Reading update with Mrs. Luyt 12/11-12/14/17

Reading: This week made inferences about several reading passages, and cited specific evidence to support their inferences.  Next week, they will continue practicing to make inferences, and finding meaning of words using context clues after reading several passages, citing evidence to support their view.

Homework: Read 20 minutes everyday

Math update with Mrs. Neal

Hello all!
We have been working with the area model to solve multiplication and division. I did post a video on using area model for division on the previous post if you would like to review it. The homework for this week is as follows:
Week of 12/11
4th grade:
Monday- IXL E.1
Tuesday- IXL E.12
Wednesday- Practice test, evens
Thursday- Practice math facts

Thanks and have a great week!

Week 13

I enjoyed meeting and visiting with many of you at conferences this past Friday.  We appreciate your support of your child's education!

This week in projects we have continued to work hard on our Nevada: Inside and Out project.  We are hoping to finish the maps early this week and have presentations soon.  We will be getting more information out to you as we get closer to finishing.  The students are excited to share their maps with you.

On December 21st we will be having a class Christmas party in the afternoon.  We will be doing secret Santa gifts for each other.  I sent the papers home on Wednesday of who they have.  There is a $5 limit to make it fair for everyone and if you aren't able to provide a gift please let us know so we can make sure we have something for everyone.  Please bring in gifts by Wednesday, December 20th.  We will be having popcorn and hot chocolate while we watch a movie.  If you have any questions, please email me. 

Reading Update with Mrs. Luyt 12/4-12/7/17

Reading: This week made inferences about two Pixar short films, and cited specific evidence to support their inferences.  Next week, they will continue practicing to make inferences, reading several passages and citing evidence to support their view.

Homework: Read 20 minutes everyday

Area model division video

Hello all!
We started using area model for division today. Here is a quick video to help you and your student with using area model division:

Math update with Mrs. Neal

Hello all!
We have been working on using the area model to multiply multi-digit numbers. If you are unfamiliar with this method please refer to my earlier post. The homework for this week will be as follows:

Week of 12/4
4th grade:
Monday- Area model multiplication page
Tuesday- Practice test evens
Wednesday- Practice math facts
Thursday- area model division page

Thanks!

Reading update with Mrs. Luyt 11/27-11/30/17

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Reading: This week we used evidence based terms to answer questions after reading a fable. We also finished reassessing their reading levels. On Thursday, we took a spelling test. If you child received a 1, please be sure to sign and return the test so I know you have seen it. There will be no spelling again until after Winter Break, at which time, ALL 4th graders will be getting spelling/vocabulary lists. Next week, student will be making inferences about two Pixar short films, and will cite specific evidence to support their inferences.  Students will be having a Latin/Greek test on 12/07/17.

Homework: Read 20 minutes everyday. Study Latin/Greek words for assessment  (assessment 12/7). 

area model multiplication video

We started area model for multiplication in 4th grade today, here is a video if you are unfamiliar with area model:

Week 11

Hello!  It has been a whirlwind three weeks for me.  I have been to Texas to Honduras to Idaho in about 2 weeks time.  I am looking forward to things calming down and getting back into a routine.  The substitute gave glowing remarks about how well the kids did while I was gone.  It makes me so happy to hear that and to know that she is willing to come back anytime.  Thank you for raising such good kids!

I hope all had a nice Thanksgiving.  It was nice to visit extended family and spend some time with my own kids over the long break!

In projects we are well underway in our map of Nevada project.  Each student was responsible for a different element of the map that they research and decide how it will be represented on the map.  They are learning all about how maps work and all about the geography of Nevada.  We were hoping to get these finished up by this Thursday, but it is looking like we will need a few more days.  We should have all the supplies needed for the maps, if they want to bring in something different your child will let you know!

Math update with Mrs. Neal

Hello 4th grade families,
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Fall break. Here is the homework for this upcoming week:
Week of 11/27
4th grade:
Monday- Pick something you know you need more practice with that we have learned so far this year (I will be checking for 20 minutes of work)
Tuesday- Practice math facts
Wednesday- Area model page 1
Thursday- Area model page 2

Thanks and have a great week!

