April 26 to May 3, 2024

                     

Welcome May! We are looking forward to warmer weather with extra recess and outside fun, and we look forward to completing our tests for the year this week as students take the spring Fastbridge tests.  Here are the dates:

                    Monday, April 29 - Auto and aReading tests, 12:50pm
                    Tuesday, April 30 - aMath test, 9:45am

Reminder:  No school for students on Monday, May 6, due to teacher workshops.

(There will be NO asynchronous learning on this day.)

Although we will be completing testing for the year, we have many lessons and great learning goals to accomplish during the last month of school.  Here is a summary of what we will be working on this week:

READING:

-  We'll continue our reading unit in Benchmark as we focus on drawing conclusions while we read fairy tales and study the elements of fairy tales.
- For Word Work this week, students will work on words with r controlled ¨o¨, and we will analyze spelling patterns.  A list will come home on Monday, April 29, and the test will be on Friday, May 3.

- We continue to read daily for our 40 book challenge.   Students should reach their goal by the end of May!

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

WRITING:
Students should have the final copy of their poetry books done by Monday, April 29.   This week, we will share our books with each other and plan a time to share them with our first grade buddies. Students will continue to work on upper case cursive letters and write from May writing prompts during their writing time.
*Note:  Next week, we'll start our 4th grade state research project.

MATH:

-This week, we will complete the Unit 6 Bridges Math unit.  We'll review the concepts we've worked on in class at the beginning of next week, and the final test will be on Wednesday, May 8.

-As we are working on long division strategies including the algorithm, taking time to review division facts at home will be helpful as students are learning this concept.

- Students will explore Concept Quest math enrichment problems on Wednesday with Mrs. Wilder.

*Math HOMEWORK:
Homework will be assigned on Monday, April 29 and due on Wednesday, May 1.

Homework will again be assigned on Wednesday, May 1, and due on Friday, May 3.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We continue our study of the Western region of the United States. We'll review state locations, capitals, and state abbreviations.  We'll  learn about land marks,  climate, and natural resources of the Western Region.  The test for this unit is scheduled for Thursday, May 9.  Students will receive a packet with state information to assist them with studying at home.  Also, there are links in CLEVER to assist students in studying the states, capitals, and abbreviations of the Western Region.

ART:  As we learned about Keith Haring during our lesson on April 26, this week the Friday art lesson will focus on creating a floral art project with Mrs. Hehn.

April 22 to April 26, 2024

                         

I hope you all had a successful day of asynchronous learning on April 19.  As I review the work in Seesaw, I see such great work and creativity!  Thank you for your support for asynchronous learning at home.

Students did a wonderful job with their MCA testing.  All students have completed these tests. Yay! I am not yet sure when results will be available, but I will keep you posted as I learn more.

Our next formal tests will be the spring Fastbridge reading math tests.  The dates for these tests in 4th grade are as follows:

                    Monday, April 29 - Auto and aReading tests, 12:50pm
                    Tuesday, April 30 - aMath test, 9:45am

Reminder:  No school for students on Monday, May 6, due to teacher workshops.

(There will be NO asynchronous learning on this day.)

DURING THIS WEEK IN OUR 4TH GRADE CLASSROOM, WE WILL BE WORKING ON THE FOLLOWING:

READING:

- As we have completed our lessons on Poetry, this week we will begin Unit 7 in Benchmark and focus on the reading strategy of drawing conclusions.

-For Word Work, students will learn vocabulary using the Latin root "bio". Students will bring home a study guide on Monday, and the test on these words will be on Friday, April 26.

- We continue to read daily for our 40 book challenge.   Students should be at approx.  36  books by the end of April 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:
All students should complete their poetry books by Friday, April 26.  They can bring the books home throughout the week to complete their work, and students will also have time in class to work on the final copy.
*If you are able, please help your child by editing any of their rough drafts before they enter them into their final copy.

MATH:

-This week, our lessons will focus on finding unknown dimensions in area and perimeter. We continue to work on strategies for multiplication and division of larger numbers including using a ratio table, an are model, and the standard algorithm. 

*Continue to study multiplication and division facts to develop and maintain fact fluency.  This will be important as we work on computing larger numbers during Unit 6 lessons.

- Students will explore Concept Quest math enrichment problems on Wednesday with Mrs. Wilder.

*Math HOMEWORK:
Homework will be assigned on Monday, April 22, and due on Wednesday, April 24.

Homework will be assigned on Wed., April 24,  and due on Friday, April 26.

