I hope you and your children enjoyed a restful and relaxing break last week!
Wax /museum Project: The long-anticipated Wax Museum Biography Project is here! The wax museum packet has been given to your students. Please read the assignment packet with your child and sign it so that I know you are aware and understand this long-term project. We are really encouraging students to research a person who they do not know. All wax museum research subjects MUST be approved by the 4th grade teachers.
Choose a famous person (deceased) who has made a difference in our world, a real hero, and read about them. You will write an informational essay about your person and how he/she made the world a better place. Your hero should intrigue and interest you. This research project will be completed partly in class and partly at home.
- Three high quality sources at your reading level; at least one print biography book (expository format) is preferred; the others must be creditable on-line resources.
- Your interest level is high
- Person made a positive impact on the world (prove it to your teacher!)
- Positive role model (good outweighs the bad or any controversy)
- Fourth grade appropriate (research content appropriate for elementary school aged children)
1. Start biography selection and reading - Week of April 16
2. Commit to a person and book (teacher approval) - Monday, April 23
3. Finish reading biography book and take notes - Tuesday, May 1
4. Note taking and timeline notes due - Tuesday, May 8
6. Rough Draft Due - Tuesday, May 15
7. List of Sources complete - Week of May 21
8. Final Draft DUE - Tuesday, May 22
9. Poster Due and practice presentations - Tuesday, May 29
10. Wax Museum - Thursday, May 31
Important Dates:
4/20 Class Pictures (date change)
4/23 Last Day for April book orders
5/9 SBAC testing
5/15 SBAC testing
5/16 SBAC testing
5/22 SBAC testing
5/23 SBAC testing
5/25 No School: Memorial Day Weekend
5/28 No school: Memorial Day
5/31 Wax Museum (parent/family viewing at 9:30 – 10:00 am)
Monday Take Home Folders/Return to School every Tuesday:
Review and Keep at Home: Math Practice Pages, Scholastic book order fliers, class picture order forms
Sign and Return: no updates from the week before break, April Reading Logs (in binders)
Goal for the Week: Get your wax museum biography topic approved by Ms. L by showing 3 high quality credible sources at your reading level (hoping for a book as one source).
Coming up this week in class: Continuing Walk-to-Math learning, choosing and researching wax museum subjects, starting a practice SBA Opinion writing task, reading In Their Own Words: Lewis & Clark, researching tribes encountered on the Voyage of Discovery, creating and taking quizzes about Sacagawea, and sharing poems and songs that might have been written by expedition members!
Our state standardized testing (SBAC) for 4th grade begins in May.
Our testing dates are:
Wednesday, May 9; Tuesday, May 15; Wednesday, May 16; Tuesday, May 22; and Wednesday, May 23.
Please try not to schedule medical/dental appointments or vacations on these days! Thank you !
SBA Morning Math Practice
Starting on Thursday, March 1, Mrs. Gose will be offering a weekly SBA math practice class in her classroom (room 19) every Thursday morning from 8:40-9:00. This is meant to be a review class for students who need a bit of refreshing on key 4th grade math skills. It is open to all children who may need extra practice regardless of who their teacher is. Please reach out to Mrs. Gose at [email protected] if you have any further questions. Thank you!
April Scholastic Reading Club Order: Fliers are coming home in today's Monday take-home folders! To place an order, go to www.scholastic.com/bookclubs, select "parent" and Continue. You'll need to create an account with your own user name and password (if you don’t have one yet), and use class activation code GPZ63 to connect to our class order. Books will be delivered in 1-2 weeks after the last day to order. As always, our class gets free books and materials with every online order placed. Thanks in advance for helping us expand our classroom library and programs! The last day to order books will be next Monday (April 23rd). If you have any questions, please let me know.
Social Studies: We are reading Lewis and Clark (In Their Own Words) by George Sullivan. Drawing on the explorers' journals and other primary sources, this book recounts the story of the Lewis and Clark expedition, exploring the uncharted western wilderness. Students will understand the historical context, and the importance of Lewis & Clark’s journey while practicing their non-fiction reading comprehension skills.
Reading: As we read about Lewis & Clark, we'll be practicing:
- Finding Main Ideas and Supporting Details
- Comparing and Contrasting
- Analyzing characters
- Using text evidence to make inferences
- Summarizing the text
- Examining descriptive details
- Describing events in a story
Writing: Students are writing opinions with an emphasis on supporting a position using reasons, details, and examples.
Volunteer Opportunities: Our class volunteer calendar: http://signup.com/go/bKMtZZx Thanks, again, for all you do to support children, teachers and learning!
Please visit our 4th grade blog…. http://cves4.weebly.com/
Homework: Please check the binder reminder (located in the front of the binder) to support your child’s homework habits. It is also posted on our classroom blog daily.
In our partnership to ensure success for your child, good communication is critical. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at larsone@svsd410.org. I’d love to hear from you and look forward to working with you this year.
Thank you!!!
Emily Larson, MIT, NBCT
Cascade View Elementary School
34816 SE Ridge Street
Snoqualmie, WA 98065
(425)-831-4100
[email protected]
http://cves4.weebly.com/