Week of September 30th - October 4th

Hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful long ALF break. :) This week we will be testing on Unit 1 and completing our Unit 1 Inquiry Project.  The inquiry project will be on National Parks. Your child has picked a National park to research, and will be creating a presentation on their park using Prezi.com.

Pumpkin Project~
Rough drafts are due soon. Please remember to review the directions in the packet. The writing should be about the character chosen, not a beginning-middle-end summary of the book. Have your child bring their packets to school this week if they have taken them home.

We will be starting Chapter 2 in Math, Adding and Subtracting Whole Numbers and Money. This chapter focuses on addition and subtraction of three-and four-digit whole numbers and money using mental math, estimation, and algorithms.

A few reminders:
* Picture day will be October 25th
* Parent/Teacher conferences are November 6-8th

C-6 has been doing an amazing job... I am truly blessed with such an awesome group of kids this year!
Check out their Southwestern Animal projects on the class website: Southwest Projects

ALF & Week of September 23rd-26th

Wow- I can't believe it's Autumn Leaf Festival time already! Next week is a short week. There will be a half day for students on Thursday and no school Friday.

Because of the short week, we will not be having a Selection test in Reading. We also will not have a Spelling test. Students are still expected to do the Spelling workbook pages that are assigned, as well as the Reading trifold. I will be testing Vocabulary words only next week.

We will been reading "Letters Home from Yosemite".

Here are the skills/strategies for this story:

Genre: Narrative Non Fiction
Comprehension Skill: Main Idea
Comprehension Strategy: Graphic Organizers
Comprehension Review Skill: Fact and Opinion
Vocabulary: Suffixes

In Math, we are finishing up Chapter 1. We will be testing on Wednesday. Please have your child review their Math Journals at home in preparation for the test.

We will be testing the first chapter of Social Studies on Wednesday as well. Don't forget to pay attention to text features!

Sites to practice VOCAB each week.

Here are sites that will give your child the opportunity to practice the vocabulary words for the remaining story in this Unit. :)

Have fun!

Horned Toad Prince:  http://www.quia.com/jg/1457642.html

Letters Home from Yosemite:  http://www.quia.com/jg/1457644.html

Scholastic Book Clubs

Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub
One-Time Class Activation Code: FMTQW

Dear Families,

Encouraging reading is one of the most important things we can do to help your child succeed. It can be tough finding the right books to keep them interested, which is why I am so excited that our class will be participating in Scholastic Reading Club this school year.

With Scholastic Reading Club:

• Every book you buy earns FREE Books for our classroom library
• You can choose from handpicked, grade- and reading-level-specific books for your child
• You'll find the best values on a variety of formats, including eBooks

Each month, your child will bring home Reading Club flyers. Together you can choose from books hand-selected by teachers and experts, and then order online or by returning your order form and payment to me.

I'd also love some help growing our classroom Reading Club. If you'd like to help out, please let me know! I'm excited to get our class reading!

Thank you for your support,

If This Is Your First Time Ordering Online:

•  REGISTER at scholastic.com/readingclub
•  ENTER the Class Activation Code at the top of this letter
•  CHOOSE from thousands of print titles, value packs, and Storia eBooks
•  SUBMIT the order to me by the due date listed on the website
•  EARN FREE Books for our classroom too!

September 16th to 20th

This week we will been reading "The Horned Toad Prince".

Here are the skills/strategies for this story:
Genre: Fairy Tale
Comprehension Skill: Author's Purpose
Comprehension Strategy: Story Structure
Comprehension Review Skill: Sequence
Vocabulary: Context Clues

In Math we will be discussing how we can use money to learn decimals. This week, we will also be testing on Chapter 1 in Social Studies.

Week of September 9th-13th

Last week, we learned about Lewis & Clark. On Thursday, the students wrote lil' newspaper articles about someone or something from the expedition. Then, they used the laptops to visit Fodey.com and generate their own article. Look for their work on the class website. :)

This week we are reading the story Grandfather's Journey. Here are the skills/strategies for this story:

Genre: Historical Fiction
Comprehension Skill: Sequence
Comprehension Strategy: Graphic Organizers
Comprehension Review Skill: Author's Purpose
Vocabulary: Glossary/Dictionary

In Math, we are working on place value. We have been writing numbers in word form, standard form, and expanded form.

We're also starting timed adding/subtraction tests this week. It is so important that your child is able to recall basic addition and subtraction facts without using their fingers. If you have a set of flashcards at home, please practice these facts each night. If you need to borrow some, let me know. Your support is greatly appreciated for your child's success.

First days in fourth...

Language Arts ~ Sept. 4-7

Hello! We had a wonderful first week in C-6. I hope you had an enjoyable long weekend. 

This week we will been reading "Lewis & Clark and Me". Here are the skills/strategies for this story:
Genre: Historical Fiction
Comprehension Skill: Author's Purpose
Comprehension Strategy: Answer Questions
Comprehension Review Skill: Cause & Effect
Vocabulary: Word Endings

In Math, we are working on place value. We will be writing numbers in word form, standard form, and expanded form. Your child has a Math Journal that he/she has been working on in class. This journal should go home each night your child has homework. It's a great reference for the vocabulary/skills we're working on. Please encourage your child to familiarize themselves with the math vocabulary.

Parent Orientation

Hello! Fourth grade will be holding a Parent Orientation on Tuesday, September 10th. Our meeting will be at 6:00 in room C-6. Hope to see you there!