Friday, October 14, 2011

October 17th-21st, 2011



  • In place of the reading comprehension sheet this week, students will find a writing prompt.  I have also attached a rubric to help guide students on fourth grade writing expectations.  This writing piece and the rubric are due on Friday, October 21st.  Please take the time to read through your son/daughters writing and encourage quality final drafts. Many students need to be reminded to revise and edit; adding those rich descriptive words, and correct spelling and grammar errors.

  • Needed: Dry Erase Markers.  Due to the high use of student dry erase boards, we have run out of dry erase markers.  We use these boards every day in math, and reading. We would love it if you could help replenish our supply.
  • No reaction sheet this week due to conferences.
  • Parent-Teacher Conferences on October 12, 13 were a great success!
     Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend.

  • Early Release Day:  Wednesday, October 26, 1:10 dismissal.
  • Fall Festival Parties and Parade, October 31, 2:15 p.m. 
  • Italian Dinner:  Friday, October 21st, 5:30-8:30.  You can still purchase tickets from the front office.  Money earned from this event will help support 6th grade students and their trip to outdoor lab.
  • Math club will be starting soon!  Please check in coming news for information.





1.  Please read the following prompt and respond in a one page, paragraph form. Remember to construct interesting, and detailed sentences!

"If you were as small as a bug, would you rather be able to jump like a grasshopper, fly like a dragonfly, or climb like a spider?" Explain using rich examples.

2.  Main Idea Practice:






3. Have fun playing this division game this week! For a bonus, play the game more than once :) 





Friday, October 7, 2011

October 10th - 14th, 2011





  • Mid term reports were sent home in friday folder.  Parents, please sign and have your son/daughter return them on Monday.  I look forward to discussing these with you at conferences this next week.

  • Fall Party:  has been changed to Monday, October 31.  Mrs. Ranta has volunteered to be our classroom liaison!  She will be calling parents that indicated that they could help with our party.
  • Parent-Teacher Conferences are October 12, 13.   Confirmation Notes were sent home in the last Friday Folder. If there’s a conflict with your time, please call me as soon as possible.
  • Our “Reading Basket” for the spaghetti dinner is filling up with wonderful items.  Thank you to all who donated the awesome reading items! Some ideas for this basket are books, journals, book marks, magazines and lights. We will continue to collect these items to promote 6th grade and their efforts at outdoor lab.
  • Spaghetti Dinner/Silent Auction date is October 21st from 5:30-8:30 p.m.
  • Early Release Day, October 26th,   1:10 dismissal due to a teacher staff development day.
  • Thank you for helping your son/daughter study their multiplication facts! Many students are lacking knowledge of their multiplication facts!  Without this basic knowledge of facts, students may fall behind in math this year.  10 or 15 minutes a night of studying multiplication facts or first thing in the morning will promote this essential learning and pave the way for future math assignments.

  • I’m proud our fourth grade class!   They continue to amaze me with their fantastic writing!  Please be sure to ask them about their “Slice of Life” stories.  Once revision is complete, they will publish their writing. The first rough draft was due Friday, October 7th.






1.  Below  is a study sheet for Mrs. Russ' social studies class.  Student's are responsible for the following information:

Social Studies Review Sheet for the final Economics: Opportunity Cost and Choice unit

These are some of the concepts I might ask about on the quiz.

ü  Tell the difference between a good and a service.  Be able to give an example of each.
ü  Know the two types of goods, durable and non-durable and be able to give an example of each
ü  The concept of opportunity cost
ü  How do you know when you have made a good decision financial or otherwise, give three examples
ü  How do I know when I have made a bad decision, financial or otherwise, give three examples
ü  Know the difference between a resource and a good, be able to give an example
ü  Know the two types of resources, renewable and non-renewable and be able to give examples
ü  Know and be able to recall the definition of: economy, opportunity cost, risk, incentive, financial risk
ü  Be able to talk about the economy of resources, economy of time, and economy of behavior in reference to the basic definition of economy…making the most of what you have and not wasting your resources

Social Studies Review Sheet for the final Economics: Opportunity Cost and Choice unit

These are some of the concepts I might ask about on the quiz.

