Please be sure to read through all that's going on this week, including the miscellaneous section!!
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We have A LOT going on in Language Arts! This includes read aloud, independent reading time, word study (spelling, vocabulary, grammar), and writing.
Reading: We finished our read-aloud titled "Love that Dog" by Sharon Creech. It is written in verse and is narrated by a boy who doesn't like poetry when the book begins. He finds he can be a poet through his regular thoughts and words and uses the poetry that he reads in class as inspiration to write about his dog that passes away. Needless to say, I was NOT dry-eyed when I had to read that part! Many of our kiddos weren't either... We will continue our poetry study with all sorts of poems of different forms by different authors, and will write our own poetry, too. Ask your kids about Jack's poem called "Love that Dog." Ask about how Jack writes to the real-life author, Walter Dean Myers, to arrange a class visit. What did they think of the book? If you want to take it one step further, read the book with your kids. It's very short and really special!
Biography Project: Our little researchers should be done reading their biographies and taking notes by Monday. If you have the opportunity to look over their notes this weekend, you could have a conversation with them about whether they could write their own biographies based on the information they've taken. We've had mini-lessons on how to pull the important information, and what the important information actually is. The phrase I keep using is "facts and stories that connect to why your person ends up famous." Early next we will take your child's notes and organize them into a graphic organizer as sort of a check-point. From there we will start to learn how to write biographies, focusing our lessons on chronological text structure, organizing facts, information, and anecdotal stories, writing strong introductions and conclusions, and using transition words. **They will need their books and notes every day in class.** Please see the links at the top of this site- there is a new link called biography project with all sorts of resources and information. I will explain it to the kids as we arrive at each check-in point.
Word Study: Next week we will wrap up our mini-unit on figurative language. We studied techniques that an author can use including similes, metaphors, hyperbole, onomatopoeias, idioms, alliteration and personification. We had a lot of fun creating our own examples; the kids will apply what we learned to little stories they make up next week. Ask your kids about the types of figurative language ("What is hyperbole?"); ask them to give you an example ("I told you a million times!").
We are also finally starting spelling! This week was slower than expected as I needed to test a third of the kids on a second set-list, so I am rewriting last week's explanation as it applies to next week... After a lot of research and work, the 4th grade team has developed a plan for the year that we believe will effectively target your individual child's spelling needs without adding busy work for them or for us. There are over 200 lists of spelling words in our program and based on the spelling patterns that your child needs support with, they will start at different list numbers. Each week they will get their list, write their words for practice, sort them by spelling pattern, and find other words that fit the pattern. They will take their test online, screen-shot it, and email it to me. I will teach them this process and send home more information next week. It is already posted on the blog (in the Language Arts links) and on the homework site.
Writing: We are still developing evidence to support our three reasons of our opinion piece. We've learned to write lists and small anecdotal stories, and now we're learning to assess our evidence to make sure it directly supports our reasons and thesis. Opinion writing is hard work! Next week we'll learn how to organize and order our reasons and evidence and then move on to intros, conclusions, and transition words. Ask your kids what their thesis and reasons are. Ask them to share a list or a story that supports their reasons.
Math: The past two weeks we finished our math unit. We learned how to multiply two digit by two digit multiplication problems and how to solve story problems with those numbers. We reviewed our entire unit (we started this unit in November!). Some students felt ready for the test on Friday after our review and they started their test. Others continued to practice and get help. We will all finish/take the test on Monday and begin our new unit on Tuesday of next week. Our next unit will be fractions! Ask your child how the review went today and if they feel they need to practice anything before the test on Monday.
Social Studies: We've been reading about our own region, the midwest in Social Studies. We have discussed the climate, history, and landmarks. We also made bookmarks about our area (Chicago/Oak Park) to send to other 4th graders around the United States. We will get back bookmarks from all over the country before Read Across America in March. Please send in any pictures of your kids (family) visiting the Midwest (not Chicago though) so we can add them to our regions photo board. Ask your child one interesting fact they learned about the Midwest.
Science: Our class meets with Mrs. Darley for science. They are learning about magnetism. Ask your student how their science class went this week and what they are learning about.
Miscellaneous:
- We sent a link for our conference sign up this week. Please click here to sign up. We look forward to meeting with you.
- Laurie Conley, our teacher librarian, recommends books from this list, check it out.
- Dear Whittier Community, We need your help in the fight against blood cancers! By participating in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) School & Youth programs, our school is working with LLS to help blood cancer patients live their best life today. Donations received through the School & Youth Programs fund the treatments that get to patients more quickly. Cures today. Not someday. That's the LLS goal. And together, with the 14 million students who participate in the School & Youth Programs, we plan to make an impact! For more information on The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s mission, please visit www.schoolandyouth.org/il.During the upcoming weeks, students and families are asked to save any type of change (coins and bills) using the collection boxes that were brought home this week along with a letter explaining more about the program. Checks can also be turned in using the collection boxes payable to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The collection boxes should be returned to school by Friday, March 3, 2017. In addition, parents, friends, and family members can also donate online using our class link http://events.lls.org/pages/il/Whittier-Elementary-School-2017/LeslieWeiss. After you donate online, you’ll receive a tax-deductible receipt.Classrooms that raise $500 or more will receive a class prize pack. Every student who raises $100 online by setting up their own page will receive a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society T-Shirt. Overall, the class that raises the most money both online and in school combined will receive an Olive Garden lunch including pasta, salad, and breadsticks at a future date determined by their classroom teacher. Any student that raises $20 or more will have their name put into the raffle to be principal or secretary for the day. Plus, if Whittier School meets our goal of $2017.00 we will have a fun celebration at school.Thank you,Whittier School Student Council
