Week of 9/2/13 - 9/6/13

Highlights for the Week of 9/2/13 
in Mrs. Bell's Classroom!

Spelling - Words Often Misspelled List #1
This week's list will consist of words that are often misspelled by fourth grade students. Students will be taking a pretest consisting of 20 words on Tuesday. Cursive work will be assigned on Tuesday, and contract activities will come home on Wednesday. Homework will be collected on  Friday, and the final test for the week (20 words) will also be given that day. Look for a sheet titled "All About Spelling" in the Spelling pocket of your child's binder for details on how spelling will work this year.

English - Sentences / Autobiographical Paragraphs

We will begin our week with the lesson "What is a Sentence?". Students will learn that a complete sentence must have a "who or what" (the subject), and an "action" (the predicate). We will take this concept one step further by reviewing how to combine sentences to write paragraphs. At the end of the week, be sure to ask your child about how to write a hamburger paragraph, and a "Big Mac" paragraph. During the week of 9/9, students will begin working on their first English assignment, which is to write an autobiographical paragraph, titled "All Star Bio". 

Reading - The Pumpkin Runner / Daily 5: "Read to Self"
This week in reading the students will review and practice their reading strategies as we read the story The Pumpkin Runner by Marsha Diane Arnold. The reading strategies that we will focus on include: preview/infer, phonics/decoding, questioning, monitor/clarify, summarize, and evaluate. I will also begin introducing the "Daily 5" model for building literacy skills.  This model focuses on 5 skills critical to successful readers: reading to self, reading to others, listening to reading, writing, and word work. The first skill that we will practice is reading to self.  Students will learn how to choose a "good fit" book, and we will work on building stamina while silent reading.

Social Studies - "We the People"
Students have become familiar with our Social Studies text by working with partners on a "textbook scavenger hunt". This week we will begin our study of the structure and purpose of the U.S. Government with a look at chapter 2, lesson 2.

Science - "Getting Ready for Science"
Our focus this week will be on how tools are used for science, and safety in the science lab.

Mrs. Bell's Math Class 
Math will begin on Wednesday, 9/3. The first topic in math this year will be understanding place value. Students will be studying place value through the billions period, and this week we will focus on understanding the relationship between the position of digits and place value, and how to read and write multi-digit numbers.

FYI...

Please be sure to mark your calendar for Curriculum Night, which is scheduled for Tuesday, September 17th from 6:30 to 7:30. You will have an opportunity to visit our classroom, and to meet your child's math teacher.

MAPS testing for our class will take place on Tuesday, 9/2 and Thursday, 9/4. Students will be taking the math portion of the test first. Please see that your child is well rested, and has a healthy breakfast both days.

If your child is interested in joining the band, please plan on attending the meeting for beginning students on September 16th at 7:00. The meeting will be held at Prairieview in the Multi-Purpose room.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Mrs. Karen Bell