January 15, 2016
Dear Parents,
A consistent message we are conveying in our building is- “This work
is important; you can do it; and I won’t give up on you.”
Classroom Environment:

Class room expectations
o
Respect: We show respect to property, to others, and ourselves through our words and
actions.
o
Responsibility: We should be responsible to ourselves and others by being kind, helpful, and
following through on obligations.
o
Safety: We maintain a safe environment by accepting other people as they are, cleaning
up after ourselves, supporting each other during times of struggle, and following school expectations
in the hallways, bathrooms, playground and the cafeteria.
We have the following projects and events coming up:
Upcoming Due Dates
 Great Lakes Map ~ 1/19
 Great Plains Map ~ 1/26
 Midwest Notebook (climate, land/water features, culture, agriculture) ~ 1/29
 Tower of Books FICTION challenge ~ 2/29
 WTW assessment ~ 2/2
 Field Trip Permission slip ~ 1/22
 Field Trip to Suessical ~ 2/5
Upcoming Events
 No School Monday, January 18 due to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday.
 PTO Bingo Nights on January 29th at 6:30pm
 Young Author’s Due on January 29th
 Field Trip to Suessical the Musical on February 5th in the morning
 Valentine’s Day Party, February 11th from 9:00 to 10:00 am
 No School on Friday, February 12th due to Institute Day.
 No School on Monday, February 15 due to President’s Day
Curriculum Bites: In our newsletters, we will highlight the upcoming topics/concepts in curriculum we will be studying so
you will be able to discuss and assist your students. Here are the concepts we will be learning about over the next few
weeks.

Literacy:
o Fiction: We have just begun our Literacy unit on Fiction. We, as a class, have defined fiction as
writing or books that use the author’s schema (background knowledge) and their imagination.
 We are working on learning about sub-genres
 Realistic: stories of fiction that could really happen
 Fantasy: stories of fiction that may have real elements, but also have fantastic
elements that could not happen. I.e. talking animals, magic, etc.
o Science Fiction: a type of fantasy that uses technology, science or
space.
o Folktale:
o Fables
o Fairy Tales
 Mystery
 Humor
 Adventure
 Classics
 There are many overlaps and perhaps even other subgenres for fiction!
o
Reading expectations at home: Read 30 or more minutes every day. Record your book on
your log at school. Parents ask your student a question about their reading such as, “Tell me about
your story so far.” “Why would the character do that?”
o
Tower of Books Challenge: The students have received a challenge to read 20 specific
genres of books by books by February 29. This is required and will be scored for part of their
literacy grade.
o
Writing: We are beginning Narrative writing
 Young Authors: Students have been working on their Young Author’s stories at school.
They may type their stories at home, but the writing must be done at school. The stories
are due 1/29
 Books: We have just finished compiling our class book on The United States. We will be
sending this to a publisher and you will have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the book
as well.
 Homework: Most of the writing will be completed in class; however, there will be
assignments to collect words and practice structure, mechanics and grammar of writing.
This week we will be working on sentence structure.
o
Words their Way:

Homework: We have amended our work for WTW. Please see the first pages of
their Words Their Way notebooks for weekly homework. Other ways to study would be to
locate words in their reading or other printed text. Write a story using their words.
Making a person dictionary of words.

PRACTICE both spelling and understanding the meaning of the words. Some
students are having difficulty identifying new words that use their patterns, and others are
struggling with passing the spelling portion of the assessments. We will continue to practice
in class, but students are expected to learn their words at home as well.

Math: We are beginning Module 7. This module covers partial products in multiplication and
subtracting common fractions. See attached parent information letter.
 Math facts: Students are expected to memorize and remember their multiplication/division
facts through 12s. We will evaluate these in class, but students need to practice at home.
An effective way to practice is to use flash cards. There are some attached for your
convenience.

Homework: There is less homework with Origo, however, we will send home the
workbook nightly to complete if necessary and for the students to review their daily school
work at home with you.

Social Studies: In fourth grade we study the regions of the United States. We begin by discussing
reasons people move including economy, culture, geography and climate. We are working on the Midwest
and will be completing maps and interactive Midwest notebook. Please continue to work with students in using
resources for finding information such as states and capitals, using a map, and finding information in print
and digital text.

Homework: Practice states and capitals. Maps of the Midwest have been assigned.

Science: We are studying physical science, including force, energy, electricity, and magnetism.
 Homework: We will be completing experiments in class. Provide opportunities to have
students share with you types of energy and how electrical energy and magnetism help us
do work in our daily lives.
 Science Fair: All of the fourth graders will be completing a science fair project based on
the scientific method. This will be presented to the school during the week of April 18th.
More information to follow in February.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at skprice@lz95.org
Sincerely,
Mrs. Sharon Price
Sharonk.price@lz95.org
847-719-3300