Weekly Update: April 15-19

Weekly Update

Important Reminders:

• We have Library today.  ALL books will be due back to the library for inventory and processing on May 3.  
• PLEASE send in your MAP encouragement letter for your kiddo by Thursday, April 18.  
• PLEASE practice multiplication facts!  The students need to really know them quickly, and without having to use strategies to solve them.  We will be starting multi-digit multiplication and long division soon, and having those multiplication facts memorized will be a HUGE help!  On Google Classroom (just log in with your child's username and password, then save that to your computer, and you will then have access whenever) I put some multiplication websites and game directions under the "classwork" tab and then under the "Websites" topic.  Thanks for your help with practicing these facts!

• Please remember to check, and initial, your child's planner every night.  Homework and important notes are written in the planner daily.  Thanks for your help with this!
• Please send a snack with your child that is NUT FREE every day, as we do not eat lunch until 12:10.  Thanks!

Important Dates to Remember:

• April 19 - NO School
• April 22 - We DO have school - snow day makeup day
• April 22-26 - Leader of the Week = Gwen
• April 29 - May 3 - Leader of the Week = Serah

MAP Testing Dates:

• MAP ELA  - April 29, May 1, and May 2.  We will test first thing in the morning (9:00) until 11:00/11:30, depending on the test.  
• MAP Math - May 6 and May 8.  We will test during the same time frame as the ELA tests.  

Check Out What We Are Learning This Week:

Writing:

We are continuing with our Poetry Unit this week, as well as writing an opinion piece to a given prompt for MAP testing practice.  This week in poetry we are still focusing on figurative language, primarily using personification and onomatopoeia.  These kiddos are writing some great poems!  Just like last week, while students are independently working on their poetry, I will pull groups based on the opinion and narrative pieces they wrote.

Grammar:

Last week we took a grammar diagnostic assessment on Quill.  Each student will receive a grammar learning pack with what they need to work on based on the assessment.  This will be a personalized approach to learning grammar - each student learning what they need to learn.  We are using the online site quill.org. 

Reading:  

We will continue to work on test prep - reviewing main idea using boxes and bullets, reviewing text features, answering questions about the purpose and the main idea, and how to read step by step directions.  This is not only good practice for a test, but also as a great reminder for our every day reading.  

Read Aloud:

This week we will continue reading another of my favorite read alouds, Among the Hidden.   This is the first book out of seven in the Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson.  This is a book about a fictional future in which drastic measures have been taken to stop overpopulation.  My students loved this book last year, and could not wait to read the rest of the series on their own.  I do have the entire series for our classroom library that I will get out for them once I finish the first book.  

Math:  

We will continue with Ch. 14: Geometry.  In this chapter we will learn how to draw points, lines, and rays, drawing perpendicular and parallel lines, modeling angles, classifying angles, drawing angles, measuring angles, solving problems with angles, triangles, quadrilaterals, and drawing lines of symmetry.  This chapter has A LOT of vocabulary.  I sent home the vocab cards on 4/1/19 for this chapter.  Please make sure you keep them some place safe so that you can study them throughout the chapter, and before the test.  Our test will be Thursday, April 18.  The study guide is on our Google Classroom.  

***Knowing your multiplication facts is extremely important as we move forward in math, so keep practicing those facts!  We will continue to practice multi-digit multiplication and long division.

***In order for students to show mastery with a standard, they will be doing "Check-ins" throughout the year to show that they didn't just memorize the skills for the test, but that they retained the skills, thus showing mastery.  My goal with the check-ins is to make sure that the 4th grade Math Standards are mastered by all students by the end of the year! ***

Spelling:  

ALL Students were given their  current sorts on Monday, April 8.  We will test over these sorts on Thursday, April 18.

We will continue to have sight word tests, however they will be every other week so that the students are only taking one "spelling" test a week.  Our next sight word test will be on Friday, April 26th.   Remember these are the words that do not follow a pattern, and need to be memorized.  Students will need to not only spell the words correctly, but be able to read them in order to "pass" this group of words.  

Science:

We are finishing up our Energy and Motion Units this week. We will focus on how friction affects motion.  We will investigate this by measuring the angle at which objects reach the bottom of a ramp with a sandpaper surface and a wax paper surface.   

 Have a GREAT Week!