Dear Parents,
Well, the school year is on its way! Students have adjusted well in their new classroom. Here is what has been going on:
BOB kick off occurred and a note went home today detailing expectations. Your child has a BOB book to read. See the conference schedule for dates. Your child should read, log, and conference on 2 books at our first conference on October 6th. In Reading, students just read the Princess and the Pizza. They also took a comprehension and vocabulary quiz pertaining to this story. Graded quizzes went home Monday if your child is in my reading group. For others, watch for their graded quiz. Each quiz measures understanding of the main story and the vocabulary for the week. Each Friday or Monday, your child will bring home a family letter (or be able to access it through their Connect-Ed log in) indicating the week’s reading comprehension focus, vocabulary words to study, and spelling words to study. Attached to the letter is a sample reading comprehension document you can use to work with your child at home to reinforce the skill taught in class. I highly recommend this as our reading series focuses heavily on repetition of applying the reading skill and vocabulary word recognition. Coming soon…your child will receive logins and passwords to get into our new reading series website to help reinforce skills taught in the classroom. Some students already received their log ins. Thanks for your patience in waiting for this to happen. Our major writing focus is creating a personal narrative (true event). Students must write an essay with an “eye catching” opener in the first paragraph, supporting details listed in order using transition words throughout the story, and ending with a conclusion that summarizes and may indicate a moral to their story. Yes…a lot of expectations but we are slowly working toward each expectation right now. I am proud of the writing I have seen. Keyboarding is being introduced in library skills class with Mrs. Marusinic/ Mrs. Dickinson. As soon as she completes the introductory component, students will be completing keyboarding with me and Mrs. Dickinson. To practice all skills taught, I recommend visiting the Wiki and going to the typing tab:keyboarding without tears. This practice will help your child in the future when they must take the Smarter Balance test beginning next year April. This standardized test is strictly computer based and must require some level of typing skill. Please remind your child to practice just 15 minutes every night. If you do not have a keyboard for them to practice with, I will be sending home a paper keyboard they can use. Read-a-thon kick off was Thursday! Your child brought home a packet of information. Please read through the info. All pledges are due by the first full week of October. Please encourage your child to participate and read-that is our main goal. In math, students switched to their new math teacher last Tuesday. A great website to use to help your child get ahead is eduplace.com (and of course, the Wiki). Please take advantage of this free site. Remember, if your child says they forgot their homework at school, you can go on the Wiki to print off their homework (http://mrsthomaswikiworld.wikispaces.com/Math) . This will eliminate any late assignments. Directions of how to do this are on the tab. Students were also shown how to do this in class. Below is a direct link to tutorials and kid games: http://eduplace.com/math/hmm/practice/4/lp_4_u2sel.html - worksheets http://eduplace.com/math/hmm/tools/tt_4.html - math tools to help with adding and multiplying http://eduplace.com/parents/hmm/models/md_4.html -tutorials on concepts taught in the classroom Students will be taking the Smarter Balanced test in March/April. There is a link on the Wiki for students (and parents) to take a practice Smarter Balanced test in Math and Language Arts. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOUR CHILD VISITS THIS OFTEN AND FAMILIARIZES THEMSELVES WITH THE TEST EXPECTATIONS TO BE PREPARED IN APRIL. THIS IS A HIGH STAKES TEST JUST LIKE THE WKCE TEST BUT JUST COMPUTER BASED. Finally, we want to provide resources for you as parents to help your child be successful on the WKCE tests (also happening in March/April). Please make sure that your child is present each day of school, has eaten a hearty breakfast (I always tell the kids protein because it is time released fuel for their brains), and gets enough sleep each night. Below are some links to help you practice various academic concepts with your child so that they are well equipped for the WKCE test and for the Smarter Balanced test in March/April: Math: http://eduplace.com/cgi-bin/schtemplate.cgi? template=/math/mw/models/tm_popup.thtml&grade=4&chapter=13&lesson=2&title=Elapsed+Tim e&tm=tmfe1302e http://eduplace.com/cgi-bin/schtemplate.cgi? template=/math/mw/models/tm_popup.thtml&grade=4&chapter=17&lesson=1&title=Congruent+Fi gures&tm=tmfe1701e http://eduplace.com/cgi-bin/schtemplate.cgi? template=/math/mw/models/tm_popup.thtml&grade=4&chapter=18&lesson=6&title=Volume&tm=t mfe1806e http://eduplace.com/cgi-bin/schtemplate.cgi? template=/math/mw/models/tm_popup.thtml&grade=4&chapter=19&lesson=4&title=Compare+an d+Order+Fractions&tm=tmfe1904e http://eduplace.com/cgi-bin/schtemplate.cgi? template=/math/mw/models/tm_popup.thtml&grade=4&chapter=24&lesson=1&title=Locate+Point s+on+a+Grid&tm=tmfe2401e http://eduplace.com/cgi-bin/schtemplate.cgi? template=/math/mw/models/tm_popup.thtml&grade=4&chapter=10&lesson=1&title=Factors+and+ Multiples&tm=tmfe1001e http://eduplace.com/cgi-bin/schtemplate.cgi? template=/math/mw/models/tm_popup.thtml&grade=4&chapter=8&lesson=2&title=Divide+with+R emainders&tm=tmfe0802e http://eduplace.com/cgi-bin/schtemplate.cgi? template=/math/mw/models/tm_popup.thtml&grade=4&chapter=6&lesson=4&title=Multiply+Two- Digit+Numbers+by+One-Digit+Numbers&tm=tmfe0604e
Reading: http://eduplace.com/kids/hmr06/?grade=4 http://eduplace.com/parents/hmr06/4/ http://storyworks.scholastic.com/ http://www.starfall.com/n/level-c/index/play.htm?f
Language Arts http://eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/ http://classroom.jc-schools.net/basic/la-grammar.html http://www.gamequarium.com/languagearts.htm http://languagearts.pppst.com/index.html
Social Studies http://eduplace.com/kids/socsci/wi/
Science http://eduplace.com/kids/science.jsp
Information on WKCE http://dpi.wi.gov/oea/wkce.html http://dpi.state.wi.us/oea/wkce.html http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pirls/released.asp http://www.hartfrodjt1.k12.wi.us/faculty/BobKieckhefer/parentpage.cfm The last link (above) would be very important to visit.
I thank you so much for all your support and cooperation. I want to let you know that I truly enjoy the children and have already witnessed growth in many of them. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to email me. If you haven’t signed up for conferences please let me know. I will get back to you on the times I have available.
Sincerely, Mrs. Thomas P.S. Sorry this was so long…had a lot of information to give you
Important Dates to Remember: Read a thon reading the week of September 21st September 23rd is Bully Awareness Day-Officer Rasmussen will be talking to the 4th grade students about bullying. Conferences September 29th : only for those students who receive a conference note