Mrs. Luyt Reading Update 11/13-11/16/17

Reading: This week we learned about fables. The students read the fable The Ant and the Grasshopper and answered questions using evidence based terms. We also began reassessing their reading levels. On Thursday, we took a Latin/Greek test. If you child received a 1, please be sure to sign and return the test so I know you have seen it. Students will receive new Latin/Greek words on 11/27/17 (next assessment 12/7).  After the break, we will be continuing to read a fable, The Donkey and the Load of Salt and a Wonder Story assignment where they will use evidence based terms to answer questions. We will also be reassessing their reading levels. In addition, students will be having a Spelling test on 11/30/17.

Homework: Read 20 minutes everyday. Study spelling words (assessment 11/30). Study Latin/Greek words for assessment  (assessment 12/7). 

Math update with Mrs. Neal

Hello 4th grade families,
This week in math we have begun learning about factors and multiples. We can find the least common multiple between two numbers as well as the greatest common multiple. The homework for this week will be as follows:
Week of 11/15
4th grade:
Monday- IXL A.10
Tuesday- IXL D.2
Wednesday- Practice test, evens
Thursday- Practice math facts

Thanks and have a great week!

Reading update with Mrs. Luyt 11/6-11/9

Reading: This week we learned about fables. The students read the fable The Fox and the Grapes and answered questions using evidence based terms. On Thursday, we took a spelling test. If you child received a 1, please be sure to sign and return the test so I know you have seen it. Students will receive new spelling words on 11/13/17 (next assessment 11/30).  Next week, we will be continuing to read a fable, The Ant and the Grasshopper and use evidence based terms to answer questions. We will also be reassessing their reading levels for the next two weeks. In addition, students will be having a Latin/Greek test on 11/16/17.

Writing Update with Mrs. Duarte

Fourth graders did some review of parts of speech this week in Writing, in addition to completing several assessments related to language and the writing process.  This information will assist us in report card grading, as well as knowing what areas we need to re-focus on in the future.  Students enjoyed several activities to better familiarize themselves with prepositions and adjectives and to understand their importance in the writing process.  Next week will include a look at Thanksgiving and some prompts around the Thanksgiving theme in the areas of narrative, opinion, and informational.

Math update with Mrs. Neal

Hello all!
This week in math we wrapped up our work with addition and subtraction using the partial sum and partial difference strategies. We also had a blast with our Halloween fun. It was great seeing all the fun costumes! The homework for this week will be:
Week of 11/6
4th grade:
Monday- IXL D.3
Tuesday- LCM page
Wednesday- IXL A.11
Thursday- IXL D.4

Thanks and have a great week!

Reading Update from Mrs. Luyt 10/30-11/2/17

We made it to November! Last week we had a fun and eventful Halloween on Tuesday. We participated in the school-wide costume parade, which was a lot of fun. 

I know 4th grade took a trip to the book fair last week. I also sent home November's Scholastic Book Order forms, so if you weren't able to make it to the book fair and would like to order books, please do so before November 10th.

REMEMBER TO TURN BACK YOUR CLOCKS ON SUNDAY FOR DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME!

Reading: This week we reviewed character traits, point of view, context clues, plot structure, and themes. On Thursday, we took a Latin/Greek test. If you child received a 1, please be sure to sign and return the test so I know you have seen it. Students will receive new Latin/Greek Words on 11/6/17 (next assessment 11/16).  Next week, we will be reading a fable and determining its theme and use context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words or phrases. In addition, students will be having a spelling test on 11/9/17.

Homework: Read 20 minutes everyday. Study spelling words (assessment 11/9). Study Latin/Greek words for assessment  (assessment 11/16). 

Writing Update with Mrs. Duarte

Students worked on their description skills in writing by creating their own version of a Haunted House and then writing a "sales advertisement" describing their house.  Then they took their description and built it into a story about visiting a Haunted House on Halloween night while trick-or-treating.   We also completed a narrative post assessment using a prompt.

Week 8

Presentations went very well this week!  I was proud of these kids and how well they presented the information they researched.  We finished up the week brainstorming how children were different back when Nevada was first settled compared to now.  We completed Venn diagrams in our groups to show the differences and how we are alike.  We are looking forward to starting our new projects about maps this week.

Math update with Mrs. Neal

Hello all!
We are continuing with subtraction this week! We are focusing on partial difference for now, we will be getting to the standard algorithm later in the year. Here is a video for partial difference if you are unsure of how to use this strategy:

The homework will be as follows:

Week of 10/30
4th grade:
Monday- Partial difference page, back
Tuesday- No homework- Happy Halloween!
Wednesday- Practice test, evens
Thursday- Practice math facts

Thanks and Happy Halloween!

