Announcements:
It's almost Halloween! Monday is our party, and the kids are welcome to wear costumes and send in candy. We are a nut free classroom so please send in candy without nuts. Reading: Good readers have a movie that plays in their head, and that was the focus this week. Seeing that mind movie and using it to follow along with a story. Writing: Our first big writing piece has been started! We planned it out and started a rough draft this week. It's all about the first time they did something, and the kids have had a lot to write about. We'll be publishing it next week. Math: These kids are great multipliers! We started with little problems like 54 x 8, but now we're all the way up to big ones like 4,822 x 7! Next week we'll introduce double digits times double digits and word problems! Social Studies: What is the Bill of Rights, and what freedoms does it give American citizens? We learned all about it this week. Science: We looked at what an experiment is this week, a series of tests and measurements to answer a question. This week's question: How can we make a great paper airplane? The kids will use what they learned to have a competition next Tuesday. Announcements:
It was another great week in fourth grade! There are a ton of announcements in the Friday Folder so make sure you check those out. Reading: Good readers don't learn unless they are thinking about what they're reading, and this week we focused on asking questions about what we read. Writing: The kids wrote an autobiography this week, with a specific focus on using transition words and putting things in a sequence that their reader can follow. Look for it next week. Math: Multiplication is upon us! The first of the major fourth grade skills is multiplying big numbers, and we're starting it already. Next week you might see some funny looking math come home, but it's all in service of teaching them to be math thinkers, not just answer makers. In any case, everything we learn will tie in to 5th grade when they learn the traditional way of multiplying. So if you want to show them how we did it back in school, that's awesome! More math understanding is the goal, and being involved at home is great. Social Studies: Where did our government come from, and who made it? That was the focus this week as we learned about the Founding Fathers and the documents they created: The Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. Announcements:
The students are really getting into the groove of the year, and I'm seeing some great learning happening. They are starting to come together as a team to help each other along, and that's great! The Boo Bash is an after school Halloween party that will be on Friday the 28th. Look for a flier to come home soon. Our classroom Halloween party will be on Monday the 31st from 1:15 - 2:15ish. I'm hoping to have cider and donuts, a craft for the kids to do, and the kids are welcome to wear their costumes and bring candy to school. I'll be sending out a Sign Up Genius link soon to ask for volunteers. Reading: We are still working on the foundational reading skills that need to be happening automatically in our heads. This week the kids worked on making connections to their schema - the web of things they already know. Writing: Young writers tend to ramble and get off topic, so this week we looked at pieces of writing and critiqued them, looking for things that were unfocused or didn't belong. We then thought about sensory details and how we can use them to write a good description of a favorite place of ours. Math: Last week we were adding into the millions, and now it's subtraction, whoa! The kids are done learning strategies to subtract and will be practicing the algorithm - the traditional way to subtract. There's no good way to iron out the kinks besides brute force repetition, and that's what we've been doing - in other words, practice, practice, practice. This week will wrap up our addition and subtraction unit, and there will be a test on everything we've done so far next week. There is a practice test in the Friday Folder that the kids can use to get ready. It is optional, but it can be a great help! Social Studies: We explored what the government does and how people can work together to solve civil problems like litter, traffic, and bumpy roads. Announcements:
I had a great week with your students! It was one whole week with no outside distractions. I got to spend five whole days learning about and teaching your kids, which is what I love the most. We have really fallen into a routine together and the learning train is really picking up speed. Conferences are next week! If you didn't get a link to sign up, let me know. Book fair is also next week! We will go on Wednesday as a class, but it will also be open later in the week and during conference times. Reading: In the words of one of the kids this year, "It's hard to read and think at the same time." He was right, it is! But that's the next step in becoming a good reader beyond just saying words. That was our skill focus this week, and beginning next week we will start diving deeper and deeper into the minds of good readers to find out what's going on in there. Writing: We focused on describing things for this unit, and the kids planned out the narrative of a time they gave a special gift to someone. They shared their ideas and conferenced to try and generate more, and today they wrote it. Math: The numbers sure are getting big in math. We added numbers all the way up past the millions, and then learned how to take some shortcuts and estimate. Look out for their first math quiz in the Friday Folder, the class did a great job! Social Studies: What does our government do and how is it organized? That's been the focus so far, and we'll continue into next week. |
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. |