PTO Script Orders... Available Now!

Major Retailers Want To Give Our School Money!

Dear Prairie Branch Parent:

We’re pleased to once again offer “scrip” the fundraising program that works while you shop.  Scrip is gift certificates from national and local retailers, just like you purchase at the store, but participating retailers agree to sell gift certificates to our organization at a discount.  Member families like yours buy the certificates for full face value, they redeem them for full face value, and our school keeps the difference as revenue. 

Orders turned in by Monday, December 8^th, will be delivered by Monday, December 15^th.  To order simply complete the attached order form send to you via email or you can purchase and pay for your gift cards online at www.shopwithscrip.com. Please use code FD96BC6B1514L when ordering online.

Thanks for your support!

PTO

Classroom Update

While I am going to miss my little guy at home, I have sure missed the 21 fourth graders waiting for me to return to the classroom. Life will hopefully go back to normal this week and we will do our best to get back into our routine. I am so thankful for the work Mrs. Ratcliff did to help keep the class on track. It is hard to believe  the end of second quarter is only three weeks away. We have a lot of work to do!

This Week

Reader's Workshop - Students now have an understanding of the different text structures of informational text. This week will will explore pictures, graphs, and diagrams to aid in our understanding of the text.

Writer's Workshop - We will continue looking at historical fiction mentor texts and start developing a set of characteristics that we will use in writing our own pieces over the next few weeks.

Math - Unit 5 will return us back to multiplication. We will also introduce timed tests beginning this week. More information to come, but students will be testing for speed and accuracy of the multiplication facts between 1-12. We will start with 2, 5, and 10 and then return to 3, 4, and so forth. The students that master the facts will be rewarded at the end of the year!

Science - We will test over force and motion this week. Students will have a study guide on Monday night and we will plan on testing on Wednesday. 

Winter Party

It seems like we just celebrated our Halloween party, but our winter party will be approaching fast. Please look for emails and let me know if you have any questions. 

Pictures

I would LOVE to post some pictures of our Halloween party and the Jefferson City field trip. If you have any that you could share with me, please email them to me at your convenience. I would also like to send them to Mrs. Stiffler in hopes they can be included in the yearbook. Thank you in advance for your help.

Have a great week,

Mrs. T 

2014-2015 Yearbooks

Don't forget to order a yearbook for the school year! If you are interested in ordering, they are $15 and can only be ordered online at www.inter-state.com/yearbook. Enter code 799373 for our school. 

Orders are due December 19! Get yours before time runs out!

Principal Letter - First Quarter

October 17, 2014 

Prairie Branch Families,

It is hard to believe that we have completed our first quarter of the 2014-2015 school year!  We are off to a wonderful start and the high caliber of teaching and learning here at Prairie Branch continues to be very impressive! 

As we move into 2^nd quarter, I want to make you aware of a few happenings here at Prairie Branch.

All Pro Dad is a program that is being led by Jarrod Steffens, GVHS Assistant Principal and PB parent.  We have had two meetings and many dads have shown interest.  This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with your kids at school through topics such as teamwork, acceptance, communication, etc. Meetings are the first Wednesday of each month from 7:45-8:30AM and breakfast is provided. 

First Baptist Church of Blue Springs will begin a second campus here at PB, called the Valley Campus.  If you happen to drive by the school on a Sunday morning around 10:00AM and notice a full parking lot, this is what is happening here!  Anyone is welcome to attend their services.  We are excited about this connection as FBC Blue Springs is partnering with Prairie Branch in a new district program called Bright Futures.  This program is an extension of services here at school; a partnership that inspires educational achievement and develops community success. We are looking forward to working with FBC Blue Springs to meet the needs of our students and to give them the brightest future possible!

Lastly, Parent/Teacher Conferences are next week!  Prairie Branch teachers are ready to share student progress, concerns, and successes, as well as strategies to help build the partnership between school and home.  This is such an important tool for both parents and teachers.  Teachers plan to meet with every student’s parent/guardian.  

