Friday, October 28, 2016

October 31st - November 4th, 2016



  • Multiplication Facts:  A large number of students continue to struggle with their multiplication facts!  Not knowing their facts puts them behind in understanding knew math concepts!  We started long division on Friday.  Please have your son/daughter practice their facts and build this basic math foundation.  IXL is a great tool for this! The markers are: D1 and D2

  • Fall parties are this week! On Monday, students may bring a costume to school on the morning of the 31st and will be given 15 minutes to change before the school-wide parade begins. Please no masks. This is a school rule.
  • Banana Costume and writing are due October 31st. Please make sure to have completed both the writing portion and bring your banana on Monday!
  • Genius Hour Update from Mrs. Curran:  

    Our focus has been on taking copious notes on our slides as well as keeping our audience in mind so that engagement will be high when we get to the presentation piece of our project.


Dates to Remember:


  • October 31 - Morning assembly, afternoon Fall Parade and Parties
  • November 4 - Early Release
  • November 10-18 - Book Fair
  • November 11 - Report cards and awards assembly

1.  Writing:  President Piece will be due on Friday.

2.  Writing:  Banana Project Due Monday!   

3.  MATH:   In addition to a few homework assignments given throughout the week, students should login and work on  IXL:  E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6


Friday, October 21, 2016

October 24th - 28th, 2016




  • Shark dissection was a wonderful success!  Through observation, research, data collection, scientific drawings, and a question that could be proven, students synthesized and were able to determine if their hypothesis was correct.  Thank you to all the parent helpers!
  • Multiplication Facts......  many students this year do not have their facts down and spend a great deal of time counting up.  Our math is rigorous in fourth grade and as we move into long division, fractions, and multistep problems, it's critical students know their facts without hesitation. IXL has a wonderful multiplication drill that all students would benefit from.  
  • Fall parade and party:  A huge thank you goes out to Mrs. Roberts for taking on the task of organizing our fourth grade fall party! She will be in contact with you regarding supplies and food needed for this event. Monday, students may bring a costume to school on the morning of the 31st and will be given 15 minutes to change before the school-wide parade begins. Please no masks or any weapons.  This is a school rule.
      •  Students may bring a costume to school on the morning of the 31st and will be given 15 minutes to change before the school-wide parade begins. Please no masks or any weapons.  This is a school rule.
        • Banana Costume and writing are due October 31st. Please make sure to have completed both the writing portion and bring your banana on Monday!
  • Dates to Remember:
    • October 31 - Morning assembly, afternoon Fall Parade and Parties
    • November 4 - Early Release
    • November 10-18 - Book Fair
    • November 11 - Report cards and awards assembly

  • NO PRESIDENT report this week!  

  • Literacy:  Banana Project!  Due Monday, October 31st.  See past blog for rubric and guidelines. 

  • MATH:  Students were given new logins for IXL!  These logins should be glued into student planners.  Students are required to spend time this week either working on Multiplication fact practice ( D1 and D2) and/or D11, D10, D14, D17, D18, D19.  
  • IXL records student time and also success with these problems and sends me a report each week.  Please encourage your son/daughter to reinforce the skills we have been learning in class!

Monday, October 17, 2016

October 17th - 21st, 2016



  • Students have been doing very well on making sure they have their president's pieces well written and turned in. For better writing, the rubric is  linked in the link menu on the side of this blog post. 
  • Fall Party Room Mom Help:  Mrs. Robert's will be organizing the fall party this year!   She will be contacting you soon regarding additional supplies and help she needs.  Thank you to Mrs. Roberts!!! 
  • Parent/Teacher conferences:  Thank you to all the parents that attended.

  • The date for shark dissecting has been set for Friday, October 21st, weather permitting. Our dissecting lab will be set up on the patio right outside our classroom. Rain Date on Monday, October 24.  Students are encouraged to bring an old t-shirt or apron that can be worn on top of normal clothes to protect their clothing.  Please email me if you are interested in helping! Times for shark dissections are:
    • Set up sharks and lab tables 8:00 - 8:50
    • Mrs. Nisely's class from 9:00 -9:50
    • Mrs. Curran's class from 10:00 - 10:50
    • Mrs. Russ' class from 11:00 - 11:50
    • Clean up and dispose of sharks 11:50-12:10
    • Fall parties are this next week! On Monday, students may bring a costume to school on the morning of the 31st and will be given 15 minutes to change before the school-wide parade begins. Please no masks or any weapons.  This is a school rule.
      • Banana Costume and writing are due October 31st. Please make sure to have completed both the writing portion and bring your banana on Monday!
    • Dates to Remember:
      • October 31 - Morning assembly, afternoon Fall Parade and Parties
      • November 4 - Early Release
      • November 10-18 - Book Fair
      • November 11 - Report cards and awards assembly
       Literacy - 
      • Weekly Reading Log (150+ minutes)
      • Work on President's Piece () 
        • Remember to be using rich vocab, details and beautiful descriptive language!
      • Top Banana Contest due October 31st.

