Feeling Great in Week 8

SNAP math:  Keep encouraging your student to work on those flashcards 3 times a night!


Halloween Parade:  If weather permits, we will be walking to the Laurels for our Halloween parade on Monday.  We will leave school around 1:00, walk down Park Ave. to Van Buren.  We will take a right on to Van Buren down to 36th.  Then will turn right on 36th Ave walking toward Curtis. Turn right onto Curtis which will take us back to school.  If you are interested in attending our parade we are asking parents to line the parade route rather than going in through the Laurels with us, as there is limited space.  If it does rain we will not be having an indoor parade. Teachers will have a rain plan for their individual classes.

Halloween Party:  Our classroom party will take place  on Monday from 2:40 - 3:35.  If you come for the parade, please know that we will be having recess and some class time with students only before the party starts at 2:40.  

School Assembly: We will have a whole school assembly on Friday.  Please send your student in his or her Color the Park shirt.

Here is what we learned in 4th grade this past week:

Writing: I can plan my realistic fiction story by:

                     -using description, action, thoughts/feelings, and dialogue to make my character come alive

                     -expanding the turning point

                     -writing a powerful ending with a strong line and/or circular ending

                I can draft my realistic fiction story.

Science:  I can tell the basic needs of plants for survival.

             I can tell the basic needs of animals for survival.

             I can build my vocabulary about the food chain.

Math:  I can use short cut (traditional) method to solve 1 by 2 digit multiplication.

             I can use these methods to solve 1 by 3 digit multiplication: place value sections, expanded      
                notation, algebraic, and short cut method.

             I can solve multiplication word problems that have extra, hidden, and too little information.

             I can use the area model to solve 2 by 2 digit multiplication.

       

Reading: I can:

                  -use a story mountain to understand each part of the story I am reading

                  -pay attention to character's actions to tell what kind of people they are.
                  -notice when characters act in surprising ways and consider what this reveal about them.

                  -step outside the of the story to help them grow ideas about the characters.    

Important Dates:

Monday, October 31st: Halloween parade at 1:00 and classroom party at 2:40
Friday, November 4th:  Better Together Assembly: students should wear color the park shirts
Friday, November 4th: Early release at 12:15. 
Tuesday, November 8th: Parent Club meeting at 9:00
Friday, November 11th: Report cards go home
Monday, November 14th and Wednesday, November 16th: Parent teacher conferences
Friday, November 18th: Popcorn Friday
November 23-25: Thanksgiving Break

Better Together and Bubbles (and Pizza and Popcorn)!

Check out our cool all-school picture!  We were able to pull this off on Thursday.  It is a great reminder of what we can accomplish when we work together!  I'm looking forward to living this out during this school year.  

Something memorable about this week was our science experiment.  We practiced using the scientific method this week by experimenting with bubbles.  We researched about bubbles, made a hypothesis, planned our experiment, executed our plan, studied our results, and made conclusions.  The whole process was informative and fun (a great combo!).  

SNAP math:  Keep encouraging your student to work on those flashcards!



Conference Confirmation Forms:  These have times for conferences and came home today in backpacks.  Please sign them and send them back in.

Halloween Parade:  If weather permits, we will be walking to the Laurels for our Halloween parade on the 31st.  We will leave school around 1:00, walk down Park Ave. to Van Buren.  We will take a right on to Van Buren down to 36th.  Then will turn right on 36th Ave walking toward Curtis. Turn right onto Curtis which will take us back to school.  If you are interested in attending our parade we are asking parents to line the parade route rather than going in through the Laurels with us, as there is limited space.  If it does rain we will not be having an indoor parade. Teachers will have a rain plan for their individual classes.

Halloween Party:  Our classroom party will take place from 2:40 - 3:35.  If you volunteered to help out, I will be contacting you soon.


Scholastic BookClub orders:  Orders for October are due on Thursday, October 27.

Here is what we learned in 4th grade this past week:

Writing: I can plan my realistic fiction story by:

                     -creating believable characters

                     -creating believable conflict and resolution

                     -building a story mountain to plan 

                     -creating a strong lead for my story

Science:  I can use the steps of the scientific method to perform an experiment about bubbles.

Math:  I can solve word problems with multiplication.

             I can use estimation to check my answers.

             I can use different methods to solve multiplication including: place value sections, expanded      
               notation, and algebraic notation.

       

Reading: I can:
                  -revise mental images of characters to learn new information     
                  -use empathy for characters to make predictions 
                  -predict not only what will happen, but how it will happen

Important Dates:

Tuesday, October 25th:  Turkey Trot at 4pm
Thursday, October 27th: Skating party at 6:30pm 
Monday, October 31st: Halloween parade and classroom party
Friday, November 4th: Early release at 12:15. 

Pizza Party Pics!