Thank you so much for a wonderful start to the 2014-2015 school year!  We look forward to continuing in growth and partnership with you to ensure student success. 

Sincerely,

Heather Gross, Principal

Prairie Branch Elementary

Grain Valley R-5 School District

 

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon – Be Proactive: Make Good Choices Week

Monday, Oct. 20^th “Follow Your Dreams- Don’t Do Drugs?” Day - Wear pajamas to show your pledge to make good choices so you can follow your dreams.  This day will emphasize the choices you make now and how it affects your future!

 

Tuesday,  Oct. 21^st   “Use your HEAD- Stay Drug Free” Day - Wear hats, wigs, or crazy hair to symbolize our “thinking” to make safe and healthy choices for drug-free living!  We will emphasize the importance of “using our HEADS” and recognizing thinking comes before good choices. 

 

Wednesday, Oct. 22^nd  “Exercise your Brain” Day – ”Workout” your brain making good choices while wearing your sweat pants, sweatshirts and your tennis shoes.  Let’s show our commitment to a drug free life!

Maternity Leave

Mrs. Ratcliff has officially taken over the duties in the classroom as our family of five grew once more with the birth of Adam Edward Twiehaus yesterday morning. He is absolutely perfect! 

The class is in wonderful hands with Mrs. Ratcliff and I will be in close contact with her over the next 6 weeks. I will return to the classroom on Monday, December 1st.

Thank you again for all of your support and I will talk to you all very soon! 

Take care,

Mrs. Twiehaus

Class Surprise!

In September, our class won the Papa John's pizza party and this afternoon I will surprise the kids! It will be a fun way to end our week and celebrate their hard work during first quarter. I made this video to share with them as well. I am excited to see their progress as the year continues. 

Thank you again for all of your support!

Classroom Update

Good morning,

I apologize for not making an update over the course of the also couple of weeks. I was successfully able to meet with all parents! I really appreciate your time and commitment for these meetings. I truly believe your child's education is a dual partnership between home and school and parent communication is vital. Thank you for giving me more insight with your child so I can better meet their needs this year.

Here are the skills we are currently working on in class.

Reader's Workshop 

This week we have been focusing on finding the theme in a narrative text. This can be a difficult skill and is one we will work on all year long. Conversations about the books your child is reading at home can help facilitate the development of this skill. Next week, we will begin focusing on the story elements of narrative text.

Writer's Workshop  

We have published writers in room 114! The kids have all completed final copies of their realistic fiction pieces. We made copies to post in the hallway after they shared with their classmates, but the copies were also sent home. Please be sure to ask your child to share their writing with you! I am so proud of what the accomplished.

We are in the works of developing an understanding of the next genre we will be working on. Students will be writing personal persuasive essays. We will work hard on developing the format of a five paragraph essay and using strong evidence to support our thoughts and opinions. They have already brainstormed some excellent ideas!

Math 

In math, we have started our multiplication study for the year. As we visit other skills and refine skills learned in third grade, our strong focus this year will be multiplication. Please help support your child at home by encouraging them to focus on multiplication facts at home. We will start timed tests after returning from winter break in January. Extra focus at home will be very beneficial for the students with their accuracy and fluency.

Science 

We have tested over the scientific method and goals will be coming home with the students on Monday. We will continue to work on the scientific method all year through scientific investigations. It is important to have a common vocabulary we can refer to through conversations.

Social Studies

We will begin a new social studies unit next week in preparation for our upcoming field trip to Jefferson City. Students will review the three branches of government, their roles as citizens, as well as features of our state capital.

McTeacher Night

Please make plans to attend our McTeacher Night this coming Tuesday night, October 7th between 4-8 pm at the Grain Valley McDonald's. There are several teachers willing to get a pie in their face if they receive the most tips. It is always an enjoyable night and I hope to see you there!

Spirit Week!

In recognition of Homecoming, PB is celebrating spirit week this week. Your child is welcome to show their school pride by participating!

