Sulima's Scoop - Week of Feb. 4th

What an exciting 4th quarter...

congratulations Giants!

Weekly Reminders:

*Lesson 19 spelling test on Monday (due to snow day).

*Grade level spell-off on Monday (due to snow day).

Good luck to Jeff & Nikitha!!!

*Marble Party on Monday (due to snow day).

*Lesson 20 spelling pretest on Monday.

*Adjective test on Monday.
*Teacher's Institute on Tuesday - No School.

*We will begin our unit on Simple Machines on Wednesday.
*Early Dismissal, 11:00, on Thursday.

*We will have music on Thursday.

*Lesson 20 spelling test on Friday.

*District Spelling Bee on Friday afternoon.

*Movie Night on Friday.

*We will be taking IOWA tests during the week of Feb. 11th.

*Valentine's Party on Thursday, Feb. 14th.

Help Wanted:

We are going to have our "marble party" on Monday. I will provide the popcorn. We will need drinks and a selection of G-rated movies to choose from. If you are able to send in drinks (juice bags/boxes seem to work best), please e-mail me. If your child has a G-rated movie that they think the class will enjoy, have them bring it to school on Monday. We will vote for our favorite.

What's Happening in our Classroom:

English - The children will take the test on adjectives on Monday. Enrichment projects are always due the day of the test. We will take a pretest on our next unit on Wednesday. The children will receive their contracts on Thursday. They will need to decide on enrichment options by Friday. We will begin our new unit on Tuesday, Feb. 12.

Reading - We will begin our "Flat Stanley" unit. Stanley Lambchop is flattened when a bulletin board falls on him. He survives and makes the best of his altered state. The children will enjoy this humorous book. By Friday, each student will need to have the name and address of a friend or relative to send Stanely to. If you can send Stanley to another state that would be wonderful, but a visit in Illinois is fine too. Think carefully about who will be creative with Stanely's visit. We will be asking this person or people to take in Stanely for 2 weeks. They will need to be willing to write journal entries and take photos of the fun times they are having with Stanley.

Science - We will begin our simple machines unit. The children will be learning about and experiementing with the six simple machines throughout this unit.

Social Studies - We will continue our study of the Midwest. The children are now focusing on the people and history of the region we call home.

Math - We will take the chapter 5 test on Friday. The test will cover multiplying by 10, 100, and 1,000, estimating products, multiplying a 2-digit number by a 1-digit, multiplying a 3-digit number by a 1-digit, multiplying a 4-digit number by a 1-digit, and multiplying dollar amounts by a 1-digit. The children will be allowed to use their multiplication charts during the test.

Website of the Week - Find out about the many places Stanley has visited at...

http://www.flatstanleyproject.net/

Spelling Bee Buzz...

Congratulations to Jeff and Nikitha! They will represent our class in the fourth grade spell-off on Friday. Each fourth grade class will send 2 representatives to the spell-off. The top 2 winners from the spell-off will compete in the district spelling bee on Friday, Feb. 8. We wish Jeff and Nikitha lots of luck. Study those words!!!

Sulima's Scoop - Week of January 28

Weekly Reminders:
*Lesson 19 spelling pretest on Monday.
*Chapter 8 Social Studies test on Tuesday.
*Electricity Test on Thursday.
*Lesson 19 spelling test on Friday.
*Fourth grade spell-off on Friday. (Two representatives from each 4th grade classroom)
*Wear your favorite sports team item on Friday.

**Super Bowl on Sunday.

Classroom Happenings:

English - We will finish our unit on adjectives on Tuesday with a lesson on comparing with good and bad. The children will fill out a "how to study" sheet on Wednesday. We will review on Thursday. Our adjective test will be on Monday, Feb. 4.

Reading - The students will finish their Anna or Caleb journals early in the week. On Tuesday and Wednesday we will watch Sarah, Plain and Tall. At the end of the week, we will focus on "functional reading." Recipes, maps, train schedules, directions, and manuals are examples of functional reading.

Science - On Monday we will fill out a "how to study" sheet. We will review in class on Tuesday. The children will take the electricity test on Thursday, Jan. 31. The children should review the key words, quizzes, and electricity activities to prepare for this test. We will begin our new unit, Simple Machines, on Monday, Feb. 4.

