Homework Help

Thanks to the amazing Mrs. K. for creating a States/Capitals Quizlet for the Northeast Region.  Students can access this Quizlet here.

Also, we began learning about adjectives this week.  You may remember this video from your childhood!

Author Alert!

Raina Telgemeier & Vera Brosgol

Be prepared to smile! Join us in welcoming two award-winning graphic novelists, Raina Telgemeier, creator of the Eisner Award-winning graphic memoirsSmile and Sisters, and Vera Brosgol, creator of the 2017 Caldecott Honor picture book, LEAVE ME ALONE! Raina and Vera will discuss the inspirations for their graphic novels SMILE and BE PREPARED, followed by a Q&A and signing.

Students in Room 24 love Raina Telgemeier!!! Here is the ticket information:  Go to An Unlikely Story to purchase tickets!  Tickets go on sale tonight!!!

Our Week In Review

We began our next Interactive Read Aloud this week, and the extreme cold helped us to understand the setting.  This historical fiction book, Snow Treasure by Marie McSwiggan, takes place in Norway during WWII.  Published in 1942, some parents may have read this while in school!  During this adventure story, we will review author's craft, and students will be discussing character's traits and feelings.  Students will also be writing clear, concise summaries, finding essential details for the chapters.This week we used our dog research to plan our essays.  We will continue drafting these over the next week.  We will also celebrate "Dog Day" on Tuesday.  A note about this went home on Thursday.

Book Talks are an important part of our Reader's Workshop, and a great way to practice speaking in front of a group.  Ask your child if he/she has given one to our class.! 

We continued learning about fractions this week, focusing on addition and subtraction of fractions  and mixed numbers with the same denominators.  We will continue this over the next week. Please encourage your child to check the blog for helpful information about the day's lesson.

We shared our Canada travel brochures in a gallery walk this week, and students enjoyed learning even more from their friends' work.  The travel brochures will be displayed in our class, and then sent home.  We will continue to learn about the Northeast Region of the US in the coming week, and in science we will continue our study of plants and animals.

Homework Help

These videos will help your child with tonight's math homework.

Our Week In Review

We began our week with our community meeting, where we discussed our weekly mantra, "I have a dream".  We enjoy our Monday morning meetings, where we connect with our grade level friends. 

We wrapped up the first part of our fraction unit this week.  Our assessment covered equivalent fractions, comparing and ordering fractions and factors/prime/composite numbers.  The students worked very hard on the assessment! Paper tests will be sent home on Tuesday, but parents/students can view their child's test on Pearson Realize.  Our next math unit will focus on adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers.  Students should continue to practice facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) because all of these will help students with their precision in math.  As a reminder, students can find their online text as well as videos and information from the day's lesson using their Pearson log in.

We continue to give book talks to share our love of reading!

In reading and writing we have been continued with our dog research.  Students have been reading nonfiction books and watching videos about dogs. Next week we will begin to write persuasive essays about dogs, using our research to support the topic "Which Dog is Right for My Family?".  Students are enjoying this research.

We began learning about the Regions of the U.S. with our first stop- the Northeast.  We will be "traveling" to each region this year, and will learn about the geography, climate, resources, and people in that region.  We hope to travel virtually do different classrooms around the U.S. as well. 

Canada Travel Brochures

Students finished their Canada Travel Brochures this week. They worked very hard on these, and they will be displayed in our classroom after our gallery walk next week.  Check in with your child about this project. Many will agree that it was a fun way to show their learning.

Our Chorus Concert was amazing!  Our singers did a terrific job.

On Friday we gathered with the fourth graders to discuss the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.  We read a book, listened to his "I Have a Dream" speech and watched this Brainpop Video.  We also read a passage about MLK, Jr. with our table teams.


From the Teacher's Desk
For some students, homework has become more challenging as the year has progressed.  Some are forgetting to bring materials home and/or back to school. Some students are working hard to complete assignments, only to realize that they did the wrong page.  Students have 10-15 minutes daily to write in their assignment books and pack up.  All assignments are written on the board for them to copy.  If you have signed a homework notice in the last few weeks, please discuss this with your child. Though we are working on independence and responsibility, if your child is struggling with this, perhaps a nightly check would help. Please encourage your child to have his/her assignment notebook out while completing assignments, and to check off each assignment as it is finished. Before leaving a homework space, please encourage  your child to put all materials back into his/her backpack.  This will help with organization and become a habit with practice.  

