March 9-March 20

I hope everyone is enjoying this Spring like weather this weekend!

This Friday your child will bring home his/her Trimester 2 report card. We have been discussing D21's Learner Qualities during SEL lately. Please take some time to sit down and reflect with your child about their Learner Qualities and grades. Please remember that anything that comes home with a fraction, like 7/8, is part of that subject's grade. This can help you see how your child is preforming in each subject area.

Language Arts
Our next vocabulary and spelling words will come from our Math Unit 6 unit. The assessments will be on March 20, 2020.

Our next reading skill focuses on non-fiction text features. Text features help the reader make sense of what they are reading and are the building blocks for text structure. 

Here are just some of the text features that will be covered. It's important students also understand why these text features are important to readers. 

• Captions: Help you better understand a picture or photograph
• Comparisons: These sentences help you to picture something {Example: A whale shark is a little bit bigger than a school bus.}
• Glossary: Helps you define words that are in the book
• Graphics: Charts, graphs, or cutaways are used to help you understand what the author is trying to tell you
• Illustrations/Photographs: Help you to know exactly what something looks like
• Index: This is an alphabetical list of ideas that are in the book. It tells you what page the idea is on.
• Labels: These help you identify a picture or a photograph and its parts
• Maps: help you to understand where places are in the world
• Special Print: When a word is bold, in italics, or underlined, it is an important word for you to know
• Subtitles: These headings help you to know what the next section will be about
• Table of Contents: Helps you identify key topics in the book in the order they are presented

Book Talks

We were very impressed with the quality of February's presentations. March/April's book talk genre will be biography. Please note that the format will be different for this particular book talk. The students will be creating a poster instead of our usual templates. This will also be a No-Notes presentation. Instead of using notes, the students will only use images on Google Slides to help them present their information. More information on the biography poster and No-Notes presentation will be given in class and through upcoming blogs.

Writing

Our writing progress is coming along. We are writing our first draft of our realistic fiction
piece. So far, we have covered a variety of writing skills: brainstorming realistic fiction
topic ideas, creating believable characters, developing a story arc to show rising action,
conflict and falling action, "showing, not telling" character's emotions and thoughts,
hooking the reading into the story, and finally, having a balance of actions,
thoughts/dialogue and setting descriptions. We've noticed that at this stage in a
young writer's development, students focus on character's actions (i.e. Jack went
to the baseball game. Jack bought some popcorn. Jack watched the game
and then went home). We are trying to encourage students to have dramatic
scenes that leave thereader wanting to know more.  Students will work through
a checklist to guide their writing.

Social Studies:

Our next unit in Social Studies is the Revolutionary War. For the first half of this unit, we will be focusing on the events that let up to the war and the growing tension between the Colonists and Great Britain. We are using the metaphor of a parent-child relationship to learn and connect with historical events leading up to the war. We will also participate in a couple of simulations that will help the students empathize with the colonists' struggles. The following Power Standards will be covered in this unit:

• Explain why significant events in early American history are important
• Explain why significant events in early American history are important
• Describe how early settlers in Illinois and the US adapted to, used and changed the environment

Science:
This Monday we will finish up our Science unit, Chemical Magic. This unit consisted of five experiments that involved learning more about properties of matter, states of matter, and physical and chemical reactions. On Monday students will take the final test that focuses on comprehension questions from each experiment. Students know that they can prepare for this test by using the resources found in their Science Google Classroom. 

Math:

Mrs. Mullen and Mrs. Schlender's Math Class: On Monday we will review for the Unit 5 test. On Tuesday, we will end Unit 5 with an assessment that focuses on the big ideas from each lesson. We will start Unit 6 this Thursday.
Mrs. Schwartz's Math Class: The Math review will be on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Students will be assessed on Thursday. 
Students will be using skills and strategies they have been taught throughout this unit and demonstrate their understanding on this test. There is an extra optional review (which was emailed and can be found in Math Google Classroom) for students to complete as an additional study resource. This math test will be the students' first grade for trimester three. Wednesday, we have Discovery Science so there will be no math.  As for all units, students will receive the Math family letter this week. This letter includes an overview of the lessons, as well as HomeLink answers. So, please be sure to look out for that! In Unit 6 students will focus on division. They will learn new vocabulary such as dividend, divisor, remainder, and quotient.

http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/4th-grade/em4-at-home/unit_6/
This link will allow you to print out homelinks and access the digital parent letter.

