November 2011 Update

Hello all of the awesome fourth graders and fourth grade families!

I have not updated my blog in some time, so I am going to try to cover quite a bit in this post.

In math the students are currently learning about decimals and their uses. We are going to learn how to add and subtract decimals this week too. Many students are already proficient at this task, therefore your child may work in a small group with me to extend their knowledge to multiplication and division of decimals. Your child is expected to be able to order decimals, know decimal place value, use decimals in measurement, and be able to add and subtract decimals. A great way to do this outside of school is to have the students take paper and pencil with them to the store and add up the prices of items being purchased or when you get home your child can check to make sure that your receipt is accurate.

In Social Studies the students are finishing up the Northeast region of the United States. We have so far done a five paragraph essay about a state, and now we are beginning PowerPoint Presentations (or something similar) to present even more information about their assigned state to the class. I have been very impressed with my students and their ability to pull good information out of research for these projects. These projects will be due shortly after the Thanksgiving Break. We will be working on the presentations at home and in school.

We will also start science again soon. We are going into our ecosystem unit next. This is a fun unit where the students get to observe animals in their habitats and draw conclusions.


Some other things that we need to make sure everyone is aware of are below:

Each year we as a community help out our neighboring school Smith Elementary School. A few days ago you were sent an email asking you to sign up to help some struggling families out if you are able. Here is a link to the slyreply for Miss Grant's Homeroom:

http://www.slyreply.com/Event/EventDetails.aspx?eid=s9GdBwqMGmg%3d

There are many different items that you can contribute that will help a family have a great Thanksgiving this year.

Here is a message from our school's Green Team:


Upcoming Dates to put on your calendar:

Next week we only have school Monday and Tuesday!
Thanksgiving Break- November 23-25

Homework:

Homework in my classroom is going to vary from day to day in the next few weeks because of our projects. Your child should have their homework written in their planners each night.

I would like to thank all of the fourth graders for being such awesome students! This year is just flying by, and the students are doing such a great job! :-)

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Miss Grant

Last call for silverware!
We have just a few more school days left before the silverware drive ends. Please help your classroom win the contest for donating the most metal forks and spoons for the goal of greening up the cafeteria. The last day of the contest is Tuesday, November 22nd, the last day before Thanksgiving break. Bring your donations to your classroom by that day to be counted in the contest.

Thanks,
Tracy Stevens
Green Team

Last but not least, please don't forget about the awesome fundraiser nights coming up. If you can make it come to Chipotle tonight from 4-9 and part of you purchase will come straight back to WCE!  I am definitely going there for dinner tonight! Hope to see you there!

It's Halloween Party Time!!!!

Our Halloween Party is just two days away!  Please help us out by signing up for something to bring on our slyreply.  You can click the link below:

We are also in need of a few volunteers to help out at our party. If you can help us out, come on by to one of our classrooms on Thursday afternoon. We need people to help us with stations, food, set up, and many more things! The more the merrier! Come have a fun Halloween Party with the AWESOME 4th graders!

Please remind your students that they bring their costumes to school and change later in the day, and that all costumes must be appropriate: no weapons, meeting the dress code, etc....

We will begin our fun afternoon changing into costumes after lunch. At 2:30 we will participate in a whole school parade, and then head back into our classrooms for fun times the remainder of the afternoon.

If you would like to bring things for the party, please know that we are having a joint party with both of our homerooms, so this means we have 43 students total. We also have a few allergies to keep in mind: wheat allergies and  nut and peanut allergies. If you bring something, please make sure that it has a label so we know what students can and cannot eat.

October 2011

Hello 4th Grade Families,

I have enjoyed discussing student progress in the parent teacher conferences that i have had so far. I look forward to seeing the rest of you in the upcoming days.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 19th we are going on our first field trip. We currently have all the volunteers that we need. Please make sure that your student has a lunch from home tomorrow if it is possible. We are going to DADs Landfill in Aurora. It is near Gun Club Road and Hampden Ave. We will be leaving the school around 11:00 and returning around 2:00.

The fourth graders are continuing to work hard and grow mathematically. We are making progress on our Mountain of Math Facts and working very hard on meeting the current math standards. This week we are continuing Unit 3. In this unit, we begin understanding algebra, division, and multiplication as well as we learn to solve number stories. 

In social studies, we have been learning about maps and the different types of maps that are available, how to read maps, and how to  find locations using latitude and longitude. We are now beginning to learn how different groups have contributed to the United States.

Homework:

Tuesday 10/18- Bring a lunch for tomorrow and S.L. 3.6

Wednesday 10/19- S.L. 3.7

Thursday 10/20- S.L. 3.8

Friday 10/21- Have a great weekend!

Upcoming Dates to remember:

Tomorrow Wednesday October 19th- Our first field trip

Thursday October 27- Halloween Party

Friday October 28- Monday October 31- No School

Miss Grant

Weekly Update September 26-30

Hello everyone!

