November Newsletter

Dear Families,

            It has been a pleasure getting to know you all through conferences.  If you would like more time than we had allotted for conferences, feel free to contact me at any time to ask more questions or check on your child’s progress.  Thank you for your support!  J

Lifeskill: This month we are featuring the life skill of Responsibility.  Learning about life skills and practicing them adds to our positive learning environment at school.  We will be talking about what it means to be responsible during our class meet and greet time.

Writing: This month we will be finishing our work on a piece called Classroom Monsters.  Once I’m finished with grading them, I will return the drafts to the students to type up.  Instructions for typing the final drafts will be coming home attached to the drafts.  Then we will continue exploring the writing trait of Organization with a narrative story.  A piece of writing that is strong in organization should meet the following criteria:

• Has a beginning, middle, and end
• Indicates paragraphing with noticeable indentions
• Has an interesting lead that hooks the reader
• Has sequence/transition words such as first, then, after that . . . etc.
• Has an ending that doesn’t leave the reader hanging

Toward the end of this month and into December, we will focus deeply on writing a personal narrative that tells the story of something that has happened to us.  One final note: handwriting and spelling are still a bit of a sticking point- please encourage careful, best effort writing across all subject areas.

Math: Topics this month will be learning the concepts behind the multiplication algorithm (many students know it but not why it works, vocabulary needed, or what it looks like visually with base-ten blocks), practicing it, and applying multiplication in real world settings.  We will also get into understanding division concepts for basic facts, begin to work with division problems that are close to memorized math facts, and learn how to interpret the amount that is left over (the remainder).  We will work further with problem solving strategies.  Please keep reinforcing the practicing of basic math facts at home.  I need to have all students MASTERING their multiplication table facts by the holiday break in December.  This is vital to success in math this year.  Kids who are not fluent in their multiplication facts will struggle with new concepts. Students should be working on them at home nightly.  There are great websites that make practicing fun through games.  My hope is that even the busiest of parents can find time to work with their kids if they practice the facts orally when driving to and from after school activities.  Weekly math tutoring for math facts is very successful as long as students are practicing their facts at home.  J  Your child is working with a parent to quiz and improve their fluency with their math facts and the parents are reporting gains from most students.  Please check with your child to find out which ones they are working on and work on them at home.  Thank you to our math volunteers!  You are a tremendous help to our class! 

Reading: In class, determining importance is the reading strategy that we are focusing on the next 6 weeks.  We’ve talked that what’s important to remember when reading is like the noodles strained in the colander when making spaghetti.  The water is the information or details that aren’t important.  We’ve also talked about the fact that sometimes some of the most interesting tidbits are details that aren’t “most important.” We are continuing our High Five Book Club in class.  The challenge to the students is to read 500 pages by the end of this trimester, Nov 3oth.  Each time they finish a book; they complete a summary of the book and turn it in.  They receive a star shaped hole-punch in their High Five Book Club bookmark and once they reach the goal, they receive a prize.  Check with your child about their progress toward this goal. 

Social Studies: Soon we will be learning about Coastal and Plateau Northwest Indians of our state.  Students will be exploring all sorts of resources to deepen their understanding of these cultures.  As part of our learning about Northwest Indians, students will be creating a possibles bag.  A possibles bag was a bag that Native Americans or early explorers wore to carry items that might be needed in their travels.  Some items carried might be a compass, dried meat, twine, candle, etc.  Directions and a pattern for this project will be coming home the week after Thanksgiving and will be due mid January.  This project is a great way to spend some time one on one with your student in our class.

Science:  We will be finishing up our focus on rocks and minerals this month.  We’ve been exploring the properties of rocks and minerals. The kids are learning about the rock cycle, fossils, and erosion.  Our class has shown amazing gains in their understanding!  They will take a post-test later this month.  I will let you know the date.

