I want to thank each and every one of you for attending your child's parent/teacher conference. Every single one of you came and learned about your child's progress in fourth grade. It means a lot to me that you took the time to come to their conference and learn about what they have been doing in class.
In MATH, we are working on fractions! The students are having a great time with this and seem to be enjoying it. We will continue with this chapter, while at the same time, begin using the formative tests to prepare for state assessments. These tests are just like the actual state test, but they are shorter and focus on one skill at a time. It helps us to know what skills we need to focus more on in order to better prepare them for the state test. We do several of these together as well as independently, so the students can get a feel for what the questions will be like on the test. I encourage them to ask all the questions they want to on these formative tests, because when they are taking the state assessment, we can't answer all of their questions, depending upon the question.
In READING, Miss Burns has been doing an excellent job of teaching the students about drawing conclusions as well as predicting outcomes in a story. The students have been meeting in leveled reading groups this week working on these skills as well. They will have their vocabulary test this Friday, February 22, so be sure to work on these words at home. They will also be tested on the skills mentioned above.
We have also been working on formative tests in reading. Our reading assessment will begin in 8 short school days, so we really need to brush up on our skills!
We have not had a lot of time for language arts or science the past week, but we will pick back up with our last investigation on sound next week. Students will learn how sound travels through solids and through air during this investigation. We have been using a lot of our afternoon science/language arts time to take our formative tests for reading and math and becoming more familiar with these skills.
Thanks again for attending conferences last week. I really enjoyed getting to share your child's progress with you.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
It's That Time Again!
Parent/Teacher conferences are coming up soon! I look forward to meeting with all of you next week to discuss your child's progress in fourth grade thus far. The students have all done a great job in their second term of fourth grade and I can't wait to show you their progress.
In MATH, we are finishing up chapter 5 on data and probability. We will begin chapter 6 after conferences. This chapter covers fractions and mixed numbers. Students will learn to add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers as well as learn to work with improper fractions. This is a fun chapter that students usually enjoy. We will continue with our leveled math groups for this chapter as well, so students will be learning at a level where they will be comfortable.
In READING, Miss Burns has been working with the students on our Chris Van Allsberg story "The Stranger". Van Allsberg is the same author that wrote "Polar Express" that we are more familiar with around the holidays. We will have our comprehension text next Tuesday and the vocabulary test will be the following week on February 22. This gives the students some extra time to review the story and vocabulary at home. Please make sure they are working on their vocabulary words at home. These are difficult words that they need to understand that appear in the story each week. I have also challenged them to begin using these words in their conversations with parents, so if you hear them using any of these words, please write it in their planners. I told them I'd give them some extra credit if they are able to use them in their conversations and in the right context. I'd love to see them using these words!
In SCIENCE, we have finished up our second part of the Sound Unit. Students have learned about pitch and frequency as well as how tension affects the pitch. Some students are having trouble realizing that the pitch has nothing to do with the volume of the sound they are hearing. Many of them have the misconception that as the pitch gets lower, it also gets quieter. I have explained several times that this is not the case. I will continue to demonstrate this for them, but if you could explain this any further at home, I would appreciate it. Our next part of the Sound unit is how sound travels. We will look at how sound travels through different surfaces such as a desk and water. Students are always very surprised to see the results of the experiments.
In SOCIAL STUDIES, we have been working hard to learn our states and capitals of the Southeast and Southwest regions which we have already studied here in the classroom. I will be sending home maps of these regions for the students to label so they can begin memorizing the states first. If we are able to get the states, we will work on the capitals. They should already know these states, as these are the states they have completed projects on already this year. We will begin another region as soon as we finish our unit of Sound in science. In the meantime, be working on the southeast and southwest state names and where they are on the map.
In LANGUAGE ARTS, we have been working on different parts of speech. We have learned about plural nouns and how to spell them correctly when changing them from a singular noun to a plural noun. This is challenging for students to learn, but we will continue to practice here in the classroom. We have also been working on pronouns and antecedents. A pronoun is a word such as he, she, we, they, that replaces a noun in a sentence. An antecedent is the noun that the pronoun is referring to. For example, in the sentence "Diana told Rachel that she was going to the mall, " the pronoun would be she and the antecedent would be Diana.
