April 9-13

Happy Monday! Here is a look at the week ahead.

In writing, we will be preparing for the MAP test by taking a practice test. Toward the end of the week, students will take a look at the rubric in which they will be scored on by the state and then score their own writing.

We will be wrapping up chapter 6 in social studies and begin science fair projects. A couple weeks ago, the students chose their top three favorite science fair topics. They were placed into groups. This week, they will begin developing questions that they want to answer about the topic and begin formulating their hypothesis. 

In math, students will be classifying, measuring, and drawing angles. They will be classifying acute, obtuse, and right angles. By the end of the week, students will be using protractors in order to measure and draw angles.

In reading, we will finish reading and summarizing Little House in the Big Woods. Students have been summarizing each chapter of this book by using multiple different summarizing strategies.

A letter was sent home today in regards to the Missouri State Assessment. This letter includes tips to ease pre-test jitters and has the testing dates. There are a few changes this year for testing that are referenced in the letter.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great week!

March 19- 23

Happy Monday!  Quarter 4 is underway.  It is hard to believe we are already 3/4 of the way complete!

Our week ahead looks something like this:

In science, we will start the week with electrical circuits, how they work, and then try to test our theories on how they work.  We will also begin looking into Science Fair next week, but don't worry- that isn't until May!

In reading, we will work on reading information texts, and how to summarize our reading.  We will use our TFK magazines to do this.  This will go nicely with our writing.  We are using writing time to work on state testing preparations.  This year, we will begin a new portion of the test that involves reading several nonfiction articles, and then writing a statement piece addressing all of the articles to support their thoughts or opinions.

Math starts the week wrapping up metric measurements and conversions and we will test over that on Tuesday.  Wednesday, we will begin our unit on customary measurement.  We plan to test before Spring Break.

As the spring gets busy, please make sure you are encouraging your child to read at home.  20 minutes a day makes a HUGE difference!

You may have noticed a note coming home about our field trip in May.  That was NOT our permission slip.  Those will come home closer to the date, when we have a more detailed itinerary.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns.  

February 25 - March 2

Wow, can you believe that February is coming to a close? Here is a look at the week ahead.

In reading this week, we will continue reading Mr. Tucket as a class. Along with this, students will be defining vocabulary, making summaries and connections, and identifying point of view and the theme of Mr. Tucket.

We will wrap up the social studies unit on Missouri becoming a state. The test will be on Wednesday, February 28th. A new science unit will start on Thursday. This unit's focus will be on Natural Resources.

In math, students will continue to learn about decimals. We will practice displaying fractions as decimals and vice versa. One of our main objectives this week will be comparing and ordering decimals.

Previously in writing, we have been focusing on character development and using plot diagrams to plan out narrative stories. This week, students will begin drafting and revising their narratives!

Since we had multiple days off last week, the List 16 spelling test will be on Friday, March 2nd.

We are extending the AR deadline to March 14th since the quarter has been extended.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great week!

February 19-23

Happy President's Day!  We are in school today to help make up our snow days earlier, rather than later.  Here is a look at our week ahead:

In math, we will continue our work with decimals.  Students seem to have a really good grasp on the concept.  We will look closer at problem solving, comparing and ordering, and adding decimalsbefore our test.  We plan on a test next Friday, March 2.

In social studies, students will look deeper at Missouri becoming a state, and all of the amazing pieces of history that our state holds.  We will have a test on Friday, February 23.

Writing allows students more time to look into writing narratives.  We will ask students to look deeper into their word choice.  Drafting of their own narratives will begin this week.

As a reminder, quarterly book projects are due on March 2.  That means that the end of the quarter is near!  Make sure your child is working on reading their independent reading books and working towards 100% of their goals!

