Correction

Social Studies Test

As many of you have noticed, number four on the Social Studies test may have been counted wrong.  After checking with the study guide, the answer that your child chose may have been marked as incorrect.  After reviewing with the book, the test actually has two correct answers.  The Missourians were NOT farmers (choice A), and the Missourians used all of the buffalo (choice C).  Since both are correct, students will receive one point to their grade, and their scores will be adjusted.  Sorry for the confusion.  I will be more careful in the future.    

Learning in a Winter Wonderland!

Learning in a Winter Wonderland!

This is our last week before our two week Christmas Break.  The students have been hard at work during indoor recess time to decorate our room.  It looks awesome!  But, never the less, we still have things that we need to learn.  

This week in Math, we will continue working with division.  This is difficult for some students, but practice makes perfect.  This week, will include division, with a zero in the quotient.  This can be a challenge for some students.  I always remind them to be patient.  After practice, the idea will come.  We will have a test on Thursday, but there will not be a review day.  We wanted to test before the break, so we will try to review as much as we can in class.  I will suggest some problems for the students who seem to struggle with the concept.  

In Social Studies, students will review again today, and test on Tuesday.  Instead of starting a new unit with only three days, we will use that time for extra Math practice, and catch up on poetry.

In English Language Arts, students will continue with their poetry work.  There are some real poets in here!  We will work on a Haiku, 5W's, and an Acrostic Alliteration.  These should all be fun!  On Thursday, students will share their poetry with one another, and their favorite poem to the class.  I will also ask them to take their books home one evening to share with you.  You will need to be a critic for them.  I would love to display these in the hall, so please be sure that they come back!

In Reading, we will finish with The Best Christmas Pageant Ever on Tuesday.  We will discuss the theme of the story and quiz over the book.  On Wednesday, we will watch the movie and do a book to movie comparison.  These are always fun!  On Thursday's PJ day, we will compare A Christmas Carol to the Jim Carey version of the movie, while we enjoy Hot Chocolate.  What a fun way to compare two very different things!  

In Spelling, we will test on Wednesday.

As a reminder, we will visit our Holiday Shopping Mart on Tuesday during Library time.  

This week, to get us into the Holiday spirit, students will have the following dress up days to participate in: Tuesday: Christmas Shirts or Sweaters with VISIBLE Holiday Socks

Wednesday: Red and White Attire (Candy Cane Day)

Thursday: PJ Day!  (We will get hot chocolate in the afternoon)

Friday: Wear Red and Green

On Thursday, students will receive their gifts from me, and I will open any gifts that I may receive. (Friday is pretty busy, and I want to make sure to give special attention to anything I may receive.)

 

On Friday, we will have our Character Assembly from 8:30- 9:30, our parties from 9:30- 10:30, and we will dismiss at noon for our Holiday Break, returning January 6.   

 

I want to wish everyone a very merry Christmas with family and friends.  I love this magical time of year!  Thank you for the opportunity to work with your child!

  

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Two Weeks Left...

Good morning!  I am glad all students made it here safe and sound.  I know it is always a tough call when the weather gets like this, so I am glad everyone used caution while driving here this morning.

Another busy week ahead for us, so here it is:

In Math, we will review for our test that is on Tuesday.  For this test, the biggest obstacle is the 2 digit multiplication.  When the students get it- they get it!  Until then, practice makes perfect!  Keep them practicing at home.  A method that we have used is the "turtlehead" method.  You may youtube the video if your child seems to be struggling at home.  On Wednesday, we begin our division patterns.  We will continue with exploring dividing, and end the week dividing by one digit numbers.  

We make our switch for the next two weeks to Social Studies.  We only have four weeks (January 10) until the end of our quarter, so hopefully the students buckle down, and perform well on their assignments and tests.  The unit we start with this week discusses Native American tribes that inhabited early Missouri.  

In Spelling, students have a new list going home today.  On Tuesday, students will review compound words, and their meanings.  We will also study suffixes, irregular verbs, and consonant blends.  We will prepare for a test Wednesday next week. 

 In Reading, we begin reading the book The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  This is a classic Christmas tale that I remember reading when I was younger.  The story starts off with a family full of misbehaving children, who decide to join the Christmas Pageant.  The story develops as the children begin to change before the community's eyes.  At the beginning, the story has some harsh vocab to describe the crazy Herdman family.  It is all to show the strong change they make throughout the story.  With this story, students will be focusing on theme.  Each day, students will chose a different response to think about the reading for the day.  They will respond from a list of 20 choices in their Reader's Notebook each day.  

In English Language Arts, we will finish our Christmas research papers.  Some are turning out really well!  For fourth graders, I am amazed at what they can accomplish with technology.  I have learned a few things!  We will then move onto figurative language, such as similes, metaphors, and alliterations.  We will use the story Polar Express to exhibit the use of figurative language to make a powerful picture in a reader's head.  Students will then begin a short poetry writing unit with the subject of winter.  Hopefully these turn out fabulous!  

Have a great week! 

Welcome Back!

It is Christmas Time!

I hope that everyone enjoyed their long holiday weekend.  It was definitely needed at our house!  

This week, we will be doing our NWEA tests.  We will test on Monday from 1:50- 2:50, Tuesday at 9:20, Wednesday at 1:50, and Thursday at 1:50 is a make-up day.  If you could please try to make sure that your child is here on those days, at those times, it helps to make testing more accurate, and less stressful.  Thank you!

In Math this week, students will look at patterns if multiplication, multiplying by multiples, multiplying by two-digit numbers, and multi-step problems.  Again, fact practice will be key in understanding these concepts.  Thank you for continuing to help your child be successful with these!

In Science, we will study electricity and magnetism, and investigate it.  On Wednesday, students will complete a review for our test on Friday.  We will do an in-class review on Thursday.  Again, a test will be on Friday.  

