Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
Weller Elementary School
Hello, families of Room 23, Ms. Nuss here!
One week down, two to go. I have been enjoying the freedom of having the classroom to myself, and I love that I have formed stronger bonds with the students. Getting to know them has been a blast, and I am sure that I will carry this experience with me into my first year as a fully-fledged teacher.
This week...
We will continue with our TDL campaigns. Students are finishing up assignments and projects that have been ongoing and they are moving ahead with new ones. I am just loving those superhero stories! I am also enjoying the kids' responses to our daily writing prompts. As for what we are "continuing," Anne of Green Gables and our class novel, Island of the Blue Dolphins. Finally, I introduced a new art project last week, that incorporates English/Language Arts and social/emotional learning. Specifically synonyms for our EMOTIONS. It is called WordPop, and I can't wait to see the final products!
Our science unit is well underway: the students have already done some background explorations on erosion, weathering, and deposition. On Monday, we will have a expert, guest speaker from the University of Montana (one neat thing about this whole pandemic thing) Zooming into our class to discuss our topics at hand. How about that math? Fractions will be on the agenda yet again.
This is the last week of the third quarter, and Mr. Sassman and I have been spending a lot of time updating grades and the grade book (PowerSchool). We will continue to do so this week and report cards should be available (online only) after spring break.
Next Week...
Spring break! I will be publishing another blog post on Sunday, March 14, 2021.
Monday looks like:
8:00 - 9:00
Arrival/Breakfast
Writing Prompt
Class Meeting
To-Do List
9:00 - 9:45
Earth Science9:45 - 10:15
Snack
Read Aloud – Anne of Green Gables
10:15 - 11:30
Math Block – Factors11:30 - 12:00
Lunch12:00 - 1:00
Class Novel – Island of the Blue Dolphins
Recess
1:00 - 1:10
Clean up
Pack up
Dismissal
*******Please note now that we are back to in-person instruction***********
-Kids should be reading for 20 minutes every night, and recording it in their reading logs. I will have a folder filled with them by the door. They may also continue with their digital reading logs too. Either one works for me. If they fill 5 days a week, they will get a ticket for the weekly prize box drawing on Fridays.
-Kids will receive about 20-30 minutes of classwork to complete each night that we have school. This can include math, spelling, GeoNotes...Please work with them on this if they need help. I would like for students to have no more than 40-50 minutes of work each night. Please let me know if this expectation is beyond reach and we can talk about how your child can be successful. Please again, I don't want tears along the way or any surprises at the end of the quarter!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.
The Third Quarter Plan:
New Additions/Finishing Up
- State Reports and Posterboards
- Poetry - Winter Haikus, Diamantes, What I love about Winter, and more...
- Class Novel - My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
- Read Aloud - Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
- Art - Warm and Clod Trees, Space Art
- New Year Resolutions and goal-setting
- Advice to a fourth-grader
- Student-led Parent-Teacher Conferences
- Long Division
- Fractions
- The Rock Cycle
- Cereal Box Book Reports
- Superhero Stories
- Newton's Laws of Motion
- STEM Kits
- Current Events
- Spelling Packets
- Cursive Handbooks
- Reading Logs - SSR
- EnVision Math
- Daily Oral Language (DOL)
- Weekly Geography
HOMEWORK
-Reading Logs each night and record it online or on paper
MATH HOMEWORK
Worksheets DUE on the following days:Tuesday, March 2, 2021
-Practice 11-5 (Evens only)
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
-Practice 11-6 (Evens only)
Thursday, March 4, 2021
-Practice 11-7 (Evens only)
Friday, March 5, 2021
-Practice 11-8 (Evens only)
ONGOING INFORMATION
ZOOM
Here is our class' meeting ID and password:
Meeting ID: 624 084 6454
Passcode: ROOM23
ACCESS TO PowerSchool (GRADES AND REPORT CARDS)
To view your child's current assignments and grades that have been recorded, report cards, and other grade book information click the following link and log in using your parent credentials: PowerSchool Log In
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.
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. You can find the landing page for ClassLink right here: ClassLink
DATES TO REMEMBER
Monday, March 8, 2021 – Friday, March 12, 2021
Spring Break (No school)
It's a good life!
Mr. Sassman
and
Ms. Nuss
