Mid December Curriculum Letter

Dear Fourth Grade Families,

Please enjoy these updates from our classroom.

Writing

We have begun a unit on persuasive essay. Students brainstormed dozens of essay ideas and have chosen one to grow into an essay. Students are at different points of the planning process, thinking of catchy openings, describing their problems, and listing reasons to support their opinions. Ask your child what topic they've chosen and what their opinion statement is.

Reading

Some students are reading Tuck Everlasting and others are reading The Cricket in Times Square. We are working on identifying story elements: characters, setting, problem, solution, theme, and mood. Students have also set mid-year reading goals. Ask you child what his or her goal is.

Math

We have been working on division story problems and strategies. Some students are drawing pictures of division scenarios, in order to visualize the problem. Others are skip counting until they reach the dividend. Yet others are using multiplication and division facts they know in order to move toward a quotient. When a division context arises, such as figuring out the price of a grocery item per ounce or splitting a bill, ask your child to help you figure out the answer.

Word Study

During morning meeting, we've been spending time learning parts of speech. Student learned about singular, plural and possessive nouns as well as subject, object, and possessive pronouns. Ask your child to point out these parts of speech in their writing or in the books they read.

Social Studies

We have continued our study of West Africa through several read alouds. Students are learning facts about West Africa while they learn vocabulary about the study of culture as well as the skill of note taking. Ask your child one fact or vocabulary word s/he has learned about West Africa.

Book Order

The latest scholastic book order went home last week. If you'd like to order, please hand in the form on Monday or order online with the code FWT22.

Ice Skating Trip: Save the Date

Our class will be going ice skating at Lasker Rink on January 19^th. We will send home permission slip at a later date, but we wanted parents to be able to hold the date. If you would like to chaperone, please let us know, and keep in mind the following guidelines: Refrain from making purchases of any kind during the trip. Families are welcome to bring hot chocolate for sharing as long as there is enough to share with the entire class.

Best,

Nancy and Stephanie

December Curriculum Letter

Hi Fourth Grade Families,

Please enjoy these updates from our classroom.

Writing

Students are just finishing up writing the final copies their memoirs, and are reflecting on the work they've done. Students spend a long time revising and editing their work to make for final copies they felt really proud of. Starting this week, students are also using their spelling try sheets to improve the spelling of their homework.

Social Studies

We have just begun a unit on West Africa. We looked at atlases and make a long list of everything we knew about West Africa. Then, we brainstormed a list of questions we had about the region. As the unit progresses, we will read West African folk tales and learn about the history, culture, and religions of West Africa. If your family has anything you'd like to contribute to this unit, please let us know.

Math

We just finished an investigation of multiplication arrays that focused on the question, "Is it always possible to break apart arrays into smaller pieces and put them back together to find the answer?" Ask your child to provide an example of breaking apart an array into smaller, easier arrays, and then putting it back together. As we progress in our unit, we'll look at multiplication as a comparison, do an investigation on division, study larger multiples, and learn some advanced strategies for multiplying like doubling and halving numbers. Check your child's backpack for a letter about how to reinforce strategies taught in this math unit at home.

Reading

Some students are continuing to read Becoming Naomi Leon and others are reading Edward Tulane. All students are learning to talk about story elements and are writing predictions based on context clues from the stories and prior knowledge from personal experiences. Ask your child to make a prediction about any books s/he is reading at home.

Field Trip

Next Wednesday, December 7, we will be taking a trip to the Newtown Creek Water Treatment Facility to learn about how water is processed. Emily is coordinating this trip as part the science curriculum, and we will be going with Lauren's class as well. Please make sure to send in a permission slip.

Farewell to Emmeline

Emmeline will be returning to Denmark on December 18th, and we will miss her. If your child would like to stay in touch, you can send him or her to school with an email or Skype ID to share with Emmeline. We wish her all the best.

Best,

Nancy and Stephanie

Notes for the End of the Year

Dear Fourth and Fifth Grade Families,

Please enjoy these notes and updates from our classroom:

Field Day

We will be heading to Prospect Park tomorrow for field day. We will travel to the park by bus and return by subway. Family members are welcome to join us. It will be hot tomorrow, so please pack sunblock, water bottles, sunglasses, hats, etc. Please leave water balloons, water guns, nerf guns, etc. at home.

