* This week is "Think Pink" week to help our kids get ready for the Fun Run after school on Thursday. Each day will be a spirit day:
Monday = wear mismatched socks/shoes
Tuesday = wear your favorite Ivy Hill shirt
Wednesday = crazy hair day -- Bracelets and Tattoos sold at lunch
Thursday = wear all the PINK you can! Pink ribbons will be sold at lunch
***All the proceeds from the week will go towards the Susan G. Komen foundation***
* We begin Unit 6 in reading this week. Unit 6 has an overall theme of "Discoveries". This week the kids will work with the Gold Rush. We will use science fiction and nonfiction text to help us further our understanding of cause and effect. The kids will also work with reading timelines in nonfiction text.
* We return to our normal spelling routine this week. The kids will take a pretest on Monday and receive 2 activities to complete that will be due on Friday. Our spelling list this week contains words that end with "in", "on", and "en".
* This week we will take a look at adverbs for grammar. An adverb is a word that tells more about a verb. It can tell how, when, or where about a verb. They can be written before or after the verbs they describe. We will work with telling the difference between an adverb and adjective. We will also practice using "well" and "good" correctly.
* Over the past few weeks, the kids have been working to create 2 characters in writing. On Friday, they chose one of the those characters that they wanted to complete their story about. This week we will work with using paragraphs to distinguish moments, paragraph sequencing, and revising dialogue by adding showing details.
* In math we will continue to practice finding percentages "of" numbers. The kids will work to make conversions among fractions, decimals, and percents. We will also practice finding/comparing percents in data. The kids will be introduced to multiplying and dividing fractions. There will be various "pop quizzes" for the next few weeks. These quizzes will contain concepts that should be developed by the end of 4th grade such as: multi-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; basic fraction concepts; basic decimal concepts; and recognizing simple patterns. These problems are taken off of previous tests, study links, or journal pages. I have found that the kids have a basic understanding of concepts, however, small mistakes in calculations are causing them to get incorrect answers. We are working hard on taking time to slow down while we are doing computations and to also check over our work.
* Last week we did investigations regarding volume of solids and liquids. This week we will take a closer look at following procedures and investigating air. The kids will take on the challenge of designing and completing a simple investigation that shows how air takes up space. At the end of the week, we will begin to work with density. The kids will create their own definition for what density is and will work to rank solid objects according to their densities. They will also weigh and compare equal volumes of liquids with different densities, and then reach some conclusions about this property of matter.
* Our FINAL book order catalogs were sent home last Friday. These orders are due by this coming Friday, May 20th! I will make sure to put the orders in by next week so that we receive our books before the end of the year. You can order online or send in your orders. CHECKS ONLY, please!
* I think that covers everything. Please contact me with any questions or concerns. Have a great week!
