Attention Parents:
The October Scholastic book order forms are coming home today. If you’re interested in purchasing books for your child, please click this link. It will take you to our class’ ordering page. All books ordered for your child, using our classroom code (QHP2K), will help us earn more books for our classroom library. Please consider ordering your child some fun new books on their level.
It has been such a joy getting to work with these students so far. They are hard working, motivated, and respectful. I feel very lucky! This week is another jam packed week of learning.
Specials
Monday – Art and Library
Tuesday – Gym
Wednesday – Music
Thursday – Art and Computer Lab
Friday – Gym
Spelling Words
Vowel Pairs ai, ee, ea
High Frequency Words
Writing
We are finishing up our first personal narrative this week. Students will be revising and editing their writing before having the opportunity to share their writing with the class. The improvement I have seen in their writing is just wonderful. They are like little sponges, soaking up all of the tips and tricks to making writing more engaging for their readers. I am excited to read their final pieces.
Reading
Students have been working on strategies to improve their comprehension. This week, students will be recommending books to their peers as well as choosing a stack of “just right” books that they can read in the classroom, and at home. Please remind your child to take the online quiz each time they finish a book so that they can demonstrate their understanding of the book. Toward the end of the week, students will be asked to retell the stories they’re reading as well as make inferences. These are skills that can be practiced at home with any story they read. Students can retell the events of a story to a parent, sibling, or even a pet. The key is practicing that retell, telling the events in order, and trying to remember all of these important/key details. Practicing inferences is a little trickier. Perhaps the author writes that a character has a red nose and continues to sneeze as he walks through the library. The students should be able to infer that the character either has allergies or a cold. Inferences are sometimes difficult for the students because the author doesn’t outright tell them, but the more opportunities they have to practice the skill, the better they become. Remember, our goal is 400 minutes a month for 4th grade. Some students have already met that goal! When in doubt, just keep reading.
Math
Students have been working hard on their addition and subtraction skills, and this week is no exception. Students will use addition to check their subtraction as they move into subtracting even larger numbers. Whenever possible, have your child practice multi-digit addition and subtraction at home. We will have our third quick quiz of the unit on Friday, 9/30. To prepare, please go over the homework and remembering sheets with your child and have them practice similar problems if they’re struggling. The key to success with the multi-digit addition and subtraction is having the children slow down and take their time. They’re making a lot of simple errors, like forgetting to add the one they carry, or making mistakes when regrouping for subtraction. If your child gets an answer wrong, see if they can find their errors. When they can begin recognizing their own mistakes, hopefully they stop making them.
Social Studies
It’s almost here! Market Day is this Friday!!! Students have been working so hard learning economics concepts in preparation for Market Day. This week we will finish up by discussing entrepreneurship, budgets, and advertising. Please ensure your child has their good/service prepared for sale on Friday. Students will be buying and selling from 10:30 – 11:30, and will then return to their rooms for reflection before recess and lunch. I am so proud of their hard work and preparation as they get ready for Market Day. I have no doubt it will be a huge success!
As always, if you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Pictures coming soon!
I’m looking forward to yet another week of fun and learning.
Writing: Students are continuing to improve their narrative writing this week. They will be working on organization as well as adding details that help the reader “see” their story. I can already see their writing improve and it’s truly exciting to think about what they are capable of achieving.
Reading: Students are learning to fall in love with books. We are continuing to ensure all students are reading books on their level as well as monitoring their own understanding of the texts. To help all students find books they can read and understand successfully, individual reading conferences are taking place. Students are reading one-on-one with me, and then discussing the text they just read to show that they understand what they’re reading. My goal is to have all students’ fall reading levels completed by the end of the month.
Math: Students completed their first math quiz last week and did extremely well. Some of them needed a few reminders, but were then able to solve the problems successfully. This week, students will continue to add large numbers, as well as use their rounding and estimation skills to determine whether or not their answers are reasonable. Students will also take their 2nd math quiz this week. All students are doing extremely well in math. Just a reminder, if a student is unable to finish their math work in class, they should be bringing the page home to complete and bring back the following day. We go over all answers in class together, and then meet in small groups, or individually, to clear up any misunderstandings. These sheets are my way of catching any confusion before we move on too far. Thank you for your help with completing this sheets.
Social Studies: Students are moving quickly through their economics units and are beginning to apply those concepts as they plan for the upcoming Market Day. Please check in with your child regarding their Market Day plans and make sure you are okay with their choices. Market Day is next Friday, September 30th.
