November News

Please check out your child's Science and Literacy pages on their eportfolios. We recently posted their Animal Reports and Bee Bots videos. I'm super proud of the kids' hard work on these projects and how they were able to show some of what they learned in October. 

Homework for November 2-6

• Spelling -logy. These are HARD words this week. It would be helpful to work with your child to break them into syllables or chunks in the word to help them remember. 
• Math Worksheets- Have your child do several problems each night. Please check your child's work each night so that they aren't practicing incorrectly. (Due Friday, November 6th)
• Reading- Read nightly. Your child should finish two books this month. 

What are we learning in November?

WCOs: Analyze how perspective is a catalyst for change and how multiple relationships cause change. As we learn about economics and work in literacy, we'll focus on how perspective and relationships can cause change.

• Literacy
• We will be reading The Lemonade War focusing on: figurative language, using the text to support our thinking, writing in response to what we've read, and evaluating how the author strategically created meaning. 
• Students will be writing stories. Each day's lesson will guide the students in ways to create meaning strategically to improve their writing. 
• We will continue to write paragraphs in writing groups. We'll work on word choice, conventions, organization, and elaboration to create meaning strategically.
• In reading groups, we will do close reads to focus on vocabulary, determining the main idea, finding proof in the text, and synthesize our reading to create meaning strategically. 
• Social Studies- Economics
• Students will learn a lot of new vocabulary and apply it to economics. Concepts include: incentives, resources, opportunity cost, goods and services, inflation, choices, comparing prices, credit cards, budgets, and debt. This is a great time to share your financial decision making with your child. 
• We will have a local entrepreneur visit the fourth grade, and students will be able to apply all that they've learned in the real-world through her visit.

WCO: Create a process to solve a problem. 

• We will test on chapter three (multi-digit multiplication and long division) on Monday, November 9th. Then we will move onto data as students learn about tables and line graphs.
• Students will work in collaborative groups to solve inquiry based problems as they evaluate plans for a birthday party. 

Important Dates

• Tuesday, November 3: No School
• Friday, November 6: Book Orders Due
• Friday, November 13: Doughnuts for Dads (See PCE email for details)
• Monday, November 23- Friday, November 27: No School, Thanksgiving Break

October 18

Homework

Spelling: pro

Math: normal work but practicing multi-digit multiplication is highly suggested

Reading: nightly reading, Bunnicula done and document submitted by October 30

Week at a Glance

WCO: Analyze the interaction within and between two systems & Classify patterns using models

- Classification of animals

- Using Bee Bots to explain classification of an animal (look for a video of your child's work at the end of the week)

WCO: Create meaning strategically in reading, writing, speaking, and listening & Evaluate how authors create meaning strategically

- Finishing body paragraphs of animal reports, adaptations paragraph

- Paragraph about Fall Break

- Personification

- Plot Structures

- Using evidence from the text to support our analysis

WCO: Attend to precision

- Inquiry unit on multiplicative comparisons

- Spiral review of previously taught concepts not yet mastered

Specials: PE

Quick Info

- Please see previous week's blog for info about the Halloween party. We still need some teeth and Skittles :) 

- I will be out Tuesday for a Gifted and Talented conference in Loveland as part of my role as the co-GT coordinator for PCE. I'll also be out Thursday afternoon to get my daughter's braces put on; boy do I feel your pain as parents with the time and money this involves! My lesson plans have not changed with these absences, so learning will go on as if I were here.  

- Article from our School Psychologist

October 2

Bunnicula
Our next required home reading book is Bunnicula. I passed the books out on Wednesday and explained the assignment to the class. We've been working a lot on using evidence from the text to support our thinking and crafting good responses to questions. The home reading log (which is posted in Google Classroom) requires students to answer one comprehension question per chapter with a Great Short Answer. Great Short Answers require students to respond in complete sentences with the question in the answer and use evidence from the text signaled by Evidence Based Terms ("because", "for instance", "for example", "the author stated", "according to the text"). We've worked on this in class, so now I'm asking the kids to be able to do this on their own to prove they can do it independently. Bunnicula is a short read at only 98 pages and needs to be completed by October 30th.

Conferences
I look forward to seeing you this week. If you've forgotten your date/time, here's the link to the sign-up sheet. Help keep me on time by entering the room at your scheduled conference time. Thank you!

