Our week was busy, but fun as we worked hard researching for our PBL projects. We learned about Libraries of Love and watched On the Way to School. Students then chose their area of research and a format for presenting the information to others. Some students are researching clean water around the world, while others are learning about education in Africa and other countries. Some students are learning more about Malala, who continues to fight for education for all, and others are researching a country such as Uganda or Kenya. All the students are very curious and are asking great questions to learn more. Most of the students are working collaboratively with others to learn about their topic and to create a presentation. I am very impressed with their work.
Because of the threat of bad weather, our Walk to Read Event was rescheduled for Friday, January 20 at 1:15. Our fourth graders are working on a video broadcast for the school which will be aired at 1:15. Fourth grade helpers will be assigned to each classroom and after the video, we will all head out to the track to simulate the long walk that many children around the world need to take to get to school. Each child will walk while holding a hard cover book (new or gently used). Our goal is to have each child bring in a book to donate to Libraries of Love. (If someone doesn't have a book to donate, the person will still bring a book outside for the walk, but won't turn it in for donation. ) We will walk around the course set up on the playground/track until 1:55. Then at the sound of the whistles, we will all stop and read for about five minutes. At the next whistle sound, we will walk back to class and leave the books for donation outside of the classroom for fourth graders to pick up. It will be a great event and we need some volunteers to help guide the walkers. Families are welcome to come and walk with their child's class also. We need more volunteers to stand in the field and guide classes. Let me know if you are able to volunteer or sign up with the WatchDogs.
Envelopes for Libraries of Love were sent home for monetary donations as well. If you would like to donate cash or checks, please put donations in the envelope and return them to your teacher by Tuesday, January 24. Thank you in advance for your support of this project. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Read about our week:
Reading-We are continuing to learn about traditional literature and are having mini-book club groups to discuss a summary, character changes, and the theme or lesson of the traditional book read.
Writing-We are reviewing expository writing and will take the STAAR Ready Writing Test on Wednesday. This is the released 2016 STAAR test and we will use it to gather data for future writing instruction. We will determine each students strengths and areas that need further work. We will also work on strengthening our writing of narratives.
Social Studies-We are using SS time to work on our PBL projects and will hopefully finish these up this week. We will let you know when we will have a day to present our projects. We would love to have you come and watch our presentations. We will resume our study of Texas history soon.
Spelling-We studied words with the Greek roots-bio, auto, graph, and ology. This week we will study number prefixes-mono, bi, tri. We will also have lots of independent words. Be sure to study and work on applying correct spelling to writing.
Grammar-We will continue to work on stopping the run on sentences and focus on ways to punctuate dialogue correctly.
Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, Jan.17-Bring in your Libraries of Love Donation Envelopes and books for donation.
Friday, Jan. 20-Reading Response Letters due, Spelling test, Be sure to turn in completed reading logs. Wear FCE shirts or purple and green. Walk to Read Event at 1:15-Donate gently used or new hard back books and /or money for Libraries of Love. FCE Talent Show at 6:00 pm-Book Fair will be open in the evening!
Saturday, Jan. 21-UIL Event at Terravista-Go FCE!
Monday, Jan. 23-Book Fair all week! College Shirt Day.
Wednesday, Jan. 25-Family Fun Night at Chick Fil A
Thursday, Jan. 26-Math/Science Night 5-7 pm
Friday, Jan. 27-Reading Response Letters due, Spelling test, Be sure to turn in completed reading logs. Wear FCE shirts or purple and green.
Have a great evening! Thank you for sharing your child with me. Let me know if you have any concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam
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