Sunday, August 26, 2018

Week 4

Dear 4th Grade Parents,

It was great seeing those of you who were able to make it to Curriculum Night. We  hope you were able to get a nice overview of the year ahead! Here is a look at the upcoming events and the week ahead!

Calling All Volunteers!
Volunteer Training Night:  Thursday, August 30th  6-7:30 PM

Please join us for an evening of information and training.  Our night will focus on school wide opportunities as well as grade level specific reading and math group training.  We are looking for volunteers to consistently partner with us this year.  Our goal is for each classroom to host volunteers weekly as we embark on strengthening our reading and math differentiation in the classroom.
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Important Dates:
  • August 30th, August 31st, and September 4th MAP testing
  • August 30th Volunteer Training
  • September 4th, Spalding and Singapore Night 6:30-7:30

Academics this week:

Language Arts:

  • Spalding: Please continue to study the phonograms in Spalding . We will have the first Spelling test on Friday.

  • Writing/Grammar: This week, students will be writing a paragraph based on informational text in class with the help of a partner. They will discuss highlighting strategies and how to find similarities between details in an informational text.

  • Literature: As we continue reading Pollyanna, our skill focus is in-depth description of characters, setting, and events. Students will read and visualize examples of vivid description, recognizing its effect on the scene’s mood, then write their own descriptions. Our idiom of the week is “as the crow flies.”

Math: In math, we have finished discussing factors and multiples, though we will continue to circle back to these topics throughout the year. We will learn how to solve equations using the order of operations. On Wednesday, we will review the material we have learned so far this year, and the class will take a unit test (covering factors, multiples, prime and composite numbers, and order of operations) on Friday. We will not have math on Thursday, due to MAP testing.

History: This week students will work on small group project that allows them to create their own barbarian tribe with laws, strengths and weaknesses. Students will begin learning about monks, religion and the role they played in the Middle Ages.

Science: We will learn about the different boundaries and begin preparing for the first test in geology. The study guide will be passed out on Monday and the test will be on Tuesday, Sept. 4th.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

4th Grade Team

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Week 3

Dear 4th Grade Parents,

We are excited for another great week and we look forward to seeing you at Curriculum Night on Tuesday!

Calling All Volunteers!
Volunteer Training Night:  Thursday, August 30th  6-7:30 PM

Please join us for an evening of information and training.  Our night will focus on school wide opportunities as well as grade level specific reading and math group training.  We are looking for volunteers to consistently partner with us this year.  Our goal is for each classroom to host volunteers weekly as we embark on strengthening our reading and math differentiation in the classroom.
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Important Dates:
  • August 21st,  Student Picture Day
  • August 21st Curriculum Night Grades 3-5 (6:00 -7:30pm)
    • 6:00-6:40 (Grouped by last name) Letters A-L start in child’s classroom, M-Z in MPR
    • 6:40-6:50 Transition
    • 6:50-7:30 A-L in the MPR, M-Z in child’s classroom
  • August 30th Volunteer Training
  • September 4th, Spalding and Singapore Night 6:30-7:30

Academics this week:

Language Arts:

  • Spalding: Please continue to study the phonograms. We will begin quizzing the students on these this week. We will finish setting up the Spalding notebook and by the end of the week start learning the spelling words.

  • Writing/Grammar: This  week  in  Grammar  and  Writing,  we  will  continue to  focus  on  building  strong  paragraphs. We  will  also  be  discussing  transition  words  and  complex sentences.   

  • Literature: In literature this week, we will continue reading the novel Pollyanna, and practice identifying and understanding characterization. We will also begin learning how to read and analyze informational texts. Our idiom of the week is “Birds of a feather flock together.”

Math: This week in math, we will go in depth in our study of factors and multiples. These key topics will continue to come up as we learn about fractions later in the year. We will also discuss using the order of operations when evaluating expressions and solving equations. The unit test covering factors, multiples, and order of operations will be next week.

History: We will continue our study of the Middle Ages. We will discuss cause and effect in relation to the collapse of the Roman Empire. Students will learn the relationship between cause and effect as well as the influence of barbarian tribes on Rome.