    Sunday, October 9, 2016

    October 10th - 13th, 2016



    • The date for shark dissecting has been set for Friday, October 21st, weather permitting. Our dissecting lab will be set up on the patio right outside our classroom. Rain Date on Monday, October 24.  Students are encouraged to bring an old t-shirt or apron that can be worn on top of normal clothes to protect their clothing.  Please email me if you are interested in helping! Times for shark dissections are:
      • Set up sharks and lab tables 8:00 - 8:50
      • Mrs. Nisely's class from 9:00 -9:50
      • Mrs. Curran's class from 10:00 - 10:50
      • Mrs. Russ' class from 11:00 - 11:50
      • Clean up and dispose of sharks 11:50-12:10

    • HELP NEEDED: We need a room mom or dad to help organize our parties this year.  If you are available to help, please let me know.
    • Fall Parties are on October 31st. If you'd like to volunteer or be our room mom/dad this year, please let me know.  Students are allowed to bring a costume for the parade later in the day, however it should not take longer than 15 minutes to get changed. Remember, no masks are allowed due to school rules!
    • Parent/Teacher conferences this week. Please, if you haven't signed up for a spot, please do so as soon as possible!! If you are unable to come to one of the times listed, please email me at snisely@jeffco.k12.co.us and we'll find another time on another day.
    Dates to Remember:
    • October 12 - 13th Parent-Teacher Conferences
    • October 14 - No School
    • October 31 - Morning assembly, afternoon Fall Parade and Parties
    • November 4 - Early Release
    • November 10-18 - Book Fair
    • November 11 - Report cards and awards assembly

    Literacy - 
    • Weekly Reading Log (150+ minutes)
    • Work on President's Piece (Taylan) 
      • Remember to be using rich vocab, details and beautiful descriptive language!
    • Top Banana Contest due October 31st (see last weeks blog post)

      Friday, September 30, 2016

      October 3rd - 7th, 2016



      • Students will start working on Class President's Reports Monday, October 3rd. I I will  model and work through one president piece this week, these will be recurring writing pieces for every week
        • On Monday, our new class president will present information about their life, family members, passions, hobbies, and two stories they want to share. Students will take two column notes on the new president. 
        • By Friday, each student in our class will have:
          1. turned their notes into a rough draft. 
          2. revised their rough draft (add, change, take out to improve writing) 
          3. edited their drafts. (correct spelling and punctuation) 
          4. written a final polished copy to be turned in on Friday. 
        • All of these steps are to be done at home each week, except the note taking.
      • The date for the Shark Dissections still is to be decided. Information to follow about dates, times and volunteers.
      • A reminder again that Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, October 12 and Thursday the 13th. If you haven't signed up for a spot, please do so as soon as possible!! If you are unable to come to one of the times listed, please email me at snisely@jeffco.k12.co.us and we'll find another time on another day.

      • This past week in science: Scientists know that taping into their schema creates a platform for new learning.  Students each posted their background knowledge about sharks on a wall wisher board for other students to read.  The research component of the scientific method has begun.  An article about sharks was read and students used evidence from the text to prove true or false statements.  Students then pushed their thinking as they learned research based facts about sharks and they used the skill of writing to learn to reinforce new thinking.

      • Genius Hour update from Mrs. Curran:
      This week we have studied what to look for when deciding if a site is safe and appropriate.  We then have researched and found several sources to use for their topics and bookmarked them.  During our conferences we’ve noticed that the kids need to specify their subject question or phrase in order to get to a good source they really need to answer their question. 
      Dates to Remember:
      • October 12 - 13th Parent-Teacher Conferences
      • October 14 - No School
      • October 31 - Morning assembly, afternoon Fall Parade and Parties
      • November 4 - Early Release
      • November 10-18 - Book Fair
      • November 11 - Report cards and awards assembly

      Top Banana Contest

      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!). The paper should be typed in 12 point, Times New Roman Font and a minimum of one page, double spacedAttached you will find a rubric that will be used to grade you project.