Wilson’s Reminders
Fourth Quarter ??????
This has year has raced by! I can not believe that I only have nine more weeks with your wonderful children.
Mathematics:
We will begin this quarter with decimal place value through the hundredths. In this unit the students will begin relating decimals and fractions. From decimals we will move into measurement and graphing before starting our EOG review. In preparation for 5th grade math expectations, the students will be having math homework (paper, pencil) every night ~ Monday through Thursday ~ during 4th quarter.
Reading:
We will begin the quarter reading "WONDER" by R. J. Palacio before spending a few weeks on Poetry. We will continue to work with Greek and Latin roots and paraphrasing during our word work before reviewing for the EOG.
(Student assignments for "WONDER" can be found on google docs)
Social Studies:
We are going to have Middle Creek Elementary School's first PARADE OF COUNTIES. Students will be researching a county and designing a county "parade float" to represent that county. THE COUNTY FLOAT PARADE WILL BE ON JUNE 2, 2017.
(Student assignment for County Parade can be found on google docs)
Science:
We will be completing a "Magnets and Electricity" unit during the second half of this quarter.
BYOD: Students are encouraged to continue bringing their devices to school each day with parent permission.
Homework: We will continue having paper, pencil homework each night Monday through Thursday.
QUIZLET:
https://quizlet.com/mces4th
We have started using a 4th grade quizlet for our vocabulary words. Please have your child practice their weekly vocabulary words using this site. They are familiar with the practice options available.
Beads:
I am sure that you are aware of the "BEAD" program that we have put in place for our fourth graders this year. I wanted to offer some explanation and clarification so that you can continue to encourage your child(ren) to do their very best in school each day.
During the first two weeks of school, we read "One Blue Bead" by Byrd Baylor. The book is actually a beautifully illustrated poem about a young Native American child's coming of age. After reading the book together as a fourth grade team, all of the fourth grade teachers gave each child a necklace with a single blue bead. We talked to the students about how the bead was to represent grade level unity. We encouraged them to be empathetic toward one another and to support one another in their fourth grade journeys. We explained that at the end of each quarter we would be have presentation to award beads to students for their individual achievements. We told them that the specialist teachers would be passing out beads for achievements in their classes as well.
One of the things stressed during our initial meeting was the importance of realizing that everyone's necklaces should look very different because our individual strengths and talents are different. There are some beads that will be given to everyone. For example, everyone who makes an effort and participates in the Presidential Tea will receive a bead for that event. However, there are many beads that will not be earned by every student. We want the students to realize that the beads represent their personal growth. If they simply earn one bead each quarter, they are showing growth. It was also clearly stated that if a student lost their bead necklace it would only be possible for us to replace the cord and the blue bead. Part of what we are hoping that the students learn through this process is the importance of being responsible.
The list below includes the general bead list offered to all of the 4th grade students. Please remember that this list is constantly being altered to meet the needs of our individual fourth grade classes and the entire fourth grade group of 2016-2017.
EVERYONE
Wooden Smile ~ Birthday Bead
Pirate Head ~ Pirate Day (Spring)
Flags ~ Heritage Day Project
Patriotic ~ Presidential Tea
Academic
A+ (ceramic) ~ All 4's
Gold ~ Exceptional Academics (more 4's than 3's)
Silver~ 3's and no 2's
(only one or two of the beads below are given out each quarter)
I (heart) to READ ~ Reading Achievement
Dice ~ Math Achievement
Turtle~Science Achievement
Globe~ Social Studies Achievement
.Com ~ Project Achievement (most often using technology)
? ~ Problem Solving Achievement
Character
Blue "glass" bead ~ Keeping up with your original bead necklace for the entire quarter
Brown ~ Environmental Citizenship
Pink ~ Listening and Following Directions
Purple ~ Kindness
Iridescent ~ Integrity
Light Blue ~ Improved Effort (demonstrating perseverance)
(only one or two of the beads below are given out each quarter)
Peace Symbol ~ Classroom peacemakers, reliable and can work with anyone in a group
Olympic Wings~ Perseverance 100% of the time (doesn't give up)
Ying-Yang ~ Friendship and Helpfulness
Umbrella ~ Responsibility
Special (we will add to these throughout the year)
Silver A+ ~ Spelling B Winner
Schoolhouse, Pumpkin ~ Wearing your necklace
Specialist
Colorful Parrot ~ Mrs. McDonald's Art Bead
Music Notes ~ Mr. Deny's Music Bead
I (heart) Sports ~ Mr. Robinson's PE Bead
Lady Bug ~ Mr. Ebner's Science Bead
Owl with Book ~ Mrs. Holland's Media Bead
www. ~ Mrs. Fountain's Technology Bead
Battle of the Books Information
www.ncslma.org/ebob