Wax Museum and Dinner Interview

The time is near and excitement is in the air! Our Wax Museum is always anticipated and enjoyed! Please join us between 10am-11am and be impressed with our work! 

Expectations:

Wax Museum- Students will present their persons of influence in 1st person form, as an autobiography and in costume (need not be elaborate). Each student drafted a blurb to practice in class. While memorization is not mandatory and students may refer to their speech, reading with no eye contact is discouraged. 

Menu/Interview- 

A letter was sent home giving directions for this assignment. Students were asked to imagine hosting a dinner for their person of influence. With careful consideration of lifestyle, accomplishments, and habits, what do you think your person would want to eat and why? Ideas can be literal (athletes with lean diets, proteins, etc) or figurative (Christopher Columbus with Boston Cream Pie). 

Students are then asked to create a menu (layout is up to you, we looked at several examples on the Internet) and list menu items for the evening: salad/soup or appetizer, main dish, and dessert. Menus are to be illustrated (drawn, cut out, or printed) and inviting. Again, size, layout, and materials are up to you. 

In addition, students are to bring 3 questions to ask their "person", if they were given the opportunity.

Have fun! I can't wait to see the creativity explode!

Comparing Fractions

We have moved into working on comparing fractions. There are numerous ways that we have learned to do this. Homework this week (due January 5^th) will have students using some of these methods to compare fractions. Here are the ways that we have been working on:

Draw a picture. This strategy can work with smaller fractions, but starts to get complicated with larger fractions.

Compare with like denominators. When the denominators are the same, you are comparing the numerator. The larger numerator will be the larger fraction.

Compare with like numerators. When the numerators are the same, you are comparing the denominator. The larger the denominator, the smaller the pieces will be. Therefore, the smaller denominator will give you the larger fraction.

Compare to a benchmark fraction. Determine how the fraction relates to ½ and that can help determine the larger or smaller fractions. We have also put them on a number line to help us clearly see how they compare.

Compare missing pieces. The fraction with the smallest piece missing will be the largest fraction.

Change one denominator to make a common denominator. Sometimes you only have to change one of the denominators to make common denominators.

Change both denominators to a common denominator. This allows kiddos to then compare fractions with like denominators. These are a few strategies we have talked about relating to this:

·         Change both denominators to a common denominator.

·         Multiply the denominators by each other to find a common denominator.

·         Find the least common denominator. Finding the LCD has kiddos finding the least common multiple (the smallest positive number that is a multiple of two or more numbers).

Steps to find the LCD (Least Common Denominator)

Example: Compare 1/2, 1/3, 1/5

1. List the multiples of each denominator. Make a list of at least five multiples for each denominator in the equation. Each list should consist of the denominator numeral multiplied by 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on.

• Multiples of 2: 2 x 1 = 2; 2 x 2 = 4; 2 x 3 = 6; 2 x 4 = 8; 2 x 5 = 10
• Multiples of 3: 3 x 1 = 3; 3 x 2 = 6; 3 x 3 = 9; 3 x 4 = 12; 3 x 5 = 15
• Multiples of 5: 5 x 1 = 5; 5 x 2 = 10; 5 x 3 = 15; 5 x 4 = 20; 5 x 5 = 25

2. Identify the lowest common multiple. Scan through each list and mark any multiples that are shared by each original denominator. After identifying the common multiples, identify the lowest denominator.

• Note that if no common denominator exists at this point, you may need to continue writing out multiples until you eventually come across a shared multiple.
• Example: 2 x 15 = 30; 3 x 10 = 30; 5 x 6 = 30
• The LCD = 30

3. Rewrite the original equation. In order to change each fraction in the equation so that it remains true to the original equation, you will need to multiply each denominator by the same factor used to multiply the corresponding denominator when reaching the LCD. Be sure to multiply the numerator AND denominator of each fraction by the factor.