In Reading, students will learn to identify theme across cultures.  We will use an Indian tale called Munna's Grain of Rice to practice determining theme.  Students will then read an adapted classic, A Christmas Carol.  Students will work to determine the theme by identifying the problem and solution.  Theme is really the main idea of the text.  We will then take it a step farther to find the "universal theme", which is the topic- a more broad idea of the text.  This helps readers look at the theme across cultures.  The two stories we will be studying have a universal theme of "greed".  

In English Language Arts, students will learn to take notes using Double Column note taking.  They will then use this skill to complete a short research project on how Christmas is celebrated in different countries.  All of the sources they will need are provided, they will simply locate the information, record their notes, and type the information into a the paragraph paper.  It should be fun!

Thank you again for all of you support and help during the expository papers and presentations.  We couldn't have done it without you!

As a quick reminder, when we have a "snow" day, we resume the day missed when we return.  For example, if we missed a Day  (PE special), when we return, that is the special day that we have.  Hopefully we wait a while before having any more!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

After an unexpected day at home, we have a busy two days!

This week in Math, we will teach Friday's lesson on functions, and what we had planned for Monday as well.  So today, we are combining functions and finding a pattern in problem solving.  We will test tomorrow so that we do not have a long break before testing our new skills.

In Science, we will have an investigation on electricity and creating a light bulb.  On Tuesday, we will double up our lessons on electricity, as well.  

In Spelling, we will test today and review any missed words on Tuesday.

In Reading, students will apply comprehension strategies from What Was the First Thanksgiving? .

In English Language Arts, we will catch up presentations and listening skills.

We have a busy week!  Thank you to all of you who donated food, toys, and/or money to our families in need.  You are helping your children learn the value of giving to those less fortunate.  What an awesome thing!

As a head's up, students will begin taking the NWEA computerized tests the week we return from Thanksgiving Break.  We will also begin DRA reading testing soon.  AR points are to be finished by Christmas break, so we have three weeks to get to 10 points!  Most are already there!  Yippee!  

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!  I am thankful to have such a wonderful class, and such supportive parents!  You make my job so much easier. 

Expository Presentations

In Case You Were Wondering...

Here are presentation dates.  These are the days materials will need to be provided.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Date	Name	Presentation
11/20	Madison Meyer	Bubbles
11/20	Luke Swenson	Drawing
11/20	Wyatt Marshall	Ice Cream Sundaes
11/20	Eli Carpenter	Reese’s PB Cups
11/21	Layson Hafley	Chemical Reaction
11/21	Dallas Grippando	No Bake Cookies
11/21	Mia Campbell	Paper Mache
11/21	Jordan Brill	Ice Cream Float
11/22	Cali Wheeler	Fudge
11/22	Hunter Brown	PBJ
11/22	Ali Coon	Cookie Dough Bites
11/22	Denver Spurgeon	Paper Heart
11/25	Rawlins Brant	Snow Cones
11/25	Lane Leader	Paper Airplane
11/25	Owen Myers	Lego House
11/25	Nathan Hyde	White Trash
11/26	Wyatt Arnold	Pitch Perfect
11/26	Alexis Cotton	Fruit Kabobs
11/26	Andrew Schaeffer	Marshmallow Man

November 18- 22

A Full Week

The last full week before Thanksgiving.  I enjoy the holiday season immensely, but it can make for a hectic schedule trying to get things finished before a break.  Here is a look at our week ahead.

We start Math off this week preparing for a test.  We will test in Tuesday.  This test focuses on multiplying two-digit by one-digit numbers.  After that, we will begin multiplying greater numbers, and looking at mathematical functions.  Not too bad this week.  Make sure to continue studying those facts!

In Science, we start Monday with a test.  On Tuesday, students will begin studying electricity and magnetism, starting with static electricity.  By Friday, students will be investigating how to make a light bulb!  This should be fun!

Spelling will focus on long a words, words tat have more than one meaning (hot, play, etc.), and compound words.  We will test on Friday.

In Reading, we will finish up What Was the First Thanksgiving?  By Thursday, we will read another short text, and compare and contrast the two, and the way that each text provides information.  Students will then create a timeline of events from the book.  Literature Circles will continue as scheduled.  

Students will finish up their expository writing, or "How-To" papers early this week.  We will begin presentations on Wednesday.  A note will be sent home today giving you the date of your child's presentation.  Please help them remember to bring their supplies on that day to help the schedule run smoothly.  Thank you in advance for your help with this writing project.  Students really seem to enjoy doing these.  

We have RTI this week.  Our concept that we will be looking at more closely is sequencing.  we will practice some basic concepts, and then apply them to some short picture books.   

November 11- 15

An "Informative" Week

November is here!  And with that comes cold weather!  Please make sure to send your child to school dressed for the weather.  We go out to recess unless it is raining or snowing, or if the windchill is 25 degrees or below.  Some days the wind makes it feel pretty cool out there.  My rule is that if you send your child to school in it (coat, hat gloves, etc.), they must wear it outside.  Thank you in advance!

Now down to business.  In Math this week, students will begin to look at patterns and properties in multiplication and division.  On Wednesday students will begin multiplying two-digit by one-digit numbers.  Since this is a half day, we will practice this concept as a whole class, and then send home the assignment on Thursday.  On Friday, students will estimate products in multiplication.  This was a struggle for some with addition.  Hopefully they will get the hang of estimating this time around. Multiplication fact recognition seems to be going well.  Therefore, division is looking good!  Hopefully we can keep this up!

In Science, we will begin looking at thermal energy, and have our last investigation about moving water.  On Thursday, we will complete a study guide in class.  We will review again on Friday.  Our test will be on Monday.  I know this isn't an ideal testing day, but we hope with a two-day review in school and having the resources to study for four days, the tests will turn out okay.  These tests will look different for our students than our previous conservation unit tests.  Knowing the material well is the best preparation!