Graduation

Fifth grade graduation is coming up on Wednesday, June 22 at 1:30. We are excited to honor graduates at this ceremony. Fourth graders will also participate in singing with the graduates. Fifth graders will have the optional opportunity to share a short (one minute) thank you. There is no dress code for graduation, but students should dress nicely. Last year, boys wore anything from Bermuda shorts and polos to suits and girls wore dresses or blouses with skirts or slacks. Fifth graders often choose to spend the morning getting ready at home with their families and should arrive no later than 12:30 to prepare for the ceremony.

Camp Days

On June 24 and 27 students will spend the afternoon at a nearby park. Sprinklers will be available, so students should bring bathing suits, towels, and a change of clothes as well as lots of sunblock.

Attendance

As the year comes toward an end, I notice some students coming less often or later to school. I want to remind families that attendance is taken every day through the last day of school. This is especially important for fourth graders whose attendance and latenesses are recorded on middle school applications. It's also important for students to be present for graduation rehearsals, closing activities, helping to pack up the classroom, and going through their work from the year.

Returning Materials

As we get closer to the end of the year, please start gathering classroom materials from your homes. The last day to return books from the school library is Friday. Students may continue to borrow books from the classroom library as long as they are returned by the end of school. If you have any other materials from the classroom at home (knitting needles, books of writing ideas, etc) please return them as soon as possible.

Air Conditioning

Students and I have been trying our best to negotiate the temperature and air conditioning in the classroom so it's not too hot or too cold. Please send children to school with layered clothing, so they will be most comfortable in the classroom.


As always, if you need to contact me for any reason, you can reach me at stephschwartz@gmail.com or by leaving a note on my door or a message with anyone in the office.

Best,
Stephanie

March Class Notes

Dear Fourth and Fifth Grade Families,

Please enjoy these notes and updates from our classroom:

Ashoken

We will be heading to Camp Ashoken from Wednesday to Friday, and we are so excited! Students have been talking nonstop about blacksmithing projects and maple candy making, and teachers are working hard to form groups and make last minute arrangements. If your child is planning to attend, and has not yet handed in all of the forms and payment, please do so as soon as possible. If you need another copy of the packing list, please let me know. I have copies at school, but I don't have an electronic version. If your child requires medication of any kind during the trip, please bring it in the original packaging inside a ziplock back, labeled with your child's name in sharpie. Don't forget to send your child with extra socks, underwear, and garbage bags in case anything gets wet.

Students who are not joining us at camp, will join other classes Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Family Conferences
As soon as we get back from camp, it will be time for family conferences. I will be available to meet from 1:00-4:15 PM on Tuesday, March 15 and from 4:30-8:00 PM on Wednesday, March 16. I'll send home a form tomorrow. If you can, please send it in on Tuesday, so we can schedule times before we go to camp. I am looking forward to meeting with all of you.

Pen Pals
We have now received and sent our first batch of letters to our New Orleans pen pals. It was so exciting to learn about our pen pals and share about ourselves. I saw students write more than they ever had before. Ask your child about his or her pen pal.

Slavery
In recent weeks, we had two visitors come to our class to talk to us about slavery. Anthony, Kofa's dad, shared with us the story of his family and their connection to Carter Woodson, the founder of Black History Month. Students connected to this story and asked many interesting questions about African American history and race. Jennifer from the New York Historical Society came to share with us some artifacts from the Civil War era: a bag of cotton, a soldier's bag, the doll of a slave girl, and a lantern. Students enjoyed exploring these artifacts with their 4 senses (we decided to leave out taste for this activity) and hypothesizing about how the objects were used.

We continue our study of slavery by exploring the Underground Railroad through stories and songs.

Book Clubs
Students are very excited to be involved in book clubs. Groups are reading The Whipping Boy, Bunnicula, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Number the Stars, and A Wrinkle in Time. Each group has a different focus from keeping track of characters to improving fluency in reading aloud to making inferences with evidence from the text to recognizing and understanding metaphor. Ask your child about the book he or she is reading.

Personal Essays
Students are finishing up revising and editing their personal essays. We will be ready to publish soon, and I hope to have them ready by family conference time. Soon, we will move on to a unit on writing literary essays. Students will be able to write about their favorite books.

As always, if you need to contact me for any reason, you can reach me at stephschwartz@gmail.com or by leaving a note on my door or a message with anyone in the office.

Best,
Stephanie