Reading update from Mrs. Luyt 10/23-10/26/17

Reading: This week we learned about themes in books. On Thursday, we took a spelling test. If you child received a 1, please be sure to sign and return the test so I know you have seen it. Students will receive new spelling lists on 10/30/17. The next spelling test is 11/9/17. Next week, we will be reviewing character traits, point of view, context clues, plot structure, and themes. In addition, students will be having a Latin/Greek test on Thursday, 11/2.

Homework: Read 20 minutes everyday. Study Latin/Greek words for assessment  (assessment 11/2). Study spelling words (assessment 11/9). 

FYI from Mrs. Duarte- Writing Class

I will be on a 3-4 week leave starting November 16th due to back surgery. Thankfully, the first week is Thanksgiving week, so it is one less week for a sub.  I will be letting the students know sometime this coming week.

We are fortunate to have Adrienne Snow be the long term sub during my absence.  I have already started working with her and Mrs. Hyde to ensure that the transition is smooth and that everything runs according to plan.  She will be observing in the classroom this coming Monday so she has an opportunity to get to know the students and see what a day in Room 4 looks like.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Writing Update with Mrs. Duarte

It has been a bit spooky in writing class this past week!   Students have designed their own Haunted House and are working on creating a descriptive sales advertisement for their imaginative and creepy house.    We've read about a haunted house and watched the introduction to the 1960's "Adams Family" television show for inspiration.  Haunted House descriptions include things such as:  ghosts in the dungeon, flying books in the library, spiders in your bed, and floors that scream when you walk on them!   Next week, they will include their descriptive haunted houses in a Halloween story prompt. 

Math update with Mrs. Neal

Hello 4th grade families,
This week in math we focused on using place value to help us with multiplying and dividing with multiples of 10, 100, and 1,000. Continual practice of math facts would help greatly, please remind your students they should be doing 20 minutes of math homework each night so when they have nights that they finish early they should use that extra time to practice math facts. Also, if your student gets a 1 on an assessment, please sign it in the indicated place and return it so I can see that you have seen the grade.
This week we will be learning the partial sum strategy for addition. On last week's blog post I put a video for the partial sum strategy so please review that if need be. This is the only method of addition that we will be focusing on for now. The homework for this week will be as follows:

Week of 10/23
4th grade:
Monday- Partial sum page, back
Tuesday- 3RD GRADE IXL C.1, write out 5 problems using partial sum strategy to turn in
Wednesday- Subtraction page 1, back
Thursday- Subtraction page 2, back

Thanks and have a great week!

Week 7

The students of room 11 have worked so hard this week!  They have finished up the models of their groups and I think they look fantastic.  The kids had fun while they used their creative minds to model what life was like for the early settlers and Native Americans of Nevada.  They will be presenting them to each other and to the other 4th grade class.  If you would like to come take a peek at your child's model, feel free to stop by after school on Tuesday.  I will be there until about 4:20. I will also be posting picture of the models on next week's blog.

Thanks for sharing your wonderful children with me!

Reading update with Mrs. Luyt 10/16-10/19/17

Reading: This week we learned about evidence based terms. On Thursday, we took a Latin/Greek test. If you child received a 1, please be sure to sign and return the test so I know you have seen it. Students will receive new Latin/Greek words on 10/23/17. The next Latin/Greek test is 11/2/17. Next week, we will be introducing theme and having the students figure out the theme of read aloud books. In addition, students who have been identified as needing extra practice will be having a Spelling test on Thursday, 10/26.

Homework: Read 20 minutes everyday. Study spelling words for assessment  (assessment 10/26). Study Latin/Greek words (assessment 11/2). 

4th Grade Writing with Mrs. Duarte

We celebrated the final drafts of our personal narratives on Thursday!  Most students got to share out their stories and illustrations and the rest will do so on Monday.  It has been a journey!  Packets of their "in process" work will be coming home soon, followed by final stories and grades based on 6+1 Traits in the next few weeks.  Our next adventure will be creating a Haunted House and writing a descriptive advertisement to try to sale it!

