Wow!  This is our last week of school in 2020!  Our holidays around the world and count down to Winter Break continues!  Encourage your child to participate this coming week by doing the following each day:

Monday 12/14 Wear your pajamas!

Tuesday 12/15 Wear plaid!

Wednesday 12/16 Wear lights, glitter, tinsel, or sparkle!

Thursday 12/17 Wear your favorite winter sweater!

Friday 12/18 Wear a tropical shirt, sunglasses, and flip-flops!

We will be sprinkling fun winter activities connected to our content throughout next week, and have some great information to share as we continue to learn about holidays around the world.  I know the students are excited about the Winter Wonderland party on Friday!  Please help them remember to log in at NOON, not 12:30.

Also, the teachers have a grade-level training Wednesday afternoon so the students will log off at 1:05 when the resource teacher dismisses them.

Important Dates:

12/15 – Southeast States and Capitals Quizzes

12/16 –  Make up IB Writing Prompt (if you missed 12/11)

12/16 –  Jingle Bell Drive Thru 4:00-5:30 pm at GAES (Pick up supply bags for our Winter Wonderland Party on 12/18)

12/17 –  Science Quiz on Adaptations & Ecosystems

12/18 – Word Study Quizzes on List 12

12/18 Noon to 1 pm – Winter Wonderland Party *School will end today at 1:00 pm when the party concludes*

12/21-1/1 – Winter Break!

1/4 – School Resumes, log in to Teams at 8:00 am 🙂

MATH

We will work with ratios this week.  The students will learn to compare two quantities using relationships of part to part, whole to whole, and part to whole.  The students will have notes in their notebooks as well as access to notes in the Student Resources folder.  When we come back from Winter Break we will work with fraction computation.

LANGUAGE ARTS
We have just two chapters left in Running Out of Time.  The students will complete the plot map for this novel for a grade this week.  Our Word Trek quizzes will be on Friday as usual.  This unit is a review unit for lessons 7-11.  The students will also finish their snowman writing this week.

SCIENCE

Our quiz on adaptations and ecosystems will be on Thursday. Please have your child review the notes in their notebooks, their digital notebook, and the study guides in the Student Resources-Science folder. There is a lot of information included in this 4th grade review unit!

SOCIAL STUDIES

Students need to know both where the states are on a map and which capital cities go with each state for their two quizzes on Tuesday. We will then continue learning about the features of the Southeast Region!

It was so fun hearing about your holiday and break activities!  I am glad you and yours enjoyed some quality time together.  We have two more weeks and then we will be on Winter Break!  Time really flies this time of year.

Class Dojo is here!  As an incentive to promote the best from our virtual learning environment, I started our Class Dojo this week.  Students are earning points left and right for being on time, participating, cameras on, completing homework, etc.  I’ll send each parent an email with the Dojo link for their child so you can see how they are doing.  Points accumulate into weekly virtual prizes.

Mr. Elston has requested that the students bring a plastic cup to music on Wednesday.  Mrs. Lucas has requested that the students bring an unopened water bottle, a paper ball, and a small squishy ball to P.E. on Tuesday.

Mr. Beasley, our Innovative Learning Coach, has put together some fun activities and spirit days for the next two weeks to help us learn about holidays around the world and to count down to Winter Break. Encourage your child to participate this coming week by doing the following each day:

Monday 12/7 Wear red and white!

Tuesday 12/8 Wear your favorite shoes!

Wednesday 12/9 Wear blue and white/silver!

Thursday 12/10 Show a picture of how you decorate for the holiday you celebrate!

Friday 12/11 Show something you created and/or wear red and green!

Important Dates:

12/10 – Converting and Ordering Fractions, Decimals, and Percents Test

12/11 – IB Writing Prompt at 9:00 am

12/11 –  Word Study Quizzes on List 11

12/15 – Southeast States and Capitals Quizzes

12/16 – Make up IB Writing Prompt (if you missed 12/11)

12/16 – Jingle Bell Drive Thru 4:00-5:30 pm at GAES (Pick up supply bags for our Winter Wonderland Party on 12/18)

12/17 – Science Quiz on Adaptations & Ecosystems

12/18 – Word Study Quizzes on List 12

12/18 – Noon to 1 pm: Winter Wonderland Party *School will end today at 1:00 pm when the party concludes*

MATH

We will spend this week practicing converting and ordering fractions, decimals, and percents to prepare for the test on this material on Thursday, December 10th.  Please be sure that your student uses their notes to complete the homework each night.  The students should have notes in their notebooks.  There are also notes in the Math folder in the Student Resources folder.  Next week we will begin working with ratios.

