Tuesday, May 26, 2015

May 26-29th - Last week!

It is finally the last week of school! We will being a lot of cleaning and bringing things home this week. We will not have any homework for reading or math.

If the weather cooperates this is how the week will go:

On Wednesday we will be having the faculty vs 6th grade kickball game in the morning. In the afternoon we will have our field day. Please make sure your student comes prepared to run with good shoes.

On Thursday we will have our Dance Festival at 9:00. Right after that, we will perform our plays in the gym at approximately 10:00. If you could wait to go into the gym until all the chairs have been put up in the gym, that would be appreciated! Thursday is also a Common Day, so all students will come at 7:55 and will leave at 2:15.

On Friday we will have a big store to spend our Maui Money. Students are allowed to bring things that THEY own to sell at the store. They can use the money the collect to buy other things at the store. My class will also have a little awards assembly and students will receive their final report card.

I am sad that the school year is over but excited for your students to get to move on to 5th grade! There are amazing things that they will get to do next year! I am so glad I got to teach your students this year. They are so wonderful and have made me proud with all that they have learned this year. I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe summer break!

Monday, May 18, 2015

Spelling Frequently Misspelled Words #3

Frequently Misspelled Words #3
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
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18.
19.
20.

May 18-22nd

This week in reading we are going to focus on reading our Literature Circle books. All students have chosen a chapter book that they would like to read. They will be getting together in groups of students who are reading the same book and discuss it. They will have certain jobs to do each time they meet and will hopefully have fun while reading this last book in class! We will also discuss as a class what metacognition and synthesis mean and how to use these reading strategies. Our last spelling list of the year is Frequently Misspelled Words #3. It is important on this list for students to understand when to use each homophone such as their, there, they're and we're and were.

This week in writing we are working really hard on our plays. Students need to have all of their lines memorized by this Friday. We will be figuring out our costumes, props, and sets this week as well. We will also focus on acting the plays out and making them look and sound really good. If anyone else wants to come help us with the plays, the extra help would be wonderful!! We will be performing our plays on Thursday, Ma 28th at 1:00 in the auditorium. Please make sure that your student is here on that day for school, and please come and enjoy our plays and all the hard work we have put into them!

This week in math we will be doing some math games to review. We want to keep all that we have learned this year fresh in our head so we will be ready for 5th grade!

This week in social studies we are taking our Cumulative Review Test. My class is taking it today and Miss Goldsborough's class is taking it tomorrow. This will be the last thing we do in social studies this year.

As a reminder, all missing assignments are due today. I should have all grades updated by tomorrow after school, including students' scores on their social studies test.

This Week's Homework
Monday:         Reading  
                             Read 20 Mins - Reading Log
                             Frequently Misspelled Words #3
                        Math
                             Lesson 13.5 P255

Tuesday:        Reading  
                             Read 20 Mins - Reading Log
                             Frequently Misspelled Words #3
                        Math
                             Extra Practice P257
                
Wednesday:   Reading   
                             Read 20 Mins - Reading Log
                             Frequently Misspelled Words #3                   
                        Math
                             Extra Practice P258
                      
Thursday:       Reading     
                             Read 20 Mins - Reading Log
                             Frequently Misspelled Words #3
                        Math
                            Order of Operations P263-264

Friday:             Reading       
                             Read 20 Mins -Reading Log


Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Social Studies Cumulative Review Study Guide

Students should know the following:

Utah is on the North American Continent. It is divided into three distinct landform regions, including the Colorado Plateau of the south and southeast, the central Rocky Mountains, and the basin and ridge region of the northwest, which includes the Great Salt Lake and numerous salt beds. We live in the Rocky Mountain region. Lake Bonneville was an ancient lake that used to cover much of Utah.

Utah is rich in natural resources. It has long been a leading producer of copper, gold, silver, lead, zinc, and oil. Utah’s state flower is the Sego Lily and the state bird is the California Gull. The state tree is the Colorado Blue Spruce.

The five main American Indian groups in Utah are: Shoshone, Utes, Piautes, Goshutes, and the Navajo. The Goshoutes and Paiutes were desert gathers, lived in wicki-ips and were nomads. The Shoshones and Utes were nomads and lived in tepees. The Navajos built permant homes and were farmers.