The school year is really speeding along!  This time of year is filled with excitement and distractions as the holidays approach.  Can’t believe I’m already seeing Christmas stuff in the stores!  Please encourage your child to concentrate on learning in school.  I also appreciate your efforts to help your child complete homework on time with their BEST effort.  It is making a HUGE difference in class.  The children who complete their work have a clearer understanding of the next day’s lessons and are more confident.  This is a very special class-they are all such sweethearts!  We are beginning to really hit our stride!  I hope you have a safe and a wonderful week!

 

Best regards,

Karri Allen

 

Book report sample- check it out!

Here is an example of a well done book report poster.  Please remind your student that they are also supposed to prepare a shoebox or grocery sack filled with 5-7 mystery items that connect with the story.  Each student will share their poster and box of mystery items with reasons why each item represents something important about the story.  The finished poster and items are due Tuesday, November 13th.  Directions have been passed out and the poster is available for students as soon as they think they are ready for it.  Please be checking in with your student about their progress so that they are prepared to turn in their project on the due date.  Please let me know if there are concerns or questions.  Thank you for your support!

OCTOBER NEWSLETTER:

Dear Families,

        It was so nice to meet so many of you at Curriculum Night this week!  If you were not able to come to Curriculum Night, please feel free to contact me with questions, check on your child’s progress, or share good news.  Email is probably best as I can get back to you late in the evening or even on the weekend, if necessary.  My email is Karri.Allen@evergreenps.org.

 Lifeskill/Handbook: In October, we are featuring the lifeskill of work ethic.  We will compliment classmates on lifeskills we notice that the students are using at school.  We notice lifeskills in other situations too.  We use them to solve problems and we will reflect upon the different lifeskills characters have in our literature studies.  Learning about lifeskills and practicing them adds to our positive learning environment at school.  I hope that you will find them useful at home.  Please make sure to read the school’s student handbook online and fill out the form that documents that you and your student have read it.  To access the student handbook, you can go to the Fisher’s Landing Elementary website and click on the “For Parents” tab.  Then scroll down to “Student Handbook.”  Click on “Student Handbook.”  Make sure to read through the handbook and discuss its contents with your child.  Then please print the “Handbook Signature Form” and have your child sign it and then sign it yourself to verify that your child has read the handbook.  You can also send in the last page of the printed version of the handbook coming home this week.  All students are required to knowledgeable about the handbook and our school’s rules.  Please send these forms in by parent conferences.

 Reader’s Workshop: The end of this month we’ll be learning about the thinking strategy of accessing background knowledge/using schema.  Schema is any knowledge you already have about a topic and you gain that knowledge through your experiences.  Schema/background knowledge allows us to connect to what we are reading and better understand the emotions/needs/etc. of the characters in the story or people involved.  We will be exploring how schema helps us as a reader as we move into October.  Then we will move into the thinking strategy of determining importance.  Students will learn to identify what’s most important and filter out those details that, while interesting, are not the main focus in the text.  With our strategy work with determining importance, students will learn about theme, summarizing, main idea and supporting details, as well as story elements such as main characters, plot, problem, and solution. To encourage reading of chapter books from day to day, I have designed the High Five Book Club for our class.  The goal is for each student to read at least 500 pages by report card time.  Once a student finishes a book, they write a summary of the book read on a piece of loose leaf paper to demonstrate that they read the book and understood the story.  The students earn a star punch in their High Five Book Club bookmark for each 100 pages read.  I will send reminders throughout the trimester and will put the student’s progress toward this goal in the comments section of the report card. 

 Writer’s Workshop: This month we are exploring the writing trait of ideas.  Students will learn to narrow their topic down to a “seed” idea- a single moment to blow up big with details.  Students will learn to anticipate what questions the reader may have in order to add more detail and make their writing “crystal clear.”  Students will learn to use the technique of “so what about” to link details together as they write.  During the month of October, we will map out an experience we would like to share with others, then narrow that experience down to just a portion of the actual event/the most important moment.  We will take that piece through the writing process to publication.