SEL:

This upcoming week of SEL will continue to focus on the topic of avoiding jumping to conclusions. This lesson will consist of story discussions and the effects of what can happen if we assume and jump to a negative conclusion. Throughout next week, students will be working with their peers and role-play strategies on how we can prevent jumping to conclusions. Getting confirmation on someone’s feelings or actions is essential so we do not act aggressively. Being aggressive can then lead to having regret on how we handled our behavior through our negative actions. Students will receive a HomeLink and this should be completed with an adult to work on SEL skills at home. As usually, students will have one week to complete the SEL HomeLink.

Important Dates:

• Wednesday, March 11: Science Discovery AND  McTeacher Night, 5:00-8:00 PM (Ms. Gore and I will be helping at McDonalds from 5-6:15! Come and see us!
• Thursday, March 12: PTO Meeting, 7:00 PM
• Friday, March 13: 
  • Trimester 2 Report Cards Sent Home
  • Commemorative Tile Design Due; Click here for PTO Store
• Monday, March 16-Friday, March 20: Charity Coin Collection for Spring Book Fair (see the flyer going home next week with the spirit days)
• Monday, March 16: Kids Heart Challenge Starts
• Tuesday, March 17: 
  • NO SCHOOL, Institute Day
  • Cooper Spirit Night at Dave and Buster’s
• Thursday, March 19: 
  • House Meeting
  • CCSD21 Board of Education Meeting, 7:30 PM, Gill Administration Building
• Friday, March 20:
  • Sweatshop Assembly sponsored by PTO
  • All School Lunch
• Monday, March 23-Friday, March 27: NO SCHOOL, Spring Break
• Monday, March 30: Return from Spring Break

Feb. 24- March 6

February 24th-March 6th

Language Arts:

Our next focus skill will be determining the main idea and identifying supporting details. The main idea is the most important or central thought of a passage. Supporting details clarify, explain, and describe the main idea of a passage.

The students did a great job of mastering the commonly misspelled words. Hopefully, they will now begin using these words in normal writing contexts. Here is the next set of words:

Book Talks are due this Friday, February 28th.  The genre is realistic fiction.  Please check in with your child to make sure progress is being made and that their Book Talk is ready to be presented.  The requirements continue to include: minimum of 2 minutes, RAH calendar turned in on time and signed with correct total minutes and object. Thank you!

The next book talk will cover March and April (due to spring break).  March/April's book talk genre will be biography. Please note that the format will be different for this particular Book Talk.  This will be a no-notes presentation. Instead of using notes, the students will only use images on Google Slides to help them present their information. More information on the Book Talk and no-notes presentation will be given in class and through upcoming blogs/emails.

Science:

For the next couple of weeks, we will be moving into our next unit of science, chemical magic. This unit focuses on chemical reactions and properties of matter. This week, students will experiment with several types of solutions to test their hypothesis if you could transform something worthless into gold. By the end of the week, students will create a conceptual model of how particles from the pennies are the same ones that eventually coat the nail in copper. In addition, students will be learning more about acids, which is a group of substances with a reputation for being reactive. Students will be working with safe chemical reactions in class to understand the science behind how different solutions react differently. Our last lesson will focus on gases and particle models where students will understand why things explode. Students will be conducting safe experiments with peers in class to test their predictions and take notes of their observations. Throughout this unit, students will engage in the process of inquiry: beginning with observations, debating a range of possible causes, and reasoning to possible conclusions. By the end of this unit, students will begin to make sense of how the properties of matter connect to why certain chemicals react. 

