Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
Weller Elementary School
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| Professional Development all day today! |
Last week...
We have finally filled our "Marble Jar" and the kids have voted on a field trip to go ice skating. I am looking into dates and details, and will send home some information about it soon.
Several kids have finished their State Reports, Poster Boards, and Fictional Narratives. Many kids are well underway, and our potluck is fast approaching (9 school days)! I will keep you posted on our progress.
We started Where the Red Fern Grows and our class copies of My Side of the Mountain came in late Friday afternoon, along with the books (students) ordered from Scholastic Book Club.
Mrs. Young delivered several lessons on the branches of the US Government and voting as part of her Social Studies Methods unit for her University studies!
By now...most students have picked their Q2 Book Report Biographee and have a book already. The kids will create and present a Google Slide presentation when they are done reading the book. The students will pick their due dates this week, and this is a firm deadline! If they (your child) is having trouble with the selection available here at school, or in my classroom, feel free to check out the kids' biography section at Barnes and Noble, I was there last weekend and saw a lot of great options (I wish I had them all, but I will keep building our library).
Coming Up...
Pillow Making: Friday, November 22nd. I sent home more information in a flyer (2 weeks ago), but here is the info again. If you could please, pick up 1 yd. of fabric (of your child's choice) from Joann's Fabric and a small bag of Poly-fil. That is all they will need to complete the project. If you are unable to obtain said materials, for whatever reason, simply send me a quick note, and I will make sure your kiddo is all set up, no questions asked. We will keep the pillows here at school for SSR and school assemblies.
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| Small Bag of Poly-fil |
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| 1 Yard of Fabric |
Also on Friday, November 22nd...our State Reports Potluck from 5:00 - 7:00 PM. The gym is reserved, permits are approved. I sent home flyers with details about the event and will do so again if necessary.
This week...
Q2 TDL will be coming out. Some students (about 10 kiddos) need to finish up Scribble Bots/Acrostic Poems, and the class will continue Winter Haikus. I would also like to get our Spirit Masks and Scream Art projects done this week. The plan is ambitious, with the end of our social studies unit coming up quickly, but we will give it a go!
The Second Quarter Plan:
- Fictional Narratives - States Reports
- Persuasive Essays
- State Reports and Poster Board
- States Potluck
- Spelling
- Life Sciences
- GeoNotes
- enVision Math
- Daily Oral Language (DOL)
- Q2 Book Reports - Biographies
- Reading Logs
- Read Aloud - Where the Red Fern Grows
- Cursive Handbooks
- Class Novel - My Side of the Mountain
- STEM Kits
- Scribble Bots
- Art
- And much, much, more...
8:30 - 9:30
Arrive
Writing Prompt
Morning Announcements
Student of the Week Presentation - Gunner
Winter Haikus
9:30 - 10:00
Counselor with Mrs. Dershin
10:00 - 11:30
Music
10:00 - 11:30
Snack/Read Aloud - Where the Red Fern Grows
Spelling Lesson 6
State Reports
Fictional Narratives
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
GeoNotes 5
Class Novel - My Side of the Mountain
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
11 days (9 school days) until State Reports, Fictional Narratives, and Poster Boards are due!!!
HOMEWORK
ONGOING
--Reading Logs (ongoing)
--Spelling Lesson 6
MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK
DUE ON
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 5-6
Thursday, November 14, 2019
--Topic 5 Take-home Test
Friday, November 15, 2019
--NONE
***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.
DUE ON
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 5-6
Thursday, November 14, 2019
--Topic 5 Take-home Test
Friday, November 15, 2019
--NONE
***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 LOGSReading 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 grades 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 AND FIELD TRIPS
Friday, November 22, 2019
--State Reports Potluck!!! More information will come home in a flyer, but you heard it here first!
It will be from 5:00 - 7:00 PM!
Friday, November 22, 2019
--Pillow-making Extravaganza
It will be in the morning from 9:30 AM - to 11:30 AM!
Friday, December 6, 2019
--Field Trip to Herring Auditorium at Lathrop HS to see "The Nutcracker." More details to follow.
Friday, December 13, 2019
--Field Trip to the Alaska Room at Anne Wien Elementary School. We will depart at 11:30 AM and return at 2:30 PM.
Friday, January 31, 2020
--Field Trip to UAF's Davis Concert Hall to see "Bach to the Future." More details to follow.
Friday, March 20, 2020
--Field Trip to Herring Auditorium at Lathrop HS to see "Eileen Ivers." More details to follow.
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - Friday, May 15, 2020
--Angel Rocks Hike and Twin Bears Educational Excursion. We will have several meetings throughout the year about this as it is a 3-day overnight camping trip, and yes we will need volunteers!
Even more to come...I am waiting on confirmation for our trip to the Alaska Room at Anne Wein. It should be in early December.
It's a good life!
Mr. Sassman
