This week...9/19/16

Hello Fourth Grade Families!

Please be sure to check the Safety Patrol schedule, as it begins this week.  Also, please write Curriculum Night on your calendar for next Thursday, the 29th.  I'm looking forward to seeing all of you!

Here's what we'll be up to in 4th grade this week:

Over the past week or so, Ms. Bright and I have been working on completing our Beginning of the Year assessments in Reading, Math, and Spelling.  We've almost completed them, and anticipate having all of them done early this week.  Then we'll be able to begin to work with students in groups that will focus on their specific needs :)

Reading:  In reading we've been working on analyzing characters by determining their physical and personality traits.  We'll dig a little deeper this week by looking at how a character shows their traits through their actions, words, and thoughts.

We've been really enjoying our read aloud of The Indian in the Cupboard, and will continue that this week.  We'll finish the story sometime next week and will do a fun project to wrap things up!  I'll send home information about the project with our homework this week.

Language:  I always start the year with a series of "hard and fast rules" for common aspects of language/writing conventions.  Last week we worked on capitalization, and this week we'll be working on proper use of commas.

Writing:  In writing, we're focusing on the many ways that we can develop ideas for our writing.  This week we'll look at examples of authors that have written about special places and special moments.

Math:  In math we're working on adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers, which should be a review for all of the students.

Social Studies/Science:  We'll be alternating Social Studies and Science units and are starting off with a unit on North Carolina geography and history.  This week we'll be looking at the regions of North Carolina and their physical characteristics.

Bible:  In our Bible curriculum, we'll spend much of the year in the Book of Acts, learning about the early days of the Church.  This week we'll look at what happened when Jesus ascended into Heaven.

Our memory verse for the week is:  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to all the ends of the earth.  Acts 1:8

Have a wonderful week!

The First Few Days

Hello Fourth Grade Families!

The first few days with your kids have been SO GOOD!!!  They have been polite, cooperative, and willing to try everything I've thrown at them.  So far we have:

• Set up our Writing notebooks and started learning the procedures for studying Mentor Sentences (we study the writing of published authors and use them as our mentors).  
• Set up our Math Notebooks and gone through all of the types of problems that we'll do each week in the Mountain Math Center (this is a great way for them to regularly review the skills that they've learned in 3rd grade, and will learn in 4th).  
• Gone over 3 days of the Daily Language Review that we'll do during our Morning Work time (they'll do 5 problems every Mon-Thur and each morning follows the same pattern).

• Started our class read aloud, The Indian in the Cupboard (I know they're loving it when I finish a chapter and they're begging for "just one more chapter...please?!?").  
• Set up our Reading Notebooks and learned how we'll format our Reading Responses.
• Looked at what kind of smart we are (with a Multiple Intelligences survey).
• Started building our Reading stamina during independent reading time (I call it Read to Self time).
• Learned about our "I'm Done, Now What?" activities.  The kids can always take out their books and read if they finish an activity early, but these activities give them some other options, such as:  Read It, Write It, Solve It, Draw It, Journal It, and Create It.  This is something new I'm trying this year, and so far the kids are loving it!
• Started working on Math and Reading assessments that will allow me to understand what their strengths and struggles are so we know what to focus on.


Whew...looking at that list makes me tired!  But it also shows me how much we've been able to accomplish in only a few days.  


Your kids have been working hard, but we've thrown some fun in there too.  Ask the kids about a teamwork activity we did called Save Fred.  It's challenging and fun, and the kids will had a ball!


I'm having so much fun getting to know your children, and I can already tell it's going to be a great year!

This Week 4/18/16

Hello Fourth Grade Families!

This week the kids will participate in Jump Rope for Heart to benefit the American Heart Association.  If you haven't already, please turn in permission slips and donation envelopes by Wednesday, 4/20.  Our time slot is on Wednesday from 1:45 to 2:45.  Please feel free to come and join us in the gym!