 Math:  Now that my beginning of the year math assessments are completed, we will spend the next few weeks working with developing/practicing concepts for multiplication and building our problem solving skills.  You should have received information about accessing our math textbook from home-the web address is: www.pearsonsuccessnet.com.  The username for each child is the first and last name they go by in our class (all in lowercase). For example, my username would be karriallen.  Everyone’s password is math4u.  Students who do not finish in class activities should visit this web address to access the page from class work and finish that work for homework.  I can print textbook pages for those that do not have internet access at home.  This website also offers access to additional practice and games.

 Math Facts: Your child will be working with a parent to quiz and improve their fluency with their math facts this year. The timings consist of a page of mixed fact practice focusing on one operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division).  The “Math Moms/Dads” will work with your child on progressively more difficult/higher facts within the operation that your child is focusing on and then test them with a paper test consisting of 90 problems.  Your child must get 80 out of the 90 problems correct and skipped problems are considered incorrect.  The “Math Moms/Dads” will let you know via the planner exactly which facts your child should be working on.  It is expected that your child be working on their facts each day for about 10 minutes to be working toward their next math timing.  This is the MOST important thing we can do to help each student be successful in math this year.  Please check with your child to find out which ones they are working on and work on them at home.  I ask that when the math fact flashcards come home in the plastic pouch and that you keep track of them please.  The plastic pouch with the math facts should stay in the child’s backpack.  Take them out and practice at home but return them to the backpack so your child can use them for fact practice at school when we have math stations. Knowing your multiplication math facts by heart is vital to math success with more advanced math concepts.  I am still looking for more parents that might want to help.  I still need to find three more parent helpers this year for this program.  If you are available Wednesdays from 9:05-10:30 please email me as soon as possible.  I need four volunteers to make it work.  I need three more parents or this successful program may not happen for these kids this year.

 

I wanted to share some websites that offer opportunities for kids to practice their math facts.

www.monstermathfacts.com

www.freerice.com

www.funbrain.com

www.coolmath.com

www.mathfactcafe.com

www.aplusmath.com/Games/games.html

www.geocities.com/multiplicationfacts/index.html

www.mathcats.com/explore/multiplicationtable.html    

 Book Reports:  Students should choose a quality literature chapter book (100-200 pages unless otherwise approved) at their level to read from start to finish during the month of October and complete a book report.  One way to help your student identify a book at their level is by using the 5 Finger Rule.  This is how it works.  Find a book that your student is interested in.  Then turn to a random page full of text.  Have your child read the page aloud and each time the student stumbles on a word put one finger down.  If the student stumbles on more than 5 words, the book is too challenging at this time and the difficult words will break down the students’ ability to comprehend the text.  If the student doesn’t put any fingers down as they read, the book is too easy and not quite at their level.  I have talked with the students about this technique.  Try it out and see how it works for your student.  Directions have been provided for the book report and can be found in your child’s homework folder.  Students need to let me know their selected book by this Friday so that I can approve it before they get started with their book report.  Poster paper for the project will be coming home in the next few weeks.  This book report will be due Tuesday, November 13^th.  On this day, we will begin our book talks on the book report books.  This will be a formal presentation for a communication grade.    Please keep checking in with your child about their progress toward completing their book and their book report.

 Science:  We are using the scientific process to investigate rocks and minerals and their properties.  The class will learn about the rock cycle and about the types of rocks.

 Social Studies: We are learning about Washington State this year.  During the month of October, we will be learning about how our state was formed and the major landforms and features that make up our state.  As part of this learning, students will create a salt and flour map of our state.

 Last thoughts:  My class has some amazing thinking.  However, we are still struggling as a class to make sure our work is HIGH quality, is complete, and meets expectations.  Please encourage your child to do their personal best in all their work for our class.  PLEASE encourage your child to use correct spelling and punctuation in all subject areas.  I also appreciate your efforts to help your child complete all his/her homework on time.  The children who complete their work have a clearer understanding of the next day’s lessons and are more confident.  This is a very special class and they are so sweet.  We are beginning to really hit our stride!  I hope you all have a wonderful week!

 Kindly, 

Karri Allen

Resources for Multiplication Practice! Check it Out!