February 12-16

Dear Fourth Grade Families,
     We have a special event this week. On Wednesday, February 14 we will be having a half day. This is also the day of our friendship parties that will begin in your child's classroom at 9:30 a.m. Today your child's progress report will be coming home. Please make sure that you sign and return it to their teacher as soon as possible. This week is also the kiss-a-critter fundraiser if your child would like to bring money to put in the piggy bank of the teacher that they would like to see kiss-a-critter. Also Monday February 19 is Presidents' Day please remember we will be in session that day. 
     This week in class they are starting their decimals unit in math. In social studies we are going to be studying Missouri becoming a state.In writing we will continue to create their narrative pieces. I reading we are continuing with point of view. Also spelling for this week is list 16 if you will please help your child study as we like to see them all succeed and do their best. As always we thank you for everything that you do! If you have any questions or concerns please contact your student's teacher.
Sincerely,
The Fourth Grade Team

February 5-9

We hope that you and your family had a wonderful weekend! Here is a look at the week ahead.

In math, we will be wrapping up the fractions unit with a test on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, we will begin a new unit on decimals. To kick of this unit, students will explore using place-value charts and grids to model decimals and describe tenths as part of the base-ten system.

In writing, students will begin brainstorming ideas in order to begin writing a narrative piece. Toward the end of the week, students will begin to flesh out their events and plot on a plot diagram.

Reading this week, will be focused on Point of View. Students will be looking at various examples of the three different Points of View and then determine which Point of View each example is written in.

In science, we will be conducting experiments and discussing Plate Tectonics and Topographical maps. On Friday, we will finish up this science unit with a test.

Please let us know if you have any questions. Have a great week!

January 29- February 2

Happy Monday!  We hope that you all have enjoyed your weekend.  Here is a look at our week ahead.

In science, slow and rapid changes to the Earth's surface.  In this, we will look closely the Earth's systems, weathering and erosion.

In math, we will continue work with fractions.  We will review adding mixed numbers and begin work with subtracting fractions.  By the end of the week, student will be introduced to multiplying a fraction by a whole number.

In reading and writing we will be combing our efforts.  In the 4th grade we have a new standard of looking at the positive and negative impacts of advertisement in various forms of media.  We will begin by looking at poetry from both a positive and negative aspect using the poem "The Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll.  This poem was made into songs by many, so we will also be looking at the tone that certain tunes can add to change the feeling of the words.  From here, we will begin looking at advertisements and how they can be portrayed either positively or negatively, whom they are geared to target, as well as the different techniques used to send these messages. 
On Monday, we will be sending home an assignment for you to do together with your child.  All of the directions are in the letter, but here is a run down.  We ask that you and your child sit down and watch a bit or television.  Whenever is convenient for you both.  You will record the time that you watch, and various other things.  We are looking at the commercials, mainly.  We are hoping to have a good discussion on Wednesday about what time they watched TV, what channel, what commercials they noticed, what advertising techniques were used, and a few other things.  Please set aside at least 30 minutes one evening to help us with this assignment.  Send the paper back with your child by Wednesday, January 31.  Thank you with you help with this.  After this assignments, students will work in teams to advertise a book that we have chosen.  They will follow similar techniques and targeting. 

Please let us know if you have any questions.  Thank you for your support in your child's education.

As always, keep working on independent reading at home.  Progress reports go home next week.  They should be halfway to their goal by February 9! 

January 3-5

Happy New Year! We hope that you and your family had a wonderful winter break. Here is a look at the short week ahead.

In reading and writing, we will begin our poetry unit. In this unit, students will become more familiar with the structural elements and figurative language that we often find in poems. Beginning next week, students will start creating their own poems.

In math, we will continue working on fractions. One focus this week will be on identifying equivalent fractions and being able to explain their equivalency. The second focus will be on converting fractions into their simplest form.

We will begin a new social studies unit about the arrival of the Europeans.

There will be no spelling test on Friday due to the short week.

Report cards will be sent home Wednesday, January 3rd. As always, please let us know if you have any questions. We look forward to being back and having a great second half of the school year!

