A Spooktacular Party!

What's Happening in Room 30....

Important Announcements:

• Our Halloween festivities begin at 1:30 on Monday with a school-wide costume parade.  Following the parade, we will have our classroom party at 2:00.  Feel free to stop by for the parade and/or party!
• Our upcoming field trip to Busch Stadium is scheduled for November 10th.  If your child has not returned the permission slip, please do so at your earliest convenience. 

Dates to Remember:  

Monday: Halloween Parade and Party; 1:30-3:00
Wednesday:  Math Test
Thursday:  Science Test
Friday:  Crestwood Kids Vote
                Spelling Test

What's Happening in Our Room....

Reading Workshop: 

• The students will be reading an information article on the history of Halloween and wrapping up our Character Study Unit and Tiger Rising this week.  

Writer's Workshop:

• We will be talking about the elements needed in writing a solid persuasive essay.  The students will brainstorm ideas for their essay and begin writing three strong reasons to support their thesis for their topic.
• Our mentor sentence this week will focus on combining sentences using and, but or so and will include an example of personification.   The students will continue to identify the different parts of speech in the sentence and create a new sentence of their own following the author's style.

Math:

• The students will review chapter 4 on Tuesday and will be tested on Wednesday.  We will continue with multiplication in chapter 5 as the students learn how to multiply 2 digit by 2 digit.  The students who are struggling with multiplication, are the students who do not have their facts mastered.  Please take a few minutes every evening to review facts. Having the facts mastered can really build confidence and empower the students as we approach more complicated problems.
• Your child can practice facts using the multiplication math games I have posted on our blog and through ALEKS using the Quick Tables.

Science:

• The students will be doing a fun activity on volcanoes through the Mystery Science website!

Social Studies:

• The students are learning about early Missouri Explorers and Native Americans.

Homework

Reading: read+record
get signture
Math: Aleks

Homework

Reading:read+record

Math:spiral review due tomorrow
facts test tomorrow
pages 265-266 [even only]

Homework

Reading: read+record

Spelling: spelling activity

Math: Spiral Review due Fri.
facts test Fri.
pages 251- 252
teach parents the Area Model

Homework

Reading: read+record

Math: spiral review due Fri. 

pages 239-240 

facts test - Fri.

Homework

Reading: read+record
Math: Spiral Review due Friday
           ALEKS

What's Happening in Room 30......

Important Announcements:

• Parent-Teacher conferences are Monday and Wednesday of this week!  I am looking forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's progress.  I sent an e-mail home earlier this week confirming our scheduled conference time.  We have a 15 minute time slot for each conference.  I just ask you to please arrive on time, and I will do my best to keep conferences on time, as well. 

• This week is Red Ribbon Week!   Our theme this year is YOLO: You Only Live Once... Be Drug FREE!

• Scholastic Book Fair is at Crestwood this week!  The students will preview the books on Monday and will be able to purchase Tuesday - Thursday.  The fair will also be open during conferences for you to stop in!

Dates to Remember:  

Monday:  Wear Red
Tuesday:  Drugs and I Don't Mix - Wear Mismatched Clothes
Wednesday:  Team Up Against Drugs - Wear Your Favorite Team Shirt
Thursday:  Make Healthy Choices Day
Friday:  Super Hero Day - Dress Like Your Favorite Super Hero
Sunday:  Crestwood's Trunk or Treat - flyer went home last week

What's Happening in Our Room....

Reading Workshop: 

• We will finish reading Tiger Rising this week.  The students will focus on discussing traits of the main characters and how the characters have changed throughout the book.  We will also discuss the theme of the story.
• The students are setting new reading goals this week.  They will be centering their 1st goal on either fluency, comprehension or their reading life.