An American Indian home made of tall poles and animal skins was a tepee. One made with logs and earth was a Hogan. One made with branches and brush was a wicki-up. The first people to build permanent homes and farm in Utah were the Hopi and Navajo Indians. The Fremont and Anasazi people also lived in Utah. We have learned some things about them from their drawings called Rock Art. Many Archelogitists have learned many things about American Indians from finding artifacts about them. An artifact is an object used by people long ago.

The first explorers who came to what is now Utah were Spanish and their names were Father Dominguez and Father Escalante. They were looking for a route from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Monterey, California. They didn’t finde it.

After the Spanish explorers came the mountain men. They were fur traders mainly looking for beaver skins. Once a year mountain men would gather together in what was called a Rendezvous. One fur trader was named Etienne Provost. Provo City was named after him.

Gold Rush began in California 1849. Thousands of people came through Utah on their way to the California gold fields. Some stayed in Utah. The forty-niners would stop in Utah to repair their wagons, get supplies, and rest before moving on.

The U.S. Government set up forts in Utah. The first two forts were Camp Floyd and Camp Douglas. The longest and most costly war between the pioneers and the American Indians was the The Black Hawk War. Other wars were the Walker War and the Goshute War.

The Mormons first arrived in Utah in 1847. They left Nauvoo, Illinois when they began their journey west. Families traveled mostly with others in groups of wagons called wagon trains. The Mormons planned Salt Lake City. It was shaped like a big rectangle.

In 1857 the Utah War occurred. The government sent out Johnston’s army to put down what they thought was a rebellion by the Mormons when there really wasn’t any rebellion. The first school was opened in October 1847 by Mary Jane Dilworth. The first university was the University of Deseret.

In the pioneers early building many of their buildings were made out of adobe bricks. In the spring, the crickets were eating many of the pioneers crops. The seagulls saved their crops by eating thousands of the crickets

Monday, May 11, 2015

Spelling Frequently Misspelled Words #2

Frequently Missed Words #2


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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
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13.
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15.
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18.
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20.

May 11-15th

This week in reading we will be taking our Sage Reading Test. We will be doing this during reading time on Tuesday and Wednesday. If your student wants to bring in healthy snacks to share with the class on these days, we will set up a place to take breaks from the test in the alcove. I am so excited to see how students do on this test! We have worked so hard this year and I'm so proud of how far we have come! Our spelling this week is Frequently Misspelled words #2. We only have 1 spelling list left this year!

This week in writing we are starting our plays! These are going to be so fun and exciting! We will be performing them for you on the last week of school. If anyone would be willing and able to come in and help direct a play or help students with costumes, props, and sets, please let me know. We would love to have your help with anything you are willing to help us with! All students will receive a speaking part. They need to memorize their lines as soon as possible. They will be sent home with a script to use at home and at school to help them with their lines.

This week in math we will do some fun review games. Our homework will be things that I believe students still needs some reviewing with overall before they go to 5th grade.

This week in social studies we will be reviewing for our Cumulative Social Studies Test. This test will be on next Monday, May 18th for my class and on Tuesday, May19th for Mrs. Meeks' class. I sent students home with a study guide today so they can study at home. We will also finish up our social studies curriculum talking about government a bit more.

Lastly, I am currently getting all assignments updated and into Skyward. I will be sending you a progress report as soon as I have everything in. I will also give students their missing assignments list. Grades are due in next week so I MUST have all assignments in by next Monday, May 18th. If you need any help with getting your student caught up, let me know. Remember, if your student has lost math assignments they can find the pages on the Think Central website. If they need new spelling lists, all spelling lists from the year are on my blog. Also, students are welcome to come get reading logs whenever they need them!



This Week's Homework
Monday:         Reading  
                             Read 20 Mins - Reading Log
                             Frequently Misspelled Words #2
                        Math
                             Extra Practice P94
                        Social Studies
                             Study for Test!

Tuesday:        Reading  
                             Read 20 Mins - Reading Log
                             Frequently Misspelled Words #2
                        Math
                             Extra Practice P203
                        Social Studies
                             Study for Test!

Wednesday:   Reading   
                             Read 20 Mins - Reading Log
                             Frequently Misspelled Words #2                    
                        Math
                             Extra Practice P204
                        Social Studies
                             Study for Test!

Thursday:       Reading     
                             Read 20 Mins - Reading Log
                             Frequently Misspelled Words #2
                        Math
                            Lesson 13.4 P253
                        Social Studies
                             Study for Test!

Friday:             Reading       
                             Read 20 Mins -Reading Log
                        Social Studies
                             Study for Test!

