October 22-November 2

Oct. 22-Nov. 2

Hello everyone! The students enjoyed a fun spirit week last week and the book fair is always a big hit. Thank you to all the families that donated change for our Change Wars! Lots coming up in the next two weeks:

Reading:
The next focus skill for reading will be author's purpose and perspective.  Students will learn and interact with this skill and be tested on Friday, 11/2.  Students often confuse author's purpose and perspective. An author's purpose is the reason an author decides to write about a specific topic. Then, once a topic is selected, the author must decide whether the purpose for writing is to persuade, inform or entertain.  The author's perspective, or viewpoint, is how the author feels about the subject. 

Our next set of words are homophones.  Homophones are words that sound the same, but have different meaning and spellings. While the spelling is relatively easy, knowing which homophone to use in context is the focus.   We will be interacting with the words in a different order than what is shown here.  The test will be on Friday, Nov. 2. Here is the list for your reference:

In writing students will be learning how to develop believable characters by giving characters struggles and motivations. Students will be working on developing realistic fiction stories. We will need your help in editing and offering your students some feedback as we draft our stories.

October Book Talk, 10/31:

Book talks are coming soon! I know some students are a bit nervous about speaking in front of the class but I am CONFIDENT they can do it! Remember, students should have filled out the graphic organizer and RAH calendar and practiced their book talks!  Book talks should be practiced enough times that students have familiarity with them and can look up and make eye contact and engage with the audience. I am not collecting or grading their organizers since I grade based on the student's talking.  I am also timing them and the requirement is 2-3 minutes. Please sign, review totals and return the RAH calendars. The rubric explains exactly how students will be graded and we are expecting proficiency, not the advanced category.  Advanced is challenging to get at this time of the year. Don't forget an object too!

Science:

Students really enjoyed our bird beak simulation and learned specifically how animals have specific body structures that help them survive and thrive in a particular environment.  Along with animals, plants also have specific internal and external structures that help them survive in an environment. Students were engaged in watching our celery experiment and understanding the importance of the stem of plants. Students learned that the xylem carries all the water and nutrients to the rest of the plant parts. The following standards were addressed in our lessons:

• describe  internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction

• compare and contrast different structures and functions of a plant

Our next lessons will be on sensory receptors. The students will eventually be building their own animals to survive in a specific habitat.  This will be a big project grade with specific requirements. The students will take what they learned in our Life Science unit and create an animal that has adaptations to help it survive. The project is explained in detail in a packet (coming home this week) which should stay in your child's home folder. There are due dates in the packet to help break down this project. The first due date is Thursday, 10/25 and the planning pages are due on this day. These are the first two sides. The students will draw a sketch of their animal and label important structures and list the materials that will be used to create the 3D model. On Tuesday, Oct. 30 the students should bring in materials to start the project. Students will have THREE class days to work on their project. Please check in with your child to make sure he/she knows what materials should be gathered.  There is no need to run to the store and spend money on materials. Try to use things found at home! A list is given in the packet. At home you can brainstorm and discuss your child's ideas and guide them but the goal is to finish the project in the three classroom work days. Whatever is not done in class will have to be done at home. The due date is Monday, November 5. I will be using a hot glue gun in class but NO STUDENT will be allowed to touch the hot glue gun.  We have found that regular glue just does not hold the materials together at all. From previous years, the hot glue is the best option, but again, only I will be using it to help students at school. If you have any issues with this, let me know.

Math:

We have just a few more lessons in Unit 2. Recently we worked with units of time, multiplicative comparisons and classifying triangles and quadrilaterals. We will end the unit with line symmetry and patterns. Students are getting very well adjusted to the math routines and enjoying guided math stations.   Please encourage consistent use of Reflex Math as often as possible. Printing out home links is always a great option, should your child forget them at school. Please bookmark this site:

http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/4th-grade/em4-at-home/unit_2/

The test for Unit 2 will be on Thursday, Oct. 25.  Here is an extra optional study guide if you want additional review:  (We will also do a study guide in class this week)

Extra Study Guide Unit 2

SEL: 
We are now on LESSON 3: Being assertive. The goal in this lesson is to teach the students assertiveness skills. We will practice 1. face the person you are talking to  2. keep your head up and shoulders back  3. use a calm, firm voice   4. use respectful  words

Important Dates:
Thur., 10/25: Math Test, plan due for Science Animal Project
Fri. 10/26: PTO Movie Night (6-8:30 pm)
Mon., 10/29: Discovery Science in pm
Tues, 10/30: Materials due and begin to work on Science project
Wed., 10/31: Mystery Book Talk is due, Spooktacular Walk and Halloween Classroom parties
Fri., 11/2: Spelling/Vocab Tests, 4 Spelling City Activities and Meaningful Sentences due
Mon., 11/5: Animal Projects due, conferences 4:00-8:00 pm (please check https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b4faaaf22a3f58-fall4 for your time)
Tues., 11/6: NO SCHOOL, Election Day
Wed. 11/7: Conferences 4:00-8:00 pm

Oct. 7- Oct. 19

October 7-19

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful fall colors. 

