February 18th - 21st, 2014

• No School this next Monday, February 18th in celebration of President’s Day.
• Report cards will be sent home Friday, March 8^th.
• Conferences are March 11th, 12th, 13th. If you have not already signed up for a conference time, please click on the following link:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084FA4AC2EA5FB6-niselys

• TCAP Dates and times:  Each day testing from 10:45-12:10

              Monday, March 3 – Writing
              Tuesday, March 4 - Writing

              Wednesday, March 5 – Reading

              Thursday, March 6 – Reading

              Friday, March 7 – Writing

              

              Tuesday, March 11– Reading

              Wednesday, March 12 – Math

              Thursday, March 13 – Math

              Friday, March 14 – Math

We will be sending home an email regarding snacks for TCAP. Thank you ahead of time to all the parents that have signed up to contribute a healthy snack during our two weeks of testing or donations of money to purchase these snacks.

• Spring Break:  March 24^th – 28th.
• March 31st - Teacher work day, no students.

Solar System

Fourth Grade Science

Final Project

The final project for our Space Science unit will include your choice of the following projects:

·        You work at a calendar company and have been asked by your boss to create a calendar for your company.  You do not have a background in Space Science.  The calendar you will design will be marketed to lovers of Space Science.  The calendar can include photos of objects in space or drawings which demonstrate Space Science concepts you have learned.

·        You will create two models to demonstrate your understanding of the concepts of day and night, months, year, and seasons. Examples include clay (or other material) models, poster boards, etc.

In addition, you will be required to complete the following:

·        Write a Reflection on how the position of the sun, moon and position of the earth affects time.  This should be at least a paragraph in length and touch on all the concepts we have learned, including lunar phases, orbit, rotation, seasons, and time of year, as related to the position of the sun, moon and earth.

Your Final Project will include either 1) Space Science calendar and Reflection or 2) Two models and Reflection.  This will be due either March 13 and 14, 2014, depending on your science day.

February 10th - 14th, 2014

• NO work work/ spelling until after TCAP and spring break!  

• Class Pictures:  Tuesday, February 11th.

•     Valentines Day Parties, February 13^th, 2:30-3:30. If students are planning on bringing in valentines for friends this day, they must bring in a valentine for each member of our class.  Please see the list of students added to a note in the Friday folder regarding the party. Students may create a valentine bag or box to bring to school on the 13^th.  Prizes will be awarded to the top three creative boxes.
• Special Valentines Update:
   The PTSA is sponsoring a project for Children's Hospital, "From Our Heart to Yours".   During the Valentine's Day party we will be helping the class prepare craft kits for the patients at Children's Hospital.   Each grade level will be preparing kits for the children at the hospital to enjoy during their stay.  The class will be assembling the materials, but will not make the projects. The project is specific, with detailed instructions to follow due to guidelines for safety.
   Parents interested in hosting and helping out for the valentines party are welcome, and a sign up genius is available at: 

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4AA9AF2BA31-valentines

• Early release:  Wednesday, February 26th at 1:00.

No School:  Friday, February 14th (teacher work day) and Monday,February 17th (President's Day).

• TCAP Dates and times:  Each day testing from 10:45-12:15

              Tuesday, March 4 – Writing

              Wednesday, March 5 – Writing

              Thursday, March 6 – Reading

              Friday, March 7 – Reading

              Monday, March 10 – Writing

              Tuesday, March 11 – Reading

              Wednesday, March 12 – Math

              Thursday, March 13 – Math

              Friday, March 14 - Math

• March 7th report cards go home.
• Parent/teacher conferences: March 11th - March 13th. Click on the link below to sign up for a date and time.
• www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C084FA4AC2EA5FB6-niselys   

• Spring Break March 24th - 28th.

1.  Try the following addition of fractions with like denominators game.
Go to IXL.  Sign in and work through R1, R2, R3.

