Hello!
I hope that all is well with you! I am really looking forward to meeting with you this Wed. and Thursday for Student-Led Conferences. The students have been working hard to get their blue conference folders ready! Language Arts- This week we are reading a fictional story selection entitled “What Jo Did”. We will be studying cause and effect as well as using background knowledge while reading. We had almost 100% completion in Lexia, and the average test score on last week's weekly comprehension test was 88% Math- Today, we started Ch. 3, multiplication and division. I encouraged the students to use the multiplication charts found in their red homework folders. However, the goal of the 4th grade team is to have each student fluent in their 0-12 multiplication/division facts by the middle of November when we begin double-digit multiplication and long division. To that end, we changed each student from 0-10 addition and subtraction to 0-10 multiplication/division. There will be a pizza party in November to celebrate fluency gains. More about that later. Last, I thought you would like to know that our class achieved an average score of 91% on our Ch. 2 math test. Good work!! Utah History- We have learned so much about the Great Salt Lake, its origins, geology, and animals. We will be continuing our study of the 3 regions found in Utah, along with their biomes. Science- Last week, we began our study of Sir Isaac Newton and his groundbreaking discoveries. This week, we will be studying Newton’s First Law of Motion. We will be making a straw torpedo that will help to cement the idea that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. If you have not yet signed up for a conference time or signed the class field trip form, please click the links below to take care of it. Thanks!! Field Trip Permission Click Fall Conference Sign Up
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Sept. 23-27
Welcome to the first day of fall! The cooler weather is fantastic for recess and the forecast looks great for our field trip to the Great Salt Lake. Speaking of our upcoming field trip, I have 100% of your Permission Click forms returned. Thank you!! If you did not respond by last Wednesday to order a school sack lunch, please send your child with a lunch from home and some water. You should also make sure that your child is properly dressed. They will be getting very wet/dirty feet, so if you have some closed toe water shoes, it will be best. Language Arts: We are starting a story called “Letters from Yosemite”. It’s an expository text that gives very interesting information about Yosemite National Park. We will be working on finding the main ideas and supporting details. We will also be working on visualizing and creating imagery as we read. Finally, your student will be learning about onomatopoeia. Please note that I have assigned Term 1’s book report. All the directions can be found on this website under the curriculum tab. Please note that I have included a copy of some worksheets that the students will be utilizing. I will be giving copies of these worksheets the 1st week of October. The book report is due 10/28/19. This is the end of the term 1, so no late reports. Math: We will be finishing up with chapter 2, which has been addition and subtraction strategies. For the most part I am pleased, but I have noticed that students are hurrying through work and making careless errors (as we all do). The remedy to this is to check subtraction problems by adding the difference to the subtrahend, which should result in the minuend (believe it or not, your students know what that means!). With addition problems, it is best to round, and then check the answer to see if it is reasonable. The test will be toward the end of the week. On Wednesday, your student will be coming home with a 3 page chapter review page. Please go over it to make sure that your student has checked answers and understands all the concepts for the test. Thanks!! Science: The Utah Dept. of Education has introduced a few new science standards they would like the state’s 4th graders to learn. I’m excited about these additions, and will be implementing them right away. As such, we will be moving into Newton’s Laws, electricity, and different types of waves over the next few months. Utah History: We have been studying about the rugged and varied geography of Utah. This week, we will be learning about the 3 Regions of Utah: The Great Basin, The Rocky Mountain, and The Colorado Plateau. Soon, we will be making salt dough maps of Utah, which is one of my favorite Utah History projects to do! In the next few weeks, I will be asking you to provide your student an 8x10 piece of strong cardboard in the shape of Utah, and some salt dough. I’ll let you know when that is. Last, Fall Student-Led Conferences are coming up. Please click on the link below to sign up for a spot. I’m really looking forward to seeing you all again! FALL CONFERENCES SIGN UP SHEET Thanks for reading!! Mary Anne Fowler Hello Parents-
Welcome to a new week. Please note that I will be sending a Permission Click form for our upcoming field trip tomorrow. As I said last week, we have a field trip to the Great Salt Lake coming up at the end of this month. The official date is Thursday, September 26th, from 9:30-2:00. If you are planning on a school-made sack lunch for your child on that day, we MUST hear back from you by this Wednesday. Otherwise, you may plan on sending your student with a sack lunch from home. After my announcement last week, we fulfilled our parent volunteer quota for those who may ride the bus. However, if you’d still like to join us, you may drive and pay a small parking fee. Language Arts: The story selection for this week is a trickster tale entitled “The Horned Toad Prince”. This week we will be focusing on author’s purpose and compound sentences. The spelling words have a long e sound at the end of the words. Please make sure that your student is fulfilling his/her Lexia minutes each week. Last week, we missed completing our requirement by only 10 minutes. Your student will know just by logging on how many minutes they have left. Thank you! Math: We are still working on ch. 2, where the students are practicing different strategies for addition and subtraction. Please keep going with Reflex Math. This Thursday, there will be a reward this Thursday for the students who are at least 70% complete with their 0-10 addition and subtraction. After that, I will be changing everyone to 0-10 multiplication and division. Your student may also work on his/her ALEKS pie. Science: We began an in-depth study of the desert biome last week, and we will continue this week. Utah is unique in that it has both cold deserts and hot deserts. We will be learning about the special adaptations that desert plants and animals have to make in order to survive the harsh climate of the desert. Utah History- We will continue our study of Utah’s earliest people, and move into the 5 original Utah Native American tribes. They are: Utes, Paiutes, Goshutes, Shoshone, and Navajo. Thanks for reading to the end. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. Have a great evening! Welcome to September 9-13. I’ll jump right in!