In Spelling, we will review today, Monday, and test on Tuesday.  That means that on Thursday, students will receive a new list.  I will update the sidebar list then so the words to study are available throughout the test on Tuesday.  This unit we are looking at compound words, words with a long a spelling pattern, and words with more than one meaning.  

In Reading, we will continue with our literature circles.  As a whole group, we will begin studying the nonfiction text, What Was the First Thanksgiving.  We will use this text to understand d\features of a nonfiction (informational) text, and how to apply the strategies they use daily in nonfiction.  This week, we will use the book to look closer at cause and effect and fact or opinion.  

In English Language Arts, students will begin thinking about creating an expository paper.  This paper is informing their class about a procedure.  I will be sending home a note today to tell you more about this.  We will work on possible topic ideas in class today.  Hopefully, you can help them narrow down the possibilities with a discussion at home.  Students will begin drafting on Wednesday.  We hope to begin their presentation on November 21.  More details on who is to present when as the dates get closer.  Let me know if you have any question about this after you have read the note.  It is always a lot of fun!

November 4- 8

Welcome Back!

I hope everyone enjoyed a nice four-day weekend.  I did!  After this nice rest, I hope everyone is ready to roll!  We have our plans jam-packed through Thanksgiving.

 

 

In Math this week, we continue our work with division.  So far, this transition hasn't been too bad.  Students have seemed to notice the correlation between the two operations of multiplication and division.  On Monday, students will learn about missing factors.  (Just another way to look at division.)  It is algebra!  Hard to believe that fourth graders are doing this math already, but it is introduced in a very kid-friendly way.  Students will then learn a new problem-solving strategy- working backwards.  On Wednesday, students will understand the difference between expressions and equations.  We will prepare for a test on Thursday, and actually test on Friday. 

 

It is time to make the transition back to Science.  We will be using a different Science book for this unit.  Students will begin to study energy in motion.  With this unit, each day has a worksheet to complete over their reading.  Their books are a great resource for these, since the information is stated very clearly within the reading.  We will complete some investigations, or small experiments, with this unit.  New learning standards require students to preform experiments with the Scientific Process of Inquiry.  We will use the experiments within this unit to conduct these inquiry based experiments.  It should be a lot of fun for the students to see these experiments conducted with all of the different variables. 

 

We begin a new unit in Spelling this week.  Students will study /ou/ spelling patterns (ouch, cow).  Silent letters can be tricky.  We will help the students identify more of these within their words. We will continue to address adding suffixes to root words.  We should be ready for a test next Tuesday. 

 

In Reading, we will take a few days to address following directions- both verbal and written.  This is a struggle in most students, and adults alike.  Hopefully, this reminder with some tips will aid in daily work, as well as our standardized testing.  On Wednesday, we will begin a longer unit on informational text features.  We will first review all of the aspects, and then we will apply our knowledge to an informational text that we will read throughout November.  On Friday, students will be introduced to What Was the First Thanksgiving? .  We will use this text to identify text features and apply comprehension strategies to informational texts.  Students will continue with their literature circle studies.  On that note, students are receiving plenty of opportunities to receive AR points with the books we are reading in class.  Hopefully, they are still reading independent books to boost their points (and reading levels), as well.

 

In English Language Arts, students will be learning about several things this week.  Our grammar lessons involve subject-verb agreement, linking and helping verbs, verb tense, and irregular verbs.  We will then take to time to understand the 3 purposes of an author (P.I.E)- to "P"ersuade, to "I"nform, and to "E"ntertain.  These lessons will guide us into next week's lessons and our next drafting opportunity.  Students will continue working on their writing fluency, and enhancing their writing in their Writer's Notebooks.  We will learn a new strategy known as "3 for 3".  Students will be given a word that they will write three word phrases about for three minutes.  By the end of the week, we will make it a "4 for 4".  These are really fun, and require students to think outside of the box using more descriptive language. 

 

Whew!  There is a lot going on this week.  Let me know if  you have any questions!   

October 28-30

Short and Sweet...Like Candy!

These three days are packed with plenty of school for your little ghouls!  Don't forget that this is conference week.  Contact myself or the office if you have forgotten your time to meet with me on either Tuesday or Wednesday evening.  I look forward to meeting with all of you!

I was really impressed with the Math Test scores from our test on Friday!  The scores ensure understanding, and that should lead us into a great unit with division!  I will continue with the timed tests in multiplication to help increase their fluency with these facts.  It is still vital that students practice these facts, and know them quickly by recognition.  With that, students will be able to hopefully see that division is simply "backwards" multiplication.  If students are fluent with multiplication, I have no fears about them beginning division.  By Wednesday, students will be dividing through twelves...hopefully.  I will try to research some good division games for the computer and place them on the right side bar as a link.  (The sidebar seems to be working now!)

In Social Studies, students will review for the chapter 2 test that will be on Tuesday.  Mrs. Partridge and myself decided to create our own test for this chapter, to make it reflect the material more and create an ease in studying.  Again, the test is on Tuesday.  

In Reading this week, students have finished Bunnicula, and they have worked on the skill of drawing conclusions.  For our end of the the book assessment, students will take three different AR tests.  One for comprehension, one for literacy skills, and one for vocabulary.  Only the comprehension score counts towards points.  The other two tests are for grading purposes.  Students will then take some computer lab time to create a Google Presentation.  Students will get a Google account for here at school, that they can also use from home.  They will use this email address to log on to Google Chrome and create a presentation with a partner.  This program allows students to work simultaneously on the same document.  Each partner group will have a chapter assigned to them and they will have specific criteria for each slide.  We will work on this in computer time, as well as with the laptops in the classroom.  This week we will also continue work on our Literature Circles.  

In English Language Arts, we will finish our final drafts to our "Monster" papers on Monday.  On Tuesday, students will share their work on their monsters.  We hope to have these with our actual monsters on display for conferences!  On Wednesday, students will work on a fluency strategy of "Writing from a Word".  We will select a word as a class, and then students will use that to prompt them to write for 15 minutes.  

