October 30 to November 3, 2023

                                       

This week, 4th graders will participate in so many fun events!  We are looking forward to PJ day on Oct. 31!  We also plan to meet with our first grade buddies on Tuesday for buddy class fun. Remember, too, that Fire Safety Posters are due on October 30, and the Maple Grove Fire Department will pick them up on Tuesday morning, Oct. 31. Students have been working hard on their posters in class, and their creativity and artistic talents are shining through!  

Our class earned and enjoyed another reward party. So, on Friday, Oct. 27, we had ice cream and a movie!  We love celebrating our hard work, respectful friendships, and best behavior with extra reward time!  This class is doing AMAZING work!  

We are ready for November with continued growth and learning during the last month of the trimester.    Here's what we have planned for the week.

READING:

- Students will continue to read biographies using main idea and details while also participating in a reader's theater to work on fluency.  Students are now working in small groups for guided reading instruction during our language arts block.  

-Word work this week will review challenging  plurals, and a word list will come home on Monday, Oct. 30.  We´ll study the words through the week, and students will have a spelling test on these words on Friday, Nov. 3. 

-We continue to read daily for our 40 book challenge.   By the end of October, the goal is to have 8 books completed, and students should be at 12 books by the end of November to be in line with the 40 book challenge.  If students are able to read and document 1 book per week, they will be able to reach the 40 book goal.

*Remember to read for 20 to 40 minutes each day at home for daily reading homework.

WRITING:

As we complete our personal narratives, we´ll also complete daily writing using November writing prompts.

*Students have access to Typing Club to develop and hone our keyboarding skills, and they are practicing cursive to develop their handwriting skills.

MATH:

- Our lessons this week include continued studies of multiplication strategies, multiplying with money, and dividing with remainders.

- We continue taking a one minute and five minute daily timed test to develop speed and efficiency with multiplication.  

- We'll continue to explore Concept Quest, a problem solving enrichment program that students will have the opportunity to participate in throughout the year.  

*Math HOMEWORK: 
Homework will come home on Monday and will be due on Wednesday.
Homework will come home on Wednesday and will be due on Friday.  

 

Social Studies/Science
We have completed the unit in science titled Earth Features, and the test will be coming home in Wednesday folders.
During the next weeks, our focus will be on Social Studies skills.  Social Studies during this week will include geography lessons on map skills as students study maps and complete a geography booklet.

ART:
Students will work with Mrs. Hehn this week to create an artwork during our weekly art rotation.

Oct. 16 to Oct. 27, 2023

                                     

The last day of conferences is on Oct. 17 before and after school.   I look forward to sharing all of the great things your child is accomplishing in 4th grade!  Thank you to all who attended, and I enjoy meeting with all of you as we work together to continue on a positive and enriching 4th grade journey.


REMEMBER:  Fire Safety booklets are due on Wednesday, Oct. 25.  Please work through the booklet with your child and sign the final page before returning it to school.

Here is what we'll be accomplishing in class between October 16 and Oct. 27.

READING:
- Lessons continue to focus on main idea and details along with the text features of biographies.   

On Wednesday, Oct. 18, we will have the spelling test on the ¨er/est¨ words.  Please study the 10 words to prepare for the test. 

Word work continues during the week of Oct. 23 with the study of the Latin root "spec", and the quiz on these words will be on Friday, Oct. 27.

-Students read daily for the 40 book challenge.   By the end of October, the goal is 8 books to be in line with the 40 book challenge.  If students are able to read and document 1 book per week, they will be able to reach the 40 book goal.

*Remember to read for 20 to 40 minutes each day at home for daily reading homework.

WRITING:

We continue with writing a 5 paragraph personal narrative. Students are using the writing process of pre-writing, creating a rough draft, editing and revising, and completing a final copy.  The final copy is being typed in Google Docs.  

*Students have access to Typing Club to develop and hone our keyboarding skills, and they are practicing cursive to develop their handwriting skills.

MATH:

- We are now taking a one minute daily timed test to develop speed and efficiency with multiplication.  Our lessons focus on multiplying larger numbers by examining area models, ratio tables, and powers of ten.

- We'll continue to explore Concept Quest, a problem solving enrichment program that students will have the opportunity to participate in throughout the year.  Our  TAG teacher, Ms Wilder, will be joining our class once a week for Concept Quest and math enrichment activities.

-October Number Corner Activities focus on decimals and fractions, place value to the millions, and multiples to 100.

*Math HOMEWORK: 
Week of Oct. 16  
-Homework will come home on Monday and will be due on Wednesday.
No homework will be assigned on Wednesday of this week.

Week of Oct. 23
Homework will come home on Monday and will be due on Wednesday.
Homework will come home on Wednesday and will be due on Friday.  

 

Science
We continue our study of Earth Features in Amplify Science.  This week, we continue to read  about and analyze different fossils to focus on how a  geologist uses observing and inferring skills.  We will have a test on this unit on Thursday, Oct. 26.  A study guide will be coming home the week of Oct. 23 with important information for this test.
*After we are done with this unit, we will focus on Social Studies by studying land forms, map skills, and the continents and oceans of the world.

