Woods Weekly
Week of September 8th-11th
Classroom Happenings
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Our class is going on their first field of the year to Beyond Boundaries on Wednesday, September 16th. Beyond Boundaries is an organizational development program through Porter-Starke Services. Our goal for the field trip is for students to walk away with strategies for effectively working, playing, and learning together. The team building activities they complete on the field trip will translate into better teamwork inside and outside of the classroom. Because each 4th grade class is going on a separate day which keeps the group sizes small, chaperones are not needed for this field trip. A letter is coming home today with more information, but here is a quick summary of what is needed.
For the field trip, students need the following:
- a completed and signed Beyond Boundaries Release Form (It is located on the back of the letter coming home today.)
- $5.25 in cash. Checks will NOT be accepted. If you are unable to pay, please contact me.
- A signed lunch form. If your child is bringing a lunch from home, please indicate that on the lunch form. Also, if you are bringing a lunch from home, please do not send pop as it attracts the bees.
- gym shoes.
- appropriate clothing for the weather. This is very important because our field trip is outside.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.
Here is a look at what is coming up next week:
Science:
We will go over the chapter 2 test on Monday; students will have the opportunity to ask questions about anything they missed.
Our next chapter in Earth Science explores renewable and nonrenewable resources. The first couple of lessons that we read and discuss will explain the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources. Specific examples of each type of resource will be given.
Social Studies:
We will begin social studies after we complete Earth Science Chapter 3.
Math:
We are spending a lot of time working with multiplication. Last week, we reviewed the vocabulary terms factor (the numbers that are being multiplied in a multiplication problem) and product (the answer to a multiplication problem). This week, we are going to be finding factors of several numbers and determining whether they are prime (the only factors are 1 and the number itself) or composite (there are more than 2 factors). We will also move into reviewing multiplication strategies that were introduced in third grade.
Please help your child practice his/her multiplication facts. The practice sessions do not have to be long; as you are getting dinner ready or going to an after school activity, you can ask your child multiplication problems. There are also several free multiplication and division apps that can be downloaded for your tablet or Smartphone.
We are working on having our multiplication facts memorized and being able to recall them quickly. While we will be spending class time practicing our facts, it's also important that students are spending some additional time at home practicing them too.
Reading:
We are continuing to establish our 90-minute reading block. Students have been practicing the read-to-self and partner-read stations. The listening and teacher stations will be introduced, and students will have time to practice them as well as practice rotating between the various stations.
During whole-group instruction, we will be finishing up book 1 of The Spiderwick Chronicles. Students have gotten hooked on this series which is amazing to see! The class has been doing a fantastic job remembering the characters and story events; they have also been doing a great job with summarizing the text. I am blown away by my class full of readers!
This week, we will also begin exploring elements of fiction and nonfiction. Students will be adding these notes to their reading binders.
**I know some of you have been asking your child to take AR quizzes; however, students have not received their AR goals yet. The STAR Reading test which students typically take at the beginning of the year and helps establish their AR goals has not become available to us yet. The district is working on getting it up and running for us.**
Writing:
We took a short quiz over the following grammar skills: sentence vs. sentence fragment, sentence types, compound sentences, and punctuation. Now, we will be diving into sentence components such as subject and predicate.
Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Woods
Spelling:
Important Dates to Remember:
September 7th: Labor Day/ No School
September 9th: field trip forms and money due
September 16th: Beyond Boundaries field trip
Specials and Lunch/Recess Schedule
Tuesday: Music and Gym
Wednesday: Music and Gym
Thursday: Computers
Friday: Art
Lunch: 12:20-12:50
Recess: 12:50-1:20
Conferences
Contact Information
Email: jkras@valpo.k12.in.us
Website: http://misskrasclass.weebly.com/
Location: 305 Franklin St, Valparaiso, IN 46383
Phone: 219-531-3030