Weekly Update

Writing

Students have chosen a personal essay topic and are working on their essays.  They are making good progress in this unit!  

Reading

In reading groups, we continue to study text features and the structure of nonfiction texts.  It is important that your child read at home every night to further grow and develop their reading skills.  

Social Studies/Science

Students are presenting their Native American projects to the class, and they look awesome!  We start our next unit in science involving rocks this week.  In this unit, we will learn about the different types of rocks, the rock cycle, and weathering and erosion. 

Math

In Chapter 5, we will be learning 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication!  It is important that your child continues to work on multiplication facts at home.  In this chapter, students may have practice problems coming home on a nightly basis.  

Other Important Info.

• Thank you parents for attending conferences this past week.  I enjoyed talking with you all!  
• Halloween parties are this Tuesday, 10/31 at 2:00-2:45pm.  Before the party, we will have an all-school parade at 1:40pm.  We will change into costumes after lunch, before the parade.  
• Field trip permission slips for our next field trip were sent home.  On Tuesday, November 21st, fourth and fifth grade students will be going to Regal Cinema in Fenton to see the movie, "Wonder!"  We have all 5 of our parent chaperones and they will be emailed as the field trip date draws near. 
• The 4th Grade Music Program is on Thursday, November 9th at 7:30 pm at the Lindbergh High School Auditorium.  Students can arrive at 7:15.  When the 2nd Grade Music Program ends at 7:15, the auditorium doors will be opened so that fourth grade students can go directly to the risers on the stage, while families and friends can find seats in the auditorium.  The 4th Grade Music Program is 50's and 60's Rock-n-Roll music.  Students are asked to wear 50's and 60's type clothes.  
• Students have been fitness testing in PE during the month of October.  Students did an awesome job, and we are so proud of them!  Your child should be bringing home their scores along with a parent letter for your viewing.  Any questions can be directed to Coach Parker.   

Weekly Update

Writing
We started our essay unit with "Essay Boot Camp."  As a class, we wrote a personal essay on ice cream to practice the structure of an essay.  Students then brainstormed topics such as sports, holidays, friends and family members, pets, objects or a favorite book, etc.  This week we will chose a topic and write the thesis for our personal essays.  

Reading
We started our nonfiction unit with a review of text features including the table of contents, headings, subheadings, pictures with captions, maps, diagrams, bold words, and much more!  This week we will study the structure of nonfiction texts.  Texts are organized as either description, order and sequence, compare and contrast, cause and effect, or problem and solution.

Math

In Chapter 4, we have been multiplying by multidigit numbers.  We have learned a few different strategies, and one of them is partial products.  Here it is:

The Chapter 4 Test is this Wednesday, October 25th.  

Social Studies

We will complete our unit on American Indians this week as we finish our diorama projects.  I can't wait to show you the awesome products here!  

Babler State Park

Here's a look at our field trip!  We had a great time learning about the pioneer days!  We rotated to many different stations to learn about the ways of life for the pioneers. From listening to the life of a mountain man to visiting the mercantile to learning about the different clothes the pioneers wore and the jobs that they had to watching a blacksmith make a nail and "J" hook to square dancing to making a "buzz saw" toy to so much more, we had a blast!

Ability Awareness Day

On Friday, we had Ability Awareness Day!  Students got to hear about learning disabilities such as Attention Deficit Disorder, sign language, the Easterseals, and prostheses.  

Other Important Info.

•  Parent-Teacher Conferences are this week on Monday, October 23rd and Wednesday, October 25th.  
• There is no school this Friday, October 27th. 
• The Scholastic Book Fair is up and running this week in the library! 
• Field trip permission slips for our next field trip were sent home.  On Tuesday, November 21st, fourth and fifth grade students will be going to Regal Cinema in Fenton to see the movie, "Wonder!"  There was not a space on the form for parent chaperones, but we can take up to 5 parents per class.  Please email me if you would like to chaperone this trip. 

Weekly Update

Writing
On Friday, we celebrated our realistic fiction narratives!  Students gave group members awards such as "Leadership with Leads," "Dynamite Dialogue," and "Super Story Arc!"  Students should have brought home a copy of their paper.  Our next unit is essay writing.  We with start with an "essay boot camp" and write a personal essay about something we love.  Then, we will write a persuasive essay.  We will spend a lot of time learning the structure of an essay.   