Math: 

We are in the middle of Unit 5: Fractions and Mixed Numbers Computation and Measurement. The concept of fractions can be more challenging, but the students are making good progress. We are learning how to add and subtract fractions and mixed fractions with like and unlike denominators. The last half of the unit will focus on geometry (angles and symmetry). We appreciate your support at home while working through the home links. Remember, this website is a wonderful resource for home links, explanations and other materials you or your child may need at home:

Everyday Math Unit 5

Please keep plugging away at Reflex Math (if your child hasn't achieved 100% fluency yet).  This is very important for their math progress moving forward.

In addition to our math curriculum, we are stressing the following 8 mathematical principles in our math classes:

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
4. Model with mathematics
5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
6. Attend to precision.
7. Look for and make use of structure.
8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning 

March Madness with Books

All Longfellow students will be participating in “March Madness” with books during the month of March. Homerooms are assigned to a “region.” Every student in each region reads specific titles and votes on the title they want to “win.” Votes will be tallied and displayed in the front hallway each week. We look forward to spreading the joy of reading throughout the building. Which book will win the tournament?

Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) Information from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)

Our students in grades 3-5 take federally required assessments every spring. These assessments help us understand how our students are growing academically, compared to their peers across the state. The state uses this information to provide more support and resources to the schools in the greatest need. This year, the English language arts and math assessment for grades 3-8 is called the Illinois Assessment of Readiness.

The district testing window for the IAR will be March 31-April 21. 

If you could please avoid scheduling doctor visits/trips during this time, it would be most appreciated! Students will have to miss class time to do test makeups.

SEL

This week we will continue learning strategies for calming down. Our next topic is about not jumping to conclusion. Please continue working on those SEL homelinks. These homelinks help connect what we are doing in SEL to home life. Please be sure the date and sign the SEL homelinks. Thank you!

Important Dates

• Friday, February 28: Realistic Fiction Book Talks Due
• Friday, February 28: 
  • Wear 60s groovy clothes to get ready for Bingo Night!
  • PTO Bingo Night, 6:00-9:00 PM
• Monday, March 2: House Meeting
• Friday, March 6: End of Trimester
• Wednesday, March 11: McTeacher Night, 5:00-8:00 PM  (I'll be there from 5-6:15)
• Thursday, March 12: PTO Meeting, 7:00 PM
• Friday, March 13: Trimester 2 Report Cards Sent Home
• Tuesday, March 17: NO SCHOOL, Institute Day
• Thursday, March 19: 
  • House Meeting
  • CCSD21 Board of Education Meeting, 7:30 PM, Gill Administration Building
• Friday, March 20:
  • Sweatshop Assembly sponsored by PTO
  • All School Lunch
• Monday, March 23-Friday, March 27: NO SCHOOL, Spring Break
• Monday, March 30: Return from Spring Break

February 10-February 21

Valentine's Day is this Friday. Students are asked to bring in a box, envelope, bag, or holder for the valentines they receive. They can decide how elaborate or simple their holder will be. Please have your child bring in 21 valentines, one for each person in our classroom. 

Also when entering your child's minutes for the Six Flags Read to Succeed program please use the following code: vbydb   Minutes need to be entered into the site by March 31 to receive a complimentary ticket.
Read to Succeed Link

Language Art

The students did a great job of learning a fact is that can be proven true and an opinion is someone’s own thoughts, feelings, or beliefs. Our next focus skill is theme. Theme is a life lesson, meaning, moral, or message about life or human nature that is communicated by a literary work. Identifying the theme of a story is a more challenging focus skill. It requires the reader to identify a main idea in the story. Then extend the idea to the real world and even your own life. There will be an assessment on theme at the end of the two weeks.

This week we will also introduce the new Spelling/Vocabulary words for Lesson 9. These are
words I often see misspelled in everyday writing. By studying these words for the next two
weeks, I hope to see them spelled correctly in everyday writing.

Math:
Our next unit will start with the study of fractions. Lessons will include decomposing fractions, adding and subtracting fractions with like and unlike denominators, word problems, and mixed fractions. Many students are working on a new game called Prodigy. Once students have mastered Reflex Math (multiplication and division facts) they will go onto a more challenging game that has them apply their facts into new concepts. I have asked the students to keep fresh on their facts by using Reflex Math at least once a week still. Once they have mastered those facts I don’t want them to forget all they learned.

