Keep The Momentum Going!

Vacation Reading Contest

With all of the snow days we have had and with vacation upon us it has been very difficult to maintain the momentum needed to keep kids learning and meet our winter goals in fourth grade.  One solution to this is to have a vacation reading contest!  Be on the lookout for details which will be sent home tomorrow in the Thursday folder.  Here are the basics:

Challenge #1: Group Challenge – the girls against the boys. For this challenge, you’ll need to record how much time you spend reading each day. The team that averages more time reading each day will win!

Challenge #2: This will be an individual challenge – who can read the most books? This challenge is simple! Read a chapter book and record it below. Please record the title and author.

 

There will be a sheet where students can write down their minutes and books.  Please have your child bring it back to school after vacation.

 

Vocabulary

 

Students brought home new vocabulary words to study yesterday and will add a few more to this list by the end of the week.  They will have a quiz on Friday, February 27th.  This is what students should be studying for their MAH minutes right now.  Popular ways of studying include:

 

1. Using the flashcards made in class.

2. Having an adult give the student a word and the student writes down an example that proves they understand what the word means.

3. Studying in the car....they are a captive audience!

4. Having the student make their own test one night and take it the next night.

5. Having the student make their own memory game with the definition on one card and the word on another.

6. Have the student type the definitions on the computer each night.

 

 

Enjoy the week!



 

 

Skating Up A Storm!

Passion Projects In Action

Earlier this year I had posted an opportunity in my blog for students to research something that they are interested in and have a passion for and then to teach the class about their passion.  Several students and families took me up on the offer and we have had a couple of students present their projects recently. 

Kendall is a very passionate writer who loves animals and decided to hone her writing skills by writing a fictional story based in the animal world for her class to read.  It has been placed in our classroom library for all to enjoy.

Haley has a strong passion for roller skating and researched the history of roller skating and the different types of sports that involve roller skating.  She made a wonderful presentation today that included a poster and a power point.  In addition, her family brought in a pair of roller skates for each child so they could try out roller skating for themselves.  They learned some basic safety tips and had a blast gliding and sliding around the gym.

 

Thank you so much to the Gould family for such a wonderful treat for our class today!

 

If you are interested in having your child do a project, please let me know.  I know that after today, there were a number of students who were interested in researching their passion further and sharing it with the class!

 

 

Homework

 

With the transition to Quinn Middle School beginning to creep up on us, you may begin to notice more emphasis on homework and more discussions around responsibility.  I will be reminding students that RAH and MAH should be done even if they are absent.  This is considered make-up work.  Please let me know if your child ever needs the weekend to make up their RAH or MAH minutes.  Also, with all of the snow days and possibly more ahead of us, please have your child continue to work on the RAH and their MAH even if school is cancelled.

 

I have also been sending home math review sheets for students to work on.  Each student has been getting sheets that they, as an individual, need to work on.  Please take some time to sit with your child as they do these reviews.  They may need to check in with you on their thinking from time to time or may need someone to check their work once it is complete.

 

Thank you so much for your continued support!