Hello and welcome to a new week. This week will be a shortened week in terms of curriculum because of the Legislative Day today, and the Rendezvous this Friday.
Math- We are continuing our work with operations on fractions. These concepts can be very challenging, and I have noticed that the students are working very diligently to understand them. We will likely take the test this Thursday. Please keep an eye out for the chapter review page that will come home on Wednesday in preparation for the ch. 9 test. Language Arts- This will be a review week. Because of the shortened week, the 4th grade team will be reviewing important concepts and working on some constructed response work with graphic organizers. There will be no spelling list, vocabulary or CCR this week. Please keep in mind that your student should be in the process of completing their biography book reports. These are due at the end of 3rd term. Details can be found in the link. Please let me know if there are any questions. Science- We started our unit on fossils last week. This week, we will be making inferences based upon the location, type and quality of the fossils that are discovered. We will also continue our discussion on relative dating and exact dating (or radioactive dating). This is a great unit, and the students have done a great job so far! Utah History- Now that we are almost finished with our unit on Mountain Men, we will move into the Westward Expansion both of the pioneers who were part of the Oregon Trail, as well as the Mormon pioneers who settled the Salt Lake Valley. In the coming weeks, we will be doing some fun simulation exercises where students will be organized into pioneer families and will work together to try to get across the plains. This is a favorite activity of mine and the students. :) If you have supplies for the Rendezvous, please send them on Thursday so we can be ready for the fun on Friday. Remember to chat with your student about costumes and items to sell at the trading post. Also, please remember to have your student make an informative and colorful sign to advertise their wares. Thanks so much! Have a great rest of the day, and a fantastic week. I’m excited to see the students tomorrow. The classroom is empty without them. :)
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Hello and welcome to March! We are getting close to our Rendezvous, which will be held on March 13. I will include a link to volunteer some supplies. Please sign up if you can.
Math- We are almost finished with Ch. 9. It is so important that students are adept at converting improper fractions to mixed numbers, mixed numbers to improper fractions, and simplifying fractions. Take a minute to make sure these skills are second nature to your student. The test will probably be Friday or Monday of next week. Our class had an average score of 85% on our chapter 8 test, so I anticipate something similar with chapter 9. Language Arts- Our story this week is about mountain climbing. We will be practicing reading with feeling. We will also be doing some more cause and effect exercises. Another concept that we are practicing is adverbs and adjectives. Some of you will have students coming home with an adjectives worksheet this afternoon. Please keep in mind that the 3rd term biography is due 3/24/20, which is the end of this term, so no late work can be accepted. All of the directions are found here. Science- This week we will be starting our unit on fossils. I said that we would be starting with fossils last week, but we had the opportunity to build closed circuit flashlights for a Mystery Science lesson, so we took the opportunity. :) Utah History- Please make sure that your student has a partner and a good idea of the craft items that they would like to make and sell. The students are earning lots of Beaver Bucks to spend during the Trading Post. Students should also consider their costumes. Hello and welcome to the last week of February. Today we learned why it is necessary to have an extra day on our calendar every 4 years. Ask your student and see if they can tell you. It’s very interesting.
Math- We will be taking our ch. 8 math test this Wednesday. Tomorrow will be a 3 page chapter review. I will have the assignments graded by end-of-day tomorrow, and will be sending them home with most students for review. Please make sure that you sit down with your student and see what corrections might be needed. Chapter 9 starts operations with fractions, so if the simpler concepts are not learned, it will be more difficult for your child to get the concepts. Thanks! Language Arts- This week we are learning about the explorer named Hiram Bingham who was guided by an Incan boy to Machu Picchu. This is a fascinating archeological site, and we will be doing a Nearpod 360 degree “field trip” to discover it for ourselves. We will be learning more about adverbs, visualizing while we read, and comparing and contrasting parts of the story selection. We have done really well with our Lexia minutes and units. Keep it up! Science- We have finished up our unit on waves, and will be moving on to a unit about Fossils. We will be interpreting data to find evidence of stability and change. We will also be using data based upon fossil evidence to make inferences about those fossils and their environmental factors. This is a nice addendum to our Museum on the Move visit, and I’m sure the students will be very engaged. Utah History- We are all about Mountain Men until March 13. Currently, we are making portraits and writing biographies to accompany the portraits. Hopefully, your student is coming to some conclusions about what he/she will be selling at the Rendezvous, and with whom they will be working. Please let me know if there are any questions. That’s it for this week. Thanks for all you do! 3 cheers for impending spring! Since next week is a short week, I thought I would get a jump on the weekly update.
