Weekly Update, Sunday, November 29th, 2015

I hope you all had a wonderful time with your families over the last few days and made it back safely if you traveled!  As always, please feel free to send me any photos of your fourth grader from the holiday weekend!  We have three great weeks ahead of us filled with lots of learning!

This week in...

Science: We will begin our weather unit this week by learning about weather instruments and their functions.  Students will have a quiz on these five weather instruments (anemometer, thermometer, weather vane, barometer, and rain gauge) on Thursday, December 3rd.  The weather unit will last the three weeks in December and a study guide will go home with your child tomorrow.  The unit test date has not been determined as yet, but will be the week of December 14th.  

Virginia Studies: The Jamestown forts have been built and presented and the unit is over!  Students will begin learning about Colonial Life in Virginia and will be expected to complete their VA Studies Weekly by Friday, December 4th.  They will have an open-note VA Studies Weekly quiz on Friday, December 4th as well.  

Writing:  Students will receive new Word Study Words tomorrow, 100 points are due by Friday.  Students will begin to work through the writing process as they write an informational essay.  The Word Study test will be next Friday, December 13th.  

Reading:  Students will be working on differentiating between supporting details and the main idea in nonfiction this week, as well as identifying problem and solution statements and recognizing problems and solutions within informational text.  Students, as always, are expected to read a minimum of 20 minutes nightly and record the amount of pages read, and the minutes read in their reading log.  I will distribute new reading logs on Tuesday!  I will be sending home several Scholastic News Book Flyers this month, if you are ordering books as presents and would like me to withhold the books, please let me know!  

Math:  As always, students should be on Reflex Math at least twice a week unless told otherwise by your student's math teacher.

Weekly Update, Sunday, November 22nd, 2015

We have a short week ahead so there isn't too much news to give you!  I am thoroughly impressed by the amount of hours students read over the past month so that they could earn so many votes for the Turkey of the Year competition!

This week in....

Reading: We will finish reading Blood on the River and students will continue to learn strategies to help them read nonfiction texts.

Writing: We will finish our "That for which we are thankful" essays!

VA Studies: Students will finish their Jamestown forts and present them to class!

Science: Students will preview their Science textbook and set up their interactive notebooks for our upcoming Weather unit which we will start next week!

(No Word Study this week!)

American Education Week Schedule Update!!!

Parents!  My apologies, I gave you the wrong date and time for our Jamestown Fort construction!!!  We have a speaker from the Jamestown foundation coming to speak with the children on Thursday, and I accidentally mixed up the two!  Please come volunteer or visit students while they build a replica of the original Jamestown Fort on Wednesday, November 18th from 11:00 - 12:05.  The email sent out from Mr. Thiessen indicated a 10:50 start time, students come in from recess at 10:50 and take a few minutes to get water, wash their hands, and transition back into work mode - so 11:00 am would be the ideal time to arrive.

THANK YOU!

Weekly Update, November 15th, 2015

Happy Sunday!  Tomorrow begins American Education Week, parents are invited to volunteer or watch students complete their Jamestown forts on Thursday, November 29th from 11:00 - 12:05.  Stick around and have lunch with your child from 12:05 - 12:35.

Thank you to those of you have provided supplies for the fort building!  The list again of welcome donations includes:

• Posterboard
• Straws
• Pipe Cleaners
• Anything else your child thinks would be helpful in building a fort!!!

This week in...

Reading: Students have selected their nonfiction books and are about to become experts in their field!  We will be learning how to read nonfiction to become experts and knowledgeable, and not just reading nonfiction to learn trivia.  

You may have heard, I'm now a finalist for the Turkey of the Year competition!!!  Please encourage your child to keep reading to earn more votes!!  I'm so elated and proud of all the students for increasing their reading this month so they can earn more voting tickets!!!  I've agreed to do a cartwheel in high heels in a turkey costume if elected, as well as wearing an Indian sari if elected as well!  Whatever your child wants to see me do in a turkey costume, I'll do it if it means the amount of time they spend reading goes up!!!

Writing: Students will finish their "That for which I am thankful" essays this week.  As I glanced over the brainstorms, some fun topics have included, "Wayde Byard and the person who invented hot chocolate."  200 points of Word Study are due on Friday.  Students' Word Study Test will also be on Friday, November 20th.

Virginia Studies: Let the Jamestown fort planning begin!  For American Education Week, students will build a replica of Jamestown Fort.  They will be graded on their ability to work in groups.  I will be grading students on the following VA SOL Language Arts standards:

4.1 b: The student will contribute to group discussions in a content area.

4.1 c: The student will seek ideas and opinions from others.

4.1 d: The student will use evidence to support opinions.  

4.1 f:  The student will communicate new ideas to others.

4.1 g: The student will demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams.

Students will also have their Jamestown Unit test on Friday, November 20th.  Please encourage your child to use solpass.com as well as their study guide and VA Studies Notebook to prepare for this test.