LANGUAGE ARTS

We will continue to work with text structures and context clues this week. The students will finish their context clue poster and their figurative language slideshow.  The students will also work on a creative writing piece about snowmen.  It will be fun for us to hear their stories next week!

SCIENCE

We will continue our 4th grade review unit on adaptations and ecosystems.  This week we will review niches and adaptations.  We will have a unit quiz on Thursday, December 17th.  There is a lot of information in this unit, and even though it is review from last year, please make sure your child spends time studying their notes.  There are notes in the Science folder in the Student Resources as well as in their Science notebooks.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will spend the rest of the year learning about each of the 5 regions of the US in depth.  We are starting off with the Southeast!    Your child will need to know all the states and capitals in the region, so please utilize the flashcards (digital or ones to be printed).  Our quiz on states and capitals will be on Tuesday, December 15th.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving!  I am beyond thankful to be in such a loving and supportive community!  Glen Allen is an amazing place to be!  Thank you for sharing your children with me!

MATH

We will be working on converting fractions and decimals to percents this week.  The students have notes in their notebooks as well as the Student Resources folder.  Please encourage your student to use their notes while completing homework.

LANGUAGE ARTS

We will be back on our Word Trek schedule this week with homework due on Thursday and quizzes on Friday.  Context clues and text structure are our focus skills.  The students will also create a slideshow defining types of figurative language.  The slideshow will include an original example of each type and an illustration.  We will also work on word puzzles.

SCIENCE

This week we will review ecosystems and food webs from fourth grade.  The students will have notes in their notebooks as well as in the Student Resources folder.  This is a fun unit where the students typically have a lot of previous knowledge due to their love of animals!  🙂

SOCIAL STUDIES

There will be a Five Themes of Geography test on Thursday, December 3rd.  The students have notes in their notebooks and the Student Resources folder.  Geography vocabulary and concepts as well as the five themes will be covered on this test.  Next, we will start our travels across the United States with the Southeast.

Important Dates:

12/3 –  Five Themes of Geography Test

12/4 – Word Study Quizzes on List 10

We are officially in the second nine weeks!  The kiddos have done such a great job adjusting to the routines and expectations.  This week we have been talking about computer cameras.  They are aware that if I say, “Be sure your cameras are on,” they need to check to see if theirs is on.  I realize that some of the computers are wonky, but the students need to turn them back on when I remind them.  Having the camera on is for safety, but also so I can be sure they are engaged and understanding what we are working on.  The students really are doing a fabulous job with this already!  Thanks so much for your support with this.  🙂

Next week is a short week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Please remember that HCPS has extended the return to school option until January, so after Thanksgiving Break we will maintain our current schedule.

MATH

We will complete some fun Thanksgiving math activities as well as finish our last round of stations.  When we come back from the holiday we will begin converting fractions and decimals to percents.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Due to the short week, we not have Word Trek next week.  The students will work on finishing their Thankful writing.  We will also read some Thanksgiving stories as well as our novel study, Running Out of Time.  Don’t forget, Turkey Disguise Projects are due on Monday!  I can’t wait to see these!

TECHNOLOGY

We will be using our social studies and science time to work through several digital citizenship lessons.  These involve scenarios around appropriate use of technology in and out of school.

Important Dates:

11/23 –  Tom or Tammy Turkey Project Due

11/25-27 –  Thanksgiving Break, School Closed

12/3 –  Five Themes of Geography Test

12/4 – Word Study Quizzes on List 10

Congratulations!  We have made it through the first nine weeks!  Thank you so much for all of your support as we have navigated these quite unusual waters this year.  I will keep you posted on the next transition of moving to in-person school as well.  I am feeling positive about it all and am so grateful that our class will stay together!  So happy to continue being all of the students’ teacher!