Also, a reminder that we have an Early Release day on Friday.  The kids will be dismissed at noon, before eating lunch.  Back up care is available if needed.

This Week In...

Language:  We'll be continuing our unit on Figurative Language, learning about alliteration, onomatopoeia, consonance, and assonance.  Soon we'll begin to use our new knowledge to write some poetry!

Reading:  Students are continuing with their partner reading, formulating discussion questions, and completing comprehension activities.

Math:  This week we'll wrap up our unit reviewing fractions, and will begin a new unit where we'll add and subtract fractions.

Writing:  We'll be working on writing passages where we compare and contrast.

Science:  This week we're learning about the Periodic Table of Elements, and how elements combine to form substances.

Bible:  Our memory verse this week is:  You are my rock and my fortress.  For the sake of your name, lead and guide me.  Psalm 31:3

Have a blessed week!

This Week...4/11/16

Hello Fourth Grade Families!

We've got our Scholastic Book Fair going at MID all this week.  Yesterday the kids made wish lists for the books they'd like to buy, and they should have brought them home.  We'll be shopping at the book fair on Friday afternoon from 2:00 - 2:30.  If you need to figure out the tax that should be added on so you can send a check for the exact amount, you can go to this link and put 7.25 in the tax percent:  http://www.calculator.net/sales-tax-calculator.html.

We'll be going on our field trip to Imaginon on Thursday, 4/14 to see Schoolhouse Rock!  We've watched many of the videos during our grammar lessons, so it should be fun to see how they present the songs and concepts on the stage.  Permission slips are due on Tuesday, 4/12 and $6.50 for lunch at Fuel Pizza is due on Wednesday, 4/13.  I apologize for the mix-up regarding the fee!!!

This week in...

Math:  We're continuing our unit on fractions.  This week we're working on reducing fractions, improper fractions, and ordering and comparing fractions.  We'll review and take our assessment early next week.  This link has a bunch of fraction games that will help your child practice these concepts:

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm#fractions

Reading:  We're continuing Discussion University where the kids write discussion questions based on their reading that day, and then begin the next day with a discussion with their reading partner.

We also finished our read aloud, Three Times Lucky, yesterday.  We were all surprised by the ending!  We'll begin our new book today:  Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper.  It's a great story about a young girl named Melody.  Here's the book blurb from the back:

Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory.  Her head is like a video camera that is always recording.  Always.  And there's no delete button.  She's the smartest kid in her whole school - but NO ONE knows it.  Most people - her teachers and doctors included - don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again.  If only she could speak up.  If only she could tell people what she thinks and knows...but she can't, because Melody can't talk.  She can't walk, She can't write.  Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind.

Writing:  This week we're working on sequence paragraphs, where we focus on writing about a topic in sequence.  This could be a sequence of events, the order in which a task is completed, etc.

Language:  We're continuing to learn about figurative language.  This week we'll talk about personification and idioms.

Science:  We're wrapping up our work on atoms, and will begin looking at the Periodic Table of Elements.

Bible:  This week we talked about how Paul finally began to head toward home after three long years of travelling to spread the Good News about Jesus.

Our memory verse this week is:  My life means nothing to me.  I only want to finish the race and complete the work the Lord Jesus has given me.  He wants me to give witness to others about the Good News of God's grace.  Acts 20:24

Have a wonderful week!

This Week...4/4/16

Hello Fourth Grade Families!

This week we'll be hosting Math Night in our classroom!  On Thursday, April 7th, the evening will begin with a PTO meeting at 6:00 pm, followed by Math Night in the classrooms.  You'll get to do some of the hands on activities that your kids do in class.  I hope to see you there!

This Week In...

Language:  We've started a unit on Figurative Language and are talking about similes and metaphors this week.  We listened to some songs yesterday (Life is a Highway by Rascal Flatts and Speak Now by Taylor Swift) and identified the similes and metaphors that we found in the lyrics.

