4C News October 29th- November 2nd

Daylight Savings is this Sunday, November 4th!

Halloween Party: We will celebrate Halloween on October 31st beginning with our annual parade at
2:15pm, followed by our class parties.  If your child would like to bring a costume to school for the
festivities, please be sure they can slip it on over their clothes.  No masks, makeup, or weapons are
allowed. We honor a food-free celebratory environment in accordance with Parkway's food policy, so
no candy or food is allowed.  If you are joining us for the celebration, please be sure to sign in before
going to your child's class.

November

5-6: No School

8: Picture Retake Day

   All Read - 3:25 pm

   Family Fun Night at Fitz's - 5:00 pm

9: Veterans Day Celebration

21-23: No School, Thanksgiving

28: Late Start, School begins at 11:05 am  

Reading:

Last week students were assigned a research topic. They have worked hard taking notes in a nonfiction structure and making sure they are only including the important details about their subtopic. This week they will be share what they have learned with the class.

Here is the link to the reading log:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWcMaqflPoTSE1xb74UVoydYtdjwuWeOT-5WW3NG2rUu49AQ/viewform

Writing:

We will continue working on our opinion writing. This week we will start to draft our opinion pieces. Students will have their draft on Google Classroom at any time you would like to view their writing. We will also start to craft our introductions and conclusions to get our readers interested in our writing and to leave them with lasting thoughts about our writing.

Math:

All math test should be returned to school by Tuesday, October 30th. We will be moving onto learning about division. Students will still need to be practicing their multiplication fact each night and also their division facts.

Science:

So far, student seem to be liking our new science unit! This unit is very hands-on and gives them opportunities to problem solve on their own or with a group. It is very student lead. This week we will be looking at how energy is converted into mechanical energy, we will observe different types of energy in stations, and lastly, students will choose one of the stations to create a presentation about what they learned about that specific energy conversion.

Vocabulary: 
potential energy, kinetic energy, energy conversions, energy, electrical energy, chemical energy, nuclear energy

Social Studies:

Our next unit in social studies will be focused around Missouri becoming a state. Students will apply their knowledge of the Louisiana Purchase to explain Missouri statehood and Missouri’s important role in Westward Expansion. First, students will outline issues of Missouri statehood and explain the significance of the Missouri Compromise in maintaining an uneasy balance of slave and free states in the Union. Students can connect attempts at compromise by the federal government with situations in their own lives where they might have had to give up something in order to get something. 

Please feel free to send me a Dojo message if you ever have any questions or concerns!

Have a wonderful week!

4C News October 22-26

Monday - Rock Your Red! Wear red to kick off Red Ribbon Week.

Tuesday - Tie Dye & TuTu Tuesday! Wear tie-dye and/or your tutu.

Wednesday - Wacky Tacky Wednesday! Wear your crazy, or mismatched clothes.

Thursday - Be on a Drug-Free Team! Wear your favorite sports team or your own team wear.

Friday - Leaders are Drug-Free! Wear anything to show your leadership. (Ex. Scout uniform,

future career goals, Highcroft spirit wear, anything you are proud of)

October

22-26: Red Ribbon Week

 24: Halloween Safety Assembly, Grades K-2

       5th Grade Field Trip to JA BizTown

 25: Pumpkin Run, Grades 3-5

       PSO Meeting, 7:00 pm in the Library

 26: Trunk or Treat, 6:00 pm

 31: Late Start, School begins at 11:05 am

       Halloween Parade & Parties - 2:15 pm

Reading:

We have been getting our feet wet in reading nonfiction. I have been encouraging students to read more nonfiction book for their 30 minutes reading at home. We talked about having a balanced reading diet of both fiction and nonfiction. Students should also complete their daily reading log every night. We will be starting our daily reading logs back up this week.

Here is the link to the reading log:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWcMaqflPoTSE1xb74UVoydYtdjwuWeOT-5WW3NG2rUu49AQ/viewform

Writing:

We will continue working on our opinion writing. We are currently in the stage of writing to learn. This consist of several pre-writing activities to gather thoughts about our chosen subject to write about.

Math:

Our math test is Tuesday, October 23rd. We will be testing on multiplication. We have been using the area model to multiply multi-digit numbers. Students came home last week with a study packet. They need to continue to work on these problems as they mimic the ones on the test. Students also should be studying their multiplication facts every night for homework.

