Thursday, September 1, 2011

Behind the Scenes - Week of September 5

Weekly Spotlight:
*No school on Monday - Labor Day.
*Spelling pretest on Tuesday.
*Curriculum Night on Tuesday, 6:30-7:30. Parents only, please.
*Reading MAP test on Wednesday, 1:00-2:00.
*Beginning Band Parent Meeting on Wednesday, 7:00.
*Spelling test on Friday.

*Math "Check Your Progress" quiz on Friday - Chapter 1, lessons 2-5.

Coming Attractions:
*Monday, September 12, 2011 - Magazine Kick-Off - 1:15 p.m. gym
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - Beginning Band Sign-Up - 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. - Band Room
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 - Beginning Band Sign-Up - 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. - Band Room
Thursday, September 15, 2011 - Recruitment Band Concert -12:45 to 1:30 p.m - Gym
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - Magazine Turn-In Day
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - Magazine Turn-In Day
Thursday, September 29, 2011 - Magazine Turn-In Day & Picture Day
Friday, September 30, 2011 - Early Dismissal - 11:00 a.m.

Homeroom Happenings:
English - We will continue our unit on Nouns. The lessons we will focus on include: singular & plural nouns, and singular possessive nouns.

Reading - Next week in reading your child will learn to use skimming and scanning skills to locate answers. During science,social studies, and reading, the class will be given tasks where they will have to locate answers in the text. They will practice highlighting key words in the questions or clues, and then skim the headlines, subtitles,captions, and passages to help them find the answers to those questions.

Spelling - The children will be working with a second list of commonly misspelled words. The pretest will be on Tuesday. If your child receives a 90% or higher on the pretest, they will become a challenge speller. They will choose challenge words to use throughout the week. Any word they missed on the pretest should be on their challenge list. The challenge list should be found in your child's spelling pocket. On Friday, challenge spellers will have the choice of keeping their pretest score or retaking the regular spelling test for a higher grade.

Science - Our focus for the week will be on scientific tools and inquiry skills.

Social Studies - We will continue our study of Government. At this point, we will be focusing on the National Government. The children will explore the three branches of government and their roles. Students should be reviewing their vocabulary and notes each night. There will be a test on chapter 2, lesson 2 & 3.

Mrs. Sulima's Math Class:
Monday - No School.
Tuesday - Decimals to the thousandths & Decimals greater than one. HW: Daily Practice sheet due Friday. Master X10, X11, & X12 by Friday. WB pgs. 3 & 4 due Friday.
Wednesday - No math due to MAP testing.
Thursday - No math due to MAP testing.
Friday - "Check your Progress" quiz on lessons 2-5. Comparing and ordering numbers and decimals. HW: WB pg. 5.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Behind the Scenes - Week of August 29th




Wow! What a wonderful group of children! The first two days of school went by smoothly and quickly. We are now ready to start all areas of the fourth grade curriculum on Monday. I can already tell it is going to be an AWARD WINNING year!


Weekly Spotlight:
*Spelling pretest on Monday.
*English pretest on Monday.
*First music class on Monday.
*Math MAP testing on Tuesday, 1:00-2:00.
*First library class on Tuesday.
*No math on Tuesday or Wednesday due to MAP testing.
*First art class on Wednesday.
*Spelling test on Friday.

Coming Attractions:
*Monday, September 5, 2011 - No School/Labor Day
*Tuesday, September 6, 2011 - Fourth and Fifth Grade Curriculum Night - 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
*Wednesday, September 7, 2011 - Reading MAP testing, 1:00-2:00. Beginning Band Parent Meeting -7:00 p.m., Multi-Purpose Room
*Monday, September 12, 2011 - Magazine Kick-Off
*Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - Beginning Band Sign-Up - 3:00 to 8:00 p.m., Band Room


Homeroom Happenings:
English - We will take our first English pretest on Monday. The children will receive their pretest and a contract back on Tuesday. I will review my contract procedures with the children at that time. Children will be choosing enrichment options to complete, at school, on days that they have passed out of the English lesson. I will explain this further during my presentation on Curriculum night. We will begin our first lesson on Wednesday.

Reading - This week in reading the students will review and practice their reading strategies as they read the story The Pumpkin Runner by Marsha Diane Arnold. The reading strategies that we will focus on are: preview/infer, phonics/decoding, questioning/ monitor/clarify, summarize, and evaluate.

Spelling - We will take our first spelling pretest on Monday. This week's list is words commonly misspelled by fourth graders. The pretest will consist of 20 words. Children who pass with a 90% or higher will have a challenge list for the week. All students will be doing activities with their spelling words throughout the week. Activities are due on Friday. Our test, on all 20 words, will also be on Friday. Students who had a 90% or higher can retake the regular spelling test to raise their grade or they can keep their pretest score.

Science - Our focus for this week will be on science safety and tools.

Social Studies - We will begin the year by studying government. The children will be completing a Patriotic Quest. We will also explore the three branches of government.

Mrs. Sulima's Math:
Monday: Students will be taking a pretest on Chapter 1 - Place Value. This will not be entered into the gradebook. I will be using the information I receive from the pretests to guide my teaching and need for enrichment activities for some students. HW: Daily Math Practice sheet due Friday. Practice X1, X2, X3, X4, & X5 by Thursday.

Thursday: Place Value to the Billions. HW: Daily Math Practice sheet due tomorrow. Practice X6, X7, X8, & X9 by 9/6. WB pg. 1.

Friday: Expanded Form. HW: Daily Math Practice sheet due Friday. Practice X6, X7, X8, & X9 by 9/6. WB pg. 2 (if not finished in class).

Monday, July 25, 2011

Lights, Camera, Action...








Another school year is quickly approaching. Check back here often for Mrs. Sulima's "Behind the Scenes."