December 11- 15

Dear Fourth Grade Families,
     Winter break is quickly approaching. This week is going to be busy! The students will be attending holiday mart this week as well as finishing up STAR testing before break. 
      In math we are going to be working a lot on fractions and the introduction to them. They will be getting familiar with recognizing and making equivalent fractions as well as comparing and ordering them later in the week. In science we are still working on ecosystems and will be doing an adaptations activity this week. In reading we are continuing to read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever with the Herdman family and their shenanigans. The students are really enjoying this read and we will be doing several activities to go along with the book as well this week. In writing we are continuing our opinion pieces and working on getting those published this week. Last, but not least this weeks spelling is list 11 over contractions. The hardest part of this list will making sure they get the apostrophes in the correct place.  
      Please check with your student to make they get their December book project turned in. We also look for ward to all the events coming up. The 18th is the school wide spelling bee and our 3 fourth grade winners will represent us that afternoon at the assembly at 1:30. If your child has not yet met their AR goal please encourage them to as the AR party is the 20. Then, we will end the week on the 21st with their holiday parties at 9:30. If you have any questions as always please contact your students' teacher and thank you for all that you do to support our students at home. These kids are lucky!
Sincerely,
The Fourth Grade Team 

December 4-8

Welcome to the first full week of December!  This month (and the rest of this quarter!) will fly by.  So hang on tight!

This week in writing, we will finish up rough drafts on our fact-based opinion piece.  We will then work on revising and editing our drafts.

In reading, we will begin reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  This is a fun Christmas-themed book that teaches many valuable life lessons.  We will use the book to address many of the reading concepts that we have already addressed, as well as add in the newer concepts of theme and summarizing.

Math this week will look a bit different.  As a grade level we are going to try implementing a Guided Math set up.  This involves us working with small groups, allowing independent work time, reinforcing the new skills as well as concepts that we have already covered with games and activities.  This week, we will work with students learning the new concept as a whole group and then break into small groups to work on the reinforcement.  The new concept that we will work with next week is order of operations.

Science will continue this week with continue our unit on ecosystems looking at habitats and adaptations.

Please continue to make sure your child is working on their independent reading and working towards their AR goal and on their quarterly book project.  Some are turning out really nicely!

November 27- December 1

We hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. What a beautiful weekend it was to celebrate.  Here is a look at the week ahead.

In writing, we will continue with the persuasive unit.  This week, students will decide on whether it is better to give or receive gifts. They will be writing their introduction and body paragraphs to support their opinion.

Last week, our social studies unit came to a close. We will be switching gears back into science. The next science unit revolves around Ecosystems. This week students will learn about the role of living things and how they depend on one another.

We will be back to a normal week for spelling words. This week is list 9 and the test will be on Friday, December 1st.

In math, a new unit will be introduced. Patterns and order of operations will be our main focus.

In reading, we will be working on summarizing versus retelling. A skill that we will be focusing on is identifying theme. By the end of the week, we will begin reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

November 13-17

Happy Monday!  We would like to thank everyone who helped by donating items for the silent auction and your support for two of our teachers here at school.  The Green/Pollard benefit was a huge success, thanks to you.  They are both very thankful for our loving community.

Here is a look at our week ahead:

In spelling, we will be using our week to prepare for the Spelling Bee.  Our classroom Spelling Bee's will be in your child's classroom on Thursday beginning at 8:10.  You are welcome to attend.  There will be no additional spelling list this week.

Math we will continue to work on division.  This is a struggle for some of our students who are not comfortable with their multiplication fact.  Please continue working on these at home.  We will have a math test on Friday, November 17. 

In reading, students will work on reading and understanding nonfiction by reading the book Pilgrims.  They will use their skills on internet research to compare and contrast any information.  Keep in mind that students have received their new book project for the second quarter.  This will be due by the end of December.  Please encourage any reading with your child at home.  They are to be to 50% of their goal by Monday, November 20.

In writing, we are working with students on writing in a persuasive way. 

This week, we will be wrapping up our social studies unit on the first Missourians.  We will have a test next Tuesday, the 21.  Your child is encouraged to take their packets home with them and study throughout the unit.