9/29)  Marvel Monday (dress as superhero)

(9/30)  Tractor Tuesday

(10/1)  Dress for Success! (Picture Day!)

(10/2)  Dress as your favorite book character 

(10/3)  PJ Day

Congratulations Dr. Moss!

Grain Valley's very own superintendent was named Missouri's Superintendent of the Year this evening! This is an honor well deserved! Congratulations, Dr. Moss!

Math Strategies

As part of the Everyday Math curriculum, your child will be exposed to many different strategies. Some of these May seem strange to you as they are different from the more traditional methods we learned in school. I assure you that even though some seem rather strange, they work and some students find the alternative methods work better for them.  Ultimately, students will choose a strategy that works best for them. I will ask students to at least try all of the methods introduced. 

Today's method was partial differences. Here is a link to some information on this strategy. If your child struggled, please do not worry. We will review it again tomorrow. 

http://www.mathatube.com/e-subtrac-partial-difference.html

Apples, Apples, Apples

Classroom News - Week 6

In the Classroom...

Reader's Workshop -
This week, readers will focus on reading closely and answering questions using explicit details from the texts. This is a great comprehension monitoring strategy as well as text taking strategy.

Writer's Workshop -
In writing, students are coming close to beginning the revision and editing phases of writing. This week, we will focus on sequencing and ensuring our stories have a clear beginning, middle, and end. We will use transitional words and phrases to help link events.

Math -
We will practice multi-digit addition and subtraction this week. We will learn a couple of different strategies in class that I encourage students to try. It is the Everyday Math philosophy for students to be exposed to multiple problem solving strategies so they can find and embrace one that works the best for them. Please encourage your child to attempt all strategies with the understanding that once they know how to use the strategies, they can choose the method that works best for them.

Science -
We are SCIENTISTS! This week, students will take their first shot at using the scientific inquiry process as they test out their hypotheses. We will use a chopped, peeled, and plain apples to test and see which apple looses the most water over a 5 day period. Students will help set up the experiment, collect data, and draw conclusions over the next week. I know they will be eager to share their results with you at home!

Mid-Terms

I apologize for not getting mid-term reports home on Friday. We were excited to have Mrs. Ratcliff, our long-term substitute for my maternity leave, visit the classroom. Reports will go home Monday afternoon in your child's Monday Mail Folder. Included with your child's mid-term is a list of skills we have worked on so far in reader's and writer's workshop. This will be an attachment you will see with mid-term reports and grade cards as we work to share with you specifically the skills in which your child is working on in class as well as their progress. 

The 4, 3, 2, 1 as indicated on the form reflects your child's progress. These means that as your child becomes more proficient in these skills, their level of understanding will improve. It is the ultimate goal for students to score a 3 in each area. A 4 reflects thinking above and beyond that which was presented in class. If you have questions, we can speak about this directly at our upcoming PT conferences. 

Have a great week!

Mrs. T

Classroom News - Week 5

In the Classroom...

Reader's Workshop - This week, readers will continue to make inferences by using text clues and their background knowledge. We will discuss how as readers we determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases.

Writer's Workshop - We are on our way in creating realistic fiction stories. This week, we will focus on the details we include within our stories by learning from real authors. Student writers will learn to use sensory details, descriptive details, and similes to make their stories come to life for their readers.

Math - In math, we will focus on place value in large numbers and organizing data to be displayed visually by creating graphs.

Social Studies - We are in the midst of finishing up our science unit. Students are creating either a commercial, travel brochure, or trip itinerary demonstrating their understanding of the different regions of the United States.

Science - This will be a fun week for fourth graders as we dive into SCIENCE! We will first put our skills to the test as we learn about scientific inquiry. Students will go through the scientific method and complete a lab that will last most of our week!

Two Hour Late Start

Thursday will be our first late start for the year. Instead of 8:40, school will begin at 10:40 am. Breakfast is not served on late start days. The later start time allows us to meet and grow our brains as teachers. This week's late start will focus on the development and implementation of writer's workshop. 

