A Blooming Week in May (05/01-05/05)

Happy Friday parents! This week the students completed their Math PSSAs, and Ms. Duke and I are so proud of how hard they worked all week long! They were focused and determined to do their absolute best! We have one more week of PSSAs for Science, but it is much shorter and will only span over 2 days of Tuesday and Wednesday. During those days, please make sure your child is getting adequate rest and a good quality breakfast each and every morning either at home or at school. Please take a look at what else is happening this week in fourth grade.

Math: We will begin Unit 8 of Everyday Math, along with some project based math learning. A new homework packet will be sent home on Monday, so please look out for this packet so it does not get lost. We understand we are approaching the end of the year, but we would like to see students continue to work hard.

Science: Students have finished their Invasive Species project.  This week, the students will be presenting their research to their peers.

Reading: We are reading and discussing our historical fiction texts. What is the underlying theme? How can we deepen our interpretation through close reading?

Writing: The students will be developing more complex ideas and then drafting their literary essays next week!

Social Studies: We will continue to learn the 50 states by regions.  We will have quizzes on each region. Soon we will tackle memorizing the capital of each US state.  Have your child practice by using a fun 50 States geography game on the website.  Go to Google Classroom and click on the link.

Upcoming Dates:

Science PSSA: May 2nd and 3rd

Track and Field Day: May 4th (rain date: May 18th)

• have students dress in layers to help be prepared for cold/warm weather
• students may bring a water bottle to keep with them
• apply sunscreen or send it to school (students will be outside most of the day)
• wear appropriate running attire, including sneakers 

Sunglasses Day: May 10th

Puberty Lesson: May 22nd

No School: May 29th

Last Day of School: June 2nd 

Last Week in April (04/24-04/28)

Happy Thursday parents! We are at the point where there are less than 30 days left of school for the year. Can you believe it? This year flew by and we can't believe that it is almost coming to an end. We understand that at this time of the year, students tend to start slacking on their school work. Please encourage your child to keep working hard because we still have a lot to do, yet a lot of fun content as well. Also next week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the students will have their Math PSSAs. During these days, please make sure that they are getting an adequate amount of sleep and a proper breakfast in the morning, whether that is at school or home.

Math: There will be nothing new taught during math class for the week due to PSSAs. This also means that there will be no homework being sent home.

Science: Students will continue to work on their invasive species project. They have been given a rubric to follow and are required to either make a Powerpoint presentation or poster. They may work on this at home. After they complete their project, the students are expected to present their information to the class. Lastly, for fun, the students will create a WANTED poster to present their information.

Reading: The students have chosen good fit historical fiction books to read during independent reading time. They will be identifying historical timelines and comparing those to their characters' timelines.  They will be looking for themes and significant parts in the text.  We will be using the powerful historical fiction novel, Number the Stars, to model these strategies.

Writing: We will be studying a published literary essay so the students have an example for when they begin drafting their own literary essays! They will continue to grow ideas, include quotes and evidence for their brainstorming portion.

Social Studies: We will continue to study the 50 states and capitals.  Next week we will be identifying the states by region.

Word Work: A new word sort will not be sent home this coming week due to PSSAs, so there will be no Tic Tac Toe Homework due the next Day 6.  The next word sort that will be sent home will be on May 2nd. Therefore, TTT homework won't be due again until Day 6 on May 9th.  A reminder will be written on the blog next week.


Upcoming Dates:

Math PSSA: April 24th-28th

Science PSSA: May 1st-3rd

Track and Field Day: May 4th (rain date: May 18th)

Sunglasses Day: May 10th

Puberty Lesson: May 22nd

No School: May 29th

Last Day of School: June 2nd

Week After Easter Break (04/17-04/21)

Math Madness Addition Winner: Congratulations Tyler Good for winning the championship against the best in the school!

We are also super proud of everyone that competed and put in their best effort throughout the whole tournament. Encourage your child to study their facts to take on the top in the school next year!

Happy Thursday parents! I hope you are all just as excited to have off tomorrow as Ms. Duke and I am! I will be venturing to Boulder, Colorado over this long break, so I will not be at school on Monday, April 17th. I will still send a Remind text out keeping all of you updated on homework for the day. Math PSSAs will also be starting up this week and will last for three days, Tuesday through Wednesday. Please try your absolute best to have your child at school during those days so they will not have to make up their test during class time.