• Example: 15 x (1/2); 10 x (1/3); 6 x (1/5)

• New mathematical statement: 15/30 > 10/30 > 6/30

Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Upcoming Events/Dates

Yearbooks

Yearbooks are for sale starting this week. Order forms will go home in Thursday folders. Parents have the option of ordering online this year! There are tons of upgrades to the yearbook, so you can “personalize” it for your child. Base price for the yearbook is $18.00.

Parents can order online by following the below link:

http://www.ybpay.lifetouch.com

Yearbook ID for Cox: 12373015

Field Trip to Fort Worth

The date for our Fort Worth field trip has been finalized and we are officially going on May 6th. Please be sure to put that date on your calendar. They 2nd payment (for those who are paying in installments) is due January 8th. 

Candy Cane-Grams

Thank you so much for all the boxes of mini candy canes! You are amazingly supportive parents and we greatly appreciate you! Candy cane-grams go on sale Monday (12/15) - Wednesday (12/17) from 7:00-7:20 and are only fifty cents! You can even purchase one to send to your kiddo from you! :)

Math and Science Night

Please be sure to mark your calendar for Math and Science Night on January 29th from 6:00-7:00. We will be playing fun games, serving food, and rewarding prizes! We hope to see you there! Please let your homeroom teacher know if you will be attending by Friday 12/19.  

Pajama Day

Friday (12/12) marks the end of our pajama drive. Please be sure to get all pajama donation in by Friday. To celebrate all the pajamas collected, we are having a pajama day! Students are free to wear pajamas on Friday, but they need to still wear regular shoes (no slippers) for safety reasons.   

Science Fair

Cox will be participating in another Science Fair this year. Be on the lookout for information coming home soon regarding dates and guidelines. I will be sure to convey more information as it becomes available.  

Adding Fractions

This week we worked on adding fractions with like denominators. The equation below shows the rule for addition. So, if your are dealing with the same (common) denominator (b), the answer is the sum of the numerators (a and c) over their common denominator. Remember that a fraction refers to the number of parts in a “whole”, and the WHOLE that we are talking about is always the number in the denominator (on the bottom). So, all we have to do is add up the parts and keep our same point of reference.

Here are some ways your kiddos have seen this:

Homework this week will have them practicing this concept. Homework will be due on Monday, December 15th. Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Have a great weekend!

The Countdown is On!

There is a chill in the air and a twinkle in our eye! I can cannot believe our next holiday is just around the corner, as we just celebrated Thanksgiving. As I counted my blessings over the break, I especially counted my kiddos and you! Thank you for making my just so enjoyable by raising fantastic children. Each bring their uniqueness to the classroom and make me smile. In fact, today I wore my new "sparkle" sweater and was told I was beautiful, stylish, and...oh yeah...that I look like a disco ball. LOL Gotta love 'em! 

The Cox Santa Shop opens next week and we are excited. I have scheduled our classes (both my homeroom and Mrs. M's homeroom) to visit on TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9th at 11:15. Please look over the info in the Coyote folder to see lists, opportunities to visit, and payment options. Students are able to bring money on Tuesday to shop. Items will be wrapped and taken home that same day. Thank you for your support!

Our Wax Museum 

One of the highlights of Fourth Grade Language Arts is the Wax Museum and believe me, they are chomping at the bit to begin this project! This week began our journey into the genre of biography/autobiography. As we learn about many significant and influential figures in the upcoming weeks, students will choose one person to research and introduce to us at the wax museum. More details will follow for sure and more specific instructions will be sent home and posted as we move through this unit. For now, the timeline is as follows:

- Friday, Dec. 5th- Each student will make a final choice on the person each would like to research.

-Monday, Dec 8- Friday, Dec. 12- Students will conduct research in the classroom during Language Arts block and prepare our speech. 

-Friday, Dec 12- A Home Project will be assigned and due on Friday, December 19.

-Monday, Dec. 15- Thursday, Dec 18- Students will be perfecting their speech in class and completing their home project, obviously, at home.

-Friday, Dec. 19- Wax Museum- Parents are invited to join us at 8:00am to tour the 4th grade classrooms and learn from our research. Please mark your calendars!

