September 21-25

Reminder: Book Projects are due next Monday!  Students were sent home in early September with the requirements for this project.  But as a refresher for all, here is what we are looking for...

Students will be required to present their book (one on their level, that they have read this month and passed the AR quiz over) to a small group.  The project reads that students will represent each of the 5 story elements that we have been working on in class with an object.  For example, if their character is Harry from Harry Potter, they may choose glasses or a wand as their object.  Then, they will write the object down and tell why that object represents that story element.  All items will be placed in a bag, and they will pull them out to retell their book in small groups. 

They should all have a copy of the scoring guide and a description of their assignment.  Have your child let us know if you need another!

Also, please return your child's permission slip to school for the field trip on Thursday as well as their signed progress reports! Please remember to send a home lunch with your child on Thursday and dress them appropriately for the weather as we will be outside walking a lot for the field trip. 

This week in reading we will continue working on characterization and elements of a plot as we read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. We will also continue our literature circle groups. 

In writing, we will discuss subject/verb agreement and begin working on paragraph formation. We will learn the main 3 parts of a paragraph, how to identify and form them. 

In Spelling we will finish up last week's unit with a test and then begin working on our new list and rule for the rest of the week. 

In math this week we will begin working on our multiplication facts. These are foundational skills that will help the students succeed throughout the year in math. The more they can drill the facts and practice them at home, the better!

In social studies we will continue the constitution study that we started last week. The quiz for this will be this Friday. The packets we are working in will be great tools for them to use to study! 

Field Trip

Just a head's up that you will be receiving a field trip letter with permission slip today.  Please sign and return by Friday.  

Have a great evening!

September 14-18

Important Reminder! Progress reports will be sent home Friday. On them, you will find their results from the STAR test they've taken, their AR goal, their current AR point total, and current grades for subjects. Please sign and return them next week. We will send them back home next week, but this helps us insure that they are showing them to you.

Half of your student's AR point goal is due on Friday. If they do not have at least half of their goal, they will be reading a recess. We do this to try to help them achieve their end of the quarter goal without falling far behind. 

In reading this week we will begin Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. We will use this book to help us continue to learn about the elements of a story and plot. We will continue with our  literature circle discussions.

In spelling this week, we are studing the open syllables (vv) rule. We have started working with our new list today and will finish with a test THIS FRIDAY.

In writing, we are studying complete sentences by looking at subjects and predicates. We are also beginning to write using our 5 senses in order to include a lot of detail in our writing.

In math this week, we will begin working with multiplication facts and becoming more fluent with addition and subtraction. We will also discuss using the operations to solve word problems that can be solved using several different strategies.

September 8-11

We hope you had a great, long weekend!

This week in math we are beginning to work with estimation. You'll notice on their homework that they are asked to round to a certain place value and then do the math to get an estimate. We will help them relate this skill to the real world and understand different situations where they may need to estimate.

In writing this week we are still focusing on the conventions of writing. We are taking notes and practicing our capitalization rules and using punctuation for affect in our writing. We enforce these conventions by encouraging them to use what they know about these rules in their writer's workshop journal entries.

In reading this week, we are learning about the different elements of a story. We are going to begin reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing as our whole group read aloud. We've also started literature circle groups. In these groups they will have assigned readings and jobs that they need to complete by the next time we meet. This will help us have great book discussions and also aide in comprehension of the text.

In science this week, we are continuing our study of the Earth and the different ways it can be naturally changed (earthquakes, volcanoes, erosion, etc). We will do science experiments, watch videos, read, and do activities to help them to learn these concepts. There will be a test over this unit next week. All study guides, notes, and textbooks can be used on this test. We don't ALWAYS have open book, open note tests, but we will start out that way for this one.

Reminder:
Progress Reports come out September 18th (Already!?) so half of their AR points are due that day. This just helps to keep them on track to reach their goal by the end of the first quarter.

Thanks and have a great week!