T-Shirts of the Day

She DOES! (This is an OUTFIT of the Day)

Excellent Advice- and she follows this every day!

All you need is...

Lunar Eclipse

Check out this Mystery Science video about lunar eclipses, and see information about how to view them.  There wiill be a lunar eclipse on Sunday 1/20/19.

Author Alert!

Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver will be at An Unlikely Book Store in Plainville on January 31. If you are a fan of  the Hank Zipzer series (or your parents are fans of Happy Days) this is an event to check out!  Ticket information for the event can be found here.

Way to Go!

Hard work and kindness pays off!

Our Week In Review

Happy 2019! We have gotten off to a great start! Fourth graders have started our study of Plants/Animal Adaptations in science. We were able to skype with a scientist studying elephant seals in California, and a scientist, Jean Pennycook, studying the Adele penguins in Antarctica. Ask your child about these authentic learning opportunities.

In math we have been learning about basic fraction concepts, and we will take our first test on this topic next Thursday. We also will have our first 4th grade concert on Thursday. We are looking forward to seeing you at school!

During reading and writing, we have been researching different dogs in order to determine which dog will be right for each individual student. Determining main idea with supporting details is our focus in reader's workshop and writing complete research with supporting details in order to persuade is our focus in writing. "We read like writers and we write like readers." We are also working on using persuasive language during social studies, as we create our travel brochures for Canada.

In technology workshop, students have been setting goals for the new calendar year. Ask your student what they will be working on in 2019. Today we were introduced to flipgrid as well.

From the Teacher's Desk

Returning to school after vacations can be difficult for some students. Prior to vacation,students were doing a  fine job completing homework and returning it to school  Since returning, some students are struggling with the organization of this; completing the homework at home but leaving it there, or leaving materials at school.  At the end of each day we have a dedicated time to write in our assignment notebooks, get our mail and pack up our materials.  Many students have created a checklist for themselves to use at school during this time.  Please check in with your child to see how he/she feels homework is going.  If you have been returning to school regularly after hours to collect materials for homework, please let me know. Different checklists, or an added teacher check could be something to help with this.  Below are some general homework tips that may help with this.  

GENERAL HOMEWORK TIPS FOR PARENTS 

(Reposted from the Department of Education. You can see the full article here.)

✪ Make sure your child has a quiet, well-lit place to do homework. 

Avoid having your child do homework with the television on or in places with other distractions, such as people coming and going.

✪ Make sure the materials your child needs, such as paper, pencils and a dictionary, are available. Ask your child if special materials will be needed for some projects and get them in advance.

✪ Help your child with time management. Establish a set time each day for doing homework. Don‘t let your child leave homework until just

before bedtime. Think about using a weekend morning or afternoon for working on big projects, especially if the project involves getting together with classmates.

✪ Be positive about homework. Tell your child how important school is. The attitude you express about homework will be the attitude your child acquires.

✪ When your child does homework, you do homework. Show your child that the skills they are learning are related to things you do as an adult. If your child

is reading, you read too. If your child is doing math, balance your checkbook.

✪ When your child asks for help, provide guidance, not answers. Giving answers means your child will not learn the material. Too much help teaches your child that when the going gets rough, someone will do the work for him or her. 

✪ When the teacher asks that you play a role in homework, do it. Cooperate with the teacher. It shows your child that the school and home are a team. Follow the directions given by the teacher.

✪ If homework is meant to be done by your child alone, stay away.

Too much parent involvement can prevent homework from having some positive effects.  Homework is a great way for kids to develop independent, lifelong learning skills.

✪ Stay informed. Talk with your child‘s teacher. Make sure you know the purpose of homework and what your child‘s class rules are.

✪ Help your child figure out what is hard homework and what is easy homework. Have your child do the hard work first. This will mean he will be most alert when facing the biggest challenges. Easy material will seem to go fast when fatigue begins to set in.