Updates

Social Studies: Constitution Day was on September 17th, and students learned about the Bill or Rights. They were given a freedom that was violated to solve and make right. Students are showing their thinking through creating comic strips with a superhero saving the day such as Constitution Guy/ Gal and Justice Girl/Boy. We also are watching a video on The Wright Brothers and their great invention. We are learning problem solving steps to determine what issues the Wright brothers faced and how they overcame them. Students are applying these problem solving steps to the Constitution activity. We are also now beginning the Map Skills unit. We will then move into the map skills unit. We will discuss concepts such as: coordinate maps, longitude/latitude, map scale, keys/legends, and much more. We will then focus on the land regions of Ohio which can be found in Ch. 1. The regions include: Lake Plains, Appalachian Plateau, Till Plains, and the Bluegrass Region. After we are done with this study, students will take an assessment on map skills and the land regions. A study guide will go home as the test approaches. We will also begin Ohio Studies Weekly (OSW) this week to read and review as a class. This is a social studies newspaper that will eventually become homework. Students will learn the types of questions test makers create tests based on (right there, think and search, author and you, and on my own). They will have to code each question based on the OSW to answer. Students have been also taught how to search current events on a website titled, www.tweentribune.com . If they bring in an article and summarize it, they earn bonus bucks! *Please look for a letter about OSW (Ohio Studies Weekly) to be coming home soon. Math: We are wrapping up the place value unit this week with short quizzes writing numbers in standard, word, and expanded form. Students have a study guide in their take-home folder they should be reviewing each night. We will also be working on ordering and comparing numbers and then move into subtraction/addition strategies. Students are working hard on AM Math, you will see grades posted on how your child is doing on these concepts. In the “Comments” section on PIV, you can see if your child reviewed and corrected AM Math in class. These will not be the only grades posted in math for the quarter. Also, students will be offered a challenge AM Math if they are ready for it. Finally, we have set up our math journals. Students will learn a strategy for solving word problems called the “SEW” (solve, equation, write) box to demonstrate learning. We have also been practicing highlighting key words and using BUNS (Bubble, Underline, Number, and Star) directions. BUNS is also used in reading and for any set of directions no matter the content area. Technology: Student will be creating a timeline activity in Google Docs from social studies. All Google activities can be viewed by parents at home. Simply go to the Aurora homepage, and have your child log into their accounts. There are also typing links posted under “Links” on the Leighton homepage. Students can access these at home. In the new Ohio Common Core standards, it states students should be able to type one page in one sitting. Important: *I do expect students to write in their planners daily. We have had a lot of good discussions about how planners are an excellent organizational tool. It is my goal that the students are independently looking at their planners each evening to see what they need to complete or study. They should be asking a family member to sign it for them. Planner notes are written on the board every morning and reviewed so students have ample time to write. *The Ice Cream Social was a huge hit! Check out the link to see a video produced by Mrs. Gerbrick from that fun evening. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUmDSqI2DLU Dates to remember: · September 24 – Board meeting at LES – 7:00 PM · Weeks of October 9 & 18 – Conferences · October 26 – End of Quarter 1 · October 26 – Fall Festival · November 1 – Cleveland Orchestra Field Trip to Severance Hall

Updates from Room 16!