Week at a Glance
WCO: Create Meaning Strategically & Evaluate How Authors Create Meaning

• Planning and Drafting Life Cycle Paragraph in Animal Report
• Figurative Language: Metaphors, Idioms, Onomatopoeia
• Evaluating the Theme of Short Stories

WCO: Attend to Precision

• Multiplying Multi-Digit Numbers by 1 and 2 digits

WCO: Analyze the Interaction Within and Between Two Systems & Classify Patterns Using a Model

• Build Your Wild Self assignment to evaluate how an animal's adaptations help it to survive in its ecosystem
• Interim assessment to analyze how an animal outside of its natural ecosystem may be in danger and propose a solution to the problem

WCO: Appraise the Interaction Between Individual and Societal Activities

• Students will pay their first payroll taxes, pay rent, and participate in their first auction

Specials: Music

No Spelling this week 

Halloween Party
On Friday, October 30th, we will have our morning Halloween party. The kids may come to school in their school appropriate costumes but will need to bring a change of clothes. The party will be the first hour of the day, the kids will change out of their costumes at recess, and then we'll have Junior Achievement. Here are our party needs.

September 25

Spelling
Some estimates are that 75% of the English language is derived from Greek and Latin roots. They truly are the building blocks of English and present an extremely powerful framework to nurture students' vocabulary development. All of our spelling words focus on Greek and Latin roots and affixes. On Mondays,  I teach the vocabulary to help familiarize the students with the words' meanings and spelling. Vocabulary is an important component of reading comprehension. Readers cannot understand what they are reading without knowing what most of the words mean. As children learn to read more advanced texts, they must learn the meaning of new words that are not part of their oral vocabulary. It's imperative to your child's vocabulary development and reading comprehension that you take the time each week to help your child learn the spelling and meaning of their weekly Greek and Latin affixes and root words. This week's words have the trans- prefix (meaning across).

Conferences
Because we have a low class size of 22 students, I was able to schedule 20 minute conferences (many classrooms only have time for 15 minute time slots). Please help me keep on schedule by entering the classroom at your scheduled start time. I could talk about your kids for longer than 20 minutes, but I want to honor your child's conference by not running over on time. If you have yet to sign up, here's the link again to the sign-up sheet.

Portfolios
When you get a moment this weekend, please have your child show you his/her portfolio, which now has the Animoto and Voice Thread projects that we completed this week.
Alisa
Amber
Ashlyn
Bailey
Caden
Chase
Chauncy
Cole
Colin
Haleigh
Isabella
Keaton
Lauren
Lucy
Maddy
Natalie
Nathan
Reese
Sam
Siena
Spencer
Trystan

Week at a Glance

• Literacy
• Read Aloud of The Hundred Dresses- focusing on applying the reading strategies that we've learned and responding to reading in writing using evidence from the text
• Planning and drafting animal reports in writing groups
• Writing a paragraph to a prompt independently
• Writing similes and metaphors
• Read Aloud of The Good Dog- discussing characterization, plot development, and inferences
• Shared reading of "Escape from Alcatraz"- using evidence from a nonfiction text 
• Science
• Food Webs and Adaptations
• Math
• Test on chapter two on Wednesday (estimating, factors, and multiples)
• Beginning chapter three on Thursday (multi-digit multiplication and long division)
• Specials: Art

Book Fair

*Be a MONSTER Reader and come to the Scholastic Book Fair!

October 5-October 8 in the PCE Library
Book Fair Hours:
Monday: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Tuesday: 8:00 am - 7:00 pm
Wednesday: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm 
Thursday: 8:00 am - 7:00 pm
Join us for the Monster Photo Booth, Monster Cookies, and Monster Fun!

Click here if you would like to Volunteer for this Fun event.

September 13

What are we up to this week?