Social Studies - On Monday we will review for the chapter 8 test.
The children should review the following concepts:
>Explain how the Great Lakes were formed.
>Describe how the Great Lakes are connected to the Atlantic Ocean.
>Define the words waterway, canal, lock, and barge.
>Explain why the flow of the Chicago River was changed.
>Explain the advantages and disadvantages of shipping by water.
>Describe the landscape and climate of the Badlands 67 million years ago.
>Define erosion and describe the way it changes the land.
>Define prairie and describe the types of life that live there.
>Explain why the climate of the Badlands changed.
>Explain why the Midwest is an important agricultural region.
>Explain why some farmers irrigate their crops.
>Identify the rainfall in the Midwest and explain how it affects the growth of crops.
>List 10 crops grown in the Midwest.
>Identify some crops grown in the Central Plains and the Great Plains.

Math - We will continue chapter 5. The main focus for the week will be on multiplying 2 and 3 digit numbers by a one-digit number. The children will need extra practice at home on this concept. Please have your children explain step-by-step how they are solving each problem. Our test on this chapter will be on Thursday, Feb. 7.

Website of the Week - Practice your adjective skills using the following websites.

http://www.myenglishlessons.net/quizzes/adjectivesp1.htm

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/adjectives_quiz.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/grammar/interestsentences/adjectives/quiz.shtml

http://www.eduplace.com/cgi-bin/hme-quiz-directions.cgi?Grade=4&Unit=4&Topic=Adjectives

http://www.english-zone.com/grammar/adjective-find01.html

Sulima's Scoop - Week of January 21

Weekly Reminders:
*Monday, Jan. 21st - No school to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.
*No spelling pretest this week - review unit.
*Life on the Plains in-school presentation on Wednesday, Jan. 23rd.
*Lesson 17 spelling test on Friday, Jan. 25th. We will use the "find the misspelled word" form.
*First practice "classroom" spelling bee on Friday.
*Spirit Day on Friday, Jan. 25 - wear something from your favorite vacation spot.
*Our second and final "classroom" spelling bee will be on Monday, Jan. 28.
*Fourth grade spell-off on Friday, Feb. 1st. Two representatives from each classroom will compete.
*District spelling bee on Friday, Feb. 8th.
*Teacher Institute on Tuesday, Feb. 5th.

We are now half way through the trimester. Have you checked your child's grades on-line? Progress Reports will be sent home only if your child has any failing grades.

What's Happening in Our Classroom:

English: We will continue our adjective study this week. The children will make comparisons with adjectives with "er" or "est." They will also compare with more and most. Looking Ahead...our test will probably be on Monday, Feb. 4th. We still have a few lessons to cover before the test.

Reading: We will finish Sarah, Plain and Tall this week. The children will also finalize their diary as either Anna or Caleb. Each child will receive a fluency passage on Tuesday. They should practice reading this passage outloud each evening. Please help them focus on fluency - rate, flow, volume, and expression. We will read these outloud on Friday for a grade. Each child will begin with 10 points. I will take points off each time I hear major errors in their fluency.

Science: We had a great time and learned so much during our Mr. Lee Science Magic presentation. Each child brought home an electrophoras. Ask them about the electrons (-) and protons (+) on their electrophoras. Hopefully this hasn't been too "shocking" of an experience. : ) We will finish our electricity lessons this week. The children will learn about series and parallel circuits. We will also create a fuse and an electromagnet. Our electricity test will most likely be on Thursday, Jan. 31st.

Social Studies: Our study of the Midwest will continue this week. We will visit the Badlands and explore the importance of agriculture in the Midwest. The Midwest map test will be on Thursday, Jan. 24th. The children will need to know the location and spelling of each state. They should also know the location of the 5 Great Lakes (even though one of the lakes is not in the Midwest). A great way to remember the 5 Great Lakes is HOMES - Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, and Lake Superior. Your child can earn bonus points for correctly labeling the state capitals.

Math: We have now started our unit on multiplying by a 1-digit number. The children will need to do extra practice each night to understand these concepts. We are asking that you sit with your child during homework time (as much as possible). Those students who have mastered their multiplication facts should be very successful in this unit. This week we will cover multiplying by 10's, 100's, and 1,000's. We will also work with estimation products by rounding. The children will have a checkpoint review on these two concepts on Friday, Jan. 25th.

Website of the Week: Learn more about the 5 U.S. Regions at:
http://users.tellurian.com/teach/regions/

Sulima's Scoop - Week of January 14th

Reminders:
*Lesson 16 spelling pretest on Monday.
*"Project Challenge" on Tuesday.
*Mr. Lee In-School Presentation on Thursday (all morning).
*Lesson 16 spelling test on Friday.
*School Spirit Day on Friday.

