Veteran's Day Week

Our class had a great start to November and we're excited about all of the new things ahead of us. Here is a look at our week ahead:

If you haven't sent in your conference forms yet, please do this as soon as possible, so that I may finalize my schedule or reschedule any conferences if necessary. Thank you!

Just a reminder that there is no school this Thursday due to Veteran's Day!

The kids began their Native American projects last week for our social studies unit. They were put into groups, given the region which they will be working with, and began to learn about finding sources and note-taking. The kids were also introduced to a new blog and wiki which they can access from the same server that their individual blogs are on. This allows the kids to talk to all of the 4th grade classes in the district about what they have learned. The wiki also serves as a place for students to look up appropriate resources to use in their research. We will eventually have "live chats" during the evening with the kids to get their perspectives on the project itself. This week the kids will have more time to research their region. We will review how to use resources and the importance of citing the information they learn. We will also review paraphrasing information so that we are sure that we do not plagiarize. The kids will be taking notes based on 2 essential questions that we've asked them to think about. Be sure to ask your child about these questions as we are encouraging them to memorize them throughout the process.

The History Alive portion of our social studies curriculum for the next 2 units will be taught through our Native American project in the LMC. The remaining times we have during our social studies times will be used to work with current events and nonfiction text with our Time for Kids. We will also be working on having debates -- listening and contemplating 2 sides to an issue, and trying to back up our opinions with facts.

In reading this week our theme is "Bright Ideas". The kids will use the biography of Ben Franklin to practice identifying the problem and steps to follow for the solution. The kids will also review figurative language (alliteration and idioms) through studying concrete poems.

In grammar we will study possessive nouns. The kids will be working with both singular and plural possessive nouns.

Our spelling lists this week deal with words that have r-controlled sounds such as: /or/ and /ar/.

In writing, the kids continue to work on SHOWING the reader what is going on through detailed descriptions. The kids will work to make "mind movies" to help them include specific details about not only the action but the setting around them. They will also work to reread their own work and identify places in their pieces where they would like to revise. They will practice giving themselves their own revision assignments.

In math we continue to work with decimals. Last week we reviewed identifying and naming decimals to the tenths and hundredths place. This week we will work to order decimals and fractions, compare/contrast decimals, and practice adding decimals. There will only be one Mad Minutes test this week due to meetings that I will need to attend and a shortened week for the children.

Just a reminder that book order catalogs went home last week. Orders are accepted until November 19th. You are either place your orders online or send in the order form with your child (check only, please)!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend and have a great week ahead of you!