Week of August 27th

Hi Families! It has been a great start to the new school year! I am so enjoying your cuties! They are a super group of kids! I wanted to let you know what we will be studying next week. :)

Reading: We will begin a unit on The Mouse and the Motorcycle.  It is a great 4th grade story!  The children will be doing comprehension checks after each chapter.  We will also work on the skills of visualizing and predicting. 

I will send home a 100 minute reading chart each week.  This is not a requirement, but I encourage it.  Research has shown that children who read, or are read to at home have larger vocabularies and are usually more successful in school. We will keep track of minutes read by read beads.  For every 20 minutes your child reads, he/she will get to add a bead.  When 15 beads are earned, your child will earn a prize. :)

Spelling: We will be looking at consonant blends this week.  It is List 1 on spellingcity.com if your child wants to practice at home.  I will send home a list on Monday.  This list will have 20 words.  Two of the words will be special words.  One word will be the school word of the week, and another word will be our class word of the week.  If your child knows and writes the definitions of the special words, he/she will earn 5 extra points.  We will also be memorizing quotes every week for at least the first semester.  If your child memorizes it and writes on the bottom of his/her spelling test, he/she will get a sticker on a sticker chart.  After 5 stickers, he/she will get a treat. :) Memorizing is good exercise for the brain!  Test 1 will be on Thursdays and if an A is made, then your child will be able to skip Test 2 on Friday. :)  If you have a great speller and want more challenging words, we will be starting enriched spelling in a few weeks. Enrichment spelling is optional and not for a grade.  I do give rewards for it.  I will let you know when we start this.

English: Nouns, Journal Writing

Math: Place Value.......The children will be studying place value to the millions place.  We will work on expanded form, written form, as well as standard.  They will be determining the value of  a digit in a number and work on saying a large number correctly.

Social Studies: We will begin a Map Unit.  This week we will be looking at directions, scale, boundaries, and hemispheres.

Science: We will begin a unit on habitats and animals this week.  We will be reading nonfiction passages working on comprehension as we learn about 4 habitats this week.

Quote of the week: Everyone makes mistakes, that's why pencils have erasers. Anonymous

Don't forget your important information paperwork, as well as the permission slip (signed yes or no) about your child's picture being on our class blog or class Facebook page. 

Don't forget to "Friend" our class Facebook page under Gina Corderman's Class.

I am sending home a note I would love for you to fill out about your child, so that I may better understand your child.  Please take the time to fill that out and send it to school.  Thanks so much!

Is anyone available to come once a week for about 30 minutes to copy for me?  Please let me know if you can.

Thanks for sharing your beautiful children with me! I know it is going to be a great year!!