Week 6

We finally finished up the writing portion of our "Who Would Move to Nevada" project.  Everyone is thrilled to be moving on to creating a model of their group.  The students are welcome to bring supplies from home, it is not required, but it is always fun to see what they come up with.  We have some great models in the works.  I love the hard working hum in our classroom right now.  They all have work to do and are working together to get it done.  We are hoping to finish these this week.

We had a special experience this past Thursday.  We went into Mr. Kelly's room, our computer tech guy, and he led us in a google expedition.  We say old forts and Indian homes from when the west was settled.  I loved watching the kids get so excited.  It may have made a few of us a little nauseous, but it was fun to be a part of.

Math update with Mrs. Neal

Hello 4th grade families,

We have finished up our rounding unit and we are now rounding masters! The assessment for rounding will be graded this week and sent home. We have now moved into using place value to help us with multiplying and dividing. We will also begin addition using the partial sum strategy. The partial sum strategy may be new for some of you so here is a video that explains the partial sum strategy.

We will be focusing only on partial sum for now, we will get to the traditional algorithm later in the year. The homework for this week will be:

Week of 10/16
4th grade:
Monday- Division page, back
Tuesday- Practice test, evens
Wednesday- Partial sum page, back
Thursday- 3RD GRADE IXL C.1, write out 5 problems using partial sum strategy to turn in

Thanks and have a great week!

Writing Update with Mrs. Duarte for 10/9-10/12/17

Students learned more personal narrative writing strategies this past week, focusing on building in transitions, using stronger verbs, and being aware of the overuse of words like "it".   They reviewed their stories utilizing a revision checklist and will be going through an editing process next week. Our goal is to have final copies of our personal narratives by the end of next week!

Reading update with Mrs. Luyt 10/9-10/12/17

Reading: This week we learned about character traits. On Thursday, students with a spelling list took a spelling test. If you child received a 1, please be sure to sign and return the test so I know you have seen it. Students will receive a new spelling list on 10/16/17. The next spelling test is 10/26/17. Next week, we will be introducing evidence based terms. In addition, students will be having a Latin/Greek roots test on Thursday, 10/19.

Homework: Read 20 minutes everyday. Study Latin/Greek words for assessment (assessment 10/19). Study spelling list (assessment 10/26). 

Math update with Mrs. Neal

Hello 4th grade families,
This week in math we focused on rounding. We can round numbers up to the 100,000 place. The homework for this week will be:
Week of 10/9
4th grade:
Monday- 3RD GRADE IXL P.4
Tuesday- Practice test, evens
Wednesday- Practice math facts
Thursday- Multiplication page

Thanks and have a wonderful week!

10/2-10/5 Reading update with Mrs. Luyt

Reading: This week  we learned about first and third person point of view.  On Thursday, the students took their first Latin/Greek test. I'll be returning those to the students on Monday. If you child received a 1, please be sure to sign and return the test so I know you have seen it. Next week, we will be introducing character traits. In addition, students will be getting new Latin/Greek roots. The next test for Latin/Greek will be 10/19.

Students who were identified as needing to practice spelling, received a new spelling list distributed to them on 10/2/17. The next spelling test is 10/12. If your child doesn't receive a spelling list, they were not identified as one that needs to continue with spelling at this time.

Homework: Read 20 minutes everyday. Study spelling list for those who got a list (assessment 10/12). Study Latin/Greek words for assessment  (assessment 10/19).

Week 5

We are finally wrapping up the research portion of this project.  It has definitely been a tough task, but these kids have been working hard and have pulled through.  This week we will finish up our final drafts of the group essay and start planning for the models they will be making of their group.  They are excited for this portion and it will be fun to see what they come up with.  I will be in contact with possible supplies needed from home, if you have them.

We also had our first Masters of Geography members:  Jilliana and Trevor.  The kids are enjoying the short time they have to work on this fun project.

With it being fall, please remember to put names on jackets and coats and only school approved jackets can be worn in class.  Your children are a delight to have in class, I look forward to each afternoon I get to share with them.  Please let me know if you have any concerns or questions.

Writing Update with Mrs. Duarte

Students are hard at work refining their language arts skills through grammar review, journal writing, IXL practice, and continuous revision of their personal narratives.  This week the focus has been on show don't tell, painting a word picture, and satisfactory endings.   The final personal narratives should be completed within the next few weeks and students will have an opportunity to then work on a narrative story of choice.

