Thursday, September 24, 2009

October

Happy Fall everyone!

By this time we are in a good routine at school. I have regular volunteers in the classroom and a student teacher. We have great help to help individual problems. I am very thankful for this! This will help our class run smoothly.

When your child took the computer test for Reading, they received a reading score and a lexile level. A lexile level determines the range of reading your child can read successfully. Our library is color coded using this range. Your child knows their lexile level and color. During the month of October, we will start book reports. The first book report is due Oct. 23rd. The book must be in their lexile level. I will talk to the students on what the expectation is for the book report. You can help by making sure they are reading a book and having it completed by Oct. 23rd.
Another interesting thing is you can go to the internet and type in lexile.com and put in any title of a book and it will give a lexile number for the book. So if your child would like to use a book from home to read for the book report, check the lexile level. Ask your child to show this to you at home, as I taught them this at school

Remember to order books on-line. Ordering is easy! Just go to my website and click on Book Orders and follow the directions! The books are delivered to Painted Sky and I will hand out the books when they come in. Also, I have a bowl of special treats on my desk. Students will each get one this month. It is for something very special they accomplished in class. It could be a great grade on something they have been struggling on or something extremely thoughtful. Ask your child how they received their "body part"!

Our music teacher is helping the students get ready for a musical. The 4th grade musical will be October 7th. There will be a performance at 2:00 and 7:00. The play is about a vacation in Arizona. Most of the kids have a part they have to memorize, so it would be great if you helped out with that! Our class needs to dress up as a tourist..sunglasses, hats, binoculars ect. Please do not go out and purchase anything.

This is the first grade where students can receive "honor roll" for their report card. It is a 3.5 grade average. If your child makes honor roll they will be able to attend a lunch provided by Mrs. Wichers. They will also get a certificate and a pencil.

The following are some things happening in our classroom:

In Reading, we finished the Number the Stars book. We will read about Yellowstone National Park and the Amazon Rain Forest. Your student will learn to write a persuasive paper during this time.
In Spelling, the tests continue every Friday. If your child passes the pretest on Monday, they are asked to write the challenge words. However after break, our spelling program will completely change. The students will be asked to write a dicatation paragraph. I will explain this to the students.
In English, we are learning about friendly letters and business letters. We are also learning about adjectives.
In Math, we are finishing simple multiplication. Everyday we take a timed multiplication test. Ask your child what number they are on. Students are expected to memorize 0-12 facts.
Next, we will move on to decimals. Your child will be able to compare fractions to decimals.
In Science, we have been learning about the scientific method. Your child has been doing science experiments in class. Ask your child to explain the pendulum experiment we will do on October 5th.

********Questions for students:

1. What is a hypothesis?
2. Is a decimal a whole number?
3. What is the bowl of body parts for on Mrs. Wilson's desk?

Dates to remember:

October 7th............................4th grade musical.
October 12-16.......................Fall Break
October 23............................First book report due.
October 23 ..........................Report cards go home today.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Happy September!

We are off to a great start for fourth grade!

In math, we are learning about median, mode and range. We are also learning about different methods in addition.
In spelling, the words should come home on Monday. I am giving a pretest on Monday and if your child can pass, they can skip the test on Friday. Please ask your child for the spelling words every Monday.
In Language, we are learning about helping verbs and main verbs. We also started a writing book that we are creating which will contain written stories, ideas on how to write, great word choices, how to edit your paper and written journals. We will keep this writing together and I will send it home occasionally for you to look at.
In Reading, (remember not all my students are in this class.) We are reading Number the Stars.
It is about a young jewish girl during WWII. The setting is in Denmark and Nazi soldiers are invading. The students are very interested in this reading.
In Arizona, we are learning about the first people in Arizona, the ancient Native Americans.
The students will write about the Hohokams, the Mogollons and the Ancient Puebloan People.
In Science, we will learn about the Scientific process and how to do experiments.

I finally have your child's grades on-line. Please ask your child for their password and you can check it frequently. Remember if your child is missing work, the grade program averages the missing work as a "zero". As soon as the work is turned in ,I will change the grade.

The nurse is asking if your child is sick and has a fever, please do not send to school..even if they have a test. We are being very diligent about cleanliness and being germ free. I keep soap and antibacterial wash in the classroom. The desks are wiped down often. Thank you for your help on this.

Parent volunteers will start this week. Please check your calendar for your time. If you can't make it on your scheduled day, I would appreciate a phone call or email. If you would like to volunteer, just let me know. Volunteers help make this classroom run smoothly.

This week I will send home a letter about our first field trip to Kartchner Caverns. We plan to go on November 19. I will need volunteers for this. I will send more information in the coming weeks.

If you have not donated tax credit money, think about donating to fourth grade field trips. This helps our class by paying for our field trips.

Mrs. Wilson

Important Dates to remember:

September 7........no school
September 10-11.........MAP testing in the computer lab for Mrs. Wilson's class
September 12..............Family movie night
September 15-18.......Parent teacher conferences.
September 28............Picture retakes


Questions for students:
1. Who are the "Hohokams"?
2. Show me a problem with partial difference subtraction
3. what does word choice mean?