Where has the time gone?

Wow, I'm shocked that it is already November.  I am sorry it has taken me over a month to update my website.  As you know, our class has been busy learning, learning, learning!  Here's what's happening in our classroom now:

Word Study:  We are studying compound words.  Students have 20 compound words to study for their spelling test.  It's really important that they STUDY their spelling words.  They have two weeks with the list of words.  Everyone should be able to get an "A" or "B" on their spelling!

Language Arts:  We finished our short story unit where we learned about folktales, tall tales, fables, and myths.  Right now, we are reading Science Trade Books and exploring different ways our reading is organized, called Text Structure.  Knowing how text is organized will help students with their comprehension.

Writing:  We have been focusing on learning about complete sentences this week.  Students should be able to communicate the difference between a complete sentence and a fragment.  Please emphasize the importance of capitalization and punctuation in sentences.  We still have a few students who are struggling with this concept.  We will be starting to learn about writing a persuassive piece.  This will lead to us writing to express an opinion on a topic. 

Math:  We started our measurement unit this week.  Students are learning about the different sizes of units used to measure length, weight, and time.  Next week, we will explore liquid capacity.

Science:  If you haven't heard already, we are in the midst of our first science unit, Classification.  In this unit, we are learning about different ways to "classify" plants and animals.  We have hermit crabs in our classroom, which students will learn how to take care of them soon!  We will be getting isopods in the near future.  Students will explore the scientific method by conducting experiments with these animals. 

Homework and Agenda:  Many students haven't been getting their agenda signed. This is very important because it's a really good way to communicate with me.  I know that life is very busy, but please try to sign agendas so that I know you are looking/checking in with your child about their homework.  In addition, each Friday, their fluency packet is due. Please make sure that the comprehension questions are answered on Thursday and ready to turn in on Friday morning.  We are really working on our fluency skills in preparation for quarter 2 fluency assessments. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. 

October News

It's amazing that October is almost halfway over!  Next week, we have our second round of conferences.  If you have not signed up for a specific time, please let me know your availability ASAP.  I will be sending home conference confirmations next week. 

Students have been having a great time learning about literary texts in our short stories unit.  Ask your child to tell you about the Tall Tales and Folktales we have been reading in class! Next week, we will continue reading folktales, while focusing on the following skills: setting, believability of characters/events, and retelling strategies.

In word study, we have been learning about the suffixes -ed and -ing.  Our spelling test will be Wednesday October 17th.  Keep studying those spelling words!

In writing, students are writing about the memorable events that happened at the summer Olympics.  Each day, we do a daily oral language review (DOL), which allows students to practice editing sentences and practice other skills.  Through this daily practice, students are becoming very good at identifying when certain letters should be capitalized and where punctuation should be.  Hopefully, they will start applying those skills to their own writing samples.  Keep encouraging them to do so!!

In math, students have been learning about fractions and decimals.  Students are having a blast learning about decimals and they are realizing that "decimals are easy" to understand.  We will be moving to learning about multiplication and division next week.  Each night, students will have a sheet of math homework.  It is important that they do their homework and return it to school.  Thanks for your support in helping build responsible students. 

Information about our fall festival will be coming home in Thursday Folders soon! Our Fall party will be on Friday, November 2nd. 

Fun and Fantastic Fieldtrip!

Today, we went on our first fieldtrip and students had a blast. They also learned many cool facts about grain too!  Many students enjoyed making and eating Buckwheat Pancakes.  Students received a "recipe book" and they could teach you how to make these pancakes for breakfast one weekend.  They are delicious!  Also, students learned a lot about corn and how it is used in many products we use each and every day.  Ask your child about what other cool facts they learned! 

We did it!!

Last Friday, I challenged the students to bring in 60 labels for Race for Education.  This morning (Monday), I counted 85 lables!  Our students and families rock! We earned our "movie and popcorn party" from the PTA!  Hopefully, we will be able to raise money to buy more technology for our school!  Race for Education will be on Thursday, November 1st.  I will post the time that 4th graders will be walking as soon as I find out.  Great job everyone!!

Classroom News: October 1-5

I can't believe it is October already!  This year is just flying by!  In Comprehension, we will be starting our Reading Short Stories unit, where we will be reading traditional literatures (tall tales, folktales, fables, legends, and myths).  This upcoming week, we will focus on learning about Tall Tales characteristics. 

In Writing, we will draft a personal narrative about a memorable event that has happened in our lives.  Ask your child to share with you the "quilt" they have been making, inspired by a Patricia Polacco book. 

In Word Study, we will continue our study of high frequency words.  We will also be studying homophones, since our spelling words are commonly used homophones.  Since there are only 12 spelling words, the spelling test will be THIS Friday, October 5th!

In Social Studies, we will be learning about different regions of the United States.  Students will be creating posters to learn about a specific region of the USA.

Reminders:
*  Picture Day is October 5th!
*  2 hour Early Dismissal is Monday, October 8th.
*  Growing with Grains Field Trip is Tuesday, October 9th. 

Race for Education!

Remember to turn in your labels for Race for Education.  Labels are due MONDAY October 1, 2012.