Math--We are knee-deep in fractions. It's so much to learn! That's the name of the game with 4th grade math. :) This week we are learning the basics with fractions, and next week, we will begin operations with fractions. Please get involved and make sure that your student can do the simpler concepts so they don't get lost as we move into more difficult concepts. Thanks!! Language Arts- Our story selection next week is entitled "Smoke Jumpers". The students will be placed into groups and they will prepare a news story about fighting forest fires and the specially trained men and women who fight them. This is a favorite project of mine. Students may want to bring props and simple costumes and they will present as if they are part of a news team. Also, the new spelling/vocab lists will be available beginning Monday, 2/17. Science- We studied sound waves this week. We will be doing some assessments next week to determine how well the students are grasping the concepts. Utah History- We will continue to study some of the famous mountain men who settled in Utah. Next week, we will be doing a project where the students will choose a particular mountain man and write a summary of his life and draw a portrait to accompany it. These will be in the hall during the Rendezvous. The students are earning Beaver Bucks until the first week of March. These bucks can be used as currency for the Rendezvous Trading Post. Students have been instructed to team up with another 4th grader (from another class is fine) and make some homemade crafts to sell. It is so much fun! Students are asked to dress up as a mountain man, a Native American, or pioneer. Students are not allowed to sell weapons of any kinds. Please let me know if there are any questions. That's it for next week! I do want to mention that the students will be going to the Space Simulator for a mission about fossils. This will be at 9 on Thursday. Thanks for everything!! Hello! For those of you who didn't get the message last week, each student should bring a box or a bag on 2/14/20 to receive the Valentine's Day cards we will be exchanging. Students are free to do whatever they would like with the boxes or bags, but it's always fun to decorate things (and it's a great way to get them busy with something that doesn't involve screen time). Please make sure that your student brings enough Valentine's Day Cards for all 27 students.
Language Arts- This week we will be reading a story selection about Encyclopedia Brown. Many of you read those books as children. This is the last selection in our puzzles and mysteries unit. We will be focusing on the characters, settings, plot, and resolution of the story and the others that we read this week. The spelling words all have prefixes. I have posted Term 3's book report and directions here. This is a favorite book report, and I'm excited to share these with the class. Math- We have been working with equivalent fractions, and we will be moving into benchmark fractions, and ordering fractions from least to greatest and vice versa. Make sure that your student gets a chance to help you cook, or get out your measuring spoons and show them the difference between the different fraction measurement amounts. That real-world application and the conversation with you will really help make it clearer. Science- We started a packet on Friday that focused only on sound waves. We will continue this tomorrow, and then there will be a quiz on Thursday. Utah History- The Mountain Man Rendezvous is coming up on 3/13/20! Students have the opportunity to dress as a mountain person, Native American, or pioneer. They are also given the opportunity to create handmade items to sell (for Beaver Bucks, which the students will be earning over the next month) at the Trading Post that will be held during the Rendezvous. There will be an opportunity to volunteer to bring some food or other items. There will also be a need for volunteers to help out during our rotations. It's also fun to come enjoy the trading post! Free Beaver Bucks for parents! This week, we will be writing constructed response essays about the different famous mountain men. They led fascinating lives! It was wonderful to see you at Student-Led Conferences last week! Thank you for being so dedicated to your students' educations. It really does make a difference! Welcome to February! I have had a few students ask me about a Valentine's Day Party. We will not be having an official class party, but we will be passing out Valentine's Day cards to each member of our class. It will be up to you and your student to make some sort of interesting bag or box to receive the cards. Please make sure to send the bag or box on the morning of the 14th. We will also be doing a Nearpod about St. Valentine. This Wednesday and Thursday is Student-Led Conferences. Thank you to those of you who have signed up. If you still need the link to sign up, you may click here.