Week 4

Time is, of course, flying by!  We continue to research and learn more about the early settlers of Nevada and how they helped shape our state.  We enjoyed a guest speaker, Anne Hyde, who taught us about the first settlements that the Mormons built in Nevada, what life was like, and what contributions they made to our state.  She spoiled us with homemade bread and honey butter.  This week we will finish up our research and work on our group essays.

Math update with Mrs. Neal

Hello 4th grade families,
This week in math we wrapped up our unit on place value and took an assessment on what we learned. This week the homework will be:

4th grade:
Monday- Number line page
Tuesday- Rounding page
Wednesday- IXL A.12
Thursday- Rounding page

Here are some pictures of a fun TRIBES activities that we did with Mr. Carrol:

Thanks and have a great week!

4th Grade Reading 9/25-928

Reading: This week  we learned about protagonist and antagonist in a story. We also started our Latin/Greek words. We will have a test this Thursday. Next week, we will introduce first and third person point of view. We will also be starting our reading groups next week. 

We have noticed that some of the students that are struggling with spelling. Last week, we gave an initial spelling assessment to determine who would benefit from studying spelling. Some students will have a spelling list distributed to them on Monday. The next spelling test is 10/12.  If your child doesn't receive a spelling list, they were not identified as one that needs to continue with spelling at this time.

Homework: Read 20 minutes every day. Study Latin/Greek words for assessment on Thursday. Study spelling list for assessment on 10/12/17 (for applicable students).

Writing with Mrs. Duarte

Students have been patiently revising their personal narratives this past week as we learned about 4 different types of leads - emotion/feeling, action, dialogue, and description.  They are in the process of typing their first draft and will continue to make revisions as we delve further into transitions and endings next week.   They shared their stories with their peers and gathered feedback.  In addition to Language Review each week, students also complete two journal prompts per week.  They wrote some very thoughtful memories of when they first met their best friend and conveyed some important questions in response to "I wonder..."    

Week 3

     This past week we started research for our first project.  We are researching who the first settlers of Nevada were.  Each group is assigned a different group of people who came to Nevada.  We are looking for what their lifestyle was like, what interactions they had with other people, the conflicts and compromises they had, and the contributions they made to Nevada.  These kids are working hard, there is lots of reading to find the information that they need. I am impressed with what they have found and how hard they are working.  They make great historians!  We also had a guest speaker, Mrs. Laca, who taught us about the Basques and why they came to Nevada.  Our class showed great attentive listening and respect to her as she presented.

This week Elsie and Ruby purchased show and tell.  They brought in their dog to share with us.  

What a great looking class!

Math update with Mrs. Neal

Hello fourth grade families,
This week we focused on place value, writing numbers to the hundred thousands using standard form, word form, expanded form, and with place value discs. We have also worked on using our place value knowledge to compare numbers. The homework for this week will be as follows:
Monday- IXL A.8
Tuesday- Place value page
Wednesday- Practice test, evens
Thursday- Practice math facts

Thanks and here are some pictures of a TRIBES activity with Mr. Carrol:

9/18-9/21/17 4th Grade Reading

Reading: This week in reading we continued to Read to Self, but added in Word Work and Work on Writing. We also learned about context clues. The students worked on packets with several made up words within a paragraph. They were assessed for understanding on context clues on Thursday. Next week, we begin introducing our Greek/Latin prefixes and suffixes. We will also be discussing protagonist and antagonist in stories.

Homework: Read 20 minutes a night.

Writing Update with Mrs. Duarte

Writing class incorporates a variety of writing experiences!  Students are exposed to grammar review, journal prompts, read aloud of a mentor text to introduce a writing strategy, and practice at writing their own personal narratives. This week we focused on writing strategies related to:  using sensory details, writing about a small specific moment in time, and including an emotional hook.

Google Calendar

Hello all!
Just a reminder that every day in class we put your student's homework into their google calendar. We chose to switch to google calendar instead of printing out all of the assignment pages a few years back to save paper. That is where they should be checking to find their homework assignments. Then if there are days that I push save instead of publish (whoops, sorry!) on the blog post, you can still find the homework! We do this every day at the end of class so unless your student is absent it should be there. If you need help figuring out how to access your student's google calendar feel free to ask me and I can help you. Thanks!

