We still need a parent volunteer to lead our class Valentine's Day party. Please let me know as soon as possible if you could help out. It would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Students will be participating in Jump Rope for Heart next week during their gym class. Please turn in any remaining donation envelopes next week. Thank you.
Students will be treated to a Little Caesar's lunch from Dr. Parker on Thursday, Feb. 6th to reward them for their hard work and improvements in their monthly Evaluate tests in reading and math! I am very proud of the class's achievements!
I am happy to report that the class has also earned a class reward for good behavior choices. We will be having a "nutritious read-in", also on Thursday the 6th. Students may wear their pajamas to school if they wish. They can also bring a healthy snack and either a small stuffed animal OR pillow. The children will be able to relax and read while enjoying their snacks and some calm music.
Monday starts collection time for the Box Tops for Education contest. Please send in any box tops you have with your child by Friday, February 7th. The winning classroom will receive a popcorn party.
Class Updates:
In math, we have been learning the procedures for long division. The students are using the saying "Does McDonald's Sell Cheese Burgers?" to help them remember the steps of divide, multiply, subtract, check, and bring down. So far, we have worked our way up to dividing a three-digit number by a one-digit number. We will continue practicing and reviewing for a test on Thursday. Here is a link to a Study Jams video that describes the steps to long division if your child needs help practicing at home. Kids also are working on "Frog Packets" together for extra practice and playing games like "Keep the Leftovers" to help them with the concept of remainders in division.
In reading, we have been continuing to practice making inferences. We also are working on identifying the author's purpose of a variety of texts we read. The children are using the phrase, "Author's purpose is as easy as PIE!" to help them remember the three main purposes, which are to persuade, inform, and entertain.
In writing, we finished publishing our final drafts of our persuasive essays. Here are a few pictures of students working hard on editing and publishing, as well as some finished cover designs:
In writing, we finished publishing our final drafts of our persuasive essays. Here are a few pictures of students working hard on editing and publishing, as well as some finished cover designs:
We have also started our new unit on informational writing. The end product of our work will be a four chapter mini-book on a topic related to fourth grade science or social studies. The students have been working this week on choosing good topics and creating a graphic organizer in their writing notebooks to outline a plan for their books. The children also worked in groups to examine non-fiction books to see how they were organized into introductions, chapters, and headings. Next week, we will learn about how to research, take notes, and what it means to paraphrase.
We are moving on to our next chapter in social studies. The class will be learning about how Missouri became a state through the Missouri Compromise. Other topics in Chapter 5 include, pioneers, the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails, and the Gold Rush.
