New Unit-Theme

In reading, we have finished the unit on plot. I'm still grading tests and will decide if a bonus needs to be given based upon the class average.
We will be reading texts to learn about theme. The students will have an anchor chart as a resource. As we have been reading, students are learning how to "think mark". This is identifying clue words and phrases that support their answers. Evidence for characters actions, words,thoughts, and lessons learned will be focused on. I model this with every activity. Your child should have these notes on their papers. if you are not seeing these strategies on their work, please remind them to be active participants.
In writing, we are working on developing a narrative. I will be working with small groups based on the pre-assessment. Some will work on creating more developed sentence structure . Others will strengthen their paragraphs. All students are learning to add more details to "show" feelings, thoughts, and actions.

There will be a vocabulary test on Friday. Students should be studying the definitions and parts of speech. Nightly homework will be given this week.

Wednesday is early release. Addison will have its first STEM day!

Welcome 2019 -20

     Welcome to fourth grade! It's been a blast getting to know the students. Thank you for attending our Open House and I hope that it was informative.
       The students have been learning the elements of plot in a text. We have spent the last week labeling "Think Marking" on the 2nd read of the text. We are learning to read for true comprehension of a text and the author's purpose. The students are looking for changes in a character from the beginning of a story to the end resolution. Yes, there can be more than one answer. The students must explain their reasoning by referring to the text evidence.
       The plot test is planned for Thursday but may be moved to Friday if needed. Please focus on the in-class work and homework assignments this week. The test will be the same format!

       We have just begun writing. There was a need to go back to writing a paragraph. Many still struggled with developing an introduction topic sentence. They will learn to write creative introductions by describing not stating. Another area we need to work on is varying our sentence starters. This will all come together as we progress.

       Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!