Math update with Mrs. Neal

Hello all!
Last week in math we focused on reflectional symmetry and rotational symmetry. We dug deep into finding and counting all lines of symmetry and found real world examples of symmetry. We also took a test on symmetry which will be coming home this week. The homework for this week will be as follows:
Monday- IXL A.1
Tuesday- IXL A.2
Wednesday- IXL A.3
Thursday- IXL A.4
Thanks and have a wonderful week!

Week 2!

In projects we started the week off with a presentation from Donna Cossette about early Native Americans in Nevada.  The kids were impressive with their behavior and attentive listening.  I was proud of them for their first presentation.  We started our first project about Nevada with a Nevada symbols quiz.  We logged onto our computers and started researching using our chrome books as we learned about many of Nevada's symbols.

I introduced Masters of Geography to them and some of them have already taken off with it.  Its fun to watch them show excitement for geography!  We continue to work with tribe activities as we focus on mutual respect, no put downs and appreciations.  They are demonstrating fabulous attentive listening using the slant technique.  We really have a great class.

This week we will be dividing into groups and assigning the tasks each student will take on as they study early Native Americans and pioneer settlers of Nevada.   We will be studying their lifestyles, contributions to our state, and conflicts and compromises that occurred between the different settlers.  We also will be documenting important dates on a class time line.  I am looking forward to working with these kiddos and learning all about early Nevada!

9/11-9/14 4th Grade Reading

I am enjoying this group a lot. They enjoyed the books we read to discuss plot structure and really grasped this week's topics. 

Reading: This week in reading we continued to Read to Self and build our stamina. By Thursday, we were able to add in Work on Writing in writing journals. We also continued learning about plot structure, specifically the rising events, climax, falling events and resolution. Next week, we will look at context clues. 

Homework: Read 20 minutes everyday. 

Writing Update with Mrs. Duarte

We have continued to build our understanding of what it means to write a personal narrative this week, using mentor texts as examples of what elements should be present in a personal narrative. Students have begun writing multiple personal narratives about various experiences they are passionate about.  Soon they will pick one that they will build on and refine as we learn new techniques.  Next week we will be adding in journal writing and Daily Language Review into our routine.  I am impressed with the level of creativity and writing ability of this incredible group of 4th graders!

Math update with Mrs. Neal

Hello 4th grade families!

We had a wonderful first week! It's been great working with all my former third graders as well as working with some new faces!
This week we started with a getting to know you project where we used math facts. They came up with questions about themselves that could be answered with a number then created a math fact for the answer. For example: How many cats do I have? 9-7. We also started learning about symmetry. To incorporate symmetry into our getting to know you page, I took pictures of each student's face and then cut them in half along the line of symmetry. They had to complete their faces by drawing the missing half. These posters are hanging in the hall if you happen to stop by school and want to see them (they are pretty fun!).
Home work this week will be the following:
Monday- IXL Y.1 and Y.2 if extra time (Y.1 should go very quickly)
Tuesday- IXL Y.3
Wednesday- Practice test evens
Thursday- Practice math facts (we will be taking a test this day)

Thanks!
Holly Neal

What a great first week in projects!

It was a good week.  I have loved working with and getting to know these fourth graders better.  What a great group of kids.  I have especially enjoyed reading the get to know you papers you filled out for me.  It looks like we have a class full of kids who really care about others and want to do good things.  I can't wait to see what is in store this year!

Our first day was filled with procedures, expectations, and get to know you activities.  On Tuesday and Wednesday we explored the tribe agreements with discussion and group activities.  We have talked about Mutual Respect, Attentive Listening and Appreciations/No Put downs.  These agreements aren't so much rules, as behaviors we agree to demonstrate to make our classroom the best it can be.  I have already noticed appreciations being used among the students.  It warms my heart.  We did acrostic poems of our names to decorate our binders with.  We found its hard to come up with adjectives that start with certain letters! However, we have pretty creative minds in our room and we were able to come up with some pretty great descriptors.

This next week we are starting our first project.  The focus this trimester will be Nevada.  I can't wait.  I kind of love Nevada!

Our specials for the next 9 weeks is Youth Positive with Mr. Lennon.  I'm not sure what this all entails, but if its anything like last year the kids love it.  On Thursday they were sent home with a fingerprint poem paper.  I believe they were asked to write about themselves filling in the spaces that will create the image of a fingerprint.  I have seen these done before and they are pretty cool looking.  Please don't feel pressure to have these completed, just do the best you can.