Science:

I am excited to move into our new science. This is one of the three Project Lead the Way unit we are doing this school year. Students will begin the unit Energy Conversions with me this week. Students will learn about conversions of energy as well as the conversion of a variety of fuel sources from stored energy to usable electricity. This week we will work on activity 1: What is Energy Conversions. 

Vocabulary: 
potential energy, kinetic energy, energy conversions, energy, electrical energy, chemical energy, nuclear energy

Social Studies:

We had our first social studies test last week. I hope to get those grade this week and sent home by Wednesday. They will need to be signed and returned by Monday, October 29th.

Please feel free to send me a Dojo message if you ever have any questions or concerns!

Have a wonderful week!

4C News October 9th - 12th

Hello 4th Grade Families,
I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend! I wanted to say thank you for taking the
time out of your busy schedules to chat with me about your awesome kiddo. These fourth
grades are a unique, fun-loving, and kind. Each day, I feel lucky to work with such a
wonderful group. Thank you for raising such great little people and for sharing them with
me. Here is what's happening in our classroom this week:

 11: All Read - 3:25 pm
 12: Family Fun Night at Sports Fusion, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
 17: Visit your Elementary School
 18: Vision Screening
       Flu Shots for Students and Staff
22-26: Red Ribbon Week
 24: Halloween Safety Assembly, Grades K-2
 25: Pumpkin Run, Grades 3-5
       PSO Meeting, 7:00 pm in the Library
 26: Trunk or Treat, 6:00 pm
 31: Late Start, School begins at 11:05 am
       Halloween Parade & Parties - 2:15 pm

Reading:

We have finished our first unit of reading on interpreting characters. It was a fun unit. We celebrated by doing a little whittling like Rob does to wood in Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo. We will be starting our new reading unit this week. Our next unit is nonfiction and it is called Reading the Weather Reading the World. We will be taking a pre-test for this unit on Tuesday.

Writing:

We will continue working on our opinion writing. We are currently in the stage of writing to learn. This consist of several pre-writing activities to gather thoughts about our chosen subject to write about.

Math:

Students should be practicing their multiplication fact every night for 10 minutes. It is very important that they are memorized. We are going to continue learning to multiply multi-digit numbers using the area model.

Science:

We have finished our first science unit and will be taking the test on Friday. Students should be working on their study guide for homework this week. I will advise them to bring home their science binder to study from also.

Social Studies:

We will be spending this week learning more about Lewis and Clark's expedition. Our books only touch a little bit on it so we will be reading a book, reviewing several articles and researching the internet.

October Newsletter

A Look into 4 th Grade-October

Welcome Fall! Here is a look at what we are working on and what is

coming next.

Reading:

We are working on our second unit, which is Reading the Weather,

Reading the World. Our focus over the next few weeks will be learning from

texts, launching a whole class research project, and tackling a second

research project with more agency and power. We are reading every day

during independent reading time where we confer with your kids about their

current books and their goals. Please remind your students to be reading

each night at home. We ask for at least 30 minutes.

Writing:

We are working on our second unit, which is Boxes and Bullets. Our focus

over the next few weeks will be writing to learn, raising the level of essay

writing, and moving from personal essays to persuasive essays. Students

are writing independently every day while teachers are conferring with your

kids. You can see their work on Google Classroom.

Science:

In Mrs. Wright’s class, students will begin the unit The Human Brain. In this

module, students will be introduced to the analogy of the brain as a

computer. In Mrs. Swanger’s class, students will begin the unit Energy

Collisions. Through the example of bumper cars, students will be

introduced to energy transfer and conversions in collisions. In Mrs. Childes’

class, students will begin the unit Energy Conversions. Students will learn

about conversions of energy as well as the conversion of a variety of fuel

sources from stored energy to usable electricity.

Social Studies:

We began our unit on the early settlement of Missouri and exploration. We

are focusing on prehistory and the Northwest Passage, Thomas Jefferson

and the Louisiana Purchase, and the Corps of Discovery with Lewis and

Clark.

Math:

We are starting our second unit on multiplication and division. Our students

will focus on multiplying two digit by up to four digit numbers and dividing

three digit by one digit numbers. Please take any extra time to help your

student practice their basic multiplication facts! We will be sending home

flashcards to help.