Friday, October 11, 2013

Classroom News for the Week of October 14th


Notices and Reminders:

THANK YOU!
A huge thank you to Rey, Nicole, Heidi, and Gina for supervising students on Friday's field trip. The students had a lot of fun and enjoyed many hands-on experiences to help them learn what life was like on a California rancho in the early 1800s. Ask your child about his/her experience.

THE GREAT SHAKE: 

On Thursday morning the school will participate in "The Great Shake". This exercise helps both students and faculty practice responding to an earthquake. Please look for a letter coming home this week which gives more information.

REMINDERS: 

* Please make sure to check (and sign) your child's Homework Log each evening.  
* Check out the class garden bed outside of room 17. Wow! Thank you Garden Team!!!
* Please join the PTA!

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and Your Child:
You may want to read this brochure from our national PTA, Parents' Guide to Student Success, to learn about new benchmarks for grade 4 students in language arts and math. The guide also gives suggestions for helping your child succeed.

What's Going On This Week In Class:

Math: 

Using the standard algorithm to multiply 2 digit x 2 digit and 3 digit x 2 digit numbers.

Fact Practice: "Multiplication Madness" (daily, 1 min. multiplication fact practice). Please work with your child to help him/her memorize facts x1-x12.

Writing:

No new writing assignments this week.


Reading:

This week we will be reading from our Treasures anthology. This week's selection is "My Brother Martin", a biography of Dr. King as a boy. We will use Kaplan's Depth and Complexity icons to dig deeper into the text.

Wondering if that book your reading has an AR quiz? Wondering what level that book is?
Go to www.arbookfind.com to find out.  Remember, you can (and should!) be taking quizzes on the books you are reading at home.

Greek and Latin Roots Homework:

Here's a way to practice your words: Visit www.spellingcity.com. From the blue bars at the top of the page, click on "Find A List". Search lists by Teacher's Name -> enter "Safini Convey". You will see a link to this week's word list. Use the many free games and puzzles (there is even a practice test you can take) to help you learn this week's list. Let me know if you have any problems. Have fun!

This week's prefix & root: ex = out of, outside, from micro &min = small
export
expel
exhale
extract
exempt
miniature
microbe
microscope
mince
minute

Students should turn in their completed work (between 70 and 100 points) on Friday this week. A quiz on the word spellings and meanings will also be on Friday.  If students choose to make crossword puzzle, they may use an online free puzzle maker such as www.puzzle-maker.com. Students must make a crossword puzzle (not a word search) and the must generate their own definitions of the word. Please have your child do his or her own typing.


Visual Art:

Using the Visual Thinking Strategy (VTS) to look at and think about art.

Halloween art project - Owls!

PE:

"The NBS Dance" - This week students will be working in small groups to create a never-before-seen dance. They will use a criteria chart to guide them through the process, making sure they have specific elements incorporated into their dance. 


Social Studies/Science:

California Regions poster due October 18th.  Don't forget to provide a simple list of the resources you used for your research on the back of the poster.



Class/Team Building:



This week our focus will be on listening and using our time in class wisely.