Also, picture day is tomorrow!  I sent picture packets home on Thursday.  I know there are few extra in the classroom if one is needed.

Please let me know your concerns or if you have questions.  I am looking forward to getting to know you parents also!

This is just a little video from the first day of school.

4th Grade Writing with Mrs. Duarte

We spent the first two days getting acquainted and working on a fun personal narrative about our summers.   During the week of September 11-14, we will be doing an on-demand narrative with a prompt and begin work on developing ideas for work on a personal narrative.   The on-demand writing assignment will provide the teacher with an opportunity to understand each child's strengths and areas for growth within the writing process.

4th Grade Reading 9/5-9/7/17

Reading: This week in reading we reviewed Read to Self and how to pick a good fit book.  Then, we started building stamina while reading.  They did a great job at this!  We also started learning about plot structure, specifically the exposition or hook in a story. We will continue to learn about the rising events, climax, falling events and resolution next week. 

Homework: Please have your child read 20 minutes everyday. 

Getting ready for school!

Hello parents!
We are busy getting everything totally ready for the first day of school! It was so great to see all your faces at back to school night last night! Just a few reminders, if you didn't bring supplies last night go ahead and send them with your students on the first day and we will sort and organize them. Also, please be sure to send the signed important pages in the binders that you received last night on the first day (have them bring the binders as well, we will be using those! You can keep the handbook). If you didn't make it to back to school night, you're student will bring the binder home on Tuesday and please send back the pages that need to be signed ASAP.

As for IXL, we are aware that things are wonky and are working hard to fix them! So if you didn't finish the summer IXL, don't worry and enjoy the last few days of summer!

We are looking forward to a fantastic year!

Mrs. Neal & Mrs. Sorensen

Supply List 2017-2018

4th GRADE SUPPLY LIST

Required:

(2 pk) 12 #2 pencils (the presharpened ones are amazing by the way)

(1 pk) erasers - large pink or pencil top

(1) 1.5” view binder (this allows for a cover page to be inserted into the front)

(2-3 pks) dry erase markers

(1) dry erase eraser or old sock to use as eraser

(1 pk) markers

(2) glue sticks

(1 or 2) highlighters

(1) scissors

(1) spiral notebook

(1) composition book (black & white marble cover)d

(5) pocket folders that are three-hole punched

(1) water bottle (please provide a reusable water bottle that will, hopefully, last through the school year - we will send them home on Thursdays for cleaning)

(3) boxes of tissues

(1 pk) toilet paper

(3) containers of disinfectant wipes

Optional:

Crayons/colored pencils

Ziploc bags (various sizes - we use these during projects)

Most of these supplies will be shared with our classroom community so you do not need to label everything with your student’s name.

Please bring supplies on the first day of school so we can get organized.

We look forward to seeing you during Back to School Night which will be August 30th.

Mrs. Antoniono & Ms. Williams

Mrs. Neal & Mrs. Sorensen

Snack sign ups

Hello all!
We still have 3 more days of testing and quite a bit of empty slots for bringing snacks. If you are able, please sign up for any available spots so we can provide a good start for our students. Thanks!
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/20f0f4ca9ae2ba2f58-testing1

No more nachos...

Sorry but there will be no more nachos on Wednesdays for the rest of the year. Have a good day!

Projects update from Ms. Williams

Hello awesome parents!

I just wanted to let you know what we are up to in Projects this week and let you know what we did last week.

So last week, as I hope your students told you, we studied erosion and the kids did demonstrations for each other to show different ways that erosion effects the world around us! It was messy (as we used dirt with a high clay content and water, so clay-mud) but the kids did a great job and actually kept the mess pretty contained!

This week we are learning about Civics, so basically how our local government works as well as different aspects about society and our national government. We are trying to get this finished before testing starts next week, since that will tax the brains and attention spans of our little scholars.

Please make sure that on testing days students are well rested, have a good breakfast, and that they leave all smart technology (such as phones and smart watches) at home, otherwise they will be collected by the proctor and given back after testing.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. Your kids are awesome, and I love teaching them!

Snacks for testing

Hello all!
I recently sent out an e-mail to sign up to brings snacks the mornings that we are testing. Here is the link for the sign up:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4ca9ae2ba2f58-testing1

Please sign up for anything you can! Thanks!

