Sulima's Scoop - Week of November 1

Weekly Reminders:
*More Short and Long Vowels spelling pretest on Monday.
*Teachers' Institute on Tuesday - No School.
*More Short and Long Vowels spelling test on Friday.

Plan Ahead:
*Rollerskaing Party on Monday, November 8.
*Chapter 4 Social Studies test on Wednesday, November 10.
*No School on Thursday, November 11 - Veteran's Day.
*End of First Trimester on Friday, November 12.
*First Trimester Report Cards come home on Tuesday, November 16.
*Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held the week of November 29.

Thank You: I would like to thank all the volunteers that made our Halloween party such a success. The children had a "spooktacular" time!

Homeroom Happenings:
Science - We will begin chapter 3, lesson 1. This lesson explores the basic needs of animals and how they meet their basic needs. We will also look into animal adaptations. An open book/notes quiz on this lesson will be on Tuesday, November 9.

Social Studies - We will explore The Chesapeake Bay. The children will find out the importance of The Chesapeake Bay to the Northeast region and the challenges that face the Bay. Our Chapter 4 social studies test will be on Wednesday, November 10.

Spelling - The children will be working with more words with long and short vowels. There will be challenge spelling for those students who receive a 90% or higher on the pretest. Our test will be on Friday.

English - We will take our next English pretest on Monday. The children will receive their contracts on Wednesday. On Thursday, I will meet with each child to discuss their enrichment choice. We will begin our new unit on Friday.

Reading - Mysteries will continue to be the focus in reading for all fourth grade students next week. We will review vocabulary words that are typically associated with mysteries. While reading other mystery stories, students will review the format of a mystery and continue using the reading strategies of monitoring and clarifying and understanding story maps. A story map is a strategy that uses a graphic organizer to help students learn the elements of a book or story. By identifying story characters, plot, setting, problem and solution, students read carefully to learn the details.

Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday - Multiplying by 2-digits.
Tuesday - No school: Teachers' Institute.
Wednesday - More on Multiplying by 2-digits.
Thursday - Multiplying by 3-digits.
Friday - More on Multiplying by 3-digits & Zeros in the Multiplier.

Sulima's Scoop - Week of October 25

Weekly Reminders:

*Review spelling pretest on Monday.

*Math Chapter 2 "Check Your Progress" quiz (lessons 1-4) on Tuesday.

*Science test on Wednesday.

*Northeast Map test on Thursday.

*Review spelling test on Thursday.

* No reading class on Friday due to Halloween Parade and Party.

*Halloween Parade at 1:00 on Friday.

*Halloween Party at 1:30 on Friday.

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Halloween Festivities:

It's our Halloween week. Please keep in mind the following guidelines when helping your child pick out a Halloween costume for our Halloween party and parade (parents may come at 1:00 pm to watch our school parade) on Friday, October 29th:

*We only have 10 minutes for costume changes. Please make sure your child can change into his/her costume easily and by themselves. If the costume can be worn over their clothes, then both the time to change and the chances of losing any clothes is minimized.

*If you send your child in with make up then your child has to be able to apply it themselves.

*Please do not send any weapons (guns, swords, etc.) as part of the costume. Save those for trick-or-treating.

*We will not have time to change back into our clothes for dimissal. Your child will wear their costume home.

Plan Ahead:

*No school - Teacher Institute on Tuesday, November 2.

*

A Big Thank You!!!

I would like to thank all the families that visited the Book Fair and purchased books for our classroom collection. The children were so excited to see all the new books!

Homeroom Happenings:

Science - On Monday, we will fill out a "how to study" sheet for our test on Wednesday. Our test will be on chapter 1, lesson 3 and chapter 2, lessons 2 & 3. We will review in class on Tuesday.

Items to study for test:

*Key words - vertebrates, invertebrates, photosynthesis, life cycle, direct development, & metamorphosis.

*Go over classroom notes.

*Describe the characteristics of vertebrates and invertebrates.

*Which animals are vertebrates and which are invertebrates?

*Describe the stages in a life cycle of flowering plants.

*Describe how plants reproduce using only spores.

*Order the stages of an animal's life cycle.

*Describe the stages of an animal's life cycle.

*Describe how some animals grow and develop.

Social Studies - We will be working on chapter 4, lesson 2. In this lesson, we will learn about the major resources of the Northeast. The children will also take the Northeast map test on Thursday. They will have to label all 11 states in the Northeast correctly. Spelling does count. The children can earn bonus points by identifying the capitals of each state. They should spell the capitals as best as they can.

English - We will take this time to share our state reports.

Spelling - We will be doing a review spelling list this week. Our pre-test will consist of 30 words. If your child scores 100%, he/she will not have any spelling homework for the week. If your child misses 1 or more, spelling book pages will be assigned. Due to the Halloween parade and party on Friday, we will have our spelling test on Thursday. The test will be over 20 words.

Reading - Mysteries will be the focus in reading for all fourth grade students this week. We will begin by learning vocabulary words that are typically associated with mysteries, such as “suspect”, “evidence” and “suspense”. Students may practice the definitions of the vocabulary words by completing a crossword puzzle at the following website: http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr06/gr4/activities/pdf/gr4_th1_xword.pdf.
All students will read & study “The Case of the Purloined Pachyderm”. While reading this mystery and other mystery stories, students will be studying the format of a mystery and using the reading strategies of monitoring and clarifying.

