Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
Weller Elementary School
Last week...
We filled our "Marble Jar" last week and the kids have voted on a field trip to go ice skating. The potential date is Friday, December 20, 2019. We will leave Weller at 9:15 and return around 11:30. It will be a total of $10 per student and that includes transportation and ice time (1 hr. from 10-11). Skate rental is an additional $3 per kiddo and I will cover the cost of that, however, if your student has skates, please have them bring them to school that day. Oh...and of course...you are more than welcome to join us! Thanks.
By now...most students have picked their Q2 Book Report Biographee and have a book already. The kids will create and present a Google Slide presentation when they are done reading the book. They picked their due dates this week, and this is a firm deadline! Here is a screenshot of the calendar.
This week...
It is finally here...this Friday, November 22nd...our State Reports Potluck is from 5:00 - 7:00 PM. The gym is reserved, permits are approved. I sent home flyers with details about the event and hope you can make it. It is going to be a great night of celebrating the culmination of our multi-curricular project. The kids will show off their Art, Research, and Writing in their Social Studies endeavor.
and yes...
Pillow Making this Friday, November 22nd. If you could please, pick up 1 yd. of fabric (of your child's choice) from Joann's Fabric and a small bag of Poly-fil. Feel free to send in materials all week. We can store it here if needed. That is all they will need to complete the project. If you are unable to obtain said materials, for whatever reason, simply send me a quick note, and I will make sure your kiddo is all set up, no questions asked. We will keep the pillows here at school for SSR and school assemblies.
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| Small Bag of Poly-fil |
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| 1 Yard of Fabric |
In class, students that are not done with their State Reports will keep plugging away, in hopes to finish on time. Students done with everything may work on a variety of assignments and I will have a Q2 TDL ready and waiting for them. Did someone say Current Events Round 1? Yup, that will be introduced this week. Already, there are only 5 weeks of school until winter break.
The Second Quarter Plan:
- Fictional Narratives - States Reports
- Persuasive Essays
- State Reports and Poster Board
- States Potluck
- Spelling
- Life Sciences
- GeoNotes
- enVision Math
- Daily Oral Language (DOL)
- Q2 Book Reports - Biographies
- Reading Logs
- Read Aloud - Where the Red Fern Grows
- Cursive Handbooks
- Class Novel - My Side of the Mountain
- STEM Kits
- Scribble Bots
- Art
- Current Events Round 1
- And much, much, more...
8:30 - 9:00
Arrive
Writing Prompt
Morning Announcements
Student of the Week Presentation - Izzie
9:00 - 9:30
Gym
9:30 - 10:00
Music
10:00 - 11:30
Snack/Read Aloud - Where the Red Fern Grows
State Reports - Report/Poster/Fictional Narrative
Current Events - For students finished with state reports
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
GeoNotes 5 (continued)
Class Novel - My Side of the Mountain
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
5 days (5 school days) until State Reports, Fictional Narratives, and Poster Boards are due!!!
HOMEWORK
ONGOING
--Reading Logs (ongoing)
MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK
DUE ON
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 6-1
Thursday, November 21, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 6-2
Friday, November 22, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 6-3
***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
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 6-1
Thursday, November 21, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 6-2
Friday, November 22, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 6-3
***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 grades 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 AND FIELD TRIPS
Friday, November 22, 2019
--State Reports Potluck!!! It will be from 5:00 - 7:00 PM!
Friday, November 22, 2019
--Pillow-making Extravaganza. It will be in the morning from 9:30 AM - to 11:30 AM!
Friday, December 6, 2019
--Field Trip to Herring Auditorium at Lathrop HS to see "The Nutcracker." More details to follow.
Friday, December 13, 2019
--Field Trip to the Alaska Room at Anne Wien Elementary School. We will depart at 11:30 AM and return at 2:30 PM.
Tuesday, December 20, 2019
--Marble Jar Field Trip to the Big Dipper. We will leave Weller at 9:15 and return around 11:30. It will be a total of $10 per student and that includes transportation and ice time (1 hr.). Skate rental is an additional $3 per kiddo and I will cover the cost of that, however, if your student has skates, please have them bring them to school that day. Thanks.
Friday, January 31, 2020
--Field Trip to UAF's Davis Concert Hall to see "Bach to the Future." More details to follow.
Friday, March 20, 2020
--Field Trip to Herring Auditorium at Lathrop HS to see "Eileen Ivers." More details to follow.
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - Friday, May 15, 2020
--Angel Rocks Hike and Twin Bears Educational Excursion. We will have several meetings throughout the year about this as it is a 3-day overnight camping trip, and yes we will need volunteers!
Even more to come...I am waiting on confirmation for our trip to the Alaska Room at Anne Wein. It should be in early December.
It's a good life!
Mr. Sassman
