A very special thanks goes out to Ethan and Micah for writing our very first Brandon Elementary Bugle article of the school year! They were working under an impossible deadline (given the assignment at 12:45 pm to be finished by 1:30!) - but they pulled it off! These boys decided they would write about what we have been learning in math so far this year. Thank's for dropping the knowledge on our students and parents, guys! You make us very proud to be a part of 4B!
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This week, we will be reading the story: The Horned Toad Prince, and focusing on Author's Purpose and Story Structure.
You can find the Vocabulary HERE and the Spelling List HERE. Look for a worksheet to come home Tuesday from Mr. Van Sloten's class on this week's grammar skill: Compound Sentences. These will always be due the next time they see Mr. Van Sloten - on Thursday's. We will also practice cursive c&o and g&q. (Cursive writing on most assignments will be required 2nd quarter!) In math, we will be reviewing 4NBT.2 and 4.NBT.3 - Place Value and Rounding. Expect to get a study guide home on Monday night. If your student goes over this with you, focusing and practicing areas of weakness, please sign the study guide for an extra credit point on the test, and return Tuesday morning. For additional practice go HERE. In science this week, we will be exploring the classifications of vertebrates and invertebrates. Next week we will head into animal adaptations. If your student is struggling in spelling, i highly suggest that he/she completes a weekly Tic Tac Toe Spelling assignment for practice, or visits Spelling City to play spelling games or take a pretest on this week's spelling list HERE (This will be current on Monday afternoon after an absent student makes up her test) Please let me know if you have any questions by emailing me or starting a chat on Remind during office hours (pretty much all day!). Thanks everyone - and keep on smiling - your students are fantastic! Hello all!
I had a couple of announcements for you, and on Monday's I like to give you a run down of the week ahead! First of all, you will be receiving your student's first spelling and reading test in their binders this afternoon. 1.) We are using Spelling City in the computer lab for the first 20 words on the spelling test, and it went BADLY last week! Half of the tests didn't print, so you will not be able to tell which words your student missed. I am sorry about that! We will work to fix this for this Friday. I would encourage everyone to complete the extra credit Tic-Tac-Toe assignment and turn it in on Friday. Spelling City also has great activities and practice opportunities - it is linked to our spelling page. 2.) The reading tests are challenging. They are worth 25 points, and a couple of missed questions shoot you right into the B range, so it is difficult to earn an A. This was the first test that the students experienced, but they will now be prepared for the coming weeks, since the tests tend to have a similar structure. The vocabulary words can be found linked on this site under Language Arts - Reading - Vocabulary (then choose your week) The picture cards that I have linked are very helpful for vocabulary acquisition and understanding. We go through them at the start of each week. Also, there is a vocabulary text selection which includes the words. They also show up in the main selection. Reading and rereading these can be helpful! We usually also have a vocabulary practice worksheet that students complete in class for a grade. The focus skill (this week it is author's purpose) will show up in the short comprehension passage on the test. We teach and practice this in class each week, it is explained in the book, and it is discussed when we read through the week's text selection. The writing portion will require students to answer a question with a topic sentence, details from the text and an explanation connecting those details to the main idea. There will be MANY tests, and they will be averaged for 25% of the reading grade each quarter. I explained today that your student is NOT a grade on a test. They are people and are valued members of our class. An assessment is for us to see how we are doing - like a snap shot of success. I make lots of notes on tests, so read through these and talk with your student about best effort. If they are giving their best effort, and earned a C, then they are at the C level right now, and will grow with practice and experience as the year goes on! NO STRESS! Seriously - I am not stressed, and I don't want you or your student to be either. This Week: The guiding question this week is, What opportunities are found in new places? We will be reading a selection called, Lewis and Clark and Me. It is a historical fiction text about the explorers and a dog. We will focus on the skill of Author's Purpose and the Strategy of Questioning. In writing, we will be working to finish a short narrative story while focusing on organization and the revising skill of deletion. In science we will be finishing up our exploration of the scientific method by conducting an inquiry on the affect of positioned weights on paper airplanes. Your student may ask to watch a video (linked to my website on the science tab) instructing how to fold a particular type of airplane. Math will be reviewing place value concepts (place value, value of a digit, expanded form and word form) and start in on comparing and ordering numbers. Students will concept check on Friday over ordering and comparing numbers as well as on any concept they did not show mastery on last week. (Our math page has many teaching videos and games to support what we are learning) Finally: Your student is expected to highlight any work that they did not finish that day. It will then be homework. (AM and AR are always homework possibilities. Students are continually working towards quarter goals which count for 25% of their Reading and Math grades) If a student turns in a paper late, they will have stapled an I Have Late Work sheet to their paper when they turn it in, and they will have 10% taken off of their grade. Please sign these if you see them, and send it back to me so that I know you are aware. If late work becomes a problem for your student, I will contact you privately. We have had many late assignments this week, which is actually okay, because students are learning the consequences of their actions (working to finish at first recess, losing 10% off of their grade, having to fill out an I Have Late Work Sheet, etc.) I am already seeing students learning and changing their behavior without too much stress on you or me! Success! This is a fabulous group and I am enjoying them greatly! I will continue to send out announcements and homework reminders through Remind. There is also an APP for your smart phone and a chat option which allows you to contact me like in an email. |
AuthorHello! I am Mrs. Blake, and this is my second year teaching 4th grade at Brandon Elementary. I have 6 years of teaching experience, and a Masters in Education from Southwest Baptist University. My husband, Coach Blake, is a football coach for University of Sioux Falls. I love to watch his team play, as well as watch my students play sports, dance, do martial arts, sing, play an instrument - pretty much anything that they do! I have a daughter named, Grace, who will be 1 year old on October 28th, and she is THE BEST! Archives
January 2016
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