Our Week This Week

I want to thank all of you for coming to parent/teacher conferences last week. It was nice to get the chance to talk to tell you all of the wonderful things your children are doing in our classroom. I know everyone's schedule is busy, so I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to come chat with me.

I wanted to let you know that Mrs. Whitten will be teaching in our classroom for the next few weeks. She has planned some very fun activities with the students, so be sure to ask your children what they are doing in each subject area.

In MATH, we have fully implemented our leveled math groups. I spoke with each of you about this at conferences. The students really seem to be enjoying these groups. I think it's helping them feel better about math and giving them more confidence in the area of math. We are all still working on chapter 3 with multiplication and division. Some groups are moving much faster than others and will continue to do so. Some groups are starting division in chapter 3 and others are still working on multiplication. Please continue working on the basic multiplication facts with your children, as this is the biggest problem we are seeing when solving these problems. They can practice any way they choose, as long as it's basic multiplication fact practice. There are several websites with games if they get tired of doing flashcards. The more they practice, the more comfortable and confident they will be in math.

In READING, Mrs. Whitten began a novel study with the class. There are three different novels she will be working on with three different reading groups. The students have been put into groups and will read from a novel and learn the skills needed. This also means that students will not have a comprehension test for a few weeks while we are reading these novels. They do have vocabulary words they are responsible for knowing, but they will not be tested on these yet.

The novels will be at the students reading level and they are encouraged to take these novels home to read in order to stay up to date on their assignments. Feel free to read along with your student and enjoy these novels along with us!

In SCIENCE, we are continuing to work on our Earth Materials unit. The students have learned about different types of rocks and minerals including limestone, basalt, quartz, gypsum, and marble. We have looked for evidence of calcite in each of these rocks by soaking them in an acid (vinegar). The students have really enjoyed working with these minerals. This week, we will discuss and investigate the hardness of different rocks and minerals.

Students will have a new SPELLING list this week. This is a 'fun' list of spooky words, so hopefully this will give everyone a chance to get a wonderful grade on their test.

We will be having our Fall Party this Wednesday, October 31 at 2:30pm. Feel free to join us if you are able.

Have a great week!

How quickly time goes!

This month is getting away from me! I guess time flies when you're having fun!

In MATH, I hope you all received the letters telling about the math groups we started today. Students were placed in groups based upon previous state and MAP test scores. The students will then go to their math group every day from 9-10am for math instruction. This means that if your child is going to Mr. Spreer for math group, that he will be assigning all of the Math In Focus work for your child. If you have questions about an assignment, I would be happy to answer them for you, but please know that Mr. Spreer would be happy to help out as well. The same goes for Mrs. Bowman if your child is going to her for math instruction. Some of the students will be staying with me, so nothing will change if this is the case. We wanted to implement these math groups so that each child could be instructed at their level in math. We are hoping to see gains in their test scores by implementing these groups. I think the students will find that it is better for them as well, since we will be instructing them at their levels. I will explain more about math groups during parent/teacher conferences, but if you have questions before then, please let me know.
We will be working on Chapter 3 in math groups this week, which is on multi-digit multiplication and division. Please continue working on multiplication facts with your child at home and signing their math calendars each time they practice. I will still be checking these every Monday.

In READING, Mrs. Whitten is meeting with leveled reading groups this week. The students are also working on Centers that go along with the story we read last week titled On the Banks of Plum Creek. This is an excerpt taken from a Little House on the Prairie book by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The students really enjoyed the story last week, but our test scores weren't so good. Please talk to your child about their reading comprehension score from last Friday. They should have shown you a slip of paper with their test score on it. If they didn't, please let me know if you need their score on this test.
The vocabulary from last week will continue this week and students will be tested over these words on Friday.

In LANGUAGE ARTS, we are still working on identifying subjects and predicates in a sentence. We talked about simple and complete subjects and predicates as well. Students are getting better with this skill, but we still need some practice. This week, we will also discuss compound subjects and predicates.

In SCIENCE, we have started our unit on Earth Materials. The students have conducted an experiment already and will most likely take a look at their results today (Monday). This is a very exciting unit for the students and they learn a lot about rocks and minerals. Please be talking to your student about what they are learning in science to see if they can tell you about all the fun things we are doing!