Writer's Workshop:

• The students will be given a new list of spelling words on Monday.  They write their words in their planner on Tuesday and will be tested on Friday, November 4th.  
• We will begin our new unit this week!  The students will be learning how to write a 5 paragraph essay.  They will begin this week with studying student written essays.  Then they will participate in writing a class essay.  Next week, the students will write an essay on their own.  Our final writing piece will be a persuasive essay. I love teaching this unit because the students are very hesitant about writing a 5 paragraph essay.  After taking them through the process, they are amazed at how quickly they can write an essay when they follow a specific format and set up their thoughts before they begin.

Math:

• The students have been learning how to multiply 2 digit numbers by 1 - digit.  They have also been solving problems using the Area Model. This method allows the students to see the problems visually. I was not not taught this method in school, but I wish I was because it helps make sense of multiplication.  They will be teaching you this method very soon!

Science:

• The students will learn about the effects of Plate Tectonics shifting. They will demonstrate these actions using graham crackers and cool whip this week.

Social Studies:

• The students are learning about Missouri Native Americans.

Homework

Reading: read+record get signature

Spelling: Red Ribbon week
wear red Monday!

Math: practice facts
spiral review  

Homework

Reading: read+record
Spelling: test tomorrow
Math: facts test tomorrow
pages 219 - 220

Homework

Reading: read+record

Spelling: spelling test Fri and

 activity work sheet

Math: facts test Fri  

             Worksheet

Homework

Reading:  Read and record

Math:  complete pages 213 - 214
             facts test on Friday!

Early Release tomorrow!

Homework

Reading: read and record

Spelling: test on Friday

 book orders due Wednesday

Math: times test tomorrow and Friday

            pages 207 -208

What's Happening in Room 30.......

Important Announcements:

• Parent-Teacher conferences are Monday, October 24th and Wednesday, October 26th.  I will e-mail you a confirmation e-mail early this week with your scheduled night and time. If there is a problem with your scheduled time, please let me know as soon as possible.  I am looking forward to meeting with you!
• Scholastic Book orders are due Wednesday!  Feel free to order online through the class blog or send in cash or a check with the order form.

Dates to Remember:  
Wednesday:  Early Release Day
Thursday:  Fundraiser Limo Ride
Saturday:  Beth's Battle Run at 9:00

What's Happening in Our Room....

Reading Workshop: 

• While reading Tiger Rising this week, we will take a closer look at the characters.  We will study the characters' actions and motives and character traits.  
• The students are setting new reading goals this week.  They will be centering their 1st goal on either fluency, comprehension or their reading life.

Writer's Workshop:

• The students are reflecting on their 1st quarter as a 4th grader. They are looking closely at their behavior and academics to see what they have done well and what they would like to improve for the 2nd quarter.  They are writing their reflections in paragraph form using a topic sentence, 3 supporting details and a closing sentence.
• The students will study a new mentor sentence this week and work with adjectives, possessive nouns and similes while following the format of the mentor sentence.

Math:

• The students will learn how to multiply two-digit numbers by one digit as we begin chapter 4.  They will learn to use the Distributive Property to "break-apart" a two-digit number and multiply easily.
• On Friday, the students will be given a "Spiral Review" packet that will be due the following Friday. It is a review of the material they have learned thus far in 4th grade.  

Science:

• We are continuing to discuss the layers of the Earth. The students will have an edible demonstration of the layers on Friday. (YUM!)

Social Studies:

• The students are studying the geography of Missouri.

Homework

Reading: read + record

Math: aleks topics
            pages 201 and 202
            facts test tomorrow

Tomorrow is Flyer Families!  Wear your shirt!
 Tomorrow is also a 1/2 day!

Homework

Reading: read + record
Spelling: spelling activity + Abilities awareness tomorrow
Math: Aleks topics due Friday facts test Friday

Homework

Reading: read+record

Spelling: Book orders
               spelling test Friday

Math:Test tomorrow
             facts test tomorrow
             aleks topics due Friday

Homework

Reading: read+record

Math: 177-178,
             Aleks-due Friday
             facts test Wednesday and Friday

What's Happening in Room 30........

