May at a Glance

Literacy
WCO: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

• In writing, we'll be writing persuasive essays. To start, students will write an essay to persuade you to take them to a vacation destination of their choice. They'll work on supporting their claim as to why it's a perfect vacation for your family and use counterarguments to strengthen their argument. We'll end the year with a second persuasive piece with a topic of their choice.

WCO: Create meaning strategically in writing.

• This week, we'll conference on their spring break narratives. Students have been trying new techniques in their writing (such as using effective leads, sensory details, strong verbs, and circular endings), and they'll meet with me to get individual feedback and editing support. 
• We'll end May with more work in writing groups based upon strengths and areas of growth in their persuasive pieces.

WCO: Create meaning strategically in reading; Evaluate how authors create meaning.

We end the year with a shared reading of The Lightning Thief. As we read, we discuss allusions, author's style, and plot development. After each chapter, we analyze the text more in partnerships or small groups to think critically about the text. 

• Students are also reading many Greek myths so that they can understand allusions better. After reading each myth, students work on various literacy skills (character traits, theme, allusions) to evaluate the text more deeply. 
• You should see many examples of this work coming home in each week's Thursday Folder.
• Students will be independently reading The Chocolate Touch in class. This is another novel that uses Greek mythology as inspiration.
• In DLT groups, students are reading City of Ember. Each week they learn new vocabulary, answer some comprehension questions, and then meet in small groups to discuss the text further. 

Math
WCO: Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

• Students will explore more geometric concepts involving: area, perimeter, symmetry, and tessellations. 
• We'll use some unique materials, such as Cheez Its and toilet paper, to model area and perimeter.
• We'll end the year designing a zoo to apply what we've learned in math this year. 

Science
WCO: Analyze the interaction within and between systems.

• We end the year learning about magnetism and electricity. Students will learn more about magnetism concepts like: attract, repel, induced magnetism, and force. In electricity, students will build parallel and series circuits to light bulbs and run a motor. They'll learn about conductors and insulators and draw schematic drawings.
• We'll work with Mrs. Blair on snap circuits and Cubelets to apply electric energy in new, innovative situations.
• Students will use the scientific method to do experiments throughout the next month. 

Calendar
Monday, May 2- Final date for Hardware Hustle donations
Friday, May 6- Hardware Hustle Prize Day
Friday, May 6- Muffins with Mom
Friday, May 6- Homework Due
Friday, May 13- Jump Rope for Heart donations due
Friday, May13- Homework Due
Monday, May 16- MAPS Testing
Tuesday, May 17- MAPS Testing
Thursday, May 19- Performance Night
Friday, May 20- MAPS Testing
Friday, May20- Homework Due
Tuesday, May 24- Field Day
Friday, May 27- Homework Due
Monday, May 30- No School
Tuesday, May 31- Field Trip
Thursday, June 2- Last Day of School

April News #2

Literacy
We will continue with our read aloud of Charlotte's Web with a focus on author's craft.

In our traditional tales unit, students will read fractured fairy tales and write their own. We will also read fables and compare their story elements.

Students will begin drafting a multi-paragraph personal narrative. We will focus on paragraph structure, figurative language, using correct punctuation, and writing with voice.

In writing groups, we will write about what we've read in Charlotte's Web. We'll practice how to use evidence from the text to support our thinking about literary elements. Then students will write independently about literary elements in their book club book, City of Ember.

Science
We will begin the week by wrapping up our rotation/revolution work. Then we'll learn more about the moon, the lunar cycle, and tides. We end the week learning more about gravity and mass. (Your child will need to know his/her weight to do Friday's mass lesson.) If students can bring their flashlights again on Tuesday, that would be great!

• This week in science we're answering the question: "Why doesn't the Moon always look round?" We’ll talk about how the moon reflects the light of the sun, learn the phases of the moon, and experiment to figure out what causes the change in the moon’s appearance.If you spot the moon in the sky, point it out to your child. If you have binoculars, let your child use them to look at the moon. The best time for moon-gazing is when the moon is half-bright/half-dark. The line that divides the dark (night side) of the moon from the bright (day side) of the moon is called the terminator. Along the terminator, shadows make it easier to see craters and mountains. If you feel like comparing what you see to a map of the moon, there’s a great map of the most visible craters here and a map of the dark gray areas known as seas here. If your child asks, the moon’s seas are dry flat plains created billions of year ago by flowing lava. But early astronomers thought these dark gray areas might be filled with water and called them seas or maria (Latin for seas), and the name stuck. 