*Class parties will also be held on this day, as it is the last day before the holiday break. 

IT IS AN EARLY RELEASE DAY! 

We can't wait!

Fraction Fun!

We are full swing into our unit on fractions. Right now we are working on composing equivalent fractions and identifying fractions in pictorial form. Here are some examples of how we are finding equivalent fractions.

Homework this week will be having your kiddo practice this concept. This will be due on Monday 12/8. Remind your kiddo that in order for the fraction to be equivalent, what you do to the numerator MUST be done to the denominator as well. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Have a great week!

Interpreting the Remainder

The remainder is the amount left over after division.

Example: 19 cannot be divided exactly by 5.
The closest you can get without going over is 3 x 5 = 15, which is 4 less than 19.
So 4 is the remainder

So the answer of 19 ÷ 5 is 3 with a remainder of 4, usually written "3 R 4".



There are four ways your kiddo has learned to interpret the remainder. They are drop it, add it, share it, and use it.

The way you interpret the remainder has to do with what the word problem is asking. Homework this week will have your kiddos solving word problems with division and interpreting the remainders. They need to tell what they did with the remainder (drop it, add it, share it, or use it) and explain their logic behind their choice. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Book Fair Family Night

Don't forget...Tonight (Tuesday) , Cox will be hosting Family Night in the Book Fair. Please join us in the library for wonderful literary selections and our Silent Auction for better teeth! Everyone wants a healthy smile, right? Yes! 

Our Reading focus this 9 weeks is non-fiction yet we are tackling a historical fiction novel as our primary tool. Please ask your child why we would do such a thing? Wink wink. 

Answers should resemble this response: 

- Historical fiction uses an actual setting in our history and provides accurate information within the text. 

-While the characters in the novel are fictitious, they represent families that were present during these historical events and show thoughts and feelings these events evoked. 

Reading Corner

Our novel is I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912.    

While we are enjoying the format of a novel, we are focusing more on the non-fiction information including, but not limited to:

-ship dynamics

-geography

-icebergs

-social class

-technology (lack thereof)

In fact, check us out completing our Titanic Web Quest:

Input/Output Tables

Input and output tables are diagrams used to teach the basic concepts of functions. They are based on the rule of the function. When the table is filled in, it produces the pairs of coordinates that are necessary to construct the graph. The input is the value of x that is applied to the function. The output is the f(x), or the answer that is received as a result of putting x into the function.



Here is a link to a clear explanation with examples if you or your kiddo need some extra guidance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_aaOS6Q2qo

Homework this week will be practice with input/output tables. It go home on Monday and be due the following Monday (11/17).

If your kiddo wants some extra practice, here are some links to some games:

http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/math4/d/functiontable4l.cfm
http://www.mathplayground.com/functionmachine.html
http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/math-games/stop-creature/
http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/amy/algebra/3-
4/activities/functionmachine/functionmachine3_4.html
http://www2.smarttutor.com/player/swf/Algebra_Functions_L3_V1_T4a.swf

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Can Drive and Silent Auction

Christian Care Center Can Drive

The annual Christian Care Center Can Drive is in full swing! This year, Cox is making it into a grade level competition. The grade level that collects the most cans by Friday, Nov. 14th will get 30 minutes of extra recess. Let's see how much 4th grade can collect for a worthy cause during a time of showing our thankfulness.

4th Grade Silent Auction

Silent Auction that will make you SMILE!!

Help 4th grade go to the Fort Worth Stockyards by participating in a silent auction that will make everyone smile. You will be able to grin with pride by helping the 4th grade Cox students AND your own smile will literally get an upgrade at the same time! 

We will be auctioning off amazing gift cards to Hwy 78 Dental and Orthodontics in Wylie. Check them out at wyliesmiles.com 

Up for auction will be two $500 gift cards towards orthodontics or Invisalign, one free whitening gift card, and three $200 gift cards for dental or orthodontics.