Multiplication Help

Here are some resources that may help your child practice multiplication skills. Some of these are supported by advertisements.

IXL - Individualized on-line math practice.  I have signed up for a free 30-day trial. Send me an email and I'll send you your childs username and password.

 

Khan Academy -You Tube Videos (ad supported)

Basic Multiplication

Multiplication Tables

10's, 11's, and 12's

2-digit X 1-digit

2-digit X 2-digit

Multiple Digit Multiplication

AAA Math (ad supported)

Multiflyer - (ad supported)

Mathdrill-  (ad supported)

Mr. Nussbaum Math -ad supported

Timez Attack- videogame

As always it is best for a parent to preview websites before allowing children to use them. These are merely suggestions and are not required.

Welcome to a New School Year!

Dear Parents,

Welcome!  I hope you had a relaxing summer and you are looking forward to starting another school year.  I was pleased to meet so many of you at our Open House.  I am excited to be teaching fourth grade and I’m looking forward to a great year with your child.

Enclosed are the beginning of the year documents, letters, and forms for your information.  Please complete the forms as indicated and return them to me by next week.  I would appreciate it if you would read and discuss the enclosed Parent/Student Information Handbook with your child and sign and return the appropriate pink page to indicate that you have gone over the information.  That page is on the last page in the Handbook.  We will also review this information in class.  This will help us all to have a clear understanding of our school's expectations.

Our fourth grade team has ordered a few items that we believe will help your child organize work coming to and from school.  We also ordered two magazines.  One is Washington Weekly which highlights some current Washington events, as well as historical and geographical information.  It is a valuable supplement to our Social Studies text.  The other is National Geographic magazine for students.  It has wonderful, short, nonfiction stories about nature and our world. 

Tutoring: I would appreciate your permission to allow your child to be tutored by parent and adult volunteers.  Tutoring will take place in my room and inside the main building.  Some students need additional challenges while others need review.  Many will be sharpening their math facts skills.  This will generally take place once per week for about 20 minutes per student during class time. 

Snacks:  If your child wants a have a morning snack, he/she can bring a fresh fruit or vegetable, Pepperidge Farm Fish Crackers: all flavors, Cheez-its: all flavors including Gripz and Right Bites, Teddy Grahams, or Nutrigrain Bars.  All of these snacks are considered safe snacks and provide a safe snacking environment for the student with a severe nut allergy in our class.  Please do not send any other kind of snack or brands to be eaten during class time as we cannot be certain of how safe they are.  I do not encourage water bottles unless there are special reasons for them.  We have plenty of filtered water available in the classroom and many opportunities to get a drink.

Homework: Your child will have homework each evening of the week (Mon.-Thurs.).  All homework assignments are directly related to activities and lessons at school, either that day or in preparation for the next day.  It is essential that your child complete each daily assignment.  This will ensure continued progress and preparedness for lessons to come.  Your child will list homework each day in a Student Planner.  Please read each day’s entry, respond if you would like, and then sign your name on that page. Your signature will indicate to me that you have checked your child’s homework.

Student Papers:  It sometimes happens that students do not take their papers home and parents are concerned about their child’s work.  Since this can occur, papers will be sent home at the end of each week.  I will also email and share my classroom blog with a periodic newsletter keeping you up to date on what is happening in the classroom.  Please sign the Friday Envelope indicating you have received and reviewed this important information.  Your child will then return this envelope emptied to me Monday morning.

PE:  PE in my class will be on Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Please remind your child to wear appropriate shoes. 

Library:  Library in my class will be on Mondays.  Your child will probably need EXTRA reminders about bringing their library books after the weekend.

During the first week of school our class will work together on building community.  Many of us are new and I am sure we will enjoy getting to know one another.  We will also be assessing academic areas in spelling, language, and math.

