Third and
Fourth Grade News
From the Week of September 20, 2013
Hello, Parents! It has
been another great and fun week here in 3rd/4th grade! Please read below
to find out what we have been up to!
Religion- In Religion this week we
discussed Abraham, his nephew Lot, angels, and the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah. We talked a lot about the evil that these cities contained, and
how there is a lot of evil in our world too. This led to some great
conversations about the commandments, and how God expects us to follow them.
These also led to some sticky conversations, good, but nevertheless, your
child may still have some questions, and I urged them to talk to you at home.
We talked about angels, and how God uses them. We also discussed
the different types of prayers...supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, and
confession. We discussed how we send up prayers of supplication ALL the
time, but need to remember to give God our prayers of thanksgiving and
adoration too, as He has blessed us all SO much! We have also talked a
lot about praying as a family, and I hope your child has shared with you how we
are practicing the Faith 5 in our classroom! I am attaching a link to
this newsletter with some neat information about how you can also implement
this at home. I have supplied one with a clip from one of Rich Melheim’s
conferences. (He came to Timothy and we had an awesome time learning and
sharing) ...and also the link to his website. Please take some time to
check it out, or some of his other YouTube videos. I have the
instructional book if you would like to borrow it. It is an easy, quick,
and entertaining read. I usually don’t endorse things like this, but I
feel like my family and my classroom have benefited from this so much, and we
have grown closer as a family, and as children of God, that I must share!
It has taken several weeks, but my family loves this time together.
Even if it is just half of us because of busy schedules, we love to have
this time of sharing, praying, and blessing one another. It has become my
most treasured time of day...with my students, and my own family!
Language Arts- The third graders read
“Pop’s Bridge,” about the building of the San Francisco Bridge, which led to
awesome discussions and sharing. Fourth graders read “The Power of
W.O.W.”, and then put on the skit for the rest of the class. They planned
this so well, and did such a great job! I was so proud of them! We
also reviewed statements and questions, and edited these in written work.
Scholastic Reading Counts- As I shared at home visits, Timothy is involved in a reading
program called Scholastic Reading Counts. If you are familiar with
Accelerated Reader, it is very similar. In a nutshell, this program
allows children to pick from a variety of books on many different interest and
genre levels, many of which are in our classroom library and school library,
and take a comprehension quiz over that particular book. These books will
need to be at your child’s reading level. I will help your child find the
correct level for him or her. For the past several weeks, I have been
assessing your child, so that I can assign a personal goal for him or her.
I will send this to you in a separate email. If you log onto our
class webpage, there is a tab on the right that takes you to the page where the
children can go to take a quiz at home. They also can do this at school
during any free time or period. The quizzes will need to be passed, which is
70% or better. If the quiz is failed the first time, he or she can retake
it 24 hours later, after the book has been reviewed. This will all be a
part of your child’s overall reading grade.
Children in third or fourth grade should be able to read and
take the quizzes above on their own, but don’t miss out reading together too.
Even if your child is not a natural-born bookworm, you can encourage him or her
to love literature. Here are some tips:
1. Keep reading together even if
your child can breeze through a book on his or her own. Reading aloud can
expand vocabulary and your chats about the book will help her comprehend and
appreciate it even more.
2. Shelve books that are over
your child’s head. It’s tempting to push literary limits, but the goal is
understanding and enjoyment.
3. Listen to audio books.
They are a terrific way to engage kids in a good story!
4. Revisit favorites! A
second or third read is a great way to discuss subtleties and encourage
focusing on more than just the plot.
5. Make reading aloud family
time! Thank you!
Math- Third graders have been
working with missing addends, rounding numbers to solve equations, and with
adding two-digit numbers. Fourth graders have been working with rounding
to estimate, adding and subtracting with zeroes, and solving word problems.
Both grades will be testing over Chapter 3 next week.
Social Studies- This week,
we began Chapter 2 in our Missouri History books. We have talked about
regions and landforms in Missouri. We also practiced common sense things
that all U.S. citizens should know. I told the kiddos that they will need
to know this for the test, and for life! They will need to be able to
tell me the following in which they live: Planet, Hemisphere, Continent,
Country, State, County,. City, Neighborhood (if there is a name), Street, and
Address. Next week, we will also begin our first Science Unit which ties
right in, as we will be getting ready for Earthworks by studying
Missouri/Kansas habitats. I am excited to begin! Fun! On that
note, please remember that on November 12th, we travel to Earthworks.
Please make sure to get your permission slip and money in. We have
our three parent helpers: Steve Patton, Angie Robbins, and Jeff Mundt!
Thank you so much for offering to help out!!
P.E.- This week in P.E. we played
games called Circle Stride Ball and PacMan. We had some fun doing some
teamwork-type drills where we made a messed up chain and to “unravel.” We also
put on some skits, which, I am hopeful your child shared with you! We
divided up into groups of three and the kids each had a scenario, where they
had to act out children that were not getting along. They then had to
decide how to solve these conflicts in a Christian way. They did such a
great job! I am proud of the way they analyzed the children, and at the
awesome conversations we had afterward. Many of the kid related to the
skits, saying that they had felt this kind of anger before. They knew to
walk away, to cool off, to talk to an adult in some cases, and to sometimes
just agree to disagree. We reviewed The DeBugging System again. Please
have your child fill you in about this! :) We ended with some
laughs too...and an awesome prayer. What a great group of kiddos!
Art- We continued to learn about
line. We created contours of cats, and will add paint and backgrounds
next week!
Music- With Mrs. Mundt and Mrs.
Krekel, the children again practiced their favorite songs, as well as new songs
for when the kids sing at church on October 20th.
Writers’ Workshop- This week,
we began writing personal narratives. We read several samples, and then
began the drafting process of our experiences. We will work on these for
the next few weeks, going through the writing process. I will let you
know at a later time when they are due. I would like to see their
progress first! Thank you!
Some of you have given me your thoughts about having the children
complete their published work on Google Docs. Thank you so much! I
am going to show the children next week how this process works., and set up any
expectations that I (we) have. If they use it, they can work at home, and
on any computer here in the building, without using a flash drive. They
would also be able to email me their papers, and work. Again, please let
me know your thoughts, especially if you do not want your child to have an
email address. We will work around it, and/or use their flash drive.
Thank you so much!
Upcoming Field Trips:
October 31st-Fall party at Memaw’s House. (Includes a
hayride, games, snacks, and lunch. Home school kids are also invited!)
A Sign-Up Genius form went out this week. Please make sure you just
let me know if you received it and whether or not you will be coming and
sending in anything. Each child needs to bring in $2.00 please Thank you
so much!
~November 12th-Earthworks
~December 13th-School of Economics
Have a great weekend !
Blessings,
Kim
No comments:
Post a Comment