As is the way with our weather, the best day of the vacation week is the last day! I do hope you all were able to do some fun, interesting and relaxing things this past week. I had every intention of working on this blog earlier in the week but found myself caught up in house projects and spring cleaning. It is hard to believe that we are now in the home stretch of 4th grade! This time of year really flies. The end of the marking quarter is this Friday- look for report cards to come home sometime the week of April 20th (not sure the exact date yet).
This week begins New York State testing for students in grades 3-8. We will have the ELA tests on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Next week will be the math test on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (April 22-24). As with any school day, a well rested student who has eaten breakfast will be prepared to face the day. If your child will not be taking the tests, they will be allowed to read quietly in the classroom (as far as I know this will be the procedure although it may change). Children are welcome to bring a high interest book (or books) with them to school or select one from our class library.
In science we will be learning about electricity and simple circuits. This is a fun, hands-on unit!
In social studies we will be beginning our immigration unit (maybe next week). I hope each child will have a chance to explore their own family backgrounds while learning about the role immigrants played on our history and continue to this day. We will be having a culminating experience called Immigration Day- more info will follow!
In math we have been practicing finding the area and perimeter of a rectangle. We did a short stint with angles and protractors. After the testing is complete we have just a few more topics to cover including......fractions to decimals! I know you all can't wait!
In writing we have been working on revising and editing paragraphs. I was able to attend a day-long conference at Columbia Teachers College in NYC on a recent Saturday with a bunch of fellow Greenville teachers. I may try out a few things I learned in our next writing unit- narratives (that would be story writing).
In reading we have been doing historical fiction book clubs with stories that are set in the 1800's. Ask your child which book they are reading and what it is about.
Class help: We could use more snack donations- especially if your child frequently eats the class snack. Also tissues would be helpful as the allergy season begins!
As always- thanks for all you do!
This week begins New York State testing for students in grades 3-8. We will have the ELA tests on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Next week will be the math test on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (April 22-24). As with any school day, a well rested student who has eaten breakfast will be prepared to face the day. If your child will not be taking the tests, they will be allowed to read quietly in the classroom (as far as I know this will be the procedure although it may change). Children are welcome to bring a high interest book (or books) with them to school or select one from our class library.
In science we will be learning about electricity and simple circuits. This is a fun, hands-on unit!
In social studies we will be beginning our immigration unit (maybe next week). I hope each child will have a chance to explore their own family backgrounds while learning about the role immigrants played on our history and continue to this day. We will be having a culminating experience called Immigration Day- more info will follow!
In math we have been practicing finding the area and perimeter of a rectangle. We did a short stint with angles and protractors. After the testing is complete we have just a few more topics to cover including......fractions to decimals! I know you all can't wait!
In writing we have been working on revising and editing paragraphs. I was able to attend a day-long conference at Columbia Teachers College in NYC on a recent Saturday with a bunch of fellow Greenville teachers. I may try out a few things I learned in our next writing unit- narratives (that would be story writing).
In reading we have been doing historical fiction book clubs with stories that are set in the 1800's. Ask your child which book they are reading and what it is about.
Class help: We could use more snack donations- especially if your child frequently eats the class snack. Also tissues would be helpful as the allergy season begins!
As always- thanks for all you do!