We will continue to spend time together deciding what is necessary to make our class a good place for learning.  We will review our jobs in class as a teacher and student.  We will review “The Mariner’s Code”.  In this packet there are several forms to fill out.  There is a Tutoring Form, Volunteer Form, and Student Information Sheet as well as other papers that were passed out on Open House if you were not able to be there.  If at all possible, I would like you to have all of these forms turned back in by the end of next week.  It is my understanding that a separate Volunteer Form has to be filled out and approved by the district every two years for each adult who would like to help at school or chaperone on field trips.  It takes a little time for this form to be approved so it is important to do this soon.  Please check with the office to see if your form is still current or ask for a new form to fill out if you want to volunteer and yours has expired.

Each month our school will be focusing on a Life Skill.  This month we are featuring the “Life Skill of Friendship.”  Ask your child what this means and how we can practice being good friends at school.

School Supplies: The supply list for 4^th grade is posted on the school website.

Lunch: I would suggest that you bring a lunch from home the first week of school.  The lunch lines can be longer as students get used to the routine again and new students adapt.

Attendance: Classroom doors are opened and teaching begins at 9:05 am.  There is no campus supervision before school.  For safety sake, please do not have your child arrive on campus before 9:05 am.  The tardy bell is 9:15 am.  School is over at 3:35 pm Mon, Tues, Thurs, and Fri.  School is over at 1:15 on Wed.

Thank you in advance for returning all forms sent home.  I also appreciate your willingness to help in our classroom.  It is wonderful to have so many supportive parents.

Education is a team process.  Feel free to contact me with any question or concerns.  If your child has a change of transportation plans after school please send a note to school or contact the office.  If you have a concern/question, it is best to email me as I can respond at my earliest convenience.  Often I catch up on emails after I put my daughter to bed at about 8 pm.  Email allows me to get back to you at any time without disturbing your evening.  A phone call is a great way to contact me about concerns that require immediate attention.  I am looking forward to another fabulous year!

Sincerely,

Karri Allen                                Email: Karri.Allen@evergreenps.org                             Phone: 604-6650 x 2569

MORE IMPORTANT DATES and A CORRECTION TO MATH MSP DATE

Some Important Dates:

The Math MSP Testing Day is Tuesday, May 15th.  I apologize for any inconveinence that this may have caused families.  Our testing day will be that Tuesday.  This will be our last day of MSP testing this year.

Please also mark your calendar for our party for Miss Magnuson on Friday, May 18th at 10:30 am. 

Lastly, also add the 4th grade recorder concert on May 24th at 7:30pm.

April/May Newsletter

Hello families of students in room 209.  Where has the school year gone?  Time is flying by!  Still so much learning to do!

First things first: the biggest news is that MSP testing starts next week. 

Reading MSP is Thursday, April 26th 

Writing MSP is Thursday, May 3rd AND Tuesday, May 8th

Math MSP is Thursday, May 16th

Please do all you can to make sure your child is present in class on time so that no learning is missed as the non-testing days are just as important as the testing days.  Thank you for your support in this.

Class community- this month we are focusing on perseverance. I define perseverance as the willingness to keep trying, to stick to it, have stamina through sometimes trying circumstances.  We are going to find ways to applaud this life skill in our classroom in the coming weeks.  

Miss Magnuson, our student teacher, has been a big part of our class community and her full time student teaching is coming to an end "officially" on April 26th, the first day of testing.  Since this is the case, I have asked her to come back for a celebration of her work with our class as well as the students' work at the conclusion of MSP testing.  I think we will give her cards and perhaps some small gifts to wish her well.  If you and your family would like to provide some snacks for this occasion,  please let me know via email.  Miss Magnuson will continue to volunteer in our classroom periodically through the end of the school year but she will also be taking time to work on her master's thesis and observe in other classrooms and other grade levels as well.  We wish her well!

Writing: In the next few weeks, we will be finishing our preparation for the Writing MSP.  We will be working on preparing several writing plans to build our skills at developing and organizing a writing plan quickly.  We will also be looking at a lot of writing to strengthen our understanding of what high level writing is to help us be more reflective when looking to revise our own.  In the month of May, our focus in writing will shift as we will move into research writing to develop a plan for writing a Social Studies essay that focuses on People on the Move- our focus will be pioneers.  We will read lots of nonfiction to build our background knowledge about Pioneers.

