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************Please read the weekly news below for immportant information******************

Friday, January 25, 2019

Weekly News--January 25th

Benson/Bodrick News
News from the 4th Grade
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January 25, 2019

Math News

Image result for division methodsWe have worked very hard with long division this week.  We will continue to work on long division strategies next week with Topic 10 lessons 3-7.  We will take a division unit test around Tuesday, February 5th. Please continue to help your child with this skill.  It is a complex one for students to get, but I know that with much practice, student will become experts. Of course, students must know their multiplication facts to master division, so drilling them on their facts in the car and around the dinner table would be a plus.

Multiplication and Division Math Stations Booklets are due on Monday.  Students have had these booklets with the 10 activities to complete since we returned from Winter Break.  They should be about done by now with not much, if any, to do this weekend.


Please continue to encourage your child to complete their ALEKS topics each week.  This is a great way to get up to 10 extra credit points each week.

Science News

We had a great first week learning about organisms.  We talked about how plants and animals are broken into groups:  flowering and non flowering plants and vertebrates and invertebrates.  We took notes, looked at examples, and ended the week creating our own visual of examples.  These examples have been uploaded into Seesaw.

ELA News

READING INFORMATIONAL TEXT
Next week we will start the new quarter with a shift to nonfiction/informational text. We will begin by talking about the difference between literary and informational texts and students will learn (review really from previous grade) about informational text and graphic features found in informational text that is critical to a readers’ overall understanding of the topic.

Greek/Latin Roots will continue next week with Week 2’s assessment on Monday, January 28th. Week 3 will be introduced Monday as well. Each week (or two) students will get a list of 15 roots. We will discuss the meanings and students will be exposed to new vocabulary through a number of activities done both in class and at home. At the end of the week, there will be a test. All assessments are formatted the same way so your child knows what to expect each time. Week 2 List begins with ped, man, and scribe. Please help your child over the weekend. (Check List of Ways to Study below)

Social Studies News
This week we reviewed reasons for exploration by Europeans and Early European Settlements. We ended the indicator on Wednesday, did a review on Thursday and students were assessed today. A message was sent via Class Dojo to inform parents - as not all assessments are announced a week or two in advance. Students have been engaging with this content since the beginning of the month. The assessment was done via Quizizz (an online assessment tool) that students are very familiar with. The only thing about it is once students choose an answer, they can’t change it - therefore, reading carefully and using a clear process of elimination before clicking is critical (which was explained to students).

Next week we will begin talking about The Triangular Trade, also known as the transatlantic slave trade, that operated from the late 16th to early 19th centuries, carrying slaves, cash crops, and manufactured goods between West Africa, Caribbean or American colonies and the European colonial powers. Refer to this link over the weekend to get a heads up on what we will discuss - http://abolition.e2bn.org/slavery_43.html
Indicator addressed: 4-2.3: Explain the impact of the triangular trade, indentured servitude, and the enslaved and free Africans on the developing culture and economy of North American.

Parents Remember!
  • Check your child’s binder as frequently as you can.
  • Students (and now parents) can access the Social Studies Google Classroom at home. All presentations and special links are posted there as references. Students may use these references when studying throughout the week and completing weekly RAP questions. Some links are interactive games and videos.
  • A parent study guide has been issued for your personal use (so you can help your child if for some reason they are missing information or you aren’t exactly abreast on your history!)
  • Check out the chart of fun and effective ways to study! Keep in mind that simply talking to  your child about what they learned/talked about during day helps.

Fourth Grade News

 


Field Trip
Fourth grade is going on a field trip to the Koger Center on February 8th to see “Freedom Train”..  We will be leaving school about 10:30 am and returning around 1:00pm. We will eat lunch in our classrooms when we return.  Permission forms went home last week. Please fill out and return the form and payment no later than Friday, February 1st. You can pay online for this trip.  It is $14 per student. If you would like to chaperone, there are two options. Option 1 is $15 and it includes a ticket and your bus ride there. Option 2 is $9 and it is just the ticket--you would need to meet us at the Koger Center.  If you want to pay a chaperone fee online, you’ll need to talk to Mrs. Metts in the office and she can add it to your account so that you can pay online. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Ending Thoughts
Thank you for sharing your children with us!  Please feel free to email us with any questions.  Click on our name below for a direct link to our email.  

Thanks for sharing your children with us each day!

Friday, January 18, 2019

Weekly News--January 18th

Benson/Bodrick News
News from the 4th Grade
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January 18, 2019

Math News

This week we started our division unit.  We started small with estimating quotients.  For example, instead of 5,679 ÷ 9, we changed it to 5,400 ÷ 9 and our answer was 600.  We also discussed what a remainder was and did simple problems like 49 ÷ 8 = 6 r 1. Next week we will learn some long division strategies including traditional, the box method, and partial products.

