Sunday, August 25, 2019

Sunday, August 25, 2019


Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

Weller Elementary School





Last week...
Is in the books and it was a great (and busy) one! We dedicated our time to team building, ice-breakers, rules, procedures, and mini-lessons. I especially enjoyed all of the paper bag autobiography presentations. I must say, our classroom chemistry is great and I just love this group! I can tell that this is going to be an amazing year! 

We finished our first read aloud - Frindle, by Andrew Clements and there is a buzz about the origin of words. Next up, Mrs. Young will read James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl. Then we will take it to another level with Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls - a classic. In two weeks, I will introduce our first quarter book reports and we will start our class novel. More information to come on those yet.

We started DOL (Daily Oral Language practice), GeoNotes, writing journals, and our first formal writing piece of the year, Summer Reflections. The kids took a couple of diagnostic assessments that will help me better target their learning and personalize their school experiences. 

We also finished our first art project (Perspective) and are on our way to completing the second (Warm and Cold Trees). I look forward to sending them home...after I hang them up of course. 

This week...
We will start off with a couple of new items on the agenda: spelling packets, math block, MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) tests, and I will introduce cursive handbooks. We will continue our work with Summer reflections, DOL, and social studies. It is my belief that practicing cursive is an art and skill that promotes concentration and penmanship, and I just can't let it go away. Sorry, not sorry :) I will ask the kids to complete one page per week as an in-class assignment.

Some housekeeping...
If you have not yet, please read through our classroom handbook. It has a lot of pertinent information about our class and school as a whole. I have also set out important forms like permission slips, reading logs, and a class supply list for example. If you missed them, please let me know and I can send them home with your kiddo or pop by to grab them.

I have collected most of the following forms and have been going through them all week. If you haven't already completed them, please do:

--RESPA Form
--Parent Volunteer/Contact Information Form (even if you are unable to volunteer, no worries!)
--Parent Perspective
--Field Trip Permission Slip
--"Who are you?" (for your student, please help them with this)

As you know by reading this, our class blog is for you and your child to see a "snapshot" of what lessons and activities we do in class. I will also include a rough sketch of our schedule for the week, highlighting some of our main events, but please keep in mind that things may change from time to time. At the bottom of the blog post, I will list the homework and classwork that are due for the week, for your reference, as well as important dates coming up.

The First Quarter Plan:
  • Non-fiction Narrative Writing - Summer Break Reflections
  • Spelling
  • Life Sciences
  • The United States - Geography, Mapping, Economy, States Reports
  • Red Bird Math
  • enVision Math
  • Daily Oral Language (DOL)
  • Q1 Book Reports
  • Reading Logs
  • Cursive Handbooks
  • Class Novel
  • Art
  • And much, much, more...

Monday looks like:
8:30 - 9:00
Arrive
Writing Prompt
Morning Announcements
Class Meeting
Student of the Week Presentation - Addison
9:00 - 9:30
PE
9:30 - 10:00
Music
10:30 - 11:30
Snack/Read Aloud
DOL
Summer Reflections
11:30 - 12:00
Lunch
12:00 - 12:30
Recess
12:30 - 1:45
Math Block
1:45 - 2:00
Break/Movement Activity
2:00 - 2:45
Spelling
GeoNotes
2:45 - 3:00
Clean Up
Stack Chairs
Mailboxes

*Please note that math, specials (PE, music, and library), lunch, and recess are part of a fixed schedule 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
--DOL Week 1
--Summer Reflections Rough Draft
--GeoNotes Lesson 1
--Cursive Letter "A"

HOMEWORK
ON Friday, August 30, 2019:
-- Spelling Lesson 1
--Reading Logs (ongoing)

MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK
Math will officially start on Monday, August 26, 2019 (tomorrow).
--Homework will begin next week

***A brief note about homework. It is my philosophy that homework is an opportunity for students to practice skills that they have learned in school that day/week. The benefits are proven and tremendous. I try to keep things simple: 20 minutes of reading practice (reading logs), 20 minutes of math practice (worksheet), and 5-10 minutes of spelling (1 page per night). If your student is working on homework for more than an hour each night (Monday - Thursday, none on the weekends), please contact me so we can discuss things further. It is not my intention to make life impossible for you at home.