In Spelling, a "Dear Parents" on /j/ sounds will go home on Monday.  This will help students with their skill test.  Our "Cloze" test and skill test will be on Tuesday, and students will practice any missed words on Wednesday.  

Thank you again to all who helped out with the party.  The kids and myself had a great time.  I appreciate your your time and effort to make the day fun for students.  

  

Have a great long weekend.  I hope everyone enjoys Trick-or- Treating on Thursday.      

October 21- 25

The New Quarter

Our second quarter has begun.  It should be a very seamless transition.  The only thing that we need to watch for is that all percentages begin again.  So at the very beginning, their percentages will be very similar to the grades they receive on daily work and any tests taken.  I will remind students (you may want to remind them, as well) that their scores at the beginning of each quarter are very important so that students are not trying to dig themselves out of a hole for the remainder of the quarter.  Other than that, we will keep chugging along as usual!

This week in Math, we will continue taking our 5 minute timed test and graphing the results.  I am so excited to see students improving daily.  That is a great sign.  Daily practice is essential to multiplication success.  Try playing some games from the links on the right side bar to help improve student scores.  We will continue with lessons that involve multiplication, such as problem solving, square numbers, and multiplication tables and patterns.  Thursday we will begin reviewing for our test, which will be on Friday.  Students will take the 5 minutes timed test, but we will not record these scores as a grade.  This will be for our benefit to check student's progress.  Keep practicing those facts!

In Social Studies, students will continue learning about our state and the cultures and activities that are a part of Missouri today.  By Friday, we will be completing a study guide for chapter 2.  Our test will be on Tuesday of the following week.  

This week in Spelling, we will continue to work with the new words that students received last week.  (Hopefully I can update the sidebar on the right with the new words!)  We will use these words to study surprise spelling patterns, /j/ spelling patterns (-dge, -ge, -j, -gi, -gy), and adding prefixes and suffixes.  We will prepare for a test by next Tuesday.  

In Reading, students will continue with their literature circle book study.  We will finish up our whole group study of Bunnicula and drawing conclusions.  Each student should get a really great boost to their second quarter AR points by quizzing over this title.  

In English Language Arts, students will begin the drafting process.  In Art, students created a monster.  They will use this monster to create a 4 paragraph narrative.  Each paragraph has a specific element to address.  We are looking for proper narrative format, as well as paragraph format.  Each paragraph should be indented, include a topic sentence, a body, and a closing.  We are looking for descriptive vocabulary and transition words.  Their Writer's Notebook is a great resource to help with this assignment!  We will need to have final drafts completed by Monday.  

Have a great week!  I hope to see you all on Friday from 2:00- 3:00 for our Fall Party!    

October 14- 18

Last Week of the Quarter!

 Quarter one is coming to a close.  Thursday is our last day of this quarter, making it the last day for AR points (10), and first quarter grades.  Friday, the 18th, will be a half day.  

In Math this week we will dive into multiplication!  For some kids, this will be a simple review.  For others, this may pose more challenging.  We are trying to reach many different learning types with several strategies for memorization of these facts.  Each day, students will begin math with a 1 minute timed test.  They will graph their progress in a bar graph each day.  Hopefully, this will be a great visual to see their growth as they learn their facts.  We will use Schoolhouse Rock videos again, as well as a skip counting page.  Students will also learn about the properties of multiplication.  

In Social Studies we are preparing for a test.  Monday and Tuesday we will try a few study techniques.  The study guide will go home on Monday with the correct answers, so try to take a look at these both Monday and Tuesday night to ensure comprehension of the test material.  Our test will be on Wednesday over chapter one, our state's climate and resources.  On Thursday, students will begin chapter two, looking at our state filled with many cultures.  

Spelling this week begins with test preparation.  On Monday, we will review /s/ sound spelling patterns (s, ss, sc, ce, ci, cy) and send home a "Dear Parents".  Our test will be on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, we will review any missed words from the test.  Thursday, we will have a words preview of new words.  Our new words for this unit are: fire, ready, green, yes, built.  Our bonus words are: vegetables, refrigerator, object, gym, dodge, gypsy, ginger.  Unit test words are: means, first, built, Americans, several, their, green, together, form, animal, ground, ready, its, because, certain, fire, front, always, yes, there.  For some reason, the site is not allowing me to place them on the sidebar as I would like.  Sorry for the confusion.  

We will continue with our Literature Circle groups in reading, as usual.  Each group should finish their book this week, and begin a new one.  Students will continue practice with drawing conclusions using the book Bunnicula, and their Reader's Notebooks answering 3 important questions.  "What do I know for sure?" (explicit information, or information directly from the text), "Stop and think about this information.  What else were we able to figure out from this information?" (conclusions using textual evidence, background knowledge, and connections to their life), and "How did I figure this out?"  (text evidence, background knowledge, personal connections).  The students are doing an awesome job with this.

In English Language Arts, students will be looking at paragraph structure.  They will use the knowledge of paragraph structure (topic sentence, details, and a closing) to write a small narrative next week.  Students will learn a new strategy  of writing observations.  Students will go to multiple locations throughout the school to use their five senses to write.  This should help with detail in their writing.  

Since I cannot edit my sidebar, here are some important dates:
10/15: Spelling Test; McTeacher's Night, 4-8 

10/16: Social Studies Test

10/18: Half Day

October 7- 11

Coming to an End

It is hard to believe that our quarter is almost over!  This is the last week before quarter one closes out.  The quarter's actual end date is October 17.  This is the end of AR points, as well.  They are asked to have 10 points by this date.  If your child does not have 10 points, look for a note in their agenda some time this week.  You may also check their progress with the Home Connect option.  I am really impressed with this group and their performance so far this year.  

