Grade 4

MAP Testing started this week. The kids are doing a great job. They are focused and doing their best work. My advice is to remind your child that this is only one data point. Many students get stressed out about the test. We let them know that they are doing great because they are dong the best they can!

Many acts of kindness and care are witnessed daily. Encourage your child to continue to use kindness as a guide in making choices.

This week in academics:

Writing: Focus continues on Narrative stories. We will begin a final draft on the computer after MAP is finished.

Math: Chapter One is coming to a close.  They will have one more check point before we move on to Chapter 2.

Reading: Students have read many small pieces about Hispanic Americans. This will continue along with Achieve.

Religion: Students have begun learning the Hail Mary in Spanish for Senora Blanca. Volunteers lead us in class. Remind your child to do kind acts during the week!

Social Studies: We have our Washington Stamp Posters on display. We will delve further in to the Washington Adventure book.

 

Items to note:

Monday and Wednesday Morning MAP Testing

Sunday, October 6 Hip Hop and Lobster Endowment Dinner

 

The students had a great time at the Jog-a-Thon!  Fourth graders had a chance to run with preschool buddies in the morning and then do the “Big Loop” in the afternoon.  What a fun and active day!

This week the students will start the MAP Test. The school was able to move our test date up to begin Wednesday morning. This is great news, because now the students will have a built in make up day! Fourth grade MAP Test dates are now  Reading Wednesday, Septeber25,  Language Use Friday,  September 27, Math Monday, September 30 and Science Wednesday, October 2.  Friday, October 4 will be a make up day.

This week for the curriculum:

Reading: Students will compare and contrast two Hispanic American leaders using a Venn Diagram. The use of Achieve will continue at school and the kids are expected to do at least one article at home in addition to our class work.

Math: Chapter One test will happen Tuesday. The test will review the concepts of rounding, addition, place value and numbers in expanded, written and standard form.  Over the next two weeks we will focus on multiplication practice using a variety of games, songs and flash cards. We will begin Chapter 2 after MAP Testing

Social Studies: Students created Washington State Stamps highlighting important facts about our state.  These will be shared this week and come home to you Friday. We will use the Washington State History book as our guide for learning more about Washington.

Religion: We pray daily and the kids have shown a great amount of respect during contemplation. Students will learn about the Fruits of the Holy Spirit this week.

Writing/Grammar: Personal Narrative writing will be our focus the next few weeks. We analyze example writing as students work on their own masterpieces.  Grammar in class will focus on Relative Pronouns and Relative Adverbs. We also continue to discuss sentence structure: simple, compound and complex.

I am really enjoying getting to know the students!  They are a sweet and fun group of kids!

Best,

Annie Martin

The students are settling into fourth grade beautifully!  I hope that curriculum night answered many of your questions about what to look forward to this year. I will strive to update my teacher page every Sunday and will send you a link weekly.

The curriculum this week:

Math: We began Chapter One! Place value, addition and subtraction to one million is the focus. Be on the look out for nightly math homework.

Reading: It is Hispanic Heritage Month. We will be reading about the contributions of famous Hispanic Americans. Students will be doing Achieve 3000 regularly beginning this week.

Religion: Students learned about the Cardinal Virtues. This week we will discuss Fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Writing: A unit on Personal Narrative writing is beginning this week. Most of the work will be done in class, but your child may want to do some typing at home.

Social Studies: The Washington Adventure book will be introduced to the class this week. We will read some of the information as a class and begin a project in school.

Items to note:

Jog-a-Thon this Friday! Students have free dress this Friday for the event.

Welcome to your new adventure of Fourth Grade learning. Together students, parents and teachers will share, question, wonder and grow!

Fourth Grade is a fun and exciting year. Students learn many new skills and concepts. Fourth graders read a lot of non fiction, write interesting essays, make scientific discoveries and deeply explore  spirituality.  This is a year of academic, emotional and social growth. It is exciting that our school theme this year is “Be Kind”. This theme will greatly benefit the students in their development in all areas of life!

 

A  few reason why kindness is important for kids to learn and practice at school and home

Kindness is a path to feeling good about yourself, others, and the world around you. As Mr. Rogers taught us, when a child does a kind act they discover something special about themselves.  Science has shown that acts of kindness, big or small, make the giver, and even lucky bystanders, happier. When we teach a child how to do a kind act, we are giving them a powerful tool both for personal well-being and to make a measurable impact on the world around them. – Kindlab (where kindness meets science)

It’s proven that kindness and giving act like a natural anti-depressant because they release serotonin in the brain. Serotonin plays an important part in learning, memory, mood, sleep, health and digestion. It provides children (and adults) with a heightened sense of well-being, increases energy and gives wonderful feelings of positivity and self worth. – Ripple kindness project

 Kind words are like honey— they cheer you up and make you feel strong. -Proverbs 16:24