Social Studies/Science

Science lessons this week will include using senses to discover mystery items in concealed containers. Students will read about animal eyes and how they are alike and different.

In Social Studies, we will begin our study of the Western region by learning the state locations, capitals, and abbreviations.  Students will bring home a study guide at the end of the week, and our test on the West will be the week of May 7.

ART:  Students will learn about the artist Keith Haring and create an artwork in the style of his work. (See image below.)

April 15 to April 19, 2024

                                 

Reminders:

 1. Friday, April 19, is an asynchronous learning day. Students will bring their Chromebooks home on Thursday, April 18, and all work will be posted in Seesaw by 7:00 am Friday morning.  

On this day, I will have office hours from 9:00 am to 11:00. A Google Meet code for these office hours will be provided in Seesaw on Friday morning as well.
*PLEASE NOTE: STUDENTS DO NOT NEED TO CHECK IN DURING OFFICE HOURS. This time is available for students only if they have any questions regarding the assigned work for the day.

 2. Our class schedule for the upcoming MCA test during the week of April 15 is as follows:

    MCA Math:  Tuesday/Wednesday, April 16 and April 17, 9:45 AM

Check out what else we have planned for the upcoming week:

MATH:
- We will continue our April calendar activities that will focus on polygons, area, and perimeter. 

- Lessons continue on multiplication, division, area and perimeter,  data collections, and analyzing data. 

*Math HOMEWORK:   

The Home Connection book work will be assigned on Monday and will be due on THURSDAY. Home Connections will also be assigned as part of Friday´s Asynchronous learning day.

*Check planner for  Home Connection pages to be completed.

SCIENCE/HEALTH  
We will continue to work on the Science unit titled ¨Vision and Light¨. For Health, students will review bus safety for the spring trimester.

 READING:
- We will continue our unit on Poetry, and during the next few weeks, students will completing their final copy of poetry by writing their final copies in a blank book.  This will also be part of student work during our Asynchronous learning day.

Word Work: 
The word work focus this week will be on ¨r¨ controlled vowels. A list will come home on Monday, April 15. We will work on the words throughout the week, and  our quiz on these words will be on Thursday, April 18.

40 Book Challenge: 
Students should be at approximately 36 books by the end of April to be on track for the 40 Book Challenge. 

WRITING:

- Students continue to practice capital cursive letters, and they will create and write additional poems to add to their individual poetry books.

ART:

Our class will continue their participation in "Art Adventures" presented by Rush Creek volunteers and through the Minneapolis Institute of Art. 
On Thursday, student will meet with Mrs. Hehn for their weekly art lesson.

April 8 to April 12, 2024

 

REMINDER:

The Rush Creek Elementary PTO’s Spring Fundraiser will be held April 13 from 6:30 to 10:30 at Pints and Paddle. We will have the classroom artwork on display during the in-person event as part of the silent auction.
*Please note our art work displayed on this blog post to the left!

Tickets and event details can be found through the fundraiser website. Click the link below for more details.

http://bidpal.net/RushCreekPTOSF24

Here is what is happening this week in our 4th Grade Classroom this week:

- MCA TESTING is scheduled for the week of April 8 and April 15. Please note 4th grade times listed below:

                    4th grade Reading – April 9-10 12:45-2:45
                    4th grade Math – April 16-17 9:45-11:15

READING:

-  Students will continue to work on figurative language and poetry writing.
*No word work this week due to MCA testing.

- We continue to read daily for our 40 book challenge.   Students should be at approx.  36  books by the end of April 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 studying and writing poetry. This week, students will write shape poems, Haiku poems, and Limericks.

MATH:

-We continue our Unit 6 studies on division and multiplication strategies of larger numbers.  The April number corner activities include features of polygons and metric distance measures.  

*Continue to study multiplication and division facts to develop and maintain fact fluency.  This will be important as we work on computing larger numbers during Unit 6 lessons.

- Students will explore Concept Quest math enrichment problems on Wednesday with Mrs. Wilder.

*Math HOMEWORK:
Homework will be assigned on Monday, April 8, and due on Wednesday, April 10.

Homework will be assigned on Wed., April 10,  and due on Friday, April 12.

Science:

We continue our science investigations about vision and light and how animals have sensory capabilities to learn about their environment.  Students will read stories and work with a vision simulator to discover how light affects vision.

ART:  Students will work with Mrs. Holst for their art lesson this week on Friday.  Also, Art Adventures continue this week as students learn about artists and artistic techniques by engaging in lessons through the Minnesota Institute of Arts and volunteer presentations.