As a reminder, I have asked students to focus on stations 1-6 for now and we will work on the last 4 next week.  I have changed the due date on these due to our 4 day week next week. These booklets will be due on Monday, January 28th.  Please check your child’s booklet and make sure they are working on them to avoid last minute work. They should have 1-6 done by Tuesday.


Please continue to encourage your child to complete their ALEKS topics each week.  This is a great way to get up to 10 extra credit points each week.

Science News

We finished our Astronomy unit this week.  Unit test grades have been posted in PowerSchool and the science journal grades will be in very soon. There is a total lunar eclipse this Sunday night.  I sent home papers today with details about this amazing event. With us being out of school on Monday, I hope that you might be able to stay up with your child and view the moon and see its glory during this eclipse.

I look forward to our new unit that we will start next week.  We will be learning about Organisms and their environments. We will plant some seeds and watch them grow.  We will also get ready to hatch some chicken eggs so that we can talk about the life cycle of a chicken. If any of you have chickens that lay fertilized eggs and would like to donate some eggs to our classroom and some of the kindergarten classrooms, please let me know.  We would return them to you after they are hatched.

ELA News

READING LOGS
Reading logs are assigned every week - next week will be the final week of logs for the 2nd Nine Weeks. Students are expected to read for at least 20 minutes and then respond to their reading using the question bank provided in their binder for fiction and nonfiction books. Your child is only required to answer one question a night on the reading response sheet provided. Please check weekly - if not every night - to make sure that your child is completing this task.  

READING INFORMATIONAL TEXT
Next week we will start the new quarter with a shift to nonfiction/informational text. We will begin by talking about the difference between literary and informational texts and students will learn (review really from previous grade) about informational text and graphic features found in informational text that is critical to a readers’ overall understanding of the topic.

Greek/Latin Roots will continue next week with Week 2. Each week (or two) students will get a list of 15 roots. We will discuss the meanings and students will be exposed to new vocabulary through a number of activities done both in class and at home. At the end of the week, there will be a test. Because we will be out on Monday, students will receive list Tuesday and test on the following Monday, January 28th.
This week’s assessment has been returned to students. Please ask them about assessment so you can review it as well. All assessments are formatted the same way so your child now knows what to expect each time they test. ***All words on assessment were introduced to students between 1/7/19 and 1/14/19. Students defined vocabulary words while I was out.

Social Studies News
Next week we will continue our studies about Early Settlements and Colonization in the New World, but place greater focus on the 13 English colonies. My homeroom already has the notepages on the three regions (New England, Middle and Southern colonies) so they can go ahead and start reading over. We will compare the three regions by Wednesday and begin talking about the introduction of slavery in the southern colonies and The Triangular Trade on Thursday.

Indicator addressed: 4-2.3: Explain the impact of the triangular trade, indentured servitude, and the enslaved and free Africans on the developing culture and economy of North American.

Fourth Grade News

 

Spaghetti Dinner
The Ed. Foundation is having a Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser on Friday, January 25th. Flyers were sent home before the break(they were on golden paper). Pre-order your tickets by January 18th using the order form on the flyer. The dinner is delicious!


Field Trip
Fourth grade is going on a field trip to the Koger Center on February 8th to see “Freedom Train”..  We will be leaving school about 10:30 am and returning around 1:00pm. We will eat lunch in our classrooms when we return.  Permission forms went home last week. Please fill out and return the form and payment no later than Friday, February 1st. You can pay online for this trip.  It is $14 per student. If you would like to chaperone, there are two options. Option 1 is $15 and it includes a ticket and your bus ride there. Option 2 is $9 and it is just the ticket--you would need to meet us at the Koger Center.  If you want to pay a chaperone fee online, you’ll need to talk to Mrs. Metts in the office and she can add it to your account so that you can pay online. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

PTO Bingo Night
PTO Family BINGO night will be held on Friday, January 25th at 6pm in the cafeteria.  It is free for BHE families. Please go online at: https://bhebingo2019.eventbrite.com and register if you would like to attend.

Ending Thoughts
Thank you for sharing your children with us!  Please feel free to email us with any questions.  Click on our name below for a direct link to our email.  

Thanks for sharing your children with us each day!

Friday, January 11, 2019

Weekly News

Benson/Bodrick News
News from the 4th Grade
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January 11, 2019

Math News

We reviewed multi-digit multiplication and took our unit test this week.  Students did quite well on this test and scores should be posted by the end of the day.  We also started work on a MAP skills program that our class is helping pilot. It takes the student MAP scores from the fall and gives skills assignments to work on based on what will help their MAP scores improve.  It is individualized so that students are working on their own level. We will mix this program into our schedule and complete during classwork. As we work through this, students may even be allowed to work on this at home in place of something else.  As we learn more about this program, I will update you on what requirements students will be asked to complete.

