This week

We will work on 6’s and 7’s this week. Continue to practice, practice, practice on all basic multiplication and division facts until they are easy and natural.  These facts need to be solidified in each of the children’s minds.

Continue reading your biography.  The due dates begin this Friday.  Make sure you bring your book to class tomorrow as we will start our drawing!

Famous Person Picture                     December 5^th

·      (This will be started in class tomorrow.) Draw a portrait of your person in color. Label your person’s full name in large neat lettering and include the date of birth and date of death. Write your name on the back of the drawing.

 

Adelina's Whale

This week we are reading “Adelina’s Whales” by Richard Sobol It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these vocabulary words at home with your child.  Also, on this newsletter you will find our spelling words for the week.  Please practice these words at home as well.  The words in italics are our challenge spelling words.

Vocabulary Word	Meaning
biologist	scientist who studies living things, including their origins, structures, activities, and distribution
bluff	a high, steep slope or cliff
lagoon	a pond or small lake, especially one connected with a larger body of water
massive	big and heavy; bulk
rumbling	making a deep, heavy, continuous sound
tropical	of or like the regions 23.45 degrees north or south of the equator where the sun can shine directly overhead

Spelling Words: piece, peace, break, brake, threw, through, by, bye, beat, beet, thrown, throne, aloud, allowed, past, passed, weight, wait, there, their, principal, principle, symbol, cymbal, stationary, stationery

Fund Raiser ending

The fund raiser cookie money and orders need to be brought to school no later than tomorrow.  The final assembly is Wednesday afternoon. 

All proceeds will go towards getting an intercom system in our school.

Read a thon

We love to have a read-a-thon!

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving break is almost upon us.  Tomorrow is the last day of school before Thanksgiving break.  May you all have a safe, enjoyable visit with families near and far.

Fund Raiser

The fund raiser continues throughout this month. Remember to collect the money with the cookie orders.  All proceeds will go towards getting an intercom system in our school.

Update on Author Visit

 Brad Wilcox’s visit was awesome last week.  We were inspired and we are increasing our efforts of writing every day.

This is Mr Wilcox with his first sloppy copy of his Annie McRae book.  Notice that it is an envelope.  Write down your ideas whenever they come to you on whatever you have available to write on!

Remember that we need to make many changes until we finally get to our final copy.  Don't forget that "It's good, but it could be better!"

 The next few pictures show the time that we, as fourth graders, worked with Mr. Wilcox on writing our own poem. We first thought of lots of words describing autumn.  Then we used a phone number to decide how many words each line of our poem should have.

A flyer telling about the Mighty Author website that I mentioned last week is being sent home. Use the directions to register for your own account if desired.

Language Arts/Tuesday Read-a-thon

We will not be working on a new basal story this week, so no new spelling list or grammar concept!

Tuesday afternoon, November 22^nd, we will be having a read-a-thon.  Students may bring books from home to read if they need more than what we have already here in the classroom.  If they would like to bring a pillow or blanket to use during the reading time, they may.  A little snack may also be brought, if desired.  Please no MESSY treats.  Also, no glass bottles or colored drinks, as they stain the carpet when knocked over.

Math

We have started to work on Multiplication and Division facts in Math.  Please help your child memorize the facts up to 12 x 12.  This is so very important as so many other math skills rely on the basic facts of math. Please practice until you have each fact memorized. Flash cards and other drilling practice are excellent practice.

The concepts in Math are starting to get more difficult. Some of the children are starting to bring homework home each night.  Thanks for helping the children remember to get these finished and returned by the next day.  We do not have the afternoon recess that the students were use to having each day to help them complete the work.  More will fall upon homework time.

The power of songs can be used to help your child remember important things like multiplication facts. You could sing them while you ride in the car or when you are doing your homework. I have teasingly told the students that they can use these songs to annoy their brothers and sisters or to show off for you, Mom & Dad! The more they sing the words, the more facts they may remember.  Here are the tunes we will be using this year.

Multiples - Song tune to use

Twos - Yankee Doodle

Threes - Are You Sleeping

Fours - Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Sixes - London Bridge

Sevens - Mary Had a Little Lamb

Eights - This Old Man

Nines - Ten Little Indians

Twelves - Jingle Bells

For fun and extra challenge:

Thirteens - Happy Birthday

Here is a link to  another teacher's page

https://sites.google.com/a/nridge.net/bunker/index/mathematics/multiple-songs-1

He has sound files for all of the above files. WARNING: This takes a LONG time to load the page.

