On Wednesday, the fourth graders will head to Silver Lake to work with the 6th graders. We have a fun filled morning including: sharing our writing pieces in small groups, a tour of the school, and an egg hunt. The fourth graders will even be able to see the fifth grade classrooms that will become their new home away from home next year!

Since we will be there for the majority of the morning, we thought it would be nice to enjoy our snack with the 6th graders. Our class is responsible for bringing in pretzels for this event. Please let me know if you would be willing to donate a bag of pretzels for our trip on Wednesday.

I have been doing a bit of reorganizing in our classroom and I have noticed that many of our beloved classroom books are missing. We are missing some books from our favorite series like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Lightning Thief, and Hatchet, just to name a few. If you happen to do a little spring cleaning around the house and find them please return them. Thank you! :)


Important Dates:
WI Program: Tuesday, April 15th at 2:00pm
No School: Friday, April 18th
Spring Break: April 18th - 27th
Science Field Trip: Monday, April 28th. Arrive to school by 8:10!

Important Information!

I'm Baaaaaaack! :) Thank you for your continued support and patience while I was away on my
maternity leave. I thought about our class frequently and missed their smiling faces. Here is a picture of my peanut in her first Brewer's outfit, despite her Father's wishes of Cubs apparel...

 

We have numerous important events coming up:

WI Program:

All students need to have their costume brought to school in a bag, labeled with their name on, it by this Friday. If you have questions regarding costumes please let me know. Also, all girls need to bring in a dish rag that will be used as a prop during one of our songs.

The Wisconsin Program is at 2:00 on Tuesday, April 15th. Thank you for your help at home to memorize parts and prepare costumes.

Science Trip:

The Monday after spring break, April 28th, we are attending a new field trip to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center. Thank you for turning in the permission slips promptly. If you have not paid online yet please do so as soon as possible.

We are also able to take two parent volunteers with us. If you are interested in coming with us please let me know. I will be taking volunteers on a first come first serve basis. The cost for adults to attend the trip is $10.

The most important piece of information about this trip: Students need to be to school no later than 8:10am on Monday, April 28th.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Week of January 13th

A few more great pictures from our Capitol Field Trip

 

 

 

 

Word Study -

 

We will try again this week to get back to our word study routine. Nightly homework is to be completed in their green notebooks. Their nightly assignments should be stapled to the front cover of their notebook.  Notebooks are due to school on Thursday with a "Spell Check" on Friday! Please remind them to study their No Excuse words nightly too!

 

MAPS testing -

 

It is that time a year again for our second round of MAPS testing. Our class will test on Friday the 17th and the 24th from 11-12. Please help remind your child to have a big breakfast and bring a healthy and fulfilling snack. Thank you for your support at home!

 

Math-

 

Students have now learned two methods for solving multi-digit multiplication, partial product, and the traditional/standard method. They are free to use whichever method they find the most success with.  Please see the link from the last post on how to solve problems using the partial product method. The traditional/standard method I have been calling the "old school" method as I told them this is how your parents and I learned how to solve these problems. :) They seem to think its funny.... If you have any questions about either method please let me know.

 

 

Week of January 7th

Just a few updates as we get started with the New Year:

Math:
You may be wondering "What in the world is partial product multiplication." This is one method we use to help students learn how to solve multi-digit multiplication problems. We spent the past two days learning how to solve problems this way. Many students thought it was fun! Below is a link of a brave teacher who put herself on youtube showing the method. The way I taught the students is very similar. One thing that she did that I did not do was have them write the equations on the side, however this could be helpful for some students. Next week, students will learn how to solve these types of problems using the traditional method. The idea of teaching them several methods is that students can then use the strategy they find they are the most comfortable and successful with.

How to solve problems using partial products

 

Reading:

Reading expectations have now jumped from 25 minutes to 30 minutes. Many students are already reading beyond this requirement which is great! Keep the pages turning!

 

 

School Supplies:

Many students are running low on essential school supplies such as pencils, erasers, dry erase markers, etc. Students came home with a supply list on Thursday with highlighted items that they need replenished. Thank you for your help with restocking, it will help make the rest of the year go by smoothly.

