Mr. McDougall's 4th Grade Blog: Monday, February 4th

Today we did Session 11 in our Literary Essay Unit. Our focus today was on drafting a literary essay. We went over the important parts of an essay. The first paragraph is super important because it sets up the essay. The body paragraphs show your thoughts with evidence and explanation. The conclusion sums up your thoughts and leaves the reader with something to think about. We re-read FOX by Margaret Wild and then set up the outline for a quick write Lit Essay. Students then had 25 minutes to STOP THINK AND WRITE.

Students were tasked with taking home their drafts and doing a RETAKE.. look it over and see how they can take it from GOOD to GREAT!

Today in reading we focused on Interpreting Characters lesson 12 which was preparing for a debate. We read chapters 18 and 19 of The Tiger Rising and then then we talked about what makes a good debate. Once we talked about what makes a good debate, we listed some things we could debate (must have two sides to it). Then we talked about new things we could debate from chapter 18 and 19. We decided that the things that we could debate were "Should Rob Work for Mr. B?" "Should Rob tell Sistine he has the keys to the Tiger's Cage?" "Should Rob and Sistine let the Tiger Go?" These are all ideas that have two sides. Your job is to gather evidence for BOTH sides and decide which case you believe in more based on the evidence. We practiced in class by asking the questions, "Is Rob's dad a caring person?" We split the class up and they met and came up with ideas and evidence. Then we had a debate. The "CARING" side did a much better job preparing and really one the debate with only 6 people to their 10.
As you read, think about things that you can debate. Think about both sides. Do the work to think critically about your questions as you read.

CGI problem with division was the first stop. We talked about reading the problem carefully to make sure you know what they are asking (just the answer, just the remainder, or add one to the total).
Next we reviewed the Mid Chapter review having students come to the smartboard to work the problems.
Next, we moved into mixed numbers and improper fractions (lesson 7.6). We did a lot of practice, but some students still are not sure of the correct way to do the problems. I gave them them ALL the reteach page which shows the steps. I also gave them a lot of practice problems. If you are confused, please watch this video before doing your homework.

Homework:

Mr. McDougall's 4th Grade Blog