Mid-Term Reports 

It is hard to believe that we have already reached the half way point of our first quarter in fourth grade. Friday afternoon, mid-term reports will be sent home. As we will be meeting very soon for conferences, the mid-term can serve as a vital tool of your child's progress so far in fourth grade. That being said, we have several weeks left of first quarter. After receiving your child's report, please sign and return the bottom half. If you have any questions about your child's progress, I am happy to answer your questions. 

Science Supplies 

As part of an upcoming unit in science, we are in need of cardboard rolls. Paper towel, toilet paper, or wrapping paper rolls will serve our need well. If you can start collecting these at home and send them to school, we would greatly appreciate it!

Thank you for your support and for helping the first part of this quarter such a smooth one. 

Have a great week,
Mrs. T.

Art Museum Field Trip

We had a great day at the Nelson-Atkins art museum yesterday! We were so glad the weather held out and were able to enjoy lunch outside on the big steps along the outdoor sculptures. Since we were divided into groups, I was not able to capture pictures of everyone. I know the kids were snapping pictures left and right. If they could email some to me, that would be great!

Classroom News - Week 4

In the Classroom...

Reader's Workshop - This week, students will be learning how to read between the lines. Being able to answer explicit questions as well as inferential questions is an important skill. Students will practice using texts including "Casey at the Bat" and Fireflies.

Writer's Workshop - We are now working on the techniques of creating realistic fiction. Specifically, writers will focus on creating beginnings and endings that effectively connect to their readers. 

Math - We will start the week off by going over last week's assessment and developing personal goals. It is always my goal for my students to know how they can improve as learners. Each math assessment will allow students to walk away knowing more than a letter grade, but the actual skills they need to master in order to improve. 

Social Studies - We will wrap  up our unit over the United States regions on Thursday. We will have a small quiz to review our understanding of the unit before we enter our next unit in science.

Nelson-Atkins Art Museum

Friday, September 5th will be our first field trip in fourth grade. Tonya Jackson and Michael Montgomery will be our adult volunteers. The fourth graders will leave the school at 9:30 am. Each student will need to bring a disposable sack lunch. Students are also welcome to bring cameras, but will need to know how to operate without a flash. We will be outside for a portion of our trip. Please be sure students are dressed appropriately for the weather. If you child has a PB shirt, they are welcome to wear it on Friday, but it is not required. We will be back at school around 1:30 pm. 

Conferences

This week, I will be in contact with you regarding your scheduled conference time. If you need to reschedule, please let me know ASAP.

Reading Logs

To help promote reading at home, students are asked to read for 20 minutes for 20 days. I sent home logs on Friday. All you have to do is simply sign with your seal of approval after your child has initialed the days they have read for at least 20 minutes. Students are welcome to read more than 20 minutes, but the goal is to read at least 20 days. Reading logs are due at the end of the month. For each student that meets this requirement, they will earn a free Pizza Hut Book-It for a free personal size pizza. 

McTeacher Night

Mark your calendars! Our first McTeacher Night for PB will be Tuesday, October 7th from 4-8 pm at the Grain Valley McDonald's. This is always a quick and easy fundraiser for our school. Please make plans to attend and start spreading the word.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Have a great week,
Mrs. T.

Classroom News - Week 3

In the classroom...

This week we will dive further into realistic fiction as well as test over our first math unit. Here is a brief run down for each of the content areas.

Reader's Workshop - Students will begin analyzing fiction and nonfiction to determine how to retell information from text by using supportive details. Through this process, we will practice the skills we have been learned last week about having collaborative conversations with peers. 

Writer's Workshop - In writing, we have started a realistic fiction unit. Last week we spent a lot of time reading like writers as we worked to develop a foundation of what this genre of writing looks like. This week we will begin the work of creating drafted stories. This will be an exciting week!