Science: This week in science we will learn about Continental Drift Theory, Plate Tectonics, and Convection Currents. This will lay down a good foundation for the geological events that we learn about later.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

4th Grade Team


Sunday, August 12, 2018

Week 2

Dear 4th Grade Parents,
We hope everyone had a nice and restful weekend! It is hard to believe we are already heading into our second full week of school. We are thrilled to have such a great group of young scholars and are looking forward to the year ahead!
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Important Dates:
  • August 13th , First day of hot lunches
  • August 21st,  Student Picture Day
  • August 21st Curriculum Night Grades 3-5 (6:00 -7:30pm)
  • September 4th, Spalding and Singapore Night 6:30-7:30

Academics this week:

Language Arts:
  • Spalding: We will finish reviewing cursive letters and start setting up the Spalding notebook. It is important for your child to continue practicing their handwriting and phonograms.

  • Writing/Grammar: Students will learn to identify prepositions and types of sentences. They will also be focusing on writing strong detailed paragraphs.
  • Literature: This week, we are delighted to continue reading Pollyanna. Students will focus on the literary skills of characterization and finding details in the text to support their thinking. Students will also try out the main character’s favorite game, “The Glad Game!”
    Math: We will be focusing on rounding and place value this week. We will have our unit test on Thursday 8/16. Students will be reviewing for the test in class and for homework.

History: We will begin our Middle Ages unit this week. Students will learn about Geography of Europe and how the mountains and rivers played an important role as barriers. We will finish the week with a focus on the fall of Rome and the beginning of the “Dark Ages.”

Science: We begin our unit on geology is science, this week. We will learn about and make a model of the four main layers of Earth. Then, we will discuss Continental Drift Theory.
We will be using the play-dough this week, so if it is still at home, please make sure it is brought in on Monday.


Have a great week!

Sincerely,

4th Grade Team

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Week 1

Dear 4th Grade Parents,

Welcome to the first full week of school and the 4th grade blog! We enjoyed the first two days, and getting to know our classes. We are looking forward to a very exciting and fun filled year. This year Archway Lincoln is focusing on the virtue of integrity. We encourage you to partner with us to promote and discuss this virtue.

Integrity: We are individuals of strong ethical values, who make consistently good choices in keeping with our knowledge of right and wrong. We seek the wisdom of others in cases of moral uncertainty.
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Important Dates:
  • August 8th, First day of Afterschool Clubs
  • August 10th,  Club Registration DEADLINE – Club Portals close end of day
  • August 13th , First day of hot lunches
  • August 21st,  Student Picture Day
  • August 21st Curriculum Night Grades 3-5 (6:00 -7:30pm)
  • September 4th, Spalding Night 6:30-7:30
Academics this week

As we begin our academic lessons this week it is important that students have their proper supplies. The supply list can be found here: http://archwaylincoln.greatheartsacademies.org/academics/booksupply-list/

Language Arts:
  • Spalding: We will begin setting up the Spalding notebook and doing review of phonograms. Please begin to practice these with your child 5 minutes each night. If you are new to Spalding, please make sure you have the phonogram cards and ask your child to show you how we review them in class. There will be a Spalding Night on Tuesday, September 4th from 6:30-7:30 that we recommend you attend.
  • Writing/Grammar: This week, we will be working on reviewing grammatical skills from previous years. We will also be working on revising sentences to produce strong, descriptive sentences.
  • Literature: This week in literature, we will be starting our first novel, Pollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter, and setting up our literature notebooks. We will also begin studying key elements of poetry through the poem Dreams, by Langston Hughes. Students will create a “Book of Idioms,” and learn our first idiom of the year, “Through thick and thin.”

Math: This week in math, we will discuss place value. Students will practice writing numbers in expanded form and review the relationships between place values. This is a key unit in 4th grade math, as we refer back to place value quite a bit when discussing the four operations of numbers, decimals, and measurement.

History: We will focus on what historians do, and the methods they use for research. We will learn about primary sources, secondary sources and point of view. Students will learn how to question a source and refer back to the source as evidence. These skills provide a solid foundation for our history lessons throughout the year and encourage students to think deeper about topics.

Science: In science, we will begin learning about the scientific method by doing some experiments and hand motions.


Have a great week!

Sincerely,
4th Grade Team

Dear 4th Grade Parents, We made it! We have reached the final week of school. We are all so thankful for the support we have received th...