Nov. 6-10

First of all, we would like to thank the parents who helped plan and execute the Halloween party. The kids had a wonderful time! Now, let's take a look at the week ahead.

In writing this week, we will begin looking at different formats of opinion writing. By the end of the week, students will have the opportunity to create their own advertisement in order to persuade customers to buy a product.

In reading, we will also begin a new unit. To kick off the unit, students will be identifying and comparing facts versus opinions. Later in the week, we will be taking a closer look at nonfiction text features and structures. Last week, students took home the quarter two book project information. An important date this week regarding the book project is Wednesday, November 8th. Students need to have the book approved by their teacher by this date.

In math, we will dive deeper into division. Students will work on interpreting remainders and dividing by greater numbers.

In social studies, students will continue learning about Native Americans.

The spelling test for list 8 will be this Friday (11/10).

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a great week!

October 31-November 3

Dear Fourth Grade Families,
     I hope you all enjoy your four day weekend. I want to give you some updates for our upcoming four day week. First we are returning on a party day. So, Halloween parties begin at 1:45 on Tuesday. Children are allowed to bring their costumes to change before the party. Please do not send them in their costumes. If parts of their costumes can be worn that day that are clothing items that is fine. We just don't want them in full costume all day.
     In Reading we are continuing to read the book Bunnicula and the students are really enjoying it. In Writing they are getting ready to do their final drafts of their Halloween How to papers. They have come up with some great how to's. In Math they are still working on multiplication up to a two digit number by a two digit number. We are starting the transition to division as well. In science they just wrapped up a motion unit. In social studies we are going to start our next unit of Native Americans rather soon. Spelling this week is List 8.
     We want to thank all of you that attended conferences! It means a lot to us that we get to meet with you and discuss your students. So, we really appreciate your attendance! As always if you have any questions or concerns please reach out to your child's teacher. Have a great weekend and Halloween break.
Sincerely,
Fourth Grade Teachers.

October 23- 26

Good morning!  We hope that all had a great weekend.  Here is a look at our short week.

This week in spelling, we will be testing over the week 7 list.  It went home last week.  We will test on Thursday.

In reading, we will continue to work with inferences.  This week, we will begin the book Bunnicula  and look at vocabulary and inferring about the characters.  Book Project Cereal Boxes are due on Wednesday!  A lot are coming in and they look amazing!

In writing, we will begin organizing our writing with some simple activities.  This will lead into our How-To papers coming out soon.  Be on the look out for information about those.

Math is continuing work with 2 by 2 multiplication.  Students are really working hard and focusing their energy on how to get these problems correct.  It is a good thing math is in the morning!  We will be ready for a test over this next week.  Please continue to work on basic facts with your child.

We will be wrapping up science this week with a test on Wednesday.  We will complete an experiment on Thursday.

Please remember that conferences are this week.  We have scheduled all of our time slots for Wednesday or Thursday.  Please check with your child's teacher or the office for your scheduled time.  We look forward to seeing you then.

Book Project

Hello all!  As a reminder, fourth graders have a quarterly book project to work on.  This quarter's book project is the Cereal Box.  They are to take the book that they have read and had approved by the teacher and make it into a cereal!  By this Friday, all students should have taken and passed the quiz over an independent reading book.  After that, they are to follow the scoring guide that was given to them on September 22.  By October 16, students should have the front cover of their cereal box completed. By October 18, 1 side of their cereal box should be completed.  By October 19, side two should be completed.  By October 20, both the back and the "prize" should be completed.  The actual project is not due until October 25, but we were hoping to keep the kids ahead of the game with smaller, short-term goals.  Please let us know if you have any questions.  

October 9-13

The first quarter is almost over!  Can you believe it?  As a reminder, please encourage your child to be reading and working towards getting 100% of their goal by October 17- NEXT Tuesday!  Those who do will be participating in a special activity day on the 20th.  Our hope is that all students participate in our quarterly party.

