Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
Weller Elementary School
Mr. Sassman here! I am back at the helm and eager to get started. Kudos to Ms. Nuss for a job well done! I am sure that she learned just as much as the kiddos over the past three weeks.
We will hit the ground running. I will be introducing a few new projects for the kiddos that are ready to take on more. To start, Current Events Projects/Presentations, Space Art (we started these last week), and our month-long poetry unit will begin with Spring Haikus (we will add on to our Autumn and Winter Haikus). Finally, this Wednesday and Thursday, we have our last round of MAP testing. Please ensure that your kiddos have a good night's rest. I will be making the kids pancakes for breakfast Wednesday morning before the test. I will pick up some snacks (oranges and animal crackers) for Thursday morning. Please have your kids to school on time, so we don't have delays. Thanks!
As you know, Ms. Nuss started some activities during her student-teaching, and we will continue with those. Our class novel, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and our read aloud, Matilda.
During read aloud and snack time, the students can work on
their Emotion art projects.
Lastly, I will give the kids a quick, fun, spelling check...more to come on that.
In math, we will be reviewing adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators, converting mixed numbers to improper fractions, and the reciprocal. We will conclude by simplifying.
Monday looks like:
8:00 - 9:00
Arrival/Breakfast
Writing Prompt
Class Meeting
New Jobs
Intro to Current Events Project
9:00 - 9:45
TDLSpring Haikus
9:45 - 10:15
Snack
Read Aloud – Matilda
Emotions Art
10:15 - 11:30
Math Block – Topic 1211:30 - 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 Fourth Quarter Plan:
New Additions/Finishing Up
- State Reports and Posterboards (yes, still!)
- Poetry - April is National Poetry Month, so hold on! One of my favorite units to teach!
- Class Novel - Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
- Class Novel 2 - The Big Wave
- Read Aloud - Matilda by Roald Dahl
- Read Aloud 2 - Indian in the Cupboard
- Art - Space Art, Horizons, and Mt. Fuji
- Advice to a fourth-grader
- Long Division
- Fractions
- Units of measurement
- The Rock Cycle
- Cereal Box Book Reports (yes, still!)
- Superhero Stories
- Newton's Laws of Motion
- STEM Kits
- Current Events
- Spelling Packets
- Cursive Handbooks
- Reading Logs - SSR
- EnVision Math
- Daily Oral Language (DOL)
- Geography Notes
HOMEWORK
-Reading Logs each night and record it online or on paper
MATH HOMEWORK
None to take home this week...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
Thursday, April 1, 2021
-Picture Day make ups (for kids that were absent the first go-round).
Thursday, May 20, 2021
-Last day of school. Can you believe it? We are 9 weeks from the end of the school year!
It's a good life!
Mr. Sassman