We will begin our division unit next week and work through topics 9 and 10 in our textbook.  Math Stations booklets were given out on Monday. I have asked students to focus on stations 1-6 for now and we will work on the last 4 after we have started working on division.  These will be due on January 25th. Please check your child’s booklet and make sure they are working on them to avoid last minute work. They should have at least 3 stations done by Monday.


Please continue to encourage your child to complete their ALEKS topics each week.  This is a great way to get up to 10 extra credit points each week.

Science News

We have been talking about constellations this week.  The constellations students need to know about are: Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Orion, Hercules, Leo, and Pegasus.  Ask your child to tell you the legends of these constellations. They should also be able to tell you which season you can see them.

We will start reviewing on Monday.  Study guides will be given out and students will complete them to help prepare for the test.  We will have our final astronomy test on Thursday. It will be a computer test and students will know their grades immediately upon completion.  Their science journals will also be due on Thursday. I have included the requirements and rubric for this notebook below so that you can see what needs to be worked on before the test.  Students can also use their journals to study next week in preparation for the test.


ELA News

READING LOGS
Reading logs are assigned every week - next week will be the final week of logs for the 2nd Nine Weeks. Students are expected to read for at least 20 minutes and then respond to their reading using the question bank provided in their binder for fiction and nonfiction books. Your child is only required to answer one question a night on the reading response sheet provided. Please check weekly - if not every night - to make sure that your child is completing this task.  

READING/WRITING - Text Dependent Analysis
Over the past couple weeks, students have been reading and working on their text-dependent analysis for “The Fisherman and His Wife” by the Brothers Grimm (yet another story they thoroughly loved). When students returned this week, they worked to finish composing their essays that answered the focus question “Why does the sea change colors throughout the story?” However, because I was out, I was not able to do student/teacher writing conferences to make sure they actually have a clear introduction, body (or development as it is referred to on the SC Ready Writing rubric), and conclusion. Next week Monday and Tuesday, students will have the chance to meet with me as I will read their “final drafts” over the weekend and provide feedback. Once they are done with their essay, they will indeed have the chance to do some watercolor paintings where they paint what they see the sea as - just as it is described in the text!


This week students were also introduced to new Greek/Latin Roots. Each week (or two) students will get a list of 15 roots. We will discuss the meanings and students will be exposed to new vocabulary. At the end of the week, there will be a test. However, because I was out this week and I wanted to do some other things with some of the roots on the week one list, the test has been postponed to Wednesday of next week.  

Social Studies News
In the coming weeks, we will learn about Early Settlements and Colonization in the New World. Parents please refer to the parent study guide you were given and even have your child review Social Studies content covered thus far. This week we learned about early European settlements (Spanish, French, English and Dutch). Next week our focus will be on the 13 English colonies. Students have a chart in their binder they need to be studying over the weekend/up until an assessment.

Fourth Grade News
Related Arts Schedule for the week of January 7th

 

Spaghetti Dinner
The Ed. Foundation is having a Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser on Friday, January 25th. Flyers were sent home before the break(they were on golden paper). Pre-order your tickets by January 18th using the order form on the flyer. The dinner is delicious!


Class Pictures
Class pictures will be on Wednesday, January 16th.  Order forms were sent home today. You must pre-order this picture--the cost is $12.  Please send in the envelope by Wednesday if you want to order a picture.

Field Trip
Fourth grade is going on a field trip to the Koger Center on February 8th to see “Freedom Train”..  We will be leaving school about 10:30 am and returning around 1:00pm. We will eat lunch in our classrooms when we return.  Permission forms went home this week. Please fill out and return the form and payment no later than Friday, February 1st. You can pay online for this trip.  It is $14 per student. If you would like to chaperone, there are two options. Option 1 is $15 and it includes a ticket and your bus ride there. Option 2 is $9 and it is just the ticket--you would need to meet us at the Koger Center.  If you want to pay a chaperone fee online, you’ll need to talk to Mrs. Metts in the office and she can add it to your account so that you can pay online. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

PTO Bingo Night
PTO Bingo night flyers went home today.  This will be held on Friday, January 25th at 6pm in the cafeteria.  It is free for BHE families. Please go online at: https://bhebingo2019.eventbrite.com and register if you would like to attend.

Ending Thoughts
Thank you for sharing your children with us!  Please feel free to email us with any questions.  Click on our name below for a direct link to our email.  

Thanks for sharing your children with us each day!