Math - We are about to wrap up our first unit in math on Friday with our first assessment. In math, we will always have a study guide prior to each assessment. The study guide will be completed in class on Wednesday and sent home. The purpose of the study guide is not to give the students all the answers, but to familiarize them with the type of questions that will be asked of them. From our assessment, individualized student goals will be created so we can continue to work on skills even as we proceed into the next unit. This is a process I hope to speak to you about in greater detail during parent teacher conferences. 

Social Studies - We are exploring the United States and learning about the geographical regions. Through the use of the text, technology, and other class activities, the kids are learning more about their country.

Parent-Teacher Conferences 

If you have not already done so, please sign up for a conference slot. I will be getting in touch with parents still needing to schedule a time later this week. You can check your time slot, change your time, as well as view open slots and sign up for a time by visiting this link. 

Conference Sign Up

Party Dates

We will have three classroom parties this year.

Fall - October 31 from 2:15-3:15

Winter - December 19 from 2:15-3:15

Valentine's Day - February 13 from 2:15-3:15

Thank you...

I know I have said this before, but I am looking forward to working with you and your family this year. It is going to be a fantastic year in fourth grade!

Have a great week!

Mrs. T

Curriculum Night Presentation

I am providing the link to my presentation for those that are not able to attend Curriculum Night. I will obviously go into detail regarding the slides in the Prezi. Classroom Management System
Presentation (Google Document)

Daily Schedule

In about 30 minutes the kids will be here and we will start our fifth day of fourth grade! After the last four days, I am convinced this year will be a fantastic year. We have spent the last several days getting to know one another as well as getting familiar with classroom routines and procedures. For your convenience and reference throughout the year, I am including our schedule.

8:25-8:40 - Attendance, Pledge, and Agendas
8:40-9:40 - Everyday Math
9:40-10:30 - Specials (Day 1 - Art, Day 2 - PE, Day 3 - Library, Day 4 - Music, Day 5 - Computer)
10:30-11:00 - Word Work
11:00-12:06 - Writer's Workshop
12:06-12:30 - Lunch
12:30-1:35 - Reader's Workshop
1:35-2:00 - Recess
2:00-2:35 - Guided Reading
2:35-3:30 - Science/Social Studies (Rotating schedule)
3:30-3:40 - Homework time/Prepare for dismissal

Tonight at Curriculum Night, I will share with you the ins and outs of our curriculum as all as general classroom routines. Please join us between 6-7:30 in our classroom this evening. There will be three repeated sessions starting each half hour.

Have a great day!
Mrs. T

Meet the Teacher & Parent Sign-Ups

We are in need of room volunteers! If you are interested, please sign-up below!

Room Volunteers

Conferences are scheduled for the end of October, but at that time I will be on my maternity leave. I would like to meet with you before my leave and have set times aside the last week in September. To sign up for a time, please visit the online sign-up tool through Sign Up Genius using this link.

Twiehaus' Fall Conference Sign-Up

If the link does not work or if you have complications, please contact me asap to ensure we have time slot reserved for you that meets your family's schedule. You will be reminded of your conference prior to the date. Thank you in advance for setting aside to the time to meet with me! I am looking forward to sharing about your child's strengths and areas we plan to work on this year in fourth grade!

Famous Missourian Live Museum

Great memories!

Classroom Update and School News

MAP Testing Resumes
We will continue testing tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday. Students are welcome to bring a healthy snack to enjoy before going to specials each day so we are ready to begin testing as soon as we return. I have been very impressed by their endurance so far and look forward to watching them do their best the rest of this week. Thursday will mark the end of the fourth grade assessment.

Famous Missourians
Mrs. Lewis will send details about the upcoming Famous Missourian presentations later this week. Students will create a live museum on Tuesday, May 13th and Wednesday, May 14th. They have been hard at work conducting research. This is always one of my favorite highlights of our fourth grade year together. I am looking forward to it!

