Hertzog Headlines
recent happenings in 4th grade - December 7-11
Literacy
This week in ELA we continued working on opinion writing, similes and metaphors. We also signed up for an awesome new Chrome Book resource called Read Theory. It provides students with short stories and comprehension questions following each reading. It provides students with a score and explanation following each quiz. Students are provided with a perfect fit reading level that changes based on quiz scores. Please encourage your student to use this resource when working at home.
Spelling Change for next semester
Beginning after the holiday break, we will no longer be having traditional spelling lists and tests. Our classroom will be transitioning to the standards based grading format of applied spelling. Each week (or so) students will be given a short writing with spelling errors. Students will be responsible for finding the spelling errors and correcting them. Students will be able to use all classroom resources (dictionaries and Chromebooks included). This is more "real life" spelling and will encourage students to use resources to help them as adults do in daily life. Students will not know the words ahead of time nor the day of this activity. I understand this is a change and will take some time getting used to, but our kids will gain great skills by getting this practice.
Math
This week we changed up our flexible math groups and began a unit on mixed operations. This unit focuses on using the four operations and applying them in word problems. This is a quick unit that will be tested next week!
Social Studies
We finished our Native American books, printed them and read them to kindergartners. Students are and should be very proud of their work. A rubric grade is coming home today with their score. It is out of 20 points and is a large portion of their social studies grade for the quarter.
Science
We also began our next science unit on rocks. We explored rock and mineral properties and learned how scientists use test for these properties.
Holiday Spirit Days Next Week
- Monday: Red and Green Day
- Tuesday: Holiday Hat Day-- Wear your favorite holiday hat!
- Wednesday: Holiday Sweatshirt/T-Shirt Day
- Thursday: Snow Day-- Wear white, snowmen attire, and scarves!
- Friday: PVE Spirit Day
Dates to Remember...
December 14-17 - PTA Sponsored Penguin Patch - Gift Workshop (During School Day)
December 15 - Our class will visit the Penguin Patch to shop. Send money on Wednesday if you are wanting your student to shop.
December 16 - PTA Sponsored Penguin Patch Gift Workshop open for families (5:30-7:30)
December 18 - KUDOS Assembly at 8:30 and Early Dismissal @ 12:45 p.m.
December 19 - January 4 - No School for Winter Break
Melissa Hertzog
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns!
Email: melissa.hertzog@lsr7.net
Website: https://sites.google.com/a/lsr7.net/fourth-pve/
Phone: 816-986-2280