Q4W1
“It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”―
Stanza 10 of PRR is due this Friday!
Fourth Grade Homework Expectations
It is the scholar's responsibility to regularly communicate with their parents about any missing assignments. Students receive a daily notification of any late work. This will not happen in 5th grade.
For Quarters 2-4, all late assignments will incur a 10% deduction per day. After 10 school days, missing assignments will be recorded as a zero in the grade book.
NEWS:
Please check the lost and found for lost items, it is overflowing with sweaters and other items. Items will be donated on 4/2.
Please send in "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" books.
Testing News:
Dear Parents of 3rd – 5th Grade Students,
Please make note of our state mandated spring testing schedule for AZ Science (5th only) and AASA (Arizona’s Academic Standards Assessment) for 3rd, 4th, 5th grade. To learn more about these assessments, please refer to the following AZ Department of Education resources: · Why Statewide Testing Participation Matters to Students · A Parent Guide to Understanding Arizona's Statewide Assessments (Spanish)
Our testing window begins on Monday, March 24th and runs through April 17th.
4th Grade Testing:
Practice Days: 3/25 and 3/28
Writing: Friday, April 4th
ELA/Math Part 1: Thursday, April 10th
ELA/Math Part 2: Tuesday, April 15th
Please avoid absences, late arrivals, and early departures on testing days. Please reschedule any appointments that conflict with your child’s testing schedule. Our testing schedule is carefully planned to maximize our computer resources and battery life as well as to support student achievement. State testing includes many restrictions that impact administration of the test. These rules include the inability to stop and resume testing beyond a single school day and the strict guidelines governing students leaving the testing environment, testing breaks, and well as test completion deadlines.
During testing, homework will be eliminated or significantly reduced on the evening prior to the AASA test administration. Parents can best support testing by ensuring that students arrive at school well-rested, on-time, fortified with a healthy protein breakfast and snack, and full of words of encouragement.
Furthermore, parents can additionally enable their scholars by visiting the AASA website and utilizing the sample test resources beforehand. The AASA practice tests mimic the real test portal and provide an advantage of familiarity of the technology and website functionality. Students will be briefly exposed to the sample tests in the classroom. However, any additional time spent exploring the sample tests at home helps to expose students to the format and functionality of the portal along with the types of questions that might be asked. Practicing builds confidence and allows students to display their knowledge without worrying about the computer-based testing format. Invite your student to click all the buttons to avoid that temptation that typically manifests on the day of testing. Please note that students will be using laptops with a trackpad (not a mouse) on campus and are asked to write a rough draft and show their work on scratch paper.
To visit the sample tests, visit: https://home.testnav.com/. Select Arizona, scroll down, then click on Mic Check and Sample Tests. Select AASA TestNav Sample Tests and your child’s grade level. Select the sample tests provided for Math, Writing or ELA.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Lindsay Tremblay
Dean of Academics & Testing Coordinator
NEWS:
Dress Code Notes:
Only school logo sweaters are allowed to be worn in the building. Non-dress code sweaters/fleeces/jackets can be worn at recess only and must be in their backpack/cubby while in the building. Now that the weather is getting cooler, remember that long sleeve shirts worn underneath a polo can be white, maroon, navy, or black. Black or blue leggings are allowed under skirts, but they should reach the sock line (not capri length).
CURRICULUM:
ELA:
POETRY "Paul Revere's Ride" stanza 11 is due this Friday, March 22nd. This poem spans 13 weeks (into Q4) and culminates in a grade-wide reciting of the poem in entirety for the parents.
This Poem is a behemoth of a memorization task for scholars. It should be taken seriously and can be enjoyable to accomplish such a task. In Fourth Grade, we do not have any "at-home" projects per se. Consider the memorization and recitation of this work a 13 week-long project endeavor. It can even become a family practice to memorize the weekly stanza.
Helpful Practices for Memorization:
-Listen to the poem in it's entirety, daily
-Scholars should write out the stanza memorization for the week (hang it on the bathroom mirror)
-Illustrate or act out the stanza
-Look up unfamiliar words or phrases to understand the meaning
-Re-write that section in your own words (modern language)
-Perform a word while another person says every other word until scholar can say it independently
-Practice reciting in the mirror
-Make up body or hand motions to certain lines and phraes
-Write the stanza out on a whiteboard and erase a word or phrase
-Tell yourself everyday, "I can memorize this, and so did the Fourth Graders before me!"
LITERATURE We have finished reading "Prince Caspian" by C.S. Lewis. In Q4W1 we will utilize Literature time to focus on reviewing our "Pets in School" essays. "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" will begin in W2. Please sign up for the final quarter of reading groups! There are no reading groups in Q4W1.
In the COMPOSITION program for the week we will work on creating graphic organizers to help build the 5-Paragraph essay.
In GRAMMAR, we will utilize the time to work on elements of the 5-Paragraph essay as well as AASA preparation.
In LATIN AND GREEK ROOTS we have 3 roots this week:
Q4W1
Mon
pro – for, before, forward, in place of (L)
prob lem (n) anything put forward to be worked on, or solved
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 ses (n) a pair of round brackets used to mark off a parenthetical statement 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
Math:
In Math, we will finish up Chapter 9 and then begin the final chapter of our texts, chapter 10. Our focus is on elements of measurement and conversion within both the metric and customary systems. This is a challenging unit for many scholars and at-home study of notes and supplementary aids may be necessary. Please look to the graded Open Note Classwork Quizzes to help dictate the amount of help your scholar may need.
Khan Academy Measurement Unit Lessons
History:
In History in W1 we distribute the American Revolution texts and read chapters 1, 3 and 4 in class. Scholars are assigned Chapter 2 for homework on Monday. In Q4, scholars will take a deeper look at the "Big Question" at the beginning of each chapter. The will create notecards for each chapter with the "BQ" and notes with the section headings. This is to help prepare scholars for the nightly "BQ" homework assignments in Fifth Grade.
Scholars are required to study a map of the 13 colonies of America, know their locations and correct spellings. Please monitor scholar studying diligence; ensuring ample study time. The test for the 13 Colonies is on Monday, March 24th.
Q4W1
The Original 13 Colonies for Kids
The Founding of the 13 Colonies
The French and Indian War Explained
Science:
Scholars will take a closer look at the systems of the body that work together and an initial look at the structures of the heart.
W1
The Heart and Circulatory System
Remember, the blog is updated weekly. Be sure to come back frequently to see any upcoming events or changes in fourth grade.