Update: October 11

Coming Up:

October 14:            Bonneville Dam Field Trip:  8:10-2:30 Volunteers Needed

October 28:            Parent Share Day: 2:10-2:45

October 29-30:      No School -- Parent Conferences

Reading

We continued to read The Tiger Rising, taking time to stop and reflect as we read to build a deeper understanding of what we read. Last week, we carefully organized all the notes we had from our readings together and started a draft of a reading response. Tomorrow a 1/2 page response exploring a theme, symbolism or diving into analyzing one of the characters is due. Students are exploring an essay format and using evidence to back up their thoughts while also exploring a deeper message throughout the book. This is a challenging assignment and I can't wait to see what they come up with on Monday.

Writing

Students continue to write their Realistic Fiction Draft. This week, we will be...

• revising our leads
• using our favorite authors to help us develop our craft
• adding transitions

Grammar
Students reviewed simple sentences this week. We talked about Nouns and Verbs within sentences. We played a game with two word sentences. We study simple sentences to start to build understanding of sentence structures and the parts of sentences. With this knowledge, we were able to look over small sections of our realistic fiction story to make sure we had sentences clearly marked with capitals and ending punctuation.

Math

Students finished their math project called Geometry Town which helped strengthen concepts and vocabulary from Unit 1.  Overall, the results of the Geometry Assessment was strong and tests should come home Monday to be signed and then returned to school.
We continue to dive into Unit 2: Numbers and Place Value. We will take the study guide pretest to see what lessons the class needs more review and what lessons need some deepening.

Social Studies

This week fourth graders went to the Middle School for a presentation by Mrs. Hancock on Water Wonders. Ask your child about:

• The history of the beaver dam in our wetlands
• Fanno Creek and the work our Middle and Upper School students did to protect our wetlands.
• How OES addressed the problem of a narrow Fanno Creek and the fast rushing waters that caused the shrinking pond and drought.
• The billboard in Peru that uses the humid air near the equator to make water.
• What would happen if we collected every drop of rain that falls on entire planet and spread it out evenly so that everyone got the same amount? How much water would we we get?
• If you counted the steps people take in Africa, walking to access clean drinkable water, what would they equal?

Student Share Day

We’re planning a Student Share Day for October 28th, the day before conferences.  We are planning this day there for you to look at everything your child has done because the conferences last only for thirty minutes.  We hope that seeing what your child has done will also help you form questions about the work. Student Share Day is scheduled for 2:10, right after recess.  I know that it is difficult for some of you to take time off from work, so please let me know if we need to re-schedule.

Parent Conferences

Please sign up for your conference by 10/23.  Any scheduling changes made after 10/23 will need to be made directly with me.  

Field Trip

We are excited about our trip to the Bonneville Dam.  Please make sure that your child gets to school on time because we want to leave at 8:10.