100 Tricky Words

Here is the next set of tricky works.  Did you know how these words are spelled?  These are some of those words:
conscious
courageous
dangerous
definitely
develop
different
disappear
embaress
environment
equipment
especially
exceed
exercise
existence
experience
finally
foreign
fortunately
friend
government
guidance
happened
heard
immediately

Tomas- Events in Order

Today, students will finish their work and understanding of the story, Tomas and the Library Lady.  We will complete a graphic organizer that places the events of the story in order.  You can ask your child how they completed the following events:

• Pages 160-161
  At midnight, the family was headed by car...
• Pages??
  The boys carried water to the field, and when they got hot, they...
• Pages??
  First, the library lady brought Tomas some water. Then she...
• Pages 168-170
  All summer, whenever he could, Tomas...
• Pages??
  In the evenings, Tomas...
• In the future, I predict Tomas...

To build background for this story, students learned about Tomas Rivera, the boy that the story is about.  Tomas grew up to be a well-known author and educator.  You can ask your child what they learned and know about Tomas.

Midwest Unit

On Friday, students will be starting a Social Studies unit with me on the Midwest Region.  These are things they will be learning and that you can discuss with them:

• What are the 12 states in the Midwest Region?
• What are the definitions of ore, livestock, tornado, prairie, blizzard, assembly line, migration, teepee, frontier, agribusiness, reclamation, lake effect, Conestoga wagon, food processing?
• What types of things did pioneers make themselves? 
• Who were the Lakota and what do you know about them?
• What were the Roaring 20's like?
• What crops are grown in the Midwest?
• What is the climate of the Midwest like?

Math

Math Topic 4 is titled "Division Meanings and Facts."  Students have learned the definitions of:

• dividend
• divisor
• quotient
• fact family

The lesson titles are:

• Meanings of Division
• Relating Multipication and Division
• Special Quotients
• Using Multiplication Facts to Find Division Facts
• Problem Solving: Draw a Pciture and Write an Equation

You can practice with your child by writing and solving division story problems.  The test over this topic will be Monday, November 1.

Testing

     This Thursday (28th), students will be taking the math portion of the MAPS test.  Students tested on the reading portion last Wednesday.  This is the first year that 3rd and 4th graders across the district have taken the MAPS test.  MAP stands for Measures of Academic Progress. These are tests that let teachers know what skills and concepts in reading, mathematics, and language students know and what they need to learn.  The test is taken on the computer.  The difficulty of the test will adjust based on how students answer the questions. It will build a test for each individual! 
       In addition to the MAPS math test, students have several other tests coming up.  Students will have a test in Social Studies this week over their maps unit.  There will be a spelling test on Friday.  The Topic 4 math test will be next Monday (Nov. 1st) and the Cumulative test over Topics 1-4 will be next Tuesday (Nov. 2nd).  The following week they will be starting a paragraph assessment.  As with any testing, students should make sure to:

  -Get a good night’s sleep

  -Eat a healthy breakfast

  -Be sure to follow the directions and read the test items carefully

  -Use good test-taking strategies

  -Do your best

Framing Your Thoughts

In Writing (Framing Your Thoughts), we have been working on subject describers.  Subject describers are another name for adjectives.  However, not all adjectives are subject describers.  The different types of subject describers are: looks like/ physical, behavior/ personality, number, ownership, and set-aparts.  So far, we have covered the describers behavior, looks like, and number. 
Examples:
Looks like/ physical: large, oval, yellow, mushy, salty, rotten
Behavior: angry, peppy, stubborn, powerful
Number: several, neither, one, five

You can have your child write a sentence using subject describers or ask them to provide you with examples of each.

Anthology Update

This week, students have begun learning vocabulary and background on the story Tomas and the Library Lady.  It is a about the childhood of Tomas Rivera, who grew up to be a well-known reader and writer.  Along with reading the story, students will be practicing the skills of "making predictions" and "sequencing (putting in order) events."  You can ask your child the definitions of the words: borrow, check out, eager, glaring, lap, and storyteller.  In addition, you could ask them what they have learned about Tomas Rivera.





Guided Reading Update

Here are some things you can discuss with your child regarding the book they are reading in Guided Reading.
Esperanza Rising

• What were some predictions you made as you read the first section?  Were any of your predictions correct?
• What does "make an inference" mean?  Where is a place that you made an inference?
• Summarize what you have read so far (big ideas in own words, in order).

Number the Stars

• What are the meanings of the words: sabotage, rationed, and imperious?
• What does "make connections" and "make predictions" mean?
• Summarize what you have read so far (big ideas in own words, in order).

Holes

• What are the meanings of the words: perserverance, desoltae, preposterous, intensity, engraved, paranoid, evict, and callused?
• What does "monitor understanding" mean?
• Summarize what you have read so far (big ideas in own words, in order).

Bud, Not Buddy

• What were some questions you had as you read the first section?  Were any of them answered?
• What does "visualize" mean?  Where is a place you have visualized?
• Summarize what you have read so far (big ideas in own words, in order).

Social Studies- Learning about Maps!

