Happy October! Here are the latest 4th grade tidbits…
GLAD Week – We had an amazing time last week at our GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) training. We spent each morning observing a GLAD trainer teaching the key instructional strategies to a classroom of Issaquah fourth graders. Then the afternoon was spent debriefing, asking clarifying questions and planning, where we worked as a team to implement the strategies in our classrooms to maximize learning. It was an intense, power-packed week, and well worth it, but we REALLY missed our kiddos and are so glad to be back with them! J
Theme – We are segueing from air and flight into our study on the relationship between the sun, moon and Earth.
Field Trip - We will take a mini break from our Air, Flight & Beyond unit next Monday to preview Washington’s geography in preparation for our field trip on Tuesday to the Washington State Corn Maze. We will leave right away Tuesday morning and return around 2:00. Students need to bring a sack lunch (please do NOT send Tupperware, real silverware, thermoses, etc.), wear good walking shoes and be dressed for the weather. Rain or shine we are outside and the corn field can get very muddy.
Reading – We are still soaring through our novel, The Wright Brother’s at Kitty Hawk, focusing on several reading skills in addition to the historical content: story elements, multi-meaning words, context clues, summarizing, drawing conclusions and of course, comprehension.
Writing – We are continuing to work through the writing process: pre-write, rough draft, revising, editing, final draft and the publishing stage. Monday we introduced a new pre-writing tool called a story map for narrative writing and will spend the next several days focusing on using a revising checklist and editing checklist to improve writing.
Math – We wrapped up Unit 1 last week (tests went home in Monday’s Graded Work Packet) and we are well into Unit 2 which focuses on using numbers and organizing data so you can see the mode, median and mean averages. The Math Family Letters are posted on our classroom website: http://www.newcastle.issaquah.wednet.edu/teachers/keller/links.htm
Salmon Days Project – Thank you so much for your help with our all-school project and with the costumes students are creating or have created from recycled materials. We are having a dress rehearsal Friday afternoon at 2:00 and then students perform on Saturday. Please see the attached document for more information on this amazing event! J
Conference Schedule – Our class conference schedule has been posted on our website by your child’s classroom number: http://www.newcastle.issaquah.wednet.edu/teachers/keller/calendar.htm#Conferences.
Scarecrow Day – We have our traditional fall festival, our Scarecrow Day, coming up on October 31st. Please save the date now if you are interested in coming in to help out with the event. We’ll need helpers about a week before the event to help us prep the scarecrow bodies and organize supplies, and then several helpers on the 31st as we create the scarecrows.
Upcoming Dates:
October 4th – Salmon Days Event
October 7th – Corn Maze Field Trip
October 8th – 10th – Scholastic’s Fall Book Fair
October 10th – PTSA Math Magic Family Night
October 31st – Scarecrow Day
- Geo Trekker Day
November 7th – Picture Retake Day
November 10th – Conferences
November 11th – Veteran’s Day (no school)
November 12th – Conferences
November 13th – Genre Quilts due