Spelling Bee
This Thursday, we will conduct a classroom spelling bee to narrow down our top five spellers. These five students will represent our class in a grade level spelling bee next week. The top five spellers for fourth grade will participate in a school-wide spelling bee on Monday, May 19th. I will keep you posted on our finalists. Good luck to everyone!

Grade Level Talent Show
If your child is wishing to participate in the grade level talent show on May 15th, applications are due this week!

Summer School
Enrollment is open for Summer School 2014!

Upcoming Dates
May is always a very busy time of the year.

May
7  Author's Visit 11:00-11:45 AM

12 5th Grade DARE Graduation 2PM

13 Famous Missourians Museum

14 Famous Missourians Museum

15 Grade Level Talent Shows 9:40-10:30 AM

16 Fun Day

19 Spelling Bee 1:30 PM

20 Fun Day Make up Date

21 Yearbook Signing 2:30-3:30 PM
22 Last Day School (Full Day)

TBA - Fundraiser Limo Ride

Haiku Decks

In reader's workshop, our fourth graders have been busy diving into informational texts. As we studied first hand and second hand accounts, finding the main idea and supporting details, as well as writing summaries, students used their own topic to discover new information. Our Discovery Groups meet frequently to discuss their topics and their research. To pull our information together, students used the Haiku Deck app on the iPads to create a presentation that complemented their research summaries. Below you will find a link to the completed Haiku Decks we have so far. For more information about their topic, please ask them to bring home their summaries to share with you.

Mason
Mia
Cayden
Alayna
Cooper
Lauren
Bryce
Sheldon
Kamara
Emma
Olivia
Tate
Mike L.
Logan
Alexis
Addy
Jake

Grandparents' Night... A Great Success!

I enjoyed visiting with several grandparents and families tonight. Thank you so much for making the evening so much fun! Please enjoy the pictures of your families. I am so appreciative of the support you have provided me this year and I am sad to realize our year is nearing its end. I just may have to keep the kids back for one more year! What's so great about 5th grade anyway!?!

Our Year in Fourth Grade

This week!

Good afternoon,

In the Classroom

Reader's Workshop - We will soon begin Discovery Groups in Reader's Workshop. Students have selected a time in history to study. As we learn about informational text, students will use their own books and topic to personally explore. My hope is that we will wrap all of our learning up into an electronic project towards the end of the year. I am excited!

Writer's Workshop - The writers now have a very solid understanding of how to write a literary essay. We will continue to explore this genre of writing this quarter and work to really explore the books we have read in fourth grade.

Math - Our next unit will explore reflections and lines of symmetry. This is always a fun unit for the kids!

Science - We are reviewing units of measurement. Ask your child about Gallon Kingdom!

Social Studies - Work is underway for the upcoming Famous Missourian presentations. Dates will be sent out soon as to when the presentations will be held.

Kindergarten Enrollment
This Thursday from 4:30-6 pm will be our kindergarten enrollment for students entering kindergarten next year. You can visit the district's website to fill out the necessary paperwork which will save you time on Thursday night. Please bring with you a copy of your child's immunization record.

Art Fair/Grandparents' Night
Be sure your family is aware of our upcoming Art Fair that is tailored specifically for our grandparents, but parents are of course welcome! Come view you child's art work from 5-7:30 pm. Cookies will be served.

MAP Testing
Just a reminder, we will soon be testing for the Missouri Assessment Program! We will test on April 23, 24, 29, 30, and May 1st between 9:30-12:00.

Classroom News

In the Classroom...

This week will mark the end of our third quarter in fourth grade. We are busy wrapping up learning in a few curricular areas as well as launching into our final units in others. We have a lot of work to do the last couple of months.

Reader's Workshop
We will begin wrapping up our learning this quarter before moving on into a new unit. This unit's focus has been fun making connections to visual presentations and dramas. Our Tom Sawyer production provided the perfect connection to this standard.

Writer's Workshop
Our final writing piece for this year will ask for fourth graders to write about what they read. We will be responding to books by asking questions of ourselves as readers and responding as writers. Students will develop opinions and points of view about their text and topics and develop literary essays. This will be a great way to wrap up our learning from reading and writing this year.

