Greetings Fourth Grade Families!
It's Mrs. Maza again, back to finish the blogging for our team in our final quarter. This will also be my final time ever to write the weekly blogs for our families. It's been a pleasure to serve the community all these 12 years, and it is definitely bitter sweet to end my teaching career. I have a lot of ideas about things that I would like to do when this path ends, but I have to say that after spending 48 hours with my daughter and her two boys, being a grandma is going to be the best part of my retirement plan! Obviously, I've been a grandma this whole time, but to be available when she needs me, or to join them on trips to the zoo, or just whatever the days might bring will be so incredible! The next best part will be to be able to travel whenever I want and not just during summer and all of our breaks. Can't wait!
Next weekend is our Medival Faire - I'm sure there are still opportunities to volunteer for a shift...it takes a village!
Okay, let's take a look at what we will be doing when school resumes. I must say that this quarter brings my favorite parts of the curriculum across the board! Check it out...
Language Arts:
Poetry - We're almost finished with Paul Revere's Ride - only three more stanzas!
Grammar - We have learned most of the skills for fourth graders, so we'll spend the majority of our grammar time just practicing how to use them by editing paragraphs and diagramming sentences.
Literature - My favorite book of the year is coming up - Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (COMB for future blogs). We will take one more week to get a little further in the Princess and the Goblin (required read-aloud), but then will begin COMB the second week. That means you still have one week to make sure your child's copy makes it into his or her backpack.
Latin and Greek Roots -
Q4 W1 Roots
Mon
pro – for, before, forward, in place of (L)
prob lem (n) anything thrown forward to be worked on, or solved (ballein=throw)
pro logue (n) words before beginning a play or book (logos=word)
pro ceed (v) move forward (cedo=move)
pro claim (v) announce, cry out, publish
pro noun (n) word that stands for a noun (nomen=name)
Tues
ad = to, toward near, next to (L)
ad e quate (adj) even with or equal to
ad mit (v) send to; allow entrance to a place or to the mind
ad mire (v) look at with wonder or amazement (mirror=be amazed)
ad mon ish (v) give warning to (moneo=warn)
ad jec tive (n) word “thrown at” a noun to modify it
Wed
para = beside, along with
par a graph (n) an editing mark beside a page of print to show needed indentation (graph=write)
par a site (n) an organism that lives on a host to get food
par en the sis (n) a statement placed beside (or within) the main sentence
par al lel (adj) lying alongside of another line but not touching it
par a chute (n) goes along with you as you fall and slows you down (cadere=to fall
Science - We will begin right away with the cardiovascular system. I wanted to be a doctor when I was in high school because human anatomy is so amazing! I can't wait to lead the students to discover just how wonderfully we are made!
History - Last but not least, my favorite history unit...The American Revolution! We'll begin with a little reminder of how the colonists came to America and how these Englishmen eventually decided to break free from England. The first few chapters of the unit will take us from the 13 colonies to the French and Indian War. This week the focus is the colonies and the students will be expected to know them by Monday the 28th.
That's it for week 1. Welcome back to our final quarter. I know it will fly by even though we only have a couple days off the whole quarter. I hope you had some wonderful times with your children over the break. I look forward to hearing from each of the kids when they return. Enjoy the final weekend!