Monday, May 4, 2015

Spelling Frequently Misspelled Words #1

4th Grade Frequently Misspelled Words #1


  1. a lot
  2. again
  3. always
  4. animals
  5. around
  6. asked
  7. beautiful
  8. because
  9. before
  10. believe
  11. bought
  12. decided
  13. didn't
  14. different
  15. every
  16. favorite
  17. February
  18. finally
  19. first
  20. for

May 4-8th

This week in reading we will be continuing to review for our Sage Reading Test next week. We will talk about the rest of the concepts that students had a hard time with on our review assessments including using context clues to figure out word meanings and answering questions about visuals. I will also pull groups of students to work on their lowest sections from their Sage Test last year. We will do practice problems so students can better understand how to answer the questions. Hopefully this will allow students to grow in their weakest areas and do better on the test this year! Those who are not done with their DRAs yet will finish them as well. So far, I am very pleased with how students have been performing on the DRA! It is clear that they worked hard on them and paid attention to the instruction on how to answer the questions best! Our spelling list this week is Frequently Misspelled Words #1. These last 3 lists of the year are words that 4th graders frequently misspell. We are doing these words to make sure that students really know these basic words before moving on to 5th grade.

This week in writing we are continuing to work on our Porquois Tales. Today we did a Writing Partner Critique where students got in groups and read their stories to each other. Then they would say the things they did well on in their stories and things to improve in their stories. I am very impressed with these stories and excited to see the final products! We will finish these by making a book with words and illustrations.

This week in math we will finish our reviewing and will take our Sage Math test. The test will be on Wednesday and Thursday at 1:00. If you can, please use the envelope that was sent home to write an encouraging note to your student to read before they take the test. This will help motivate them to do their best and calm any nerves they have. If you are not able to write a note then I will gladly write them one. I want to make sure that everyone feels comfortable taking the test so that they can do their best! Also, if you want, you can send healthy snacks for the class with your student on those days. We will set up a break room in the alcove for students to take a break and get a snack. When students finish their Sage Test they will play math games on the Chromebooks.

This week in social studies we will continue to talk about government. We will talk about elected officials in our government and their responsibilities. We will also have a mock campaign and election in class.

Again, don't forget about testing this week on Wednesday and Thursday! Please make sure your student gets a good night's sleep and a good breakfast the night before each test. I am so excited to see how our students do this year! I am proud of all the work they have put forth in learning the material. Thank you for supporting your student and helping them learn what they need to. Also, if you still want to do some more reviewing with them, you can go onto Learnzillion.com to watch review videos. They have math and language arts reviews on there.


This Week's Homework
Monday:         Reading  
                             Read 20 Mins - Reading Log
                             Frequently Misspelled Words #1
                        Math
                             Extra Practice P47-P48

Tuesday:        Reading  
                             Read 20 Mins - Reading Log
                             Frequently Misspelled Words #1
                        Math
                             Extra Practice P65-66

Wednesday:   Reading   
                             Read 20 Mins - Reading Log
                             Frequently Misspelled Words #1                        Math
                               Lesson 4.8 P83

Thursday:       Reading     
                             Read 20 Mins - Reading Log
                             Frequently Misspelled Words #1
                        Math
                            Extra Practice P93

Friday:             Reading       
                             Read 20 Mins -Reading Log

Friday, May 1, 2015

Learn Zillion

As it is nearing the end of the year and testing is coming up, we have been doing lots of reviewing in class. I have set up students free accounts on a great website called Learn Zillion. It has video reviews as well as full lesson plans to help your student with math and language arts concepts. In class today we are going over the videos I have assigned individual students to do. This was based on concepts they told me they need to review and concepts I know they need to review. If your student doesn't get through all the review videos in class today, would you please help them through the rest of their assigned videos before our math test on Wednesday? If there are other things that your student need reviewing on, math or language arts, you are able to search the website or browse for them. Please take the time to help your student review/relearn the things we have gone over this year that they still struggle with! We want all students to be successful and Learn Zillion is a great resource to target areas that individual students are still struggling with.

How to get on Learn Zillion:

1. Go to: www.learnzillion.com
2. Username is student's email without the ending (@alpinesd.org)
3. Password is cougars
4. Go to Wheatley 2015 to see any videos assigned to your student
5. If you want to browse other math videos, click the Math tab at the top, go to 4th grade, click on a standard area, and go to the video lessons
6. If you want to browse language arts videos, do the same thing but click on the ELA tab