WOW! I can't believe we are entering our fifth week of school. If has flown by.
In reading we are continuing to work on Daily 4 routines. During reading, we’re focusing on inferring with evidence from the text, summarizing, and predicting. We are also working on backing up all of our thinking with evidence from the text and/or prior knowledge. All thinking statements made during reading must have the word BECAUSE in them!
This week we’ve started our first read aloud chapter book, Stone Fox. The students are doing an amazing job thinking deeply and inferring while we read this text together.
Students took their beginning of year SRI reading comprehension test last week. This gives an approximate Lexile level that students are able to comprehend at. You can use www.lexile.com to choose books within a certain range, or to look up a book to see its level. Students learned to use this website at school as well. Students are encouraged to find books with the range of 100 points below their level and 50 points above.
We’ve also started to learn word study routines. For the next few weeks we will use homophones and other commonly misspelled words to learn and practice both homework and in class routines. Word Study homework contract has not started yet and we will let you know.
Math & Science News:
In math we are using place value to understand and round multi-digit whole numbers to any place. We are also reviewing how to add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers using a variety of strategies. Please continue having your students practice their multiplication facts nightly. We will be moving to multiplication in our next unit and this will help a lot.
The first formal assessment was sent home this week. Please remember that sometimes it takes students a while to adjust to new math expectations. We spend a lot of time justifying our answers in fourth grade, therefore written explanations play a big part when grading these assessments. I will continue to model how to write a good explanation for different types of problems.
In science we have completed our first series of investigations with mock rocks. We talked about the differences between a rock and mineral. Then we proceeded to break our mock rocks apart in order to separate out all of the minerals. We sorted what we could, used water to separate minerals into layers, and then used evaporation to discover minerals that had dissolved in the water. Next week we will investigate minerals and their properties. Students have been given a Discovery Ed assignment on Rocks and Fossils. This is an independent study assignment - students will use the provided resources to learn about the rock cycle, types of rocks and fossils. They will create a DE board to display their information. Boards will due by September 8. www.discoveryeducation.com
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Important Upcoming Dates:
In reading we are continuing to work on Daily 4 routines. During reading, we’re focusing on inferring with evidence from the text, summarizing, and predicting. We are also working on backing up all of our thinking with evidence from the text and/or prior knowledge. All thinking statements made during reading must have the word BECAUSE in them!
This week we’ve started our first read aloud chapter book, Stone Fox. The students are doing an amazing job thinking deeply and inferring while we read this text together.
Students took their beginning of year SRI reading comprehension test last week. This gives an approximate Lexile level that students are able to comprehend at. You can use www.lexile.com to choose books within a certain range, or to look up a book to see its level. Students learned to use this website at school as well. Students are encouraged to find books with the range of 100 points below their level and 50 points above.
We’ve also started to learn word study routines. For the next few weeks we will use homophones and other commonly misspelled words to learn and practice both homework and in class routines. Word Study homework contract has not started yet and we will let you know.
Math & Science News:
In math we are using place value to understand and round multi-digit whole numbers to any place. We are also reviewing how to add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers using a variety of strategies. Please continue having your students practice their multiplication facts nightly. We will be moving to multiplication in our next unit and this will help a lot.
The first formal assessment was sent home this week. Please remember that sometimes it takes students a while to adjust to new math expectations. We spend a lot of time justifying our answers in fourth grade, therefore written explanations play a big part when grading these assessments. I will continue to model how to write a good explanation for different types of problems.
In science we have completed our first series of investigations with mock rocks. We talked about the differences between a rock and mineral. Then we proceeded to break our mock rocks apart in order to separate out all of the minerals. We sorted what we could, used water to separate minerals into layers, and then used evaporation to discover minerals that had dissolved in the water. Next week we will investigate minerals and their properties. Students have been given a Discovery Ed assignment on Rocks and Fossils. This is an independent study assignment - students will use the provided resources to learn about the rock cycle, types of rocks and fossils. They will create a DE board to display their information. Boards will due by September 8. www.discoveryeducation.com
login: wcpstudentlunchnumber password: studentlunchnumber
Important Upcoming Dates:
- Open House Tuesday August 26th 6pm and 6:40
- School Pictures Friday August 29th
- No School: Sept. 1
- Early Release Friday Sept. 5th
- Guest Writer Tony Peacock Sept 15th-19th