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)
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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.
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
Here is the link to Unit 4:
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
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