Weekly Update September 8, 2017

Hopefully this class blog will be a quick and easy way to keep you updated about what’s going on in our class and at HES. Please read below for important info and check out the previous post for pictures from our Science Fun for Everyone Day in August.

Believe it or not we just have 1 more week of school  before our first 9 weeks is over!

Thank you so much for those of you who have already been by to meet with me and talk about your child’s progress this quarter. I look forward to meeting with the rest of you next week!

Below is a copy of an insert that you received/will receive with your child’s report card with some ideas for things to do over break to keep your child in the swing of things with reading and math:

This 9 weeks we have worked to build good habits in both math and reading. In Social Studies we focused on the features and location of the 3 regions of NC. In Science we learned about forces, specifically electricity and magnetism. Next quarter we will spend much of our time in Reading and Writing nonfiction. This means we will be focusing on things like main idea, cause and effect, etc. We will integrate our Science unit ( animals and their adaptations) with both nonfiction Reading and informational writing.

Please keep reading independent “just right”  books and practicing multiplication facts over fall break!

Some great websites we use in class for math practice/games:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm

http://mrnussbaum.com/math-for-kids/

A few important date to keep in mind for the 2nd 9 weeks:

October   9- first day of the 2nd quarter

     18- early release

November  10- no school, Veteran’s Day

       22-24  No school- Thanksgiving Break

December  6- early release

                14- last day for students (**note that this is a Thursday**)

Welcome to our class blog!

Here are a few pictures from our day with the scientists from Science Fun for Everyone last week. We had a GREAT day!

A few important updates/reminders:


Our spring book fair is next week. Our class will attend Wednesday morning if you would like to send money with your child. If you prefer that they only purchase books (not posters, pencils, etc let me know :)

Hopefully your child is working on the reading challenge we sent home before break. The 4th grade teachers are working on a pretty awesome reward for those students who rise to the challenge! If you have questions or need info about the reading challenge don't hesitate to ask!

Homework reminders:
- read for 20 minutes each night Mon-Thur and record it on the reading log (these are collected and returned each Friday)
-write for 10 minutes on a topic of your choice in your writer's notebook
-complete 30 minutes per week on www.tenmarks.com for now this can be ANY work (classwork, personal work, amplifiers, do-overs, etc) 

dates to remember:

May 24-25 EOG's
May 30      No School- Memorial Day
June 3        Last day of School

Science Day Fun!!!

As always, Science Fun For Everyone
made for a GREAT day! 

SO much fun learning about electricity! 

Onto "Moon in Motion"

 

learning about gravity while showing some Panther Pride!

Did you know we ALL have acid breath?!?

Holding 5 lbs of fat for 30 seconds was 

a LOT harder than they thought!

Reminders:

-next Wednesday 2/10 is an early dismissal day, we will get out at 11:35

- students should be completing their reading log each night Mon-Thurs, I take them up on Fridays and return them each Monday

-next Friday 2/12 we will visit the North Carolina Museum of Science and History in Raleigh, the cost is $7 and students need to bring a bag labeled lunch

**We could use some D size batteries for our Electricity unit starting next week.**

Have a great weekend and GO PANTHERS! :)

Important Dates & Reminders

February is the month for field trips! 

This Friday, 2/5 will be our last in-school science day. If you haven't already paid, the cost is $24.

Next Wednesday, February 10th is an early release day. We will dismiss at 11:35.

Next Friday, 2/12, is our trip to the NC Museum of History and NC Museum of Science in downtown Raleigh. The cost for this trip is $7.00 and all students will need a bagged lunch. We will leave at 8:00 and return a little before dismissal.Be on the look out for the permission slip one day this week, if you are interested in meeting us there let me know :)

On Thursday, February 18th we will be going to the NC Symphony in Raleigh. This trip is free for all students. Students will need to bring a bagged lunch- we will eat at school but may not be back in time for our regular lunch slot.

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If you have questions about the 2016-17 HES enrollment letter that went home last Friday, please call the office, 919-732-6137.

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Thank you for helping your child remember to complete their reading log each night. I'm seeing a little better continuity in "sticking with" a book until it's finished, rather than bouncing from book to book.

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It is not a requirement, but if students would like to make valentines they can. We will pass them out on on Monday, February 15th during our writing time. If your child would like to make cards, please make sure they do one for each member of the class. I'll have paper copies of a class list for them to take home. 

Happy New Year & Welcome Back!