Math: Students will be reviewing main concepts that we focused on this year to help prepare them for the PSSAs. Homework will be sent home, but it will be in the form of a worksheet! I will send a Remind making you aware of what worksheet will be assigned each night!

Science: Students will begin their invasive species projects this week! They were each assigned a specific species and are required to research information on their species and format it into a Powerpoint presentation. They will be presenting their findings to the class, which will also be a good portion of their grade. They will have access to their project at home through Google Classroom. If you have a computer at home, your child has permission to work on it there, but please make sure it is their work and not yours. I will attach the rubric for this project so you can see how your child will be graded.

Reading: We are starting a Historical Fiction unit. The students will apply strategies such as analyzing setting and mood, keeping track of story elements, and comparing personal and historical timelines.  Our read aloud will be, Number the Stars, a beautifully written and touching novel.

Writing: In our final unit the students will be ultimately writing literary essays. We will be doing some close reading of literature and learning how to grow our ideas. We will identify a these for our story's characters and write detailed paragraphs that include our inferences.

Word Work: The students received new word sorts and Tic Tac Toe Homework will be due Friday, April 21st!

Vocabulary: Our Word of the Day Quiz will be Wednesday, April 19th!

Social Studies: We will be having fun learning our 50 states and capitals! Check out these links for songs and games:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm
https://youtu.be/_E2CNZIlVIg
https://youtu.be/uUFeVKeKRQc

Upcoming Dates:

Easter Break: April 14th-16th

Math PSSA: April 24th-28th

Science PSSA: May 1st-3rd

Track and Field Day: May 4th (rain date: May 18th)

No School: May 29th

Last Day of School: June 2nd

Hot Alternate Lunch For Next Week:

Monday:  Stuffed Crust Pizza

Tuesday:  Fiesta Pizza

Wednesday:  Mickey’s Pizza

Thursday:  French Bread Pizza

Friday:  Mickey’s Pizza

A Hopping Week Before Easter Break (04/10-04/13)

Happy Friday parents! We wanted to thank you all for your cooperation this week with the PSSAs. The students did a wonderful job focusing and doing their absolute best. Ms. Duke and I are so proud of them. This upcoming week, the students will not have PSSAs because it is a short week. Please take a look at what will be happening in fourth grade.

Math: Students will be finishing Hands-On Equations this week. They will have a short quiz on the seven lessons that they completed. There will be no study guide being sent home for this. Also, on Thursday, we will be conducting our first ever Math Madness tournament championship. Over the course of the last four weeks, the students have been competing in tournament brackets for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. We have gathered a winner for each operation that will competing against the other top third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. We are really excited about this tournament and we are hoping that it is a true success.

Science: We continue to work through our unit on the Pennsylvania Food and Fiber system. Next week, the students will begin a project on Biological Pests. They will be given a certain invasive species that they will need to research and learn about. They will be creating a Powerpoint presentation of the information to present to the class. The students will have access to their Powerpoint at home through Google Classroom if they choose to work on it there.

Reading/Writing: As we research history the students are keeping in mind that there are big lessons that can be learned. This helps them with identifying theme. Next week we will begin a new unit on Historical Fiction. The students have finished up their final research paper on the Revolutionary War. We continue to stress the importance of organization through using transitional phrases and paragraphs, as well as using proper conventions in our writing pieces.

Word Work: A new word sort will be sent home next Day 1, April 13th. Tic Tac Toe homework will be due the following Day 6, April 21st. A Remind text will be sent home.

Social Studies: Our next unit in Social Studies will be our 50 states.

Upcoming Dates:

Crazy Socks and Hat Day: April 12th

Grandparent's Day: April 12th

Math Madness Championship: April 13th

Easter Break: April 14th-16th

Math PSSA: April 24th-28th

Science PSSA: May 1st-3rd

Track and Field Day: May 4th (rain date: May 18th)

No School: May 29th

Final Week in March (03/27-03/31)

Happy Friday parents! Hopefully this cool weather passes through and you all have a sunny,warm weekend. Please take a look at what is happening this upcoming week in fourth grade:

Math: Unit 7 will be coming to an end this week, which means that your child will have their Unit 7 test next Friday. A study guide will be sent home on Thursday. I also might be trying an online classroom study time from 7:00-8:00. If you have technology that is able access WizIQ, and online learning management system, your child can login and ask me questions pertaining to their study guide. I am not 100% sure if I am trying this or not, but if I am, I will make the students aware.

Science: This week, the students will be focusing on the food and fiber system and the different products that are made here in Pennsylvania.

