Spring Creek Cardinals
4th Grade Newsletter
OCTOBER 2016 EDITION
**Each Monday you should see our "Monday folder" coming home to you with graded papers in it and any other pieces of information the front office would like for us to distribute. Also remember to check your child's planner to see what they are doing that week in each of their classes.
Reminder - Parent conferences have started! We look forward to spending time with each of you and sharing about how your child is doing in school. If you haven't signed up yet for a conference please contact your homeroom teacher.
Pictures are Tuesday!
MATH Update
Math in October
Our 4th graders have been working hard in math, learning about place value, rounding, and now decimals to name a few concepts. We will continue working on decimals and then move to fractions for the month of October. If you have any questions on anything we are learning about or if your child seems to be struggling with a math concept, please let me know by emailing me at jeberle@csisd.org.
I wanted to give you some more information about our math fact fluency program that we are using this year. We are using XtraMath, a program that takes students from the math facts they know and challenges them to continue to advance in their knowledge. Everyone started on addition facts 0+0 up to 9+9. The program considers a fact mastered when the student consistently solves it in less than 3 seconds. Once they have mastered all of the addition facts, then they advance to subtraction, multiplication and finally division. “Why master their math facts?” is a question I often hear. In fourth grade our students are introduced to a lot of concepts that have multiple, complicated steps, such as double-digit by double-digit multiplication as well as long division. If they know their facts, then there will be more space in working memory to recall the steps they need to follow for those concepts, rather than using working memory to recall their math facts.
XtraMath is used in class approximately the first ten minutes of class each day. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday students will make flash cards on the ten math facts the program determines they need to practice. Your child should be practicing those flash cards nightly. So Monday students will have ten cards, by Wednesday they will have 20 cards, and by Friday they will have 30 cards to practice. Your child can keep those cards to continue practicing or can throw them away once they get their new cards the following week.
Your child can use the XtraMath program at home as well. They just need to login to XtraMath.com and enter my email along with their login and PIN, which is located inside their planner on the first page.
Another program that is a fun math game to play which helps them practice various math skills in a game format is Sumdog. Sumdog starts out with an assessment of the student’s skills as they are playing. It then works towards practicing the areas they are weakest in. Many of them are still in the assessment phase. You will know your child is past the assessment if they have earned their first pet. As they master different skills, their pet learns new tricks. Therefore, the more pets and tricks, the more skills they have learned. We began a regional competition on Sept. 30th that runs through Oct. 6th which they are very excited about. Any time they are on Sumdog through the 6th, they earn points for every problem they answer correctly. This is a great program to allow them to play at home if you are looking for something educational that they still enjoy. Again, their login and password are in their planner and you access the program at Sumdog.com.
READING/WRITING Update
ELA in 4th
Mrs. Dungan has been busy setting up technology. In October, students will have logins for www.readtheory.org This reading site will provide on level reading passages and comprehension for your students. Your students login can be found on the first page of his/her planner.
As students are finishing up their first composition, they also will add it to their online portfolio to share with you and other students. Visitors to their portfolio will be able to leave comments and questions for our student authors.
Mrs. Dungan has also added a blog page to her website www.mrsdungansclass.weebly.com Each week a student from each class will write a book review to share on the blog. Be sure to follow me on twitter @mrsdungansclass to receive notifications when new entries are posted on the blog.
Poetry Friday is a blast! Students look forward to reading, writing and sharing poetry. Students will be adding their own poems to their online portfolios starting this Friday. Be looking for your parent login in your students Monday folder. To add a little extra excitement we are calling itPopcorn and Poetry. Be looking for an sign up genius email from our room moms to provide popcorn each Friday.
Be sure to ask your student about The Books of Elsewhere, our read aloud in class. Students are completely wrapped up in the life of Olive and her adventures in and out of magical paintings. You could ask for an update daily and students should be able to provide great dinner conversation.
READING HOMEWORK is posted every Monday on the website: www.mrs.dungansclass.weebly.com
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES Update
In Science we are looking at how volume and mass impact density of objects (sink/float). We will also look at how phases of matter change when heat is added or taken away. Lastly, this month we will also look at solutions and mixtures and see how the two are similar and different.
The vocabulary that we cover in class is important for our students to know and understand so on my webpage I have digital flashcards. Help your child get into the good habit of looking over the words every couple of days for 10 - 12 minutes. This will help them make the connections to our labs and discussions we have in class. Plus the weekly quizzes will be easier for them!
Here is the link to my webpage: http://mann4thgradeclass.weebly.com/
In Social Studies we are looking at Texas and who lived here first. Our discussions and readings will look at Archaic Indians, Prehistoric Indians and the historic American Indians.
Each week students will have a weekly quiz to see if they are understanding the concepts we cover that week. This is a great way for me, you and our student to see if they are "getting" it. Be looking for this quiz in their Monday folder. If they are consistently making an 80 or higher, they are doing well. If your student starts consistently scoring below an 80, we need to figure out how to help them be more successful.
National Park Service...
The national program allows fourth-grade students, and those accompanying them, free access to public lands and waters across the country for a year.
The National Park Service describes the program as “a call to action for children to experience America’s spectacular outdoors, rich history and culture” and a “crucial component of a multi-pronged approach to inspire the next generation to discover all that our nation’s public lands and waters have to offer.”
We hope these free passes will introduce fourth-graders, their classes, and their families to many of our national treasures, including Yellowstone. Kids of all ages need places where they can run and play, explore and learn.”
To download a pass and get more information, students and their families can visit EveryKidInAPark.gov. The website also has educational activities, trip planning guidelines and additional resources in both English and Spanish.
The pass should be printed and then exchanged for a more durable pass at the entrance stations.
The pass allows three accompanying adults or an entire car to most federally managed lands and waters including national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and marine sanctuaries.
The program was launched by President Obama and supported by eight federal agencies including the National Park Service, the Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Education, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Looking Ahead...
Upcoming Dates:
October 3-6 Book Fair
October 4 - Book Fair Night (dinner, book shopping, and STEM activities)
October 4 - Picture Day
October 10-11 Student Holiday
October 14 - OPAS Storytellers come to Spring Creek
October 25 - James and the Giant Peach performance at AMCHS
October 26 - Sing-a-long 2:00
October 31 - Book Character Day
October 31 - Boosterthon Pep Rally
Spring Creek Elementary
Website: http://sc.csisd.org/
Location: 2450 Brewster, College Station, TX
Phone: 979-694-5838
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CSISDSpringCreek
Twitter: @sc_elementary