Math: Please make sure your child is on Reflex Math AT LEAST twice a week!

As always, please feel free to send me photographs of your child!  The class looks forward to seeing some of you on Thursday, November 20th for American Education Week!!!

(As soon as I receive the calendar of events from Mr. Thiessen, I'll send out another email with upcoming important dates and times.)  

Quick Reminder!

Please have your child wear red, white, and blue tomorrow for Veteran's Day!

ALSO: If you DO NOT want the school photos that were sent home last week, they need to be returned to me ASAP!

Weekly Update, Monday, November 9th, 2015

I apologize for the delayed update, but I have a good reason!!!  If your fourth grader has not already told you, I got engaged this weekend!  Please forgive me for being a day late with the weekly update.

This week in...

Science: We will have our Earth, Moon, and Sun Test on Thursday, November 12th.  Students completed a vocabulary sort today and they should review these words to prepare.  Additionally, students received a study guide a few weeks ago, this is also accessible on www.solpass.org.
*Students should know how to explain revolution and rotation and how they are different
*Students should know how the tilt of the Earth causes the seasons,
*Students should know the phases of the moon in order and what they look like
*Students should know the beliefs of the historical contributors.  (Students do NOT need to know what their ethnicity was!)

Virginia Studies: We will finish our unit on Jamestown this week, and learn about the government in the Virginia Colony.  The VA Studies Weekly given out today will help students understand the different parts of the Virginia government.  The VA Studies Weekly will be due Wednesday!  Students will have time to complete it in class tomorrow if they have not already completed it.

Writing: Students received new Word Study words today, 100 points of assignments are due on Friday, November 13th.  We will begin the first stages of our "That for which I am thankful..." essays as well, ask your child, "What three things do you appreciate most?"

Reading: Students are diving into nonfiction and will begin a research paper in the next coming weeks.  They are on their way to becoming experts on a topic of their choosing!

Upcoming dates...

Wednesday, November 11th: Veterans Day program from 8:30 to 10:30, Parade at 9:15
Wednesday, November 11th: Report cards will go home. Please sign the bottom portion on the last page and return it in the envelope it comes in!
Friday, November 13th: Basket Bingo!
Monday, November 16th: PTA Meeting at 6:30
Wednesday, November 18th from 11:00 - 12:00: American Education Week in fourth grade!  Come watch the kids use their engineering skills and knowledge of history to build the Jamestown fort!  A letter will go home in Thursday folders this week with a request for supplies, any contribution is appreciated!

I'll be Mrs. Bernstein next year!

Two BIG items!

1. Fall student pictures are coming home with your child.  All students should be receiving a picture package if their picture was taken.  A student may keep the package if they have paid for it.  Students who did not purchase will have the option to buy the pictures.  Instructions for purchasing are inside each envelope.  Please have the student return if they are not interested in purchasing the proof.

If you do NOT like the pictures, there is a makeup picture day on December 9^th.  More information will follow closer to December 9^th regarding the makeup picture day. 

2.  2015 Impact Aid Program Survey Forms are coming home TOMORROW in "Thursday" folders!

We must have a signed and dated form returned by each student. If not, please return home with student as we can’t accept without signature and date.

All families, regardless of where parents work, should complete this form.

Weekly Update, November 3rd, 2015

Are your children enjoying their four day weekend!?!
PLEASE SEND ME ANY PHOTOS OF YOUR CHILDREN IN COSTUME!!!

Because this is a short week, we will not have Word Study, I will give out new words next week.

This week in:
Reading: We will continue to look at nonfiction texts and how we can become experts on a topic.
KEEP ENCOURAGING YOUR CHILD TO READ, I'VE BEEN NOMINATED FOR TURKEY OF THE YEAR AND NEED THEIR VOTES TO GET ELECTED!  Wouldn't it be fun for your children to learn from a turkey for a day?!  Ugly turkey in the photo says, "VOTE FOR MS. AKBAR!"

Writing: We will work on grammar this week and focus on homophones.
Students will have a quiz on the following common homophones THIS FRIDAY, November 6th: 

two, to, and too

your and you're

their, there, and they're

it's and its

Virginia Studies: We will continue to learn about the relationships between the Native Americans and the English as the colonists make Jamestown a permanent settlement.  Students will have an open note quiz using their VA Studies Weekly Newspaper on Thursday, November 5th.  

Science: We will wrap up our Earth, Moon, and Sun unit and learn more about the age, composition, and size of the Earth, Moon, and Sun, as well as historical contributions of Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Galileo.  Stay tuned for the test date!

Important Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday, November 4th: First day of the 2nd quarter!
Monday, November 9th: Phoenix Parent Night Information Meeting!  It will be at 6:30 in the Pinebrook Library.
Wednesday, November 11th: Veterans Day celebration from 8:30 to 10:30 am AND report cards will be sent home
Monday, November 16th:  PTA Meeting @ 6:30
Week of November 16th: American Education Week
Friday, November 20th: Basket Bingo, doors open at 6:00 pm!