Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
Weller Elementary School
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| Happy Easter from mine to yours... |
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| Just when we thought spring was coming... |
This week...
How about that snow day? We will be back at it tomorrow and from here on out, it is going to be a bit of a steady push to finish up projects. I have a few kiddos that are ready for their final project, Create an Island! With only seven weeks left to the end of school, Current Events Projects/Presentations are well underway. Also on the agenda are: Space Art (we started these last week), Spring Haikus (we will add on to our Autumn and Winter Haikus), I Am poems, and PEAKS preparations.
Speaking of PEAKS (Standardized State Tests). These are different from MAP tests. MAPs are for progress monitoring. PEAKS are required by the state and federal governments as an accountability measure. The kids will be taking them the following week on the Tuesday, April 13th, Wednesday the 14th, and Thursday, the 15th. There are three sections Reading, Writing, and Math. They are "shorter" than the MAP tests, but more formal...so please make sure your kiddos are on time and well rested. I will add more about this to next week's newsletter.
Our class novel, Island of the Blue Dolphins is almost done and we finished our read aloud Matilda. We also started our newest read aloud, The Sign of the Beaver. During read aloud and snack time, the students can work on their Emotions or Horizons art projects.
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. In our next topic, we will start geometry!
Tuesday looks like:
8:00 - 9:10
Arrival/Breakfast
Writing Prompt
Class Meeting
New Jobs
TDL
9:10 - 9:40
Library9:45 - 10:00
Snack
Read Aloud – Matilda
Emotions Art or Horizon Art
10:00 - 11:00
Introduction to "I am" Poems11:00 - 11:30
Math Block – Topic 15
11:30 - 12:05
Lunch12:05 - 12:35
Class Novel – Island of the Blue Dolphins
12:35 - 1:05
Recess
1:05 - 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, Geo Notes...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, 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
