This is always a very fun time of year, as we wrap our academic endeavors and celebrate our growth and success. Here's what is coming up this week and the next:
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Reminders and Upcoming Events:
Here are a few reminders:
Students have done a fantastic job of staying focused during the time of year when we do a lot of testing and also ask students to complete "final" assignments for their work samples. Except for a few lingering assignments students are finished with SBAC testing, STAR tests and their math, writing, science and speaking work samples. Work sample grades and STAR grades will be sent home to you by Hoover. SBAC grades will also be sent to your home sometime this summer. Oregon Trail Students are cruising on the Oregon Trail! And by that I mean moving a few centimeters a day. Currently it is May 1, 1844 in our Oregon Trail world and students have recently passed Fort Kearney. They will be passing chimney rock tomorrow. As we move along we read about the land marks we are passing, experience the fates the emigrants experienced and write journal entries about our experiences. Writing We have finished our opinion writing unit. Look for students to bring home some awesome persuasive essays this week. We are beginning a unit on Poetry. Important reminders and upcoming events:
This week in reading students will be demonstrating their speaking skills with their their final current events presentation. They will be practicing listening to their peers as they take notes on other presentations. Oregon Trail A big focus this week will be our movement on the Oregon Trail! Students began to move on the trail on Friday and Monday will be their 2nd day on the trail. Students move on the trail by earning points by writing thoughtful journal entries about their Oregon Trail experience and by completing cooperative activities with their wagon train. Science In science this week students are completing their work sample by analyzing and drawing conclusions from the data they have collected on their plants' growth over the last three weeks. Writing At the beginning of this week students are completing their opinion essays if they have not already. Then we will move to our poetry unit. Classroom and school updates:
Testing Update This week we have SBAC math CAT testing Wednesday May 17th and Thursday May 18th. We test at 8:20 in the morning. I am inviting students to come to class 10 minutes early (at 8:00) on Wednesday and Thursday so we can all feel and get ready for the day before we leave for testing. Also, we have traditionally run the track before going to testing and I would love to give students the opportunity to do this even though our testing is early. If there is a parent, or two, available to supervise track running from 8:10 to 8:20ish, as other students are arriving please let me know. It would be a great help. Next week we take Math Performance Task. Students will take their Math STAR test in their math class. This may happen this next week or anytime during May. Their teacher will be sure to schedule the test on a day when no students have SBAC testing. Check with your student's individual math teacher. Reading In reading this week we continue with our study of Non-Fiction Narrative. We will be reading a book called In My Own Backyard by Judi Kurjian. Students will practice making inferences about the text, summarizing the text and discussing their opinion of the text. We will review summarizing, setting and point of view this week. Also, students are working on their final current events presentation for the year. Students will present these the week of May 22nd. As usual, students do have class time to work on these and they can also get some help with them at home. Student’s presentations should reflect the growth they have made this year as presenters. Writing This week students are working on drafting, revising, editing and publishing their persuasive essays! Science This week in science students will finish collecting the data for their science work sample and begin the write up of their results and conclusion. Oregon Trail Last week students got to see a real Prairie Schooner (type of wagon used on the Oregon Trail) but they also got their own "wagons" and joined up with a wagon train. Students had a lot of fun developing their identities, but they also explored the names and lives of real people who chose to take on the difficult journey across the country . This week they will start facing the trials as well as celebrating successes as they begin a simulated journey on the Oregon Trail. This week they will gather supplies, write in their journey, and travel their first miles! Thank you so much for an amazing week of Teacher Appreciation. I have felt so lucky all year to work with such amazing students and families, and you made me feel even more appreciated this past week. Thank you all for all you do at home to send students who are ready to learn, as well as kind and thoughtful young people. I enjoy working with them everyday!
Classroom and school updates:
For the next week we do not have further SBAC testing. In the third week of May we will take the Math CAT test (17th and 18th) and in the 4th week we will take the Math Performance Task. Students will take their Math STAR test in their math class. This may happen this next week or anytime during May. Their teacher will be sure to schedule the test on a day when no students have SBAC testing. Check with your student's individual math teacher. Reading In reading this week we continue with our study of Non-Fiction Narrative. This week we will read about Amelia Earhart. Students will practice making inferences about the text, summarizing the text and discussing their opinion of the text. Also, students are working on their final current events presentation for the year. Students will present these the week of May 22nd. As usual, students do have class time to work on these and they can also get some help with them at home. Students presentations should reflect the growth they have made this year as presenters. Science Students continue to collect data for their science work sample/inquiry. Additionally this week we began our study of energy. We made wind-up cars which we will test this week on our race track. Oregon Trail This week we continue with our study of the Oregon Trail. We will be ready to begin our simulation experience after our field trip next week. I am happy to see that May has ushered in some nice weather and it is ushering in many exciting classroom and school wide events.