Math
We will continue our work on measuring angles by tackling real-world problems in collaborative groups. Students will also practice more geometry skills at their own levels using Front Row. If you would like additional geometry practice, please use these links to print practice pages:

• Classifying Angles
• Naming Angles
• Reading a Protractor
• Drawing Angles

Homework
We corrected homework in class, and students who did additional work were awarded bonuses. Look in your child's homework folder for this week's homework, which is due on Thursday, April 21st (since there is no school on Friday next week).

Field Trip
If you still need to register your child for our last field trip, here are the directions:
FIELD TRIP LINK:
https://dcsdk12.revtrak.net/tek9.asp?pg=prairiecrossES

1) Click on "Registration"

2) Click on "Field Trips"

3) Find "PCE-Gr 4 - Museum of Nature and Science - Click on Teacher to Register" - underneath that, you'll see all 4th Grade teacher names...click on  Ms. Tucker.

4) Then in the right box click "Register for this class" and then you either login or set up a new account.

If you have questions/problems with the online registration/payment, please contact:

RegWorks directly at 1-888-848-2194 or Kathy in our office at 303-387-8200 or Kathy.Klancic@dcsdk12.org
If you are having trouble with the link - we have found that it works best in the  GOOGLE CHROME BROWSER.  Other browsers were not working consistently.

School News
The Hardware Hustle is on Thursday, April 21st during our specials time (1-1:40). Don't forget it's Crazy Hair Day for our class to show additional spirit. Thank you for your support.

No School Friday, April 22nd

The fifth grade classrooms are on a mission to help find our PE teacher a kidney as part of their living systems studies.  Molly Wright has suffered kidney failure due to a complication while delivering her son last May.  She is currently on the kidney transplant list and going to dialysis 3 times per week. Please check out the PCE website for more information.

April 15 News

New Homework
Starting today, we have a new homework program to finish out the year. The purpose of homework is to reinforce skills already taught, practice time management, and to build responsibility. Your child has the homework sheet for this week in his/her homework folder. It requires students to read every night, complete a math sheet, and practice grammar. There are also opportunities for extension and to earn bonuses. Please have your child explain the new homework policy to you and ask to see this homework sheet. Homework sheets will be given out each Friday and are due the following Friday.

Hardware Hustle
Information was sent home in this week's Thursday Folders. We will participate in the Hardware Hustle on Thursday, April 21st during our specials time (1-1:40). There are prizes for the most class spirit. I thought it would be fun for our class to have Crazy Hair Day to show some class spirit during the HH.

CMAS Testing
Students have finished their PARCC testing, but fourth graders need to take CMAS this coming week, which tests social studies content. We will be testing on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday first thing each morning.
We'll have a party on Friday to celebrate the completion of the standardized testing. Students will watch a movie (which ties in with what we're doing in literacy next week) and enjoy a sweet treat.

Literacy- Create meaning strategically; Evaluate how authors create meaning; Construct a viable argument.
We begin our final unit of the year, which focuses on traditional literature. This includes: fables, folk tales, myths, legends, fairy tales, and tall tales. This week students will learn the characteristics of each genre. We'll read read many folk tales and fairy tales to compare different stories and genres. We'll also spend some time reading Cinderella stories from cultures around the world to analyze their common traits.

Science- Systems Thinking
This week we will start our study of the solar system. Students will learn about the inner and outer planets, the sun, rotation and revolution, and the seasons. We will focus on the interaction within and between systems.

We're answering the question: "Why does the Sun rise and set?" We’ll talk about the rotation (spin) of the Earth and watch video footage from space that shows the Earth spinning. If you have the chance to watch the sunset or sunrise with your child, be sure to turn around and check out the super long shadow you both cast when the Sun is low in the sky. For a spectacular view of the sunrise, I recommend you and your child watch this time-lapse video of Earth. It was created by putting together photos taken from the International Space Station. You’ll see the yellow lights of human civilization, the flashing white of lightning in the clouds, and in the end, a brilliant sun rising above the curve of our planet.

