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Ms. Agnew and Ms. Mattocks' Fourth Grade

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Class News

November 11, 2009

Parents and Students:  

We have a few reminders for the week...
  • Change Collections:  Please bring in change to donate for books the rest of the week.  Money collected will be used to purchase Book Fair books for local children in hospitals.  Make sure you bring your change in a Ziplock back with your name and our class name -Agnew/Mattocks for a chance to win special prizes!

  • Jingle Jog:  We want to encourage everyone to sign up for the 2009 Jingle Jog.  We would LOVE to see our whole class out on Race Day to support the P.E. Department.  Classes who have 100% participation will earn a BIG party!  So even if you can't do the race--sign up for a shirt!  Additional race forms can be downloaded from the PE Department Web Page.  

  • Fire Safety Field Trip:  Please get permission forms for the Fire Safety Village trip in ASAP.  We are leaving for this trip next Wednesday and we need a final head count now!
  • Scholastic Book Orders:  This Friday is the last day for this round of on-line Scholastic Book Orders--if you want to order, do it now! 

  • Domino's Pizza Night:  Pizza night is tomorrow-  Thursday, November 12.  Forms to present your pizza driver were sent home in Monday folders and can also be downloaded from the PTA website.  Please support East Side and enjoy a pizza dinner at home with your family!

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Happy November!!  Here's a look at what your child will be studying this week...

·      READING:  Great readers identify main ideas and supporting details.  We will continue to work in reading groups this week, meeting with Ms. Agnew and Ms. Mattocks on alternate days throughout the week.  Although each group is reading different text, all students will be working to identify the main idea and appropriate supporting details from nonfiction text.  We will also be focusing on making connections to text and supporting our connections with evidence from the text this week as a whole-group reading study. 

·      SPELLING: Students will be working on Word Sort #11, which focuses on spelling patterns for er, ir, and ur words.  Spelling lists were taped into each child's planner on Monday morning.  Please make sure students are following their nightly spelling homework assignments--even Tuesday night's homework when students are out of school! 

·      WRITING: In writing we'll continue summarizing fables, folktales, and short stories as we study the genre of response to literature.  Students will be taught to use various story maps to help plan a summary of fictional stories.  We will then extend our writing to include making judgments and connections to the text we're reading and supporting those judgments with specific evidence from the text. 

·      GRAMMAR:   Students will begin a two-week unit on VERBS.  This week, we'll focus on the three main types of verbs:  action verbs, helping verbs, and linking verbs.  New websites for verb practice will be added to our class webpage, for students to practice at home.  Students can expect to bring home their grammar workbooks several times this week for practice and reinforcement of what we've learned about verbs in class.  Additionally, notes about the 3 types of verbs will be available under the Homework Resources/Downloads section of the class webpage--this will be a great study resource!

·      SCIENCE: In science, students will complete their study of force and motion by making roller coasters on Wednesday!  Students will be asked to design a roller coaster using the principles of force and motion they have studied in class.  Be sure to ask your students how their roller coaster simulation went on Wednesday afternoon!  At the end of the week, the class will move into a study of LIGHT!!  We'll be talking about reflection, refraction, absorption, etc.! 

·      SOCIAL STUDIES: Students will complete their study of explorers this week!  Last week we spent time on-line researching John Cabot, Henry Hudson, and Jacques Cartier.  This week, we'll be discussing Ponce de Leon, and Vasco Nunez Balboa!  Students will be given an explorers study guide on Wednesday--we will take a written assessment over all 6 explorers and the reasons for, obstacles to, and achievements of European exploration on Tuesday, November 10.  Please take time each night to review!   

·      MATH: We’re continuing our study of division this week.  We'll be reviewing division models and division of 2 and 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers on Monday.  On Wednesday, we'll be moving into more difficult division--so PLEASE spend about 5-10 minutes each night practicing basic multiplication and division facts--this need to be mastered!  As students work on division homework this week, please make sure that they check their answers to each division problem by multiplying! 

·      ADDITIONAL CLASS NEWS:

  • Student Holiday:  Don't forget that students will be out of school on Tuesday, November 3 for Election Day!  We hope students will enjoy their day off, and we'll look forward to seeing them bright and early Wednesday morning! We encourage students to spend their day off at the PTA Fun Day at Chuck E. Cheese.  

  •  Attitude of Gratitude Month:  As we enter the month of "Thanksgiving" our class will focus on developing an "Attitude of Gratitude" all month long.  We will take time each day to focus on what we are grateful for in our lives.  We encourage you to spend a few minutes each day/week talking about what you're grateful for with your students.  
  •  Scholastic Book Order:  There is a new Scholastic Book Order coming home in Monday folders today!  Books are a GREAT holiday gift--so we encourage you to order on-line!

Thanks for your support,

Ms. Agnew and Ms. Mattocks

 




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