Mr. Blanc's Class

Report Cards I can't believe we've reached the midpoint of the year! First semester report cards will be available on Monday, 2/3 on ParentVue. Please keep in mind that the proficiency levels on the report card of your student are based on end of year 4th grade expectations. Inquiry Thank you so much to all of the volunteers who pitched in last week to film the natural disaster videos! We wouldn't have been able to do it without you! Our next inquiry unit will be under the theme of How We Organize Ourselves. The central idea of the unit is community values influence leaders and impact decision making. In this unit students will learn about our state government in Oregon. Math We are in the middle of our multiplication and division unit. Next week students will focus on dividing two digit numbers by one digit divisors. They'll learn how to use partial products to break a larger dividend into two easy to divide by numbers. For example they may solve a problem like ...

There will be no school on Monday, 1/20 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. How the World Works Next week we will be filming our natural disaster videos! A huge thanks to the parent volunteers who have signed up to film the students! We wouldn't be able to do this without your help. Most of the groups in our class will be filming on Tuesday, 1/21. Because we are using a green screen, students should not wear green on the day they are filming.  Idiom of the week: fly off the handle Report Cards  Beaverton School District will no longer be sending paper report cards home. The report cards will now be posted on ParentVue. The first semester report card will be available on Monday, 2/3. Continent Club For the forseeable future, Continent Club study materials can be accessed via links in the Monday Minute. Continent Club is a highly recommended, but optional, study at home program. All students will be tested at Continent Check on January 30th. Below are lin...

How the World Works We are nearing the end of our How the World Works inquiry with the central idea that people use scientific knowledge to respond to a changing Earth. Students have been working hard researching their natural disasters and writing an informational paper about them. Next week they'll begin our culminating project for this unit, which will involve the students filming videos using a green screen. The filming of these videos will take place on 1/21, 1/22, and 1/23.  We’re asking for parent volunteers to sign up for sections of time to film a small group of students using an iPad. We will set up the green screen and the students will be well rehearsed and ready to go. If you are interested in filming please go to the link below and sign up for a time. We are asking for two volunteers for each filming session. Feeling a little unsure about using the technology? No worries, we’ll give a quick 10-15 minute tutorial on how to use the iPad to film with a green screen ...

How the World Works To further our understanding of our how the world works central idea, which is, people use scientific knowledge to respond to a changing Earth, we will have two days with guests next week! On Monday, 12/16 a representative from the Red Cross Pillowcase Project will join our class to talk about being prepared for natural disasters. Then on Thursday, 12/19 we will have an expert panel of community members visiting our school. Andrew Phelps - Director of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management Mike Mumaw - Emergency Manager City of Beaverton Paul Jewell - Emergency Coordinator Beaverton School District Scarlet Valentine - Principal West TV This panel will give the students a chance to speak with leaders from their school, school district, city and state communities and see the work they do to prepare for natural disasters. Math Last week students learned what makes a number prime or composite. Have your child tell you the difference between the two....

How the World Works Our inquiry unit with the central idea that people use scientific knowledge to respond to a changing Earth is off and running. This week students learned about tectonic plates and how their movement can cause earthquakes. Next week we'll study volcanoes, landslides, and wildfires.  Reading Students have learned that knowledge of text structures can help readers determine the main ideas and supporting details from nonfiction text. The structures we have studied are chronological, problem/solution, cause and effect, compare/contrast, and description. Ask your student to tell you about the different text structures we've studied. Another way you can support your student in their nonfiction reading is to highlight everyday examples. Whether it's reading recipes, instructions on assembling furniture, street signs, or the back of cereal boxes. Idiom of the week : sit on the fence Math   To get started with our multiplication and division unit we'...

Short Week There will only be two days of school next week because of Thanksgiving Break. Monday, 12/2 is a Staff Development day, so students will not be in school then either. Students will return to school on Tuesday, 12/3. Inquiry The Innovation Fair was a great way to finish our How We Express Ourselves inquiry unit. Thank you to everyone who joined us! Our next inquiry will be under the theme of How the World Works. The central idea is people use scientific knowledge to respond to a changing earth. Some of the content unit students will learn about include plate tectonics, weathering, and erosion. Reading Students will not be assigned new vocabulary words or a reading log over Thanksgiving break. Instead, they will be given an optional reading log and anyone who brings it back when we return to school on Tuesday, 12/3 will get on the class Wall of Fame.  Idiom of the week: hit the road Library Cards Today students were given Washington County Cooperative Lib...

Innovation Fair On Thursday, students were sent home with information about the 4th Grade Innovation Fair. This will be our culminating activity for our How We Express Ourselves inquiry unit with the central idea that people innovate using creativity and knowledge of energy. It will take place on Thursday, November 21st, from 1:40-2:20 in the school Library. Students have been given a design map and been put in charge of coming up with a creative idea that they can share at the Innovation Fair. This idea will solve a problem by improving an existing object, or by inventing a new one. If your child needs anything other than their Chromebook, Micro:Bits (a computer coding device), or basic school supplies, it is their responsibility to bring those items to school. Reading  A big focus for our class going forward will be having each student select books at their just right reading level. This is so important, because in order to grow big ideas about the books they are reading, stu...