Reading: We are finishing up with test review so that we are ready to show our best thinking on the MSP.  We are focusing on reviewing how to write summaries, comparing and contrasting, and features of poetry.  We will also be reviewing the importance of using the text to support your thinking.  After testing, we will be using a lot of our reading time to research and learn about pioneers.  

The directions for the spring book report went home last Friday- they are written on a pink piece of paper and students were instructed to have this piece of paper "live" in their red homework folder in their backpack.  This is so that students and parents can have access to the directions whenever and where ever needed.  Students are to pick an award-winning book or best selling book that is at least 100 pages and at their approximate reading level.  I want to see the kids reading quality literature.  Their book choice is due to me by Tuesday, April 24th and they should have their book in their hands by that time.  That way, students can be reading their books when testing is over on testing days.  There was a rough draft of the book report poster that came home with the book report directions.  The rough draft is due by Friday, June 1st.  When students turn in their rough draft, I will give them a card stock version of the book report poster to use as a final poster.  The final poster is due Wednesday, June 6th.  There is no oral presentation for this book report.  

High Five Book Club is still going this trimester.  Remember the goal is for each student to read and summarize 500 pages during the trimester.  I add this goal and the students' progress toward this goal in report comments so that parents, as well fifth grade teachers, know about your student's reading habits.  A major goal for fourth graders is to be building stamina for long term reading in chapter books.  The High Five Book Club encourages this.  Ask your child about it and their progress toward the goal.

Math: We are finishing fractions and transitioning into decimals.  Students have shown good growth with fractions and growing confidence.  After we finish our work with decimals, we will focus on measurement with length, weight, capacity and time then work with some data and probability.  These are fun learning units as they involve lots of active experiences and games.  

We will conclude weekly math facts tutoring next week.  I want to personally thank Mrs. Boardman, Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Douglas, Mrs. Long, and Mrs. Tu for their many weeks of commitment to the students in our class.  We are soooo very lucky to have had you working with us!  

Social Studies: we have been having a ball with the pioneer simulation as we learn about the costs and benefits (a theme in the Social Studies CBA essay our class will write near the end of the year).  We will, however, pause the simulation for a few weeks for testing and then resume the simulation in May.  We will also have Junior Achievement start in May in our class.  Its focus this year is state economy.  This ties in nicely with our end of the year focus which is why did pioneer people move to WA state and why do people move here today?

Science: We will begin science toward the end of May.  Our focus is magnetism and electricity.  It is one of my favorite kits to teach as the students love exploring the properties of magnets and circuit building.  Students will build electric series circuits as well as parallel circuits.

Here are some important dates forwarded from our PE teacher, Mr. Hansen and our music teacher, Mrs. Hurst:

Jump Rope for Heart - April 25th

Track starts - May 8th

Recorder Concert- May 24^th 7:30 pm

Track Meet - May 31st

Field Day - June 14th

More info will be coming on these later and that information will most likely be found in the Weekly Bulletins emailed on Fridays as well as on our school’s website.

Thank you for all your support and please let me know if you have any questions.  

                                                  

Spring Book Report will Focus on an Award Winning Book Chosen by the Student

For our spring book report, students will choose and read an award winning chapter book that is over 100 pages.  Directions for the project will be discussed in class tomorrow, Friday, April 13th.  Please check in with your student about the project for more information. We are focusing on award-winning books to encourage students to be reading high quality literature.

When You Reach Me

by Rebecca Stead

When Miranda starts receiving mysterious notes, she realizes they come from the future.

The Graveyard Book

by Neil Gaiman

Bod narrowly escapes being murdered with the rest of his family when he wanders into the graveyard as an infant. An old dead couple agree to raise him, and he is taught the ways of the dead. As a teenager...

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!

by Laura Amy Schlitz

Monologues from a variety of children combine with beautiful illustrations and historical facts to tell about life in medieval England.

