4th Grade Spanish Immersion with Maestra Damsteegt

What We Learned this Week: Bible:  We have finished studying King Saul's reign and have begun our study on King David's reign. We just completed our study of the ark of the covenant's arrival to the City of David.  Math:  The students prepared for the chapter 3 unit test this week. The students will finish the tests next week and then we will begin chapter 4.  Reading:  We have been using graphic organizers in order to visualize the information we are reading in our non-fiction texts. This week, we specifically looked at cause & effect, problem & solution and chronological order of events. Grammar:  The students reviewed the Spanish conditional tense. This tense is used to talk about hypothetical situations or possible future events. We also talked about how a special mark called a "dieresis" (two little dots placed above the letter u ) alerts the speaker to pronounce the letter u' s name.   Writing:  The students are working har...

What We Learned this Week: Bible:  This week, we learned about the death of King Saul. Later, we read the account of the lie the Amalekite man told David in regards to King Saul's death. The students will take the chapter 7 test on Monday. Next, we look forward to studying King David's reign. Math:  The students worked on solving word problems and deciding what operation to use in order to solve them- addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.  Reading:  This week, the students pushed their thinking with the facts that they learned. Later, they used graphic organizers in order to record describing words and phrases related to the topics found within the informational texts they are reading.  Writing:  The students worked on three different elements that back up the reasons for their persuasive essays- micro-stories, surveys, and interviews. Next week, the students will continue to work on these essays and then we will spend some time to develop the...

What We Learned this Week: Bible:  This week, we finished up the story of Abigail, Nabal, and David. We started the story of Saul and the witch of Endor, and we will finish it on Monday of next week.  Math:  This week, the students reviewed the different methods learned to solve long division. The students also learned how to use rounding and estimation to check the reasonableness of a quotient. The students should continue to practice long division at home. Reading:  The students reflected upon a list of the techniques they have learned in order to better understand the non-fiction books they are reading. They then chose one of those techniques and applied it to the book they are reading.  Writing:  The students started to write their personal micro-stories that will be used to back up one of their reasonings for their persuasive topics.  Social Studies:  We studied the natural landforms found in the United States of America such as the following...

  Happy Snow Day! Stay safe and enjoy the January 12 snow day! Due to the unexpected short week, the blog detailing what we learned this week may appear a bit shorter than usual AND there won't be that many photos. Sorry about that! :) What We Learned this Week: Bible : This week, the students read the story of Nabal, David, and Abigail. We learned that a gentle and kind answer can indeed turn away wrath. Please note that due to the snow days, the chapter 7 test will happen during the week of January 22 to 26. Math : The students worked on long division problems (including word problems) using the long division methods of their choice.  Reading : This week, the students became experts of their non-fiction books as they taught their reading partners all that they have learned thus far from their books.  Grammar : This week, we talked about the differences between the words " qué” and “cuál” and the situations in which they are used. We also studied Spanish words used to fo...

What We Learned this Week: Bible : We learned about how David continuously spared Saul's life. We talked about if Saul was truly sorry for trying to take David's life, and we concluded that he was not. We also talked about the lessons that David learned from God during the time that he was fleeing from Saul. Math : This week, the students learned the digit by digit method of division. It might be a wise idea for them to practice a bit of their division facts over the break. Reading : The students practiced finding main ideas in sections of their non-fiction books and considering what it teaches them. I highly encourage the students to read for fun over the break. I am going to challenge myself to read at least one book over the break.  Writing : The students are nearing the end of their research investigation for their persuasive essays. Later, they will be learning how to use mirco-stories in their essays.  The Teacher "Rock Paper Scissors" Game The teachers played a...

What We Learned this Week: Bible : We read and studied the story of David and Jonathan's friendship. The students took time to reflect upon what it means to be a good friend by creating a poster to artistically illustrate their ideas.  Math : Our new division unit is off to a great start! We started off by learning about the Place Value Sections Method for Division. The students are familiar with this method because we have used it in order to multiply numbers. If you would like to take a look at a video to see how it's done (or if your student needs a refresher), I am including this link to a video explanation of the method. Later in the week, we learned how to use the Expanded Notation Method for Division. Again, if you would like to check out a video to see how it's done (or if your student needs a refresher), I am including this link to a video explanation of the method.  Reading :  We have started our new unit on informational text. The students were introduced to ...