As we move into the second nine weeks, please encourage your student to use the slideshows as resources.  Everything that is expected of them is either in a slide, below the slideshow as a Schoology assignment, or on the calendar on the right hand side of our Homeroom Page.  Please know that we have discussed at length where things are.  So the students should be able to find what they need to complete when technology issues or absences arise.  I will not be reaching out to students  over and over again about missing assignments or assignments that need to be submitted in the second nine weeks and beyond.  They will know that something is missing when there is a 50 in PowerSchool.  All students should be able to check their own grades in PowerSchool at this point.  One of our goals in fifth grade is to develop the personal responsibility needed for students to be successful in middle school.  Please help them by requiring them to take on these responsibilities.  Another thing you can do to help is require them to read this blog.  Again, thank you so much for your help with this!  🙂

Important Dates:

11/18 Ocean Wheel Due

11/19 Ocean Unit Test with 4.9 Review included

11/20 Word Study Quizzes on List 9

11/23 Tom/Tammy Turkey Project Due

11/25-27: School Closed for Thanksgiving Break

12/9 New IB Writing Prompt Date (will be given virtually)

MATH

We will start the week with reviewing fractions.  We will begin with finding lowest common multiple and greatest common factor.  Then we will work with equivalent fractions and simplifying fractions.  Next we will move into converting decimals to fractions and fractions to decimals.  If your student needs work with multiplication facts this is a great time to practice.  Being fluent in multiplication facts will hugely help with fractions.  The students need to know their facts without thinking too hard.  Please get them on online games, use multiplication fact cards, or just give them facts while driving in the car, making dinner, any moment you may have.  Thank you so much for your help with this!

LANGUAGE ARTS

In writing we will work with homophones, figurative language, and persuasive writing.  Please make sure your child has started working on their Tom or Tammy Turkey! Tom/Tammy the Turkey Project  The expectations of this project are also linked to each homework slide until the 23rd.  The students should be doing the writing piece in Schoology.  The assignment can be found on the right hand side of our Homeroom Page on Schoology.  We will share our turkeys in class November 23rd & 24th.

We will be having Word Trek this week.  The list for Lesson 9 is posted in the Monday folder if your student would like to start on it this weekend.

In Reading we will work with making conclusions based on evidence from the text.  We will also continue reading Running Out of Time.  We will use this novel to make conclusions based on evidence from the text.  We will also add rising action to our plot map for this novel.  It is getting so good!

SCIENCE

Our Oceans Test is Thursday, November 19th.  We will review watersheds, food chains, and food webs from fourth grade this week.  All of these concepts will be on the test.  The students will have science homework on Wednesday to help them prepare for the test.  Please encourage them to also use resources on the portaportal and the Science page of this blog.  They also have access to study guides and notes in their digital My Oceans Notebook in their Google Drive.  In the Student Resources folder there are notes and a study guide as well.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will begin exploring the five themes of geography this week.  The students will learn what the five themes are and then brainstorm real-life examples of each theme in our classroom, school, and community.  One of the coolest things about the five themes is that it connects us all and allows us to learn more about each other.  This unit will then lead us to exploring each of the regions in the United States.

We had a wonderful week together again!  Thanks so much for all that you all are doing to make our class meetings and experiences happen.  🙂

 

From Mrs. Lucas:

Students will need TWO UNOPENED 16 oounce water bottles for PE class this coming week.

 

From Mrs. Harris:

The annual Scripps Spelling Bee at our school is going virtual! The first step to spelling bee participation is for parents/guardians to register for the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s online testing platform by visiting https://online-test.spellingbee.com.

You may find this tutorial  helpful as you walk through the registration process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htXzjpnMijc

Once you have registered, I will be able to assign the appropriate grade level test to your child. Online competitions will begin the week of November 16 and will continue until we have a school winner.

While we work through this new format, I ask you for your patience. Together we will navigate this exciting and voluntary event.

Theresa Harris     Spelling Bee Coordinator

 

We have another shortened week coming up.  On Thursday we will not log into Teams together, but students are required to complete the assignments in Schoology that day!  This is considered a full school day, and if students do not do the assignments they will be marked as absent.  Friday, November 13th is a student holiday to recognize Diwali.

Friday is also the last day of the first quarter!  Please look in Powerschool to see what work your child is missing.  I have also sent students messages in Schoology if they are missing assignments and verbally reminded them in class.  I cannot accept any work after Friday morning!

Please be sure you and your family complete the Student Intent Form before Sunday night!  This will ask you to indicate if your child will be returning to the school building on December 7th or remaining a virtual learner at home.  It is important that this information is collected so Mrs. Pruden can determine how best to safely accommodate all students’ learning preferences.  You will need to log into the Powerschool Parent Portal and click “online forms.”