For each unit a Family Newsletter goes home for parents. Unit 5 newsletter was sent home on Friday since we will start the first lessen to the unit on Monday. If you misplace your newsletter you can always use this link to access the letter. This link will give you all the units for the year. Everyday Math Family Letters

Home Links (In case your child forgets his/her homelink at school)

Science:

For the next six weeks we will be going back to our science curriculum, Mystery Science. Our first unit we are learning about is waves of sound. This will help students develop the idea that sound is an actual thing, a wave of vibrations traveling through the air. This past week we introduced our first lesson and created paper cup telephones with a partner to see how sound waves travel through each cup and the string. Students goal was to work on creating a clearer sound over a greater distance by using different materials. Students were engineers for the day creating two more experiments that tried to create better communication with their partner. Students began to understand how important vibration is in order to hear your partner. This upcoming week we will continue learning more about sound, waves, and communication. Throughout this unit, students will engage in the process of inquiry: beginning with observations, debating a range of possible causes, and reasoning to possible conclusions. By the end of this unit students will begin to make sense of how sound and music work.

The next few weeks we will focus on mastering this Science standard:

Develop a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength and that waves can cause objects to move.

SEL

In the next few weeks we will be focusing on calming down strategies and managing anxiety. Even though it's a few months away, I often see students using these strategies during state testing (IAR test). Students will decide on a stop signal, name their feeling, and decide on a way to calm down. Some calming techniques we will practice and discuss are taking deep breathes, counting until we have relaxed, and using positive self talk. Hopefully  

  

Important Dates:

• Tuesday, February 11: 100th Day of School! (Grades 1-5)
• Monday, February 17: NO SCHOOL, Presidents Day Celebrated
• Wednesday, February 19: Discovery Science
• Thursday, February 20: CCSD21 Board of Education Meeting, 7:30 PM
• Friday, February 21: Spelling/Vocab Assessments
• Friday, February 28: Book Talk Due AND PTO Bingo Night, 6:00-9:00 PM

January 21-February 7

Language Arts

Our spelling and vocabulary words for Lesson 8 come from our Social Emotional Learning (S.E.L.) curriculum. We will not begin this set of words until the week of January 27th. The students will be assessed on Friday, February 7th. Below is the list of words and definitions.

Word List:Lesson 8 SEL (Social Emotional Learning)

_______________________________

Lesson #8

Test Date : February 7, 2020

Vocabulary Definition

empathy(n) the ability to feel or understand what someone else is feeling

respect(v) to act in a way that shows you care about other people’s feelings

perspective(n) the way you look or see something, point of view

assertive(adj) to have the ability to communicate what you need want in a respectful way          

passive(adj)      the inability to communicate what you need, inactive

aggressive(adj) demanding and not thinking about others’ perspective

complex(adj) not easy to understand or explain

compassion(n) when you do something to show you have empathy

conclusion(n)  final decision reached by reasoning

responsibility(n) showing ownership of your actions and behavior

Book Talks

Historical Fiction book talks are due on January 31st.  The one area that continues to be a challenge for some students is making eye contact with the audience. Many students only read their notes, not engaging with the audience. Please help your child in practicing their Book Talk and timing them. Don't forget about the RAH calendar. To earn the points the following must be present: correct total of at least 100 minutes weekly, a parent signature and brought back on time.  Finally, as you listen to your child's book talk, ask yourself if the story makes sense! Do you have enough information to make sense of the book? If you have questions in your mind, please help your child to add and explain more details. Thanks for your help! Also, don't forget that for this Book Talk, students needed to choose an item/object that relates to the specific time in history that is represented in the book. Then they share 3 facts about that time period. Here is the graphic organizer students were given.  This rubric will be used to assess the students as they give the book talks. 

Six Flags Read to Succeed: There's been some issues with the Read to Succeed website lately. I have been in contact with someone from the program and we are not the only ones having problems. They needed to change the code for entering your child into my homeroom's database. Please try code: vbydb  You can still use the reading log to record your child's reading time or just use the RAH sheet.