Language Arts- We are reading a fantastic story about the frenchman who discovered how to decipher the puzzle of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. We will be learning about personal pronouns, and using graphic sources to gain and share knowledge. The progress with Lexia has been really encouraging! This is a short week. Please make sure that your student has all of the allotted weekly Lexia minutes finished by Friday. Math- We started ch. 8 on Friday. We will be learning about fractions and decimals. I have likened the students' usage of multiplication and division as mental gymnastics. Students who know their facts are able to add, subtract, multiply and divide without checking a chart, and those students are light years ahead of the students who have to stop and figure out each operation. Please have your student practice Reflex and ALEKS. It really does make a difference in their future ability to do math. Utah History- We are in the planning stages for the Annual 4th Grade Rendezvous to be held on 3/13. It is one of the activities from 4th grade that all of the students love and remember. It will involve students making homemade items and "selling" the items for "Beaver Bucks" at the Trading Post portion of the Rendezvous. More info to come, of course, but start thinking about it. :) Science- We are continuing our module on waves. Last week, we learned about more characteristics of waves and how they move through different media. Different media include water, air, earth, etc. It's obviously easier to see the waves in water and earth, but with special cameras it is possible to see waves created by sound (like in the case of a sonic boom). This is a really fun module. This week will be learning about transverse and longitudinal waves. I'm looking forward to seeing you all at our upcoming conferences. Have a great week! Hello Everyone. Welcome to the last week in January! I'll jump right in.
Math-- We will finish up with chapter 7 this week. The students have done quite well with these concepts, although they can be somewhat challenging to understand. Next week, we will begin our chapter on fractions. Please make sure that your students are using Reflex and ALEKS each day. Students should be completing 20 minutes of math homework per day. Some students are forgetting their math facts. Please make sure that you continue with Reflex so this doesn't happen. It's really hard for students to do math when they constantly have to check their multiplication chart. Language Arts-- Our story selection this week is about the Navajo Code Talkers who helped in the Pacific Theatre. we will be learning about pronouns and antecedents, and sequences when reading or telling a story. This week we will also be completing a Utah Compose narrative essay about William Clark (of Lewis and Clark), and his experiences with the Native Americans with whom he came into contact. We're aiming for a writing score of 25-27. Please remember that students must be completing 20 minutes of language arts homework each day. This could be Lexia, Spelling City, Utah Compose, or reading a fantastic book! Science-- We will continue our study of waves, and in particular light waves. Social Studies-- We have begun to study about the Spanish explorers who entered Utah on their way to California. Looking forward, we will be studying Utah's mountain men, and then having our annual Mountain Man rendezvous on March 13. We will need a few volunteers to help with stations and food. More about that in the future. Thanks! Have a great week! Hello Parents! I'm getting an early jump on the weekly update because there are some things coming up next week that you need to know. I'll write about it in each subject.
Math--The 2nd benchmark was a success for most of our class. The class average was 82%, which shows that overall, the instruction has been successful, and your students are doing well at retaining the material that they've learned. Of course, there is always room for improvement, but I am optimistic. Please continue to make sure that your student's homework is completed correctly, and that they are feeling confident with the concepts we are learning. Your student should be doing 20 mins. of homework per night. At this point, students should be working on ALEKS. Please make sure that your students are progressing on their ALEKS pies. The goal is to have finished 100% of the 4th grade material by the end of the year. During math instruction time on Thursday, the students will have a chance to visit our school's space simulator. We are all excited about the simulator! It's such a blast. Language Arts--It is a short week, but we will be having our full language arts block each day. Therefore, we will be having a spelling and vocab. list as usual. Because it's a short week, next week's list on Spelling City will be available beginning tomorrow, 1/18/20, in case your student would like to get a jump on their studies. This week, our story is entitled "Encantado: Pink Dolphins". We will be doing some more comparing and contrasting, and we will also practice summarizing a text. We will also be learning more about pronouns. Great job on term 2's book reports. I will be posting Term 3's book report on this website shortly. Science--We finished a mid-year science benchmark this week, and we will continue our unit on waves. Also, this Tuesday during our math instruction, some visitors from the Museum of Natural History will be coming to our class to present a hands-on unit about fossils, complete with specimens and projects. This is a one of our favorite in-school "field trips" so make sure that your student arrives on time. Utah History--I have absolutely loved seeing all of the beautiful natural colors that your students created for the textile dyeing project. Thanks for your help and creativity!! Next week, we will begin to study about the early Spanish explorers who came to Utah. Utah has a rich and diverse history, and I love sharing it with my students. Misc.--On Friday, it will be our annual Day in History. We will be rotating classrooms this Friday, so that each of the 4th grade teachers can teach a special lesson on something important that happened in 1820. My lesson is going to be about chocolate! Did you know that in the 1820's, a machine was invented to press cocoa butter from cocoa beans, leaving cocoa solids (an important step towards modern chocolate production)? Thanks for reading!!! Have a fantastic week!! Hello and welcome to another week! It's so nice to be back in our routine. Here's what's on the menu for the week.