The Higher Power of Lucky

by Susan Patron

Ten-year-old Lucky, who is intent upon seeking her Higher Power after overhearing people speak at AA meetings, determines that running away is the way to prevent her legal guardian, Brigitte, from abandoning...

Criss Cross

by Lynne Rae Perkins

Debbie wants something to happen.--- soon. Hector wants to impress Meadow. Lenny wants to fix things. In this lyrical Newbery-winning book, teenagers in a small town drift through the summer wondering...

Kira-Kira

by Cynthia Kadohata

Chronicles the close friendship between two Japanese-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the despair when one sister becomes terminally ill.

The Tale of Despereaux

by Kate DiCamillo

Despereaux, a young mouse, must battle against the rats in a dungeon to save the princess he loves.

Crispin: The Cross of Lead

by Avi

After being condemned for a crime he didn't commit, a timid thirteenth-century boy has to flee a tiny village that's the only world he's ever known.

A Single Shard

by Linda Sue Park

Tree-ear, a twelve-year-old orphan, is eager to learn the potter's trade. In this Newbery Medal-winning book, Tree-ear learns many of life's important lessons from those who grow to love him.

A Year Down Yonder

by Richard Peck

This sequel to the Newbery Honor-winning book "A Long Way from Chicago" is masterful storytelling at its best. Fifteen-year-old Mary Alice must leave her home and school in Chicago to live in...

Bud, Not Buddy

by Christopher Paul Curtis

This Newbery Award-winning book tells the story of ten-year-old Bud, an orphan during the Great Depression. After running away from his foster home, Bud sets out to search for the man he believes to be...

From http://www.scholastic.com/resources/booklist/10-newbery-award-winners/

MSP Testing Dates for Our Class

Reading MSP Test- Thursday, April 26th
Writing MSP Test- Narrative (story) focus- Thursday, May 3rd
Writing MSP Test- Expository (essay) focus- Tuesday, May 8th
Math MSP Test- Tuesday, May 15th

The very first day of MSP testing is for reading on Thursday, April 26.  This is ALSO Take Your Child to Work Day which is typically when a handful of students miss school to go to their parent's work.  We are asking, respectfully, that you choose not to do that.  Most students do their best when they take the test in their classroom with their peers.  There is a sense of comraderie and "we can do it!"  Make-up testing occurs in an alternative location in the school with other students who were absent.  Those students don't typically do as well.  One idea would be to plan a special "take your child to work day" after testing is over as a sort of celebration of the student's hard work.  Please keep in mind that attendance is crucial in the next 6 weeks as we will be reviewing and finishing important content in all academic areas.  This teaching and learning is important not just for testing performance but for preparation for fifth grade learning as well.  Non-testing days are just as important as testing days from here until May 16th (last day of testing).

Thank you so much for reading this blog and for your support.  We know that you all know how important attendance is to the academic success of each student.

March Newletter

Dear 4^th Grade Families,

March is a month that is full of activities and events in our classroom. It is also a time when we are really digging deep into content areas and begin prepping for the MSP. This is the time of year to make sure your student is healthy and gets a good nights rest! Read on to learn about what we’ll be up to in the month of March.

Classroom Community: Our daily Meet and Greet in our class has become a time the kids look forward to so they can share the things they care about in their world.  It’s been a time where we’ve been learning social skills as well: taking turns, reading social cues from our audience, etc.  Ask your 4^th grader about it! This month the students met their goal of earning 100 Class Points and decided as their reward to have a class talent show.

Writing:  This month we’re moving from expository writing on to imaginative writing.  Our focus will be writing a story with an exciting beginning, middle, and end.  We will work on our word choice and descriptive writing skills to build setting and character.  Starting after Spring Break, we will work on a prompt per week with Monday being our prewrite day and lead, Tuesday will be our middle of the story day, Wednesday we focus on conventions, Thursday we’ll focus on writing strong endings, and Friday we’ll revise and edit.  So you can see attendance will be very important as any missed days will put students behind in the process.  Please continue to reinforce the importance of good editing and revising skills at home.  Encourage the use of dictionaries and checking all written work carefully after completion. Students can check their written work by reading it aloud to themselves, by doing this they are able to hear mistakes within their writing and really make sure what they have written makes sense.