2.  Complete the following math fraction problems. These are due on Thursday!

1.  Mary and 4 of her friends want to share 6 pizzas.  How much pizza will each girl get?

2.  Bob and his 2 brothers want to share 8 cherry pies.  How much pie will each boy get?

3.  John eats 1/2 of a PBJ every day for 9 days.  How many sandwiches did he eat all together?

4.  Clarissa eats 1/3 of a Snickers bar every day for 10 days.  How many Snickers bars did she eat in all?



February 3rd - 7th, 2014

• Spelling Bee:  Saturday, February 1st, 2014. Good luck to the student's participating!
• Class Pictures:  Tuesday, February 11th.

•     Valentines Day Parties, February 13^th, 2:30-3:30. If students are planning on bringing in valentines for friends this day, they must bring in a valentine for each member of our class.  Please see the list of students added to a note in the Friday folder regarding the party. Students may create a valentine bag or box to bring to school on the 13^th.  Prizes will be awarded to the top three creative boxes.
• Special Valentines Update:
   The PTSA is sponsoring a project for Children's Hospital, "From Our Heart to Yours".   During the Valentine's Day party we will be helping the class prepare craft kits for the patients at Children's Hospital.   Each grade level will be preparing kits for the children at the hospital to enjoy during their stay.  The class will be assembling the materials, but will not make the projects. The project is specific, with detailed instructions to follow due to guidelines for safety.
   Parents interested in hosting and helping out for the valentines party are welcome, and a sign up genius is available at:   
  
  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4AA9AF2BA31-valentines

• Early release:  Wednesday, February 26th at 1:00.

No School:  Friday, February 14th (teacher work day) and Monday,February 17th (President's Day).

1.  Science:  click on the following link and answer these questions:

http://astro.unl.edu/naap/lps/animations/lps.swf

a.  The moon goes through one cycle of phases each time it orbits earth.  How does this model show evidence of this?  Explain.  Hint use what we learned about lunar phases to defend your answer.

2.  Writing:   Student's are given in class time to take notes on president reports on Mondays.  These notes need to be taken home, a rough draft written and brought back on Wednesday for in class revision.  Revised writing pieces will be sent home for final copies to be written and turned in on Friday.

January 27th - 31st, 2014

• Students are expected to continue working on their multiplication tables at home until completely mastered!  Many students have studied for the in class test, and then have forgotten their facts during math!  As we work on division and fractions in our math unit, a complete recall of multiplication facts is critical for success!
• Spelling Bee:  Saturday, February 1st, 2014.
• Class Pictures:  Tuesday, February 11th.

•     Valentines Day Parties, February 13^th, 2:30-3:30. If students are planning on bringing in valentines for friends this day, they must bring in a valentine for each member of our class.  Please see the list of students added to a note in the Friday folder regarding the party. Students may create a valentine bag or box to bring to school on the 13^th.  Prizes will be awarded to the top three creative boxes.
• Special Valentines Update:
   The PTSA is sponsoring a project for Children's Hospital, "From Our Heart to Yours".   During the Valentine's Day party we will be helping the class prepare craft kits for the patients at Children's Hospital.   Each grade level will be preparing kits for the children at the hospital to enjoy during their stay.  The class will be assembling the materials, but will not make the projects. The project is specific, with detailed instructions to follow due to guidelines for safety.
   Parents interested in hosting and helping out for the valentines party are welcome, and a sign up genius is available at:    
  
  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4AA9AF2BA31-valentines

• Early release:  Wednesday, February 26th at 1:00.
• Science Fair:  Wednesday, January 30th.
• No School:  Friday, February 14th (teacher work day) and Monday,February 17th (President's Day).
  
  
  

  

  
  
  Math:   I will be using ixl.com as a math review tool for your students. So, even though we are currently working on algebra and word problems in Math Expressions Unit 4, you might not see this concept in the ixl.com exercises. 
  
  
  

  The purpose of ixl.com is to strengthen skills and review concepts.  ixl.com is an important component of your weekly math homework practice.

