OUCH, I can’t believe that it is December. I want to remind everyone that Friday is the end of Term #1. SOme of us had a rocky start and have settled in nicely, while others are still working on developing a solid routine. Now, is the time to make a change for the better, and build upon what you have been doing in the first term. STEP-UP!

I want to thank all the parents that were able to come last Tuesday to our 4th grade National Education Week lesson. I will be inviting parents in again later this year for another more intimate lesson in the classroom.

Spelling: We will be working on the pages from an old workbook, Lesson #5. The packet has been copied and distributed to everyone. I am pleased to announce that 5 of the children have completed all 8 bonus lists for the term. We have a bunch of others, who are right on their tails. If they have completed the 8 lists they are done for the term. This is the last week of Term 1, so everyone will be back on list #1 next week.

Instead of spelling sentences, I am giving the children an MCAS story to work on for Friday. I would like them to do it with an adult at home so that everyone will get a general idea of what to expect for MCAS. I will not assign as much reading work this week to give them an opportunity to take the necessary time to work through the MCAS story “Millions of Mummies”.

Reading: Hopefully we will come close to wrapping up, War with Grandpa, this week. The story is about a family who has a major change in their lives. Their grandfather moves in with them. Well actually, he moves into the sons room and the son is relocated into the attic. Peter, the son, is not to happy about his new living quarters and her “goes to war” with his grandfather over his territory, his old room. The story is quite humorous and very enjoyable.

We will again, be writing long answer questions in our journal for this novel. A major reminder to everyone is that we can and should go back into the story to provide evidence for our answers. The children need to read the assignments over carefully and check that they have answered their questions completely.

The steps to answer a question are:
1. Restate the question
2. Answer the question
3. Support you answer with evidence from the story

Written Language: We are going to continue with or writing of descriptive paragraphs this week on scarecrows. The children need to become more descriptive in their writing. I have told them to include color, size, and shape any time that they are describing something. This gives the reader a chance to visualize the object in their mind.

Math: We will have a simple assessment of our math knowledge in geometry this Thursday. As far a math goes, this week will be an M WEEK. Meaning, that we will work on multiplication, money, and some MCAS practice. WE need all the practice we can in those three areas. SO, why not use a little time each day to build upon what we already know. I am having the children practice counting and making change this week, in preparation for the opening of the School Store. The facts are coming along and they still need work on them, but only time will tell.

All our math concepts, will not be taught in isolation. Everything in math builds on the previous day or concept. That is why it is still imperative to stay focused and participate.

DCR UPDATE: This is an independent math packet that reviews all the concepts and skills we will be using throughout the year. The children should be pacing themselves, 3-5 pages per week. I give them a weekly check on the board and they should be on pages 43 - DONE (book #1) as of Friday 11/28/08. There are 3 packets, one for each term. They need to try to finish one packet each term. They do not need to go ahead. It is not a race. I am pleased to announce that 4 children have completed Book #1. I have instructed them to go back and fix all their errors before I will give them DCR #2. I am so excited. We are starting to develop great work habits.

Application of facts and terminology is key to success in math.

Science: We have finished our LAND & WATER UNIT. We are busy getting all the materials cleaned up and returned to the Science closet so, we may begin our next unit on Electricity & Magnets. I love working with electricity and magnets. I know, it is shocking that I like it. LOL

Social Studies: We have moved on to the Southeast. We will spend time this week filling in our study guide from our notes and from the book. Again, this is what I will be creating the test from. SO, they need to have the correct answers and accurate information on their guides when we correct them together. We will do some simple comparisons of the Southeast and the Northeast. Using a venn diagram.

Projects: Talking Calendars are due Dec 18th. I have sample form previous years for them to look at for meeting the criteria. Most of the children did a great job on their first round of Talking Calendars. I can’t wait to see/hear round #2.

Thanks, Mr. L.