First, I'd to thank all of you so much for all of the kind and thoughtful Christmas gifts and contributions to our Christmas Around the World party before break. I was so proud of the kids for being adventurous and trying foods that were new to them!


In Reading...
We will begin historical fiction book clubs focusing on the Civil Rights Era. Students will be mixed up with other 4th graders and may be with another teacher during this time. Our class will stay together for our read aloud, The Watson's Go to Birmingham-1963 This is one of my favorite books to read aloud because it helps make history interesting for them and the author is very good at using age appropriate humor to keep them engaged. I encourage you to ask them each day what happened and what they think of the book. The book was recently made into a movie for the Hallmark Channel, if you happen to have it please save it until after we finish reading the book :)

In Math...
At the end of last quarter we began looking at very basic properties of division. We used manipulatives to model and see what it means to break 2 digit numbers in to equal groups and what happens when there are leftovers (remainders). Next we will start division with larger numbers. We will be learning 2 different methods for greater number division. Most likely neither of these methods will look like the long division method that you remember.  I know this can be frustrating and confusing for parents, but I am asking that you trust that these methods will help your child to truly understand what happens to numbers when they are divided, rather than just help them memorize steps in a process (divide-multiply-subtract-bring down). In my 7-8 years of teaching division this way I have become a HUGE fan of these methods because of the success ALL students are able to have in math, even if they aren't already strong in math.

In Writing....
We will begin looking at persuasive writing. We will start with defining the word opinion and practice finding evidence to defend an opinion and persuade others to agree. By the end of the quarter students will go through the writing process (plan, draft, revise, edit) and create a persuasive essay and a literary essay.



In Social Studies....
We will be starting our unit focused on Government. Our first topics are:

- what is government?
-why do we need? government?

Next we will look at Colonial and other early American influences on government. 



**NEWS ABOUT HOMEWORK**
This 9 weeks I'm implementing 2 new components to our homework routine- don't panic yet, it's not that bad :)

Reading for 20 minutes and writing for 10 minutes each night will remain the same.

Beginning this week your child will being home a reading log. Each night,  please help them fill out the chart with the info about what they read, how long, etc. I will take these up each Friday and return them on Monday. They will be on bright card stock and will hopefully survive back and forth in backpacks.

Beginning next week (Jan 11)  I am asking that they spend 30 minutes PER WEEK on TenMarks. Most of what they will do at home should be 'jam sessions'. These are fluency practice and review of things we've already learned. They may also complete 'do-overs' and amplifiers at home, but assignments and assessments will be completed in class. It is completely up to you to decide how it works best with your schedule to complete the 30 minutes, but I suggest at least 2 separate times rather than one 30 minute chunk. If you need another copy of the directions to access Tenmarks from home, please let me know. 

Classroom needs:
-pencils
-baby wipes
-colored post it notes


important dates:

January 4-25   mid year reading level assessments
January 6,7     Orange County benchmark assessments, reading and math
January 18     No School, MLK, Jr day
January 21     PTA meeting

February 10  Early Release, 11:35 

March   9    Early Release, 11:35 
March  11   End of 3rd 9 weeks

As always, please feel free to email me anytime you have questions or concerns! 

End of the quarter updates:

Can you believe we are almost halfway through the year?!?

**Tomorrow (Wednesday), 12/2 is an early release day, students will be dismissed at 11:35**

Something fun for next week:

Next week during our reading time we will do a short nonfiction mini unit. We will be learning about Christmas traditions in countries around the world and comparing/contrasting them to our traditions. To celebrate the end of the 9 weeks and our break :) we will spend next Friday (Dec. 12) charting what we've learned as we read different books/websites about other countries. I would like to have different foods from each country that we read about for the students to sample. Please let me know if you would like to send in an item listed below or if you have another idea of something that we could sample.

Ginger bread or ginger bread cookies (Germany, Sweden)

marzipan candy (Germany)

colored marshmallows , fruit salad w/ marshmallows (Mexico)

rice pudding (Sweden)

fruit cake or fruitcake cookies (England)

pizzelles (Italy)

Yule log cake (France…. maybe Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls?)

Sugar cookies (Norway)

Or please feel free to make or bring another snack- if your family has a special treat/tradition we’d love to taste it and hear about it!  We will also need water bottles or juice boxes, plates, napkins, and spoons or forks.

*2nd quarter report cards will be sent home next Friday 12/11*

Important dates:

12/11--- end of 2nd 9 weeks

1/4 --- beginning of the 3rd quarter

1/18 --- no school, MLK Jr holiday

2/10 --- early release