Week of Sept. 11th

Volunteers

We are in need of volunteers to work with small groups of kids on different skills, please click here to fill out the form.

Grading

As work starts coming home, we will be continuing to use the 4, 3, 2, 1 grading scale.  

“Grading”

• A score of “Exceeds” (4) indicates a high level of achievement; it communicates that a student has a strong understanding of the content/concepts/skills taught during the semester and can demonstrate understanding independently and with very few errors.
• A score of “Meets” (3)  indicates that a student demonstrates understanding of content/concepts/skills  most of the time and with limited support. Student makes few major errors or omissions when demonstrating concepts/skills.
• A score of “Approaching” (2)  indicates that a student requires moderate support to demonstrate understanding of concepts/skills. Demonstrated understanding of concepts/skills is inconsistent or infrequent indicating a partial understanding of the content/concepts/skills.  Errors or omissions in work are more frequent.   
• A score of “Does Not Meet” (1) indicates that a student seldom demonstrates understanding of concepts and skills taught during the semester.  Student requires considerable support to demonstrate learning of concepts and skills and makes frequent major errors when demonstrating understanding.

Please look over and review the work that is coming home in Thursday folders with your student; this will help the kids to practice things they may have missed.

Important Dates

• Digital Citizenship Week of 9/11
• Here is the link for the spirit days for the week
• Wednesday, September 13: Chipolte Night for PCE
• Friday, September 22: No School (Professional Development Day)

Reminders

Library is on Thursdays, please help the kids remember to bring the books they are no longer reading back so they can check out new ones! This is a great resource for students to find books for the 20 Book Challenge

Hardware Hustle donations are due Friday, September 15.

Current Learning

Social Studies

We are currently learning about Colorado geography. The students have been learning about the differences between Colorado’s geography, and the states surrounding Colorado. They have worked to learn about the climate, natural features, human features, and points of interest Colorado has to offer. Students then used this information to compare and contrast the features with another state. To show their learning, the students have collaborated to create a Popplet with information on both states.

Math

In math, we rounded numbers to estimate sums, differences, products, and quotients. Students checked to see if their answers are reasonable by using estimation. Next week we will find common factors and greatest common factor of two whole numbers. We will identify prime and composite numbers. Students will find multiples of whole numbers, find common multiples and least common multiples of two or more numbers.

Literacy

To start the year, we have been reviewing and digging deeper into strategies used to comprehend reading. As we have been reading various books, we have practiced making connections, identifying the theme, and asking questions during our reading. We have also been reviewing the structure of writing a paragraph. This year, the students will be using the “stop light” paragraph structure from Step-Up to Writing. In this structure, sentences are color coded to show what type of sentence it is, you may hear them refer to sentences in their writing as being green, yellow, or red.

Week of 8/28

Important Dates

• August 29: Back to School Night (5-7pm)
• September 4: No School (Labor Day)
• September 8: Hardware Hustle

Seesaw

Throughout the year we will be posting pictures and links to show off our learning in our Seesaw account. The directions to sign up to your child’s account was sent home in Thursday folders and through email. You can also download the app so you can view and comment on the posts right from your phone!
Please Sign Up Now

1. Click on this link: https://app.seesaw.me/s/063-849-867
2. Choose your child from the list
3. Create your account
4. Once I approve you, you can see content from your child

Homework

This year for homework, we will be having the students work on a 20 book challenge, practicing math facts, and completing 1 sheet of math. The homework that is assigned is for practice, and will meet each child’s unique needs. We will give students their math sheets on Friday, it will be due the following Friday. Since this is meant to be review, they should be able to do a majority with independence, but may need support on some. Please check in with them to see if they're practicing the problems correctly.

In each child’s planner, there are two sheets stapled in the back. One is for the 20 Book Challenge. This is where students will need to record the books that they are reading to meet the challenge by the end of the year. They should be reading 2 books per month to finish by the end of the year. Books over 300 pages count as two books. When your child has finished a book, please initial next to the book title that the book was completed. As your child is reading, please check in with them to verify that the book is a good fit, they can do this by reading a page out loud to you. We would like the students to be reading books that are not too easy or too challenging. The best way for a student to become a better reader is to read! Reading can be done together or independently.

The other sheet stapled in the back of the planner shows the multiplication facts that your student has mastered in class. When a student has mastered a set of facts through using the site fun4thebrain, we will sign off to show completion. Facts that are not yet signed are facts that they should be practicing at home. Your child can study their facts at home however you think is best (i.e. flash cards, writing them down, on the computer, etc.) I've found it best for students to practice only one set of multiplication facts at a time, not all of them at once. Students are welcome to take the Fun 4 the Brain quiz at home and email me a screenshot if they pass, I will then sign off on their paper the following day.

In 4th grade we value the time that is given for families to be together and for the kids to participate in extracurricular activities. We also believe that it is important for kids to go outside and play. The students spend a lot of time in school working and using technology, it would be wonderful for them to be able to “unplug” and socialize when they are home. Homework should never be something that consumes your night. If this does happen, please email me. The homework that is given is what we think is best for helping your child learn time management, build study habits, and give extra practice on the most essential skills.

These articles help explain and support our philosophy on homework and why we think it’s beneficial for students to unplug often at home:

Here's Why Homework Isn't Necessary for Grammar School Kids...Sometimes by Gwynne Hogan

CBS News: "iGen" author and how digital devices are slowing the development of today's kids

Current Learning

We have started 4th grade by reading the book, Wonder. This has been a great read with the students, as it has generated a lot of discussion on kindness and building a classroom community. In the book, there are precepts, or sayings to live by. One precept that we have focused on is “When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind”. This is something we will refer back to throughout the year as we build a trusting, safe, classroom environment.

We have also started our year with working with the kids on developing a growth mindset. Having a growth mindset means believing that through hard work and practice, we can become smarter. This means that struggling with something does not make you less smart - it’s a chance to grow. Through this, we have spent a lot of time talking about owning their learning and putting effort into everything. It is important for the students to know that just because they can’t do something yet doesn’t mean they never will be able to. With having a growth mindset, the kids are also working on setting goals. Each week the students will set a goal for in school (academic or personal) to try to reach. These goals may take more than a week, and may take less than a week. The students may hit a wall while trying to reach their goal, and this is ok! By having a growth mindset, and persevering they will continue to work to reach it. It is our hope by writing goals and having a growth mindset, the students will learn to persevere with challenge and take risks to do new things!

Reminders

Back to School Night will be an open house in the classrooms from 5-6. At 6, there will be community tables set up in the gym hosted by PCEA. There will also be food trucks outside for families to enjoy!

The students will have library on Thursdays. This will be a great time for students to be able to check out books for their 20 Book Challenge! Please remind kids to bring the books that they wish to return on Thursdays each week.

This year’s Hardware Hustle has been moved to the fall, in hopes of having better weather for the run and prize days! We will send out more information about our run time when we receive it.