Testing Update As a class almost everyone is finished the ELA Performance Task. We received a big compliment about our testing skills from Mrs. Patton, our testing coordinator. She said that all students were taking their time, reading directions carefully and clearly working hard to do their best! For the next two weeks we do not have further SBAC testing. In the third week of May we will take the Math CAT test and in the 4th week we will take the Math Performance Task. However, this week and next week we will take our final STAR screening tests for the year. Remember these tests are more for our internal use as a school to make sure that students continue to grow in reading and math. This Thursday, May 4th, we will take STAR Reading in the morning and next week we will take STAR math. Reading This week in reading we will be beginning a new unit in which we will read a variety of interesting texts, primarily Narrative Non-Fiction, to review many of the reading skills we have learned throughout the year. Particularly it will focus on making inferences, identifying important ideas and supporting details, forming and giving opinions about a text and summarizing. This week we will be reading Flight, by Robert Burleigh, which tells the story of Charles Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic. This will give us an opportunity to discuss first and second hand accounts of events. Writing This week we continue with out persuasive essay unit. Students will begin drafting a persuasive essay by identifying a clear opinion and strong supporting reasons for their opinion. Science Students began their science inquiry projects last week with an investigation of bulbs. By Friday most students had formed inquiry questions, chosen what variable they will be testing and many have planted their bulbs and are beginning their experiment. Oregon Trail This week we continue with our study of the Oregon Trail. We will be ready to begin our simulation experience after our field trip next week. Testing this week:
Students will take the ELA PT Tuesday April 25th, Wednesday 26th, and Thursday 27th, from 10:30 to 11:30 with more days available for any student who needs more time. These tests are not timed and I encourage students to take their time and do their best. Students should get a good night sleeps and eat a good breakfast and snack before the test. Please let me know if one of these things doesn't happen and we can always decide on a better day for your student to test. Last week we discussed, previewed and practiced the format of this test. You can always look at the test at home too. Reading Last week students handed in their book commercials. This week we will have an opportunity to view each others commercial, but most days our reading block will be used for testing. Writing We move forward with opinion writing this week. Students have gotten very excited about the different opinions they feel strongly about! Social Studies Our Oregon trail unit began last week and we continue learning about the landmarks and hazards of the trail this week. Science This week students will begin their individual science inquiry project. The overall topic of the inquiry is plant structures and functions and we will be looking particularly at bulbs. This week we will begin with an introduction and exploration of bulbs and then students will begin to plan their inquiry. I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weekend. Looks like we're back for another rainy week. But we can look forward to those May flowers. Thank you to everyone who visited during our celebration of learning! It was very exciting to hear students share about their work and to hear all the thoughtful questions that parents asked. The students all work very hard, so it is awesome to have an opportunity to show off the results of that hard work. If you have not yet turned in the bright green registration form or the permission slip for our field trip on May 11th please make sure to do so ASAP! A note about iPads: Your students' iPad is a treasure trove of work they have completed in class. Students can show you the assignments they have turned in on google classroom by clicking on the assignment. Once I have graded the assignment they can show you the grade too. They can show you presentations they have made in Google Slides, writing pieces in Docs and Pages and videos in Educreations and iMovie. Please ask and take a look! SBAC Testing Update: ELA CAT All students have completed this test! English Language Arts Performance Task (ELA PT) This week we will practice for the ELA PT in class. This test is the most writing intensive test, in which students read three articles, answer three short answer questions and write an essay-like response to a prompt. Going through the different sections in class, practice navigating the sources, working on note taking techniques and discussing what the final product should look like will prepare students to take the test the following week. Students will take the ELA PT April 25th, 26th, and 27th, with more days available for any student who needs more time. These tests are not timed and I encourage students to take their time and do their best. Health This week begins our 4th grade health curriculum, which focuses on the changing body, mind and emotions during puberty. The letter that was previously sent home about this curriculum is included here. Students will bring homework for these lessons home most nights this week. They will need a trusted adult to complete the homework with, since it is mostly interactive homework. Health will be taking place during our normal literacy block time.
Writing
We are beginning a new writing unit on opinion writing. I think of this as the essay writing unit. Students will choose an idea, like a thesis, to defend in their writing and we will work on the 5 paragraph format of introducing the idea, defending it and drawing the piece to a poignant conclusion. In the past I have seen students write the most passionately in this unit as they expound upon points of views and ideas. they truly believe in and care about. Oregon Trail You may have noticed at our celebration of learning that we have been studying the movement West in the United States. Our "pockets" were meant to introduce students to the concept of Westward movement and now we will be digging in deep to the Oregon Trail. We will begin with some introductory lessons that give students necessary background information before launching into a dramatic simulation game of the pioneers' journey West. Finally, I will be out on Friday at an all day mandatory training. Celebration of Learning:
Our celebration of learning event is this Thursday, April 13th. The following is the letter I sent home on Tuesday, which gives you directions to sign up for a time to come in: You all received an email before spring break entitled: “Hoover Spring Celebration/Conferences April 12 - 14”. This email included all the vital information necessary to understanding how spring conferences will run this year. Here is how it will specifically work in Room 14. Wednesday April 12th
Thursday April 13th Student-led conference day! This is how we are scheduling this day in Room 14:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gfE9QsEx2vzfQstMWJ5yic5wU2DDlkNcMDQ0rHolE4U/edit?usp=sharing
Friday April 14th Teacher prep day. Let me know if you have any questions about conferences! I am excited to see you all and celebrate the learning that has occurred so far this year! Other Updates:
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