Writing:

Our writing progress is coming along!  So far, we have covered a variety of writing skills: brainstorming realistic fiction topic ideas, creating believable characters, developing a story arc to show rising action, conflict and falling action, and "showing, not telling." We will move into character's emotions and thoughts, hooking the reading into the story, and finally, having a balance of actions, thoughts/dialogue and setting descriptions. We've noticed that at this stage in a young writer's development, students focus on character's actions (i.e. Jack went to the baseball game. Jack bought some popcorn. Jack watched the game and then went home). We are trying to encourage students to have dramatic scenes that leave the reader wanting to know more!  Students will work through a checklist to guide their writing.

Math

We are currently on Unit 4 (Multi-digit multiplication). Last year, students were exposed to multi-digit multiplication, but did not master the skill. This year, they will need to be proficient in the skill using partial products. Many love the lattice method, but they are encouraged to solve the problems using other ways. Without the automaticity of multiplication facts, students may fall behind as we get into harder concepts. Please help your child learn his/her single digit multiplication facts. Reflex Math is a great tool for this. Students that have gotten 100% fact fluency on Reflex Math have moved on to Prodigy/Khan Academy

We are also working on converting metric units(e.g.- milliliters to liters, kilograms to grams). This unit is also heavy on multi-step word problems. This provides the students with context in which to better engage them in their learning of arithmetic. We are extending our knowledge of area and perimeter by finding both for rectilinear figures with missing sides. 

Here is the link to Unit 4:

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

Social Studies:

We have now finished studying the New England Colonies. To allow students the opportunity to teach the class a specific topic about the Middle and Southern Colonies, we put the students in small expert groups. Each group will be responsible for learning about their assigned topic, creating a presentation, and finally sharing their knowledge about their content with the class. Students will be graded using a rubric under the categories of 1) public speaking skills 2) reporting information 3) use of visual aid 4) note taking and 5) vocabulary words.  The students have enjoyed this project so far!

Colonial Day:

A letter went home before break outlining this very fun and educational event that fourth graders truly enjoy! Please refer to this letter again for your convenience.  Colonial Day will be on January 27th in the morning.  We highly encourage all students to dress the part!  Please note all students need to bring in at least one clean, long, athletic sock for a colonial craft activity. Your child should come to school dressed in his or her Colonial attire. They can bring regular clothes to change into after lunch. Thank you!

Social Skills:

We have crossed into the Emotion Management portion of the program. Students are learning how to manage their strong emotions to avoid escalations and problems both in school and out of school. The steps that we are learning to manage our emotions: Stop, name your feeling, calm down. We refer to this a lot!  Coming up next: Calming down helps us handle put-downs and avoid making conflicts escalate.

Important Dates:

• Friday, January 24: 
  • Mid-Trimester Reports Sent Home
  • PTO Movie Night, 6:00-8:30 PM
• Monday, January 27th: 
• Colonial Day
• Friday, January 31st:
• Historical Book Talks & RAH Due
• February 5: Global Play Day (more info to follow on this)

• Thursday, February 6: 
  
  • House Meeting
  • PTO Meeting, 7:00 PM
• Tuesday, February 11: 100th Day of School!
• Monday, February 17: NO SCHOOL, Presidents Day Celebrated

• Friday, February 28: PTO Bingo Night, 6:00-9:00 PM

January 6- January 17

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a wonderful break, filled with family, friends, fun, and relaxation!
Here is an update on the next couple weeks of 2020!

Language Arts:

Our new list of spelling/vocab words are from our next unit in Math:

Please remind your child to complete at least 4 Spellingcity activities and the meaningful sentences activity on Google Classroom. For your reference, I don't post these assignments until the words are introduced. 

The new reading focus skill is fact and opinion. A fact is something that can be proven true and an opinion is someone's own thoughts, feeling, or beliefs. Students have been doing remarkably well with our focus skill assessments. These short assessments show
me if the student has mastered the skill or still needs more guidance. During stations, students rotate among
5 stations, with the focus being on differentiated instruction per small group during the meet with the teacher.  

