~ October News ~

Upcoming Dates:
• 10/19: Dr. Albert Roberts, Longfellow community chat – 7:00 p.m. (see details below)
• 10/18 – 10/22: Fall Parent Teacher Conferences

Reminders/Notes:
• Reading Logs: Your child should be reading at least 30 minutes 5 days a week, and completing 5 responses. Students should be using the “Sentence Leads” page that was given to them. This will help them vary their responses, and remind them not to write summaries, but to instead “interact” with the text.
• Water Bottles: It is strongly encouraged that students bring a water bottle from home to minimize distractions and keep focused on learning. On cooler mornings, they should dress in layers, because it can heat up on the third floor by afternoon.
• Healthy Snacks: A light healthy snack may be brought into class every day.
• Take Home Folder/Assignment Books: Your child should be bringing home their assignment book and a take home (homework) folder everyday. Please check both for assignments, notes, and other information.
• Digital Backpack: Access the school’s digital backpack, to get papers from the school and district. If you need paper copies, please let us know. You can simply go to the district’s website and access it that way.
• Please join Superintendent Dr. Albert Roberts for a Longfellow community chat. This chat, scheduled to last approximately 90 minutes, will provide the staff, parents/guardians, and neighbors of Longfellow an opportunity to participate in an open, informal dialogue with Dr. Roberts about a variety of issues (district finances, integration of technology in the classroom, state of facilities, etc.) that impact their individual building or the district as a whole. The Longfellow community chat will take place on Tuesday, October 19 beginning at 7:00 pm. We will meet in the Longfellow Auditorium. Please be sure your neighbors know, even if they do not have children in the district.
• PBIS: PBIS program is accepting donations from families and community partners. You can visit the PBIS blog at http://longfellowpbis.blogspot.com/ for a wish list on the right side menu; it is titled “Bears’s Den Wish List.”

Curriculum Notes:

Reading: This past week the students read “Escape,” an excerpt from the familiar story, Charlotte’s Web. Two of the comprehension skills we focused on were cause and effect and sequencing. Next week we will read Mae Jemison: Space Scientist. This biography teaches us about the first African-American woman astronaut in space. We will discuss the fact that Mae Jemison grew up having to deal with prejudices, which made it difficult for her to reach her goal. One of the main comprehension skills that accompany this selection is the use of main ideas and details. We have been working hard in class learning about writing good topic sentences and including details that stay on topic. This work will lead to better extended response answers.
Writing: In writer’s workshop our authors have enjoyed drafting personal narratives. In our lessons students have learned to come up with a creative idea, organize the plot and then put their thoughts into a story form. Students have also learned to use resources in class which can enhance their word choice. We have studied transitional words as well as sensory details when explaining specifics in our stories. The writers published these stories last week.

This week we look forward to studying voice in writing. Writers will take on the personality of a pumpkin and write a fictitious persuasive essay in the form of a letter. By taking on this personality, students will use the first person point of view while letting their imaginations take off into the autumn season at the pumpkin patch.

Parents and family members are encouraged to participate in writer’s workshop at any time. Please contact Ms. Carter if you would like to join us

Math: Students have started Unit 3 Multiplication and Division; Number Sentences and Algebra – Students will practice and review basic multiplication facts. These facts should be practiced to the point of instant recall. Multiplication facts will also be used to find division facts. Students will learn about general problem-solving schemes to help solve number stories and mathematical models for more complicated problems. Logic grids are used to take a specialized approach to solving logic problems. The unit concludes with extensions of some familiar algebra concepts and skills that were used in earlier grades of Everyday Mathematics.

Math Club: Mrs. Scaro will be pushing into all of the 4th grade classrooms for math club this year. Starting the week of October 11, she will rotate through each classroom, spending time in a different fourth grade class each week. During math club, all students will participate in math competitions, enrichment activities, and math games. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Social Studies: This week students started their study of Illinois with Mr. Weber.

Homework: Homework is either work that is not finished in school or practice of material that was taught in class. If your child has a busy evening, and homework cannot be completed, remember that the Sunrise Study Hall is open every morning from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. in the media center. Passes are available at the front office. Students may also go to the media center at lunchtime to complete homework.