Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
Thank you for attending last week's parent informational meeting regarding our upcoming outdoor excursion to Angel Rocks/Twin Bears. Hopefully you thought it was helpful. I also noticed that a lot of kids brought in their Pledge Sheets in the following day, which was great. We are expecting to have a volunteer meeting after spring break (in April), so keep an eye out for more info.
Tomorrow, the start of the Iditarod will be downtown and some classes from Pearl Creek have elected to go and watch. We will be hanging back on this one and getting some last minute work done with all the time we have left of the third quarter. I say this every year but, I cannot believe that we are almost in the fourth quarter. April and May will fly right by.
This week we will be wrapping up our class Science Fair Project with our buddies. More info to follow on that. We will be plugging away at our TDL (To Do Lists), which there is plenty to finish out:
--Persuasive Essays
--Spelling City
--Kahn Academy
--DOL - Verbs (including helping verbs), Nouns, Adverbs, Adjectives, Proper Nouns, and the list keeps growing
--Typing Agent
--Cursive Handbook
--Planets and our solar system
--Book Review
--Read Naturally Live
We will also be doing a "class swap" on Wednesday, from 2:00 - 3:30 PM, where Mrs. Hammer and I will exchange students and she will facilitate an Art lesson, while I give a STEM lesson. Feel free to join if you would like to help.
Monday looks like:
9:00 - 9:10
New Jobs
9:10 - 10:30
TDL - This will be an opportunity for students to work on assignments before the end of the third quarter
10:30 - 11:10
Library
11:00 - 11:40
Persuasive Essays and TDL
11:40 - 12:10
Lunch
12:10 - 12:40
Recess
12:40 - 1:55
Math Block
1:55 - 3:30
Partner Read
SSR
TDL
*Please note that Math, Specials, Lunch, and Recess are Intermediate schedules and stay in blocks. At times, curriculum instruction will be shuffled to accommodate different initiatives.
If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to call or email me anytime to discuss things further. I hope you find this information helpful and useful.
IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENTS - QUIZZES - TESTS
Here is our TDL (To Do List)
--Persuasive Essays
--Spelling City
--Cursive Handbook
--Science Fair Spit Bread
--Kahn Academy
--Typing Agent
--Book Review
--Planets and Solar System
--DOL
--Persuasive Essays
--Spelling City
--Cursive Handbook
--Science Fair Spit Bread
--Kahn Academy
--Typing Agent
--Book Review
--Planets and Solar System
--DOL
HOMEROOM HOMEWORK
Flex Date - Book Report Final Write Up
I have explained to the kids that they should be finished reading their book report selections by the end of this week of they have not already. On my desk is a reflection sheet with writing prompts, that I would like them to fill out, using complete sentences. This does not have a due date quite yet. I will accept them on a rolling basis. Please ask them about this and help where necessary. Thanks!
MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK (only if your child is in my math class)
NONE
*Please keep in mind, projects or tests we have in class may have to be brought home to be finished or to study. Please ask your child if they have completed their work before you have signed their planner.
ONGOING INFORMATION
READING LOGSReading logs are a regular part of our class. Students will receive "points" for for each day that they read a minimum of 20 minutes at home. The purpose: for students to read each day (not 100 minutes over the weekend or 40 minutes on Tuesday to catch up for Monday).
The logs will be due on a rolling basis and should have dates read on them. I will give credit as they are turned in and filled out correctly (please initial these). The points students receive will be added to their overall reading grade, counting towards their final grade.
It is simple, if students read and turn in their logs, they will see their grade improve significantly while naturally benefiting in fluency and accuracy. If they do not, they will not be given a "0" on the assignment, they simply will not receive any points.
Please look for these to come home this week. I have a yellow folder by the classroom front door filled with new reading logs. Email me with any questions or concerns please.
GOOGLE DRIVE
You can access all of your student's digital assignments online and work at home if you would like. Just go to www.gmail.com and type in their email address and password. Then find the Google Menu (where you will find the Drive, Docs, and Slides) icon in the top right corner (it is a nine square grid next to their s-number). This is where they will make their Google Slides Presentation for their Biography Book Reports. It is as follows:
Username: s#@student.k12northstar.org (for example: s123456@student.k12northstar.org)
Password: s#g (for example: s123456g)
DATES TO REMEMBER
--Early Out - End of quarter - Last day before spring break
Monday, March 13, 2017 - Friday, March 17, 2017
--Spring Break - No School
Thursday, April 20, 2017
--UAF's Permafrost Tunnell - THANKS TOM DOUGLAS for getting us access to this wonderful, local resource, during our rock cycle unit.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
--Morris Thompson Cultural Center (AM) and Superior Courthouse tour/mock trial (PM)
Wednesday, May 10 - Friday, May 12, 2017 (3-days)
--Twin Bears/Angel Rocks Hiking/Camping Trip
Field Trips coming in the spring...Dates to be determined.
--Birch Hill
--Bowling/Pioneer Park
--Ice Park (hopefully)
It's a good life!
Mr. Sassman