Reading

Students are loving our new read aloud, "Wonder!"  We are studying characters, root words, and identifying figurative language.  

Math

We are now in Chapter 4 and will be multiplying by multi-digit numbers.  Make sure your child continues to study their facts at home.   

Social Studies

We have started our new social studies unit on American Indians.  Right now we are learning about migration and the various regions different tribes lived.  We will start our diorama project this week.  Again, a big thank you to families who have donated items!  If you would still like to send in items, we could use scotch tape, sand paper, modeling clay or Play-Doh, and toothpicks.  

Other Important Info.

• This Wednesday (10/11) fourth grade students will be headed to Babler State Park for Missouri Heritage Days. Please make sure your child brings a sack lunch and dresses for the weather.  
• This Friday (10/13) marks the end of first quarter.  It is a half day and no lunch will be served.  Please make sure your child knows how they are going home. 
• You should have received an email invite from Sign Up Genius to sign up for Parent-Teacher Conferences on October 23rd or 25th.  Follow the link in the email to sign up for your conference time slot.  Please let me know if you did not receive that email so we can schedule a conference. 

Weekly Update

Writing
A handful of students are finished with their realistic fiction stories and the rest are working hard to revise and edit their narratives!  We have our first writing celebration for our narrative unit this Friday!  Students can wear pajamas and bring a flashlight to celebrate!  

Reading

This past week we finished "The Tiger Rising" and made a "graffiti wall" (below) to share our favorite character, favorite part, something we learned, etc.  We also started our next read aloud, "Wonder!"  First, we will be looking at characters, studying Greek and Latin root words, and identifying figurative language.  

Math

The Chapter 3 Test is set for this Thursday, 10/5.  Before then we will review multiples and word problems involving multiplication and division.  Again, it is important that students continue to study multiplication (or division) facts at home so they are quicker and more accurate with their computation.   

Science

 The Chapter 4 Test over ecosystems is this Wednesday, 10/4.   Students can earn extra credit and practice science concepts by completing activities on our online book!  Click on the science textbook below.  After logging in, hover over the "To Do" tab on the right-hand side of the page.  Click on that button, and the activities will pop up.  Hit "I'm done" when finished to get the extra credit!    

Flexible Seating 

Just check our learning space!  I love that our dry erase table gets so much use! Here, you can see that we use it in math, reading, and writing!  Also, this week we had a bench delivered to our room!  As you will see below, this bench also converts into a table!  

Other Important Info.

• Fourth grade students will be headed to Babler State Park on October 11th for Missouri Heritage Days. Please make sure all permission slips and money is turned in as soon as possible.  We have our chaperons for this trip, and they will be emailed by Tuesday. 
• This week you will receive an email invite from Sign Up Genius to sign up for Parent-Teacher Conferences on October 23rd or 25th.  Follow the link in the email to sign up for your conference time slot.
• Thank you to all families who have sent in materials for our upcoming Native American project in social studies.  If you would still like to donate, we could use: scotch tape, paper towel or toilet paper rolls, shoe boxes, sand paper, modeling clay or Play-Doh, and toothpicks.  

Weekly Update

Writing

Students are making great progress with their realistic fiction stories!  Remember, your child can bring their device to school (laptops and iPads are best) to make sure they have access to a computer during writing time.

Engaged in a punctuating dialogue practice activity 

Reading

This week, we will finish "The Tiger Rising."  I am so impressed with how well students are developing big ideas about the text.  Our next read aloud will be "Wonder!"  I know students will love reading and studying this book as well.  It's one of my favorite books! 

Math

This past week we started Chapter 3 with multiplication and division fact families.  We also learned a strategy for division- repeated subtraction.  This week we will resume with multiplication properties and division rules, as well as study factors and multiples.  Again, it is important that students continue to study multiplication (or division) facts at home so they are quicker and more accurate with their computation.   