Math
We are exploring area and perimeter, but still focusing on developing mastery in basic multiplication and division facts. Any support with this at home would be fantastic and much appreciated!

Science
Scientists are learning about rocks and minerals this week as well as using inquiry skills as we do some experimenting.

Social Studies
The famous Missourian projects are about to begin! This is always a highlight of fourth grade and your child will be sharing some information about this fun-culminating project very soon.

Looking Ahead

3/19 - Pictures at 9:00 am (orders were not taken, proofs will be sent home)
3/20 - McTeacher Night at the Grain Valley McDonald's - 4-8 pm
3/21 - End of Third Quarter

3/28 - Grade Cards Go Home

4/8 - Grandparent's Night/Art Show

4/17 - Advanced MAP Luncheon (Students have been notified)

4/18-4/21 - No School: Easter Break
4/23-4/24 - Communication Arts MAP Testing 10:30-12:00
4/29-4/30-5/1 - Math MAP Testing 10:30-12:00

Classroom News

We have another busy week planned for fourth grade! Due to the snow days, third quarter has been extended until March 21st. You can view our weekly newsletter by clicking this link. 

Classroom News

Classroom News!

Weekly News

Classroom News

Division Tutorials

Partial Quotients Algorithm (1 divisor)

 

Partial Quotients Algorithm (2 divisor)

 

Long Division (Traditional)

 



Classroom News ~ January 21st, 2014

Classroom News

Jackson County Soil and Water Conservation Poster Contest 2014

Congratulations to our classroom finalists! Lauren (1st), Alayna (2nd), and Alexis (3rd) will have their posters submitted to be judged against other Jackson County third and fourth grade students. Nice job for all of our students who did a great job creating visual representations of the importance of soil.

Back to School...

Back to Work...

Today has been a very productive day lining out the next couple of weeks and I have to admit how excited I am about the upcoming units we are starting tomorrow, especially reading and writing. In reading, students will return to fiction text and we will spend our time comparing the similarities and differences of texts from different cultures. This will be a lot of fun for the kids as they relate new stories back to familiar stories they have read in years past.

In writing, students will use their background knowledge of informational books and essay writing to eventually compose their own historical essays. This will be a task that will take all quarter to complete, but will encompass a lot of what they have learned in reading, writing, and social studies this year in fourth grade. 

In math, our next unit will focus on a variety of skills including solving number stories using both multiplication and division, as well as measuring angles and long division. We will also return to Rocket Math to improve multiplication fluency. This is an area that most students could really use some extra practice at home. 

Mark Twain Nominees

The new books eligible for the Mark Twain Award have been released. This is very exciting for our fourth graders since they will be eligible as fifth graders to attend the Reader's Festival in Warrensburg with Mrs. Callahan if they read all of the books. Since we will read a few of them as read alouds in class, they can meet this goal by reading the remaining books on their own time outside of class. I always love to see some of my former students get to attend! 

Author	Title	Publisher
Susan Verrico	Privateer's Apprentice	Peachtree
R.J. Palacio	Wonder	Alfred A. Knopf
Lutricia Clifton	Freaky Fast Frankie Joe	Holiday House
Kate Messner	Capture the Flag	Scholastic Press
Caitlen Rubino-Bradway	Ordinary Magic	Bloomsbury
Tim Green	Pinch Hit	HarperCollins
Joanne Rocklin	The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook	Harry N. Abrams
Amy Gordon	The Shadow Collector's Apprentice	Holiday House
Carl Hiaasen	Chomp	Alfred A. Knopf
Frank N. McMillan, III	The Young Healer	Mackinac Island Press
Christopher Paul Curtis	The Mighty Miss Malone	Wendy Lamb Books
Rebecca Stead	Liar & Spy	Wendy Lamb Books

I am looking forward to seeing the kids back in class tomorrow!