FOURTH GRADE NEWS
April 21st, 2016
What's Up in 4th Grade!
5th grade Collin County Adventure Camp Open House is on Sunday, April 24th. Please scroll down to see the flyer.
Please encourage your children to bring their own device to school. We will need them during Language Arts during the next six weeks for our Project Based Learning.
Make sure that your child is reading 20 minutes every night and recording it in their planner. A parent signature is also required to ensure this process.
Please take a moment to see the links below for parenting classes offered in April. The last parenting class will be held on May 16th at Skaggs. Parents with middle school students will highly benefit from this class as it will make the transition an easier process. Scroll down to learn more from the flyer attached below.
Language Arts
The next two weeks will be dedicated towards a "Reading Bootcamp" where students will rotate to different teachers' rooms to revisit their reading skills. This will sharpen their skills and strategies to succeed on Reading STAAR.
Our theme for the next unit is solving problems, and this week we explore the period of the Great Depression. The area known as the Dust Bowl is the setting for our historical fiction "Leah's Pony." This moving story delves deeply into the serious problem of drought in the United States and around the world. Students will learn that the soil became so dry that it blew away in dust storms leading to agricultural decline and hardships.
The spelling test will focus on words with en, in, and on.
Math
As Math STAAR approaches, we will begin our review of fourth grade learning objectives through a district created review, "STAAR Adventures at Ripley's Believe It or Not!" Students needing interventions will be pulled into small groups to reteach the objective and assigned a practice page to be completed at home that night. If your child is assigned a page to complete, please make sure it is completed and returned to school the next day.
Science and Social Studies
Next week students will be collecting and analyzing data to identify sequences and predict patterns of changes in the appearance of the moon over time. Students will also learn how Earth's moon and tides are related. In addition, our class will study how atmosphere affects drag. This learning will be critical for our aerospace engineering project which is to test and design a parachute for a particular celestial body.
Key vocabulary to remember will include angle, tilt, lunar, orbit, revolution, rotation, cycle, hemisphere, gravity, tides, axis, phases, atmosphere, and drag.
From the Teachers
- Reading Logs: 4th grade participates in our Skaggs reading program, The Skaggs Scribe. We require that every student read at least 20 minutes per night and record their time in their planner. Please sign your child's agenda every Friday and students will enter their time on a Google Form where they could win prizes. They may enter this information at school or at home. This is the website students will use to record their minutes: http://tinyurl.com/SkaggsReadingLog
- We would like to encourage your child to bring their electronic devices. Electronic devices are being used in all subject areas every day, along with music and art.
- Be a star for our students and write a check to our PTA. See the information below regarding the Skaggs PTA Check Writing Campaign.
- A fourth grade website just for parents! You will find links, important information, and much more. https://sites.google.com/a/pisd.edu/fabulous-fourth-grade-friends/
Important Dates
4/22 Wordmasters Test
4/25 Early Voting for Bond Election starts
4/30 PTA Carnival from 2:00-4:00
4/30 PTA Environmental Clean Up following the carnival from 4:00-5:00