Reading:  This month, we’ll begin our strategy focus on questioning.  Our class will learn that readers constantly ask questions as they read.  We will learn that some questions have answers that can be found in the text, some questions have answers that can be found outside of the book in other resources, and still other questions remain unanswered because they are the big questions/themes of life.  We will look at all sorts of texts through the lens of questioning.  The students will be participating in book clubs with a pioneer theme and will complete a book report on the book that they are reading with their book club group.  The students will follow a format similar to their typical in-class reading work completing a 2-column chart for each chapter that they read.  Then they will meet with their book club group periodically to discuss the book using their 2-column notes as talking points. Check-in with your student and their book club calendar to make sure that they are on track with their reading schedule!

Math:  We’re learning about fractions right now.  Students will learn about how to find equivalent fractions, simplify fractions, compare fractions, and convert improper fractions to mixed numbers and vice versa. This will also be the time of the year that we take their nametag with their multiplication table off their desks.  They are not allowed to have these times tables out during MSP testing and are expected to be able to solve problems such as 45 x 23 without the times table as a resource.  You can see just how important knowing their math facts are.  Thank you to the math volunteers that have worked so hard with our class this year to achieve our goals!  We couldn’t do it without you!  Keep in mind that you can always check out www.pearsonsuccessnet.com and log in with your child’s name (that they go by in class) followed by 209 and then type the same thing in for the password.  I would log in as karri209 and then my password would be karri209.  There should be a label on the inside of the cover of your child’s planner that reviews this.  Let me know if you experience problems and we’ll see if we can figure it out.  Then you can access the math book if you have questions about how to work with your child on certain fraction concepts.  I know that for some of us, it’s been a long time since we had to work with fractions in this way (besides cookingJ).  Then we’ll move into working with decimals: naming them, drawing them on tenths grids and hundredths grids. 

Social Studies:  We are moving into our study of pioneers and westward movement.  We have officially started our pioneer simulation and the kids have become a pioneer identity and will write journal entries as if they were that pioneer.  I think you’ll be surprised when your child begins using phrases such as “darn tootin.”   Students will need to stay current with their assignments to earn points to move their wagon along the trail. 

Science: This month we will finish up our Environments science kit. We have had beetles, isopods, goldfish, and snails in our classroom that the kids have been observing. We are learning about factors in the environment as well as environmental roles (producer, consumer, decomposer). Please share anything you know with you student about these topics. They love making connections in learning from home-to-school! J

 MSP (Measure of Student Progress):  The MSP testing window is April 25^th-May 17th. The first test we will start with is Reading, then Writing, and finally Math.  Keep in mind that even on the days that we are not testing, we are preparing for other days of testing and moving forward with our learning.  Please do what you can to ensure that your child is well-rested, relaxed, fed a healthy breakfast, and in school (please do not plan family vacations) during those weeks.  Students who are not, have to make up the test on the alternate days in a different location in the building and often don’t do as well because they are testing in an environment that is not comfortable to them.

Important Dates:

Fourth Grade Pride and MSP Information Night- March 27^th from 7-8 pm: Come and check out some projects your child has been working on at school.  Arrive at 7 pm to see what we’ve been up to and stay with your fourth grade student to learn about MSP testing expectations.  This is a fantastic opportunity to work with your child to learn more about what to expect during this important testing.  We’ll do some testing examples together and you’ll learn how to support your child in doing their best in the last few weeks before testing begins.  You’ll be surprised to see the jump in expectations from third to fourth grade and it is helpful to know what to expect.  Knowing how to work with your child now helps prepare them for fifth grade, as well.  Hope to see you in room 209 on March 27^th!

Please email us with any comments, questions or concerns.  Have a wonderful week and I hope to see you March 27^th!

Warm Regards,

Karri Allen & Lara Magnuson