We're also answering the question: “Who set the first clock?" We’ll make shadow clocks (sundials), learn about telling time by the Sun, and find out how (and why) people first divided the day into hours. When your child brings the sundial home, I suggest you help set it up in the sun with the north-pointing arrow pointing to north. When you and your child watch the shadow move over the course of the day, you might point out that the shadow moves clockwise around the dial. That’s no coincidence. The first clockmakers patterned the movement of the clock hands on what people were used to: the shadow clock. And here’s a fun fact to share with your child: back before there were clocks, people used the word “sunwise” to describe the direction we now call “clockwise.

For this activity, we need flashlights. If you can, please send in a flashlight with your child on Wednesday. 

We're exploring how the sun’s path changes with the time of the year. Students will learn that on summer days the sun comes up earlier, rises higher in the midday sky, and sets later than it does in winter. If you find that your child is curious when the sun rises and sets, Google now provides sunrise and sunset times simply by typing "sunrise" and "sunset" in Google. Many weather apps for smartphones (such as iPhone) also feature this information included with the day's forecast.

Math- Geometry
We begin our last unit of math for the year. This week, students will be learning how to identify, draw, and measure different types of angles.

Social Studies
Click here to see photos of the final social studies projects that the kids completed this week. I am so proud of how focused the kids were as they collaborated with their partners all week. They really took this project seriously and devoted such great effort to it each day.

Specials- Music

Performance Night- Information about this year's Talent Show is in the office for students to pick up if interested.

Important Dates

Conferences

If you would like a spring conference, please sign up for one time slot per child below. 

Field Trip
Students will need a completely disposable lunch and drink on March 17. They are not permitted to walk around the museum with drinks or lunch boxes.

FIELD TRIP LINK:
https://dcsdk12.revtrak.net/tek9.asp?pg=prairiecrossES

Follow these directions:

1) Click on "Registration"

2) Click on "Field Trips"

3) Find "PCE - Gr 4  Colorado History Museum - Click on Correct Teacher to Register" - underneath that, you'll see all 4th grade teacher names...click on correct teacher 

4) Then in the right box click "Register for this class" and then you either login or set up a new account.

If you have questions/problems with the online registration/payment, please contact:

RegWorks directly at 1-888-848-2194 or Kathy in our office at 303-387-8200 or Kathy.Klancic@dcsdk12.org
If you are having trouble with the link - we have found that it works best in the  GOOGLE CHROME BROWSER.  Other browsers were not working consistently.

PARCC/CMAS

This morning Mr. Rainford came in and showed the kids all of the tools that will be on the PARCC tests this year, and they had a little time to do some practice test problems. If you'd like your child to practice at home, here are the links to the PARCC and CMAS practice tests. There is also a practice test that guides the kids through how to answer questions on the math test. The practice tests do not work in Chrome, so please use Safari/Firefox/Internet Explorer. Be sure to choose the Grade 4- Computer Based Practice Test.

Students need headphones/earbuds for PARCC testing. Please make sure your child has working headphones/earbuds at school. 

PARCC/CMAS tests are the state mandated tests that your child takes once a year. More information about PARCC/CMAS will come out via the weekly email blasts from the school, but here is our testing schedule so that you can plan accordingly. Please note that we start testing the first day back from spring break.

Monday, 4/4

1. English Language Arts, 9-10:45
2. Math, 12-1:15

Tuesday, 4/5

1. English Language Arts, 9-10:45
2. Math, 12-1:15

Wednesday, 4/6

1. English Language Arts, 9-10:45
2. Math, 12-1:15

Thursday, 4/7

1. Math, 12-1:15

Tuesday, 4/12

1. Social Studies, 9-10:35

Wednesday, 4/13

1. Social Studies, 9-10:35

Thursday, 4/14

1. Social Studies, 9-10:35

February News

What are we learning this month?

In social studies, we continue to focus on three World Class Outcomes: Evaluate how environment and culture influence sustainability. Evaluate the relationship between cause and effect. Evaluate the relationship between decisions and the impact on available resources in the community. 

The content we'll use to understand these WCOs include:

• The Native American tribes that have lived in Colorado

• How Spanish explorers affected the native people

• Colorado history to include: fur trappers, mountain men, the gold and silver rushes, Westward Expansion, pioneers, homesteading, ranching, the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, Sand Creek Massacre, Camp Amache, and Lincoln Hills

In math, we'll spend the month focusing on decimals. Students will learn how to model, understand the place value relationships, order and compare, round, and compute addition and subtraction problems with decimals.

In literacy, we are focusing on a new WCO: Construct a viable argument and critique the reasoning of others.