ART:
Students will be creating a fire safety poster for the Maple Grove fire safety poster contest.  We will work on these in school during the next 2 weeks.  
On Friday, Oct. 27, students will work with Ms. Holst for their Friday art lesson.

October 9 to October 13, 2023

                                                 

Conferences are scheduled for Oct. 10, 12, and 17 before and after school.  Thank you for signing up, and I look forward to sharing all of the great things your child is accomplishing in 4th grade!


On Tuesday, Oct. 10, students will have a presentation by the Maple Grove Fire Department on fire safety in the home.  Students will bring home a booklet to complete at home, and this will be due the week of Oct. 23.  Also, all students will participate in the annual fire safety poster contest that is hosted by the Maple Grove Fire Department.  We will work on these posters in class.

Here are our plans for learning this week:

READING:
- This week, lessons will focus on main idea and details as we begin our reading work through the Benchmark curriculum.  Word work includes the study of comparatives and superlatives (words using ¨er¨ or ¨est¨ to compare.)
Students will receive a list of words for studying at home, and the test will be on Friday, Oct. 13.

-We continue to read daily for our 40 book challenge.   By the end of October, the goal is 8 books to be in line with the 40 book challenge.  If students are able to read and document 1 book per week, they will be able to reach the 40 book goal.

*Remember to read for 20 to 40 minutes each day at home for daily reading homework.

WRITING:

Students will continue their writing of a 5 paragraph personal narrative. Students will  use the writing process of pre-writing, creating a rough draft, editing and revising, and completing a final copy.  

We continue to use Typing Club to develop and hone our keyboarding skills, and we are working on cursive to develop our handwriting skills.

MATH:

- Students will bring home the Unit 1 test on Wednesday, Oct. 11.  This week's lessons  will develop understanding of place value, linear measures, and multiplying by powers of 10.
- We'll continue to explore Concept Quest, a problem solving enrichment program that students will have the opportunity to participate in throughout the year.
-October Number Corner Activities focus on decimals and fractions, place value to the millions, and multiples to 100.

*Math HOMEWORK:   
Homework will come home on Monday and will be due on Wednesday.
Homework will come home on Wednesday and will be due on Friday.  

Science
Students continue to work like a scientist as we observe and infer while reading the story Through the Eye of a Geologist and The Fossil Hunter´s Handbook.

ART:
We are excited in 4th grade to have art rotations on Fridays, and students will rotate to a different 4th grade teacher each week.  This Friday, October. 13, students will work with Mrs. Prin during their Friday art lesson.

  

Oct. 2 to Oct. 6, 2023

                         

Rocky's Road Race will now be on Monday, Oct. 2, and thank you for all of your support during the fundraiser!  We have celebrations planned for the week as our class has made their goal plus so much more!  We will have a movie and popcorn party on Tuesday, Oct. 3 and we will have a hat, game, and chip day on Friday, Oct. 6. Yay class!

*Reminder:  Please sign up for conferences if you have not done so. Conference days are October 10, October 12, and October 17. I look forward to meeting with all of you to share your child's great success in 4th grade and to create goals for continued success throughout the year.  

Our week will include the following:

MATH:
- Students will review and take the Unit 1 test during this week´s lessons.  Students will continue to work on enrichment math problems in Concept Quest, a problem solving supplemental program that students will have the opportunity to participate in throughout the year.
-October Number Corner Activities focus on decimals and fractions, place value to the millions, and multiples to 100.

*Math HOMEWORK:   
Homework will come home on Monday and will be due on Wednesday.
Homework will come home on Wednesday and will be due on Friday.  

Science
Our studies in Earth Features this week will include learning about rock formations, observing rocks, and studying sedimentary rocks.

READING:
- As we have completed our review on genres, we will now continue with Unit 1 in Benchmark reading.  Our focus this week will be on main idea and details.
-For word work, students will be studying the Latin root ¨man/mani¨ to develop vocabulary skills.  The study guide for these words will come home on Monday, Oct. 2, and the test will be Friday, Oct. 6.

-We continue to read daily for our 40 book challenge.   By the end of October, the goal is 8 books to be in line with the 40 book challenge.  If students are able to read and document 1 book per week, they will be able to reach the 40 book goal.

*Remember to read for 20 to 40 minutes each day at home for daily reading homework.

WRITING:
- Our next writing activity will be to write a personal narrative and to use the writing process of pre-writing, creating a rough draft, editing and revising, and completing a final copy.  Students are also using Typing Club to develop and hone keyboarding skills, and they are working on lower-case cursive letters to develop their handwriting skills.

ART:
We are excited in 4th grade to have art rotations on Fridays, and students will rotate to a different 4th grade teacher each week.  This Friday, October. 6, students will work with Mrs. Weiland during their Friday art lesson.

Students will continue to work on their contrasting hand design from the Sept. 29th lesson during the week.  This will be due on Friday, Oct. 6.