Specials Schedule:
Other Announcements:
LET’S HAVE ANOTHER GREAT WEEK! 🙂
We’ve survived the heat and have made it to week 2! We have a lot of learning in store for us this week.
Writing – Extending Personal Narrative
This week in writing we will finish generating ideas for writing by exploring strong emotions and recalling life events that have caused those feelings to arise. We will then move into drafting initial personal narratives. Students will be encouraged to use concrete words and phrases in order to convey their experiences or events precisely. We will then work together to included sensory details to help the reader experience the story. Students have written personal narratives before, but now we are working on giving their writing finesse! Students are encouraged to write at home as often as possible. Keeping a diary or journal would be great practice for writing personal narratives.
Reading – Reading with Independence
Last week, students examined their own reading habits and why they chose the books they read. This week, students will be setting important and realistic goals for themselves as readers. They will be choosing “just-right” books so that they can become stronger readers. Students will also be encouraged to begin monitoring their understanding of the books they read. Check in with your child while they’re reading and ask them to tell you about their book. Can they describe the major events? Are they able to apply strategies to clear up confusion when meaning breaks down? Even if they can read the words, sometimes a book might be too hard for them. It is important that students are reading challenging books, but not so challenging that they aren’t understanding what they’re reading.
Math – Numbers to One Million
Students have been working with numbers up to 1,000 last week, examining their place value as well as rounding and comparing numbers. This week, we will continue to work with place value concepts, but with numbers up to one million. Students will be writing numbers in various forms (standard, expanded, and word forms), discussing the value of digits, rounding, and comparing numbers. Students tend to struggle with rounding. Rounding to the nearest ten, hundred, and thousand will be our focus this week as we introduce games that practice these strategies. Ask your child to share the games with you so that you may play and home and keep the practice going. We will also have our first quiz tomorrow, check on their understanding of the math concepts taught so far. This quiz will be used to help me determine who needs extra help, and who needs to be pushed. This should be a stress-free quiz for students and it is used more as a tool for me, than a grade for them.
Social Studies – Economics
We are continuing our study of economics this week as we discuss producers and consumers, supply and demand, resources (human, capital, and natural), as well as scarcity. Students will be applying all of these skills as they prepare for the upcoming Market Day on September 30th. Please look for a letter coming home in your child’s folder this week explaining the rules and guidelines of Market Day. This is a great activity that the students really enjoy every year.
UPCOMING
Picture day is this Wednesday! Please check your child’s folder tonight for picture order forms. Our pictures will be taken at 11:45. Please ensure your child comes to school wearing what you’d like them to be in for pictures.
Questions?
As always, if you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. The easiest way to reach me is via email at ahawks1@hpseagles.net.
I look forward to another wonderful week! 🙂
Wow! I am one lucky teacher. I have 29 amazing students to work with this year and I couldn’t be more excited!
As many of our activities this year will require students to work together, we spent most of our day getting to know each other and learning to work cooperatively with one another. Students participated in two different STEM activities that required them to think outside the box to solve a specific problem. (Ask your child how they saved Fred.)
As we continue with our week we will begin delving into the curriculum.
Spelling this week consists of 10 words that are commonly used, but misspelled, by students. Please remind your child to practice their words throughout the week so that they
are prepared for their quiz on Friday.
Our first unit for writing is focused upon expanding the personal narrative. Students will be examining mentor texts to determine how authors’ word choice and descriptions make stories come to life. Students will be applying the skills they see in texts to their own writing in hopes of improving their craft.
In reading, students will begin examining their own reading habits and determine what makes reading a positive or negative experience for them. Our hope is that students will attempt to create as many positive interactions with texts as possible so that their enjoyment of reading can continue to develop and they can become lifelong readers.
We begin our first math unit tomorrow: Within this unit, students will study place value to one million, addition with greater numbers, and subtraction with greater numbers. Students will use hands on manipulative, place value charts, and the standard algorithm as means to work with these numbers. Please remember that many of the strategies taught in today’s math classrooms are different than the ways you might have learned. Ask your child to share these new strategies with you. Some of them are actually pretty cool.
Finally, we will end each day with social studies or science. Our first unit of study this year will be economics. Students will learn about supply and demand, goods and services, and even advertising. They will apply all of the skills learned as they develop their own product to market and sell at a Market Day at the conclusion of the unit.
We have a lot of learning ahead of us and I am positive that this group of students is up for the challenge. I look forward to an exciting year with these amazing kids!
Here a just a few pictures of the great learning that occurred today:
