Nov. 27 to Nov. 30, 2023

 

Welcome back after the Thanksgiving break!  Students listened so well and gained a wealth of new knowledge on Nov. 20  as we spent time with the Elm Creek Naturalist learning orienteering skill.  To top off the week before Thanksgiving, the fourth graders were the best buddies and teachers to our first grade buddy class as we created Thanksgiving decorations.  Now, we are ready for the last week of the fall trimester.
*Remember, no school on Friday, Dec. 1,  due to report card marking day for staff.

As posted in the last blog update, here are reminders if your child will be absent for the day:
1.  Make sure to let the office know either with an email or through ParentVUE.
2.  Contact me if you would like homework sent home with a sibling or another student.  Another option that you may request is for homework to be ready to be picked up in the office at 1:30 or the end of the day.  
*If you do not request homework, I'll send home the work with your child when they return to school.  

Our week will include the following:  

READING:

- Our focus this week will be reading fluency as we review sequencing skills while reading a readers´ theater story.  We will complete Unit 2 in the Benchmark curriculum, and the test for this unit is scheduled for next week.  

- Word Work - Students will work on words with long and short a patterns.  Students will bring home a list to help them study on Monday, Nov. 27, and the test will be on Thursday, Nov. 30.

-We continue to read daily for our 40 book challenge.   Students should be at 13 to 14 books by the end of the fall trimester 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 complete their  "How To" story using sequencing words. Stories will include an introduction, materials needed,  step-by-step instructions, and a conclusion.  

*Students have access to Typing Club to develop and hone their keyboarding skills, and they continue reviewing cursive to develop their handwriting skills.

MATH:

- We are working on fractions including mixed numbers and improper fractions.  This week, we will use geoboards to explore and create fractions and find equivalent fractions.

- Many students have demonstrated mastery of multiplication facts by passing the 5 minute timed test with 95% accuracy or better.  We continue taking a one minute and five minute timed tests to develop speed and efficiency with multiplication.  

- Ms. Wilder will work with students on Wednesday as they solve and complete Concept Quest problems.  This week, students will begin to work on problems that will focus on the fraction concepts they are learning during our math lessons

*Math HOMEWORK: 
Nov. 27 to Nov. 30
Homework will come home on Monday and will be due on Wednesday.
(No Homework on Wednesday due to the short week.)

*CONTINUE TO STUDY MULTIPLICATION FACTS IF YOUR CHILD NEEDS TO PASS THE 5 MINUTE TIMED TEST.

Science
Our new science unit is titled ¨Waves, Energy, and Information.¨ We will study sound waves and patterns of sound waves as we learn about dolphin communication.

ART:
Students will create winter decorations and display them with winter lights to brighten up our classroom as we near the winter solstice on Dec. 21. 

Nov. 13 to Nov. 22, 2023

                         

Hooray for a week of warmer weather and right in time for our class to enjoy an extra recess as we are very close to earning a class reward time!  We plan to have this reward time on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

When the weather turns cooler, please assist your child to be prepared for outside recess with a warm jacket, hat, and mittens.  Also, remember snow pants and boots for snowy days that are sure to come!

We took time this week to review our fall goals, and students each received a copy to bring home in their take-home folders.  Students also have a copy of their goals in their save folder to review and assess their goal progress throughout the year.

Here are a few reminders if your child will be absent for the day:
1.  Make sure to let the office know either with an email or through ParentVUE.
2.  Contact me if you would like homework sent home with a sibling or another student.  Another option that you may request is for homework to be ready to be picked up in the office at 1:30 or the end of the day.  
*If you do not request homework, I'll send home the work with your child when they return to school.  

Please read and review the information below to learn about what we'll be working on between now and Thanksgiving:

READING:

- Our lessons will focus on sequencing and determining text importance.   

-Word work this week includes lessons on words using the Latin root "ject" which means "to throw".  Students will work on words throughout the week, and the quiz will be on Friday, Nov. 17.  Watch for a list of words coming home in your child's take-home folder.

-We continue to read daily for our 40 book challenge.   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:

 Students are completing ¨The Story of My Name¨ essays, and students will choose November writing prompts during our writing time while using the four-square writing process to pre-write and develop their writing responses.  

*Students have access to Typing Club to develop and hone their keyboarding skills, and they continue reviewing cursive to develop their handwriting skills.

MATH:

- The Unit 2 math test will be on Tuesday, Nov. 14.  We will begin Chapter 3 this week, and this chapter will include lessons on fractions and mixed numbers.

