Week 7 Vocabulary

Jerked - to preserve by cutting into strips
Empanada - a turnover filled with fruit, veggies, or meat
Principal - the administrator of a school
Creole - French and African American
Zydeco - Cajun music

Week 7

In reading this week we are working on determining the theme of a text. The theme is the lesson we can learn from a play, poem, or story. For spelling we are doing Sort 13. On Friday we will be taking our next Language Arts test. If you want to study with your student, study how to make inferences with informational text, complete sentences, and last week and this week's vocabulary words.

In writing we are finishing up of How Tos. We will be finishing our handwritten drafts in class and typing them onto the blog. They are due on Friday. If student's can't get all of this done in class, they need to take it home to finish it by Friday.

In math we are working on multiplying 3 digits by 1 digit numbers as well as talking about area and perimeter. On Thursday we will be taking a retake of our Unit 1 math test. We have gone over the problems on the last test and reviewed how to do them. Hopefully students will be ready to retake this test!

Don't forget that Parent Teacher Conferences are this week! If you still haven't scheduled an appointment, please call the school ASAP to schedule an appointment. I  look forward to meeting with you to discuss your student's progress in school so far this year!

This week's homework:
Monday:       Reading- read 20 mins
                      *Reading Log
                      Spelling Homework
                     Math- Big Book pg. 55 evens
Tuesday:       Reading- read 20 mins
                      *Reading Log
                      Spelling Homework
                     Math- Lesson 2.3 P27 odds
Wednesday: Reading- read 20 mins
                      *Reading Log
                      Spelling Homework
                     Math- Big Book pg. 85 evens
Thursday:     Reading- read 20 mins
                      *Reading Log
                      Spelling Homework
                     Math- Lesson 2.10 P41 odds
Friday:          Reading- read 20 mins
                      *Reading Log

Week 6 Vocabulary

Groundwater – water from inside the earth, the water beneath the ground

Precipitation – water that falls to the ground: rain, snow, sleet, hail

Evaporate – when liquid changes into a gas through heat, to change from liquid state to vapor

Conservation – carefully preserving or saving something, the act of preserving

Filtered – unwanted things have been removed, clean out impurities

Quick Reminders

I have a couple of quick reminders and some info for you.

First of all, please remember to have your students get their missing assignments turned in. If your student is still missing their Personal Narrative, that must be turned in tomorrow or it will become a 0. They need to turn in a rewritten draft to me to be graded.Remember, assignments will receive a 0 after 2 weeks of being missing. 

Second, students can retake or redo their Language Arts or Math tests if they are unhappy with their score. If they retake it, they can get up to an 80% on their retake. For their Language Arts test, they can redo the questions they  missed and turn it back into me if they wish. For their latest Math test, I will be reteaching everyone since our class average on the test was a 56%. After we have reviewed everything, I will let students take a retake version of the test that they can get up to 80% on to improve their grade.

Next, students have a test in Science tomorrow. Students made a study guide yesterday in science to study from for the test. Part of their homework tonight is studying for that test. Please help your students study for this test!

Also, to help students with their Language Arts tests, I will be posting the week's vocabulary words on my blog. Each week we have 5 new vocabulary words that students are tested on each time we take a Language Arts test. We review these words in class, but since many students bombed our last Language Arts test because they didn't know the vocabulary words, I thought that I would post them so that you can help your student review them as well. So if you can, please review the week's vocabulary words with your student to reinforce their meanings before students get tested on them.

Lastly, please make sure you sign up for Parent Teacher Conferences for next week, preferably by tomorrow! You can go to the school's website to sign up or call the school and they can help you sign up. If you can't make it next week, please email me so we can set up another time that will work.

Sort 8 Spelling Words

Here is this week's spelling words, Unusual Plurals.

Sort 8:
wife
wives
sheep
foot
feet
loaf
lives
women
leaves
leaf
geese
woman
mouse
loaves
life
wolves
mice
goose
knives
knife
wolf
tooth
deer
teeth

Week 6

This week in reading we are continuing to work on inferences. This week, we are focusing on making inferences in informational texts. We do this by combining what we know with what the text says and then we make meaning out of it. For spelling we are skipping to Sort 8 Unusual Plurals this week. The words that end in f or fe change to yes when they become plural. Other words we have to make a vowel change when we make the word plural. Sheep and deer have no changes done to them; they are singular and plural. Please make sure that your student turns in their 20 points of Spelling Homework Activities as well as their Reading Log each week.

In writing we are continuing to write our "How Tos." We are working on drafting and revising our papers so that we have really good, descriptive steps. Students should have finished their Pre-writing today in class. If they did not, they were supposed to bring it home to finish it there. Next week we will start rewriting and publishing them on our writing blog. They are due on October 4th. If students still have not turned in their handwritten final draft for their Personal Narrative, they MUST get that in by this Friday or else they will receive a 0 on it.