• Students are synthesizing information from multiple sources to draft a report to support a claim they've made about the person they read about in their biography book.
• We are wrapping up their first book clubs with presentations to convince the class to read (or not read) the book that they read.
• We'll start our next round of book clubs with novels that take place in Colorado during different time periods in our state's history. Students may have another fourth grade teacher for this novel study. Mrs. Thistleton will be teaching Blizzard, Estes Park; Mrs. Everett will be teaching Little House on the Prairie; Mrs. Williams will be teaching Hard Gold; and I will be teaching The Secret School.
• In writing groups we are writing opinion pieces based upon articles that we've read.

Snapshots of our Learning

 

Each group read about a tribe and took notes on their food, method of getting food, traditions, shelter, location, and clothing.

 

Then, they planned out what was most important to teach the class about their tribe.

 

Next, they divided up the work.

Finally, the groups created a poster to share their learning with the class. 

Sharing out with the class how the Cheyenne made decisions based on their environment

Teaching the class about the Arapaho's culture

Explaining how the Ute used their natural resources for a sustainable society

The Stink book club is creating a poster for their presentation next week. 

The Nest for Celeste book club is collaborating on a Popplet for their presentation.

Homework

Please be sure that your child is reading nightly. Your child should finish two books at home this month. 

My favorite websites for math homework are Front Row and Ten Marks Jam Session. These websites give your child practice at his/her skill level and will push them to learn new concepts as well. 

Spelling for this month:

• Testing Friday, February 5: per
• Testing Friday, February 26: multi

January News

Tomorrow we embark on a three month journey that integrates many World Class Outcomes through literacy, math, geography, and history content. 

WCOs 

• Create meaning strategically. 
• Evaluate how authors create meaning.
• Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
• Create knowledge through the process of inquiry.

Students will be: 

• Learning how to read a biography book, take notes to determine important information, synthesize what they've learned about the famous person from the book and other sources, and write a report to justify why this person is worthy of study.
• Writing multi-paragraph essays. These will include: a personal narrative about winter break, responses to opinion pieces that they've read to critique the author's opinion and support their own reasoning, and blog posts about current events. 
• Analyzing the five different text structures present in nonfiction text: description, sequence, problem/solution, cause/effect, and compare/contrast. By reading a lot of nonfiction texts, students will analyze the author's organizational structure to evaluate the important information. 
• Integrating all four of these WCOs in their first book clubs of the year. Each reading group has chosen a novel to read. They'll read a portion of the book each week, analyze the text, and meet to discuss it each week. 
• Beginning their first DLT project. They'll choose something that they want to learn more about, and through inquiry, create a project to showcase their new learning. 

WCOs 

• Evaluate how environment and culture influence sustainability.
• Evaluate the relationship between cause and effect.
• Evaluate the relationship between decisions and the impact on available resources in the community.

Students will be: 

• Deconstructing the WCOs so that they actually understand what they mean! As you drive around town, have dinner conversations, talk to your child about school, you may want to talk about:
• What is sustainability? Why is it important to consider when making decisions?
• If the town of Parker doesn't think about the environment, what effect would that have on our city's sustainability?
• If the town of Parker thinks about the environment over culture, what effect would that have on our city's sustainability?
• How has Colorado thought about resources when making decisions?  
• How do you make decisions? How does cause/effect manifest itself in your daily life? 
• What decisions has the community made that you agree/disagree with and why? 
• Learning about the geography and regions of Colorado. We'll focus on: how the geography of Colorado has affected where people settle and the jobs they have; how decisions can have positive/negative effects on our state's resources and sustainability.
• Analyzing the history of Colorado. We'll focus on: the cause/effect relationships in historical events; how environment and culture have influenced sustainability over time; and how decisions are made for our state based upon the available resources in our state at the time.

WCOs

• Create a process to solve a problem.
• Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

This month, our focus will be on fractions. Students will work heavily with simplifying, equivalent fractions, and adding/subtracting fractions. Through number talks, we'll continue with sharing our thinking as we solve problems mentally for efficiency and accuracy. 

Homework This Week:

• Spelling: gram
• Reading: Students will choose a biography book to read this month at home. The notes are posted in Google Classroom. We will have gone over the assignment's expectations in class on Monday. 
• Math: I'd suggest Ten Marks Jam Session, Front Row Fractions, or these Equivalent Fractions games