ü  Tell the difference between a good and a service.  Be able to give an example of each.
ü  Know the two types of goods, durable and non-durable and be able to give an example of each
ü  The concept of opportunity cost
ü  How do you know when you have made a good decision financial or otherwise, give three examples
ü  How do I know when I have made a bad decision, financial or otherwise, give three examples
ü  Know the difference between a resource and a good, be able to give an example
ü  Know the two types of resources, renewable and non-renewable and be able to give examples
ü  Know and be able to recall the definition of: economy, opportunity cost, risk, incentive, financial risk
ü  Be able to talk about the economy of resources, economy of time, and economy of behavior in reference to the basic definition of economy…making the most of what you have and not wasting your resources

2.  Please read the following text on Fingerprints and complete the diagram as instructed.



3.   Here’s an “ap-peel-ing” contest, and a fun and creative way to celebrate October’s top holiday. First, design a costume for either a real or plastic banana. Use a variety of materials, such as paper, cloth, paint, glue, markers, glitter, yarn, or whatever. Create a setting and a nameplate for your banana. Bring your completed project to school on October 31st. We will have a “parade” of costumed bananas and a panel of judges will choose the four “top bananas”.  Awards will be given for the Top Banana, Scariest Banana, Most Creative Banana, and Funniest Banana.
For a language arts connection, each student will write a story featuring their banana as the main character. This project will be completed at home as homework. The afternoon of the 31st, we will share our stories while we enjoy banana splits (with new bananas of course!).
Attached you will find a rubric that will be used to grade you project.
Reminders:
·         The paper should be typed in 12 point, Times New Roman Font.
·         The paper should be a minimum of 1 page typed, double spaced.


4.  Please click on the site below and play the math game.  You will need a sheet of notebook paper to work each problem.  Please work through at least ten problems.

                                  
                                                


Thursday, October 6, 2011

Division Strategies

The following are several examples of the division strategies that we are practicing in class:

Friday, September 30, 2011

October 3rd - 7th, 2011


  • As students work through our science unit,  they have shown great strides in accurately recording and demonstrating wonderful experiments.  Science notebooks are a critical piece to our science studies.  These notebooks integrate writing and scientific data collection and thought. Higher levels of thinking are required throughout all of our science units.
  • Midterm Reports will be coming home today, Friday, October 12th.
  • Parent-Teacher conferences will be Wednesday, October 17th and Thursday, October 18th. If you haven't already signed up for a time, please email me.
  • Cookie Dough Delivery on Tuesday, October 11th. This is also the day of the limo ride.

  • Please remind your son/daughter that they must wait for you in the grassy area by the cafeteria when being picked up after school.  Students are not allowed to play on the playground equipment at this time, and for no reason should parents park in the hug and go zone!
  • Early Release Day:  This Wednesday, October 24th at 1:10.



1. Please read the following four paragraphs.  On a sheet of notebook paper, write the sentence that does not fit in the paragraph (this is a detail that should not be included with the rest of the text).




 
2.  Math homework:  follow this link and play the following math time game.






Thursday, September 22, 2011

September 26th - 30th, 2011

 

·    Thank you for helping your son/daughter study their multiplication facts!
·    Parent Teacher Conferences are October 12 - 13th. If you haven’t already signed up for a time, let me know.
·    Mid term grades will be sent home Friday, October 1st.
·    Wednesday, September 28th, early release at 1:10.
·    Students are working on getting their class work and homework in on time. Students are responsible for bringing a late assignment note home for any missing homework.  This is a fourth grade expectation and a sign of responsibility.
·    Intermediate Field day - Thursday, September 29th.
·    Most students have done an awesome job keeping up with the weekly blog and completing the homework assigned. Included in this week’s blog is a rubric for at home writing prompts (under the important forms tab). Please encourage your son/daughter to read the rubric and edit and revise their writing before turning it in.
·    Arvada fire department will present “The Hunt for Home Hazards” to our fourth grade students on Friday, September 30th.
·    After giving the first round of our acuity test to students this past week, I noticed that many students struggle with determining the main idea, summarizing, and author’s point of view in reading and writing.  We will continue to spend time in class working on these skills.  Spending time at home to reinforce these strategies will only benefit your son/daughter.  I appreciate your help.