Friday, February 8 is our 100th day of school!
Room 29 will celebrate by doing a variety of 100-themed activities. Since we are in a chapter on division in math, I am asking each student to bring 100 of some small object to school. We will practice division strategies with these objects, so please make sure they are not valuable or messy. These can and should be everyday objects! Do not buy anything. Thanks for helping us celebrate 100 days of learning in Room 29!
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Spirit Week Gives Back! Join Kerkstra in supporting the fight aganist Leukemia and Lymphoma by supporting our Fundraiser to benefit research, treatment, and patient support.
Monday: Pennies for Pajamas! Donate pennies and wear your (school appropriate) pajamas to school! Tuesday: Nickels for our Nation! Donate nickels and wear red, white, and blue to school. Wednesday: Dimes for Disney! Donate dimes and dress in your favorite Disney shirts and hats. Thursday: Crazy Quarters Day! Donate quarters and wear your craziest, mismatched outfit. Friday: Be a Hero Day! Donat $1.00 and wear your favorite superhero shirt. Xtra Math:Today I sent home with your student a letter about the Xtra Math website. This is a website we use frequently in class to practice multiplication facts. It tracks student progress and records which problems they consistently struggle with in order to help students achieve automaticity with their multiplication facts. Once they master those, they receive division practice facts. The code on the form that came home allows your student to practice on Xtra math from home. This would be a great tool to use for your student's daily multiplication practice! Santa's Secret ShopAdditionally, a letter came home today about Santa's Secret Shop. This year, students will not have a "Preview Day" where they go and look at items prior to the purchasing day. Instead, a website is given on the letter where all items can be viewed online. This will allow you to help your student make decisions about what they want to buy ahead of time. In addition to the letter, an envelope came home. You can put money in this envelope to send with your student to our purchasing day, which is next Wednesday December 12.
On Friday, December 7, Room 29 will be celebrating Illinois' bicentennial birthday! Our Social Studies curriculum focuses on Illinois, so we will be having a Birthday Party to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Illinois joining the Union (December 3, 1818). We will do Illinois-themed activities, make Illinois decorations, and students will be allowed to bring in popcorn to have as an extra snack for the afternoon, because it is the Illinois state snack!
Today students came home with a "Disguise the Turkey" homework activity. This is due on Friday, November 16. Students need to creatively disguise the turkey paper they came home with as something else that would not be eaten for Thanksgiving. They also need to write 2 paragraphs answering the questions 1. Why do they need to disguise themselves? 2. Why did they choose that particular disguise? For each question they need to write an RACE paragraph. The "graphic organizer" referred to in the instructions is an RACE layout. I would like students to do this project by themselves. It is a chance for them to be creative!
Spelling:This Friday, November 2, students will take their first Spelling Test. They will need to spell the words correctly and sort it based on how the root word changes in order to add -ing. For example, for the word "spelling" it is the root word + -ing. For "moving" it is the root word minus -e + -ing. Please practice not only how to spell these words, but how they can be sorted in order to help your student prepare for their spelling test. I recommend working for 10-15 minutes per evening. Spelling City is a great way to practice. If you do not have your student's login information anymore, please let me know and I will send it to you. Multiplication Facts: We are starting a new chapter on multiplying 1-digit numbers by 2- and 3-digit numbers. In order to be successful on this chapter, it is imperative that students know their basic multiplication facts. We practice these in class, but for most students, outside practice will be necessary in order to multiply fluently.
Please practice these facts with your students daily! Flash cards are a great way to practice, as well as practicing orally, writing out facts, or using internet-based practice activities. Please let me know if you need suggestions for how to help your student practice. We have gotten approval for our first field tip of the year!
We will be participating in the "Get Schooled by Skates" Chicago Wolves field tip program. We will be going to see the Chicago Wolves play on Tuesday, December 18. Students will get a workbook with questions and trivia for a variety of subjects. They will work on this while also watching the game! Forms will be coming home in the next week or two. Keep a look out for this form and the chaperone information! Our reading curriculum sends home homework each day. Many of the days ask students to read 20 minutes, then answer a question from their "Homework Prompts" bookmark. I wanted to publish those prompts here in case students misplace or forget those bookmarks.
1. What is the theme or main idea of the text? What are some key details that support the main idea? 2. What do the illustrations tell you? How do they help you understand the words? 3. What questions do you have now after reading? What would you like to learn more about? Why? 4. What are the most important facts you learned from reading? 5. What is the most interesting fact you learned today? 6. How does what you read today connect with what you've learned in other lessons? 7. Describe in depth a character with evidence from the text. 8. Describe in depth a setting with evidence from the text. 9. Describe in depth one event with evidence from the text. 10. Choose one new word from your reading today and analyze it. Encourage students to read different types of texts, and to choose a variety of questions! With a new ELA/Reading curriculum, as well as a new procedure for Guided Math groups, our 4th grade homework policy is changing. Students will now be receiving Reading homework daily (starting next Monday) and will only receive math homework periodically. This change reflects our new reading curriculum, which incorporates daily homework into lessons.
Additionally, students will complete their math "homework" pages during our Guided Math stations, allowing them to work together and get help from teachers. However, if a student receives an Area of Concern (C) grade on a Lesson Check for math, they will bring home a homework page that reviews the concept on which they struggled. Completion of that homework will allow the student to re-take the lesson check to improve their grade. Please do not hesitate to contact me via Remind or email if you have questions. Thank you! Summer break is quickly approaching! As you prepare your students for a 3 month break from school, consider how much they can continue to grow academically during that time.
Forest Ridge School District 142 offers a Summer Reading Program that encourages students to read throughout the summer. For 4th graders who will be entering 5th grade in Fall 2018, the goal is to read 1,000 minutes. Participants will receive a t-shirt next year in their first week of school for completing their goal! In order to sign up, please fill out this form. It only takes a few minutes a day to help your student be prepared for 5th grade! For more information about the program and the difference it can make to your students, please click here. I would LOVE to see every student from Room 29 to be signed up! |
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