I also want to let you know that our Valentine's party is scheduled for Tuesday, February 12 at 2:30 pm. Students may bring Valentine's to share with each student in the class if they want to. If they want to bring these, they must bring one for everyone in the class. This insures that no one feels left out.
Just a reminder that there will not be the after school SMILE program next week due to conferences.
Again, I look forward to seeing all of you next week at conferences. There will be childcare for younger siblings in the gym should you need it. Also be aware that students will not have school next Thursday, February 14 or Friday, February 15. There WILL be school next Wednesday, February 13.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the time off next weekend with your child! I have posted some pictures below of our recent science activities for sound. Enjoy!
In MATH, we are finishing up chapter 5 on data and probability. We will begin chapter 6 after conferences. This chapter covers fractions and mixed numbers. Students will learn to add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers as well as learn to work with improper fractions. This is a fun chapter that students usually enjoy. We will continue with our leveled math groups for this chapter as well, so students will be learning at a level where they will be comfortable.
In READING, Miss Burns has been working with the students on our Chris Van Allsberg story "The Stranger". Van Allsberg is the same author that wrote "Polar Express" that we are more familiar with around the holidays. We will have our comprehension text next Tuesday and the vocabulary test will be the following week on February 22. This gives the students some extra time to review the story and vocabulary at home. Please make sure they are working on their vocabulary words at home. These are difficult words that they need to understand that appear in the story each week. I have also challenged them to begin using these words in their conversations with parents, so if you hear them using any of these words, please write it in their planners. I told them I'd give them some extra credit if they are able to use them in their conversations and in the right context. I'd love to see them using these words!
In SCIENCE, we have finished up our second part of the Sound Unit. Students have learned about pitch and frequency as well as how tension affects the pitch. Some students are having trouble realizing that the pitch has nothing to do with the volume of the sound they are hearing. Many of them have the misconception that as the pitch gets lower, it also gets quieter. I have explained several times that this is not the case. I will continue to demonstrate this for them, but if you could explain this any further at home, I would appreciate it. Our next part of the Sound unit is how sound travels. We will look at how sound travels through different surfaces such as a desk and water. Students are always very surprised to see the results of the experiments.
In SOCIAL STUDIES, we have been working hard to learn our states and capitals of the Southeast and Southwest regions which we have already studied here in the classroom. I will be sending home maps of these regions for the students to label so they can begin memorizing the states first. If we are able to get the states, we will work on the capitals. They should already know these states, as these are the states they have completed projects on already this year. We will begin another region as soon as we finish our unit of Sound in science. In the meantime, be working on the southeast and southwest state names and where they are on the map.
In LANGUAGE ARTS, we have been working on different parts of speech. We have learned about plural nouns and how to spell them correctly when changing them from a singular noun to a plural noun. This is challenging for students to learn, but we will continue to practice here in the classroom. We have also been working on pronouns and antecedents. A pronoun is a word such as he, she, we, they, that replaces a noun in a sentence. An antecedent is the noun that the pronoun is referring to. For example, in the sentence "Diana told Rachel that she was going to the mall, " the pronoun would be she and the antecedent would be Diana.
I also want to let you know that our Valentine's party is scheduled for Tuesday, February 12 at 2:30 pm. Students may bring Valentine's to share with each student in the class if they want to. If they want to bring these, they must bring one for everyone in the class. This insures that no one feels left out.
Just a reminder that there will not be the after school SMILE program next week due to conferences.
Again, I look forward to seeing all of you next week at conferences. There will be childcare for younger siblings in the gym should you need it. Also be aware that students will not have school next Thursday, February 14 or Friday, February 15. There WILL be school next Wednesday, February 13.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the time off next weekend with your child! I have posted some pictures below of our recent science activities for sound. Enjoy!
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