4th Grade Newsletter
October 11, 2018
Important Dates
- October 19: Report Cards Go Home
- October 23: Picture Day
- October 24: Yearbook Cover Contest
- November 1: Reflections Due
Reading
The students have loved our exploration of The Tale of Despereaux. We are sort of sad to see it draw to a close next week! We have had amazing discussions about character motivations, how characters change, and cause and effect. We have been focusing on responding to discussion questions by making a claim, providing text evidence, and reasoning through our answers and thoughts. As the students write these responses, we are also practicing our expository writing skills! Everyone wins!
In grammar we will be focusing on how to recognize compound sentences. The students learned in 3rd grade that compound sentences are formed by joining 2 complete thoughts together with a comma and a conjunction. We will continue to build on this understanding as the students become more automatic about applying it in their own writing. We find compound sentences in The Tale of Despereaux and every book we read!
Math
In math, the students continue to develop their skills as problem solvers. They are now working on becoming fluent with the multiplication algorithm. Good news! This is probalby one of those times when math looks a lot like what you did in school! We will continue to work through several multiplication strategies as the students build skills and develop an understanding of 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication.
PACE
PLANO ACADEMIC AND CREATIVE EDUCATION (PACE)
PACE is similar to Special Education in that it is an enrichment service designed to meet the needs of a different kind of learner.
PACE is not an Honors program.
Students requiring gifted services may...
perform two grade levels above current grade
learn exceptionally fast
need only one to two repetitions for mastery
thrive on complexity
arrive at solutions in an unusual manner
If you have a child that you believe may need PACE services:
Notify your child’s teacher or the campus gifted specialist.
Complete an online referral packet; you may request a hard copy if needed.
Referral packets are due October 17.
Testing occurs in the fall with services beginning in January 2019.
If your student participated in a gifted program at their previous school, please contact the Gifted Specialist for next steps.
Please contact the campus gifted specialist for specific details about the PACE program.
Laurie Kane
laurie.kane@pisd.eduFederal Meal Program Application- (Free or Reduced Meal Application)
Application in Spanish https://fans.pisd.edu/lfserver/fma_spa