Monday, September 8, 2014

News for Friday the 12th of September

Dear Families:

Please check the school's website for the upcoming events, such as DOT DAY. As for 4B important dates... MAP testing is very spread out this year, which is great for kids! We have one test next week for reading. Then, math and language are the following week. And, science is in three weeks.
Dates to Note:
*September 17: MAP Reading assessment
*September 18: Geometry test 2 angles and symmetry
*September 19: Magnetism and Electricity assessment
*September 22: Social Studies Unit 1 Launch

Here are brief blurbs about our current units of study:

During Reading Workshop, we are analyzing tools that writers use to build interesting and complex characters, and we are learning how to develop theories about our characters. Students have been Stopping N Jotting action words to look deeply at how characters behave. Also, we've been inferring feelings by using text clues. We want to build theories about our characters based on what they do, what they feel and what they say. I will post some pictures of great Stop N Jots on this blog.

During Writing Workshop we have finished our first On Demand narrative and now we will use our reading teaching points (strong action words, phrases that allow us to infer feelings) to revise our main character -your son or daughter- into a stronger character. We will spend a lot of time learning how to write dialogue as well. Dialogue is not just speaking! Ask your son or daughter what about our dialogue jingle... 

Next, students will begin to ARC realistic fiction stories scene by scene. Students will bring home their ARCS and ask you for ideas... Please help your son or daughter think of ways to begin with a small problem and build up to a larger problem and then a climax and then a resolution: scene by scene. Think of it as a children's book that we will actually print out page by page and illustrate.

For science, we have been using a source, receiver, and a conductor to create light! Circuit boards are lots of fun, but we need to learn correct terms as well. Remember the vocabulary slideshow? It is time for students to start looking at that again. Our assessment is scheduled for the 19th. Ask your son or daughter to draw a sketch of a circuit that will make a lightbulb SUPER bright!

For math, this was our final week focusing on angles and symmetry until our measurement unit after winter break when we will revisit these skills. Students should work with angles at home every few weeks because these are yearlong skills. The assessment is Wednesday the 17th. Sorry for the confusing email about a Friday date.  

For math homework, all students are working on either multiplication or division skills at home, and all students are working on reading and writing large numbers and long division with a check using multiplication. Any place value game is also crucial. For differentiating online games, use IXL grade 4 place value and multiplication and division games first. Then, if those games are hard, move down to grade 3. If those games are easy, move to grade 5. Use Khan Academy after IXL. 

For a student to be APPLYING for multiplication and division facts in grade 4, which means ON GRADE LEVEL, a student must answer 50 facts for 1 to 12s in about 3minutes by the end of grade 4. So, be sure to encourage your son or daughter to spend 10 minutes multiplying and dividing facts from 1 to 12. Here is another link to use:


Online practice with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with an answer check feature (lizardpoint.com also has geography games)

*Free Rice and Oswego are great links too!

LINKS For PLACE VALUE
Practice Reading Numbers: Especially Really Big Numbers


STEP BY STEP Long Division Diagram


Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions please email me us tbritt@aisch.org and ddeanna@aisch.org.

Ms. T and Ms. Deanna

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