English: We will begin our adjective unit this week. Our lessons will focus on what is an adjective and adjectives after forms of "be."

Reading: We will continue mini-lessons in our Illinois Reading Workbook. The children are doing a wonderful job! We will finish reading Sarah, Plain and Tall this week. The children are writing journal entries from the perspective of one of the children in the story.

Science: Our electricity unit will continue this week. We will use our secret language to create circuit diagrams. The children will design a switch. Finally, the children will make a circuit puzzle game.

Social Studies: Our study of the Southeast has come to an end. We are now traveling on to the Midwest. The children will take a Midwest map test on Thursday, Jan. 24. Spelling will count. If your child would like to earn some bonus points, they should learn the state capitals. Each correct capital will be worth a 1/4 point.

Math: On Monday, we will review all concepts from our Geometry unit. Our test will be on Tuesday. The children will be allowed to use their notes during the test. They will not be able to use their textbook or the problem solving example during the test.

Website of the Week
Play some fun adjective games at:
http://www.esclub.gr/PictureDictionary/Adjectives/1/default.asp

Sulima's Scoop - Week of January 7th

Welcome Back! I hope you have all had a restful and enjoyable holiday break. Time spent with family and friends is always time well spent.

We are now half way through fourth grade. Expectations are increasing everyday. My goal for the second half of fourth grade is motivating the children to always go "above and beyond" the minimum. Full effort is always expected! I am hopeful that all my students will be able to meet these challenging expectations.

Reminders:

-Lesson 15 spelling pretest on Monday.

-Begin the Midwest Reading Log on Monday.

-Music class on Monday and Thursday.

-Adjective pretest on Wednesday.

-Lesson 15 spelling test on Friday.

-Open book/notes Southeast quiz on Friday.
-Adjective contracts will be due on Friday.

-Forgotten Lunches: Starting immediately students who do not have a lunch ticket or money will be able to borrow from the office providing there is not an outstanding balance due for lunch tickets. If your child forgets his/her hot lunch ticket or has used them all, he/she may bring $2.25 to school and purchase a ticket that day from the office staff. Students must have exact change to purchase a ticket; no change will be given. If a child has no lunch, no money, and the parent cannot be contacted, he/she may borrow from school office, but only twice per trimester. Students will no longer be able to borrow lunch tickets from the lunchroom staff.

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English:

We will begin the week by finishing our expository writing prompt - If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

The children will also take their next English pretest on Adjectives. They will receive their contracts on Thursday. That evening, they will need to choose an enrichment option. I will be meeting with each child on Friday to discuss their enrichment choices. We will begin our adjective unit on Tuesday, January 15.

Reading:

We will begin working on reviewing many reading skills using our Illinois reading workbooks. Your child will have homework most evenings in this book. Most activities should be a review for your child from previous school years. Here and there, they may need parent support. We will always go over the lessons the following school day. Your child will be taking assessments on the lessons. Please make sure your child does not work ahead...stick to the assigned pages, please.

The children will also begin a new novel this week. We will be reading a Newbery Medal winner, Sarah, Plain and Tall. The children will be writing a journal/diary from the perspective of one of the children in the book. A rubric and specific instructions will be in your child's reading pocket. Most of this project will be done in school.

Science:

Our study of Electricity will continue this week. We will be exploring the parts of a light bulb and their functions. On Tuesday, we will make a model of the filament of a light bulb. On Wednesday and Thursday, the students will discover which items are insulators and which are conductors of electricity. On Friday, the children will learn a secret electrical language.

Social Studies:

We will conclude our study of the Southeast Region this week. The children will be completing the pages in their region scrapbook. Specific guidelines will be given to the children. They should refer to these often. The children will also take an open book/notes quiz on chapter 7. I hope to begin the Midwest next week.

Math (For Mrs. Sulima's and Mrs. Swaekauski's math students):

We will begin the week with a review of circles. The children will identify the radius, diameter, and circumference of a circle. On Tuesday & Wednesday, we will focus on perimeter and area. Finding the volume of space figures will be Thursdays lesson. On Friday, we will work together to do problem solving with a T-chart. The children will receive a "how to study" sheet on Friday. Our Geometry test will be on Tuesday, Jan. 15. The children will be allowed to use their notes (only) on this test. They will not be able to use their textbooks or t-chart done in class during the test.

Website of the Week
Have fun with some electricity games at:

http://www.gamequarium.com/electricity.html