Right now, my class is doing Social Studies with Ms. Christensen.  They are learning to:

• Understand what a globe represents
• Recognize oceans and continents
• Identify the hemispheres
• Recognize directions
• Identify a compass
• Understand the purpose of map features
• Identify different kinds of maps

Math Topic 3

Our next math test will be Friday, October 22nd in the morning.  This is a half-day of school.  This has been a quick unit over multiplication meanings and facts.  Your child has learned or is learning about the definitions of array, factors, product, multiple, Commutative Proeprty of Multiplication, Zero Property of Multiplication, Identity Property of Multiplication, and Distributve Property.  They are also learning about how to use patterns and skip counting (repeated addition) to solve basic multipilcation facts.  Please help your child succeed by talking to them about their homework, asking them questions about what they are learning in class, AND having them learn/ practice their multipication basic facts.  You can make a set of flash cards or purchase a pack at Wal-Mart for around $1.00.  The following are all the facts a child in 4th grade is expected to know.  You can print this out for your reference.

Anthology Story

This week in Anthology, students are reading a story called By the Shores of Silver Lake.  It is written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and is a part of her series of books that also includes the stories (that you might be familiar with) Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie.  They learned 6 vocabulary words that you can ask the about (the definitions): conductor, platform, jolted, lurched, satchels, and depot.  They will also be learning about steam trains and writing details in the story.

Math Topic 3

Our new math unit is a short one.  We will be testing next Thursday (21st) already.  The topic is called "Multiplication Meanings and Facts."  We will be working on strategies to solve multiplication basic facts.  However, this is not enough time to learn all of them.  Many students have mastered their multiplication basic facts- that's great!  They started learning them in 3rd grade.  Many students have NOT mastered their multiplication basic facts.  Learning these at home is very important.  Please have your child practice flash cards often until they have mastered their facts.  Even if a child has mastered the facts, it is good practice to still review them very once in awhile. 

We have learned these words during this unit- ask your child to define them: array, product, factor, and multiple.

Scholastic Book Order

I believe that one of the best ways to get get better and more interested in reading is to... you guessed it- READ!  Once a month, I send home Scholastic book orders.  There are a wide range of levels and interests to choose from.  They usually have awesome deals on some of the books.  This would be a great way to get books into the hands of your child.  Choosing books you like to read can be very motivating and increase the variety of books you will read later.  

I sent a book order out last Friday.  If there is something within these fliers you would like to order please mark the item appropriately, fill out the order form, and send a check or cash to school with your child for payment.  If you choose to write a check please make it payable to “Scholastic Book Clubs”.  The order is due the following Friday after it is received home.  This week, it is due on Thursday since we don't have school on Friday.

And by the way... I also earn points that help me purchase various materials for the classroom that your child will benefit from. :) 

Tricky Words

Did you know how these words are spelled?  I have a "100 Tricky Words" poster in my room.  These are some of those words:
a lot
absence
achieve
actually
all right
ancient
annually
apparently
appearance
appropriate
approximately
attendance
beautiful
beginning
believe
breathe
built
bury
business
certainly
character
committed
conscience

Conferences are coming up!

Conferences will be held the week of October 12-15.  Parents have received a note with their scheduled time.  Please try to be on time and call ahead of time if you can't make it.  We will work to reschedule.  If at all possible, please bring your child with you to the conference.  We will be setting some academic and behavior goals for the Spring.  If you have questions you'd like to ask, it might help to make a list of those beforehand.  Please note that the computer lab will be open to parents and students to review the math enVisions website during conferences.  Usernames and passwords will be provided if you do not remember them.  Things you can expect to hear at conferences:

• Reading and Math scores for the school year, thus far
• Behaviors
• Planners
• Our website and wikis :)
• I have some handouts to give you.
• Other questoins/ concerns
• If your child sees any other teachers, they might be there as well

See you there!

Guided Reading

I am really trying to "push" students to go beyond what they're used to when it comes to reading.  During Guided Reading, we are reading chapter books, but are spending quite a bit of time on each page.  We are really "dissecting" the material for understanding.  Ask your child to summarize what they have read so far.  Ask them who the characters are and what the problem(s) are.  Hopefully you will be amazed by what they can remember and tell you! :)

Punch Cards

Each students has received a "Pawsitively Punchable" punch card.  During the month of October, every time students gets "caught" doing something positive, they will receive a punch.  When a student fill up a whole card, Mrs. Vopava will be notified and will send a postcard home to you, the parents!  Filled cards will also be displayed in our hallway.  At Fisher, we want to focus on the positive things kids are doing to encourage them to continue on with positive behavior!  You can talk to your child about how receiving a punch makes them feel and what their plan is to keep doing positive things! :) 

Math Test

The next math test will be this coming Friday, October 8.  Many students realized on the first test that they made silly mistakes.  Most of our math tests are around 12 questions.  Every question missed is a large percentage off of their final test grade.  Our math tests are not timed so students have as much time as they need to work out the problems and look over their work.  Please talk with your child about taking their time and doing a good job.  We will have 13 math units this year so we will be moving pretty quickly through each unit. 

Framing Your Thoughts

In Framing Your Thoughts (Writing Curriculum) we have learned/reviewed:
-A sentence is framed with a capital letter and ends with a stop sign (period, question mark, exclamation point).
-A subject names the person, place, thing, or idea that the whole sentence is focusing in on. 
-A compound subject is two subjects joined with a connector ("and"); A series subject has 3 or more subjects and is joined with commas and a connector.
-An action predicate tells the action of the subject.
-A compound predicate is two predicates joined with a connector; A series predicate has 3 or more predicates and is joined with commas and a connector.
-Examples of substitute namers are I, he, she, we, they, who you, and it.
-There are 4 predicate expanders: where, how, when, and why.  They tell more information about the predicate.

Ask your child to write you a sentence (and frame it) using some of these components.