  
  

  
  

  Please Visit ixl.com, sign in, and work on the following skills in the 4th grade MATH section:

  
  

  4th Grade Level

  
  

  M.2

  M.4

  M.6

  M.7
  
  *You will need scratch paper

  
  

  After you practice your assigned skills, you may practice in any area of ixl.com, but please try to stay in the 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade areas.

  
  

  Other Information:
  

  • Your child's username is their first and last  name, lowercase with no spaces and 929.  Example: johnsmith929

January 21 - 24th, 2014

Students are expected to continue working on their multiplication tables at home until completely mastered!  Many students have studied for the in class test, and then have forgotten their facts during math!  As we work on division and fractions in our math unit, a complete recall of multiplication facts is critical for success!

Valentines Day Parties, February 13^th, 2:30-3:30. If students are planning on bringing in valentines for friends this day, they must bring in a valentine for each member of our class.  Please see the list of students added to a note in the Friday folder regarding the party. Students may create a valentine bag or box to bring to school on the 13^th.  Prizes will be awarded to the top three creative boxes. PTSA is sponsoring a project for Children's Hospital, "From Our Heart to Yours". During the Valentine's Day party we will be helping the class prepare craft kits for the patients at children's hospital. Each grade level will be preparing kits for the children at the hospital to enjoy during their stay.  Our class will be assembling the materials, but will not make the projects. More information will follow this blog.

Monday, January 20th  Martian Luther King holiday. No school.

Friday, January 24th, Flex Day by appointment. See note  attached to student planner last Monday. 

Early release:  Wednesday,February 26th, 1:00.

Science Fair:  Wednesday, January 29th.

No School:  Friday, February 14th (teacher workday) and Monday, February 17th (President's Day).

1.  List the author's purpose for writing the following piece. Constructed Response:  In the text, Wildlife Refuge, give three examples why the writer thinks it's a good idea to take a field trip to the Wildlife Refuge.

Wildlife Refuge* Field Trip

Dear Mr. Smith and Mrs. Nieto,

We have a problem. The wildlife here in the city is very limited. There is not a lot of opportunity to learn about conservation and wildlife preservation. If we took a field trip to The Wildlife Refuge our problem would be solved. Trenton, Diego and I would like to take our class for a great learning experience. In addition, we will provide a study guide to students to identify the animals and provide information about conservation of endangered wildlife.

If we went on a field trip, we will learn about the wildlife from around the world and how rivers provide a natural habitat for them to live and breed. This information would help us to understand the importance of science in our day to day life. We would use math to make a budget and figure out a way to earn money. These skills will be very useful again and again. We will learn how to make a schedule with target dates. This will provide us with a plan that covers the entire project from start to finish. The preparation of the study guide will require lots of research and organization of information. The first thing to do is research, research, research! Next, we will choose a fund raiser (with your approval, of course). This will earn money for the field trip. The parents will hopefully chip in their time and money, if we don't get enough. We will prepare a plan schedule. This will provide the dates that team members will need to accomplish the steps toward our goal. My competent adult model is the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. It shows us step by step how to plan a trip and what to see. Now, you are asking why should I approve a trip to The Wildlife Refuge ? How does this improve student learning? Besides the fact that the project planning, fund raising, budgeting and reporting will provide an excellent learning opportunity, it will provide education. It will also provide awareness of wildlife and the importance of conservation. This project will be evaluated by its successful planning and its ability to involve our class in wildlife conservation. The trip will be evaluated by the student participation on the trip and a plan of conservation that identifies what we can all do to protect and respect wildlife so they will still be around when we have children.

Sincerely,

Your student

2. MATH

Visit the link below for a cool interactive math dictionary.

http://www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/

Look up the following math words.  Draw a picture of each word and write a short definition.

point

ray

line

line segment

perpendicular lines

parallel lines

intersecting lines

parallelogram

rhombus

trapezoid

Click on the two links below and play the geometry games.

http://www.kidsmathgamesonline.com/geometry/angles.html

http://www.kidsmathgamesonline.com/geometry/transformation.html

Have mom or dad sign off in your planner on the day(s) you play.