Math- We are continuing our work on sequences and patterns. We just finished lesson 3 in chapter 7. Administration would also like to have us complete the 2nd benchmark of the year by this Friday. This will be on chapters 4-7, so this week I'll be reviewing multiplication and division. Language Arts- Today we started with our 2nd book, which means that we are halfway through the curriculum! Our story is entitled "The Case of the Gasping Garbage", which is a realistic fiction story. This week, we will be comparing and contrasting information, as well as practicing visualizing as we read. The spelling words are contractions, and we will be studying singular and plural pronouns. Please remember that book reports are due this Wednesday. Information can be found about that under the curriculum tab on this website. Science- We are continuing our work with the different types of waves and the energy that causes it. We will be taking a quiz tomorrow to see how much was learned after our STEM project last week. Social Studies/Utah History- Today we will be starting a fun little project where the students learn about the natural dyes that the Native Americans and early settlers used to dye their textiles. Students will be given an assignment to choose a natural substance to dye a small piece of white cloth. Students will bring their pieces of cloth to class and will present their fabrics and tell us what they used to achieve their color. Also, since it is Martin Luther King Day next Monday, we will be learning about his legacy and how our world has changed because of his peaceful activism. That's it for this week. Please don't hesitate to email or Dojo me. Thanks!!! Hello and welcome to a new year! I hope that you had a fantastic break. Thank you again for all of your thoughtful gifts and cards. I really do appreciate the kind gestures. Let's jump right in!
Language Arts- Our story selection this week is Paul Bunyan. This week's Reading Street spelling words are singular and plural possessive words, which can be a little tricky. Make sure that your student really studies! We will be working on irregular verbs, and summarizing stories. In terms of reading skills, we will be working on using appropriate phrasing while reading. Make sure your student completes his/her Lexia minutes! Please remember that Term 2's book reports are due by January 15. Book report info HERE. Math- We will be finishing up with ch. 6 this week. The test will be on Wednesday. I have high hopes for great scores based upon previous formative assessments. In ch. 7, we will be working on patterns and sequences, which is really fun. After the rigor of learning multiplication and division, it should be a nice change. Keep up with Reflex minutes (and ALEKS if your student has finished Reflex). It is so apparent which students know their math facts. Please make sure that your student continues to practice their math facts. It will literally change the way that they do math for the rest of their lives. Science- In our next module in science we will be studying the energy patterns in waves. We will be learning about amplitude and wavelength, and the different many different types of waves (sound, radio, micro, light, etc.). This week, we will be building a wave model using kebab sticks and Dots candies. I'm excited to build this, and I think it will be a great tool to show students how energy moves through objects to create movement. Since we will be using Dots candies, I hope you don't mind if each student is allowed to eat 1 piece of Dots candy. If you would rather not have your student eat a Dots candy, please let me know. Utah History- We will continue our study of the lifestyles and traditions of the 5 original Utah Native American Tribes. This will continue for a couple of weeks, and then we will move into the coming of the Spanish Explorers. I'm excited for the new year! Our school year is almost one-half finished, if you can believe it. I am looking forward to all of the exciting and interesting things I get to teach these students! Please keep in touch if there is anything that I could do better, or if there's something that your child needs to succeed. Have a great week!! |