Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
Weller Elementary School
Last week...
Was a great one...several groups were successful with our STEM challenge called "Towers." They also had a blast in PE with Mrs. Simmons. She had an array of activities for the students. I hope you enjoy the pictures. I tried to get everyone in at least one shot. As the year progresses, I will be able to do so more often.
Most kids have finished their Summer Reflections Final Drafts, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with you, along with their Autumn Haikus and a few other pieces at parent-teacher conferences in late October.
We also worked on DOL, Cursive Handbooks, Math Unit 1, Read Aloud, poetry, and a few reading comprehension activities.
I have met with a few kids individually, to help them select appropriate leveled books for their upcoming Q1 Book Reports. I will send home directions and a rubric for the assignment this week. Please help them with this. It is a Cereal Box BR.
This week...
We start our class novel together, Charlotte's Web - a classic - by E.B. White. I realize that some students may have read it already, but when I polled the class, it was only a few (2), and we will dive into the text quite differently than expected. We will explore reading comprehension, vocabulary, inference, character development, and so much more.
I sent home a field trip notification form. We are going to Ballaine Lake for science/art/ELA explorations. The other fourth grade classes will join us, and we will have five/six stations (depending on volunteers). We will depart Weller at 9 AM and return around 2-2:15 PM, tomorrow, Tuesday, September 10, 2019. As I mentioned in the notification form, this trip will be paid for from class funds, but if you would like to send in $5.00 to defray the cost of transportation, that would be much appreciated. No worries either way.
Q1 Book Reports, State Reports, States n' Capitals, and Charlotte's Web will all be introduced, while DOL, GeoNotes, Spelling Lesson 2 will remain constant. Our first quarter TDL ("To Do List") is starting to take shape.
Class pictures are this Thursday, September 12th.
See below for more info about ongoing assignments and homework.
The First Quarter Plan:
- Non-fiction Narrative Writing - Summer Break Reflections
- State Reports and Poster Board
- States Potluck
- Spelling
- Life Sciences
- The United States - Geography, Mapping, Economy, States Reports
- Red Bird Math
- enVision Math
- Daily Oral Language (DOL)
- Q1 Book Reports
- Reading Logs
- Cursive Handbooks
- Class Novel
- Art
- And much, much, more...
8:30 - 9:00
Arrive
Writing Prompt
Morning Announcements
Class Meeting
Student of the Week Presentation - Liv
9:00 - 9:30
Gym
9:30 - 10:00
Music
10:00 - 11:30
Snack/Read Aloud
DOL
Spelling
GeoNotes 2
11:30 - 12:00
Lunch
12:00 - 12:30
Recess
12:30 - 1:45
Math Block
1:45 - 2:00
Break/Movement Activity
2:00 - 2:45
States and Capitals
Intro to State Reports
2:45 - 3:00
Clean Up
Stack Chairs
Mailboxes
*Please note that math, specials (PE, music, and library), lunch, and recess are part of a fixed schedule and stay in blocks. At times, curriculum instruction will be shuffled to accommodate different initiatives.
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 ASSIGNMENTS - QUIZZES - TESTS
--DOL Lesson 2 (Finish)
--Summer Reflections Final Draft (Finish)
--Cursive Letter "B" (Finish A and B)
--GeoNotes Lesson 2
--Six Rooms Poetry (Rough Draft)
HOMEWORK
ONGOING
--Reading Logs (ongoing)
By Friday
--Spelling Packet 2
MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK
DUE ON
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
--Reteach 1-7
Thursday, September 12, 2019
--Reteach 1-8
Friday, September 13, 2019
--Reteach 1-9
***A brief note about homework. It is my philosophy that homework is an opportunity for students to practice skills that they have learned in school that day/week. The benefits are proven and tremendous. I try to keep things simple: 20 minutes of reading practice (reading logs), 20 minutes of math practice (worksheet), and 5-10 minutes of spelling (1 page per night). If your student is working on homework for more than an hour each night (Monday - Thursday, none on the weekends), please contact me so we can discuss things further. It is not my intention to make life impossible for you at home.
DUE ON
--Reteach 1-7
Thursday, September 12, 2019
--Reteach 1-8
Friday, September 13, 2019
--Reteach 1-9
***A brief note about homework. It is my philosophy that homework is an opportunity for students to practice skills that they have learned in school that day/week. The benefits are proven and tremendous. I try to keep things simple: 20 minutes of reading practice (reading logs), 20 minutes of math practice (worksheet), and 5-10 minutes of spelling (1 page per night). If your student is working on homework for more than an hour each night (Monday - Thursday, none on the weekends), please contact me so we can discuss things further. It is not my intention to make life impossible for you at home.
***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 and check PowerSchool regularly.
ONGOING INFORMATION
READING LOGSReading logs are a regular part of our class. Students will receive "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).
Reading logs will be due on a rolling basis and should have dates read on them. I will give credit as they are turned in and filled out correctly (please initial these). The points students receive will be added to their overall reading grade, counting towards their final grade.
It is simple, if students read and turn in their logs, they will see their grade improve significantly while naturally benefitting in fluency and accuracy. If they do not, they will not be given a "0" on the assignment, they simply will not receive any points.
I have a yellow folder by the classroom front door filled with new reading logs. Email me with any questions or concerns, please.
GOOGLE DRIVE
You can access all of your student's digital assignments online and work at home if you would like. Simply go to www.gmail.com and type in their email address and password. Then find the Google Menu (where you will find the Drive, Docs, and Slides) icon in the top right corner (it is a nine-square grid next to their s-number). This is where they will make their Google Slides Presentation for their Biography Book Reports. All passwords have been reset and synched to their individual defaults for the start of the school year. Please do not make any changes. It is as follows:
Username: s#@student.k12northstar.org (for example: s123456@student.k12northstar.org)
Password: s#g (for example: s123456g)
DATES TO REMEMBER
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
--Field Trip to Ballaine Lake (9:00 AM - 2 PM)
Thursday, September 12, 2019
--Class Picture Day
Friday, September 27, 2019
--Professional Development Teacher Work Day (no school)
Thursday, October 31 and Friday, November 1, 2019
--Parent/Teacher Conferences (please sign up online now)
More to come...
It's a good life!
Mr. Sassman