In Math this week, we will begin Monday with a test review.  We will test on Tuesday.  This test deals with data and measurement.  On Wednesday, students will begin their graphing unit.  We will study bar graphs, line graphs, and coordinate graphs.  This unit should come easy to most students.  The most challenging thing for this class is answering what the question in really asking.  You may address underlining what the question is really asking with your child.  I ask students to label their answers, and this helps them to try to read more carefully.

In Social Studies we will begin using the text book.  We will start our unit with Missouri's geography- rivers, regions, latitude and longitude.  We will also take a look at Missouri's resources and climates.  

In Spelling, I think that the students are beginning to catch on.  This unit's tests were awesome!  some are still struggling with when to capitalize.  The skills are really starting to shape up!  This week, we begin a new unit. Students will start by addressing any words that they missed on Friday's test.  The "Word Preview" will be on Tuesday.  We will again introduce the new words and bonus words.  We will also give students all 20 test words.  Be on the look out for these.  The skill we will address in class is /s/ spelling patterns.  The most common are s, ss, c (ce, ci, cy), and sc.  We will also discuss that when a vowel is followed by r, it creates a new sound.  (As is herd)  Friday students will practice adding prefixes and suffixes. ***For some reason, I cannot change my spelling words, so here they are:
Americans, enough, there, United States, than, country, rest, certain, most, feel, though, words, worked, six, then, their, perhaps, cold, true, behind.
**New Words**- rest, perhaps, certain, six, feel  
***Bonus Words***- recess, sentence, difference

Reading this week will continue with our Literature Circles.  Students are doing a phenomenal job of completing their reading and their jobs.  We will also finish work on our Glogs.  The class seems to enjoy working on them, when we can get technology to cooperate!  Thank you for allowing your child to work on these at home.  They are looking great!  When these are completed, we will start work on drawing conclusions.  

In English Language Arts, the class will learn about complete sentences using subjects and predicates.  This can be a dry subject, but hopefully a beneficial one!  Our writing strategies for the week are "I Wonder" and "Writing Off of Literature".  These two fluency strategies seem to be fun for students.  The "I Wonder" is simply that- writing about things we wonder about.  In "Writing Off of Literature", we will read a short story or poem and ask students to write about whatever comes to mind.    

Just a friendly reminder to ensure that your conference preference sheet comes back soon.  I will send formal dates and times out by the end of the week.

September 30- October 4

Happy Fall!

I cannot believe that October is already here.  But, as it is, we will keep plugging away!

In Math this week, we will look at ordinal numbers in a calendar.  Students will also begin calculating range, median, and mode.  (We will spend two days on this concept).  Students will also look at collecting and organizing data that will lead to graphing.  

We have made the switch to Social Studies!  I am so excited!  I love fourth grade Social Studies!  We will begin by looking at Missouri and its symbols.  Mrs. Partridge and I have some fun activities planned for this unit.  Students need to know Missouri's two important rivers, the Missouri and the Mississippi, and some important cities.  As a review, they will recreate the map of Missouri using cookie dough, M &M's and blue icing.  It should be fun.  We hope to have a high school student join us to demonstrate our state musical instrument, the fiddle, and hear a piece of the Missouri Waltz, our state song.  We will quiz over these elements on Friday.

In Reading, we are introducing a fun presentation.  Students are going to use a website called Glogster EDU.  This website is similar to a Blog, but includes more options.  Students are going to use this website to display the five story elements of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.  Visit the URL listed below for assignment details.  Students are welcome to work on this at home, if they would like.  http://akountz.edu.glogster.com/dashboard/  The assignment is under "Glog".  

In Writing, we will finish our study on parts of speech with prepositions.  We will then study a few parts of speech more in depth with proper nouns, relative adverbs and pronouns.  We will then spend a day reviewing.  On Friday, students will use their Writer's Notebooks and address the parts of speech in their strategy writing.  Each part of speech will be underlined with a specific color.  

Our Spelling unit will come to a close this week.  We will study "surprise words".  These are words that do not follow rules of spelling, such as said.  We will then take some time to learn about digraphs.  These are words that have an h in them, that change the sound of the letter before it.  Examples are words that have sh, wh, ph, ch, th.  By Wednesday, students will learn about homophones.  In particular, there, their, or they're.  Thursday will be a review day.  I will send home "Dear Parents".  This covers digraphs.  The skill test will ask students to correctly use and spell words with digraphs.  I am asking them to use one word for each digraph that I had listed above, just as a head's up.  I had a question about spelling lists that I want to address to all.  Spelling lists will not come out on a certain day of the week, per say.  Look in the agenda for "Word Preview".  This is the day that lists will go home.  Thank you for your patience as we adjust to this news spelling curriculum.  

To look ahead, conference week is the last week in October.  If your schedule is very busy that week, you may send me a quick note or email of when a great time to meet would be.  The week before that is the last week for AR points.  Remember that 10 is our goal!  Most students are doing really super with quizzing!  Have a great week!  

I am unable to add to my Spelling List and Dates column to the right so I will list all here!

Dates: October 1 (Tuesday), 2:15, Character Assembly- October 4 (Friday), Spelling Test, Missouri Symbol Quiz, Parts of Speech Assessment

Spelling Words for Test Friday:
English, does, able, because, often, mean, different, among, examples, sentence, really, dog, idea. there, shown, draw, picture, it's, another, its

A Thought for Monday...

A Thought for Monday...

If over the weekend you think about, you may talk with your child about how you came about giving them their names.  We are going to write about this on Monday.  Some may already know, but just in case they don't, I thought I would post this.  Try not to mention that they will be writing about it.  Maybe just bring it up in conversation.  Thank you again!  Have a great weekend!

End of the Week Notes

Here are some end of the week notes...