***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 and check PowerSchool regularly.

ONGOING INFORMATION
READING LOGS
Reading logs are a regular part of our class. Students will receive "points" 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).

Reading 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 benefitting 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.

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. Simply 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. All passwords have been reset and synched to their individual defaults for the start of the school year. Please do not make any changes. It is as follows:

Username: s#@student.k12northstar.org (for example: s123456@student.k12northstar.org)
Password: s#g (for example: s123456g)

DATES TO REMEMBER
This section will be coming soon!

It's a good life!

Mr. Sassman

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Thursday, August 15, 2019


Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

Weller Elementary School





Dear Parents, Guardians, Kids, Families:

This is my first year at Weller Elementary School and I am elated to be here. My daughter Zemra attended kindergarten here last year, so I can speak as a parent, that this is an amazing school and community. It is my sixth year in the District, and my fifth year teaching fourth grade.

I had the pleasure of meeting several kids, parents, guardians, aunts, uncles, and/or grandparents during our annual Ice Cream Social here at Weller Elementary and it was a huge success. Thank you for attending, and if you were unable to make it, I hope we will meet in the near future (back-to-school night perhaps). There, we will have an opportunity to talk one-on-one if necessary and go a bit more in-depth about our class (if necessary)! 




If you have not yet, please read through our classroom handbook. It has a lot of pertinent information about our class and school as a whole. I have also set out important forms like permission slips, reading logs, and a class supply list for example. If you missed them, please let me know and I can send them home with your kiddo or pop by to grab them.

The first week of school will be dedicated to team building, ice-breakers, rules and procedures, and mini-lessons. I can already tell that this is going to be an amazing year! 

Homework Already???
Yes, parents, you have homework! Please fill out the following forms and send them in if you haven't already given them to me:

--RESPA Form
--Parent Volunteer/Contact Information Form (even if you are unable to volunteer, no worries!)
--Parent Perspective
--Field Trip Permission Slip
--"Who are you?" (for your student, please help them with this)

As you know by reading this, our class blog is for you and your child to see a "snapshot" of what lessons and activities we do in class. I will also include a rough sketch of our schedule for the week, highlighting some of our main events, but please keep in mind that things may change from time to time. At the bottom of the blog post, I will list the homework and classwork that are due for the week, for your reference, as well as important dates coming up.

If you would like to subscribe to the blog and receive this in your email weekly, enter your email address in the sidebar or at the bottom, where it says "Subscribe By Email." You will receive an email from "Feed Burner" confirming your participation. Follow the instructions and check your spam folder if you do not receive an email. This will set you up for the email campaign.

The First Quarter Plan:
  • Non-fiction Narrative Writing - Summer Break Reflections
  • Spelling
  • Life Sciences
  • The United States - Geography, Mapping, Economy, States Reports
  • Red Bird Math
  • EnVision Math
  • Daily Oral Language (DOL)
  • Q1 Book Reports
  • Reading Logs
  • Cursive Handbooks
  • Class Novel
  • Art
  • And much, much, more...

Monday looks like:
8:30 - 9:00
Arrive
Writing Prompt
Morning Announcements
Class Meeting Part 1
9:00 - 9:30
PE
9:30 - 10:00
Music
10:30 - 11:30
Getting to know your classroom
Getting to know your classmates
Ice-breaker Activities
11:30 - 12:00
Lunch
12:00 - 12:30
Recess
12:30 - 3:00
Class Meeting Part 2
Vocabulary Diagnostic Assessment
Math Diagnostic Assessment
Read Aloud
Perspective Art

*Please note that the first week of school is not our "Regular" schedule. That will be set by the end of the week. Keep in mind, 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
--None for now! But not for long :)

HOMEWORK
ON Wednesday, August 21, 2019:
-- Paper Bag Biographaphies

MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK
Math will officially start on Monday, August 26, 2019.
--None for now! But not for long :)

*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 LOGS
Reading logs are a regular part of our class. Students will receive "points" 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 benefitting 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. Simply 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
This section will be coming soon!

It's a good life!

Mr. Sassman