Weekly News--March 29th

Benson/Bodrick News

News from the 4th Grade

March 29, 2019

Math News

This week we began topic 12--adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers with common denominators.  Students did a great job simplifying their fractions. Next week we will focus more on the mixed numbers and changing an improper fraction to a mixed number and changing a mixed number to an improper fraction.  We will finish topic 12 next Friday and then review on Monday, April 8th and test on Tuesday, April 9th.

Math stations booklets are due on Monday, next week.  I will not give another math stations booklet out until after Spring Break and it will most likely include activities that will help students start reviewing all of the concepts we have learned this year to prepare for our standardized tests in May.

We talked this week about how to best review concepts from earlier in the year in preparation for May’s big tests.  Study Island is a great site that students can use to review. They can go to any topic in 4th grade and have some practice questions.  They can also use the lesson to review. I highly encourage students to start doing a little bit of Study Island each week so that they can keep remembering the concepts from earlier in year.

Calendar of Tests/Assignments  for Math and Science

Don’t forget 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

This week we finished up our Organisms unit and took a Unit test today.  This was a computerized test so students were able to see their score immediately.  There was also an essay portion that was worth 20 points that I will add to what they received on the computer portion.

Next week we will begin our last science unit of the year on light and sound.  We’ll start with light first and shortly after Spring Break, we will move to sound.  This is a really fun unit because there is a lot of hands on activities.

Students are also participating in the Richland County Conservation Youth Poster Contest.  We discussed the topic: Life in the Soil: Dig Deeper in class.  Details are on Google classroom in Science for students to review.  There are also some short videos on soil that might help them get some ideas for their posters.  Everyone is to do a rough draft of their poster on notebook paper or computer paper and turn in to me no later than Thursday, April 4th for a science grade.  I will select 24 of the posters and give those students a half sheet of poster board to recreate their poster with. These final drafts will be due to me no later than Tuesday, April 9th with the signed form that I will send home with the posterboard.  I will then deliver these to the Richland County Conservation Society by the due date. In the past I have had winners from my classroom. Two years ago I had a 2nd and 3rd place winner as well as an honorable mention winner. We were able to attend a nice banquet in celebration.  The official rules are attached here.  

Fourth Grade News

 

MAP Testing

Next week is MAP Testing for our classes.  It will take place on Wednesday, April 3rd and Thursday, April 4th after related arts.  Below you will find which day each class will take which part of the test. Please make every effort to have your child here and on time.  

Wednesday, April 3rd

Benson’s homeroom--Math Bodrick’s homeroom--ELA

Thursday, April 4th

Benson’s homeroom--ELA Bodrick’s homeroom--Math

Please help the 4th graders win an ice cream party by donating one of the items below. We are supposed to bring in hard candies.

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!

Mrs. Shannon Benson and Ms. Aubriaunna Bodrick

Math and Science News--March 22

Benson/Bodrick News

News from the 4th Grade

March 22, 2019

Math News

This week we continued working on fractions.  I was out of school Thursday and Friday and had students reviewing equivalent fractions.  We will begin topic 12 on Monday--adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers with like denominators.  We will work on this unit up until the week before Spring Break.

Students did a great job with Study Island Assignment #10 this past week so we will go ahead and start a new assignment (#11) on Monday.  They will have 2 weeks to work on it.

Students have had 2 weeks to work on math stations booklets now, so they definitely should be half way finished at this point.  They are due on Monday, April 1st (no joke).

Calendar of Tests/Assignments  for Math and Science

Don’t forget 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

This week we discussed adaptations of animals and plants that help in survival.  We will finish up our organisms unit this next week with a unit test on Friday. I will have study guides available to students by Wednesday.  Science Journals will also be taken up and graded at this time. I will update the table of contents on Google classroom Monday for students to use as a guide.

Fourth Grade News

 

MAP Testing

MAP Testing will take place on Wednesday, April 3rd and Thursday, April 4th after related arts.  Below you will find which day each class will take which part of the test.

Wednesday, April 3rd

Benson’s homeroom--Math Bodrick’s homeroom--ELA

Thursday, April 4th

Benson’s homeroom--ELA Bodrick’s homeroom--Math

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!

