The Kras Chronicles
Week of May 11th-15th
Classroom Happenings
Dear Parents/Guardians,
The 4th graders will be going to the Porter County Fair Grounds this Wednesday for Agriculture (Ag) Day. This is an opportunity for students to learn more about agriculture and 4H. We will leave Central at 11 A.M. Once we arrive at the fair grounds, students will eat their sack lunch (either brought from home or purchased from the school), and then, our class will proceed to the various stations that have been set up. We will return to Central at 1:45 P.M.
Students have been working very hard to learn their math facts and earn their ice cream sundaes. Our last multiplication timed test will be on Friday, May 22nd. Please continue to help your child practice his/her math facts a little bit each night. Practice sessions do not have to be really long; you can ask your child math facts on your way to a sport's practice or as you're making dinner. Students can also log into Math Facts in a Flash by using their school username and password. Information regarding the ice cream sundae party will be sent home next week.
Here is what to expect for the upcoming week:
Science:
We will be switching from Physical Science to Life Science for the end of the school year. Our first chapter explores how plants grow and reproduce. We will cover topics such as photosynthesis, plants with seeds, plants without seeds, and parts of flowers.
Social Studies:
On Tuesday, Senator Charbonneau will be coming to speak with our 4th graders about the process of a bill becoming a law. His visit will be a great introduction to learning about our national and state governments. We will begin studying government the week of May 18th.
Math:
Our unit is coming to a close. We are wrapping up our unit on algebraic thinking by looking at line plots, double line plots, and linear piece patterns. All throughout our unit, students have had to observe, extend, and make generalizations about various patterns. Line plots provide another opportunity for students to observe relationships between numbers and extend them. After focusing on a single line plot, we will move on to using double line-plots. Double-line plots are very useful because they readily allow comparisons to be made between the data that has been plotted.
We will end our unit by looking at patterns made from linear pieces as opposed to our colored tiles.
Reading:
We are beginning Unit 6, Week 1 this week. Our skills for this unit focus on identifying cause and effect and making connections to stories. Many times, being able to make a connection helps with being able to identify cause and effect, so these skills go hand-in-hand. We will be having a spelling test on Thursday morning and a reading test covering cause and effect on Friday.
Writing:
We are wrapping up our unit on Informational reports. Students will have until Friday to conference with me and finish publishing their final report. I am so pleased with the number of students who requested conferences all throughout our unit. It is wonderful to see how much they have grown as writers! I cannot wait to read their final reports!
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Miss Kras
Spelling: Unaccented Syllables -cher, -ture, -sure, -ure
Core Words
stretcher
picture
measure
figure
teacher
nature
failure
marcher
future
pleasure
Test Words
secure
pitcher
creature
leisure
endure
adventure
gesture
manicure
bleacher
culture
fracture
juncture
vulture
posture
- rapture
Important Dates to Remember
May 13th: Ag. Day field trip
May 15th: School is in session
May 25th: Memorial Day/No School
May 29th: Field Day
June 3rd: Field Day make-up in case of bad weather
June 4th: Last student day
June 9th: Report Cards available on-line
Contact information
Email: jkras@valpo.k12.in.us
Website: http://misskrasclass.weebly.com
Location: 305 Franklin Ave., Valparaiso, IN 46383
Phone: 219-531-3030