The deadline for submitting IB applications has been extended to NEXT Friday, November 13th.  Please refer to Mrs. Sitter’s information in Schoology if your child would still like to apply.

Important Dates:

11/10  Decimal Computation Test

11/11   Ocean Floor & Motion Quiz

11/12  Student Asynchronous Learning Day (complete assignments in Schoology, no logging into Teams)

11/13  Student Holiday

End of Quarter 1

Final Day to submit IB applications

11/18 Ocean Wheel Due

11/19 Ocean Unit Test

11/23 Tom/Tammy Turkey Project Due

11/25-27: School Closed for Thanksgiving Break

 

MATH

We will be finishing up our Decimal Computation Unit with a test on Tuesday, Nov. 10th.  Your student has notes in their notebook to help prepare for this test.  There are also notes in the Student Resources folder.  Please encourage your student to use these notes doing homework and to get onto the portaportal and the web resources in the math folder of this blog.

LANGUAGE ARTS

We will not have Word Trek this week due to the shortened week.  We will continue working with summarizing and also look at the differences between tone and mode as well as explore literary devices such at cliff hangers, foreshadowing, flashbacks, and suspense.  Nearly all of these are prevalent in our novel study so it is the perfect time to apply this knowledge.  My Favorite Holiday essays are due on Monday at three o’clock.  Please check with your student to see if they have completed it and submitted it to me by then.

Your student has been assigned the Turkey Disguise Project.  We do these every year, and they are amazing!  This project is due on Monday, November 23rd.  We will be presenting these to the class.  I can’t wait to see them!  Please let me know if you have questions.

SCIENCE

We are moving along with our oceans unit! Students will be assigned an Ocean Wheel on Monday.  This is a great way to get students back into their notes to prep for the upcoming unit test on Thursday, November 19th.  The Ocean Wheels are due November 18th.  On Wednesday, we will have a quiz on the ocean floor and ocean motions of waves, tides, currents.  Your child will need to know the parts of the ocean floor and how to correctly label a diagram of the ocean floor.  They also need to know how waves, tides, and currents are formed and the differences between each.  Your student has notes in the notebook along with study guides in their My Ocean Notebooks, and the Student Resources folder.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will be finishing up map skills and geography vocabulary this week and then onto the five themes of geography.

Please note next week is a short week as Tuesday is Election Day, and Wednesday is now a student holiday as staff prepares the school building for students’ upcoming return. Your child will have assignments to work on for me on Wednesday during the school day. We will walk through directions together on Monday, and I will have all the materials already posted. Your child is welcome to tackle these tasks as they wish over Tuesday and Wednesday. Students can also use PortaPortal to practice and reinforce concepts we are working on or work on Lexia or Dreambox to tackle their weekly goals.

From Mrs. Lucas:  Students need 1 piece of paper and a pack of colored markers (R, G, B, Y, O, P, Black) for PE next Tuesday.

From Mrs. Siler:  Students need a wrapped piece of candy or granola bar to sketch on Friday.

Important Dates:

11/2   Parent Teacher Conferences by appointment

11/3   School Closed for Election Day

11/4   Student Asynchronous Learning Day (complete assignments in Schoology, no logging into Teams)

11/6   PE assignments due for Mrs. Lucas

11/11  Decimal Computation Test

11/12  Student Asynchronous Learning Day (complete assignments in Schoology, no logging into Teams)

11/13  School Closed for Diwali/end of Quarter 1

11/17  Physical Landforms quiz

11/25-27:  School Closed for Thanksgiving Break

MATH

We will continue to practice al forms of decimal computation in the week.  There will be a test on decimal computation on Wednesday, November 11th.  Your student has notes and practice in their notebooks and in the Student Resources folder.  Please be sure that your student is completing their homework with their notes.  They can also practice on the portaportal and the math page of this blog.  Next we will work with multiplication and addition properties.

LANGUAGE ARTS

We will finish up our Favorite Holiday writing this week.  The students have been working on the rough drafts and working with feedback to make improvements.  The students are also finishing their Because of Mr. Terupt projects.  We will continue reading Running Out of Time.  Our focus skills are finding the main idea and summarizing.  Both skills require the students to find important details that support.  We will do several activities with our novel study to enhance these skills.  The book reports look great!  I am excited to dive in and read their question responses and really look at the projects!