Reading;  We're doing partner reading, so each student is paired up with another and they're reading a book together.  For the next couple of weeks we'll be doing 'Discussion University'.  Every day after they read together, the kids generate a discussion question for their partner.  They also complete an activity that demonstrated their understanding of what they read that day.  For example, yesterday they created a 'billboard' based on something from that day's reading.  The next day's reading begins with a partner discussion using the questions generated the day before.

Our current read aloud is Newberry Award Winner Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage, and it's keeping us on the edge of our seats!  The main character is Mo (her full name is Moses because as a baby she was found floating in a river after a terrible storm).  Mo was adopted by the Colonel and Miss Lana who run the local cafe, but she still looks for her 'upstream mother' by putting notes in bottles and tossing them into the river.  Mo's best friend is a boy named Dale.  Eleven year old Mo and Dale run the Desperado Detective Agency, and usually investigate things like missing cats.  Everything changes when a local man is found murdered and Dale is on the list of suspects. Ask your child if they have any guesses about whodunit!

Math:  We started a new unit on fractions this week.  We'll be learning about equivalent fractions, improper fractions, mixed fractions, simplifying fractions and comparing and ordering fractions...whew!  In our next unit we'll move on to adding and subtracting fractions.

Writing:  In Writing we've been working on the organization of our writing by trying out different styles.  This week we're working on writing a descriptive passage by using all of our senses to add details.

Science:  We've moved on to our Chemistry unit, and are currently learning all about atoms and their parts:  nucleus, protons, neutrons, and electrons.  We're finding out that the difference in the make up of an atom determines what element it is.  Soon we'll be talking about how elements combine to make many of the things around us, and we'll be studying the periodic table of elements.

Bible:  In Bible, we're back in the book of Acts, learning about how Paul continued to travel to different cities to encourage the growing churches, and how he didn't stop even in the face of opposition and abuse.  He continued to be faithful in his effort to spread the word about Jesus, and to encourage others who were doing so.  His perseverance was amazing!

Our memory verse this week is:  Christ has set us free.  He wants us to enjoy freedom.  So stand firm.  Don't let the chains of slavery hold you again.  Galatians. 5:1

Have a wonderful week!

This Week... 2/8/16

Hello Fourth Grade Families!

We've got a LOT going on in the next couple of weeks!  I've created a list below so you can keep up with all of the activities:

• Food Drive 2/8-2/12 - bring in non-perishable food items this week to contribute to our food drive.  All items will be donated to Loaves & Fishes.
• Imaginon Field Trip 2/11 - On Thursday morning we'll attend the Children's Theater production of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.  We've been reading the book as our read aloud over the past week so we'll be familiar with the story when we attend the play.  The kids have been loving it, and I can't wait to see what they think of the performance!  We'll have a pizza buffet at Brixx following the play.
• Valentine Dance 2/11 - This is a family event, and we're looking forward to seeing you there!
• Early Release 2/12 - Students will be dismissed at noon, and will not eat lunch at school.  Please be sure to send a snack!
• Parent-Teacher Conferences 2/15 - No School

This Week...

Math:  We'll be completing our unit on 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication, and taking the test on Tuesday.  Then we'll begin a unit on 1-digit by 1-digit division.  Many of the kids already know their division facts, so this should be a review for most of us.

Reading:  Over the past two weeks we've been focused on completing our middle of the year reading assessments, and everyone has made progress!

This week we'll begin a unit on identifying the Main Idea and supporting details of a story.

Writing:  We've begun to look at how we organize our writing, based on the genre of writing we're doing.  Over the next few weeks we'll look at narrative, expository, persuasive, opinion, descriptive, compare & contrast, problem & solution, and cause & effect paragraphs.

Language:  This week we're talking about verbs - action, linking, and helping.

Science:  We've completed our unit on the Circulatory System, and will spend this week focusing on our Science Superhero essays and drawings.  Next week we'll begin a unit on the Respiratory System.