In math we have been busy in my classroom. Last week in math we focused on multi-digit addition, and this week we are going to focus on multi-digit subtraction. Some students are still struggling with addition. I will be working with the struggling students in small groups this week. Overall the students in my classes have done great with Unit 2. We will be finishing up this unit on Friday. If your student is struggling with addition, I will be sending home some addition and subtraction fact triangles to practice with. Please practice these each night until your child has them memorized.

In social studies we learned all about the different types of privacy: behavior, observation, and information. The students answered these two questions to show proficiency: what is privacy? and why is privacy important? This allows students to understand why we have rights as well as understand that people have different opinions on when they want to be left alone. We also had conversations about when it is not okay to be private and keep secrets- when someone is in danger. Your child will be showing you his/her privacy papers at conferences next month.

This week in social studies, we are going to begin our new unit in which we learn all about the different social scientists.

Homework:

Monday, 9/26- Study Link 2.8
Tuesday, 9/27- Study Link 2.9 both sides
Wednesday, 9/28- Subtraction practice worksheet
Thursday, 9/30- Addition and Subtraction worksheet
Friday, 9/30- Study Link 2.10- This is a family letter that introduces our next unit.

Upcoming dates:
October 19- Our first field trip to a landfill
October - Conferences
October 27- Halloween Party

Have a great week!
Miss Grant

Weekly Update for September 12-15

Hello Everyone!

This week in math we will be learning about place value and how to organize data. I am adding links to my YouTube play lists. Feel free to watch some of the videos that we will be watching in class to make these lessons a little bit more fun.

In social studies this week, we are going to watch a short video about 9/11 and discuss things that have changed in our country. We are also going to talk about heroes and who we thin are heroes.

In science this week we are going to learn about volcanoes and create a model of a volcano. Fun, Fun, Fun!!! I am also adding a link to the Virtual Volcano that we used in class last week. The students liked this a lot.

Homework:

Monday: Study Link 2.2
Tuesday: Study Link 2.3
Wednesday: Study Link 2.4
Thursday: Study Link 2.5- Due Tuesday!

Important Dates:

We do not have school this Friday or Next Monday!!!
Friday, September 16- No School- Assessment Day
Monday, September 19- No School Teacher Work Day

I hope everyone has a great week!

Miss Grant

Weekly Update September 6-9

Hello! I hope everyone had a great three day weekend!

Math:

This week in math we are beginning our second unit, Unit 2- Using Numbers and Organizing Data. In this unit, we will be learning about equivalent numbers, different addition and subtraction methods, and how to collect, organize, display, and analyze data. We are also going to start working on math facts in our classroom. This week we will begin by taking our pre assessment. On Wednesday, we will be learning about the games we will play in unit 2, and on Thursday and Friday, we will be learning about equivalent names for numbers.

Science:

This week in science we are going to continue to learn about how the earth changes. Specifically this week we are going to learn how rocks change our planet.

New this week!!! Your child will be bringing home their assessment folder. This folder contains your child's Recognizing Student Achievement (RSA) scores (these are the things I grade them for each day) and their unit assessments. Each unit, we take a pre  test and a post test. Please look this over, discuss the contents with your child, sign the paper titled Unit 1 Assessment Data Sheet, and return it to school the following day.

Homework:

Tuesday- 9/6- No homework
Wednesday- 9/7- Study Link 1.9- Family Letter
Thursday- 9/8- Study Link 2.1
Friday- 9/9- Have a great weekend!

There is not much homework this week because we are starting a new unit. If you feel that your child needs more to do, please feel free to work on addition and subtraction facts.

Have a great week!

Miss Grant

Weekly Update for the week of August 29- September 2

Hello 4th Grade Families!!!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. It was great getting to meet many of you again on back to school night! Thank you for coming out.  The first whole week of school went great. The students in our classes learned their expectations for this year. I was very impressed with the 4th Grade Constitution that our students came up with. We have also created class flags and a class pledge.

On my blog each week, I will tell you what we will be learning each week, weekly homework, and up coming or important dates to remember.  If you or someone else in your family would like to receive emails when I update my blog at a different email address than I send this week, please let me know.

This week in math we will be learning about parallelograms, polygons, circles, hexagons and triangles as well as finishing up Unit 1: Naming and Constructing Geometric Figures. On Wednesday your child will be taking an online assessment that is the new Interim assessment.

This week in science we will be learning about the effects that water and sand have on the changing earth.

Specials This Week:

Monday- Art
Tuesday- Library
Wednesday- Gym- Wear tennis shoes!
Thursday- Music
Friday- Art


Homework:

Monday: August 29- Study Link 1.3
Tuesday, August 30- Study Link 1.4
Wednesday, August 31- Study Link 1.5
Thursday, September 1- Study Link 1.6
Friday, September 2- Have a great weekend!

Important Dates:

Monday September 5- Labor Day- NO SCHOOL
Friday September 16- Assessment Day- NO SCHOOL

I hope everyone has a great week!

Miss Grant