Wednesday, August 29- Picture day (All students photographed for yearbook.)
Thursday, August 30—Spelling Quiz
Friday, August 31-Book Log and Review due (see binder)
Monday, September 3 – Labor Day- No School
Technology Reminders: BYOT has not begun. Students should not be bringing in ANY devices to class. If you require them to bring their cell phone for safety reasons, please email and let me know. If a child has a cell phone, it should be off in their lockers. No phones should be ringing during class instruction. Please help us to remind students that cell phones should be off, and they should not be using their cell phones during class, especially for texting or calling.
Grammar: We are wrapping up our first unit which reviewed all 4th grade standards and usage rules for the following: common/proper nouns, singular/plural noun rules, possessive noun rules, action verbs, linking verbs, subjects, predicates, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns. There will be a classwork grade this week. At the end of this week, we will begin our next unit which covers Commas and Quotes.
Spelling: We are still working with spelling list 1. These lists should stay in their binders through the school year. Students will have the quiz on List 1 this Thursday, August 30th. Remember to study both the spelling and the definitions. If you would like for your child to have extra practice with their spelling words, they may use Spelling City website. https://www.spellingcity.com/pratta
Writing: We are currently studying the narrative genre. This week we will continue to work on techniques to develop a good introduction including character development, setting development, placement of the conflict, and use transitions words in our writing. We will also work with plot development by using different plot techniques.
Reading: This week we are starting our first novel which is either Old Yeller or Island of the Blue Dolphin depending on your child’s reading level. We will be learning about the story elements including the following: protagonist/antagonist, characterization, point of view (1st person, 2nd person, 3rd limited, and 3rd omniscient), setting, and identifying types of conflict (person vs. person, person vs. self, person vs. nature, and person vs. society). They will have notes in their novel folder, reading notebook, and reading section of their binder.
-Students are responsible for creating a HOTS question for each chapter they read. They will use their HOTS questions to have meaningful discussions with their book clubs. We created flipbooks with HOTS question stems last week. There is also a color coded wheel of question stems on the back of their agenda as well.
-Students will be defining vocabulary related to their novel. They need to be studying this vocab, because words will be on comprehension checks as well as the novel quiz/test.
-Students have constructed response questions for their books in their novel folder. Students will work on these questions both in class and for homework. We are working with using the TEACH strategy to answer questions correctly and thoroughly.
Don’t forget to ask your child about the requirements off the monthly Book Log. The Book Log should be signed by a parent, and it, along with the completed book review, are due Friday, August 31. It will only be accepted if signed by parent so we can make sure the book was read and finished at home.