Dear Parents,
This week will be a fun week with a trip to Kearsage Indian Museum in Warner, on Wed. and the Halloween parade on Friday.
We have been preparing for our trip to the museum by studying up on Native Americans. We have done some reading and also the Art teacher has incorporated the theme into her lessons.
The Halloween party will be after the parade. Mrs. Sangillo has been making phone calls and asking just a few people to bring in snacks. She will call other people for the Christmas party. For all parties, I request healthy snacks because I am sure the children will eat plenty of candy when they go trick or treating. Our parade will start about 1:15.
In Science we have been using the microscopes and classifying living things. Our theme words (totally made up by the fourth grade team) for Sept and Oct are Observify (meaning observe and classify) We used "obeservify" when we looked into the microscopes to observe and classify cells. We used Sequenize (meaning sequence and organize) while writing steps of a procedure. Next month's word will be technosearch (meaning research using technology). The children have painter's hats which they decorate and wear to motivate them while practicing the skills.
The children took a timed test of their multiplication facts. Most students need a lot more practice. I will continue to test them every couple of weeks and chart their progress. Please help me by having the kids study their fact triangles at home.
Have you checked out Raz-kids yet? The children seem very excited about earning points for their reading. I like the program because I can see who is really paying attention to their reading! For homework, the children should be reading, not listening to the stories, and then they need to take the quiz at the end. I get a print out on their scores, the dates that they read, and I can control their level.
Picture retake will be on Wednesday of this week.
Have a good week.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Dear Parents,
Only 2 more NECAP Math tests left! We will have one tomorrow morning and another on Monday. Then we are done for a while.
The children have been working hard to "show what you know". I hope that we see great results this year.
Our Scholastic book fair will be the week of Oct 20-23. My class will be visiting the book fair on Oct 22.
Next Friday the children will learn about participating in the WEE DELIVER postal service. As fourth graders, they get to apply for a job of post master etc. They can take part in the program during their recess time. Also, on Friday, they will learn about the Student Council and have an opportunity to campaign for a seat on the Student Council. Each class can vote for one representative. This year only third and fourth graders will participate.
As part of our studies of New Hampshire and early settlers, the class will be visiting Mt Kearsage on the 28th. Thank you to all who volunteered. I was pleased to see so many people willing to help out. Unfortunately, I can't take everyone. For this trip, Mrs. Olson will be the chaperone.
Only 2 more NECAP Math tests left! We will have one tomorrow morning and another on Monday. Then we are done for a while.
The children have been working hard to "show what you know". I hope that we see great results this year.
Our Scholastic book fair will be the week of Oct 20-23. My class will be visiting the book fair on Oct 22.
Next Friday the children will learn about participating in the WEE DELIVER postal service. As fourth graders, they get to apply for a job of post master etc. They can take part in the program during their recess time. Also, on Friday, they will learn about the Student Council and have an opportunity to campaign for a seat on the Student Council. Each class can vote for one representative. This year only third and fourth graders will participate.
As part of our studies of New Hampshire and early settlers, the class will be visiting Mt Kearsage on the 28th. Thank you to all who volunteered. I was pleased to see so many people willing to help out. Unfortunately, I can't take everyone. For this trip, Mrs. Olson will be the chaperone.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Dear Parents,
The class is settling in nicely to our routine. We have two uninterrupted times in the day which means no one can ask to take some children out, so the teachers can concentrate on Language Arts and Math without having some children missing. That means we get a very peaceful time to learn.
The NECAP testing has been progressing. This is a very busy week, as we have 3 tests. The children have to stay quiet for the 90 minute block. When they show some good testing behaviors, I give them an extra 20 min recess later in the day. I am sure they enjoy running around in this beautiful autumn weather.
I have spent extra time teaching some of the math in this chapter. It takes a while to get the partial sums and partial differences, but most children are doing well. It really helps if you read the "teaching papers" that I have sent home. It would benefit your child if you would support us in this method. The children will learn the traditional method, too. Honestly, the partial sums and partial differences give the children a deeper understanding of the process.
Have a good week, and remember to make sure the kids eat a good breakfast.
Sincerely,
Jackie Hamilton
The class is settling in nicely to our routine. We have two uninterrupted times in the day which means no one can ask to take some children out, so the teachers can concentrate on Language Arts and Math without having some children missing. That means we get a very peaceful time to learn.
The NECAP testing has been progressing. This is a very busy week, as we have 3 tests. The children have to stay quiet for the 90 minute block. When they show some good testing behaviors, I give them an extra 20 min recess later in the day. I am sure they enjoy running around in this beautiful autumn weather.
I have spent extra time teaching some of the math in this chapter. It takes a while to get the partial sums and partial differences, but most children are doing well. It really helps if you read the "teaching papers" that I have sent home. It would benefit your child if you would support us in this method. The children will learn the traditional method, too. Honestly, the partial sums and partial differences give the children a deeper understanding of the process.
Have a good week, and remember to make sure the kids eat a good breakfast.
Sincerely,
Jackie Hamilton
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