Mrs. Chang’s Weekly Bucket List
November 23, 2015, Issue 14
“Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us
there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our Nation.” John F. Kennedy
Important Dates
Math Support
Fridays at 8:15 AM
Nov. 24, 2015
Report Cards
Nov. 25-27, 2015
No School
Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 8, 2015, 7 PM
4th Grade Orchestra Concert
Last Week
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Playground Fund by making donations and participating in the
School Lock-In; students had fun playing outside, in the gym, playing games, having dinner together, and
watching a movie. I hope you have unearthed from our early snow dump! In reading, we learned about
nonfiction text structures: description, compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution,
sequence/chronology; we learned that recognizing text structures will help readers find the most important
information in nonfiction texts. Students also practiced reading for text structure in weather-related
nonfiction texts. In writing, we began writing persuasive essays, adding the elements of pushing-yourthinking-statements and a counterclaim in the conclusion; students are learning to write with a strong,
convincing voice. In math, Mrs. Chang’s class learned to convert data in tables into tallies and bar graphs, and
practiced how to interpret data in tables with multiple rows and columns. We also made bar graphs with
Smarties candies. In social studies, we continued in our unit on Native Americans. We covered the Peoples of
the Northwest, Southwest, and the Grain Plains; we compared how the people of each region used their
natural resources and developed different ways of living (foods, clothing, shelter, culture, etc.) and watched
relevant videos of these regions and their cultural highlights. We also began reading our next read aloud, The
Birchbark House, a story of a 7-year-old Native American girl from the Ojibwe tribe; we will be looking for
Notice and Note Signposts in this text. In word study, we covered Unit 3 (Health) Part 4 and took a test on
Friday.
Dec. 23, 2015 – Jan. 6, 2016
Winter Break
Weekly Puzzle
Jan. 6, 2016
No School
Teacher In-Service Day
Turn in the puzzle to Mrs. Chang this week! Correct
answers & a parent signature will earn one Chang
BUCK! Parents, please sign here to verify that you
have read the newsletter!
Jan. 7, 2016
School Resumes
__________________________________________
______
This Week







Current Read Aloud
The Birchbark House by
Louise Erdrich


In reading, we will continue to review reading for text structures in nonfiction texts; students were asked
to check out 3-4 nonfiction books from the library to practice nonfiction reading strategies.
In writing, we will write “What Am I” (Edgar Allan style) poems on holiday themes.
In math, we will continue Chapter 4 on line graphs. We will have test the following week when we return
to school, after sufficient review.
In social studies, we will continue learning about Native Americans (peoples of the eastern woodlands).
In word study, we will review the first 3 units and root word study.
We have school on Monday and Tuesday. Thanksgiving break is Wed, Thurs, and Fri this week.
There is no assigned work over break other than DAILY READING and LOGGING. Other practice options
are: Typing Club, Tenmarks (online math practice, please see my website for instructions), extra math
packets from my class, working on opinion/persuasive essays on Google Docs, or simply having
conversations about the books students are reading at home.
I hope you have a wonderful break with your families; enjoy the food and travel safely!
I have added TONS of CLASSROOM PHOTOS to my website after playing catch-up this weekend. Please
check them out at your convenience! (See the Photo Gallery tab.)