Mrs. Shannon Benson and Ms. Aubriaunna Bodrick

Weekly News--Mar. 15th

Benson/Bodrick News

News from the 4th Grade

March 14, 2019

Math News

We completed our ALEKS March Madness competition!  Ms. Bodrick’s homeroom won the class popcorn party because they had a grand total of 297 topics learned for the 2 week period.  Congratulations to them--hope you enjoyed your popcorn!

The Grand Champion winners from each homeroom were Jaxon and Desi.  We also had 4 other finalist from each homeroom who walked away with a sweet treat and some BHE Bucks!  The winners are below:

We have been working hard with fractions this week!  We have compared fractions, placed them on number lines, and made lots of equivalent fractions.  We will finish Topic 11 on Monday, review on Tuesday, and test on Wednesday, March 20th.

New Math Stations booklets were handed out this past Monday and will be due on Monday, April 1st (no joke).   I am very proud to say that almost everyone had their math stations booklets ready to turn in this past Monday.  They have now all been turned in and I will start grading them this weekend.

Study Island Assignment #9 was completed today and Assignment #10 will be available on Monday for students to complete.  It will be due Thursday, March 28th.

Calendar of Tests/Assignments  for Math and Science

Don’t forget 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

Students worked very hard this week to complete their Survivor project.  I am looking forward to reading them and/or watching their presentations.  I told them the sky was the limit on how they presented and they have reported in a variety of ways--reports, slideshows, videos, comics, etc.  We will try and post these in Seesaw so that you can see what your child’s final project looked like.

Next week we will start to wind down our Organisms unit.  We will talk about structural adaptations that plants and animals use for survival and how their senses are used as well.  We will try and finish up by the end of the month and have a final test to see what they have learned. More information will be available next week.

Fourth Grade News

 

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!

Mrs. Shannon Benson and Ms. Aubriaunna Bodrick

Weekly News--Mar. 8th

Benson/Bodrick News

News from the 4th Grade

March 8, 2019

Math News

We have had a busy week!  We finished topic 15 on Monday and tested on Tuesday.  The test grades were not the best so I allowed all students to make corrections on Wednesday.  Their corrected test scores, including their extra credit is in PowerSchool. For an extra 10 points on their test, all students were given an opportunity after they finished their test on Tuesday to create their own problem for a make-believe test on the same subjects.  Many of these made up questions are included on our bulletin board outside of the classroom.

We began our next unit--Topic 11 on Wednesday.  We have reviewed factors, prime and composite numbers, and multiples.  We will have a graded assignment on Tuesday to review these first 3 lessons.  This will count as a quiz grade. We have been learning these 3 concepts since the first nine weeks so it is review for them.  Please encourage them review before Tuesday so that these quiz grades will be great!

We will continue with Topic 11 next week moving onto comparing fractions, equivalent fractions, and ordering fractions.  We will finish this unit the following week and tentatively test on or around Wednesday, March 20th.

Math Stations booklets are due this coming Monday, March 11th.  Please encourage your child to finish so that it can be turned in at the beginning of class and not have any points taken off or consequences for being late.

Study Island Assignment #9 should be completed by Thursday, March 14th.  They will need to complete at least 2 sessions per topic. There are two topics this time:  time and money.

Calendar of Tests/Assignments  for Math and Science

We are having a March Madness ALEKS competition.  We began last week and the student in each homeroom with the most topics mastered from last Monday (Feb. 25th) until this Sunday night will be the grand champion.  The class with the most topics cumulatively will also win a popcorn party. Ask your child about the cool shirt they will get if they are the grand champion. Don’t forget 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 started working on a Survivor project today that we will continue next week.  This project will need to be completed by Thursday, but students will be given a lot of time to work in class.  Please do not let them come home and complete it Monday night because then they will not have anything to do in class the rest of the week.  If they haven’t finished or come close to finishing by Tuesday, they will probably need to start doing some at home, but hopefully all will get plenty done in class.  I have included the description here for you to see what they will be completing.

I would like to start incubating eggs on Monday, March 18th.  If any of you have chickens with fertilized eggs, please let me know if we could have about 2 to 3 dozen eggs to incubate and hatch.  We want to have them hatched before Spring Break.

