Weekly Reminders:*Lesson 28 spelling pretest on Monday.
*Students receive "Invention Convention" letter, contract, & grading rubric on Monday.
*Chapter 17 science test on Tuesday.
*Southwest Map test on Tuesday.
*Marshmallow Mania Extra Credit Projects due on Wednesday.
*Marshmallow Mania Contest on Thursday.
*Students return signed invention contract on Thursday (for teacher approval).
*Louis Braille comprehension & vocabulary quiz on Thursday.
*Chapter 10 open-book social studies quiz on Friday.
*Lesson 28 spelling test on Friday.
Plan Ahead:
*Spring Break - Week of March 29. Students return to school on Monday, April 5.
*Inventions, contract (with a neatly-drawn colored diagram on back), and grading rubric due on Tuesday, April 13.
*Spring Open House on Thursday, April 15. Inventions will be displayed in the fourth grade classrooms during this event.
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Thank You:
*We would like to thank Mrs. Awad, Mrs. Burrows, Mrs. Cione, Mr. Meyer, Mrs. Morton, and Mrs. Spencer for joining us on our field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. The children had a wonderful time and were able to do many hands-on activities to review what we have learned about simple machines.
Homeroom Happenings:
Science - On Tuesday, the children will take the chapter 17 Simple Machines test. After spring break, we will continue our final unit of the school year on Earth Science.
Review these items for the test:
~Define work, simple machine, lever, and fulcrum.
~Explain how a lever changes the way work is done.
~Give three examples of levers.
~Define pulley and wheel-and-axle.
~Explain how a pulley changes how work is done.
~Explain how a wheel-and-axle changes how work is done.
~Define inclined planes, screw, and wedge.
~Explain how an inclined plane changes the way work is done.
~Explain how a screw changes the way work is done.
~Explain how a wedge changes the way work is done.
~Great website: http://www.edheads.org/activities/simple-machines/
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*Invention Convention - The children will receive an informative letter, contract and rubric on Monday for our annual Invention Convention. They will need to brainstorm an everyday problem and develop an invention to solve this problem. On Thursday, the children will need to bring in their signed completed contract for my approval. They should not begin building their invention until they have my approval.
Social Studies - The children will take the Southwest map test on Tuesday. They will need to know the location and correct spelling of the four states in the Southwest. As before, the children will have the opportunity to earn 1/4 point bonus for each correct capital. This week, we will also continue chapter 10. In this chapter, we will explore the environment & climate of the Southwest. Chapter 10 is only 3 short lessons. We will take an open-book quiz on lessons 1-3 in chapter 10 on Friday. This way we can start on chapter 11 when we return from spring break.
Spelling - We will work on lesson 28 this week. This lesson adds the prefixes "un" and "in" to words. Students should practice their words in cursive for the test on Friday.
English - We will take a break from the English textbook for the next few weeks. Instead, we will be working on expository writing. The children will be writing a five-paragraph essay that will be displayed at the spring open house.
Reading - Fourth grade students will be reviewing the strategies of clarifying and inferring this week. We will be using a biograpghy called Louis Braille, The Boy Who Invented Books for the Blind. The vocabulary will include: pinpricks, patterns, succeeding, discouraged, simplified, and institute. This reading selection is from our anthology. It is included in a theme called Problem Solvers. The children will have an open-story comprehension & vocabulary quiz on Thursday.
Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday: Mixed Numbers & Improper Fractions. H.W. Daily Review 102 (#1-13).
Tuesday: Comparing & Ordering Fractions. H.W. Review for open-book checkpoint on Friday.
Wednesday: No math - 2 classes will be going to the Museum of Science and Industry.
Thursday: No math - 2 classes will be going to the Museum of Science and Industry.
Friday: Open-book checkpoint on factors, prime numbers, composite numbers, prime factorization (using exponents), greatest common factor, equivalent fractions, least common denominators, mixed numbers, improper fractions, and comparing/ordering fractions.
