Spring Creek Cardinals
4th Grade Newsletter
APRIL 2017 EDITION
Hard to believe it, but we are almost finished with the school year
with only 8 weeks of school left!
We want all our 4th graders to finish the school year strong and
be prepared for a successful start to their 5th grade year!
MATH Update
The month of April will be filled with new experiences in geometry, beginning with some new vocabulary. Geometry has a lot of terms that students need to be familiar with, including parallel, perpendicular, intersecting, acute, obtuse and right angles. Then there are various 2D shapes they need to know, including the usual shapes of rectangle, square and triangle, along with new shapes of polygon, pentagon, hexagon, trapezoid, rhombus, and parallelogram. The students will learn how to use a protractor, which most 4th grade students, in my experience, have never seen, much less ever used. They will learn how to measure angles, and how to draw an angle of a given measurement, both using a protractor. They will also learn about how to find the measurement of one of two adjacent angles given the measure of the overall angle and one of the smaller angles. They will then use the knowledge they have gained about lines and angles to help them identify the 2D shapes they learned about earlier in the month based on the attributes of the angles and lines in those shapes. Symmetry is another geometry concept they will explore.
This entire month will also be a review of previous concepts we have learned this year, to help get ready for the Math STAAR test in May. I am going to look at the data from our second CBM as well as the data from the Math STAAR practice we will be taking on April 4th to decide the amount of review each student needs for each concept. We will practice concepts, learn songs and challenge each other’s brains to be ready for the May 8th Math STAAR.
READING/WRITING Update
Reading-Students have just begun an author study unit. Each student will read a minimum of 2 books written by their chosen author. While reading, students will identify similarities and differences in the author's style and craft. Studying an author will allow students to recognize techniques in writing that can be applied to students own writing. Students will also research biographical writings of their chosen author. In small groups, students will discuss what they have discovered about the author's craft and how the author's personal experiences have influenced his/her writing. Students will complete in class a culminating project to present to their classmates.
Writing-Currently students have selected a previous piece of writing and are in the process of revising and editing in order to publish the piece into a classroom hardcover book. Parents, you have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the book. Your child should have already brought home an order form packet. Please complete the form and return signed whether you are purchasing a book or not. If every child returns the order form then the school will receive a copy of the book for us to put in the library.
Homework-Students will be reading their author study books at home and taking notes on the author's craft. The goal is to read 2 books in 2 weeks.
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES Update
In Social Studies:
We will look at Texas during the oil boom, the early 1900's and into the 20th century and look at the different cultures in Texas.
In Science,
We will look at producers, consumers, and the relationships they have with each other in food webs and ecosystems. We will also take a closer look at life cycles. We will watch meal worms in the classroom to help us investigate specific stages in life cycles.
As a reminder, Encourage your child to review the vocabulary on the website. Scroll down in the student vocabulary section to see the latest set of words we are working with. http://mann4thgradeclass.weebly.com/
Looking Ahead...
April 3-6 Book Fair
April 4- Book Fair Family Night 5-7pm
April 4- Math STAAR Practice
April 14- Student and Staff Holiday
April 17- Student Holiday
April 18 - Publishing night
April 19- Austin field trip
April 22 - District Art Show as CSHS
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