The "Buzz" from Mrs. Bell's Class: Week of 9.16.19

Highlights for the Week of 9/16/19
in Mrs. Bell's Classroom

elling - Unit 3
This week's spelling/vocabulary list will include words with the sounds "ou", "aw", "au" and "ow". We will study the word pattern and review antonyms as they are related to the vocabulary words. The final TEST is scheduled for Friday, 9/20.

English - What is a Sentence?
Mr. Morton has come to town! Types of sentences and subjects and predicates will be our focus this week. The Tale of Mr. Morton is a Schoolhouse Rock song that helps students to understand the concept of subject and predicate. Looks like it's time to warm up our opera voices!

Students will also independently complete a graded review of lessons 1-3 on 9/18. They will be asked to identify types of sentences and to correctly add the end marks that match each sentence type. To prepare for the review, students should look over their practice pages and textbook pages 36-39.

Reading - "Casey at the Bat"

Our close read of Casey at the Bat continues with a look at using context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words, author's perspective and text to text comparison.

Social Studies - The Beautiful Northeast

Students have created their own maps of the region in preparation for the map QUIZ on 9/16. The quiz will be identical to the map sheet in their binder. Students will be given a word bank with the names of states and water areas and will have to label the map correctly. We will also take a look at the geography of the NE this week.

If you're looking for a study tool to help your child prepare for the map quiz, check out an APP called "U.S. Map Quiz". It is an engaging way to learn the states of each region!

Science - Energy Conversions
We will kick off our science unit with students sharing what they know about energy conversions on a pre-assessment. Then we will lay the foundation for the unit by taking a look at a simple system.

Our first exposure to science this year was an activity in which students used their observation skills while examining a common item, in this case, their hands. Below are photos of students drawing their hands and sharing their observations with partners...

Mrs. Bell's Math Class - Unit 1 - Expressions, Equations & Volume
Finding surface area, unit pricing and multiples are this week's topics. The Multiplication and Volume CHECKPOINT is scheduled for 9/19.

Be sure to ask your mathematician about how he or she collaborated with a partner to find all the possible dimensions for a box with a volume of 24 cubic units. They were surprised to learn that there are 30 different combinations. The photo shows posters that were created by each duo to illustrate strategies for finding the different combinations.

FYI...

On Monday, 9/16, Fountas & Pinnell (F&P) testing will take place for all fourth-grade students. The test measures students' reading fluency and comprehension. Your child will work one on one with Mrs. Nino or me reading aloud and answering text related question. It is a wonderful opportunity for us to get to know your child as a reader and also provides us with another tool for measuring his/her reading skill.

During the week of 9/16, all fourth students will take two reading common assessments and one math common assessment. The purpose of these tests is to provide data for the teachers that will help to drive instruction. The results will not be entered into the grade book. Students are encouraged to do their best and do NOT stress!

Mr. Pagel paid us a visit and led a conversation about kindness.

Group hug!

These pictures are from one team-building activity in which students had to work in a team to build a pyramid from cups without using their hands. Ask your child how they accomplished this task...