Grade 4 October Newsletter

Grade 4 October Newsletter

• 1.
  Grade 4 OCTOBER class newsletter RIS 2012-2013
• 2.
  Important dates  5October—no school for students  17 October—early dismissal, 1pm  19 October—parent conferences  22-26 October—holiday  29 October—school resumes
• 3.
  HOMEWORK  All studentsshould be reading 30 minutes or more each night, recording their book and time on their reading log  Math, Science, and/or Social Studies may also be sent home each night for homework.  All students are expected to complete homework on time and submit it to their homeroom teacher.
• 4.
  Literacy  Students havebeen busy launching Reader’s and Writer’s Workshops in classes. They have now begun writing their first personal narrative and are focusing on characters in their stories in class. We are also giving lessons on reading fluency and comprehension to improve their understanding of the books they read and discuss with teachers and partners.  MAPS and DRA test scores will be discussed with parents at the parent-teacher conferences. We will give each parent a print out of their student’s scores at that time.
• 5.
  Math  The second unit of study in Mathematics in Grade 4 is titled, ‘Describing the Shape of the Data’. This unit focuses on data analysis and probability.  The Long Term Learning Targets in this unit are: 1. I can design an effective survey question to compare two groups. 2. I can organize and represent data about two groups in order to compare the groups. 3. I can describe the shape of the data from a numerical data set, including where the data are concentrated and the highest, lowest, and median values. 4. I can use data to compare two groups. 5. I can use evidence from a set of data to support an argument. 6. I can describe the likelihood of an event in terms of a scale from impossible to certain.
• 6.
  Science  The kidshave jumped right into science with our unit on Earth Materials. They have been exploring the following concepts in Earth Science:  Mock Rocks—rock and mineral properties  Scratch Test—specific properties of minerals  Calcite Quest—presence of calcium/calcite in rocks  Take it for Granite—using mineral properties to find out which minerals are in the rock, granite  Earth’s layers, soils, and plate tectonics
• 7.
  Social Studies Our firstunit in Social Studies is the 5 Long Term Learning Targets: Themes of Geography. This is an exciting unit  I can explain and correctly use the elements of maps and globes. focused on learning how geographers study our earth,  I can explain and demonstrate the 5 Themes of Geography. physically and culturally. Students  I can compare ways that the earth’s physical and human features have changed over time. have an opportunity to learn and apply  I can examine various types and patterns of settlement and land mapping skills using use and reasons why particular locations are used for certain our world floor maps, human activities. desk maps, and atlases.  I can identify appropriate resources and geographic tools to generate and interpret information about the earth. Stay Tune….Our Immigration Unit starts on October 29th!.....
• 8.
  Ms. Katie’s class
• 9.
  Ms. April’s class Sharing our learning, our best books, and lots of smiles among our hard work!
• 10.
  Mr. Joe’s class ScienceInvestigation into mineral properties with Mr. Randy!