                    

               

                   

Sliding into Week 6

    

Our class contract, drafted and created by our whole class.  Students showed their allegiance to it by tracing their right hand.

Week 6 included a lot of new units!  In math, we started unit 2 which is all about multiplication.  We are back on our regular homework schedule, so expect math homework on Tuesdays and Thursdays until the test.  Our new reading unit is about characters.  We started reading the book, Tiger Rising, by Kate DiCamillo, to help us dig into some great characters.  In writing,  we started Realistic Fiction by generating ideas.  Lastly, in science we got to do a fun experiment with gummi bears using the scientific method.  We are looking forward to diving deeper into these new units!

SNAP math:  Be on the lookout for SNAP math flashcards.  Most students received their flashcards this past week.  Please encourage your student to go through them each day to help them with their fact fluency.  Some students graduated from SNAP math by testing out; these students will not have flashcards.

School Assembly:  Please send your student in his/her color the park shirt on Thursday, as we will be having a school assembly during the day.

Halloween Party/Parade:  We will be having our Halloween party and parade on Monday, October 31st.  I will give more details next week about it, but students will have the opportunity to dress up.  If you signed up for a part in our classroom party, I will send out a reminder in the following week.
 

Here is what we learned in 4th grade this past week:

Writing: I can generate realstic fiction story ideas by:

                     -paying attention to people, places, and events in my ordinary life

                     -using fiction books to spark ideas

                     -rereading my small moment story ideas with fiction writer's eye

                 I can write a believable story plan for realistic fiction.

Science:  I can use the steps of the scientific method to perform an experiment.

 

Math:  I can use area models for multiplication of 1s and 10s.  

             I can use place value to multiply tens.

             I can use patterns in multiplication with ones, tens, and hundreds.

             I can represent one-digit by two-digit multiplication using area model.

Reading: I can:

• make mental images of my character
• envision my character's world
• empathize with my character by connecting with their experiences

Important Dates:

Friday, October 21st: Popcorn Friday

Tuesday, October 25th:  Turkey Trot at 4pm
Thursday, October 27th: Skating party at 6:30pm 
Monday, October 31st: Halloween parade and classroom party
Friday, November 4th: Early release at 12:15. 

Some Photos of our Gummi Bear Experiment:

Spirit Week!

     Some high schoolers paid a visit to our school on Friday to pump us up for the big game!  Students loved hearing the drums, laughing at the superfans, and cheering along with the cheerleaders.  It was a fun week and we managed to accomplish so much!
     On Friday, your student should have brought home his/her unit 1 post test.  Please sign it and send it back in on Monday.  Students who did not score a 3 in any of our 5 targets (you'll see the targets and the score for each on the half-sheet stapled to the front of the test), will retake that section on the retest.  If students scored a 3 in a section, they do not need to retake the questions that go along with that section.  The retest will take place on Tuesday.  Please review questions your student got wrong.  
    Our Economics review packet, along with our economics materials, should have come home on Friday as well.  Please encourage your student to study the packet as our Economics test will be on Monday.  
     Lastly, don't forget that Friday, October 14 is an early release day.  Students will be let out of school at 12:15.  Please be aware that students may order lunch that day, but it will be a sack lunch that is sent home.  

Here is what we learned in 4th grade this past week:

Writing: I can finish revising my small moment story by:

                     -using transition words or phrases to move my story along

                     -writing a strong ending

                I can edit my small moment story by:

                     -using tools to spell words

                     -grouping sentences into paragraphs

                     -using editing symbols as I hunt for grammar errors

Social Studies: I can apply elements of a market economy by looking at scenarios, and give examples for these areas:

  -substitute goods

  -positive/negative incentives

  -people who are: employed, unemployed, out of the work force
  -types of resources

  -scarcity

Science:  I can take notes and discuss elements of the scientific method including:

 -safety  

 -materials

 -tools

  -steps

  -communication with other scientists

  -presenting results

Math:  I can review these areas: place value, word problems, rounding, adding multi-digit problems, subtracting       multi-digit numbers, and comparing multi-digit numbers.

             I can assess my learning by looking at my evaluation and noticing area to improve upon.

             I can set goals and make a plan to improve my understanding of unit 1 concepts.

             I can execute my plan to achieve my goals.

Reading: I can:

• think about why making predictions is important
• keep track of my predictions
• share predictions with a partner

Important Dates:

Monday, October 10th: Economics Test

Tuesday, October 11th: Unit 1 Math Retest

Tuesday, October 11th: Parent Club meeting at 9am

Friday, October 14th: Early release; students released at 12:15pm

Tuesday, October 25th:  Turkey Trot at 4pm
Monday, October 31st: Halloween parade and classroom party

Here are some pictures of our class working hard in our Spirit Week gear: