Friday, July 31, 2015

Welcome to Mrs. Leighton's Fourth Grade!!


Congratulations!  You have found Mrs. Leighton's class blog!  I am excited to be your teacher this year!  Fourth grade is an awesome year of learning, and I have many fun things planned for us.  We will have a fantastic year together!  I look forward to meeting you at the Ice Cream Social on August 18th!  

Meet your classmates:

Isabella A.
Jonathan A.
McKenzie A. 
Vanessa B. 
Rosie B.
Caroline B.
Tyler B.
Lilly C. 
Nora C. 
Kellen D. 
Ella F. 
Sahil F. 
Elliot G. 
Emma H.
Blake H. 
Stevi L. 
Brett L.
Logan M. 
Jill M.
Adri P.
Cameron R. 
Kadyn S. 
Sarah V. 
Brody W. 



Thursday, May 14, 2015

Weekly Update with Ms. Bender



Writing:
This week in writing, we wrote cinquain poems. This is the last type of poem that will be included in our poem anthologies. We are now writing our final drafts and illustrating cover pages for our poem anthology books. Also, we finished writing our articles for the last issue of our classroom newsletters.

Reading:
In reading, we continued to meet in book clubs. We will finish our books by next Wednesday. With the last week of school upon us, it is especially important that students remember to complete their assigned reading. In addition to book clubs, the class has been enjoying Matilda during read aloud time.

Science:
On Tuesday, we took our forces and motion science test.

Social Studies:
This week we began discussing the three branches of government and the United States Constitution. We will work on memorizing the Preamble to the Constitution next week.







Math:
In math, we spent each morning reviewing various mathematical skills that we have learned throughout the year.






Field Day:
Even though it rained, we still managed to have a blast on Field Day! The whole school spent the day participating in a variety of team building activities.





This spectacular group of kids had so much fun on Field Day!



The class split into two teams and raced to get the hula hoop around the entire circle without letting go of hands.



During charades, Nolan did an awesome job pantomiming a gorilla!  


Other Important Information:
  • There will be no school on Friday 5/15.
  • Next week is our last week of school! Friday 5/22 will be our last official day. Dismissal is at 11:50.
  • This week Long's youcaring.org/playgroundforlong site went live.  This was also shared on our Long facebook page.  Long Elementary has set a goal of raising $25,000.  This would allow us to build a sidewalk to the concrete circle (by the pavilion that used to have tether-ball) and install several interactive play-boards, like tic tac toe, that all students could use.  If you click on the link and look under the gallery tab you can see a 3D rendition of what it would look like. Take some time to check it out!

Friday, May 8, 2015

Weekly Update with Ms. Bender

WELCOME JACKSON JAMES LEIGHTON!!!!

Early Friday morning, the newest addition to our classroom family was brought into the world. Jackson James Leighton is 8 lbs 6 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Leighton!



WRITING:
This week in writing, we began drafting our own free verse and couplet poems to include in our anthologies. As we continue to work on these poems, we will practice including figurative language to make our writing more interesting.




We had fun celebrating our writing with Dr. Parker and Mr. Schoenekase on Monday!



READING:
In reading, we will continue to meet in our book clubs. As a reminder, students need to have their reading completed, along with two speaking points written down on a sticky note, by their assigned meeting day. Mon/Thurs. or Wed/Fri.

SPELLING:
On Friday, we took our last spelling test for the year! Woohoo!

SCIENCE:
In science, we completed a marble lab that allowed us to practice calculating speed. We took our science vocabulary quiz on Monday and began our study guide. We will finish our study guides on Monday and our forces and motion test will be on Tuesday 5/12.

JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT:
This week Mrs. Shaver and Mrs. Broom came in and taught the students about entrepreneurship and what it takes to develop a business. Students had fun participating in games and activities that helped develop their business skills. We will have two more Junior Achievement lessons next week.



MATH:
In math this week, we reinforced our multiplication and long division skills by completing a variety of review activities.

The Bubble Bus and ice cream truck were a blast!




Other Important Information: 
  • If you would like to sign up to be a volunteer for Field Day, please use the following link:  Field Day Sign Up.  Field Day is Thursday, May 14th. Students have already signed up to buy or bring a sack lunch.  Please have your student wear comfy clothes and tennis shoes.
  • NO SCHOOL Friday 4/15

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Weekly Update with Ms. Bender

Writing
In writing, we finished picking three favorite poems that work with our poetry themes for our anthologies. Next week, we will write our own poems!  Also, we will continue editing articles for the second issue of our classroom newsletter. The class is very excited that our first newsletter has been printed and is ready to read. They look amazing!  We will be celebrating our writing this Monday by reading our articles in the outside learning center!  Students are allowed to bring an extra snack to eat during the celebration.

We worked hard on our news committee articles all week!


Spelling
Our last word sort test will be Friday 5/8!

Math
This week we wrapped up our geometry unit in math and took the Chapter 14 math test.

Science
This week we continued working on forces and motion. We conducted a bubble gum lab that allowed us to calculated our "chomping speed". Our vocabulary test will be this Wednesday 5/6. Remember, students can study vocabulary using Quizlet, and they can log on to the online textbook for extra credit opportunities.  

We had so much fun on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Day!!


Dr. Parker and Mr. Shoenekase showed us some thrilling science experiments!


The winning group of our egg drop contest!



Teamwork was essential when working at the large Lego station!



Reading
Students continued to work in new book club groups. As a reminder, students need to read the assigned pages and finish their 2 sticky notes containing their talking points by their group's due date of Mon/Thurs or Wed/Fri.

Two more groups have finished their iMovie book trailers!  Check out Room One's video, which was created by Ali, Delaney, Gabe, Nate and Jaxson!  Also, make sure to watch Adam and Daniel's trailer on Jake Drake!  The students did an awesome job!  








Other Important Info.  
  • Students may bring an extra snack for our writing celebration on Monday.
  • As a reminder for Strings students, Thursday, May 7th is the 4th grade all-district rehearsal.  Rehearsal is scheduled from 9:00-11:00 am in the district auditorium. 
  • Next Friday, students will enjoy a special treat!  An ice cream truck will visit Long.  Students will need a $1 to purchase ice cream.  
  • If you would like to sign up to be a volunteer for Field Day, please use the following link:  Field Day Sign Up.  Field Day is Thursday, May 14th.  
  • There is no more Friday Homework this year! 

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Weekly Update

Writing/Spelling
This past week we started our poetry unit.  We read many different types of poems, and students thought of themes for their poetry anthologies.  We are in the process of looking for poems that fit our themes.  Students will not have spelling words during MAP testing.  





Reading
In reading this past week, we received new book club groups!  We will start our new book club groups this week.  Students also continued working on their book trailers on iMovie!  

Math
This past week we learned a lot about geometry.  We reviewed lines, angles, quadrilaterals and triangles, symmetry, perimeter and area.  This week we will review geometry and use the metric system.  


Science 
Our next unit in science is forces and motion.  We will start this unit this week, and there are all kinds of fun labs we will conduct!  


Other Important Info.  
  • Fourth grade students will start taking the MAP test tomorrow.  Monday, April 20th and Tuesday, April 21st, students will take the English Language Arts test in the morning.  On Thursday, April 23rd, students will take the Math test in the afternoon.  Both the format and length of the MAP test will be different this year.  Students will take all parts of the test on the computer in just a few days.  Students will need their headphones (although we do have ones students can borrow) and a snack for the days that we test. Also, it is important that they get a good night's sleep and eat breakfast in the morning!  
  • This Wednesday, April 22nd is an early release day with dismissal at 1:40.  Please make sure your child knows how they are getting home.  
  • Fun and Upcoming Events:  The Cardinal's Game is May 3rd and Grant's Farm is April 24th!  Mark these dates on your calendar and join our Long Family for these two fun nights!  
  • Again, I can not thank you enough for the wonderful surprise baby shower this past week!  It was perfect, and Jackson and I truly appreciate everything! 

Thursday, April 16, 2015

THANK YOU!





Wow, I was so surprised yesterday when the students threw me a baby shower!  Students and Parents, thank you very much for making yesterday such a special day for Baby Jackson and I!  We appreciate all the presents and well wishes.  What a fun morning!  Our Long family is truly amazing!




Sunday, April 12, 2015

Weekly Update

Writing/Spelling

This past week in writing we read, discussed and studied news articles that we found on Scholastic News, Time for Kids, and an app called News-O-Matic.  We are nearing the end of our journalism unit, and we will start our poetry unit while we write articles for our next newsletter issue.  In Spelling, the test is this Friday, April 17th.  

Sharing the news articles that students read

Reading
In reading, we worked on spring testing review in reading groups and continued in book clubs.  Groups continued to work on their book trailers on iMovie!  Also, we finished our read aloud, "No Talking."  To celebrate, we made a "graffiti board" to record our thoughts and feelings about the book!  




Math
The Chapter 11 Test is tomorrow, April 13th. Students went home with a corrected study guide on Friday.  This week we will also start our study of metric measurement and geometry.  

Social Studies
This past week in social studies we read about the Civil War and Reconstruction.  The Chapter 6 Test will be this Friday, April 17th.  Students will receive the study guide on Monday.  

Missouri History Museum Field Trip
We had a blast on our field trip Monday!  We got to learn a lot about Missouri's history.  Plus, we got to visit the Louisiana Purchase exhibit, where we saw the original Louisiana Purchase!  Check out our fun below.  









Other Important Info.  
  • Fun and Upcoming Events:  The Cardinal's Game is May 3rd and Grant's Farm is April 24th!  Mark these dates on your calendar and join our Long Family for these two fun nights!