November 2016
Room 116 Newsletter
Summary of our Month:
In science, we have moved into the study of weathering, erosion and deposition. Please look for real life examples of weathering, erosion and deposition with your student at home and on the go. Ask your child to explain the differences and challenge them to find examples in real life. We have been working on reading responses using the format; “Somebody…Wanted…But…So….Then” (SWBST). Somebody=The main character (s) in the story. Wanted=The character’s goal or wish. But=Problem or initiating event. (What got in the way of the character’s goal or wish?), So=What was the character(s) plan to fix the problem and Then=How did the problem get resolved and/or how did the story end?” We are also discussing what the students liked/didn’t like about what they read and the connections they made, both with their own experiences and with other books or stories they’ve read in the past. So far we’ve been writing these responses on books we’ve read together as a whole class (For eg. “The Mulberry Project” and “Because of Winn Dixie” and other short stories from our Wonders book). SWBST are good questions to discuss with your child as they are reading at home. Verbalizing their responses is an excellent bridge to being able to write about their reading experience. In social studies we’ve begun to discuss Utah’s Native American history namely; the Goshute, Navajo, Ute, Piute, and Shoshone tribes. In writing, the students each recently wrote an essay on what they are thankful for. They will write one more draft to continue the editing phase before it is ready to publish. In Math, they are almost ready to take the Unit 5 test on multiples and factors. I have been updating Gradebook and sending home their corrected work every couple of weeks. Look for a yellow folder with their graded work inside and please don’t forget to send this yellow folder back to school so they can have it for the next time.
Coming Up
We wrote our letters of introduction to our cousin class in Iceland, but we have yet to hear back from them. Perhaps snail mail isn’t the best way to go about this! In math, we will be done with multiples and factors this week and start our Unit 6 study of fractions. It will be close, but I hope to get our Unit 6 test done before the winter break. I have challenged my class to have everyone pass off their multiplication facts before the end of January. I give them some math center time for practice but for some students, they will need extra practice at home. Please visit my webpage for some online multiplication games but good old fashioned flashcards would also do the trick. Practice daily for short amounts of time to build this fluency. Without these facts memorized, math will continue to get harder. Please work with your student at home until they are fluent up to 12. In science, we will next be discussing rocks and gems so if your student has a collection, he or she may bring it in to show the class. For writer’s workshop, I will soon ask my class to start writing reading responses on books they are reading on their own rather than our whole class read aloud books and stories. This will be more challenging but hopefully with all of our practice in class they will be ready!
Announcements:
Art Attack 12/6 @ 9:15
Dec 22 is a half day and our class holiday party
Winter Recess Dec 23-Jan 3.
Volunteers Needed:
Holiday Party Dec.22
PTA movie day on Dec 21 (at least one volunteer)
Hands On Science January 12th, 2017
As always, please contact me if you have any concerns or questions. Thanks for all of your support at home and for raising such amazing kids!
Shelly Hamula
4th Grade Upland Terrace
801-201-5295
In science, we have moved into the study of weathering, erosion and deposition. Please look for real life examples of weathering, erosion and deposition with your student at home and on the go. Ask your child to explain the differences and challenge them to find examples in real life. We have been working on reading responses using the format; “Somebody…Wanted…But…So….Then” (SWBST). Somebody=The main character (s) in the story. Wanted=The character’s goal or wish. But=Problem or initiating event. (What got in the way of the character’s goal or wish?), So=What was the character(s) plan to fix the problem and Then=How did the problem get resolved and/or how did the story end?” We are also discussing what the students liked/didn’t like about what they read and the connections they made, both with their own experiences and with other books or stories they’ve read in the past. So far we’ve been writing these responses on books we’ve read together as a whole class (For eg. “The Mulberry Project” and “Because of Winn Dixie” and other short stories from our Wonders book). SWBST are good questions to discuss with your child as they are reading at home. Verbalizing their responses is an excellent bridge to being able to write about their reading experience. In social studies we’ve begun to discuss Utah’s Native American history namely; the Goshute, Navajo, Ute, Piute, and Shoshone tribes. In writing, the students each recently wrote an essay on what they are thankful for. They will write one more draft to continue the editing phase before it is ready to publish. In Math, they are almost ready to take the Unit 5 test on multiples and factors. I have been updating Gradebook and sending home their corrected work every couple of weeks. Look for a yellow folder with their graded work inside and please don’t forget to send this yellow folder back to school so they can have it for the next time.
Coming Up
We wrote our letters of introduction to our cousin class in Iceland, but we have yet to hear back from them. Perhaps snail mail isn’t the best way to go about this! In math, we will be done with multiples and factors this week and start our Unit 6 study of fractions. It will be close, but I hope to get our Unit 6 test done before the winter break. I have challenged my class to have everyone pass off their multiplication facts before the end of January. I give them some math center time for practice but for some students, they will need extra practice at home. Please visit my webpage for some online multiplication games but good old fashioned flashcards would also do the trick. Practice daily for short amounts of time to build this fluency. Without these facts memorized, math will continue to get harder. Please work with your student at home until they are fluent up to 12. In science, we will next be discussing rocks and gems so if your student has a collection, he or she may bring it in to show the class. For writer’s workshop, I will soon ask my class to start writing reading responses on books they are reading on their own rather than our whole class read aloud books and stories. This will be more challenging but hopefully with all of our practice in class they will be ready!
Announcements:
Art Attack 12/6 @ 9:15
Dec 22 is a half day and our class holiday party
Winter Recess Dec 23-Jan 3.
Volunteers Needed:
Holiday Party Dec.22
PTA movie day on Dec 21 (at least one volunteer)
Hands On Science January 12th, 2017
As always, please contact me if you have any concerns or questions. Thanks for all of your support at home and for raising such amazing kids!
Shelly Hamula
4th Grade Upland Terrace
801-201-5295