Weekly News--November 17th

Benson/Bodrick News

News from the 4th Grade

November 17, 2017

Math News

We are halfway through our multi-digit multiplication unit.  Students should have started on Objective 3 today and we should be finished with Objective 3 on Tuesday before the break.  We will review when we return from Thanksgiving and finish with Objective 4.  We will take our unit test on Friday, December 1st.  

By now, we have learned many different strategies to do multi-digit multiplication.  Your child should have these examples in their notebooks.  They need to be reviewing these strategies each night so that they will be familiar with them and they can pick out their favorite one.

Please have your child practice their multiplication facts.  There are many games on www.multiplication.com that they would love to play that will help them. The better they know their facts, the easier this unit will be for them to complete.

There will be no homework packet sent home on Monday.  Students should have  mastered at least 5 topics in ALEKS during the week.  If for some reason, they have not mastered them by Friday, students can (and are encouraged) to finish over the weekend.  I will be running my report on Monday morning.  

If you still need to join Seesaw, please click here and follow the directions.

Science News

Our models of the solar system are all posted in Seesaw.  If you do not see your child’s, encourage them to finish it over the weekend so that they will not get behind.

All grades have been updated in PowerSchool.  If a child is missing a science assignment, I have put a 0 in the gradebook.  Upon completion of the assignment, the 0 will be replaced with a grade.  We have been very busy with many classwork assignments this week.

This week, we researched tools used to navigate the stars.  Students completed a chart in Google classroom with what each instrument was, why it was important to astronomy, and a picture.  Students need to click “Turn in” when complete and I will be able to grade it.  It was due today.

Starting today, students need to be aware of the moon each day or night and make an observation.  Right now it is in the “New Moon” phase, so they won’t see it.  We will record our observations starting on Monday.  I will be giving them a calendar to keep up with their observations.  This will be due the Friday before Winter Break.

ELA News

This week students had a blast reviewing figurative language - all figures of speech - through song! I taught students one of the few songs I have in my repertoire that I can still use as a fourth grade teacher (I made several when I taught third grade and some aren’t of much use anymore)!  Your child has the lyrics to the song with them, so if you catch them on YouTube playing instrumental music and singing along - you know why!

Next week, students will have a Thanksgiving Choice Board. Assignments on the choice board will be due to me Tuesday before dismissal. They can work on at home (depending on how much they get done in class). The class period will be self paced. There will be NO reading responses due next week Monday and Tuesday!  

What you can do at home to help your child be successful:

• Discuss What Your Child is Reading and help them complete weekly Reading Responses which will now be checked as they are submitted via Seesaw (teacher has to approve each post before it is viewable by other students)
• Find Reasons to Write outside of the Classroom
• Play Educational Games/Watch Educational Videos - LEXIA and STUDY ISLAND can be used at home

Social Studies News

Next Week’s Indicators Standard 4-2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of how the settlement of North America was influenced by the interactions of Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans.

Next week on the two days we will be in school, students will receive notes on the various European settlements in North America (New England, New Spain, New France). They will view videos and presentations in Google Classroom in order to complete tasks that they will be able to bring home and study over the break.

*It is strongly encouraged that your child STUDY all Social Studies material over the break! Refer to Google Classroom presentations, videos, and all notes in journal/binder.

Remember:

• Students (and now parents) can access Google Classroom at home. All presentations and special links are posted there as references. Students may use these references when studying and completing weekly RAP questions. Some links are interactive games and videos!
• RAP Questions are assigned every Thursday and it is highly encouraged that students use notes to complete. Social Studies journals will come home on Thursday.
• 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!)

Fourth Grade News

Related Arts Schedule for Next Week

Donuts for Dads is coming up on Tuesday, November 21st.  

We are going on a field trip!  We are visiting Historic Brattonsville on Wednesday, November 29th.  Permission forms were due today..  The cost is $36 per child and if you would like to chaperone, it is also $36 per adult.  This is a wonderful field trip that we enjoy every year.  If you haven’t returned your forms or made payment, please do so ASAP so that we can get an accurate count.

HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY! (No School next Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.)

Ending Thoughts

Thank you for sharing your children with us!  Please feel free to email us with any questions.  For those who signed up for Remind 101 with Ms. Bodrick, feel free to shoot a text if necessary.  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--November 10th

Benson/Bodrick News

News from the 4th Grade

November 10, 2017

Math News

We are off to a great start with Unit 5--Multi-Digit Multiplication.  Everyone should have finished Objective 1 by the end of class today and we are ready to move on to Objective 2 on Monday.  The checklist is in Google classroom if a student ever needs to access it at home to catch up or if they are not in class.

Remember. we will be learning many different strategies to solve multi-digit multiplication problems.  Some of them may not make sense to you--and that’s okay.  I encourage students to use the strategy that works the best for them and to make an attempt at learning other strategies just in case it might work for them also.

