Dear 4B Families,
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Our first full week was truly inspiring. I am in awe of the students’ hard work every day!
This Tuesday, September 17th is individual class picture day. Flyers to order pictures were sent home during the first week of school. You can send the form back to school or use this link (on HRS Website) to order online with our school ID# LS119030Q0. Students may wear free dress on picture day.
As we begin our third week of school the students are building an understanding of our classroom rules and procedures. We will continue to practice and review. Every student in our class has a right to learn and work without interruption and enjoy school. The management plan is in place to insure that every student in our class feels safe, included, and is able to work and learn without disruption. Our classroom and school rules are based on being SAFE, RESPECTFUL AND RESPONSIBLE.
When rules are not followed students receive (in the order):
- A warning
- A time out (generally inside the classroom so instruction is not missed)
- A note home (this note will explain the infraction(s) and ask you to sign and return)
Our goal is always to help students be responsible, respectful self-managers. Each new day is a new beginning. The less time we have to spend managing behavior—the more time we have for great learning! I will be holding students to high academic, behavioral and social expectations. Thank you for your support.
Religion/2nd Step: This week the students will be introduced to their newly blessed Bibles. We will explore the parts of the Bible and label the Four Gospels. Students will practice looking up Gospel verses.
As we work through the first lessons of 2nd Step we will also focus on empathy–the ability to stand in another’s shoes and see their point of view. Building empathy is an important skill for students to practice as they navigate peer relationships.
Social Studies: This week the students will receive study sheets for a continent and ocean test that will take place next Thursday the 26th. We will continue to review in class, and students are expected to practice at home as well. The test will have a word bank of the continents and oceans. Students need to know the locations. The 4A website has links to review the continents as well. Look under the “Map Skills” section on the right-hand links column. The students are also memorizing the Continent poem which is in each filer and available as a PDF in the tabs at the top of the 4B website. I will give practice time in class for this, but the poem should be practiced at home as well. We will be focusing on the concept of latitude and longitude as we gain skills reading maps using coordinates.
Science: Students became scientists last week by observing, problem solving, and making hypotheses. They will continue to be scientists in the upcoming weeks when we start our wind energy unit. This will nicely tie into our tall ship theme with tall tales that we are reading in class. By the end of the unit, all students will create their very own working windmills!
Reading:This week we continue with our study of Folk/Tall Tales and figurative language. Along with our main story, “Stormalong”, the students will read three other folktales, which will allow us to compare and contrast characters and look for themes in the folktales. The students will also get additional practice identifying figurative language examples. Ask your child about some of the words we’ve been studying with “Stormalong”!
- hyperbole!!!!!
- foaming
- outcast
- yearning
- horrified
- betray
- condition
- memorable
- seafaring
- shortage
- tidal
- character traits
- tall tale
Spelling: The words this week go with our reading lesson on “Stormalong”.The words are homophones, so the students will need to be able to both spell and explain the meaning of each word. Study sheets were sent home last Friday with the students and they can also be accessed on the 4B webpage. The test will be on Friday, September 20th.
Math: Our classwork will continue to focus on place value. We will be having a test on chapter one this Friday. Thursday’s math homework will be a test review. Fourth grade students are expected to be able to read and write numbers into the millions and higher. Look for some math homework related to reading and writing large numbers to come home today. You can also access a PDF of this homework here. Cardinal Numbers Chapter 1 Math Homework PDF Parent assistance is needed for this assignment that will be due next Friday, September 20th. Thank you for your assistance.
Multiplication Mastery: Mastery of both multiplication and division facts is imperative as a 4th grade student. This week every student will have some fact sheets to complete to get their brains back into shape! I will be giving assessments on mastery of the facts in the coming weeks. The first set will focus on facts 0-5. When students are able to show mastery of this set, they will move to facts 6-9, etc. All students participate when we take timed tests, but I will offer other assessment options to validate mastery for those students that do not perform as well on timed tests.
For practice I highly encourage flash cards as well as paper/pencil tests. When using flash cards the students should say the entire fact: “Six times three is eighteen”, rather than just, “eighteen”. Some students respond well to online practice. There are many sites (some better than others) that can help students master facts. If you have not yet enrolled in Xtra Math from the flyer that was sent home last Monday (attached to newsletter), please do so by Friday, September 20th at the latest.
The Homework tab above will have an overview of homework. Sometimes assignments change as the week progresses. I do my best to keep it updated, but the student planner should be your first place to check. This homework page does include links for study sheets.
The habit that we will focus on this week is perseverance. We will be studying the synonyms for this word: tenacity, persistence, determination…what else?
TREAT YOURSELF! Thank you for your support of the Magazine Sale! Another Tally/Turn in Tuesday for the MAGAZINE DRIVE is this Tuesday the 17th.
Have an excellent week everyone!
I am so enjoying my new 4B students 🙂
Ms. Benson 🙂