We have spent much time on writing!  Students are well into their ideas for their realistic fiction stories. 
We will spend some time on the topic called: Show, Don't Tell. Show, Don't Tell is a writing technique in
which the story and characters are related through sensory details and actions rather than exposition.
It fosters a writing that's more immersive for readers, allowing them to visualize the story and understand
the characters better. Here's an example:

Showing: As his mother switched off the light and left the room, Michael tensed. He huddled under the covers, gripped the sheets, and held his breath as the wind brushed past the curtain.

Telling: Michael was terribly afraid of the dark.

Historical fiction Book Talks are due on January 31st! The one area that continues to be a challenge for some students is making eye contact with the audience. Some students just read their notes, not engaging with the audience.  Please help your child in practicing their book talk and timing them. Also you will notice on the graphic organizer that the oral reading part is no longer optional. Students are to pick a part from their book (could be a long paragraph, a few paragraphs, or a short page) to read to the class. They should also explain why they decided to read that page. For example, it shows Bob's character trait of how they were brave. Or this paragraph shows the main conflict of the book when Rob and Kate are lost in the woods. Since this is a historical fiction, there is also a different requirement for the object. Students are asked to bring in a creative object from the historical time period in the book. In addition, give three facts about this time period. These can be facts they learned in the book or facts they learn from a non-fiction book about their time period. Finally, as you listen to your child's Book Talk, ask yourself if the story makes sense! Do you have enough information to make sense of the book? If you have questions in your mind, help your child to add and explain more. Students have two months to complete this Book Talk so I can't wait to see the results. Below you will see the link for the rubric and graphic organizer.

Don't forget about the RAH calendar. To earn the points the following must be present: correct total of at least 100 minutes weekly, a parent signature and brought back on time.

Book Talk Organizer

 Book Talk Rubric

Social Studies:

Before break, we kicked off our Colonial America unit by studying the three early English settlements. We
are moving on to studying the three Colonial regions (New England, Middle and Southern). Within each
region study, students will be comparing and contrasting these characteristics: reasons for settlement,
geography, natural resources, economy and way of life. Our first region we will study is the New England region.

After we study the New England, Middle, and Southern region, our culminating activity is called
Colonial Day. Before break you got a letter that described what this day is all about. Colonial Day
is on January 27. This means we will veer from our normal schedule and participate in colonial activities
throughout the morning and lunchtime. We are all excited to simulate what life would have been like
in colonial times. Please remember to bring in one clean athletic sock for the craft that day.
Also don't forget to get your colonial attire ready too!

*We will resume science after Colonial America. 

Math:  

We are currently on Unit 4 (Multidigit multiplication). Last year, students were exposed to multidigit multiplication
but did not master the skill. This year, they will need to be proficient in the skill using partial products.  Without
the automaticity of multiplication facts, students may fall behind as we get into harder concepts. Please help
your child learn his/her single digit multiplication facts.  Reflex Math is a great tool for this. Students that have
gotten 100% fact fluency on Reflex Math have moved on to Prodigy, which is another math game online that is
application of facts.

Coming up in math is the 4th open response!  A major goal for students is to learn how to EXPLAIN and model
both in words and pictures how a problem was solved.  We've come a long way but will continue practicing this
with every unit. 

Here is the link to Unit 4:

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

I get asked a lot how to print home links if a student should happen to forget them at school. Please
bookmark the above link as it gives you access to all the homelinks!  You just have to know what lesson we
are on! :) 

Social Skills:

Our last skill we covered was about joining in a group. Students learned that when joining a group it’s nice to stand nearby and watch and listen. Then give a compliment, ask a question, or offer to help. Lastly assertively ask to join in.

Our next focus skills is compassion. We will discuss what compassion looks like and doesn’t look like, role play real life situations, and watch some short video clips from our Second Steps Social Skills Program.

Important Dates:

Monday, 1/6:  Classes resume

Monday, 1/6: Discovery Science in pm

Tuesday, 1/14: House meeting

Monday, 1/20: No School, MLK Jr. Day 

Friday, 1/17: Spelling/vocab assessments

Monday, 1/27: Colonial Day

Friday, 1/31: Historical Fiction Book Talk due