Biography Project Details

Project Component            Due date

Famous Person Picture                     December 5^th

·      (This will be done in class.) Draw a portrait of your person in color. Label your person’s full name in large neat lettering and include the date of birth and date of death. Write your name on the back of the drawing.

Poem: Final copy                        December 16^th

·      The first draft will be worked on in class and completed by December 9^th.  Your final copy needs to be in your BEST handwriting and as error free as you can get it.

Biography notes and Timeline       January 4^th

·      Read and locate information from at least two sources, the book you are reading and the internet source found in class.  Please restate your information in your own words.  Do NOT copy word for word what the information says! Fill out the Bibliography Notes forms and complete using the information you have gathered.

·      Complete the timeline with important events in your person’s life.  Write your facts in complete sentences.

AR Quiz                                    January 6^th

·      Take the AR Quiz on the book you read.

Poster                                    January 6^th

·      Each student will be given a Biography poster to fill out. These will be displayed next to the children at the “Wax Museum.”

·      Take care of the copy you get as you may only get ONE!  The students have been given a mini-version so that they know what to expect.

Wax Museum Speech                      January 10^th

·      This activity will give you an opportunity to meet your benchmark in public speaking.  You will need to dress up as your person and pretend you are the person speaking.  Prepare a brief (1-2 minute) speech telling about your contributions, and about your life.  Please rehearse at home.  Try to memorize your speech if possible.

·      You do NOT have to purchase anything to dress you’re your person.  Your costume should be homemade and creative, yet simple.  In addition to dressing like your person, you should bring objects that represent your person. Please make sure your props are school appropriate (no weapons etc.). 

·      You will need to present yourself at our Wax Museum assembly for the school and then again that evening for your families. You will be required to give an oral presentation as if you are the famous person. You should speak in first person. Remember to share the most important things that you learned, but keep it short.  You will deliver your presentation multiple times as people will tour as visitors to a museum.

Introducing Biography Project

Our next book report is a combination of a report on a biography read by each student, as well as a mini research project.  Each student has already chosen a biography to read out of the choices that I had in the classroom.  If for any reason, you need to change the chosen biography, you must bring and approve the new book before Thanksgiving break.

Gradesheets

Gradesheets will be given out tomorrow, Monday the 14th.  I hope this will help your child stay caught up.  Please help your child find a time to take care of any missing work before it really piles up.

Author, Brad Wilcox, visits

Brad Wilcox will be in our school Tuesday working with the students encouraging them to become mighty authors.  There is a website entitled Mighty Authors  that you are welcome to use.  To register for your own account, make sure you enter the special Altamont code that will be sent home .  If you don't receive a flyer, contact Miss Snapp for the special code. This gives you the educational discount, if you choose to publish any of your writings.

My PowerHour students are already registered.

Cookie Dough Fund Raiser

The annual fund raiser will be explained Monday afternoon at an assembly. If it is the same as last year,  we will be selling frozen cookie dough. Types to choose from: Chocolate Chunk, Peanut Butter, Snickerdoodles, Oatmeal Raisin, M&M Candies and White Choc. Mac. Nut


2.5 lb box of Place-n-Bake cookies
40 pre-formed cookies
Kosher certified
They are $15 a box.
Contact any of our students if you are interested.


Cookies come from Mill Creek Bakery.


Remember, Christmas is coming!  Cookies make a nice gift!


All proceeds will go towards a sound system in our Elementary.

The Stranger

This week we are reading “The Stranger” by Chris Van Allsburg.   It would be helpful if you will reinforce the meaning of these vocabulary words at home with your child.

Vocabulary Word	Meaning
draft	current of air
etched	engraved; a design or drawing on a metal plate, or glass
fascinated	interested greatly; attracted very strongly; charmed
frost	moisture frozen on or in a surface; feathery crystals of ice formed when water vapor in the air condenses at a temperature below freezing
parlor	formerly, a room for receiving or entertaining guests; sitting room
terror	great fear
timid	easily frightened; shy

   Also, here are  our spelling words for the week.  Please practice these words at home as well. 

Spelling Words: watched, watching, danced, dancing, studied, studying, stopped, stopping, dried, drying, happened, happening, noticed, noticing, robbed, robbing, slipped, slipping, hurried, hurrying

Veteran's Day 2011