The Weekly Update #2

Dear Families,

Thank you to everyone for sending in foam boards and sharing with the class. We had plenty and were able to start our Colorado mapping project. Note: On Monday and Tuesday we will be painting in class. The paint is "washable". However, I know from experience that the orange and red need extra effort to actually wash out the kid's clothing. Please have your child wear clothes that are okay to paint in, thank you.

The great thing about August is every week we are able to do so much more than we did the previous week.

Reminders:

Homework: .

Reading packets will be given on Friday beginning Sept 11th, due the following Friday.

Independent Reading: Students should read at least 60 minutes a week. Math homework practice will also begin in September. If a student is late or forgets the homework, please encourage him/her to turn it in. I DO accept late work.

Here is a brief look at our upcoming learning targets and what we did this past week:

Learning Targets:

I can read fluently and comprehend nonfiction texts.

I can share information orally in front of an audience.

I can write in complete sentences consistently.

I can accurately add, subtract, multiply and apply place value.

I can learn about places and features of Colorado.

Social Skills: Every week students have a social skills lesson. This week students learned about a growth mindset vs a fixed mindset. Here is a quick video about this concept if you would like to know more about it too.

Reading: This week students worked in groups reading about the regions of Colorado from our history text. Each group highlighted information from one region and then presented their findings in a poster to the class. We also did some baseline fluency assessments. Next week we will continue with baseline reading assessments, including iReady testing.

Writing: Students worked on writing activities in groups and independently. We also completed our beginning of the year assessments in writing. Next week we will begin grammar and more structured writing.

Math: Students reviewed some basic facts while playing some fun Bingo games. We also started our first lesson in Envision on place value. Next week we will take our baseline iReady math tests.

Note: Students need to know their multiplication facts. In 4th grade one of our first units is on multiplication with multiple digits. It is very hard if a student does not already know his/her basic facts. So please practice these at home, it will really help your child build confidence in math.

Social Studies: Students did some fantastic map work this week. They created rough drafts of our Colorado map on paper. We included borders, regions, rivers, cities, plateaus and mountains. We will continue this work next week building our Colorado foam map.

It was a good first full week. We made some good progress in understanding expectations about being in fourth grade, learning together, and making friends.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend,

Hope Crawley

Reminders:

Sept 2: Fun Run

Sept 7: No School: Labor Day

Sept 9-10: Picture Days