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Dear Families,
It has been another exciting and productive week in our classroom! The students have been growing as learners, thinkers, and community members, and I’m so proud of their progress. Here’s a look at what we’ve been working on together this week: During our Morning Meeting, we have continued checking in on our Zones of Regulation. My students are becoming more fluent in recognizing and regulating their emotions, especially when they find themselves in the blue or yellow zones. This gentle routine has been a wonderful way to start our mornings, allowing us to learn about one another’s feelings and build empathy. It’s heartwarming to see how students are supporting and encouraging each other. In Math, we have been constructing a Great Wall of Base Ten to deepen our understanding of place value and multiplying by multiples of 10. We also explored decimals during snack time, using hundred grids as our “Tool of the Week.” Students have completed their end-of-unit assessment on multiplication and division, and the corrected tests will be included in next week’s portfolio. During our Daily 5 Literacy routine, students have continued to build their stamina in independent reading and writing, practiced this week’s vocabulary words, and completed an assessment on text features. In small groups, we have focused on reading comprehension, identifying text features in informational texts, and finding key details to summarize. We also began our personal narrative writing unit, and students have brainstormed creative ideas to begin drafting soon. In our WIN block, students have worked on individual learning goals — some in small groups, others one-on-one with a teacher, and some independently. Their focus areas have included completing assessments, improving handwriting, and strengthening fluency and comprehension skills. During Social Studies, students have been generating thoughtful questions about how maps give us information about land and people. We practiced identifying open and closed questions, and even challenged ourselves to change one type into the other. This exploration helped us think critically about how we can use maps to understand North America. Finally, during our Self-Reflection time, we have been celebrating both accomplishments and challenges. Students shared pride in progress — such as improving math scores, understanding decimals, earning SOAR coupons, or taking on new classroom jobs. They also reflected on challenges like avoiding distractions, slowing down their handwriting, or remembering to listen when others are speaking. We understand that we are all works in progress and that our classroom community is a safe space to grow and learn. And as the cherry on top, we enjoyed a joyful visit with our kindergarten buddies from Mrs. Pilkington’s and Mrs. Smith’s class! This week, my students read stories aloud to their younger friends, who listened to their every word. Our fourth graders were kind, patient, and engaging readers — and they glowed with pride after the visit! It’s been a week filled with growth, learning, and kindness. I’m so proud of how far our class has come and can’t wait to see what the next week brings!
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Dear Families,
We still need to wrap up a few things in the classroom, so the portfolios will be going home next week instead of today. In Math, we have completed a checkpoint on multiplication and division, practiced finding factors and multiples of numbers, and worked on using multiplicative comparisons. In Language Arts, we have been learning about text features in informational texts and how they help readers understand nonfiction. We discussed glossaries, tables of contents, bold and italic fonts, titles and subtitles, pictures, captions, labels, diagrams, maps, and timelines. Students have been working independently, in small groups with Mrs. Parent on vocabulary, and with me on reviewing and practicing skills, reading comprehension, writing, and goal setting. In Science, we have been concluding our unit on the Human Body by learning how the brain functions. We also connected all the lessons together through an “anchor connector” activity. During Morning Meeting, we have been talking about the importance of stopping, thinking, and acting instead of reacting to situations. Students acted out different classroom scenarios by first showing the “wrong” behavior, and then demonstrating a more thoughtful choice. The students had a blast performing their short skits, and we all learned valuable ways to self-regulate in those situations. And as fantastic extras this week, the class voted on a reward for earning 20 SOAR coupons—they chose to bring a stuffed animal! They also listened to the fascinating (and true!) story of The Ghosts of Clough Elementary, told with the blinds drawn and lights off, and today we get to play math games with Mrs. Pilkington’s and Mrs. Smith’s kindergarten students. (Cute pictures will be shared next week!) We’ve certainly had a lot of fun while learning this week. Enjoy the long weekend! Dear Families,
We’ve now wrapped up our first full month of school, and it’s been such a rich start! Below is a glimpse of the learning and growth happening in our classroom this week. Math We’ve been exploring partial equations and partial products: breaking apart tiled arrays into smaller pieces and experimenting with different multiplication strategies. Students are learning flexibility in thinking about factors and decomposing numbers to make multiplication easier. Literacy / Daily 5 As part of our Daily 5 routine, we introduced a new choice: Word Work / Vocabulary, where small groups are learning four new words each week. Students then engage with those words independently over the week. In addition to that, students are reading self-selected books, working with me in small groups with me, listening to reading and writing in their journals. They also completed the iReady diagnostic assessments in both language arts and math. From that, they’ve begun their iReady “My Path” journeys—personalized practice targeted at the areas the assessment flagged as most challenging. Students select the “Skill Practice” choice in their Daily 5 trackers when working on My Path. Science We’ve officially wrapped up our eye model project and have shifted to studying the brain and nervous system. Morning Meeting We’ve been focusing on effective listening skills and respecting personal space, practices that help us all feel safer, heard, and more comfortable. Daily Reflection Each day, students write a self-reflection on what went well and what was challenging. This supports a growth mindset, and helps my students reflect on all the things that they have been able to accomplish. To wrap up, here are some possible conversation ideas when you talk with your child about school:
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AuthorHello! My name is Esther Willinski, and I am a fourth grade teacher in Massachusetts. Join us in our journey through 4th grade! Archives
November 2025
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