Mid Trimester Reports were sent home on Friday. You'll notice there is a section for comments. Comments were given to students who were marked as Needs Improvement in the academic section or Developing in the learner quality category.  Please do not be alarmed if your child's comment section was left blank. Please sign and return only the envelope as soon as possible.

Reading

Over the next two weeks, our focus skill will be on finding story elements; more specifically, the following: conflict, plot events, and resolution. It is an important skill for fourth graders to master as it will help your child not only understand and appreciate the author's work, but it will help him/her with understand the requirements for Book Talks this year.

October Book Talks:

Our mystery book talks are due on October 31st. Students should be following the Book Talk
Organizer when preparing for their presentation.  A common mistake students make is giving a
"retelling" of the book. I am looking for specific elements: a creative hook, characterization
(complete with traits, actions and motivations of one MAIN character), summary (conflict, plot
events and solution, not a long summary of the book), one additional reading word with TEXT
SUPPORT, a closing and an object brought in that connects to the book in some way.   
Additionally, students should be between 2-3 minutes total.  In order to master this, practicing and
timing are a MUST! A sample Book Talk of the book Odd Velvet was sent home last week.

These book talks support oracy in the classroom. I am looking for good public speaking skills:
making eye contact, using good expression, and pacing. This is might be a challenge and many
students initially rely solely on their notes and have a difficult time looking up. Again, practicing
multiple times while being timed is an absolute must. One last word: when your child practices

his/her book talk with you, please take note if you can understand the story in general terms.
The summary should be clear enough for us to understand the story. I tell the students that they
are usually the only ones reading this book so summaries must be clear.

Also, please continue to fill out the RAH calendars. RAH calendars are due on Oct. 31st.
Students get graded on correct total minutes, parent signature, and filling out the calendar
correctly with minutes totaled up weekly and monthly.  

Global Read Aloud:
Longfellow's fourth grade is participating in the Global Read Aloud 2018. We have LOVED our book, Amal Unbound so far. Longfellow's awesome PTO purchased books for the fourth grade classes. More information is found in the letter below.

Word Work:
Our next set of spelling and vocabulary words are from our life science unit.

Math:

We began Unit 2 learning about square numbers, area, factors, and multiples. With all of these
topics, it is important for students to have automaticity with their multiplication and division facts.
Please continue to have your child use Reflex Max 2-3 times a week to help with this skill. This
program is available to us through the generosity of our PTO, so I want to stress the importance
of students spending time on the program both at school and at home. The goal is to achieve the
"green light circle" as much as possible. Also, here is the Everyday Math link for your convenience as
you help your child with Unit 2. Remember, home links can be printed at home if anything is
forgotten at school.

http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/4th-grade/em4-at-home/unit_2/

Coming up during the next few weeks: prime and composite numbers, units of time,
multiplicative comparisons, and classifying triangles and quadrilaterals.  

Science:

Students were really excited about our bird beak simulation and learning how animals have specific body structures that help them survive and thrive in a particular environment. Along with animals, plants also have specific internal and external structures that help them survive in an environment. Students will study various plants this week to identify plant structures.  We will also observe celery stalks soaking in water with various food dye. The objectives covered in these lesson are:

• describe  internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction

• compare and contrast different structures and functions of a plant

We will also be studying sensory receptors. The students will eventually be building their own animals to survive in a specific habitat. This will be a big project grade with specific requirements. More on this soon!

Social Skills:

Our next lesson in our Second Step Program is on listening with attention. Being able to listen with attention is one way to be respectful toward others. It's also an important skill for learning. There will be an optional Home Link sent home this week. Students that complete it will get a bonus ticket.

If you would like more information on what is covered in this program please see Second Step's
scope and sequence for Fourth Grade.

Important Dates:

• Friday, October 12: School Improvement Day; Grades 1-5 dismissed at 12:00; No Kindergarten
• Tuesday, October 16-Thursday, October 18: Scholastic Book Fair. Our class will go to the book fair on Tuesday afternoon.
• Thursday, October 18: Board of Education Meeting at Gill Administration Center, 7:30 PM
• Friday, October 19: Language Arts Assessments