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Reading: We left off at the BIGGEST cliffhanger in Frozen Stiff. I laughed out loud at their reaction when the chapter ended and we needed to go to art class today. One kid actually said "I'll take death by Mr. Patterson if he kills us for being late, if it means we can read another chapter!" Ask them about it! Biographies should be finished (the reading and note-taking!) by Monday! I've met with each of your readers this week to monitor their pacing and the quality of their notes. With some I coached them on being more specific in note-taking, with others I helped them make a plan to finish on time. Please check in with your child about their progress, and if they'll let you, take a peak at their notes. Next week we'll start organizing the information and learning about how to write biographies. They can also get started on their creative projects at home. Ask your reader to read his/ her biography together. Help him/ her pull out the most important information and jot it either on post-its or in the reader's notebook. Make sure s/he records the page number and uses bullets format! Writing: The kids have developed their theses into support with three reasons, and they've begun writing evidence for reason 1. The first type of evidence they've learned about is personal stories. Next they'll learn how to make lists as a different form of evidence. Ask your child what thesis s/he chose. Ask them the reasons for their thesis and what stories (evidence) they've written to back up their reason 1. We also wrote some AWESOME poetry this week! Stay tuned for some of it published on the bulletin boards next week. Ask them about the poetry we read and wrote on "Poetry Fridays."
4th Grade Math: We are wrapping up our VERY long Module 3! On Monday and Tuesday we'll finish practicing double digit multiplication. Then we'll review for the assessment and spend two days taking it. It will cover multiplication and division using various strategies, factors, multiples, and word problems involving all of these concepts.. Please continue to practice multiplication/ division facts at home! Now you can add factors and multiples, too (EX: What are the factors of 24? 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24. What are the multiples of 3? 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18).
Social Studies: The kids took their government assessment this week. Next up: regions of the US! This is a long unit that is group research based. It's fun to learn about the different parts of our country through the lens of economics, geography, and culture. Talk to your kids about places you've traveled or would like to travel in the US. Talk to them about different parts of our country and what makes them unique.
Science: Our students will be learning about Magnetism and Electricity during second trimester with Ms. Darley. Ask your scientists about building circuits, the properties of magnets, and what else they might be investigating.
Miscellaneous:
- Many kids have stopped bringing water bottles. Please keep sending them in! It keeps them hydrated and energized throughout the day.
- Next week the Student Council will begin its fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Your child brought home a change collection box; please consider supporting your child in our fundraising efforts by reaching out to friends, family and/ or neighbors to contribute!
- "The Good Lie" Please join the Whittier Refugee Welcome Project on Fri., Feb. 2 from 6-9 pm for a free screening and post-movie discussion of "The Good Lie", a movie about a Sudanese family and their struggles in Sudan and as refugees. Following the movie, there will be a discussion with two men from Sudan who spent more than 14 years living in refugee camps and then came to the US as refugees. It's certain to be powerful evening.