After hearing some feedback about the Spelling series we are using in fourth grade this year, I wanted to give some clarification.  Mrs. Partridge and I collaborated about what we could do to make this an easier transition for the students.  First of all, we know that the skill test can be difficult.  The wording can be tricky, and the study opportunity of "Dear Parents" can be a bear to accomplish.  This is most difficult because it involves a different type of thinking.  Rather than memorization, students are asked to apply spelling skills.  That being said, we know that both are challenging.  We feel that most of the Skill's Tests are beneficial for this class as a whole.  The students need that application spelling.  Memorization isn't always the best.  What we will do to prepare students for the Spelling test is to preview "new" words as usual.  We will add "bonus" words that students will see in other areas of our curriculum, but that also go along with the skills we address in Spelling.  We will also give the students the 20 words that will be tested at the beginning of each unit.  These lists will go home on the "Word Preview " day.  Look for those in the agenda.  (**HINT- This was TODAY!**)  To address some of the grades on the test that was just given,  both classrooms reviewed the concept that was on the skill test and students were given an opportunity to add 10 points out of 10 points to improve their grades.  Please let us know if you have any more questions or concerns.  

Look for Progress Reports!  I sent those home today.  I would like them returned as soon as possible with your signature.  Thank you so much for the extra week.  I feel so much better getting those home to you!    

I love hearing from you!  I appreciate your willingness to work with me.  We can work together and make this a wonderful learning experience for your child.

    

September 23- 27

Chugging Along

We are starting to settle in.  I hope that your child feels like they are getting the swing of things in the fourth grade.  I feel like last week was a catch up week for me, but I feel a little better after today.  

As a reminder, my Blog will typically be updated earlier in the day on Monday, but we were having technology issues this morning, so it took me a little while longer today.  

In Math this week, we are preparing for our test on addition and subtraction on Monday.  Most students are doing really well in addition, but some are needing some extra help on subtraction.  I had each student take home their Math Binders today so that you could take a look at their progress so far.  They also have a test to study for!  Their test will be tomorrow.  They have a form of what the test questions will look like as homework tonight.  Their test will have the same questions, but the answers will NOT be multiple choice.  You may go over their answers with them, instead of them looking for the closest choice answer.  Just a study idea.  On Wednesday, students will move onto time.  We will read clocks, and look at elapsed time.  

Science this week will be short and sweet.  Today,we did a food chain activity.  We will quiz tomorrow using our books.  For extra help tonight, you may try going to http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/ and search for food chains, producers and consumers to play some review games.  On Wednesday, we will begin our first look at Social Studies.  We will begin by just becoming familiar with our book.  We will then take a closer look at the Pledge of Allegiance.  These will start us into the study of our state and economics, which we study in fourth grade.  

In Reading, students will continue their book study on Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.  As a class, we discuss the story structure as we read each day.  The class really seems to enjoy the book.  We added in small group Literature Circles today.  We divided the class into small groups of "like" readers.  They we given an independent reading task with a job to do about their reading.  They will meet back together at a given date, and we will discuss their books, and will be assigned a new job.  All books are on a "school" theme and have a humorous side!  What I am excited about is that all of the books we are reading together give students opportunities to achieve AR points.  Hopefully the close study of these books provides for some "easy" points.

In Writing, we are learning about parts of speech.  Monday, we learned about nouns and verbs.  Tuesday, we will study adjectives.  Wednesday we will look at pronouns.  Thursday students will study adverbs, and Friday interjections and conjunctions.  We will take a small amount of notes, watch a Schoolhouse Rock video, and play a short game each day with the concepts studied.  We will then use our Writer's Notebooks to begin learning some strategies to increase our writing stamina and creativity.  We will use picture books to help us with this.  

In Spelling, students will finish taking a closer look at /k/ sounds.  Words that have k, ck, ch, qu, and c are common spelling patterns.  We will test those on Tuesday, along with other common words.  We will begin new words on Wednesday.  We will also integrate other words that follow these spelling patterns found in our other lessons.  This unit we will study long /e/ spelling patterns, surprise words, digraphs (th, ph, ch, sh, wh), and homophones (there, their, and they're).    

September 16- 20

I'm Back!

I am back, and ready to go!  I am sad to leave my baby Scarlett, but I am eager to get this year going with these kids.

In Math this week,we will be working on addition and subtraction.  On Monday, we are following patterns for both, addition and subtraction.  Pay close attention to the agenda...they have two sheets for homework, but only have to complete odds or evens!  On Tuesday, we will add and subtract whole numbers and money.  Wednesday, we will do review activities.  Thursday, students will estimate sums and differences, and Friday we will focus on writing equations.  

In Science, we will finish up activities for chapter 3, and specialized structures in our ecosystems.  We will have a quiz on Thursday. On Friday, we will begin chapter 4.  

In Reading, we will finish up what we missed last week on Main Idea.  By Wednesday, students will look at a new whole class reading book, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.  We will use this book to help study story structures.  Next week we will add in literature circles to their whole class reading.  

In English Language Arts, we will finish our study on sentence types.  By Thursday, students will begin studying parts of speech, beginning with nouns, verbs.  Students will also venture into the front of their notebooks.  This is a strategy based writing that allows students the opportunity to become more fluent writers.  They will be introduced to many ways to write, and become more thoughtful in their writing process.  On Friday, we will take a break from everything, and take a post test on some concepts we have been focusing on more closely, such as main idea and story structure.

Spelling this unit will focus on long I spellings, and homographs.

This is an RTI week.  We are focusing lessons on story structure.  

Thank you for your patience and understanding while I was on leave.  Hopefully we will get the hang of each other pretty quickly.  Today was a great start for me.  

My Blog will be updated earlier in the day on Mondays, but I was having trouble logging in this morning.  Of course, my battle with technology starts on my first day back!  Thank you for your understanding. 

Important Dates September 9- 13

**My computer isn’t allowing me to add to the “Important Dates”, so here they are:

9/10- Ch2 Math Test

9/11- Picture Day

9/12- Ch 3 Science Quiz

9/13- Homecoming Parade!  Game at 7!  Go Dragons!