Students will NOT have spelling or reading tests next week due to a three day week. Please be aware that there will not be school this Friday, October 19 as well as next Thursday and Friday, October 25-26 due to Parent/Teacher conferences.

Next Wednesday and Thursday (October 24-25) is Parent/Teacher conferences, and I am looking forward to discussing your child's progress so far in fourth grade. This is one of two times we get to sit down and discuss their achievement, so I'd love to have all of you here during your scheduled time. If something comes up and you aren't able to make it that day, please call the office and let them know. I'd be more than happy to try to reschedule this with you. It's very important that you are involved and know how your child is succeeding in fourth grade, which is why it's extremely important for us to meet. I can't wait to share with you all the wonderful things your children have done so far in fourth grade.

Have a great week and I look forward to seeing you all next week!

October Days

I hope you all enjoyed a nice day off with your children yesterday.

Last week, we had a very busy and productive week!

In MATH, we took our test over Chapter 2. This test covered multiples, factors, and estimation. The students did pretty well on this test. I hope you all got a chance to look over your child's test to see how they did.
Mrs. Whitten began Chapter 3 with the class towards the end of last week. Chapter 3 covers multi-digit multiplication and gets into some division as well. The students are doing pretty well, but those students that don't know their multiplication facts are really struggling. We've done a few timed tests for multiplication, and I've already seen improvement! Many students have already passed their 2's and 3's timed tests. I hope to see many more pass these before parent/teacher conferences. I will be sharing your child's progress on these timed tests during our conference.

In READING, we completed our Centers activities that went along with our story Kai's Journey to Gold Mountain. The students looked up facts on Angel Island and learned more about the history behind immigration. They did a vocabulary word hunt as well as writing synonyms for their vocabulary words. The students also met with me in small reading groups to enhance their learning on comparing and contrasting characters as well as their vocabulary. These small groups are leveled reading groups based upon the students reading levels, so they get reading instruction at their reading level.
This week in reading, Mrs. Whitten will be teaching the story Little House in the Big Woods-On the Banks of Plum Creek. The students will receive new vocabulary words, so be looking for those to come home today (Tuesday). They will be tested on these new words next Thursday, October 18, since we will not have school on Friday, Oct. 19. The students will be working on conflict and resolution amongst characters as their focus skill this week.

In LANGUAGE ARTS, we will be working on complete and simple subjects and predicates in sentences. The students had some difficulty finding the subjects and predicates last week, so we will continue this concept this week as well.

In SOCIAL STUDIES, the students finished their unit on the South West states with Mrs. Whitten. They had their test last week and did very well. I hope your child shared some of the facts they learned about the states in the South West region.

We will begin a new SCIENCE unit this week about Earth Materials. I had planned to start this last week, but we didn't move as quickly as I had anticipated. This week we will be looking at "mock rocks" and what materials make up rocks in our world. We will take these "mock rocks" apart and try to figure out what they are made up of. We will then use a dissolving technique to help us determine the "ingredients" of the rocks. Students will have a great time becoming scientists and investigators.

As we get closer to Parent/Teacher conferences, please be looking for a letter coming home with your specific date and time for your conference. I would love for students to come with you to these conferences if possible, so they can hear us talking about their learning. They also provide a lot of insight as to how we can work together to help them with our learning. It's very empowering for the students to see their parents and their teacher talking together in order to help them. I look forward to meeting with all of you to share your students progress. We've had a great time in the classroom so far and I can't wait to share everything with you.

I hope you all received the October book orders in students backpacks last week. Attached to the front was a letter that allows you to order these on-line instead of sending a check to school with your child. Please know that each time you order on-line, our classroom receives a free book for our classroom library, so it helps our class as well as your child. Students become better readers the more they read, so it helps us all!

Have a great week and, as always, should you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please let me know!

South West State Presentations

Students presented in their SW state groups today! They have been researching their states for two weeks and completed a report with their group. Each of them was responsible for certain parts of the research and certain parts of the final project. They then presented these in front of the class today and did a great job! Enjoy the pictures below of the students presenting their information! Be sure to ask them what they learned about the Southwest States today!