Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
Last Week:
Labor Day: The first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
For more information about Labor Day, follow the link below! Some interesting stuff!
I hope you enjoyed your extended weekend with family and/or friends. The weather held out for just long enough. My daughter Zemra and I traveled down to Anchorage to visit with Meagen. She is doing well and baby is still cookin' :)
Thanks for all the nice messages and your patience.
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| Healy overlook this past summer! |
Last Week:
It was productive, engaging, and full of awesomeness! It was great to get a full week in with the kiddos and we have developed quite a rapport. I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful and special group of students. Some students have finished their first piece of art; highlighting geometric patterns using symmetry and perspective. Math is groovin' right along.
We have also started our first book reports of the year and students should have a book picked by now. This first report will feature a fictional chapter book of choice. I have discussed with the class, about how to choose appropriate books for this.
We are done with MAP testing for the fall...
Technology is in partial swing. The students briefly logged into the Chromebooks for the MAP testing, but this week we start to explore their PowerSchool accounts and sign technology agreements. We will work more with computers in the next few weeks. Included on the agenda is Google Docs, Google Slides, Spelling City, Read LIVE, Typing Agent, and Kahn Academy.
This week:
As you know, this is a short week, so spelling packets are on hold. We will start our DOL (Daily Oral Language) curriculum for English/Language Arts and I am making a push to have all students finished with their rough drafts of their Summer Reflections. I would have liked to be further along, but many students have been struggling with this, so we are taking things more slowly.
This Thursday, September 7, 2017, we will hike to Ballaine Lake for our first field trip of the year. We will have six stations: Aquatic Invertebrates, Terrestrial Insects, Berry Picking, Water Colors, Six Room Poetry, and a traditional AK Native game. I sent home an informational sheet last week for this.
PLEASE MARK YOU CALENDARS: Our Pearl Creek Harvest Festival is this FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017 from 5-7 in the garden. This has become a beloved annual gathering and fundraiser for our school. We are so fortunate to have our garden as an educational resource for our students every year, and this event provides the means to do so. Bring family and friends. The suggested donation is $5 per person, $20 per family, and includes loaded baked potatoes, salad, and soup. You may also donate by sending in baked goods and/or a loaf of bread. Parent Volunteers are needed to help chop veggies/set up on the 9th beginning at 9 am. You may sign up at the office for that if you are able. We will also be helping to harvest potatoes for the event sometime this week.
The First Quarter Plan:
- Narrative Writing - Summer Break Reflections
- Spelling
- Insects
- The United States - Geography, Mapping, Economy
- STEM Kits
- Kahn Academy
- Daily Oral Language (DOL)
- Reading Logs
- Cursive Handbooks
- Step Book - Book Reports
Tuesday looks like:
9:00 - 9:10
New Seats
New Jobs
9:10 - 10:30
Pancake Breakfast!!!
Class Meeting
Planners
Read Aloud - Where the Red Fern Grows
10:30 - 11:10
Music
11:00 - 11:40
Writer's Workshop - DOL and Summer Reflections
11:40 - 12:10
Lunch
12:10 - 12:40
Recess
12:40 - 1:55
MATH BLOCK
1:55 - 3:30
Science - Butterfly Art
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First Draft - Summer Reflections
MATH TEST FRIDAY TOPIC 1
MATH TEST FRIDAY TOPIC 1
HOMEROOM HOMEWORK
By Friday
Summer Reflections Draft One - If not finished in class
Cover Page Due for Step Books - I will send home a rubric this week
Summer Reflections Draft One - If not finished in class
Cover Page Due for Step Books - I will send home a rubric this week
MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK (only if your child is in my math class)
Due On
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
--Practice Practice/Enrichment 1-8
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
--Practice Practice/Enrichment 1-8
Thursday, September 7, 2017
--Practice Practice/Enrichment 1-9
Friday, September 8, 2017
--Topic 1 Review (TOPIC 1 TEST TODAY)
ONGOING INFORMATION
--Practice Practice/Enrichment 1-9
Friday, September 8, 2017
--Topic 1 Review (TOPIC 1 TEST TODAY)
ONGOING INFORMATION
READING LOGS
Reading 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 - I will be sending the kiddos home with their specific login information soon
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:
DATES TO REMEMBER
Reading 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 - I will be sending the kiddos home with their specific login information soon
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
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Field Trip - Ballaine Lake (Exploration of Aquatic and Terrestrial Invertebrates)
Friday, September 8, 2017
Annual Pearl Creek Harvest Festival
Picture Day - Intermediate Students (Primary on Thursday)
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Back to School Night - 5 to 6 PM
Friday, September, 29, 2017
Teacher In-service (No School)
It's a good life!
Mr. Sassman
