"The absolute rights of Englishmen, and all freemen in or out of civil society, are principally personal security, personal liberty, and private property." ―
News:
This week we have 2 mornings of AASA Practice Testing on the laptops. We begin preparing by practicing typing a 5-paragraph essay.
Stanza 11 of PRR is due this Friday!
4th Grade will have our annual recitation of the Paul Revere's Ride poem at 10am on Thursday, April 23rd in the MPR for any parents wanting to watch. Come and celebrate this amazing accomplishment!
Testing News:
AASA/AZSci State Testing Announcement:
Dear Parents of 3rd – 5th Grade Students,
I want to share with you that AZ Science (5th only) and AASA (Arizona’s Academic Standards Assessment) for 3rd, 4th, 5th grade are upcoming. To learn more about these assessments, please refer to the following AZ Department of Education resources:
· Statewide Assessment Student Flyer.pdf
Testing Schedule:
Our testing window spans Monday, March 30th through Thursday, April 16th. The dates for 4th grade are: 4th Grade
Writing: Tuesday, March 31st
ELA/Math #1: Thursday, April 9th
ELA/Math #2: Tuesday, April 14th
4th graders will have on-campus practice sessions March 24th & 27th
Attendance:
Please ensure that your student is present and on time, and does not depart early on testing days. Please reschedule any appointments that conflict with your child’s testing schedule. 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 may not be assigned or will be significantly reduced on the evening prior to the AASA test administration. I ask that you support your student’s testing success by ensuring that (s)he arrives at school well-rested, on-time, fortified with a healthy protein breakfast and snack, and full of words of encouragement.
Practice Test Information:
Parents can help enable student success by exploring the TestNav portal at home with your student on a familiar device. The Practice Test - TestNav allows students to explore the testing portal to gain familiarity with the technological knowledge needed to truly display their academic knowledge. The goal is never to ‘teach to the test’, but testing anxiety can be lessened with exposure and encouragement.
There are sample tests available as well. 3rd & 4th graders will have on campus practice sessions with the student computers. However, additional at home practice is encouraged. Invite your student to click all the buttons to avoid that temptation on the day of testing. Explore the variety of answer formats (select one, select all, drag/drop, ordering, short answer, highlight from the paragraph, etc.). Please note that students will be using laptops with a trackpad (not a mouse), and are asked to write a rough draft of their written response before typing & are asked to utilize scratch paper to solve math problems.
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 or AzSCI (5th grade only) and your child’s grade level. Select the sample tests provided for Math, Writing or ELA.
Thank you in advance for your support,
Rachel Curtis (Dean of Academics & Testing Coordinator)
CURRICULUM:
ELA:
POETRY "Paul Revere's Ride" stanza 11 is due this Friday, March 27th. 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 will continue reading Chapters 3-4 of "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" in W2.
In the COMPOSITION program for the week we will work on creating graphic organizers to help build an intro and 1 body paragraph of a 5-Paragraph essay. We will also work on AASA practice.
In GRAMMAR, we will utilize the time to work on elements of the 5-Paragraph essay as well as AASA preparation. We will resume in our WOL books after the AASA testing period.
In LATIN AND GREEK ROOTS we have 2 roots this week:
Mon
inter = between, among, amid
in ter na tion al – (adj) between or among nations (natio – nation, race, kindred)
in ter ject (v) to throw a remark in a conversation between two or more people (jacio, jactum-throw)
in ter lude (n) light entertainment in the midst of serious activities; a “break”
in ter mis sion (n) break between parts of a performance
in ter fere (v) to get between two people when it is not your problem
Tues
intra = on the inside; within
in tra mur al (adj) involving students within the same school
in tra per son al (adj) occurring within your mind
in tra der mal (adj) between layers of the skin
in tra car di ac (adj) within the heart
in tra ve nous (adj) within the veins
Math:
In Math, we will begin the final chapter of our texts, chapter 10. Our focus is on elements of measurement and conversion within the customary system. 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 W2 we read the textbook chapters 5 and 7 in class. Scholars are assigned Chapter 6 for homework on Tuesday. In Q4, scholars will take a deeper look at the "Big Question" at the beginning of each chapter. They 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 23th.
W2
W1
The Original 13 Colonies for Kids
The Founding of the 13 Colonies
The French and Indian War Explained
George Washington at Fort Duquesne
Science:
Scholars will continue to look at the structures of the heart and learn how blood circulates through the body and heart.
W2
How the Heart Pumps Blood TedEd
Flow of Blood through 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.