The silent auction will begin on Tuesday, November 11 at the evening book fair (4-6pm). It will end on Wednesday, November 12 after the last Thanksgiving lunch (1:00pm). Email bids will be accepted up until the time indicated.

Please help us continue our education of Texas History with this amazing trip and save some money on your smile!


 

Long Division, Elections, and Red Ribbons...Oh My!!

Long Division!!!

We are fully into our unit on long division. We are learning a couple of methods, but our main focus is on the big seven method. Here is a link that will walk you through the big seven method:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7xSGYBpaUw

Below is the image that we use to describe big seven including a way to check your answer.




Big seven keeps place value in division and allows kiddos to solve division problems when they don't have a great grasp of multiplication facts. This makes long division seem easier for the kiddos!

We have also looked at division using standard method and distributive property. You are all familiar with the standard method, but it can sometimes make division difficult because of the removal of place value. Both of these methods rely heavily on know basic facts. Here are some examples below:



As you know, I do not have one way that I require kiddos to solve problems. I want them to do the method that works the best FOR THEM. So far, big seven is the preferred method in class. Have your kiddo show you what method they like the best!

***This week's homework will have them coming home and explaining the big seven method to you. It will be due on Monday, November 3.

Please let me know if you have any questions about this. I am more than willing to help in any way that I can!


2014 Gubernatorial Election

We will be participating in the 2014 Gubernatorial Mock Election this coming week! This is a student mock election conducted by the state. We will vote on Tuesday and report our totals to the Secretary of State. Discuss with you kiddo the impact of voting and how some of the issues the candidates address can impact them. This will be fun!


Red Ribbon Week

This coming week is red ribbon week. Don't forget the fun ways planned each day to remind kiddos to say NO to drugs.

Monday- Wear RED! As much as you can...
Tuesday- "Sock it to Drugs"- Wear colorful, crazy socks
Wednesday- "Put a lid on drugs"- Wear your favorite hat
Thursday- "An education is a terrible thing to waste"- College t-shirt
Friday- "Have the power to say no to drugs"- Superhero day

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Ms. Christian and I really appreciated and enjoyed meeting with you all this past week. We are blessed to have some amazing kiddos and parents!!! If we weren't able to meet with you and you would still like to meet, please email me and we can work something out.

Thank you for your support and sharing your wonderful children with us!

Distributive Property of Multiplication

The distributive property of multiplication lets you multiply a sum by multiplying each addend separately and then adding the products.

For example:  6(4+5) is the same as (6 x 4) + (6 x 5)  it all equals 54.

The Distributive Property of Multiplication is worth its weight in gold because:

• It allows students to solve multiplication problems that are otherwise too hard for them.
• It helps students to develop a better sense of numbers because it clearly illustrates that a number is equal to the sum of its parts.
• It helps students develop a more creative and flexible use of numbers through “number crunching”.
• It helps students to more fully understand the concept of multiplication.

Here are some example of how your kiddo might see it:

Next week's homework will have them practicing this concept. It will be due Monday, October 27th. Please let me know if you have any questions!

-Mrs. Milot

Double Digit Multiplication! :)

  

This week your kiddo was introduced to double digit multiplication. We have learned a couple of ways to calculate these types of problems. I wanted to be sure that you were aware of the methods introduced so that you can support your kiddo at home. We learned the standard/bow method and the box/partial product method. Below are images of the steps/notes that your kiddo uses for both methods.


             

                                         


Here is a link that can help demonstrate and explain the connection between the box/partial products method and the bow/standard method:
Multiplication Instructions

Box/partial products method does a good job of keeping place value in double digit multiplication. This concept can be lost when calculating using the standard method. It is also less overwhelming and therefore seems easier to some kiddos. I do not care which method your child uses as long as it make sense to them and they are consistently successful. Ask them to explain the method that they like the best to you!

Their homework next week will consist of finding multiplication problems in the real world. I give an example of a problem and how to solve it using the box method and standard method. Homework will be due on October 20th.

Please feel free to ask questions if you need some clarification. I am more than happy to help!

Thank you for all your support!

-Mrs. Milot