September 9- 13

Well the heat is back!  Hopefully it won’t affect our week ahead, but we will have to wait and see!  This week is packed pretty full!

I want to start off to say that the Chapter 2 test for Science went really well this week.  I am glad to see that.  Students were asked to write the page number that the answer was found on.  That helped to make sure that they really located the answer rather than just guess.  I was really excited to see that!  This week, students will begin chapter three in Science.  This chapter tackles what each part of the ecosystem needs to survive in their particular ecosystem.  We will address this chapter with discussion and activities, and will have our open book quiz on Thursday.  I hope to see the same progress as last week!

In Math this week, we will begin by reviewing for our test Monday.  We will test on chapter 2 on Tuesday.  Students can prepare for their test by using their Math Notebooks.  All information will be in the very front.  On Wednesday, we will begin addition and subtraction practice.  We will look at expressions and properties through Friday.

We will finish up working with long o spelling patterns this week.  On Thursday, plan on seeing a practice page titled “Dear Parents”.  This is an activity to prepare for the test that will be on Friday. 

In Reading, we will finish our literature study on Sarah, Plain and Tall.  We will discuss the book as a whole, and then use their Reader’s Notebooks to “think” about the text as a whole in their writing.  Students will then focus on the Main Idea in reading.  In Reading, we will use picture books to illustrate aspects of reading.  We will start that this week.  Students will be asked to begin using the vocabulary of main idea in their everyday language.  These words are “main idea”, “supporting details”, and “theme”.  We will use several activities to help students find the Main Idea. 

Writing this week focuses on the four types of sentences; declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, and imperative.  This vocabulary should become very familiar to them.  You may want to talk about each sentence type with your child.  We will play several games, and participate in some fun activities to help students become familiar with the sentence types, and how they are punctuated.   

September 3- 6

I hope that everyone enjoyed their long weekend.  For our short week this week, we have a lot to do!  Buckle up, and here we go!

In Math, students will work on counting money and making change, comparing and ordering money, rounding numbers and money, and making tables.  All concepts will be reviewed and placed in their Math Notebooks.  You may ask your child about the notebook and take a look at the concepts being addressed with your child's progression on each concept.

This week in Science, we begin reading chapter 2.  We will test by Friday.  Please understand that these are open book tests.  After we have covered the lessons, students are still able to use the book to assist them in testing.

In Reading, we will continue with Sarah, Plain and Tall and the Literature Circle jobs that accompany it.  We will address the Memo Master.  This "job" is writing a letter to or as a character in the story.  This addresses the letter format and familiarity with the characters.  Next, students will work on Intellectual Illustrator.  This asks the students to pick a passage that helps them paint a picture in their minds.  They then illustrate and tell why they chose this passage.  Finally, students will work on Discussion Director.  This "job" has students write open-ended questions.  These are questions that do not have "yes" or "no" answers.  These questions promote deeper thinking and, hopefully, and strong discussion about the reading.  Finally, students will complete Literary Luminary.  This asks students to take a deeper look at a passage that may evoke a certain emotion.  Hopefully the students are enjoying their work with these jobs, as well as the text itself.

In Writing, students will look at what writer's write.  (We didn't get to this last week)  We will then dive into the grammar skill of capitalization.  Students in the fourth grade need to know to capitalize the pronoun "I", states, countries, counties, proper nouns, holidays (not seasons), the words at the beginning of a sentence.  They will complete a series of lessons in the classroom and then write a brochure for Disney World, addressing each capitalization rule that we address in class.

We will begin Spelling this week.  We will use the Sitton Spelling program which focuses on spelling patterns.  Tests will not be on any certain day, but as we finish addressing certain concepts.

August 26- 30

Wow!  What a hot week!  Sorry this was not updated until Friday...  I wanted to see what we accomplished during the week, since the heat provided some shortened days.

This week in Science, we worked in and out of the classroom on Unit 1, getting familiar with our ecosystem.  The students took a quiz on Thursday.  Keep an eye out for that.  Some may need to be completed again.

In Math, we continued number work.  Students worked to compare and order numbers.  We then solved word problems using the four-step process.  Students then reviewed for the test before testing on Thursday.  A word on math...  we complete all work per unit in our Math Notebooks.  It is a great resource to review for tests!

In Reading, we began reading Sarah, Plain an Tall.  With this book, we are introducing an important aspect of our Reading curriculum this year; Literature Circles.  These are small groups of  readers that are on the same reading level who all read the same book and respond to it to create a discussion.  There are specific "jobs" to complete that ask the students to look deeper about each part of the book.  To introduce this, students are completing the same reading, on the same book, and completing the same job.  The discussion is then whole class to demonstrate proper literature discussions.  So far, students have been introduced to the "jobs" of Creative Connector and Word Wizard.  Creative Connector connects to the book in some way.  Word Wizard takes unknown words from the story and asks students to become more familiar with them through specific tasks.  (I will post more on each job next week.)

This week in English Language Arts, we worked on editing sentences daily and discussing those skills.  We also are doing a brief review on handwriting- print and cursive.  In a world of technology, we sometimes forget that we still need to be able to present our work in a neat and legible way for others to read.  Students also need to be able to read other's writing, and that includes cursive sometimes!

A reminder assignments.  If a student scores in D or F range, they may redo the assignment. Please be on the lookout for these and encourage your child to redo these assignments, seeking help for better understanding if necessary.

I will try to post a "projected" look at our week rather than a look at what we have done.  It is a little difficult with not being at school, but I am trying!  I look forward to getting back.  

        

Welcome Back!

Welcome Back!!!

I hope that everyone had a nice, enjoyable, and relaxing summer vacation.  Mine was pretty busy, but I look forward to getting back this school year.