Reading/Writing: The students have chosen another topic related to the Revolutionary War. They are learning to cite evidence in their research papers. They are also writing effective introductions and conclusions for their papers. As they read nonfiction texts on their topic they are using strategies to gather the most important information. Next week we will be searching for deeper conclusions and themes in nonfiction text.

Social Studies: We are learning about the causes and the outcome of the Civil War. The students will use a study guide and their Social Studies textbooks to take a quiz.

Word Work: Tic Tac Toe homework is due Monday, March 27th.


Upcoming Dates:

End of the 3rd Marking Period: March 27th

2 Hour Delay for Students: March 28th

4th Grade Field Trip to the High School: March 29th

Book Fair: March 30th

Language Arts PSSA: April 3rd-7th

Crazy Socks and Hat Day: April 12th

Grandparent's Day: April 12th

Easter Break: April 14th-16th

Math PSSA: April 24th-28th

A Lucky Week in March (03/13-03/17)

Happy Friday parents! Please take a look at was is happening in fourth grade this upcoming week!

Math: The students continue to work through unit 7 on Multiplying fractions by whole numbers. We have also started our Math Madness Tournament this week with completing our addition bracket. Our class winner for addition was Tyler Good! We will complete our subtraction bracket next Friday. Each winner for each operation will compete against the top third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders towards the end of April!

Science: Our students completed an oil spill simulation today where they were to try and clean oil out of water with limited amount of supplies. We have been focusing on how human and natural influences can change an ecosystem. Next week, we will move into learning about natural resources.

Reading/Writing: The students are preparing for debates! We are learning how to research and find evidence to support our position on a topic. We've had a few students volunteer to debate: Patriot vs Loyalist.  It was a lot of fun to watch them take a stand on the Revolutionary War!  The students are finishing up their Informational Books on the Revolutionary War. Next week they will share them in small groups. We are moving on to our next research project. The students will get to choose a new topic.

Social Studies: Since February was Black History month we learned about a lot of famous African Americans who impacted our country. March is Women's History month so we will be discussing the historical journey of women's rights. We are also heading to the next stage on our American timeline and learning about the effects and importance of the Civil War.

Word Work: Tic Tac Toe Homework is Tuesday March 14th! Please encourage your child to complete the 3 activities with their word sorts and turn them in on every Day 6.  This homework can be done at any time over the course of our 6 day cycle and should only be taking them 15-20 minutes total.  Our classroom rule is if homework is not completed and handed in on Day 6, the student loses a classroom dollar and must finish the homework during a portion of their recess (students are not losing the entire recess time).  If 3 homework assignments are missed in a row, the student will receive a write up.  Thanks for your help in teaching your child responsibility!

Upcoming Dates:

End of the 3rd Marking Period: March 27th

2 Hour Delay for Students: March 28th

Language Arts PSSA: April 3rd-7th

Grandparent's Day: April 12th

Easter Break: April 14th-17th

Math PSSA: April 24th-28th

Second Full Week of March (03/06-03/10)

Happy Friday parents! Hope you are all looking forward to the snow we are suppose to be receiving today and the lovely weekend you have ahead of you. Please take a look at what is happening next week in fourth grade.

Math: We will beginning Unit 7 which focuses on multiplication of a fraction and whole number along with measurement. Your child will be given their new homework packet on Monday, so please look out for this coming home. They can not lose this packet or they will lose their homework. Also, we will be hosting a Math Madness tournament throughout the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade. Students will be tested on their fact fluency accuracy and speed and will be moved on through the tournament based on how they do. Encourage your child to practice these facts at home!

Science: The students will work through our Ecosystem and Environment Unit. They will be completing a group project on building a habitat for an animals which will be work 100 points! We will then progress into learning how humans can impact our environment in negative and positive ways.

Reading/Writing/Social Studies: We will continue to work on our informational books on The Revolutionary War. The students are typing their 4 chapters, as well as their resources on Google Docs. We can't wait to share what we have learned with everyone! We will practice recognizing point of view, tone, and perspective when reading nonfiction text. Soon we will begin researching to prepare for debates!

Word Work: Tic Tac Toe Homework is due Monday, March 6th.


Upcoming Dates:

End of the 3rd Marking Period: March 27th

2 Hour Delay for Students: March 28th

Language Arts PSSA: April 3rd-7th

Grandparent's Day: April 12th

Easter Break: April 14th-17th

Math PSSA: April 24th-28th