Accelerated Math Menu:

Monday: Multiplying by multiples of 10, 100, 1,000. HW: WB pgs. 16 & 17 (evens only) and "Check Your Progress" quiz tomorrow.

Tuesday: "Check Your Progress" quiz on lessons 1-4. HW: None.

Wednesday: Estimating Products. HW: WB pg. 18.

Thursday: Zeros in the Multiplicand. HW: WB pg. 19.

Friday: Halloween Math Activities. HW: Have fun Trick-or-Treating.

Sulima's Scoop - Week of October 18

Weekly Reminders:

*No spelling unit this week.

*MAP testing on Monday - Reading.

*Verb test on Tuesday.

*Early dismissal on Wednesday, 11:00.

*Book Fair on Thursday, 6:30-8:00.

*MAP testing on Friday - Math.

*National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day on Friday.

*District 66 - Eat Out at Buona Beef on Friday. http://www.ccsd66.org/PTO/FundRaisers/BuonaBeef.pdf

Plan Ahead:

*Halloween Party on Friday, October 29.

Homeroom Happenings:

Science - We will begin chapter 2, lesson 3 this week. In this lesson, we will focus on the life cycles of animals.

Social Studies - We will begin our journey through the five regions by visiting the Northeast. The children will explore the environment of the Northeast region. Also, the children should begin studying for our first region map test. On Thursday, October 28, the children will take the Northeast region map test. They will need to locate and identify the states of the Northeast. Spelling does count and a word bank will not be provided. Your child can also earn bonus points by correctly identifying the capital city of each state in the Northeast. They can earn 1/4 point bonus per capital. The children should spell the capitals as best as they can.

Spelling - Due to MAP testing, we will not have a spelling unit this week. We will continue with a review spelling unit next week.

English - On Tuesday, we will take our verb test. Your child's English enrichment(s) are also due on Tuesday. We will not begin a new English unit until after Halloween. We will do some creative writing for the next couple weeks.

Reading - Due to MAPs testing and the early dismissal, we will only have reading on Tuesday and Thursday this week. This week, all fourth grade students will read the story of The Parcel Post Kid, by Michael O. Tunnel. This piece is a nonfiction story set in 1914, which tells the tale of a young girl whose parents mail her to her grandmother because it is cheaper than paying her train fare. While reading the story, students will be reviewing the strategies and skills that we have studied so far this year, with particular emphasis on predicting and making inferences.

Accelerated Math Menu:

Monday - No math.

Tuesday - (30 minute math class) Pretest on chapter 2~Multiplication. HW: None.

Wednesday - (30 minute math class) Factors and Products. HW: Textbook pg. 67 #9-43 (basic multiplication review).

Thursday - Properties of multiplication. HW: Workbook pg. 15.

Friday - No math.

Sulima's Scoop - Week of October 11

Weekly Reminders:
*No school on Monday - Columbus Day.
*Spelling pretest on Tuesday.
*Magazine Drive Pizza Party on Tuesday. Students will get a couple pieces of pizza, a drink, and a treat. If your child needs more or does not like pizza, please send a lunch or your child can order school lunch.
*MAP testing on Wednesday.
*Movie Night permission slips are due on Wednesday.
*Spelling test on Friday.
*Box Tops due Friday.
*Movie Night on Friday.
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A BIG THANK YOU!!!
We would like to thank Robert and Izabella for bringing in popcorn and toppings for our homeroom party on Thursday.

Plan Ahead:
*MAP testing on Monday, October 18 and Friday, October 22.
*Early Dismissal on Wednesday, October 20.
*Book Fair on Thursday, October 21.
*National School Bus Driver Day on Friday, October 22.
*Halloween Parties on Friday, October 29.
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Homeroom Happenings:
Science - We will continue learning about the life cycles of plants. The open-book/notes quiz will probably be on Friday, October 15. Watch your child's assignment notebook for more information.
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Social Studies - The children will finish their state reports this week. We will take time the following week to share their projects. Our study of the Northeast has been put on hold due to our state projects.

Spelling - Our spelling words this week will be homophones. These are words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings.

English - We will finish our verb unit this week. The children will learn about Irregular Verbs, The Special Verb be, and Contractions with not. We will fill out our "how to study" sheet at the end of this week. Due to Monday off and MAPs testing, the Unit 3 test will need to be moved back a bit. It will be on Tuesday, October 19.

Reading - In reading this week the students will focus on noting details in a story. They will learn that details may give information, explain ideas, and reveal characters' feelings. They will also work on the Question comprehension strategy. Good readers ask themselves questions about important ideas as they read. The students will practice asking questions about the text that can be answered as they read the text and finish the story.
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Accelerated Math Menu:
Monday - No School ~ Columbus Day.
Tuesday - Subtract more decimals & fill out "how to study." HW: WB pg. 98 and study for test on Friday.
Wednesday - No math due to MAPs testing.
Thursday - No math due to MAPs testing.
Friday - Chapter 8 test. HW: Study for Chapter .