Midterms went home today. They do NOT need to come back to school tomorrow. However, if you have looked at them write the word MIDTERM in their planner for a $50 bonus at tomorrow's check in. If your child is in Read 180 they received two midterms. Please make sure to read both.
Laminated US maps came home today as well. I also gave them a cool pen to use. Students need to practice locating the states in the NE region for their test coming up this Friday! They also need to be able to match the state to the correct capital. They do NOT need to be able to locate the capital inside the state. That comes later in the 10th grade. :0) I also sent home answer sheets for both the locations and the capitals.
ALL students have nightly writing homework tonight. They need to read and edit Pet Shop. If you take a look back at last weeks you will see a grade out of 3. Please know that this score reflect the number of nightly writing they attempted and turned in. So if they did one, it will say 1/3. Two will say 2/3 and if they tried all three they earned 100% or 3/3. Students have been told many times not to rip things out of their notebooks for any reason. They also know that if they do, they are responsible for getting a new one and stapling it in again. I am not grading the edits at this time. We are going over those in class the next day. We are still in the practicing and learning stages of this. Right now, I just want them to at least try it and then write it again down below with the corrections made. Thanks for your continued support on this. The more you talk to your child about what they write and edit the better! :0)
This weeks spelling unit is a review. Students will need to show mastery of words that they have had on previous units. They may re-study out of their books, but they honestly should not need to study if they really learned them. Learning is committing to long term memory. If they are studying just for the Friday test, then that is not the goal I have in mind for them. I actually honestly do not really want them to study, so I can really see what I need to do in class. But, it is up to you. The words will be selected from the review words listed in Unit 6 in their books. They are not posted here this week. There are 60 words. I will chose twenty for the test and one challenge word. They will still have nightly spelling homework however using these words to help refresh their memories.
In language so far, we have learned verbs, nouns, adjectives, articles, conjunctions, and today we added comparative and superlative adjectives to that list. They are using these parts of speech in many and varied ways throughout the week. By the end of the 4th grade, they should be able to take any given sentence and tell me what part of speech each word in that sentence is. It is awesome when they get to this level! Practice at home if you are up to the challenge.
In math, we are counting money. The last MOL did not go so well. I will be taking some time to review some concepts that were not mastered. I will also be going back to more MOL quizzes throughout the week. Keep practicing at home.
Lastly, kids will have a sub on Wednesday. I am part of a group called TILT. That is where teachers go and learn new technology and apply it in the classroom. I love technology...I know you didn't know that. :0) I can't wait to see what I learn and can then come use with your kids. Fun!
Have a great, great night.
