Announcements:
Our Halloween celebration is still planned for October 31st from 9 to 10:20. If you would like to come in, let me know! Because it's Halloween, we could also use some treats. If you'd like to send some in or bring them with you, please do! For more information on what we are doing at the party, see last week's newsletter below. Reading: Inferencing was our focus this week. This is a crucial reading skill that lets kids read between the lines of a story and really understand what is going on. They use what they read with their schema to make an inference. Writing: We are now mostly done with the rough drafts of our stories and we will work next week to edit, revise, and publish them. Math: This week we finally started multiplying in earnest. We are using the standard multiplication algorithm now and we will continue using it as we apply it to more difficult concepts like 4x1 and 2x3 multiplication. Science: We spent this week playing with magnets! The kids got a basic introduction to what they are and what sticks to them, and we did some investigations in the space around us to try and see what we could learn. Social Studies: I once read that a large number of American adults can't actually locate the United States on a world map. Not your kids! We spend this week learning about continents, hemispheres, and different ways to describe the location of the United States on a globe. Next week we'll start delving into exactly what kind of places we have in nature here in our country. Announcements:
On Halloween the class will have an educational Halloween celebration. We'll be doing some activities that help to be better readers and writers while having fun with spooky Halloween type stuff. The party will be from 9:00 to 10:20 on Halloween, and parents are welcome to drop by and help out. The activities we have planned are: Scary Stories: If you'd like to bring in a scary story to read to the class, we'd love it! We'll listen to the story and then practice that week's thinking strategy with it. Spooky Tale: The kids will each write a small piece of a scary story that we will combine together and read as one big terrifying tale! I could always use helpers walking around helping them write or come up with ideas. Halloween Grammar: The kids will play a game where they learn about subjects and predicates by trying to come up with the most Halloween-y sentences possible. Parents are free to sit with their students and help out or compete with them. Treats: If you would like to bring or send in treats for the class to have while we do all of these things, we'd love it! Please let me know if you are interested in doing any of these things and I will make sure everything is ready for the party! Reading: The class learned about schema this week. Schema is everything contained in our head that we use to understand the things we read. Writing: We finished planning our stories this week and have started writing in earnest. If you'd like to see the progress of our rough drafts, check your student's laptop! Math: Unit 2 officially started this week, and we are now officially multiplying. This unit is generally pretty easy, but kids tend to get slowed down by the times table facts. If your student is a little slow, consider making them practice at home! We practice in school on Moby Max every day, but more practice never hurts! Science: This week the kids wrapped up their investigation of circuits and took a test that will come home next week. Social Studies: Government and its functions was our focus this week, and that ends our introduction to social studies in 4th grade. On Monday, we'll start learning all about location and where the United States is located in the world, as well as where things are in our own country. Yet another good week is behind us here in 4th grade.
Announcements: Our Jonathan Rand assembly is coming up! The author will be visiting on Wednesday, October 17th. Reading: This week was all about metacognition. It's a big word, but your kids should know what it means, so ask them! It means thinking about our thinking, and it's how I'll be teaching kids how to think about reading this year. Good readers think about what they read, and we have to be able to think about that thinking in order to get better. Ask them to show you how it works, and see if they can explain what a Real Reading Salad is. Writing: We continued writing our plan for a fiction story this week, developing a story map and a main character. We will start planning the plot, talking about rising and falling action and conflict, next week. Math: The class finished Unit 1 this week and took a test on Friday. I will be saying goodbye to many of them soon, because we are splitting all of them into classes where they will work with other students with similar learning styles and speeds as them. Next week we start multiplication, which will be a pretty long unit. Science: We didn't have a lot of time for science with all these half days, but the kids did have a class challenge to build a string of lights, and they did a really great job. As a class, they built both a series and a parallel circuit that could light five lights at the same time. Ask them about what they learned, there were some pretty cool observations going on. Social Studies: We started political science this week, though it is just an overview and we will be spending a lot more time on it later in the year. We focus mainly on the rights and responsibility of citizens as well as a basic overview of how our government is structured. We've had yet another great week in 4th grade!
Announcements: Book fair is next week! We will go on Thursday at 8:00. Don't forget that next week we have three half days for conferences. I look forward to seeing everyone then. Reading: We are finally done practicing routines and finding reading levels. Every student knows their reading level and I've put them in groups of similar levels. Next week we will begin small group guided reading, which should really get them started. I am excited to see the growth they all make in reading this year. Writing: The class has been learning how a writer writes a fiction story. They have chosen a story idea, a main character, and a conflict. Next week we will start coming up with a plot and writing the story. Most of them will be typing their rough drafts on their laptop, so you can check their progress if they bring it home. Spelling: We finally got the independent spelling time routines down, and the class did a good job doing all of the possible activities. We did not have a spelling test because we had to finish the DRA test that gives me their reading level. Math: We spent more time practicing subtraction this week, it proved sticky for more than a few of us! We are on track now, and will be finishing up unit 1 this week. We will be reviewing most of next week, with a math test on Friday. Science: The kids got to play with circuit designs this week, and learned about making series and parallel circuits. Most of them discovered these on their own before I showed them what they were. We will continue some circuit experiments next week. Social Studies: This week, the class learned all about economics. We discussed economic activities in Michigan and read a story in order to find examples of our economic vocabulary. Next week we finish up our introduction unit with political science. Because of the short week we will not have a test on Friday, it will be on the 19th instead. |
Old Newsletters
June 2023
Non-Discrimination Statement
In compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education amendments of 1972, Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title II of the Americans with Disability Act of 1990, and Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act of 1977, it is the policy of the Richmond Community School District that no person shall, on the basis of race, color, religion, military status, national origin or ancestry, sex (including sexual orientation), disability, age (except as authorized by law), height, weight, or marital status be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to, discrimination during any program, activity, service or employment. Inquiries related to any nondiscrimination policies should be directed to the Superintendent, 35276 Division Road, Richmond, MI 48062, (586) 727-3565. |