Room 204 Update October 13, 2013 Spring Street School Mrs.

Liportos class

General Information We were very lucky to have The Rock Man, Mr. Luby, come to talk to us about his job as a geologist on Friday. The students were able to see and hear first hand how some of the skills they are learning in science can be applied in this field. In addition, they were able to see a lot of very interesting rock and mineral samples. Thank you, Mr. Luby! This is a friendly reminder that school officially begins at 9:00am. At that time students should be in the classroom and ready to start their day. There are quite a few students that are just walking in the door at 9:00 or are coming in late. Please try to have students at school a few minutes before 9:00 so that they can get unpacked and start their day without being rushed and frantic. Thank you! I will be sending home the October Scholastic book orders on Tuesday. Orders placed with a check should be sent into the classroom by Friday, 10/18. Online orders should be placed by Sunday night, 10/20, at 7PM. Thank you for your continued support of our classroom!. IMPORTANT DATES * Parent Conferences No school, Tuesday November 5 *Fourth Grade Chorus Concert- Thursday, November 7, 7:00PM SSS Gym * Veterans Day Monday, Nov. 11 No School

*Thanksgiving Break- Wednesday, Nov. 27Friday, Nov. 29 *MCAS Long Composition Tuesday, Mar. 18 *MCAS English Language Arts Wednesday, Mar. 26- Thursday, Mar. 27 *MCAS Math Tuesday, May 13Wednesday, May 14 Homework It seems that most students have really settled into the homework routine. The only piece that is still missing from our typical homework will be the biweekly spelling homework that will be based on their individual spelling abilities. This will start this week. The packet will go home at the beginning of the week and will not be due until that Friday. During the week students should choose three activities to practice their Word Work words (Students, the secret number for this week is 40, the minimum number of minutes you should be reading at home each week). Some of the choices include making colorful words, taking a practice test, playing games on the computer and more. Language Arts We will be continuing with the reading comprehension skill of Asking Questions this week. The students will be looking at the type of questions they are asking and categorizing them as either thick or thin questions. We ask ourselves thin questions to clarify

information and ideas. The answers can often be found directly in the text. We ask ourselves thick questions to ponder more universal ideas, which often take us far beyond the text that started our thinking about a topic. This involves using higher level thinking skills such as inferring and synthesizing. We will also continue to work on explaining how knowing the answer to our question will better help us understand what we read. This can be more difficult for students. Writing At the end of last week we looked at two examples of mentor texts for examples of strong setting writing. Twilight Comes Twice has some amazingly strong language. Ask your fourth grader what their favorite part of the writing was from this poem. We also looked at a section of the novel The Headless Cupid to see how the author described the inside of the house, especially the elaborate staircase. This week we will be writing a setting example as a class about a autumn scene. Then the students will be working in groups to create a setting segment for a haunted house story. Math Continuing with unit 3, this week students will be looking at how using parentheses in a number sentence can change the answer. They are also very excited to start some basic algebra, such as 56/x=8. There will be NO Math Club this week.

EVERYDAY MATH FAMILY LETTERS online address:

http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/4 th-grade/view-family-letters/

If you cannot access them, please let me know. Social Studies The children did a great job with their Regional Characteristic posters in class! Thank you for your assistance at home. The week we begin the regions of the United States using our textbook before heading into the East Region. Science The Liporto class will be taking their Rocks and Minerals assessment on Monday, October 21st. The study guide for this will be coming home with your student on Tuesday. You can also print a copy off of the classroom blog, just in case it gets misplaced or you would like to get a jumpstart on studying this weekend. The assessment will cover the difference between a rock and a mineral, the various properties of the minerals, and the tests we performed in class (scratch test, vinegar test, evaporation, etc.). To help review, we will be playing a jeopardy game in class this Thursday, so it would be helpful if the students started looking over their materials ahead of time. If you or your student has any questions, please let me know. Happy Birthday!!! Ryan Vroman 10/31

*Specials*
MUSIC: Tuesday 10:45-11:25 AM ART: Wednesday, 11:25-12:05 PM Health: Thursday 9:15-9:55 AM CHORUS: Friday 10:45-11:25 AM PHYSICAL EDUCATION: Friday 2L25-3:05 PM MEDIA: Every Other Wednesday, 2:45-3:00 PM

As always, your questions/comments are welcome. Please send me an email or a note to school. Kristen Liporto