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.

April 1 to April 5, 2024

                     

Welcome back after Spring Break!  I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable Spring Break with family and friends! We are looking forward to a month filled with new learning and activities as we move into springtime in our 4th grade classroom.

During April, parent volunteers will be presenting art lessons through the Minnesota Institute of Art, Art Adventures program.  Each week, students will participate in art lessons thanks to the MIA and Rush Creek parent volunteers.

*Reminder: 
- MCA TESTING is scheduled for April, and 4th grade times are listed below:

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

Other activities and learning for the week include the following:

READING:

-  We will review cause and effect and Pourquoi tales from Unit 6 in reading, and our test will be on Tuesday.  

-For Word Work, we'll study the words using the Latin root "ben and bene".  A study guide will come home on Monday, April 1, and we'll have the quiz on these words on Friday, April 5.  

- 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:
This week, students will continue to study and write poetry. Students will read and write haiku, diamonte, free verse, and onomatopoeia poetry.

MATH:

-Students will review the Unit 5 geometry concepts and take the Unit 5 test on Wednesday.   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 1,  and due on Wednesday, 
April 3.

Homework will be assigned on Wed., April 3,  and due on Thursday, April 5.

Social Studies/Science

Students will continue their study the Midwest Region of the United States.  We will also begin a new science unit titled Vision and Light.

ART:  Students will with Mrs. Prin during Friday´s art lesson to create a color contrast hand design.

March 18 to March 22, 2024

                                         

Welcome to our last week together before Spring Break. Wishing you all a wonderful week of joy, relaxation, and great family memories.  We are looking forward to some extra fun this week during our classroom studies and activities:

- On Tuesday, we'll meet with our first grade buddies to celebrate the Spring Equinox by writing and creating spring acrostic poems.
-Thursday will be our popcorn reward party for the great job 4th graders did in the Readathon.
- Friday is the Rocky's Way all school spring bingo party. We will play bingo as a whole school at 3:00 on Friday, March 22

 

Other activities and learning include the following:

READING:

-We are completing Unit 6  lessons this week as we continue to learn about and read Pourquoi tales. We will have the Unit 6 reading test after spring break.

-For Word Work, we are going to focus on poetry terms and vocabulary as we will begin a writing unit on poetry this week. 
*There will be no word work test on Friday, March 22.  Word work and spelling tests will resume after spring break.

- We continue to read daily for our 40 book challenge.   Students should be at approx.  32  books by the end of March 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 write Spring acrostic poems with their first grade buddies. We continue to work on uppercase cursive and writing using  March writing prompts to practice and hone writing skills.  
*We will also begin a poetry unit this week and compose various types of poems.  The final copy will be created using a blank book where students can compile their creations along with illustrations.

MATH:

-We will continue with Unit 5 math as we work on area and perimeter.  The Unit 5 math concepts will be reviewed and tested after break. We'll complete March Number Corner concepts by continuing to work on function tables, fractions, and multi-step story problems.

*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 after spring break.

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

*Math HOMEWORK:
Homework will be assigned on Monday, March 18,  and due on Wednesday, 
March 20.

Homework will be assigned on Wed., March 20,  and due on Friday, March 22.

Social Studies

Students continue to focus on and study the Midwest Region of the United States.  This will include reviewing the states and capitals and the state locations.  We'll also explore the economy, history, and land forms of the Midwest Region.
*The test on the Midwest states, capitals, and state abbreviations will be on Friday, March 22.

ART:
This week, students will work with Mrs. Prin as they create an optical illusion and contrasting color hand design.

March 11 to March 15, 2024

                                         

Time to spring ahead! It's great to look forward to having more daylight in the evenings for fun and outside activities!  

Because 4th graders did such an outstanding job with the Readathon, we will have a pizza reward time this Thursday, March 14.  This will be perfect as we will also be celebrating PI day, 3.14.  On Thursday, March 21, 4th graders will have a popcorn reward party. Both of these celebrations are rewards for the great work in the Readathon.

We're also looking forward to so much learning this week!  Read ahead to find out more:

READING:

- This week we'll  continue to read and work on cause and effect and begin learning about Pourquoi tales.  We continue to analyze and work on identifying different text structures as we read.

- For Word Work this week, students will work on more ambiguous vowels including au, aw, and al words.  A list will come home on Monday, and students will be tested on the first ten words on Friday, March 15.

- We continue to read daily for our 40 book challenge.   Students should be at approx.  32  books by the end of March 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 work on their Women in History.  Students will also write in response to March writing prompts and continue to develop their cursive skills by working on uppercase cursive letters.

MATH:

-Our studies this week continue to focus on geometry.  We will work on the features of polygons, area, and perimeter. On Thursday, we will celebrate PI day with lessons on circles including using cookies to determine the diameter and circumference of a circle.

- Students will explore Concept Quest math enrichment problems on Tuesday with Ms. Vogler.  

*Math HOMEWORK:
Homework will be assigned on Monday, March 11,  and due on Wednesday, 
March 13.

Homework will be assigned on Wed., March 13,  and due on Friday, March 15.

*Continue to study multiplication and division facts to develop and maintain fact fluency.

Science/Social Studies/Health:

For Science, Ms. Vogler will continue with her lessons using circuits on Monday, March 11.  Student will participate in Makers´ Space on Tuesday.  For Social Studies, we will start learning about the Midwest by learning the states and capitals of this region.

ART:
Student will learn about Celtic knots and create a drawing and illustration of a Celtic knot during their Friday art lesson.

March 4 to March 7, 2024

                                     

This is the last week of the trimester!  Students have shown growth and achievement in so many areas during the winter grading period, and our classroom continues to be a positive space where students are learning, working, and playing together.  We'll celebrate the end of the trimester with an all class movie reward time on Thursday, March 7.
*Reminder:  No school on Friday, March 8.  

READING:

- This week we'll read and learn about stories and focus on cause and effect during our reading lessons. 

-Students will work on the Latin root "mal/male" for vocabulary and word work development.  A list will be sent home on Monday, March 4. We'll work in class on the list each day, and the quiz is scheduled for Thursday, March 7.

- We continue to read daily for our 40 book challenge.   Students should be at 28 books at this time and 32  books by the end of March 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 March is Women´s History Month, this week students will do research and a mini-report on different women as they work with online research sites. Students continue to work on upper case cursive letters for writing practice along with Typing.com to continue work on keyboard skills.

MATH:

-Our studies this week continue to focus on geometry.  We will be working on parallel and perpendicular lines along with symmetry during this week's lessons.

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

*Math HOMEWORK:
Homework will be assigned on Monday, March 4 and due on Thursday, March 7.

*Continue to study multiplication and division facts to develop and maintain fact fluency.

Science, Art, Talent Development:

Students will work with Mrs. Vogler during talent development time and work with construction Makey Makey materials to create and code designs using circuits.

The Elm Creek Naturalist will be here to work with the students on Thursday to work with the students. 

ART:

Students will learn about Wassily Kandinsky and abstract art and create an artwork using his technique and style.