Happy Holidays!! I hope you enjoy your celebrations and some family time off together!
Our goal this week: Use the rubric to make at least one improvement to my Readers' Theater part.(Continued from last week)
Some items in this Monday's take-home folder:
Sign and return: No update - continued from last week, December Reading log (in binders)
Review and keep at home: Math practice pages, math fact tests, Titanic Writing and Art, Holiday Gift Workshop
Important Dates:
12/14 In House Toymaker Field Trip
12/17 Mystery book report due
12/18 4L Pajama Day
1/4/2016 School resumes
1/7 Evening Family Field Trip to the Seattle Art Museum
1/18 No School (MLK, Jr)
1/27 Tentative Potlatch at 1pm for Bernardo, Cronin, and Gose
(parents invited!!)
1/28 Tentative Potlatch at 1pm for Heinz-Betts and Larson
(parents invited!!)
Family Field Trip suggestions:
We are fortunate to have two wonderful museums close by that complement our Social Studies curriculum. I hope you will consider taking a family field trip or gathering a few friends together for a special afternoon/evening of learning.
The first Thursday of every month is FREE!!
http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/visit/seattle-art-museum#hou
http://www1.seattleartmuseum.org/eMuseum/code/emuseum.asp?emu_action=collection&collection=27519&collectionname=WEB%3ANative%20American¤trecord=1&moduleid=1&module=
The Seattle Art Museum has an amazing collection of Northwest Coast Native American artifacts. I will be in that exhibit room at SAM from 5:30 – 6:30 pm on Thursday, January 7. Won’t you bring some 4th graders to the museum and we can all enjoy it together? I’d love to see you there! All 4th graders welcome with a parent chaperone! Please RSVP!
Also, The Burke Museum on the University of Washington campus has a wonderful display of artifacts downstairs.
http://www.burkemuseum.org/exhibits/browse/pacific_voices
Headphones in Room 19: In our classroom, students have headphones that are labeled with their class number that they use for the year. These were purchased with grant money from the Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation. Starting this winter, most teachers will be requesting that families provide earbuds for each student, in order to support reading and math program use in the classroom. If you would like to send a set of earbuds or inexpensive headphones for your child to use this year (and take home at the end of the year) these can be switched out for the headphones provided in our classroom. They should be kept in a baggie and clearly labeled with the student's first and last name and homeroom class. Otherwise, students are welcome to continue using their classroom headphones. Please let me know if you have any questions! The mystery word is: culture.
Cans and Coins Holiday Giving Campaign (by PTSA) for the Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank. (see attached flyer)
November/December book report: Mystery - electronic copy attached to this newsletter. Final report due December 17th. Students should be bringing their book and packet back and forth to school every day! Snowman pieces for the final report are now available in class. The project page on the website has been updated with finished examples - the kids have started bringing in some great looking snowmen!
Book reports in fourth grade are intentionally visual, rather than involving extensive written response, and meant to be an enjoyable extension of reading learning rather than a substantial component of the reading or writing curriculum. We also feel that it is important for students to learn how to manage multi-step, long term projects as part of the development of study skills and homework habits.
In January there will be no genre book report because students will be participating in book clubs at school that require work at home. After that, fourth graders will find that there is an increased requirement for writing along with the creative component of book reports. This leads to expository report writing and culminates with the fourth grade project of Wax Museum in May/June.
December and January volunteer calendars: are attached to this week's email. The December calendar required a lot of changes to work around no school days and conferences - please let me know if you need any adjustments or can't be here on your day. Thanks again for all you do to support our class's learning - we couldn't do it without you!!!
Coming Up This Week in Class: We are completing math Topic 8 (Multiplying by two-digit numbers and 3-digit numbers), starting Math Topic 9 (Division), continuing opinion writing, creating our Storypath characters and village, performing RT pieces, and learning about science variables with the Toymaker!
Please visit our 4th grade blog…. http://cves4.weebly.com/
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.
With thanks,
Emily Larson