It's A Total Eclipse of the Heart....I mean Sun!

Hello!
I hope you all enjoyed the eclipse. While some children felt that is was anticlimactic, I think they loved learning about the solar eclipse.  Today was filled with eclipse math problems, eclipse guided research courtesy of NASA  and we even plotted the next 8 eclipses in our lifetime and calculated our age for each one (well..not mine) and 'aged' ourselves using a fun app.

In Science: We have been working hard learning about ecosystems, food chains and webs and photosynthesis. We are dissecting an owl pellet this week and we creating an interactive food web. If you'd like to play the Food Chain Game with your child CLICK HERE.

In Social Studies: We are beginning our unit on Native Americans. Your child will be learning about the structure of the communities in the Inuit, Nez Perce, Pawnee, Seminole, Kwakuitl, and Hopi tribes.

In Math:  We are finishing up our review of place value, rounding and addition & subtraction with 3-digit numbers. We will focus the next few weeks on solving multi-step word problems and explaining our thinking.

   Important Dates and Announcements 

    MAP Testing
 We will have make-up dates the following week on T-W-Th. which is the end of the testing window for Fall MAP.

         Math: Tuesday 8/22    8:20-9:2

         Reading: Wednesday 8/23  9:20-10:20

         ELA: Thursday 8/24     10-11

4th grade Curriculum Night: 8/30 6:00 pm

Author Visit: 9/1

Shannon Hale and illustrator LeUyen Pham will share their new graphic novel memoir, 

Real Friends. 

NO SCHOOL........Labor Day: 9/4

Zoo Field Trip: 9/7

4th Grade Village Gathering: 9/14 8:00 am

Fall Break: 9/18-9/22

A Fly on the Wall in Room 216

Week 2 in 4th Grade

Hello Everyone!
  We had a productive week last week. The children are adjusting to our new schedule and have been working to show what they know in their reading assessments and science & social studies inquiry lessons.

  Your child has had minimal homework so far. I will be discussing our F.Ave homework agreements at Curriculum Night on August 30th at 6pm. Until then, your child will need to read nightly as well as complete the math practice review pages for Friday. * If you find that the work is taking too long, please feel free to lessen the number of problems per page or send me a note and I can assign less work. 

   If you wouldn't mind, please fill out this survey if you are interested in sharing your expertise in our classroom this year!

   Important Dates and Announcements 

School Picnic: 8/18

    MAP Testing
 We will have make-up dates the following week on T-W-Th. which is the end of the testing window for Fall MAP.

         Math: Tuesday 8/22    8:20-9:2

         Reading: Wednesday 8/23  9:20-10:20

         ELA: Thursday 8/24     10-11

Eclipse Viewing: Monday 8/21

Students will have an extended day to view the eclipse. Read Ms. Newton's Newsletter for more information on how we plan to create a fun, educational and safe experience for your children. 

*Please note the we will have dismissal at 3:15 that day. If you need your child to check out early, you will need to do so with Ms. Plummer in the front office. If you would please email me to let me know, I can have your child ready to go! 

4th grade Curriculum Night: 8/30 6:00 pm

Author Visit: 9/1

Shannon Hale and illustrator LeUyen Pham will share their new graphic novel memoir, 

Real Friends. 

NO SCHOOL........Labor Day: 9/4

Zoo Field Trip: 9/7

4th Grade Village Gathering: 9/14 8:00 am

Fall Break: 9/18-9/22

A Fly on the Wall in Room 216

Week One In 4th Grade....

Hello!
  It was a fantastic first week in room 216 at F.Ave. Lots of new friendships, procedures and routines were formed and followed. Thank you very much for the markers and clipboards! I appreciate you so much for fulfilling my wish-list! Thank you for sending in the family photo for our wall. If you haven't done so yet, you can email one to me and I will be happy to print it.

    Last week, we began learning the about IB Learner Profiles and connected them to how we will learn and operate within our classroom. Our Term 1 Unit of Inquiry Theme is : Sharing the Planet and the Central Idea is: Communities are built and sustained through relationships. Students will learn and inquire through this lens.

         I am in the process of assessing the children in math, reading and spelling this week. We will also create our classroom agreements and develop homework routines. Your child will be bringing home our homework agreements in the next week or so. In the meantime, homework will be to read 20-30 minutes each school night and practice multiplication fact/division fact fluency 2-3 times per week for 5-10 minutes each time. 

         We practiced collaborating with a Cup Stacking Challenge and discussed what collaboration looks like, sounds like & feels like. The children described the challenge to be both fun and difficult. They connected the IB Learner profiles with this activity and agreed that Communicator and Risk-Taker were both required to complete the challenge. 

Notice the drawing of me...I have really long legs and eyelashes! 

Welcome to Room 216!

Hello!
   I am excited for the upcoming school year and I can't wait to meet you all! I will be posting information here frequently throughout the year. The best way for you to stay informed is to subscribe to receive an email alert. This will happen after I write a new post and will make it easy for you to read and see photos on your phone. You can subscribe by submitting your email address in the "follow by email" slot on the right.
 ** You will receive an email asking you to confirm your submission and you will need to respond to it in order to receive alerts throughout the year. **


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  See you this afternoon!