• Create Meaning Strategically & Evaluate How Authors Create Meaning
• Students are learning how to determine importance in what they read. We'll specifically learn how to find the main idea, summarize, use what we've learned from a text to determine what's important, use evidence to support an opinion, and synthesize what we've learned. 
• We're continuing to work on improving our organization and details in our paragraph writing. This week, students will revise and edit a paragraph that they've written. They'll put this paragraph into Voice Thread (an internet based program) that will allow them to get feedback from their peers. Then they'll do another revision/editing of their paragraph before publishing it. They'll also practice writing similes/metaphors and meet with me in writing groups.
• Demonstrate the Inquiry Process & Create a Process to Solve a Problem
• Students will chose a health topic that they want to more about. They'll research the issue and create an Animoto (a web based slideshow program) to share what they've learned and propose a way to solve the health problem. 
• Analyze the Interaction Within and Between Two Systems & Classify Patterns Using Models
• We begin our next big science unit this week, which was kicked off by our Denver Zoo field trip. This week, students will focus on living/nonliving factors, biotic/abiotic factors, biomes, and ecosystems. 
• Math- Number Theory: Rounding, Estimating, Factors, Multiples, Prime & Composite Numbers
• This is one of the most challenging math units of the year. I encourage students to practice factors, multiples, and prime/composite numbers using links provided in class, links from our website, and Splash Math as part of their homework. 
• Your child's math placement is fluid with each unit and is based on MAPS scores, classroom performance, and learning style. Many kids will be in a new math class starting tomorrow so that we can make sure your child is in a classroom whose pace matching his/her math strengths. 

Homework

• Read Nightly- Your child should have two titles on the 20 Book Challenge Reading Log by now. 
• Spelling- Our spelling is also a way for us to teach vocabulary, so the words will be challenging from here on out. Students get some time to practice in class, but practicing at home is essential to learn the spelling and meaning of these words. Here is the link to this week's words. 
• Math- Options include: Ten Marks, Splash Math, Front Row, Moby Max, & links from Google Classroom or our class website

Snapshots of our Learning

Important Upcoming Dates

• Tuesday, 9/22: Lockdown Drill 
• Wednesday, 9/23: Picture Retakes
• Tuesday, 9/29: Fire Drill
• Monday, 10/5- Thursday, 10/8: Scholastic Book Fair in Library
• Tuesday, 10/6 and Thursday, 10/8: Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Friday, 10/9- Friday, 10/16: Fall Break

August 28

Quick Curriculum Notes

Evaluate How Authors Create Meaning and Create Meaning Strategically in Reading & Writing

• This week, we are focusing on the reading strategy of visualizing. Good readers are able to picture in their heads what is happening in the story. As your child reads at home this week, ask your child to tell you what he/she visualized while reading. 

• In writing, we are learning how to write complex and compound sentences with correct punctuation. Students will also learn a new plan that will help them to write better paragraphs. 

Create a Process to Solve a Problem and Demonstrate the Process of Inquiry

• In health, students will learn more about how exercise keeps their bodies healthy, dental health, and hearing. 

• In math, students will finish up chapter one (place value concepts) and apply these concepts to real-world situations as they try to solve problems though inquiry. 

DLT

For thirty minutes every day, we have differentiated learning time. Based on assessments, I've identified areas in which your child needs further challenge or extra practice. Each day, your child's learning is personalized to your child's needs. This week, our DLT gets into full swing. Students will be working in groups with me, Mrs. Surritte, Mr. Martin, Mrs. Maslanik, Mrs. Messana, and/or a parent volunteer based on this personalized learning plan. (These groups are focused on reading, writing, and math.) If students are not working in a group that day, they will be working on a computer program that helps them to improve their language and vocabulary skills (which is based on their individual level). 

Field Trip
To kick off our next big unit, we will be headed to the Denver Zoo on Friday, September 11th. If you would like to chaperone, please email me. To register your child for this field trip, please follow these directions:
FIELD TRIP LINK:
https://dcsdk12.revtrak.net/tek9.asp?pg=prairiecrossES

1) Click on "Registration"

2) Click on "Field Trips"

3) Find "PCE - Denver Zoo Registration" - 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.

Homework Corner

• By now, your child should have completed at least one book at home as part of the 20 Book Challenge.
• This week's spelling words are harder than the last two weeks, so your child may need to practice a little bit each night at home.
• Keep practicing those math facts. Xtra Math, Moby Max, and Front Row (Fact Practice) are all websites your child can use to improve their fact fluency. 1s, 2s, 5s, and 9s should be mastered by Labor Day. 
• When your child passes all of his/her math facts, I reward them with their own bag of popcorn right then. They get to brag, and stink up our classroom to make us all jealous, that they've "popped through their multiplication facts". I've already used my current popcorn supply (This is a good problem to have!); so if you can donate some individual-sized bags of microwave popcorn, we'd greatly appreciate it! 
• Your child can also login to his/her Ten Marks account at home (same username and password that your child uses to login to their email) to do some Jam Sessions or complete work that was not finished in class. 