SCIENCE

I am so proud of the students’ weather test scores! I can tell they really used the materials in Student Resources to study. Get ready for one of the best units in science – Oceans!  We kicked off the unit by talking about the ocean floor and we were amazed at how it looks just like the land across the US with mountains, valleys, and plains. We will review this next week and start discussing ocean movement (waves, currents, and tides). Our oceans unit is really fun, but there is a lot of content. It will carry over into the second quarter. Please encourage your child to review notes in the Student Resources–Science folder and the portaportal for fun videos and games as we work through this unit.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will spend some more time practicing longitude and latitude and how to find specific coordinates on a given map.  The students will also create a picture dictionary for specific physical landforms.  There will be a quiz on these landforms on Tuesday, November 17th.

It’s been a great week!  Thanks so much for taking the time to read this blog!  Please encourage your student to read this as well.  🙂

Mrs. Lucas is asking everyone participate in PE Success Week and attempt these activities together as a family:

This year Success week is October 26th-30th. This program is aimed at motivating students, families, and communities to participate in a physically active lifestyle. This event is to help individuals become aware of heart-health related fitness components, to promote self-esteem by acknowledging each student’s achievement, and to establish a plan for participation in physical activities at home, school and the community. Remember being active is a lifestyle. Families are encouraged to upload a photo or a video in the google slide which can be found in the link provided: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1shIrpa0k3KJow52kM0iJrTbNsK15__Qq6ML8LmoaKrM/edit#slide=id.p

This year while in Physical Education class, students will participate in fall fitness fun activities which will incorporate the 5 components of fitness. The schedule for success week is below and will consist of the following events:

Mouthful Monday-26th: Write down everything you eat on a piece of paper and bring it with you to PE class. Ask yourself, “Am I eating a variety of colors at each meal?” If you aren’t, then you may want to change your eating habits. It’s important to eat healthy to develop strong bones, muscles and teeth. Wear a different color on each part of your body to remind yourself to eat a colorful meal.

Team Jersey Tuesday-27th: Wear your favorite team jersey. Participate in a family plank challenge and see who can hold the plank the longest, then take a relaxing walk in the evening with your family.

Workout Wednesday-28th: Wear your fitness clothing and sneakers. Do 25 jumping jacks, 8 push-ups, 10 burpees, 20 mountain climbers and jog or walk a mile with your family.

Thirsty Thursday-29th: Drink lots of water.  It does the body good!  Did you know that about 70% of your body is made of water? Check the label on your liquids. Does it have any sugar? If it does, reduce the amount of sugar you are drinking. Wear light blue to remind yourself to drink lots of water. Go on a bike ride with a friend or family member.

Flexible Friday-30th: School Spirit Day. Wear school spirit colors and be part of a winning team.  Practice a few stretching exercises with your family. Being flexible prevents injuries when participating in sports. Relax and enjoy the weekend.

ALL Students need a piece of white paper and something to write or draw with in PE.

Important Dates:

10/27  Science Weather Test

10/30  Mystery Book Reports Due

10/30  Word Trek Quizzes Lesson #7

11/2   Parent Teacher Conferences by appointment

11/6   PE assignments due for Mrs. Lucas

MATH

We will continue with decimal computation this week.   Students have notes in their notebooks.  There are also notes and examples in the Math Folder in the Student Resources Folder.  Please continue to encourage them to use their notes while doing their homework.

Dreambox – Families, please click on this link for directions on how to use the Family Dashboard to see your child’s progress in this uniquely tailored math program. The weekly goal is 5 lessons.  Each lesson should take 8-15 minutes MAX.  If students are taking longer to complete a lesson, they may be “perusing” lessons rather than persisting through the content. It’s okay if they don’t know the answers! Dreambox will tailor lessons for them as it gains information on their current skill level. Dreambox Home Learning Guide

LANGUAGE ARTS

This week we will talk about identifying the main idea and summarizing important details in reading. We have really been focusing on using evidence in the text to support our thinking and answers to questions. We will continue this by using key details to defend our choice of main idea and to create a solid summary. 

We finished Because of Mr. Terupt this week.  The kids loved it!  This week they will start the final project for this book.  It involves choosing one character and displaying the character development that occurs from the beginning of the book to the end.  They will have several choices to do this, including becoming a character on Flipgrid, creating a Google slideshow, writing journal entries, or their own project choice.  These are going to be so cool! 

