Upcoming Dates

We have several upcoming dates that I would like to make you aware of for this spring semester. More details will be sent home regarding each of the events.

February -
2 - Reading Rewards Assembly - 2:30 pm
9-13 - Bus Driver Appreciation Week
16 - Presidents' Day
18 - Fourth Grade NAEP Assessment
26 - Two Hour Late Start (Final)

March -
3 - Fourth Grade Program
12 - End of Third Quarter
13 - No School: Spring Break
16 - No School: Spring Break
18 - Author Visit at High School
20 - PTO Carnival
24 - McTeacher Night
25 - Fire Fighter Visit
31 - MAP Recognition Reception @ 2:45

April -
21 - Grandparents' Night and Art Show from 5:00-6:30

May -

Mark Twain Nominees 2015-2016

TITLE  The Water Castle	AUTHOR  Megan Frazer Blakemore		PUBLISHER Bloomsbury
Navigating Early	Clare Vanderpool		Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Counting by 7s	Holly Goldberg Sloan		Dial
Dorko the Magnificent	Andrea Beaty		Harry N. Abrams
Jinx	Sage Blackwood		Katherine Tegen Books
Will in Scarlet	Matthew Cody		Knopf Books for Young Readers
The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel	Deborah Hopkinson		Knopf Books for Young Readers
What We Found in the Sofa and How it Saved the World	Henry Clark		Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Al Capone Does My Homework	Gennifer Choldenko		Puffin
Gaby, Lost and Found	Angela Cervantes		Scholastic Press
Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin	Liesl Shurtliff		Yearling
Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library	Chris Grabenstein		Yearling

These are the final books nominated for the 2015-2016 Mark Twain award. Students successfully read all 12 books qualify to attend the Young Readers Festival in Warrensburg at the end of fifth grade!

Happy Reading,

Happy 100th Day of School

Jackson County Soil and Water Conservation Poster Contest 2015

Each year, the Jackson County Soil and Water Conservation Department hosts a poster contest for third and fourth grade students. Participating schools send their top three finalists' posters off to be judged by the board members against other students.

The kids did a great job and made it very difficult to choose the top three winners. Congratulations to Jasmin (1st place), Lucas (2nd place), and Mallory (3rd place). I am so proud of all of them! 

First place: Jasmin

2nd place: Lucas

3rd place: Mallory

Introducing the Regions of Missouri

We are embarking on a new adventure in class! Groups will be working together to research one of the five geographical regions of Missouri and create a time capsule to present to the class. We will use the iPads at school do their research, but students may choose to use time outside of class if necessary. The link to the Webquest and helpful research links can be found by clicking on the map.

http://www.pkwy.k12.mo.us/bellerive/homepages/assignment.cfm?UserID=belfourth&TeacherCourseID=0D55EBA6-1CC4-EACA-CE29C9A2BA0F4E45#Task

OREOs and Close Reading

You might have heard one of the new catch phrases in education... close reading. This a term that refers to your child's ability to read a text at a deeper level. This is a concept that we attempt to teach students by helping them understand that one encounter with a piece of text may not be enough to truly understand the text and the author's intentions.

Today we did a fun and tasty activity that helped illustrate this point. Ask your child what Oreos have to do with how we read!

Have a great night,
Mrs. T.

Scholastic Books

Encouraging reading is one of the most important things we can do to help your child succeed. It can be tough finding the right books to keep them interested, which is why you might want to check into Scholastic Reading Club. 

With Scholastic Reading Club: Every book you buy earns FREE Books for our classroom library. You can choose from handpicked, grade- and reading-level-specific books for your child. You'll find the best values on a variety of formats, including eBooks Each month. Your child also brought home a flyer last week. 

Together you can choose from books hand-selected by teachers and experts, and then order online or by returning your order form and payment to me.  

I'm excited to get our class reading! Thank you for your support!

If This Is Your First Time Ordering Online: VISIT www.scholastic.com/readingclub ENTER the one-time Class Activation Code GW264. SHOP from a carefully curated selection of the best books, value packs, and Storia eBooks. SUBMIT your order and earn FREE Books for our classroom. All book orders will be shipped to our classroom so we can celebrate the joy of reading together!

Orders are due next Wednesday, January 21st.

Thank you in advance for your support and please let me know if you have any questions!
Have a great day!

Mrs. T.

Writers in Action

The kids have been hard at work researching historical topics using books and iPads over the last few weeks. They are now in the process of pulling their research together and creating historical essays. Their enthusiasm over their topics is so exciting!!! I took some pictures today to show some of the kids hard at work! 

Division Help

Next week we will launch another multiplication and division unit. As you know, Everyday Math introduces different strategies that you may not be familiar with at home. To help you and your child with their homework, I including a few videos that may be helpful.

Please remember, while different strategies will be introduced and students will be asked to practice all strategies, they will ultimately be able to pick the strategy that works best for them. I have discovered that this is very helpful!

Partial Quotients Algorithm (1 divisor)

Partial Quotients Algorithm (2 divisor)

Long Division (Traditional)

Long Division with 2 digit divisor (Traditional)



Scientific, Historical, and Technical Text

In Reader's Workshop, we have been studying the many different forms of informational text. We have learned that as readers we learn different kinds of information based on the type of text we are reading. While most informational text we read is historical and scientific, we also read technical text to learn how to do something. This week we used the iPads to read different types of technical texts. Don't be surprised if you child comes home with a recipe for cookies or banana bread. We tried to use the iPads to build and launch space shuttles, but the requirement for flash didn't allow us to access the site. As promised, I told the class I would post the website for them to explore at home. Have fun!

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/RocketScience101/RocketScience101.html

It is good to be back!

It was so great to see the kids back at school even if it is FREEZING outdoors! They all have so much to share with me about what they have been doing over the last few weeks. Their excitement is so wonderful. I enjoyed my time at home with my family as well even if we ended the two weeks with a round of the flu. Thankfully, I believe we are starting to feel better! 

Poster Contest

Each year, the Soil and Water Conservation of Jackson County hosts a poster contest for third and fourth graders. Students will design and create their posters this week and our top three posters will be sent off to be judged by the Soil and Water Conservation department. Each student will be awarded a participation ribbon as well. This is a great project to work on as we get back into the routines and the kids LOVE creating this posters each year. Stay tuned for pictures of our top three posters as judged by a select group of teachers at PB.

Multiplication Timed Tests

As I shared with each of you during conferences, speed and accuracy are important for students when using their multiplication facts. We will begin timed tests today starting with our 10's today. Students will have 2 minutes to complete 60 problems with 90% accuracy. Basically, they can miss up to 5 problems and still pass. Students will remain on the same timed test until they pass. As students progress, they will be tested over their facts in this order: 10's, 2's, 5's, 3's, 4's, 6's, 7's, 8's, 9's, 11's, and 12's. Finally there will be a mixed factor test at the end. All students who pass ALL of their tests will be rewarded in May. The prize will be determined by the students achieving this honor. Hopefully this will inspire some independent study sessions at home. :)

Indoor Recess

Obviously, with the cooler temps this week, we will have indoor recess. Students may bring electronic devices to play on during this time if they have parent permission. If there is a problem with this items being used outside of recess time, they will be sent home and asked to not be brought back.

Grade Cards

Grade cards for second quarter will go home today. Please keep everything in your child's envelope and simply return the signed envelope. As you know, I was gone for a portion of this quarter, but I have tried to share with you as much information about your child's progress besides just their letter grades. Please let me know if you have any questions. 

One of my goals this second half of this year is to be more on top of posting to our blog! Stay tuned for pictures and more updates that have been previously posted this year.

Have a great week,
Mrs. T.