Projects Update

Hello folks!

I just wanted to give you an update on what we've been working on and will be working on in Projects.

We have been studying energy in its various forms and how it can be transferred from one place to another. We also studied methods of transmitting messages over distances, such as using semaphore flags, smoke signals, Morse code, and binary code. Students also learned how to use ordered pairs to plot coordinates on a graph that could be connected to make pictures.

This week, we will finish up studying about energy transfer with students learning about sound waves being transferred. Students will make their own musical instruments out of rubber bands and various containers (but don't spill the secret!). It should be an awesome week!

As a quick reminder, the Middle School Student Council is raising money for the Fallon Youth Club. Each classroom has a container to collect money, and the class with the most money at the end of April will be rewarded with a movie and Taco Bell for lunch. So if you have any spare change laying around the house, please consider sending it with your student so that they can donate it to Fallon Youth Club and potentially win a lunch party!

Thank you for all that you do. I am so honored to teach your amazing children!

Parent Conferences this Friday!

Hello all!
Parent conference time is here again. I sent out a link for the conference sign ups and there is a link below. If Friday doesn't work for you, let me know and we can schedule a meeting for the following week. See you all soon!

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4ca9ae2ba2f58-3rdquarter2/

Projects update from Mrs. Williams

Hello parents! 

I just wanted to give you an update on what we are working on in Projects. We are finishing up our Hot Wheels unit this week, and the students' posters will be hanging in the hall by next week. They have worked really hard, and I'm so excited to be able to share their work with you!

Next, we will be studying energy and waves.

Soon we will be putting out a sign up for conference times, which will be coming up before we know it!

I hope you have a great week, and thank you for raising such amazing kids!

Projects update from Ms. Williams

Hello parents!

I just wanted to give you an update regarding what we are doing in Projects this week. Today students will be doing a gallery walk to view each others' posters that they've been working on about their Hot Wheels experiments. For the rest of the week, we will be working on the final component of our Hot Wheels unit, which will be for students to test what happens when two cars collide when the ramp one is released from gets higher. We will be conducting our experiments on Wednesday. Then, students will create a poster to show their findings. By the end of this week, students should have 3 posters completed, which we will be mounting onto one poster board, and these will be hung in the hallway.

Thanks for all that you do! As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don't hesitate to email me. Have a great week!

Valentine's day party

Hello all!
Tomorrow afternoon we will be doing a short Valentine's day celebration. You can send valentine's for each student if you wish. They will be decorating a bag, passing out their valentines and playing a few games. Thanks!

Reading update from Mrs. Windriver

We are learning about text structure. We have covered compare/contrast and description. 

The 4th graders are super busy! We have continued reading Scholastic news, answering questions using evidence-based terms, identifying main idea/supporting details, summarizing and completing our debates. This week was 'Is it okay to re-gift?' Ask your child what he/she thinks.

There was a Latin/Greek test on Thursday. Students will receive new roots on Monday (2/13).

Candy Grams!

Starting today until next Monday (Feb 13th), students will be able to purchase candy grams for Valentine's day. They are 75 cents each or $10 for a whole class. They can be purchased during lunch time only. Thanks!

Math update from Mrs. Neal

Hello all!
We have been digging deep into geometry lately. We have learn all the shapes and their attributes. We also learned about different types of triangles. We have been using our previously learned knowledge as well to identify parallel and perpendicular lines within shapes as well as classify and measure angles. Here are some pictures from a poster the kids created:

Have a wonderful week!

4th Grade Projects - Methods of Energy Production Continued

Hello parents! 

This week we are continuing to study different methods of energy/electricity production. Yesterday, students were assigned their partner and method of energy production that they will be researching for their project. With their partner, students will create a slide presentation that they will present to their classmates. Originally the plan was to have students present on Thursday, but I will likely extend that to Monday so that students can produce quality work.

Thank you for raising such great students!

Reading update from Mrs. Windriver

This week we continued finding the main idea and supporting details of an article. We also read our Scholastic News article and answered questions.

The students participated in another debate this week: Should girls and boys be taught separately? If they haven't already discussed this with you, please have your child share with you their answer. Our goal with the debates is two-fold: strengthen their accountable talk (disagreeing/agreeing respectfully) and supporting their opinions with evidence.

They received new Latin/Greek and will take a test on 1/26.