Happy Fall ~ One can certainly feel the chill in the air! Reading Workshop: I have started Guided Reading during Reading Workshop time. This is a time where students work on skills in a small group that is needed to become more advanced readers in 4th grade. While I am meeting with small groups, the rest of the class is working in center time activities. Some centers include: word work, repeated readings with a partner, writing activities, and much more. Our mini-lessons are focused on author’s purpose (persuade, entertain, inform, and to express opinions), plot (characters, setting, problem and solution), and important reading strategies (visualizing, questioning, summarizing, etc.). We just finished reading the book, Thank you Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco and discussed questioning techniques good readers use. Writing Workshop: We are continuing to work on subject/predicates and writing descriptive sentences (Show-Don’t Tell sentences). Next, we will be learning the parts to a paragraph and creating topic sentences, details, supporting details (beef-it-ups), and concluding sentences. Students will build a paragraph by building a bridge. Next, our first formal writing piece will be on a memoir (one significant memory with a friend, family member, etc.). Students also are learning about 5-Star Reponses (using the question in your answer, capital letters, correct end punctuation, not starting a sentence with because or but, and having a complete thought). Word Study/Grammar: This week we are continuing to study Cycle 2 words. The skills of the week are short and long vowels. We will have an assessment this Friday. We discussed a lot of how to break words by syllables. Chunking words by syllables helps support students with decoding skills when reading. Instead of giving the paragraph test format from Cycle 1, I will just dictating the words and students will write them down. Starting in Cycle 3, I will pretest the students before the word list comes out, and if they pass the pretest with an A, then they will move on to more challenging words. The grammar focus will be on common and proper nouns and then capitalization. Science: We have just concluded our Health unit and are beginning our study of science. Our unit began with discussing the question “What is science?” This chapter also involves learning about science safety, particularly when working in a science lab. We will also be discussing the scientific method and how to think like a scientist. Later in the chapter we will read and learn about science tools and measurement.

