Uva Updates
August 31, 2015 - September 4, 2015
Announcements
Thursday, September 3rd - Curriculum Chat 6:30
Monday, September 7th - Labor Day, No school
Friday, September 11th - Interims will be issued on HAC (Home Access Center)
Friday, September 11th- First Book Talk is Due
Monday, September 14th at 3:30 in the Media Center -First SAC Meeting
Friday, October 2nd - Wonder Project Due today - Students received a list of steps and rubric that is in their homework binder on how to complete this project. I will give them some time in class during our Daily 5 time, but they should also be working on it at home.
Classroom Updates
Curriculum Chat - Come to school on Thursday at 6:30pm to learn more about your student's 4th grade year. You may report to our classroom for a jam packed information session.
Graded Work - If there is ever a question about graded work, please encourage your student to write me a note to clear anything up. The kids have received their graded work and reviewed it before it's placed in the Tuesday folder. My goal is to have them look over the grade they earned and advocate for themselves. (Of course that takes training!) If a student earns a D or lower, the student will have already been met with to remediate any skills that are lost.
Cold Reads - Students will be receiving a graded cold read in their Tuesday folder today. A cold read is when students are given a reading passage that they have never seen before; they read the passage and answer questions that correlate to the text. We have been working on strategies in class to be able to take a cold read successfully and be prepared for our future assessments. They will consist of multiple choice, short, and long responses.
Planner Reminder: Your child's planner will be coming home every night. It will have the day's homework, plus upcoming tests and events. After reviewing your child's homework and making sure it matches the planner, please sign nightly. I check planners first thing every morning. The planner is also a way for us to communicate with one another. Remember if you have any questions about homework, feel free to e-mail.
Wish List:
-Sunshine State Books that can be donated to our classroom library, as students are asking to read them.
- Treats for our treat box - Air heads, Starbursts, Jolly ranchers, peppermints
How Much Is a Million?
Each 4th grade class created 125,000 on chart paper with slips that represented 1,000. Then as an entire 4th grade we combined our 125,000's to make 1,000,000. WOW! We didn't realize how big a million was! (We made sure to explain that if each slip represented 1, then our representation would have to be 1,000 times greater!)
Monthly Focus
Teachers will be picking one student from their class to represent the pillar of the month. The student who is picked will be invited to a breakfast with their parents to honor them.
September – Fairness
October – Responsibility
November – Citizenship
January – Respect
February – Caring
March – Trustworthiness
April- All Pillars
Book Talks
Book Talks are short presentations (no more than 5 minutes in length) that are intended for sharing about books we love with our peers! Book Talks provide a “snapshot” of a book that highlights the plot, setting, characters, theme and main idea. Through sharing about the books we read, students deepen their understanding of literary elements and presentation skills while being exposed to a wide variety of literature!
Students have received the book talk information and have the requirements in their homework binder. Below is the book talk schedule so you have it on hand. If you have any questions please email me. Thank you.
See schedule below:
Curriculum Notes
Reading -
Novel: The 7 Wonders of Sassafras Springs.
Skills: Setting, characters, making connections, theme of a story & a poem, and making inferences. Unit 2 Ready Florida LAFS Summative Test will be on Wednesday, Sept. 9th
Students can use their Florida Ready LAFS book to review for the test. Use pages 61 – 108.
Read 4 or More: Students should be reading nightly at home. Remember to keep your child’s minutes logged for weekly checks. Calendars will be collected at the end of each month.
Math -
Quarter 1 - Topic 2 –
4.OA.1.1a – Algebraic Expressions - use link below for lesson on expressions.
https://learnzillion.com/lessons/2543-see-multiplication-as-a-comparison-using-number-sentences
Use this link as practice for expressions. http://mrnussbaum.com/grade_4_standards/multiplication_statements/
4.OA.1.2 – Comparison Equations - multiply or divide to solve word problems
4.OA.1.1b – Determine if an equation is true or false by using reasonable thinking.
Multiplication fluency drills have started, please be studying with your child at home.
Tentative Summative Test on Friday, Sept. 11th - Students can prepare by using their Math Journal as a resource and remember to use IXL or Studyisland to review all skills. (See links below for online access.
Writing - Being a Writer - Students have enjoyed conferencing with teacher and paired conferencing. We will begin Narrative writing and continue with conferencing.
Language - continue run-on sentences.
Conventions - Capitalizing People, Places and Things
Science -
Chapter 5 – How Do Earth and Its Moon Move? - Tentative Summative test will be on Wednesday, Sept. 16th. Students can study text pages 196 – 197, along with reading the chapter. We will also make flashcards in class a week before the test.
Social Studies -
Chapter 1 – Florida’s Geography - Tentative Test on Thursday, Sept. 10th. Students can study the Quizlet as a study guide and notes from class. See link here: https://quizlet.com/47777934/chapter-1-floridas-geography-flash-cards/
Classroom Volunteers
Class Volunteers:
Thank you, thank you, thank you to my parents who volunteered. I am still looking for a
Cooking Parent:
For the safety of our students, ALL visitors and volunteers to any St. Johns County School District facility are required to have completed a School Access Form prior to attending ANY school function. To complete a School Access Form, please go to: https://stjohns.keepntrack.com/apply
Thanks for reading the updates this week. If you ever have questions about ANYTHING, please don't hesitate to ask. I truly believe the teacher-parent partnership is a crucial part of a school year, and I know this year is going to be great!
PTO: Please remember to join this year.
Resource Schedule
Day 1 - Media
Day 2 - P.E. (Coach Leonard)
Day 3 - Music
Day 4 - Computer Lab
Day 5 - P.E. (Coach Anderson)
Day 6 - Art
Day 7 - P.E. (Coach Lane)
Email: jamie.uva@stjohns.k12.fl.us
Location: 555 Pine Tree Lane, St. Augustine, FL, United States
Phone: (904) 547-7400