Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
What a week we had...The potluck was a huge success and thank you for all your support. It was great to see you and the food was awesome. We figured about 120 people came out and there were few leftovers!
As you can tell from the pictures, our visit to the Alaska Room was highly engaging and culturally rich. It is always a great experience for the kiddos and the items they made came out beautifully. They will be displayed outside our classroom for the next few weeks, and will come home before winter break. It is also perfect timing for our upcoming Art and Music night at Pearl Creek. The evening begins at 6:00 PM with a tour of the school to view student artwork. Then, there will be refreshments (part of a fundraiser) in the commons, followed by the annual band, orchestra, and choir concert at 7 PM.
A special congratulations to Kieran and Tyler for their performances in The Nutcracker. They were great and we had a chance to see them on stage this past Friday. I hope you had a chance to see it over the weekend.
Also, thanks to Mrs. Coffeen for her unit on Figurative Language. The kids do so well and enjoyed the lessons and activities. So far, we have played with Similes, Metaphors, Hyperbole, and Idioms. Next, we will cover Alliteration, Personification, and Onomatopoeia.
This week will be a busy one:
--December 6th and 7th, for the winter MAP screenings will take place in our room. Please let me know if you are planning to be away.
--Now that we are done with States Reports, we will be back to some routine business, along with several new initiatives. Spelling and DOL will be back on the calendar.
As you know, we have been rather heavy on social studies for the past month and a half, and for next few weeks, we will be heavy on science, STEM, and art. We started our space unit Friday, and will continue exploring our solar system a little more each day. Check out this amazing video by the way, the kids loved it. Star Size Comparison Video
This is the last week of Q2 book reports, Literacy Circles Meeting 5. I will return the kids' graded packets on Monday for them to take home and complete by Friday.
Monday looks like:
9:00 - 9:10
Planners
New Jobs
9:10 - 10:25
Spelling
"Mercury"
Read Live
10:25 - 11:00
Physical Education
11:00 - 11:40
DOL
11:40 - 12:10
Lunch
12:10 - 12:40
Recess
1:00 - 2:00
Band, Orchestra, Choir Concert
2:00 - 3:30
Read Aloud - Sign of the Beaver/Zentangles
Free Write to Music
iPads - Stack the States
IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENTS - QUIZZES - TESTS
Mercury - Monday
Venus - Tuesday
Earth - Wednesday
Mars - Thursday
Jupiter - Friday
Newtons Law's of Motion - Monday and Friday
Spelling Quiz - Friday
Here is our To Do List - Q2
(IC) In-class Assignment
(HW) Homework
Venus - Tuesday
Earth - Wednesday
Mars - Thursday
Jupiter - Friday
Newtons Law's of Motion - Monday and Friday
Spelling Quiz - Friday
Here is our To Do List - Q2
(IC) In-class Assignment
(HW) Homework
HOMEROOM HOMEWORK
For Friday--Literacy Circles Meeting 5 (Packet due on Friday)
--Spelling Lesson 9
MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK (only if your child is in my math class)
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
--Practice 10-5
Thursday, November 30, 2017
--Practice 10-6
Friday, December 1, 2017
--Practice 11-1
***Please note that Math, Specials, Lunch, and Recess are Intermediate schedules and stay in blocks. At times, curriculum, instruction, and homework may be adjusted 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.
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 - 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. They must login using these credentials:
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 - 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. They must login using these credentials:
Username: s#@student.k12northstar.org (for example: s123456@student.k12northstar.org)
Password: s#g (for example: s123456g)
DATES TO REMEMBER
Monday, December 4, 2017
Music and Art Night at Pearl Creek starting at 6 PM
Friday, December 22, 2017
End of the quarter, Friday, December 22, 2017. Early dismissals that week: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday - Mark your calendars!
Saturday, December 23, 2017 - Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Winter Break
Music and Art Night at Pearl Creek starting at 6 PM
Friday, December 22, 2017
End of the quarter, Friday, December 22, 2017. Early dismissals that week: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday - Mark your calendars!
Saturday, December 23, 2017 - Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Winter Break
It's a good life!
Mr. Sassman