Your child should be finishing their book reports.  These are due October 30th.  Your child needs to share their response questions with me along with a picture of their project. Students will be given an option to share their projects with the class, but it is not required.  I am excited to see their projects and read their response questions!

SCIENCE

Our weather test is Tuesday, October 27th.  We will review in class Monday.  We will begin our oceans unit on Friday.  This is one of our team’s favorite units to teach.  There will be a study guide and notes in the Science folder in the Student Resources Folder.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Having covered terminology, parts of a map, and map types this past week, we will be digging into reading maps. Our focus this week will be on longitude and latitude and using the “global grid” to find locations on a map.  

Thanks so much to everyone who was able to join me last night for Back to School Night Part 2.  If you weren’t able to attend or want to double check anything I have posted the slideshow in the Family Resources folder on our Homeroom page.  Please let me know if you have questions at any time.

From Mrs. Lucas: Students will need a paper ball and 2 tennis shoes on their feet this week. 1 shoe they will be wearing and the other shoe they will be catching.

PTA Reflections:  Use the arts to share your personal Reflections on this year’s theme: I Matter Because…Submissions are due to Amy Nolan and Lisa Ross by November 1, 2020. All submissions must be done virtually and must be submitted with attached entry form to:  lkross12@yahoo.com or apicknolan@gmail.com  I attached the PTA poster to the email I sent on Friday afternoon.

Important Dates:

10/22  Decimals Test – place value, ordering and comparing, and rounding

10/23  Word Trek Quizzes Lesson 6 – This is a review unit

10/27   Weather Unit Test

10/30  Mystery Book Reports Due

11/6  PE assignments due for Mrs. Lucas

MATH

This coming week we will begin working with decimal computation.  The students will have examples and notes in their notebooks.  There are also notes on each operation in the Student Resources folder.  I will be encouraging them to use the notes while completing classwork and homework.  The biggest trick to decimal computation is that pesky decimal.  When adding and subtracting, the decimals need to be lined up.  Not so with multiplication and division.  The students will do really well if they have the notes in front of them and, therefore, practice correctly.  There will be a test on decimals on Thursday, October 22nd.  It will include decimal place value, rounding decimals, and comparing and ordering decimals.  Homework will help prepare students for the assessment so completing it correctly will be important.  The students have examples of what’s on the test in their notebooks, and there are notes in the Math folder in the Student Resources folder.  We will also continue working through double digit division in small groups.

LANGUAGE ARTS

We are in the last chapters of Because of Mr. Terupt, and the students are sad to see it end!  It is such an emotional book that allows the students to see true character development as well as recognize that everyone is dealing with something.  Their final project for this novel is going to involve choosing a character to explore.  They will have several choices from Flipgrid videos to Google slideshows to using a newspaper template and everything in between to show how their character has changed throughout the story and the events that led to the changes.  They will receive a rubric and project paperwork outlining expectations and possibilities.  I am super excited to see what they will do!  It is going to be amazing!!

Our Word Trek unit this week is a review unit.  It covers all of the words from units 1-5.  The homework will walk them through each unit helping them to remember and prepare.  The spelling quiz will have 30 words, 6 from each unit, on it.  You can find the definitions for these units in the Past Weeks folder on the Homework slides.  The fabulous news is that that our Spelling City subscription has been renewed!  I encourage the students to get on it as soon as possible to start playing games to review.  Their username is their computer login and the password is gaesspell.  We will also use it in class.  All students are expected to use this program.  It is a great program and definitely helps them prepare.  My suggestion for how to do Word Trek home has always been to complete one page each night.  Then students should get on Spelling City with the definitions in front of them and play games for 10 minutes or so.  That way they are not waiting until Thursday night to review the words.  Please let me know if you have questions.

We will continue reading Running Out of Time in our small groups.  It is getting very exciting!  We will also focus on Aha! moments, text features in nonfiction, and theme.  The Mystery Book Report is due on Friday, October 30th.  I continue to encourage the students to use their free time in class to work on this.  Please remind them that there may be questions or parts of their project that they can start before finishing the book.  Leaving all of the response questions and the project to the last week can be a miserable experience for everyone.  On the nights that they don’t have much homework are a great time to do something on the book report.  Please let me know if you have questions about the book report.