Science

The Chapter 4 vocabulary quiz is tomorrow. We have started our study of ecosystems and students are currently working on a biome project.  They are working on it during class, and it is due this Friday, 9/29.  The Chapter 4 Test over ecosystems is set for next Wednesday, 10/4.  At home, students can earn extra credit and practice science concepts by completing activities on our online book!  Click on the science textbook below.  After logging in, hover over the "To Do" tab on the right-hand side of the page.  Click on that button, and the activities will pop up.  Hit "I'm done" when finished to get the extra credit!    

Other Important Info.

• Fourth grade students will be headed to Babler State Park on October 11th for Missouri Heritage Days. Please make sure all permission slips and money is turned in as soon as possible.  Our class can take 2 more parent chaperones on this field trip. 
• Picture Day is this Wednesday, 9/27!

Weekly Update

Writing

This week students continued to add descriptive details to their writing.  We also focused on writing dialogue, making sure it was correctly punctuated.  Also within editing, we learned when to create new paragraphs.  We will continue to study dialogue and paragraphing this week.  Students are making good progress with their stories!  

Reading

This week we are going to focus on using the story arc and characters to develop significant ideas about the book, as well as find meaning in repeated details.  We are a little over halfway through with "The Tiger Rising," and students are loving it!

Math

On Monday we will review Chapter 2, and students will bring home their study guides.  The Chapter 2 Test is this Tuesday, 9/19.   It is important that students continue to study multiplication facts at home. 

Here we are playing a favorite multiplication game in class!

Social Studies/Science

Below are some of the students' US region/states suitcases!  They will get their graded rubrics and suitcases to take home tomorrow.  They did an awesome job presenting their suitcases last week!  This week we will look more into ecosystems and food chains in science.  The vocabulary quiz will be next Monday, September 25th.  

This week we will discuss the website Quizlet as a means of studying vocabulary words.  Everyone uses the same class account:

Username:  Long-Leighton

Password:  leighton

(The username and password are case sensitive!)

Other Important Info.

• There is no school this Friday, September 22nd. 
• Students received a permission slip for our first field trip last week!  Fourth grade students will be headed to Babler State Park on October 11th for Missouri Heritage Days, where we will find out more about the pioneer days. 
• Mid-quarter Reports will go out this week to parents of students with a C or below in any subject. However, please note that we have just started our first science unit, writing grades will not be posted until students finish their first writing assignment (realistic fiction narratives), and reading grades will not be posted until the end of the quarter as they reflect students' current reading levels.   

Weekly Update

Writing

This week students worked on adding details to their writing!  We also focused on writing captivating leads!  In doing this, we looked at many different mentor texts.  This week we will work more with adding details while we draft, while also looking at grammar- specifically within dialogue.   

Reading

This past week we continued to study the characters in "The Tiger Rising," noticing their patterns and how that affects the story.  We also continued to discuss the story scenes and retell the story by synthesizing.  This means that we used backstory and character traits to help us in summarizing what we read.  We will work on these big ideas this week as well. 

Math

In Chapter 2, we have worked with addition and subtraction rules and patterns as well as estimating sums and differences. This week we will continue with a review of regrouping and subtracting across zeros.  The Chapter 2 Test is set for Tuesday, 9/12.  Students took home the Chapter 2 "Math At Home" family letter on Tuesday.

Social Studies/Science

Students are presenting their US Regions project tomorrow!  That is when I will be capturing all of their hard work and can post the final products on the next Weekly Update!  Because we switch with social studies and science instruction, we will start our first science unit on Ecosystems after social studies presentations this week.

  

Other Important Info.

• This Wednesday, September 13th is an Early Release Day with dismissal at 1:40.  Please make sure your child knows how they are getting home.
• Scholastic book orders were sent home this week!  Click here if you would like to order online!  (Our class code is L8V73.)  You may also return the paper order form with a check made out to "Scholastic Book Clubs."  Orders are due Tuesday, September 12th.  
• As a reminder, all notes and graded work going home can be found in the very front pocket of your child's accordion file.  This is also where the assignment book is kept. 
• Chapter 1 Tests went home last week, and all tests need to be signed and returned.  Tests will be marked with a "parent signature" stamp.  
• Current grades can be viewed using SIS.  Grades are updated weekly.