This week in math, we are finishing up our area and perimeter Playground Activity.  I am sure you have heard all about it!  The students are excited and have some great thoughts on how to use our space outside!

In social studies, we will be finishing up our unit on federal and state government.  We will review on Tuesday and test on Wednesday.  Your child has a packet that we completed in class.  They should be bringing it back and forth from home to school to use it as a study resource. we will begin our next unit in Science on Thursday.

In reading, students are still working with vocabulary while reading The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  They will finish that unit up on Friday, October the 13th!  Spooky!

In writing, students will finish up their expository writing and work on revising and editing.  They will then begin work on an argumentative piece that tries to convince the readers to pick their playground options and why.

Spelling this week has no rule and is a review of the words from the previous weeks.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

October 2- October 6

Dear Fourth Grade Families,
   We apologize for missing last weeks blog. We have created and implemented a schedule to ensure that we are keeping you up to date. We would like to start by thanking the parents that attended our field trip last Thursday. It is so nice to have the extra hands to help and we are sorry to those that were not selected this time. We will also have a spring field trip where we will draw again.
     This week in math we are still working on multiplication and we are getting ready to start an exciting project tomorrow. We are sure your student will be sharing this with you. In reading, we are starting The Legend of Sleepy Hollow today and using it to break down vocabulary terms using our context clues. In writing, students are still working on drafting our expository pieces. They will be ready to publish them soon. In spelling, we are on list 5 which focuses on the double vowel syllable combination "ea". This list may be a bit tricky. Please help your student in preparing for the test on Friday. In social studies, we have delved into our government. We are discussing things like the three branches of government, the people that make them up, their responsibilities and how the Constitution guides everything that they do.
     Other things to be looking for. . .if your student hasn't yet shared their book project with you please ask them about it as it is due October 25. The quarter ends on October 17. If your student hasn't yet achieved their AR goal, please encourage them to be reading at home and quizzing when they have finished their books. We appreciate everything you do for our students! As always, if you have any questions or concerns please reach out to your child's teacher.
Have a great week!
Fourth Grade Teachers

Sept 18-22

Happy Monday!  we hope that you all had a relaxing weekend!  Here is a look at our week ahead:

In math, students are testing over unit one (place value) and starting work on multiplication.  There are links to help with multiplication on the left hand side of this BLOG.

In reading, we will finish up work with literature circles and finish reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.  We have used this book to help us learn about characterization, character traits, and review story elements.

In spelling, we have a new list and we are working on more multi-sensory ways to learn our words.  Remember to practice the rule at home!  The list and rule are to the right side of the BLOG.

Science this week takes a deeper look at certain forms of energy.  There is no test this unit, but there will be a few assignments to check for understanding.

In writing this week, we will finish up our work on our grandparent's day project, and then begin working on expository writing.

As a reminder, progress notes will be sent home with your child today.  Please sign and return those by Wednesday.  Your child should be at 50% of their AR goal as of this week.  Students not to 50% we use their working lunch to read until they get there.  The end of the quarter is October 17!  Please help us make sure they are working on reading at home, as well!

September 11- 15

Dear Fourth Grade Families,

     This week  started off with a look back at our countries history and a moment of silence to honor  9-11. We also had a fabulous book brought in that shared a wonderful story about a hero that helped save others on this tragic day. The students seemed to learn a lot! 

     In math this week we are going to be working on addition and subtraction as well as looking at word problems. In reading we are continuing to look at literature circle jobs, character traits, conflicts, etc. We are doing these things while reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.  In writing we are looking at paragraphs. We are looking at what proper paragraph format looks like and they are going to be focusing on what makes grandparents important. We also started science this week and are looking at motion and energy as well as scientific method. We started today with a pretty cool experiment that you should ask your child about! 

     Don't forget Wednesday, September 13 is Picture Day. Send your student ready to go. We usually go first thing in the morning to ensure they are done before specials at 9:35. If you have any questions or concerns please contact your students teacher.

Our PBS skill this week is Be Respectful to the Speaker. 

Sincerely,

4th Grade Team