This week in class, we have organized our supplies, and settled in.  We began with actual school work on Thursday.  Here is a quick look at what went on.

In Reading, we introduced our new fourth grade readers to their notebooks.  This is something they will need to become very comfortable with, as they are a huge part of our curriculum this year.  Students discussed what they knew to be true about reading, and what keeps them reading.  You may talk about these topics with your child, helping encourage their own reading!  

In English Language Arts, we are also introducing notebooks.  This is a great resource that we will use all year, so we are introducing it in steps.  This week, we started with just the daily sentence editing portion.  Students complete all editing and note-taking in the back of their notebooks, and we work towards the front.  This allows them to always have editing and grammar lessons at their fingertips. So again, we started  by reviewing grammar rules and completing and discussing sentence editing.  On Friday, we began practice with cursive writing.  This is just a reminder that students need to make their work presentable.  

Science and Social Studies will share time.  We will teach each subject alone, one unit at a time.  We will start the year with our Missouri conservation unit on ecosystems.  We started off  with a pretest.  We then moved into books reading the difference between living an non-living things.

Math began with numbers and their place value. We worked on place values through hundred thousand, and hundred million.

Until next week!   

May 20-24

It has finally arrived!  The last week of school is here.  That being said, it is jam packed with activities!

For Math this week, we are combining all three 4th grades and splitting them into small groups.  Each group will represent a "country" in our Metric Olympics event.  There will be six events each using some sort of metric measurement.  Students will make predictions on the first day, and then find their actual measurements on the second day.  On the third day, students will find the difference between their estimates, and their exact measurements.  The team with the lowest combined difference will be crowned the winners of our Metric Olympics!

In Science, we will finish up our unit discussing electricity and magnetism.  On Wednesday, we will try to fit in an investigation to accompany the units we have been covering.

We will finish up our Fractured Fairy Tales this week in English Language Arts.  We will finish up rehearsal and then present some on Tuesday, and some on Wednesday.  On Tuesday, the students in Spiderella, Rafunzel, and The Three Little Elephants will present their plays from 1:00 to 2:00.  That leaves the remaining Fairy Tales,   Slurping Beauty, The Emperor's New Hair, Little Late Riding Hood, and Goldilocks and the Three Bullfrogs.  Feel free to stop by and watch the plays on the given days and times.  We will be presenting in our classroom.

Thursday is our Field Day!  So much to look forward to.  For this day, students in the fourth grade are asked to wear the color black.  So a black shirt is sufficient.  We will be participating in the afternoon, so feel free to send your child with sunscreen to protect against those powerful UV rays!

Friday is the last day.  (Sniff, sniff)  Our Awards Ceremony will begin at 8:30.  This includes a Flags performance, as well as the talent show.  This may last until lunch time, around 11:05 or so.  Please feel free to join us.

To receive report cards, all students must be present on the last day of school.

Thank you all, students and parents, for making this a wonderful year!  The first year for a teacher in a new school can be rather scary, so thank you for making it an easy transition!  I hope that all have a safe and enjoyable summer.

Remember to ensure your child keeps reading throughout the summer to continue any progress made!  

May 13- 17

I hope that everyone enjoyed a nice weekend, and that all mothers had a wonderful Mother's Day.

This week in Math, we will continue our work on Common Core Math concepts.  On Monday, students will add fractions with denominators of 10 and 100.  Tuesday, we will look at decimals and Wednesday we will compare them.  On Thursday, students will work on problem solving using line plots.  Friday, we will add and subtract angle measurements.  All of these lessons come from a resources that we copy.  To help the students complete the lessons, I have asked them to be sure to keep their copied lesson packet with them.  This should help with homework.

In English Language Arts, students will present their Famous Missourians to the class.  We will present on Monday and Tuesday of this week.  On Wednesday, we will begin "Fractured Fairy Tales".  Students will be introduced to a fairy tale and work on presenting a small skit the following week.  We hope to be ready to present to audiences on Tuesday and/or Wednesday of next week.  We will keep you posted on day dates.  You are welcome to attend!

In Reading, students will have a "Coffee Shop" -like read of their poetry on Tuesday, and possibly Wednesday.  We will spend extra time throughout the rest of the week to work on our Fairy Tale plays.  On Friday, we will have a Reading Marathon.

We have NWEA testing on the computers Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  We will test from 1:30-2:10.  Please try to ensure your child is here, if at all possible.  Our time for "make-up" tests is running short.

Also, ALL LIBRARY BOOKS ARE DUE ON FRIDAY, MAY 17.  Please check to make sure your child has all books turned in.  This is also the last day for AR points.

Time has sure flown by....  

May 6- 10

With a sigh of relief, the MAP test is over!  Overall, I feel that the students did a great job, and tried their best.  Scores will not be released until next school year.  I know it is a long time to wait.  I am anxious already!

With three more weeks left, we still have some things to cover.

In Math, we are moving on with deeper fractions.  On Monday and Tuesday, we will be adding and subtracting mixed numbers.  On Wednesday and Friday, students will multiply fractions by whole numbers.  All of the lessons for the rest of the year will be out of a Common Core Standards book. We have copied the lesson and the practice, so please refer to the lesson if your child needs any assistance on their practice problems.

In Science this week, we will discuss chemical changes, changes in energy, how light behaves, and sound.  All of these lessons will have a study guide with pages numbers to the correct answers.

In English Language Arts, students will begin their Famous Missourian Project.  This project will be introduced on Monday, as well as assigning Missourians.  We will spend the rest of the week researching and applying our researched information to our Folder Project.  Each student will have a very detailed description of what each section of the folder entails.

In Reading, we will continue our work with poetry.  Students will work on a Color poem and a "Heart" poem.  They will then have work time towards the end of the week, and we will share our poetry next week.

On Thursday, we will have our "Read-In" day.  This year's theme is camping.  We will spend our day reading and relaxing.  A note with more detail was sent home last week.