Happy Thanksgiving!

One of the things I am very thankful for this time of year is my job and being able to work with such a great group of students and fellow teachers every day.  I am also very thankful for the help and support from their families at home.  I hope everyone has a great holiday with their families and gets some time to rest and recharge.

Our class completed some turkey center pieces for your festive tables which included 6 different things they were thankful for.  We also did some non-fiction reading about Thanksgiving traditions in our history.  Take some time to ask your student what new facts they learned about things that surround this holiday.

Tuesday marked the last day of first trimester!  To make sure we are starting the 2nd trimester off in the right direction, we took some time in class to make some reading goals for ourselves.  The students looked at data from their benchmark test to determine two skills they are going to focus on and practice while reading.  They also made a plan for the first three genres of books they will be finishing this new trimester.

We finished up grading our compare and contrast essays and they will be coming home on Monday.  Please take some time to review your child's writing with him/her.  They worked very hard on these as we took steps through the whole writing process together.

Next week we will be working on forming questions before, during and after reading to check for comprehension.  This will incorporate all of the comprehension strategies we have been working on so far.  We will also be reviewing some of our decoding and vocabulary strategies.  My hope is to connect with each reader in the next couple of weeks to determine if their good fit reading level needs to be adjusted.  They are very excited to see how their practice has been improving their reading abilities and scores!

New reading/math fact logs went home yesterday and will be due next Friday.  The goals will remain 120 for reading and 50 for math.

They will be taking the Unit 4 math test towards the end of this week.

Have a wonderful, safe Thanksgiving!  Thank you for all you do and for shaping your students into the wonderful people they are:)

11/22

We have had a great week and are preparing for the end of the trimester.  I am having a hard time believing that one third of our school year is completed.  I have so much enjoyed getting to know and work with this wonderful group of students so far:)  The last day is on Tuesday, November 26th and report cards will be coming home the following week.  Your child's report card will include some sample work from what they are working hard on each day here at school.

We have a two day week approaching which leaves me with little updates to share.  In reading, we will be taking some time to look carefully at the progress we have made so far.  The students will be using their own personal data to make some goals in both reading and writing.
All fourth graders were expected to have 10 books finished by the end of the trimester in order to be on track for their 30 book goal.  They must be good fit books in order to count.  We will be having some celebration time for those who have reached this goal on Tuesday.

New reading/math fact logs went home today and will be due on TUESDAY, November 26th.  You may modify the minutes required to 80 for reading and 30 for math due to the shorter time period.

*Other Reminders*

2nd Trimester milk/juice and snack forms are due Tuesday
Book Orders are due Tuesday

11/15/2013

We had a great week which included celebrating Veteran's Day, taking the unit 3 math test and finishing up reading our different culture versions of Cinderella.  We had a reward movie activity today for all students that have their work completed.

Here is what next week is looking like..

Reading- We will be working on the comprehension skills of understanding characters and visualizing. We will also be practicing looking for different types of figurative language that authors use.  

As we are nearing the end of our first trimester, please check in with your child on how many books they have completed towards their end of the year goal of 30. 

New reading/ math logs were sent home today and are due next Friday.

Please get your book orders in before Thanksgiving break! 

Writing- The students will be continuing to work on their compare and contrast essays. This week we will be focusing on revising and editing skills and beginning our final copies. 

Math- Next week in our  math classes, we will begin preparing for Unit Four: Angles and Polygons. This unit introduces measuring angles using a protractor. Students use these concepts to sort and classify angles and triangles. Concepts involving angles are applied in rotations and in rotational symmetry. Concepts involving perimeter and area are extended to include perimeter of any polygon and area of triangles. Concepts involving patterns and congruence are applied as students explore transformations. Check out the interactive website listed on Mr. Krupa's blog to get a head start on practicing measuring angles with a protractor. Also, check with your child to make sure they have a protractor to bring to math class.

The last day of the trimester is Tuesday, November 26th.  There is no school the 27th, 28th or 29th.

Have a great week!! 

11/8/13

We have had a great week!  Many of us were talking about how fast this week seemed to go by:)  Time flies when you are working hard and having fun!

We are full board into our multi-cultural Cinderella unit in language arts.  The students are learning that the Disney version is not the REAL version of this very old story.  In fact, it is one of the newest versions out there.  I have really enjoyed being able to listen to all of their great conversations about how the story is alike and different in different countries.  Please ask your child what versions they have read so far! We will continue with this unit next week and end it by writing a compare and contrast essay.

In writing, we are also working hard on writing Veteran's Day poems.  Two students from each fourth grade class will be reading their poems at the assembly next Friday.  We have a class full of wonderful writers!

In math, the students will be completing another study guide on Monday and then taking the Unit 3 test on Tuesday.

*NEW*  Reading logs will be looking a little different this week.  They are yellow and on the reverse side of them is a math fact practice log.  A green parent letter went home today explaining this.  It will be due with the reading long each Friday.

Next week reminders:
Math test on Tuesday
2 hour late start on Friday with Veteran's Day Program
Reading/Math Fact log due Friday

Physical Science Observing

Cinderella Reading!

Math Correction!... They are still working on Unit 3 this week.  They took their monthly notebook quiz last week, not the unit test.

Next Week

I hope everyone had a great and safe Halloween! I was out sick the last two days of the week but I'm sure all of the students had a great time with the substitute teachers.  Because of my absence, I decided to postpone the White Elephant Sale until Monday. Any student who hasn't turned in their items or permission slips yet can still do so on Monday. 

On Friday, new reading logs went home with all fourth graders and are due next Friday, November 8th.  The students also brought home a white homework sheet that I would love their families to help them with.  We will be starting a multicultural, compare/contrast unit in Language Arts this week and I thought it would be great if they did some exploring into their own history first!  Below are some bonus research questions. Your student can earn extra StarBucks for researching the answers and sharing their findings with the class.

1. When and where did the story Cinderella originate? 

2. About how many versions of Cinderella are there?

Students will be tested on their Word Study words on Monday. They will also be bringing home new lists and patterns to practice. 

Mr. Krupa will be starting a new math unit this week as they tested on Unit 3 on Thursday. Please continue to practice math facts at home.

Please check in with your student often on how they are doing and making sure they are completing their work.  About a third of our fourth graders unfortunately missed the October Reward for not having their required work completed.

Have a great week and let me know if you have any questions!