We will continue working on My Favorite Holiday using bing, bang, and bongo.  They used a graphic organizer to do their planning and write the introduction and conclusion this past week.  This can be found on their Google Drive if you’d like to check it out.  This is a great method for expository writing and might be something they can use on December 1st when doing the Moody application prompt.

SCIENCE

We will continue reviewing the fourth grade unit on Weather.  As this is previously taught material, we will move through it fairly quickly.  We have reviewed clouds, the weather they bring, and weather tools.  This week we will look at storms, fronts, and predicting the weather.  There will be an open notes classwork assessment on Thursday.  Your student should have notes in their notebook.  There are also notes in the Student Resources folder and they have a study in their digital My Weather Notebook on their Google Drive.  Please encourage your student to use the portaportal as well as the games on the Science page of this blog to review as well.  Being engaged in class will also greatly help bring this material back to the front of their brains.  The test on this unit is on Tuesday, October 27th.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We have finished Henrico County are moving on to map skills.  This week we will look at different types of maps and what they show.  The students will also review the parts of a map and how to read it as well as focus on geography terms.  Next week we will begin working with longitude and latitude.

We had another great week!  What a beautiful week weather-wise!  Happy fall!  🙂

Please continue to refer to Schoology as project due dates and classwork assignments are posted/adjusted in that platform. If your child had technology problems or was out for part of the instructional day, you can always click through the posted daily slideshow and see what we did in class. Materials used or classwork completed will be linked in that day’s slideshow, and your child can get caught up.

Please reinforce the need for your student to stay focused during instruction and when completing independent work.  There are lots of distractions at home, I know.  Some students are clearly on other screens, playing with pets, working on something other than what they are supposed to be, and having conversations with people in their environments.  We need them to be on task, and that includes art, music, P.E., and library.  Assignments are not being turned in on time and some have mistakes that I know could be corrected with focus.  I don’t want their grades to suffer.  Thank you so much for your help with this!  🙂

This week Mrs. Sitter came to talk about the IB program and the process for applying. If you have any questions, please check out the resources on her Schoology page: https://henrico.schoology.com/course/2947158811/materials?f=273739538 or you may email her directly.

Important Dates:

10/13 Science Test (Earth Unit & 4.9 Resources)

10/15 Virtual Back to School Night! Sessions at 6:00 & 6:45 (same info shared at both)

10/16 Word Trek Quizzes on Word List #5

10/30 Mystery Book Reports Due

11/6 PE assignments due for Mrs. Lucas

MATH

This coming week, we will be reviewing place value and then move on to rounding decimals.  Students have notes and a place value chart in the Student Resources–Math folder for reviewing.  Please encourage your student to use their notes when they complete homework.   I want them to practice correctly rather than struggle with it and have to re-train their brain the next day.  Also, practicing multiplication facts for those who don’t readily know them will really help as we begin double digit division and then also move into decimal computation.  

LANGUAGE ARTS

Next week’s Word Trek lists are linked to today’s slideshow, October 9th.  The bing, bang, and bongo was introduced, and we will begin the writing process with our first essay on favorite holidays.  I will be walking them through the process and then offering them feedback on their typed rough drafts.

We will continue reading Running Out of Time and applying what we have practiced with character development, conflicts, and elements of plot.  We will also continue identifying theme and recognizing character traits in passages.  Students should be working on their book reports.  I have mentioned several times that there are some questions that can answered before the book is finished.  I suggest that they answer those and not leave the response questions to answer all at one time.  I also suggest using sticky notes or index cards to write a few sentences summarizing each chapter as they finish it.  Remind them that they can always work on their book report when they finish classwork.  It’s a great way to use their extra time in class.

SCIENCE 

Our unit test is on Tuesday, October 13th.  Students should review their Earth study guide, their pages of notes in the Rock Digital Notebook, and other resources in the Science folder in Student Resources.  This unit test covers layers, plate tectonics, weathering, erosion, deposition, rock types, rock cycle, fossils, and also reviews last year’s unit on natural resources and human impact on the Earth.  We have been reviewing all of these topics this past week.  Monday night’s homework will be really helpful and should be completed with the study guide.  Next, we will review Weather from fourth grade.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We will finish up the government of Henrico County next week.  The students will design a new county seal that reflects modern Henrico County.  Next, we will dive into map skills and geography terms!