Bible:  We're continuing to watch and discuss the video series about the book of James.  Some of the kids said that it was hard to understand what Mark Hall was saying in the video, so we talked about how, just like when authors write, people making videos have different purposes for what they're doing.  I asked the kids if they thought that the purpose of these videos was to entertain, persuade, or inform.  They all agreed that it was to inform.  So then we talked about how we have to watch them differently than we would if they we trying to entertain us.  We have to listen attentively, think about what he's saying, and try to put it in our own words.  Then when we talk about it together, we can make sense of it, and how it can help us in our own lives.

One of the videos we watched last week talked about how we can't find our worth, our value, in the things we own, or the stuff we have, because it can all be swept away in an instant.  We have to find our value in God, and who He says we are.  That day, when we read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Edward (who was a very proud rabbit with fancy clothes, leather shoes, and a gold pocket watch) found himself stripped of his clothes (by some boys who were playing with him) and accidentally thrown overboard the ship they were on.  He ended up in the muck on the bottom of the ocean.  All of his finery was gone, and he had nothing.  The kids totally made the connection between the video and the book...I love when God does that!

Our memory verse this week is:  Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  James 1:22

Have a blessed week!

This Week 1/25/16

Hello Fourth Grade Families!

I couldn't believe it this morning when I was typing dates into the homework contract, and the due date was February 1st!  The year is flying by.  But you know what they say...time flies when you're having fun :)  We really do have a lot of fun in our classroom, and I enjoy your children SO MUCH!!!

We've got lots of activities going on this week for School of Choice Week!

**We are asking our parents to think of 3 words that describe why you send your child to MID. We will take a picture of our families holding up a white board with their chosen words. This idea is based on the Good Morning America- Your 3 Words segment http://abcnews.go.com/US/words-live-event-good-morning-america/story?id=14469378. We will take those snapshots and create a video segment for our School of Choice Week entry. A special thanks to Mrs. Keener for submitting this idea. We will begin shooting our sessions on Tuesday in car rider line. A student will hand each parent a white board and a marker. The parents will be prepared to write their 3 words on the white board. A student or staff member will snap a picture and move on to the next car. Parents that walk their children in may go to the art room where a student or staff member will be waiting to take pictures in the same manner. We will do this Tuesday-Thursday.

**You are invited to eat lunch with your child throughout next week. Please send an email to me if you plan to eat lunch, along with the specific date. This will help us prepare for the extra numbers in the cafeteria.

**We will have an assembly on Friday, January 29th at 1:30 p.m. to celebrate School of Choice Week. Parents are invited to attend.

This Week...

Math - We're learning how to multiply two-digit by two-digit numbers.  The kids have learned how to break the  numbers apart when they're multiplying by multiples of 10, 100, and 1000.  Now we'll learn how to use partial products to multiply.  We did this with 1-digit by 2-digit numbers earlier in the year, so this will be an added step.

Reading - In Reading we're working on completing all of our Middle of the Year assessments to determine the progress the kids are  making.  We'll talk about the results at our February Parent-Teacher conferences :)  So far, I'm seeing great progress!  While I'm working with kids on assessments, everyone is spending their time reading, and working on a Secret Door Book Project for a book that they've read independently.

We're also having a lot of fun with our read aloud, Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson!

Writing - This week we'll wrap up our Sentences Unit and will begin our Paragraphs Unit, working on writing various types of paragraphs, such as: expository, descriptive, sequence, compare and contrast, problem and solution, cause and effect, and opinion.

Science - We've made the switch from Social Studies to Science this semester, and the kids are really excited about it!  Our first unit is the Circulatory System.  We're learning about the heart, blood, and blood vessels in our bodies.  This week we'll do an experiment to show the different components of our blood...DON"T WORRY!  We're using candy...no needles or knives involved!!!

Bible - For the next few weeks we're taking a break from our regular Bible curriculum, and will be doing video series on the book of James.  It's done by Mark Hall (the lead singer of Casting Crowns and a Youth Pastor) and is really engaging and fun!

Our verse this week is:  Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  James 1:2-3

Have a wonderful week!