Please have your child practice their multiplication facts.  There are many games on www.multiplication.com that they would love to play that will help them. The better they know their facts, the easier this unit will be for them to complete.

Homework packets will be sent home Monday.  They are to be completed by Friday.  Students also need to master at least 5 topics in ALEKS during the week.  If for some reason, they have not mastered them by Friday, students can (and are encouraged) to finish over the weekend.  I will be running my report on Monday morning.  

If you still need to join Seesaw, please click here and follow the directions.

Science News

Don’t forget to check out the Seesaw blog.  All group presentations have been posted to the blog plus some of our word art.  If you don’t see your child’s group presentation on there, I will post it as soon as they are complete.

Ms. Bodrick’s homeroom Seesaw blog address is:  https://blog.seesaw.me/benson1718block1

Mrs. Benson’s homeroom Seesaw blog address is:  https://blog.seesaw.me/benson1718homeroom

We are working on creating a model of the solar system.  I am grading the model on the following 3 criteria:  1.  The sun in the center of our solar system (not the side)  2.  The planets should not be lined up.  3.  The distance between planets and the sun should represent our model we created in class.  (In other words, the orbits of the planets shouldn’t be evenly spaced.)  Students can either draw using white paper or using Google drawings.  These will be uploaded into Seesaw by the end of class on Monday.  Students also will need to come up with their own mnemonic device to remember the order of the planets.  The one we gave in class was:  My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos.  Both of these assignments will be graded for creativity and neatness.  

After we finish discussing the planets on Monday, we will move on to researching tools used to navigate the stars.  We will also start observing the moon each day soon.

ELA News

Next week we will continue to focus on understanding theme in literary texts. We will dig deeper into The Fisherman and His Wife as we conduct close reads and practice with the Text Dependent Analysis. We will also review figures of speech (similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, idioms, proverbs). Students will have a quiz on Similes, Metaphors and Idioms Monday!

New Reading Response Options

This week, students had fun with the new reading log options. I was really excited about what I was seeing on Seesaw and Padlet - please bare with me as I listen to and approve all of the responses! If you still need access to the weekly options - click here. Remember, written responses are still an option!

***Parents, please be patient with me as I set all of my classes up and provide you with access to the pages. You will be able to see what your child is doing soon!

What you can do at home to help your child be successful:

• Discuss What Your Child is Reading and help them complete weekly Reading Responses which will now be checked as they are submitted via Seesaw (teacher has to approve each post before it is viewable by other students)
• Find Reasons to Write outside of the Classroom
• Play Educational Games/Watch Educational Videos - LEXIA and STUDY ISLAND can be used at home

Social Studies News

Weekend Study Pack

Today students received a study pack on European explorers. Based on results of an in class informal assessment, students showed that they had NOT been studying throughout the week the notes given to them. For that reason, they have to review over the weekend. The packet will be graded and they will have their test on explorers Tuesday of next week! Please check Google Classroom for the presentation and an abundance of other resources.

Next Week’s Indicators Standard 4-2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of how the settlement of North America was influenced by the interactions of Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans.

Over the course of the week, we will be learning about the cause-and-effect relationships of the Columbian Exchange. We will also talk about the various European settlements in North America (New England, New Spain, New France).

Grades for projects are still going in! I have had to go back and read through some presentations to see if all of the required information was there. Thank you for your patience!

Remember:

• Students (and now parents) can access Google Classroom at home. All presentations and special links are posted there as references. Students may use these references when studying and completing weekly RAP questions. Some links are interactive games and videos! (Parents please check your emails for my invite)
• RAP Questions are assigned every Thursday and it is highly encouraged that students use notes to complete. Social Studies journals will come home on Thursday.
• 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!)

Fourth Grade News

Related Arts Schedule for Next Week

Penny Wars has begun!  For more information, please click here.

We are going on a field trip!  We are visiting Historic Brattonsville on Wednesday, November 29th.  Permission forms have been sent home and need to be returned this next week.  The cost is $36 per child and if you would like to chaperone, it is also $36 per adult.  This is a wonderful field trip that we enjoy every year.  Please have your forms and money returned no later than November 17th.  You can pay online through parent portal or send in cash or check with the permission form.

Donuts for Dads is coming up on Tuesday, November 21st.  

Ending Thoughts

Thank you for sharing your children with us!  Please feel free to email us with any questions.  For those who signed up for Remind 101 with Ms. Bodrick, feel free to shoot a text if necessary.  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

Penny Wars

Weekly News--November 3rd

Benson/Bodrick News

News from the 4th Grade

November 3, 2017

Math News

We are finishing up our measurement unit.  We have worked very hard and are ready to show what we know.  We will be reviewing in class on Monday and we will take a test on Tuesday.  Students should have completed all of objective 3 by the beginning of class on Monday.  The only thing they cannot do at home is the quick check in ALEKS.  They can do that first thing Monday morning if it is not done at the end of class today.

