Fall Break is Near

  We continue to focus on identifying theme in a text. Students have been learning to use text evidence to support their answer. I have modeled how to number the evidence as they close read. The theme must be stated, then the meaning. Students should be studying the vocabulary on the anchor chart in their journals. There will be a formative assessment on Thursday! This will be short paragraphs and they must use the correct theme vocabulary and highlight the text evidence. Please keep all passage that we have corrected/discussed in class to review for the assessment. They will have another on Monday and Tuesday.

  In writing, the students have practiced developing a strong paragraph which includes a topic sentence. The task was to identify the theme of Ruby Bridges and include 2-3 examples of evidence.
This is an instructional piece, NOT a grade! They will complete one for a grade ,however it may not happen this week. I will update you when the class is ready.

  Students struggling with grammar standards that we are reviewing and introducing can practice on  www.funbrain.com/games/grammar-gorillas.


  Subtracting across zero is this week's math. Students should be practicing the facts for fluency and number sense. Roomrecess.com has been a great site that the students have been using in the classroom. This is a wonderful way for them to practice math standards that they may be struggling with. Please have your child use this at home.

  Only one week before fall break!!

Theme

Students have worked diligently on their essays! I'm excited to read their final products. The grades should be posted by the end of this weekend.

As a team, we noticed students struggling with plural nouns, punctuation for dialogue, and paragraph structure. So this week , we are revisiting  plural and possessive nouns. How are they different? There will be an assessment on Friday. Today ,we began how to develop a paragraph with a topic sentence. A topic sentence usually includes the main idea, but does not have to be the first sentence in the paragraph. It usually answers some questions : How? What? Who? Why?Where? . Depending on how we progress in our lessons, the students will be assessed most likely on Monday.

Spelling this week is focused on social studies vocabulary. Your child should study the spelling of all words and definition for the 5 starred ones. Spelling City is a wonderful site to practice!

A theme is the central idea,or message, of a story. Some themes most be inferred. We will discuss how plot of a story relates to the theme. Students will have anchor charts in their journals with the definition and examples of most common themes. I will not be formally testing them until next week, so I will give you more details on the next post. However, there will be a grade level reading assessment on Friday. Students will be tested on vocabulary, possessive nouns, main idea, and comprehension. When I do not directly assign reading homework, please have you child read for 15-20 to practice fluency and exposure to text.

Friday, Sept. 14 is Addison's Family Carnival!!

Ending units

I hope that everyone has enjoyed the long weekend! Can't believe we've been in school for a month.

     We will be wrapping up our unit on place value : reading,writing,comparing,ordering,and rounding. Students are still completing Friday's chapter assessment. Wednesday will be a last review and reteach as needed. Thursday will be the summative test. Then, we will move on to using rounding to estimate for addition and subtraction.


     The class continues to develop sentence structure. Application of identifying fragments and run-on sentences should be modeled within their individual essays. Students are editing their writing according to my individual feedback each day before they continue their essays. Their final publication will be due on Wednesday. Our goal was last Friday, which gave them a little over a week to complete. As we discussed at Open House,writing is 70% of their ELA grade. This weight is assigned by the county.

      Students continue to read and understand character traits. We've discussed positive and negative traits within our texts. We will understand that physical traits and emotions are  different but may have a connection to their character.There will be a quiz Thursday on positive/negative traits and character/physical. On Friday, the summative test will include matching, multiple choice, and labeling.

      This past week, Mrs. Tansill and I sent home many citations for not returning homework. Homework is used for us to assess students' independent comprehension for daily instruction. Please have your child pack up the night before school. Most of the citations were for spelling and their test scores reflected this.


       Progress reports will be coming home on Thursday. There will be a white print out for you to keep. Please sign and return the colored copy that will be stapled in your child's agenda.

Parent Support: Visit the Cobb County Parents Resources tab. Click on the Academics Information link. There are math learning videos. If you click Learning in ELA, you may find the standards and frameworks under fourth grade. Perhaps these links will provide some clarity of what your student will be taught this year.