 

 

Next week we will get back to our normal schedule. Look for students to come home with their new word study sorts, typical math and reading homework.  

 

 

Holiday Break

We had a great trip to the Capitol and Historical Museum. Here are a few pictures from our day:

 

 

 

 

 

 
- Students were sent home with a reading log to earn a FREE ticket for Six Flags. See form for specific details and the mid February due date. Students should continue to write their reading in their school reading log if they are choosing to participate in this program.

 Homework over break:

Reading over break should include a minimum of three days for 25 minutes. All students left school on Friday with a goal for their historical fiction book club and jotting assignments.

Math fact logs will still be collected on Friday, January 3rd. I will be looking for 30 minutes of fact practice.

 

Thank you very much for the thoughtful baby shower gifts. I was so surprised by all of the wonderful books with sweet messages from the students. I had so much fun organizing the books in our little girls room.

Week of December 16th

 

Watch for math tests to come home early next week. Please be sure to sign the sticker in your child's assignment notebook stating that you saw and discussed your test with your child. Unit math tests do not need to be returned back to school.

Field trip on Wednesday!

We will be heading to Madison around 8:50 and returning back to school around 2:30. Please be sure your child brings a lunch in which everything can be thrown away. Since it is a longer drive, students are allowed to bring electronics on the bus. Please use your discretion if you would like your child to bring a device or not. Please know that ALL devices will be left on the bus while we are touring the Capitol and Historical Museum.



Maternity Leave

Mrs. Nancy Loth will be joining our class during my maternity leave. She has worked in our building last year and this year as our math interventionist. She started this school year as a long term sub at Nature Hill. I am excited and confident  to have Mrs. Loth her working in our classroom while I am gone. She is a wonderful colleague and educator. Mrs. Loth will join our class on Monday and Tuesday of this week to get to know the students and our classroom procedures. My plan is to continue to be with the class until my due date of  January 14th and return the beginning of April. Kevin and I are excited to for this next chapter in our lives and are looking forward to meeting our little bundle of joy soon! It is going to be so hard for me to take a step away from "my kids" however, know that Mrs. Loth and I will do everything possible to make this a seamless transition.

Week of December 9th

 

Monday we will start our new reading unit, historical fiction. I am very excited about this unit as we will be reading aloud one of my favorite books, Number the Stars.

During this unit, everyone in class will be reading books from this genre and participating in book clubs. Students will start out reading independently and then will quickly transition into book clubs.  As they read these books, they will be discussing them with their partners or small group. For this reason, it is important that they read the amount their partnership/group decides each day. They should also write down thoughts in their reader’s notebook or on post-it notes to make their conversations more meaningful. We are discouraging students from reading other books unless they are finished with their historical fiction book assignment. Please take the time, especially as we begin to launch these book clubs, to ask your child if they are caught up with their  book and have flagged their thinking, a minimum of 3 to 4 jottings each night. 


In order to make have enough books for successful book clubs, we have to borrow many copies from other libraries.  Students will "checkout" these books with their classroom teacher and are responsible for them.  If the book fails to come back or is damaged, it will be the students responsibility to replace the book or pay the fine.  This way, we can continue borrowing titles from other schools for many years to come.

Language and actions in our books often directly and accurately mimics true historical time periods.  We will be having a conversation about being mature readers and asking questions for clarification if necessary.  If these questions arise at home, please view this as a teaching moment.  History is not always appropriate but valuable and should be apart of our students' lives!  Let me know if you have further questions or would like to preview some of the titles.

 On Thursday your child brought home a book order. It is due on Wednesday, December 11th. I am hopeful that the books will be here before the long holiday break. If you would like to order the books as a gift for your child, please let me know and I can keep them for a time that would work for you to pick them up.

 
 

On Thursday, December 12th, students will take their unit 4 math test. This test will cover solving open number sentences, reading and writing decimals to the hundredths place, locating decimals on a number line, and ordering decimals. We will begin our review for the test on Monday. Thank you for your support at home to help your child prepare for this test.

Friendly Reminder: German Star money and shoeboxes are due on Monday! The $2.50 is used to help purchase paper, wax, and glitter. We will start to making our stars on Thursday!