In math we are finishing our Factors and Multiples Unit. Tomorrow, Tuesday, students will be taking their Post Test for this unit in class. We will also be taking the Pre Test for our next unit on Multiplication and Division tomorrow. We will be taking these tests online. Your student should be bringing home an instruction sheet with their username and password telling you how to get on to our Math Book's website: https://www-k6.thinkcentral.com/. I will show your student in class how to get online to take their tests, access their book, etc. . . We have also just started taking our multiplication timed tests. Students have 1 minute to answer 20  questions for each multiplication fact. This is being done to earn a party. Also, please make sure that your student does their homework and turns it in on time.

Thanks for all of your help! Again, let me know if you have any questions!

This week's homework:
Monday:       Reading- read 20 mins
                      *Reading Log
                      Spelling Homework
                     Math- Lesson 5.3 P101Tuesday:       Reading- read 20 mins
                      *Reading Log
                      Spelling Homework
                     Math- Lesson 5.4 P103
Wednesday: Reading- read 20 mins
                      *Reading Log
                      Spelling Homework
                     Math- Lesson 5.5 P105
Thursday:     Reading- read 20 mins
                      *Reading Log
                      Spelling Homework
                     Math- Lesson 5.6 P107
Friday:          Reading- read 20 mins
                      *Reading Log

Sort 4 Spelling Words

Here is this week's spelling words!

Sort 4:
setting
hiking
reading
floating
cutting
moving
stopping
living
spelling
coming
begging
adding
grinning
having
feeling
jogging
taking
talking
pushing
humming
working
fixing
going
snowing

Week 5

This week in reading we are talking about inferring. We infer when we are reading by figuring out what the author wants us to know but doesn't come right out and tell us; the author shows us something instead of telling us something and we have to find the hidden meaning behind the words the author uses. Our spelling for this week is Sort 4. It is a review of words with -ing. We either double the last letter, drop the e, or do nothing before adding -ing. We are also starting guided reading groups this week. Students will be reading with me in groups during reading time. They will also have assignments to finish on their own during reading time. These guided reading assignments should be finished during class time. Also, on Friday, students will be taking their first Language Arts test for this year. Students will have to make inferences on it, know their vocabulary words for the past few weeks, and be expected to identify correctly written sentences.

In writing we have started our Explanatory Unit. We will be writing "How to"s. These are papers explaining how to do something. Students will pick something that they are expert at knowing how to do, and they will write a paper explaining how to do that. They need to include at least 5 steps and 3 materials needed. We will be doing the pre-write for this unit this week in class.

In math we are working more with factors. We will be learning about the relationship between factors and multiples, learning what prime and composite numbers are, and learning about number patterns. Starting tomorrow, Wednesday, students will be bringing home sheets from their Go Math Practice Book for homework. In class, students will tear their homework page for that night out of their book, and put it into their planner. Since there is only one book per student, it is imperative that student's do not loose their homework pages. I cannot make copies for them. If your student does loose their assignment, it is possible for you to go online and print off a copy of the assignment. Next week I will show students how to get online to take tests and get to the book online.

Next week I would like to begin having parent volunteers (you wonderful helpers!) come in and do a few things for us. I need helpers to do things for me like file papers and make copies and I also need helpers to practice multiplication flash cards with students. Next week we are going to start passing out our multiplication facts. Students need to be able to complete 20 problems in 1 minute. We are trying to earn a party for passing off our facts, so we need parents who can come and practice flash cards with individual students.

If you are interested in and able to come and help us do these things, PLEASE let me know and we can find a time for you to come in and help. Thanks again!

Writing Reminder

This is just a reminder that our Personal Narratives are due this Friday, September 13th. Students have been working on them in class for 2 weeks. Anything they do not have finished by Thursday needs to be completed at home so they can turn it in on Friday. Students need to have completed their yellow pre-write, their draft revised and edited, have their story chief edited by me or another adult, rewritten, and then posted on our class writing blog. 

If your student needs to post on our blog at home, please go to http://missteafordsclasswriting.blogspot.com. Your student will need to sign in using the email: missteafordsclass and password: teafordrules4. If they have not started their post on the blog, they will need to click on the orange button with a pencil on it to start a new post. If they have started, they need to click the button to the right of the orange pencil to go to post list. They need to write their title and their name on the post title, and then type their story on the page below. 

Please let me know if you have any trouble helping your student post on the blog or if you have any questions about the writing assignment. 

Sort 3 Spelling Words

Here is this week's spelling words!

Sort 3:
use
using
eat
eating
close
moan
wave
writing
dreaming
looking
dream
skate
closing
trading
cleaning
clean
write
moaning
trade
skating
waving
look
mail
mailing

Week 4

This week in reading we will be talking about reading fluently and accurately. We want every student to be able to read a 4th grade level passage with 100% accuracy, good expression, good phrasing, and at 140 WPM. For spelling we are doing Sort 3. Homework is the same as last week - 20 points worth of activities, due on Friday. Students should still be filling out their reading log every night with their minutes read and 2 sentences about what they read. Tomorrow your student will be bringing home info about the Road to Success program that our school will be participating in this year. Please help your student get logged on to record their reading minutes as soon as possible. If you need help, you can come to the school and we can help you get your student registered to win prizes. Also, don't forget to sign your student's planner every night. 