News from Room 16

Welcome Back to School! Students have been doing an excellent job learning about our classroom, understanding classroom expectations, using I-pads and our brand new 4th grade hallway laptops, logging in to Edmodo (a student friendly blogging tool) and more! Thank you for your parental support as we enter this important year of learning. Reading Workshop: We have already been busy “Going for the Gold” for the 30 book challenge! Students are excited and the buzz around the classroom is about how many books they will read. Also, I hear students socializing with others about interesting books they have read and they would like to share with others. If you stop by the building, you will see students reading at restroom breaks and stealing every free minute they can engrossed in a book! It truly is amazing how the reading bug has been caught in our classrooms. Students can even earn “Caught being Good” tickets from other school personnel from reading a book in the hall. Please encourage your children at home to keep reading! Check out this link to visit the reading video (as with any website, especially You Tube, take caution as inappropriate messages can occur) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJF4Xb4FeQY. As we open up the school year discussing reading concepts such as visualization, predicting, answer/asking questions about our reading, teachers are also conducting reading assessments to see where your child is with their reading fluency and comprehension. Please talk to your child about their reading at home. Ask them questions like: how do you know that, can you show me evidence in the text, can you prove that, etc. Ask them to come up with questions about their reading and answer them as they go. Tell them to think about the image in their mind that was created while reading. These types of questions aid in strong comprehension skills. If your child is struggling with decoding unknown words, tell them to skip the word, read on, and go back to it. Also, ask them what makes sense and what sounds right to figure out unknown words. Context clues are very important to look for when not knowing a meaning of a word. Look around the word and see if there are clues the author has given to figure out the word. We will also be working on the reading skills of author’s purpose, plot, and sequencing this quarter. Writing Workshop: We began the school year with subjects and predicates and sentence variety (the need to have all lengths of sentences in a paragraph). We will be looking at the students’ independent reading books to see how authors use sentence variety. We also started an activity called sentence pyramids where you start with a simple sentence and revise it 3 or 4 times to add sensory details. We will be working on “Show-Don’t Tell” type sentences to help us become better descriptive writers. Next, we will focus on writing topic sentences (bold beginnings) with details and supporting details (beef it ups). Students are to then add a closing sentence to their writing. We have also discussed on our vocabulary bulletin board-RIP words. These are words that need to be put to rest or tired words. Students are encouraged to use descriptive words as they write and access the thesaurus to assist them in making their writing. Also, ask your child if they have brought in their editing hats yet! Word Study/Grammar: This week we our continuing to study Cycle 1 words. The skills of the week are short and long vowels. We will have an assessment this Friday. The types of sentences (declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory) are our grammar focus. Health : In Health we will be learning about how to be a good friend and what to do when friends get into conflicts. We will be discussing using “I” messages and “S.A.F.E.” strategies. This week we will continue to talk about friendship as well as learn about their learning style and study skill strategies. We have also been working on finding out more about ourselves. We have completed an activity titled “How Smart Am I?” which had students analyze what types of activities they enjoy and excel at. Hopefully they will come to understand they are all unique with different strengths and weakness. Look for the packet to come home in your child’s “weekly folder” soon. I think you find it very interesting to see how they responded to the survey. We will be having a test on Chapter 10 shortly. There will be a study guide to assist students in preparing for the test. I will update you when the test will be given, but it definitely will not be before Friday, Sept. 7. Please be sure to check your child’s planner each night for updates. Science: We will begin Science after the completion of Ch. 10 in Health. Social Studies: This year the district has purchased brand new social studies books and they are terrific resources. We began our social studies year with learning about our state symbols and previewing our new social studies books. Ask your child to sing the continent/ocean song for you, if you write in their planner they did they will earn bonus bucks. We will then move into the map skills unit. We will discuss concepts such as: coordinate maps, longitude/latitude, map scale, keys/legends, and much more. We will then focus on the land regions of Ohio which can be found in Ch. 1. The regions include: Lake Plains, Appalachian Plateau, Till Plains, and the Bluegrass Region. After we are done with this study, students will take an assessment on map skills and the land regions. A study guide will go home as the test approaches. Students have been also taught how to search current events on a website titled, www.tweentribune.com . If they bring in an article and summarize it, they earn bonus bucks! *Please look for a letter about OSW (Ohio Studies Weekly) to be coming home soon. Math: Place value has been our focus in math. Students are refreshing their memories from third grade on the place value chart. Ask your child about who lives in the place value house . We will work on standard, expanded, and word forms of numbers. Arrow cards are a tool students will use to help them organize numbers and add and subtract large numbers easily. Students have also started practicing Rocket Math multiplication facts. I passed out practice packets to students who wanted them for at home practice. If you feel your child would benefit from a packet, please check to see if they received one and if not let me know and I will be happy to provide you with one. Finally, we have set up our math journals. Students will learn a strategy for solving word problems called the “SEW” (solve, equation, write) box to demonstrate learning. We have also been practicing highlighting key words and using BUNS (Bubble, Underline, Number, and Star) directions. BUNS is also used in reading and for any set of directions no matter the content area. *AM Math is a morning work activity the students complete throughout the week in the morning. It reviews skills taught in class and skills from years past. We did the first one together so it wasn’t officially counted in the grade book. Technology: Students are starting to learn to type using their home keys. There is a link off the LES homepage that your child has practiced for typing. Feel free to use at home. Also, students began using their Google Docs account to type an “I Am” poem. Mrs. Gagel came in to help students log on to www.edmodo.com. I set up a Language Arts group where students are currently blogging about current event articles found on Tween Tribune. We will use this tool throughout the school year to think deeper about math and language arts concepts. It is child safe because I control who enters the blog. Important: *Monday Folders will start going home next Monday. All graded papers go home in this folder. Flyers and other informational papers will go home in your child’s take-home folder daily. Please help your child unload their graded papers from their Monday Folders at home for review and return on Tuesday. *If anyone is interested in helping me with Scholastic Book orders or being a Copy Mom, please contact me via email. Thank you!! *I do expect students to write in their planners daily. I always check their planners in the morning to see if there are notes from parents. If a child doesn’t have homework, then I have told them to write “no homework” in their planners. We have had a lot of good discussions about how planners are an excellent organizational tool. Dates to remember: September 12- Summer reading reward evening – 6:00 PM. Invitations will be going home soon to students who turned in their summer reading log. September 20 – Picture Day – wear your SMILE! September 20- Ice Cream Social – 6-8 PM at LES