Homework/Planners- I have had a number of parents ask questions about homework and planners, so I will write about that first. Homework is 20 minutes of math activities and 20 minutes of language arts activities. Your student may come home with a worksheet if he or she didn’t finish it in class, but I generally give plenty of time to complete worksheets in class. If your student completes homework outlined below, they can always read the week’s story selection and then a book of their choice. Math Reflex (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division practice). This website is very important because in November, we will be starting double digit multiplication, and then long division. ALEKS (4th grade comprehensive year-long tool) This will cover every topic that we’ll learn this year. ALEKS is a fantastic way to learn and review key concepts. Language Arts Spelling City This is a great website that teaches spelling words and vocabulary we study each week. Spelling City is fun and kids enjoy playing the games I post each M-Th. I don’t grade the weekly spelling games, so don’t worry about that. If you prefer to have your student practice his/or her spelling words on paper, feel free. I do have the students use Spelling City to take the weekly spelling tests and vocab tests on Friday, so if your student misses school on Friday they can take the spelling and vocab tests at home, without help, by the following Monday. Lexia Your student will be assigned a number of minutes that will need to be completed each week Our class is expected to complete these minutes with fidelity in order to keep the grant that funds this fantastic program. Lexia will really help your students become a better reader, with improved comprehension. Planners If you are ever wondering what your student has for homework, you should know that we write in our planners every single day. We write the due date on each worksheet, and then we write again about homework that is coming up. If your student is writing in his/her planner, you will always know about tests and assignments that are due. I grade planners based upon the number of days your student writes in their planner. You may sign the planner, but I give grades based upon student participation. I hope to instill in them a habit they keep for the rest of their lives. :) Thanks for reading that clarification. Here's a quick update of what we're learning this week: Math-We finished the Ch. 1 test today with a class average of 85%! I was very pleased to see that we did so well. Of course, we’re always aiming for higher scores, but we’re certainly on our way. Keep up the good work helping clarify concepts for your students when I send corrected worksheets home for parent review. We’ll start with ch. 2 tomorrow, Addition and Subtraction rules. Language Arts-This week our story selection and spelling words are from “Along the Banks of Plum Creek”. You can always find them on my website [email protected]. We will be practicing multiple meaning words, and we’ll be working on character, setting and plot. Utah History-We have finished our initial learning of the 29 Utah counties. We will continue to review the counties until we have them memorized, placed correctly, and spelled correctly. Today, we began our study of Lake Bonneville, and how it has affected the landscape of the Great Basin region in which we live. Your students should have written about the 3 Utah lakes that are remnants of Lake Bonneville in their planners. Science-We learned about the auroras found on both poles of the earth this morning on Mystery Science, and we will continue to learn about the science of Utah’s ecosystems, and the adaptations that animals have had to make in order to live in our sometimes harsh environment. Misc- I will be picking up the order forms for our class t-shirts from the office tomorrow. I’ll send your child’s shirt home the day I receive them. Finally, we are anticipating a field trip to the Great Salt Lake toward the end of this month. I should have details by next Monday. You will receive a Permission Click form to fill out the minute we get approved. Have a great week. Thanks for reading!! Email or Dojo with any questions or concerns. Welcome to a new week! I hope that your Labor Day weekend was wonderful. Let's jump right in!
Language Arts- This week's story selection is entitled "Lewis and Clark and Me". You can find the story and this week's spelling words under the "Curriculum" tab on my website. I already had students write the week's spelling words in their planners since it's a shorter week. One student asked me about advanced spelling lists. I do differentiate in my classroom, so if I notice that a student is consistently getting 100% on spelling tests, I will make an invitation to try the harder lists. We will be working on identifying the Author's Purpose using the acronym PIE- Persuade, Inform, and Entertain. We will also be practicing exclamatory and imperative sentences. Math- We finished lessons 1-4 review today, and will be continuing with rounding tomorrow. Students have all been working on Reflex. We have some fantastic rewards coming up. The next big reward will be a Minute to Win It party to reward all students who have finished their 0-10 addition and subtraction level. That will occur on 9/20, so encourage your students to get those facts memorized! Your students can also do ALEKS, but the priority is toget the math facts to 0-12 mult. and div. before we start double digit multiplication and long division in November. Science- We will be using our new science program, Mosa Mack, to learn the scientific method this week. I am really excited about this program because it presents the lesson as a mystery for the students to unravel. History- We will move away from longitude and latitude and start with the text book. We will be learning about Utah's ancient history and her indigenous peoples. I will also begin to introduce The Great Utahn Award, which is an award given at the end of the year to all students who know Utah's facts, geography, and history well enough to get 100%. Miscellaneous- Please note that all t-shirt money is due Monday, 9-9-19. I will be placing the orders shortly after that. If you have already sent in your order forms and money, thanks!! Have a fantastic week!! |