The Silver Scoop
March 21-24
Our Students Have PRIDE!
Upcoming Events
There is NO SCHOOL on Friday, March 25 as Spring Break begins that day!
The Growth & Development film will be shown to 4th grade GIRLS ONLY this Tuesday afternoon.
The "Catch a Rising Star Talent Showcase" will be this Wednesday from 6:00-9:00 in the gym. Admission is $1, with funds raised going to Riley Hospital. Several students from our class are performing during the show or as intermission acts. There are three parts to the talent show, and people often stay for just one or two parts, not the whole thing. It is a long show to give more students the opportunity to shine!
This Thursday we will have "Beach Day." Students are encouraged to wear Hawaiian shirts, bright colors, anything with flowers, beach hats, etc. They may also bring a beach towel for some special reading time around our room.
This week's special schedule:
Monday--Art, Tuesday--Gym, Wednesday--Computer Lab, Thursday--Library
Last Week's Learning
What We Are Studying This Week
DOL/Word Work -- We are on Week #18 of Daily Paragraph Editing, and there will be a DOL quiz on Thursday. In Word Work, we are on List #27 on "Discussion Vocabulary." There will be a spelling test on Thursday on the 10 vocabulary words (spelling, definition, part of speech) and the 5 core words (spelling only). This week's spelling words: admit, assemble, aware, claim, point, reject, request, result, shift, suggest. Core Words: office, equal, process, nature, carefully. Did you know we have also been studying Greek and Latin Roots? We've done Lists #10-15 over number-related root words, and there will be a cumulative test over the roots' definitions on Thursday, too. Roots to Know: plur = more, poly/multi = many, mega = great, mono/uni = one, sol = alone, bi/du = two, ambi/amphi = both, tri = three, quad/quar = four, penta/quint = five, hex/sex = six, sept = seven, oct = eight, non/nov = nine, deci/deca = ten, cent = hundred.
STARS Club -- New STARS Clubs began last Monday. Mrs. Miller's class is reading Riding Freedom, Mr. Van Paris's class is reading Cricket in Times Square, Mr. Johnston's class is reading A Wrinkle in Time, Mrs. Stevenson's class is reading The BFG, and my class is reading The Westing Game. Be sure to check with your child about his/her new STARS Club class.
Math -- This week we will continue to study geometry from Topic 16, covering Lessons 16-7, 16-8, and 16-9 on polygons, classifying triangles, and classifying quadrilaterals. There are lots of vocabulary words to learn in these lessons. During small groups on Tuesday, we will also practice using protractors to measure angles again. There will be math homework on Monday and Wednesday this week.
Science -- We will read a Science A-Z reader called "Force and Motion," and there are questions to answer that the students should be able to finish in class.
Reading & Language -- Hopefully the students have completed the research portion of their biography project. This week we are going to focus on writing the report. The report is not a "fact dump." Instead, the students have to frame it as an argumentative piece of writing to convince Mrs. Donovan that the person they studied should be honored in a "Gallery of Fame." We will talk about how to structure the report and the kinds of details to include. The students should have lots of class time to write their first draft. The final report was originally due on Wednesday, April 6, but I think I will go ahead and push that back to Friday, April 8. On that day, the students should also have their posters and monologues ready for the "Gallery of Fame." (More information about that will be in the next newsletter!) In addition to writing the report, this week the students should finish up any "mini-projects" that we've been working on that they have not turned in. These include a persuasive paragraph about honoring a person with a stamp, the "Important Thing" writing about someone famous, and the "biography poster" about the Founding Father from last week's Jean Fritz books. Please check in with your child to learn his/her progress on the mini-projects and the big biography project.
Social Studies -- The students will read several articles from an Indiana Studies Weekly newspaper about the Northwest Territory and how Indiana became a state. There will be an assignment over this reading on Wednesday.
This Week's Cartoon
Mrs. Kara Silver
4th Grade Teacher
Clarks Creek Elementary
Plainfield Community Schools
Email: ksilver@plainfield.k12.in.us
Website: http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us
Location: 401 Elm Drive, Plainfield, IN, 46168
Phone: 317-839-0120