We will begin our new unit on Wednesday--multi-digit multiplication.  We will be learning many different strategies to solve multi-digit multiplication problems.  Some of them may not make sense to you--and that’s okay.  I encourage students to use the strategy that works the best for them and to make an attempt at learning other strategies just in case it might work for them also.

Homework packets will be sent home Monday.  They are to be completed by Friday.  Students also need to master at least 5 topics in ALEKS during the week.  If for some reason, they have not mastered them by Friday, students can (and are encouraged) to finish over the weekend.  I don’t run my report until Monday morning.  

If you still need to join Seesaw, please click here and follow the directions.

Science News

We have jumped into our Astronomy unit.  I hope you enjoyed seeing your child’s word art in Seesaw with astronomy terms that they are familiar with.  We will be adding to those terms and learning about those terms as the nine weeks progresses.  

We are in the midst of learning about the planets.  Students were assigned a group this week and each group is responsible for sharing information with the class on their planet.  They are collaborating and making a Google slideshow with information about their planet.  (The websites they can use to research and the requirements for their slideshow is in Google classroom.)  We will take a planet walk next week and see the distances between the planets and the sun.  We will most likely take a quiz on the planet names at the end of next week.  Students should know the order of the planets and some facts about each (which will be shared in class).

ELA News

Next week we will focus on understanding theme in literary texts. We will be a well known folktale over the course of the week - The Fisherman and His Wife and practice with the Text Dependent Analysis. We will also review figures of speech (similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, idioms, proverbs)

New Reading Response Options

Students completed reading responses this week using Seesaw so they could get the hang of this new method. However, starting next week, they will have some other options - one of them being able to handwrite their responses as they did before (just on a new template). The other options do involve technology so if your child asks you over the weekend about downloading ChatterPix or Tellagami, you’ll know why! Take a look at those options by clicking here.   

***Parents, please be patient with me as I set all of my classes up and provide you with access to the pages. You will be able to see what your child is doing soon!

What you can do at home to help your child be successful:

• Discuss What Your Child is Reading and help them complete weekly Reading Responses which will now be checked as they are submitted via Seesaw (teacher has to approve each post before it is viewable by other students)
• Find Reasons to Write outside of the Classroom
• Play Educational Games/Watch Educational Videos - LEXIA and STUDY ISLAND can be used at home

Social Studies News

Next Week’s Indicators Standard 4-2: The student will demonstrate an understanding of how the settlement of North America was influenced by the interactions of Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans.

On Monday, remaining students will present their presentations and then all students will be provided a note-page with everything they need to know about each of the European explorers. Over the course of the rest of the week, we will be learning about the cause-and-effect relationships of the Columbian Exchange.

Students are still presenting Projects!!! Please be on the lookout for your child’s grades in Parent Portal! Some students did not get to present today due to time, however all projects received got full credit for them being doing on time. I was very pleased with the results! Thank you for making sure your child was prepared!

Remember:

• Students (and now parents) can access Google Classroom at home. All presentations and special links are posted there as references. Students may use these references when studying and completing weekly RAP questions. Some links are interactive games and videos! (Parents please check your emails for my invite)
• RAP Questions are assigned every Thursday and it is highly encouraged that students use notes to complete. Social Studies journals will come home on Thursday.
• 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!)

Fourth Grade News

Related Arts Schedule for Next Week

November 16th is the Ed Foundation Spaghetti Supper.  Fliers were sent home this past week to purchase tickets.

Original Works artwork was sent home recently.  This is artwork completed in art class.  You can order mugs, magnets, etc. with your child’s artwork printed on them.  The orders are due no later than November 6th.

We are going on a field trip!  We are visiting Historic Brattonsville on Wednesday, November 29th.  Permission forms were sent home this week.  The cost is $36 per child and if you would like to chaperone, it is also $36 per adult.  This is a wonderful field trip that we enjoy every year.  Please have your forms and money returned no later than November 17th.  You can pay online through parent portal or send in cash or check with the permission form.

Our annual Veteran’s Day program is coming up on Friday, November 10th at 9am in the gym.  Forms came home this week with details and RSVP forms at the bottom.  If you have a veteran that you would like honored at this program, please also fill out the “BHE Wall of Fame” form that accompanied the invitation to the program and send it in by Monday, November 6th.

The School Improvement Council is hosting a “Power up with Math” night on Thursday, November 9th.  There are 2 sessions being held.  Session 1 is from 6:00-6:25 and Session 2 is from 6:30-6:55.  There will be door prizes!  More information can be found on the flier sent home this week.

Ending Thoughts

Thank you for sharing your children with us!  Please feel free to email us with any questions.  For those who signed up for Remind 101 with Ms. Bodrick, feel free to shoot a text if necessary.  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