Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
Weller Elementary School
Hello, families of Room 23, Ms. Nuss here (one more time)!
We're on the home stretch, this will be my third and final week of full time student-teaching here at Weller. It has been a blast getting to know the students individually, this whole experience has been incredibly enriching. The best part is, that I have gained so many ideas for my future classroom!
This week...
We will continue with our class novel, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and we have started a new read aloud, Matilda by Roald Dahl. We have only read a couple chapters of it, but the kids love it already! I'm sure they are excited to keep reading it together. During the reading and snack time the students have been working on their Emotion art projects, and they have been doing everything else during TDL time.
Our science unit has almost concluded: This week, the students will be making art (yes more art, yay!) to demonstrate their knowledge of erosion, weathering, and deposition. As a special treat, we will have our ELP teacher, Mr. Bragonier, come in to help and assist with all things planned. When the students have finished, they will be writing "Artists Statements" to go with their projects. As far as math goes, we will primarily be reviewing fractions, long division, and multiplication (yes, all three methods).
Next Week...
Mr. Sassman will be taking over the class again, see the list below for new projects he has lined up for us. He wants me to tell you that he will be in the class most of this week, and he can't wait to take the reins again!
Monday looks like:
8:00 - 9:00
Arrival/Breakfast
Writing Prompt
Class Meeting
New Seats
New Jobs
To-Do List
9:00 - 9:45
Earth Science Art9:45 - 10:15
Snack
Read Aloud – Matilda
10:15 - 11:30
Math Block – Topic 11 Review11:30 - 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
Worksheets DUE on the following days:Tuesday, March 16, 2021
TBD
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
TBD
Thursday, March 18, 2021
TBD
Friday, March 19, 2021
TBD
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
Please check back here soon! Still workin' on it! Thanks a bunch.
It's a good life!
Mr. Sassman
and
Ms. Nuss