SC MESAS packet

If anyone is still working on this packet for extra credit, I will accept them until March 14th.

ELA News

READING INFORMATIONAL TEXT

Next week in ELA we will focus on nonfiction/informational text structures - the way in which texts are built. Please refer to the chart pictured. Students will go indoor camping - which I guess we could consider to be “glamping”, as they practice identifying these structures. Please allow your child to bring sleeping bags/blankets and pillows (if they would like to do so) as they will be able to get comfy near a virtual hardwood fire! Send those items in a bag if possible so they can easily fold and store.

Greek/Latin Roots will continue next week with Week 5. The assessment for this list will be on Wednesday. This assessment, just like last week’s, will include a review section with random roots from weeks 1-4 lists. I highly suggest flash cards for roots, but if you don't want to buy paper cards you can always use Quizlet online!

Career Projects

“Oh the Places You’ll Go” Career Project guidelines were emailed last week and a link can be found in Ms. Bodrick’s personal class newsletter. Students have until March 19th to complete these projects as they are due on March 20th. Presentations will begin that day. If you have any questions, please feel free to shoot me a message via Class Dojo!

Social Studies News

Next week, students will learn about the road to independence and the course of the American Revolution (also known as the Revolutionary War). The standard is Standard 4-3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of conflict between the American colonies and England. The indicators we will address require students to be able to: 4-3.2 Explain the significance of major ideas and philosophies of government reflected in the Declaration of Independence. 4-3.3 Summarize the importance of the key battles of the Revolutionary War and the reasons for American victories including Lexington and Concord, Bunker (Breed’s) Hill, Charleston, Saratoga, Cowpens, and Yorktown.

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

 

A Day in Charleston

We are going to Charleston on Wednesday, April 10th.  This is an all day trip as we leave at 6:30am and we return at 4:00pm.  We will catch the boat and go over to Fort Sumter to explore and then we will return, have a picnic lunch, and explore the South Carolina Aquarium.  Permission forms and money are due by Thursday, March 13th to reserve your child’s spot.  We look forward to this fun-filled learning adventure!

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!

Mrs. Shannon Benson and Ms. Aubriaunna Bodrick

Weekly News--March 1st

Benson/Bodrick News

News from the 4th Grade

March 1, 2019

Math News

We will be testing on Topic 15 on Tuesday of next week.  We will be reviewing on Monday with the practice test on pages 416 and 417.  Students can always access their Pearson Success Net textbook for math at this link.  They will click on the gray Pearson Easy Bridge button and select our district.  (They have done this many times in class.)

On Wednesday we will begin Topic 11 with some review of factors, multiples, and prime and composite numbers as we dive into our fraction unit.  

Many students have turned in their math stations booklets this week.  I will update PowerSchool with who I have collected them from so that you will know if your child should still be working on them next week.  They are not due until Monday, March 11th.

Students have been eagerly working on Study Island Assignment #9 in class this week.  All students will need to have this completed by Thursday, March 14th. They will need to complete at least 2 sessions per topic.  There are two topics this time: time and money.

Calendar of Tests/Assignments  for Math and Science

Don’t forget 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 having great discussions on inherited (innate) traits and learned behaviors of animals.  We will continue next week and even start working on a project that students will be able to complete in class.  More details will come next week as we go over what they will be doing along with a due date.

If any of you have chickens with fertilized eggs, please let me know if we could have about 2 to 3 dozen eggs to incubate and hatch.  We want to have them hatched before Spring Break so we will need to get them in the incubator pretty soon.

SC MESAS packet

The deadline for the contest was today, however if anyone just wants extra credit, I can accept them until March 14th.

Fourth Grade News

 

A Day in Charleston

We are going to Charleston on Wednesday, April 10th.  Permission forms went home last week. This is an all day trip as we leave at 6:30am and we return at 4:00pm.  We will catch the boat and go over to Fort Sumter to explore and then we will return, have a picnic lunch, and explore the South Carolina Aquarium.  Permission forms and money are due by Thursday, March 13th to reserve your child’s spot. We can take 3 chaperones per homeroom on this trip. We will take the first 3 that pay for the trip as our chaperones.  We look forward to this fun-filled learning adventure!

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!

Mrs. Shannon Benson and Ms. Aubriaunna Bodrick