In Writing we are finishing our Personal Narrative Unit. Students will be finishing their draft, editing and revising, and publishing their stories this week. This year we will be publishing our stories on a class blog. We will bring the Chrome Books into the classroom to let students type their stories on the blog. If students do not finish their story on Thursday, they will need to bring it home to finish publishing it on the blog. If your student needs to publish their story at home here is the link to our class writing blog: http://missteafordsclasswriting.blogspot.com. This 4 paragraph story is due on Friday, September 13, 2013.

In Math we just took our Multiplication Test. Most students did really well on this test! We will soon start having students pass off their multiplication facts to earn a party in October. We will now move on to our Factors and Multiples Unit. We will be learning what factors and multiples are and how to find and model them. This week homework will be Multiplication Word Problems to review what students learned last week in class. 

I am loving working with your students! Again, if you ever have any questions or concerns, please let me know!

Sort 2 Spelling Words

Our spelling test is on Monday. If your student has lost their spelling words, here they are for you.

Sort 2:
swim
yell
swimming
rest
run
sit
yelling
resting
stand
running
pass
sitting
pick
standing
jump
shut
picking
shutting
passing
jumping

Spelling Homework Activities

Students have a purple copy of this in their Planner Binder. This just tells you and students what they need to do each week for spelling homework.

        Spelling Homework Activities

Choose which activities you would like to do for points. You need 20 points total each week. You cannot do the same activity more than once for each spelling sort. Please write your name on each activity and staple them all together. Homework activities are due every Friday for the sort that week.

5 pts. – Make a Word Search and circle your spelling words.

5 pts. – Put the words in ABC Order.

5 pts. – Write a Sentence for each word.

5 pts. – Have a Parent Test you at home (parent signature required).

5 pts. – Write your words 3 Times each.

5 pts. – Break each word into Syllables (example: mo-ment . . . use a dictionary).

5 pts. – Draw a Picture for your spelling words and label each picture with the spelling word.

5 pts. – Make a Crossword Puzzle (write clues for up and down).

10 pts. – Use a dictionary and write the word and definition for each of your spelling words.

10 pts. – Write a Story that makes sense (use all of your spelling words and underline them. The story must be at least 20 sentences long).

Week 3

This week in reading we are going to be talking about finding the main ideas in and writing summaries for Informational/Non-Fiction texts. Students will also be starting Reading Centers in class. These include Independent Reading, Spelling, Word Work, etc . . . Students will be held responsible each day to complete their centers. They will have an accountability sheet (Centers Checklist) to help keep track of what they do during their Reading time. This week, students will also start their Spelling. In 4th grade, we use the program, Words Their Way. This program uses sorts, or groups, of words to help students learn spelling patterns. Every day in class, students will practice their spelling sort words. At home, students are expected to do spelling activities with their sort. I have given students a list of activities they can do along with instructions on what is expected of them. They should be keeping this in their planner. I will also post this list on my blog. Students also received a Reading Log today to record their Reading minutes each day. Please make sure that your student fills this out daily to keep track of their minutes.

In writing we are still working on our Personal Narratives. Students should be drafting their first draft of their story this week. We will also spend time working on revising and editing our stories. We want to make sure that these are exciting and interesting stories.

In math we are finishing our Multiplication Unit. We are doing a couple of projects to reinforce our multiplication facts: we are making a poster full of multiplication arrays and then we will be making Multiplication Fact Books teaching about multiplication facts. Today I sent home student's pretests. The circled answers are the questions students got incorrect on the pretest, and therefore need to practice before the test on Monday. Please help your child study for this upcoming test. The format will be the exact same as the pretest but with different questions. Practicing their multiplication facts is the most effective way to do this.

One last thing, this year the 4th grade teachers have adopted a new Late/Missing Work policy. Work that is turned in later than 2 weeks after it is due will not be accepted. For the 2 weeks after an assignment is due there is no penalty for late work. After 2 weeks, the assignment will be given a 0 and students will not be able to make that assignment up. So please make sure that your student is getting their homework done. Also, please be sure to sign your student's planner. That shows me that you know what their homework is and that your student is showing you their planner.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need anything!

This week's homework:
Tuesday:       Reading- read 20 mins
                      *Reading Log
                      Spelling Homework
                     Math- X 7 worksheet front and back
Wednesday: Reading- read 20 mins
                      *Reading Log
                      Spelling Homework
                     Math- X 8 worksheet front and back
Thursday:     Reading- read 20 mins
                      *Reading Log
                      Spelling Homework
                     Math- X 9 worksheet front and back
Friday:          Reading- read 20 mins
                      *Reading Log
                      Spelling Homework
                     Math- X Final worksheet front and back