Classroom News!

Welcome to Rooms 15 & 16!

Important Message of the Week:
We will be using a weekly email to keep you up to date with classroom events and activities. This weekly email will tell you our important message of the upcoming weeks, list of lessons that we will be working on during the next few weeks to come and important dates. If you would like to be removed from this email list just let us know!

Thanks!
Lori Flynn and Gina Voinovich



Classroom Lessons and Activities:

Reading: We are wrapping up discussing what Reading Workshop looks like in our classroom. We have discussed how to cooperatively work in a book club, select books, genres, and much more. We will be moving in to reading the story, "The Horned Toad Prince" from our reading anthology. Your child will be bringing the story home soon to reread and comprehend at home as well. The skill we will be focusing on is the Author's Purpose. We will be discussing why the author wrote the story and talking about plot.

Writing: We have been talking a lot about how to build a sentence and paragraph formation. We are currently working on how to "Build a Bridge" for forming paragraphs. Building a bridge helps students to remember a topic sentence, details, supporting details (we call beef-it-ups), and a closing sentence. Students are also learning about "Don't Tell Me, Show Me." "Show Me" sentences tell where, when, why, and use their five senses to" show" what they are writing about in their pieces. We will then write about our favorite season as our first assessment.

Word Study: We will have our first word study test next Wednesday. It will cover both core and skill words. The skill words that are tested include the pattern they are working on. Some of the words will be different then what students have on their sheet. If your child passed the core, skill, or both, then they are studying Magic 8 words. There will not be a test over Magic 8 words.

Math: Place value continues to be our focus. We have been observing students on their place value skills. Students must be able to write numbers in standard form (number form), word form, and expanded notation. If your child is struggling, you will see a packet of place value practice come home. Please keep these and practice them throughout the week. Keep quizzing your child each day. Also, we have started AM Math. Students complete the first side of AM Math for a grade. It is worth 4 points. They must have labels too. They are given a chance to correct if they earn less than a 3. However, they can only receive a 3 for a corrected paper. The backside is review that we review in class. The front side that is graded are skills we are working on in class. Please continue to practice multiplication facts at home too.

Social Studies: In social studies, students are learning about map skills. These skills include: map scale, coordinate grids, latitude/longitude lines, relate and absolute location, and more. These terms can be found in Ch. 1 of the ss text. Students also learned a continent/ocean song! If they sing it for you at home, write me a note and they can earn bonus bucks!

Health: Students finished their first lesson in health about their self-image and self-confidence. This past week we discussed goals and each student made an academic or behavior goal for the first quarter. They also created goals their community, a goal for their adulthood, and their dreams for the world. Students also had exposure to learning about how poets write and how to write stanzas for their poems. Next week we will discuss the challenges of friendship and how to handle conflicts with their friends.
Science: We have finished our lesson on classroom and personal safety rules. Students went to the science lab to observe tools for science and how to use these tools appropriately. Students are currently learning about non-standard vs. standard measurement. We read a book called "How Big is a Foot?" and discussed the challenges of using non-standard measurement. We will dive deeper into the two systems of measurement: Customary or English system and the Metric System. Talk with your child at home about how people measured using non-standards of measurement many years ago and why it is important to use standard units of measurement.

Computer: We are typing "I Am" poems and learning how to use the school email. Each student has their own gmail account!



Important Dates:

Tuesday, September 20- Ice Cream Social at Leighton 6:00-8:00pm
Thursday, September 22 - Picture Day - Put on a Smile!
Friday, October 14 - No School





*Please note that district wide the Parent Internet Viewer (PIV) has not been turned on yet. In the upcoming weeks you will be receiving a new username and password to connect to the PIV. If there is a concern with your child's grades, we will contact you about concerns.







Thank you!

Having More Fun in 4th Grade!

Having fun in 4th grade!

Welcome to the 2011-2012 School Year

Hello Everyone!

Welcome back to school! We have had a great start to the 2011-2012 year. Your children are working hard and have positive attitudes. Enjoy some pictures of them working.

Remember if you need to contact me please see below:

Mrs. Flynn
330.954.2171
lflynn@aurora-schools.org