Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
Weller Elementary School
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| MAP Testing is Monday and Tuesday |
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| But really...just sayin'! |
Last week...
Ms.
Nuss got us started with a unit on Figurative Language. Specifically similes, metaphors, and
hyperbole. She will also be integrating them into our daily writing
prompts. We will continue this week with
alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification, and puns!
We are almost done with Out of My Mind and I am trying to narrow down which read aloud we will squeeze in before our winter break. More to come on that.
Thank you for attending our mini-conferences last week. I think we are ready-to-go for our MAP assessments this week.
This week...
As you know, we have MAP
(Measures of Academic Progress) assessments on Monday and Tuesday. MAPs are progress monitoring test
that the District has been using for the last 4 years now. This year,
the district has required me to administer them even though we are in a
remote learning status. Yes, I pushed back (a little bit) about the need
to do Standardized Assessments? I was informed that the FNSBSD needs to have
test results for federal funding, and well...We need funding so...While I
don't like the amount of time they take and the undue stress it brings
to all of us, they are necessary. I usually find great value in MAP
testing because it helps me monitor how well (or not well) my students
are growing academically, so I am curious about how this is going to
play out. What does this mean now?
We
will not be having "Regular" Zoom sessions on Monday and Tuesday!
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we will continue our unit on Figurative Language, finish Out of My Mind, and keep working through Topic 8 in math. I would also like to finish our unit on space, but we will see how far we get!
In case you missed it:
Here is a link to the "Master Copy" of our To-Do-List document: TDL 2020 Q2. The kids also have individual copies that are personalized and editable in their Google Classroom Classwork tab.
The Second Quarter Plan:
New Additions
- Persuasive Essays
- State Reports and Posterboards
- Q2 Book Reports - Biography Book Reports and Google Slides Presentations
- Poetry - Winter Haikus, Diamantes, What I love about Winter, and more...
- Figurative Language - Similes, Metaphors, Personification, Alliteration, Onomatopoeia, and such...
- Class Novel - Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
- Read Aloud - Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
- Art - Warm and Clod Trees
- Instructables - STEM stuff
The Staples
- Spelling Packets
- Cursive Handbooks
- Reading Logs - SSR
- EnVision Math
- Daily Oral Language (DOL)
- Weekly Geography
Monday looks like:
9:00 - TBD (Synchronous - With the teacher)
Class Meeting
MAP Testing11:30 - till' tomorrow
Go outside
Play
Be a kid
20-30 minutes of TDL work
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/PERSON ASSIGNMENTS - QUIZZES - TESTS
--None for now! But hopefully not for long :)HOMEWORK
-Reading Logs each night and record it online or on paper
-I
have posted on our Google Classroom Stream our list of items that
needed to be completed for the day and things we are working on over the
week. Kids may have additional work to finish up from the day, and
therefore would essentially become "Homework," for the evening.
MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK
-I
have sent home worksheets for the topics that we are working on. Please
complete those and save them to turn in when we do pick up and drop off
days.
*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
ZOOM
Here is our class' meeting ID and password:
Meeting ID: 624 084 6454
Passcode: ROOM23
HOMEWORK?
Our
Google Classroom "Stream" is a thing! I will post on our Stream at the
end of our last session (12:00 - 12:30), a list of tasks that the kids
need to finish up with for the day, and the things we have been working
on. It has proven to be helpful, so I will keep on doing it. Some work
may spill over into the evening and becoming essentially, homework...I
promise, no tears!
Please
have your child reading for 20 minutes a night. Then, have them record
it on their reading logs. When the log is complete, you may either send
it in, take a picture and email it to me, or enter it digitally in our
Google Classroom.
CLASS WEBSITE
If you have not yet, please browse our class' website: www.wellerwhales.org.
It has a lot of great resources and we will use this from time to time.
I am currently making adjustments and enhancements on some pages, but
the site is full and live.
Reading logs are a regular part of our class and the students' overall reading grade. Students will receive 5 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). I have a yellow folder by the classroom front door filled with new reading logs or they can submit through our GC. If a student reads for 5 days or more, they will receive a ticket for the "Prize Box" drawing. We draw prizes weekly, on Fridays at the end of the day.
READING LOGS (Remote Learning)
Reading
Logs are required and will count towards the students' overall reading
grade. Kiddos will receive 5 points for each day that they read during
the school week. They can be turned in either digitally in our GC or by
paper during our drop off and pick up days.
ClassLink/GOOGLE CLASSROOM
ClassLink is the portal in which students can access their Google Classroom. Once they log into their Chromebook, kids can access the bookmarks folder on their Chrome browser and click on ClassLink. That will bring them to the apps page where they will find Google Classroom.
DATES TO REMEMBER
ClassLink/GOOGLE CLASSROOM
ClassLink is the portal in which students can access their Google Classroom. Once they log into their Chromebook, kids can access the bookmarks folder on their Chrome browser and click on ClassLink. That will bring them to the apps page where they will find Google Classroom.
DATES TO REMEMBER
Friday, December 18, 2020
-Final day of the first semester (Q2)
-Winter break until January 5, 2021
It's a good life!
Mr. Sassman
