Bridges Blog Archive for Grade 4

Sir Cumference and the Viking's Map, the seventh book in the series by Cindy Neuschwander, will intrigue adventurers in grades 3-5.

Xtra Math is a free, online program designed to help kids master basic math facts: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Student accounts can be accessed from computers at home or school. Progress reports are available.

While the program can provide fact fluency support to any child, it may be an especially helpful tool in fourth grade as students work on "Quick Facts"  during Number Corner Computational Fluency, January through March.

Exploring fractions? Short on egg cartons? Although many students will need to experience egg cartons and tile in the third dimension, in a pinch these egg carton blacklines come in handy; students place tile and yarn on the blackline rather than in the egg carton.

one 12-compartment egg carton, pdf

two 12-compartment egg carton, pdf

Egg carton fractions are coming up in Unit 3 (Grade 4) and Unit 4 (Grade 5.)

During the month of November, fourth graders observe a "Tumbling Triangle." This Calendar Grid activity depicts a single triangle in a different location on a quadrant grid each day as it moves through a series of transformations: slides, turns, and flips. Through the pattern, students develop language and concepts of motion geometry.

Vonnie Oyer teaches fourth grade Bridges at 91 Elementary School in Canby, Oregon. After using the Word Resource Cards for commutative and associative property, she decided to make additional cards for zero, and identity and distributive properties of multiplication.

In Grade 4 Number Corner, October's Calendar Collector titled "A Cup a Day," provides opportunities for students to measure capacity as they explore equivalent fractions and carry out simple unit conversions within the U.S. customary system.

Exploring multi-digit multiplication during Unit 2 in fourth or fifth grade Bridges? Amy Radden and Kendra Brush from Evansville Elementary in Casper, Wyoming, developed multi-digit multiplication posters to illustrate some of the strategies used in Bridges.

Multi-Digit Multiplication Strategy Posters (free pdf)