Book Orders

This month's Scholastic Reading Club flyer is ready for you to explore with your child and was in this week's Thursday Folders, which were sent home on Friday this week. This month's book orders will be due Friday, September 11th. Children read more when they choose their own books, so I encourage you to look at the flyer together. Each flyer is filled with grade-specific, affordable titles.  Books make wonderful gifts! Please let me know if your order includes a gift, and I will contact you when it arrives. Remember, for every book you order, our class earns FREE Books and supplies.
Ordering online is fast and easy and provides more choices beyond what you see in the flyer. 

•  VISIT scholastic.com/readingclub
•  ENTER the one-time Class Activation Code MHWJW
•  SHOP from a carefully curated selection of the best books and value packs
•  SUBMIT your order and earn FREE Books for our classroom
•  All book orders will be shipped to our classroom so we can celebrate the joy of reading together!

August 22

Back to School Night
BTSN is Wednesday, August 26 from 5-7pm. The classrooms will be open for you to visit with your child from 5-6pm. From 6-7pm there will be information from administration and the PCEA, along with treats, at the front of the school.

Free National Park Pass
Want to get into national parks for free? Check out this article for details. Wish I still had a fourth grader; I love Rocky Mountain National Park.

Volunteers
We will be starting classroom volunteers shortly. If you are able to help out, please click here to see this year's opportunities.

Classroom Jobs
Students applied for their job the first week of school and were hired and trained on Monday. They've started earning money. Each student's job will not cover the rent of their desk ($1000/month), so students are awarded bonuses to help them cover rent. (Payday and rent are on the first of each month.) When you visit us at Back to School Night, check in with your child to see how much money they've earned so far.

What are we learning?
Last week we spent some time discussing what World Class Outcomes are and figuring out what they mean. If you'd like to read more about the WCOs, you can visit the district's website.

To start the year, we are focusing on the following WCOs:

• Create meaning strategically in reading, writing, speaking, and listening and Evaluate how authors are strategic in creating meaning with more complex elements and complex text
• As we focus on this WCO, students are practicing strategies that good readers use and learning how to write quality sentences and paragraphs.
• Last week, students focused on making connections as readers and determining a text's theme as ways that readers can evaluate how authors strategically create meaning. 
• They also learned: the elements of a sentence, run-on and sentence fragments, capitalization rules, types of adjectives, and how to write more detailed sentences. These are all ways to create meaning strategically in writing. 
• Demonstrate the process of inquiry and Create a process to solve a problem
• Students are using the scientific method as one process to solve a problem and will be using the inquiry process through health content. 
• To practice the scientific method as an inquiry process, students did a paper airplane lab. 
• On Monday, we start a health unit, which will include exercise, hearing, the digestive system, and dental health. Students will choose a topic that they want to learn more about to practice the inquiry process. 
• In math, we are focusing on the WCO- Look for and express reasoning in repeated reasoning. 
• Last week, we focused on strategies to memorize our multiplication facts by looking at number patterns to help us with memorization tricks. This week, we begin chapter one in the math book, which focuses on place value concepts such as expanded/word/standard form and using place value knowledge to recognize patterns in numbers. 
• Your child may have a different teacher for math. We determined math classes by looking at math pretest scores and the math assessments your child took at the GTKY meetings. Math class placements were based on where your child will learn best based on the pacing of instruction. All classes are learning the same content; classes are paced differently to best match the learners in the classroom. 

Homework Reminders

• While most students did well on their spelling tests this week, there were a handful who didn't do so well and admitted they did not practice at home. Here's a link to this week's words. 
• The kids have been doing really well with their multiplication facts. They're working toward having their 1s, 2s, 5s, and 9s memorized by Labor Day and their 3s, 4s, 6s, 7s, and 8s memorized by conferences. Two kids in our room have already passed all of their multiplication facts. Congratulations Spencer and Natalie!

Here's a Quick Look at What We've Been Doing

- Playing "There are Rules"

- Making our PRIDE Posters

- "I've Been in  Your Shoes" to Learn More About Each Other

- Deconstructing the World Class Outcomes

- Sharing our Literacy Journals

- Marshmallow Tower Challenge

- Making Connections by Reading Kevin Henkes Books

- Paper Airplane Inquiry Lab