Upcoming Dates:
- 2/23: Frank Lloyd Home and Studio Tour – chaperones will be needed
- 2/26: PAAC 3rd Annual Night at the Museum – 6:30p.m.
- 2/26: End of 2nd Trimester
- 3/1: Casimir Pulaski Day – No School
- 3/2: ISAT (Illinois Standards Achievement Test) begin on Tuesday, March 2.
- 3/12: Report Cards Sent Home
- 3/17: Arts Fiesta – 6:30 p.m.
- 3/27 – 4/4: Spring Break - No School
ISAT:
Students in grade 4 will be tested in ISAT Science, Math, and Reading. You can help your child do his/her best on the test by:
- Making sure, if possible, that your child attends school on the days of testing
- Making sure your child gets a good night’s sleep the night before testing
- Providing breakfast on the mornings of testing
- Providing a healthy snack for your child to bring to school
- Reminding your child to ask the teacher questions if he/she does not understand the test directions
- Letting your child know that you have confidence in his/her ability to do his/her best
- Advising your child not to worry about the test – just do the best he/she can
If your child is absent and misses a session, make-up testing will be administered during the week of March 8th.
Curriculum Notes:
Writing: In writing students continue to work on their biographies. Students have learned to research and take notes in their own words. They are now working on organizing their ideas into a four paragraph essay. While drafting these biographies, writers are trying to vary their sentence structure and word choice in order to improve sentence fluency. Students have also practiced citing their sources with proper documentation. A very special thank you to all the parents who came in to assist with this research project. The students enjoyed the extra support, and we appreciated having parents involved in our classroom activities.
Alongside of biographies fourth graders have been studying idioms in class. We encourage you to share various expressions at home, which can then be added to our classroom collections.
Reading: We will continue working on our “From Mystery to Medicine” unit. If your child is reading an Open Court selection next week, please see the attached newsletter. We will be doing some lessons on making inferences early next week. For your child’s next reading project, he/she will be practicing these inferencing skills. To make inferences, good readers must use information from the story in the form of facts, reasons and descriptions. Readers also use personal experiences or knowledge to bring to the stories. The Making Inferences Reading Project will be due on Friday, February 26th. The direction page will come home next Wednesday following our lessons. Your child will need to read a fiction book to complete the project, although he/she does not need to finish the book by the 26th.
Math: Students will be completing Unit 7 (Fractions and Their Uses; Chance and Probability) next week. The three main objectives of the Unit are: 1) to provide reminders, review, and practice of fraction ideas introduced earlier, 2) to develop a good understanding of equivalent fractions, 3) to provide informal activities related to chance and probability. Students continue to practice ISAT test strategy skills in preparation for the coming Math ISAT tests.
Science: The students (Carter’s/Smith’s classes) have been doing investigations in the Earth Materials Unit. They have been working with stream tables to model the water cycle, the effect of rain on land, and how rivers, streams and lakes are formed. They are also studying the four soil components in their stream tables to gain an understanding of ground water and runoff. Through a reading selection, they are learning where drinking water comes from. To increase your child’s understanding and interest in earth science ask him or her to talk about the investigations we are doing at school. If any parents or guardians have an expertise or interest in earth science and would like to share their knowledge with the students, please contact Mrs. Ambrosino.
Social Studies: Mrs. Ambrosino’s and Mrs. Sullivan’s classes are finishing their study of Unit 3 - Chapter 6 Social Studies lessons next week. Unit 3 – the main topic of study has been the Growth and Expansion of the United States, with focus on the Illinois Territory, Illinois becoming a State, and Illinois involvement in the Civil War.
