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I look forward to seeing you in Room 14 TOMORROW on Tuesday evening (9/17) at 6:00 pm for Curriculum Night following the Principal/PTSA presentation in the MPR at 5:45.
In 30 minutes, I will attempt to give you an idea of what we do for 10 months in 4th grade and how we go about doing it! We will also sign up for November conferences; bring your calendar!
If you are unable to come to Curriculum Night, I have a folder full of information that I will send home with your child. It includes the Walk-a-thon envelope and lots of other important information about 4th grade.
The parents in attendance will be leaving a note for their child, if you cannot come, please send me an email with a note for your child (words of praise and encouragement) and I will print it out for them and put it on their desk for Wednesday morning. The mystery word is sedimentary.
Important Dates:
9/17 Curriculum Night for 4th grade in classrooms at 6:00 pm
(MPR Principal/PTSA presentation 5:45)
9/19 Nature Vision Lesson: Geology Rocks (thank you PTSA!)
9/20 Extra Credit Rock Formation Speeches due
10/2 Individual Photos, Grade 3-5 (order forms coming soon)
10/3 Walk-a-thon: Rainbow theme with
4th graders wearing as much purple as possible!
10/14 No School for Students - Teacher Work Day
10/16 Nature Vision Lesson: Pond Dipping (thank you PTSA!)
10/17 Nature Vision Walking Field Trip: Pond Dipping
(thank you PTSA!) - more info coming soon!
11/11 No School - Veteran's Day Observed
11/13 Individual Photo Retakes
11/22 & 25 – 27 Conferences (12:05 Dismissal)
11/28-29 No School - Thanksgiving Break
12/23-1/3 No School - Holiday Break
1/6 School Resumes
Take Home Folders / Return to School every Tuesday:
Review and Keep at Home: Eureka Math newsletter, Snoqualmie Strings fliers for those students who were interested, practice watercolors
Sign and Return: weekly tracker, reading log (in binders)
Goal for the Week: Keep my desk and binder organized
Coming up this week in class:
Completing math Topic A: Place Value of Multi-Digit Whole Numbers, Starting math Topic B: Comparing Multi-digit Whole numbers, reading Porpoises in Peril, continuing research and informational writing, investigating Rock Layers in science, sharing Rock Formation Speeches, starting our lessons on Growth Mindset, and welcoming parents to Curriculum Night!
Scholastic Reading Club Order: Our first reading club flier went home in last week's 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 is today, Monday, September 16th. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Volunteer Opportunities: Thank you for your support! I completed a first draft of the class volunteer Signup and everyone should have gotten email notices for their spots today. Please let me know if those times work or not. And if you would still like to sign up for a regular classroom volunteer spot, please do so using the Volunteer Form (online)! To see the calendar or to sign up to volunteer for Museo Art Lessons, use the Signup link here: https://signup.com/login/entry/477023421096088038
Thanks, again, for all you do to support children, teachers and learning!
Homework: This year, your child will be keeping track of assignments and homework in a weekly tracker. At home, please check the weekly tracker (located in the front of the binder) to support your child’s homework habits. It is also posted on our classroom blog daily. (http://cves4.weebly.com/ms-larson )
Monday Take Home Folders and Reading Logs are due back every Tuesday: Most corrected papers, signature requests, and important communication will be sent home in a green folder on Monday afternoons. Please look for a sign and return weekly tracker starting next week (providing student and/or teacherupdates on behavior and effort), as well as sign and return items such as tests or permission forms. Empty green take-home folders, signed reading logs, and signed trackers are due back every Tuesday. Getting parent signatures is a student responsibility. The children and I have been talking about how parents are very busy people, and it's the student's job to make sure papers get signed.
Math Facts: Fourth grade students must be fluent in all multiplication and related division facts up to 12. Please use our on line program REFLEX https://www.reflexmath.com/go (username: [email protected]) or visit the 4th grade blog to learn strategies and interactive ways to practice math facts at home.
Math: At Curriculum Night, you will learn about our fantastic new math curriculum, Eureka! Please take a look at the “Math News” in today’s take home folder. We are about to start Module 1, Topic B on Comparing Numbers.
At-home Reading: Students are expected to read 20 minutes a night, with a goal of 100 minutes each week. Your signature is required on their weekly minute totals every Monday evening. I will be checking for signatures every Tuesday morning.
Reading: Our reading lessons focus on:
- Using details and examples from the text as evidence to support comprehension
- Describing characters and setting
- Determining the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text
- Engaging in collaborative discussions
Writing: Students will be starting research and informational writing focused on stating a main idea (using a topic sentence) and providing supporting details.
Social Studies: Coming Soon!
Science: Our first "Scope" (unit) is about Rock Layers. Students will be identifying evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to explain changes to a landscape over time. We’ll be making and testing models, watching videos and reading about the work of geologist and paleontologists, and practicing the Claim, Evidence, Reasoning format to support explanations.
Please visit our 4th grade blog…. http://cves4.weebly.com/
Phew! The first few newsletters are always some of the longest! I’m hoping they will continue to be more concise in the future! : )
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
4th Grade, CVES
[email protected]
www.cves4.weebly.com