This week in 4th grade:
Math: We are working through out next investigation in Unit 3. Monday was our first day looking at division. For many students, division is a new, scary, and challenging concept, but hopefully with lots of practice, students will gain the confidence needed to master this operation. We will have our weekly math quiz on Friday with review problems as well as some of the division type problems we have been learning how to solve.
How can you help at home? Although many of us learned how to divide in a more traditional sense (the long division algorithm), please avoid teaching your child this strategy at home. Students will eventually be exposed to partial quotients (a segway to long division); however, we are not teaching this strategy at the current time. The last thing I want to see happen is students getting confused and frustrated because they are taught one way to divide at home and one to way to divide at school. Remember, the Student Math Handbook (SMH) is your resource to how your child is learning Math in the classroom. This textbook has been passed out to every student and they are allowed to keep it at home for more help. For help with the division strategies we will be using in class, please see SMH pages 50-52.
Our goals this week include using and interpreting division notation, solving division problems by making groups of the divisor, and making sense of remainders in terms of the problem context.
Vocabulary: This week is a Vocabulary week. Students have been given daily assignments to complete for homework. The Vocabulary test will take place on Friday. Students will be expected to know the meaning of each word and/or apply the word in a given context/sentence. There will be NO word box for this test and students will be expected to the spell the vocabulary words correctly. Words and definitions can be found behind the Spelling/Vocab tab in the BEE Binder and online at www.spellingcity.com. I have gotten our spelling city account set up so next Friday I will have the students take their test online at school. They will also be able to complete spelling city activities online (which will be sent to me as soon as they submit them) and will not need to print them out.
Reading: We are continuing our unit on allegory and theme, as well as our read-aloud, "City of Ember". We have gone over in detail the different chapters of the "City of Ember" in class. Students will be tested again on Friday for reading comprehension on what we have read. Students need to be tracking their reading online through www.reading-rewards.com. I will allow the students to chose from the treasure chest if they reach their reading goal each month. Students need to enter their data on their own at home. If this is a problem, please just send me a note and students can enter the data here at school.
Writing: Our verb study continues as does our Veteran’s Day writing piece. Please help your children by revising their Veteran's Day writing piece. Students will be tested on Friday on helping, action, and linking verbs.
Science: This week in Science we have built electrical circuits. We have experimented with open and closed circuits as well as parallel and series circuits. They enjoyed using test objects to identify conductors and insulators. Please ask your children to teach you about these science terms. We will finish our unit on electricity this week with an assessment on Friday. Students need to STUDY the study guide (front and back) we have gone over in class.
Other Reminders:
- Graded papers will come home this week. First nine weeks report cards will come home next Wednesday, October 24th.
- Information about the November 7th field trip to the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center went home last week. Student cost is $40.50. Chaperone cost is $25.00. Chaperones must ride with us on the charter bus. If you prefer to make payments, the first non-refundable deposit payment of $16.00 is due no later than October 24th. All money is due no later than October 31st. The best way to pay is online at www.myschoolfees.com
- Our school is partnering with The Assistance League of Birmingham to collect books and distribute them to specific schools that do not have access to many books and distribute them to children who may not have access to books at home. If you would like for your child to participate, please have them bring in new or gently used books during the week of October 22 – 26th. For more information, see the flyer that went home tonight in your child’s graded papers.
- Join us on Friday, October 19th, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. for Bedtime Stories & More in the Media Center. Parents and grandparents can come and shop at the Book Fair while children enjoy juice, cookies, and stories. You never know who might show up to read stories? Kids are welcome to wear PJ's!
- The Scholastic All-Star Book Fair is next week, October 22 – 26 in the Library. Students will have the opportunity to shop for books all week. Accepted forms of payment include: cash, checks (made payable to our school), and the credit cards (Discover, Mastercard, Visa, and American Express) should you decide to come shopping as well!
- In preparation for the November 3rd E-Learning Day, students will be utilizing Edmodo, a secure place to connect and collaborate, share content and educational applications, and access homework, grades, class discussions and notifications. Stay tuned for more information!
- Mark your calendar for our next FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT! Friday, November 9th, we will be showing Madagascar 3.
Your children are such a joy! Thank you for sharing them with me!
Mrs. Wilkes
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