- Many students have demonstrated mastery of multiplication facts by passing the 5 minute timed test with 95% accuracy or better.  We continue taking the five minute timed tests to develop speed and efficiency with multiplication.  

- We'll explore Concept Quest math enrichment problems on Wednesday with Mrs. Wilder.

*Math HOMEWORK: 
Nov. 13 to Nov. 17
Homework will come home on Monday and will be due on Wednesday.
Homework will come home on Wednesday and will be due on Friday.  

Nov. 20 to Nov. 22
Homework will come home on Monday and will be due on Wednesday.
*STUDY MULTIPLICATION FACTS IF YOUR CHILD NEEDS TO PASS THE 5 MINUTE TIMED TEST.

Social Studies/Science
We are completing the unit on geography, and the test will be on Thursday, Nov. 16.  Students received a study guide to bring home to assist with studying for this test.  Please assist your child in reviewing the concepts for the test on Thursday. Also, their is a link on this blog for an on-line practice in locating the continents and oceans of the world.

Other lessons include learning to access map locations with latitude and longitude. 

*Note:  The naturalist time was cancelled on Thursday, Nov. 10.  This is now rescheduled for Monday, Nov. 20.

*Art and Social Studies:
Students will work to complete a fantasy country or state map using the parts of the map that we have been studying in class.  (Title, orientation, date, author, and legend/key)

Nov. 6 to Nov. 10, 2023

                                 

Last week, everyone enjoyed celebrating PJ Day, sharing about their Halloween adventures,  and our bingo and books buddy class activity.  The 4th Graders were great leaders and mentors with our first-grade buddies as they played bingo and read stories!  I'm always proud of their exceptional leadership with the younger students!

This week, we have two fourth grade in-school events.  On Thursday, the Elm Creek Naturalist will be here to work with 4th graders in our Rush Creek Nature Area, and on Friday, 4th graders will participate in a bird house building workshop.  We look forward to these special events.

We will take time during this week to review the fall goals from October conferences.  Please look for a copy of your child´s goal coming home in the Wednesday folder.

*Reminder:  Continue to check and sign your student´s planner each night.  Your support with homework for math and reading is greatly appreciated!

*Remember, no school on Tuesday, Nov. 7, due to teacher workshops and the local bond referendum for Osseo Area School District #279.  For information on the upcoming bond referendum, here is the link:   Referendum Info. Link 

Here are other areas of study for the week.

READING:

- Students will take the Unit 1 reading test on Monday, Nov. 6 on main idea, details, and elements of a biography.  Our lessons for the rest of the week will focus on sequencing and determining text importance.   

-Word work this week continues to focus on challenging plurals, and the test has been moved to Wednesday, Nov. 8.  Next week, word work will continue with a new Latin root.

-40 Book Challenge!  Students can bring their notebooks home to complete summary entries, and students should be at 12 to 13 books or more by the end of November to be on-track for the challenge.

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

WRITING:

Our next project will be to complete an essay titled ¨The Story of My Name¨.  A planning page will come home on Monday, Nov. 6, and should be completed by November 8 or 9 so that students can complete their final copy during class writing time.

Students will also use November writing prompts for daily and weekly writing practice during independent work time.

*Students continue to have time to work in Typing.com to develop and hone  keyboarding skills, and they continue reviewing cursive to develop their handwriting skills.

MATH:

- Division with remainders is the focus for the week, and students will participate in activities and games to develop this concept.  We'll begin to review Unit 2 next week, and the Unit 2 test is scheduled for next week as well.

- Students continue to work on speed for their multiplication facts.  Any extra practice at home is greatly appreciated.  We hope to have our class ice cream sundae party to celebrate our fact mastery sometime in November or December!  

- We'll continue to explore Concept Quest on Wednesdays with Mrs. Wilder.  Students can also bring Concept Quest work and problems home to complete any of the problems they may not have had time to do in school.

*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/TAG Enrichment Time
Mrs. Vogler will work with our class on Monday, Nov. 6, for TAG enrichment during our Social Studies time.  

Our Social Studies lessons will focus on map skills including parts of a map and types of maps.  Students are creating a special booklet with all of the geography information we are working on in class.  On Friday, students will bring home a review for the Social Studies geography test next week.  The exact date for the test will be posted on the review.

ART:
Our art lesson/project this week will be constructing the bird house with the specialist coming to work with all 4th grade classes.  Watch for student made bird houses coming home!