 3/4 family. Jocelyn Leutner moved to Des Moines and Grace Foltz is starting to homeschool. These beautiful young ladies will be truly missed. They are a delightful part of our class. Though we are so sad to see them go, we wish them all the best in whatever the Lord has for them and their families next.
Finally, we celebrated 2 Students-of-the-Month. December’s character trait was patience. Lexi Dunker and Carlie Van Dyke were acknowledged for modeling the patience in our classroom and all around our school,