Important Announcements:

• We had a great turnout for our 1st Writing Celebration!  If you were not able to make it, we will have plenty more this year.
• The students have been doing a wonderful job with their leadership roles in the classroom.  They are taking on the responsibility of completing them without being asked, and our classroom is running smoothly!
• Parent-Teacher Conferences will be help on Monday, October 24th and Wednesday, October 26th.  If you did not sign up for a time at the Ice Cream Social at the beginning of the year, I sent home a note last week to schedule a day and time. Please complete and return as soon as possible.  I will confirm conference times next week.

Dates to Remember:  
Wednesday:  Fundraiser Pick-Up  3:30-6:00
Thursday:  Abilities Awareness Day
Friday: Flyer Families
             1/2 Day
             End of 1st Quarter

What's Happening in Our Room....

Reading Workshop: 

• We will continue reading Tiger Rising this week as the students learn to "put themselves in the character's shoes" to help them understand the character's motives and feelings throughout the story. We will also talk about point of view and practice book discussion with their peers.
• The students will also practice retelling their independent reading book chronologically while including only the important events.

Writer's Workshop:

• The students will continue to learn our steps to working with our mentor sentence as they practice expanding the sentence with creative adjectives and adverbs.  They will also create a brand new sentence following the author's style.
• The students will also work on writing a strong paragraph that will include a topic sentence, supporting details and a closing sentence.

Math:

• The students will review chapter 3 on Tuesday and will be tested on Wednesday.
• They will continue to work with multiplication in chapter 4.  Mastering multiplication facts is so important.  If will help them feel prepared and successful as they learn the steps to multiplying large numbers.

Science:

• We will begin our Earth Science Unit this week with learning about the layers of the earth.  We will wrap up the week with demonstrating the layers of the Earth using Oreos!  Yummo!

Social Studies:

• The students are studying the geography of Missouri.

Homework

.Reading:read and record
.Sign week end review
.Math:math facts test wed. and friday

Our First Writing Celebration

Homework

.Reading:Read+record
.Spelling:Test tomorrow and writing celebration
.Math:Facts test tomorrow
.Science:Science redo study

Homework

.Reading: read and record

. Spelling: spelling activity due tomorrow

. Math: pages 165-166 and 171
facts test tomorrow

. Science: retake science test Friday  

Homework

Reading: read 20 mins and record
Spelling: test on Friday
Math: Page 151- 152  and practice facts
Science: study for quiz

What's Happening in Room 30..........

Important Announcements:

• We are beginning the Pizza Hut Reading Program this month!  The students who complete their weekly reading at home and return their reading log every week, will receive a coupon for a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.
• We will have our first Writing Celebration this Friday from 9:00-9:45.  The invitation will be coming home on Monday.  We hope you can make it!  The students have worked hard on their personal narratives and would love to have you come and enjoy them!

Dates to Remember:  
Monday:  Room Parent Meeting at 6:30
Tuesday: Dad's Club Build Night at 6:30 

What's Happening in Our Room....

Reading Workshop: 

• We will continue reading Tiger Rising this week as the students learn to "put themselves in the character's shoes" to help them understand the character's motives and feelings throughout the story.
• The students will also practice retelling their independent reading book chronologically while including only the important events.

Writer's Workshop:

• The students will finish editing their personal narratives, choose a title and create a cover for their stories to share on Friday.
• Every other week, the students will be given a mentor sentence to study.   They will look closely at the grammar, punctuation and vocabulary. The daily activity will be designed help the students learn about the parts of speech, grammar and punctuation rules. 

Math:

• The students have started chapter 3; multiplication and division.  They will study the properties of multiplication and work with factors and multiples. 
•  It is so important that your child is practicing and learning his/her multiplication facts.  This will make learning how to multiply much more enjoyable and meaningful.

Science:

• The students will be writing the conclusion to the investigation we conducted last week.  We will begin the Earth Science Unit later this week.
• The students will review the Scientific Method on Monday and will be tested over the terms and process on Wednesday.

Social Studies:

• The students are studying the geography of Missouri.