Grade 4 Weekly Newsletter
December 17 - 21st
Curriculum
Reading:
This week we will wrap up our nonfiction reading unit by creating podcasts to teach an audience what readers have learned about the topic they have chosen to become experts on. Students will use all their notes, long writes, and books to make audio recordings to show what they have learned and how their thinking has become more complex as they read more. Students will share their podcasts with other 4th grade students on Wednesday, Dec. 20th.
This week’s lessons:
Lesson 1: Text Structure (helps us to understand the topic better)
Lesson 2: End of unit project (podcast)
Lesson 3: End of unit project (podcast)
Lesson 4: Celebration with other 4th grade students
Essential Questions
- How do readers know what is important in nonfiction texts?
- How can I become more complex in my thinking as I read?
Writing:
This week, writers will demonstrate what they have learned by completing an informational writing on-demand which will take place on Monday, Dec. 18th. Students will have 45 minutes to plan, draft, revise and edit a piece of writing that they know a lot about. Students may bring in notes (with just keywords) to help them write their All About book. For the rest of the week, students will work on publishing one piece of writing. Students will type up their books and add nonfiction features.
This week’s lessons:
Lesson 1: Publish
Lesson 2: Informational Writing On-demand
Lesson 3: Publish
Lesson 4: Celebration with other 4th grade classes
Essential Questions
- How do writers teach readers about a topic?
- How do the text structures and features in a book help readers?
Mathematics:
This week we will be continuing Module 4 - Angle Measure and Plane Figures
This module introduces points, lines, line segments, rays, and angles, as well as the relationships between them. Students construct, recognize, and define these geometric objects before using their new knowledge and understanding to classify figures and solve problems. With angle measure playing a key role in the work throughout the module, students learn how to create and measure angles, as well as how to create and solve equations to find unknown angle measures.
Essential Questions:
- What strategies and tools can help determine the measurement of unknown angles?
- What important information can be determined from the attributes present in two-dimensional figures?
- How do we use geometry to help us make sense of the world?
The lessons for this week are:
Lesson 1: Identify and measure angles as turns and recognize them in various contexts.
Lesson 2: Pre-Assessment for Module 5.
Lesson 3: Use the addition of adjacent angle measures to solve problems using a symbol for the unknown angle measure.
Lesson 4: Use the addition of adjacent angle measures to solve problems using a symbol for the unknown angle measure.
Here is the LINK to the Growth Mindset video we began to watch at Back To School Night. We suggest you watch it with your child and discuss what might create a positive math classroom at school. How can you build a positive math relationship with your child?
Social Studies: Connections with History
Our unit ends this week with students reflecting on their learning.
Essential Question:
- How do geography and people connect to build a nation?
Grade 4 Homework:
Daily homework tasks will be written into student planners each day. Tasks may include reading for 20-30 minutes per night, writing for 10 minutes per night along with additional mathematics work. Homework may differ according to teachers and students. Any mathematics homework that students find challenging please advise their homeroom teacher so they can progress accordingly. Homework is not meant to be impossible, challenging for students to grow their brains, but not impossible!
Guidance News
How to Be a Helpful Bystander – Acts of Compassion
Students are hearing stories about courageous, helpful bystanders and practicing various ways to be a helpful bystander in real-life scenarios. A helpful bystander takes action when they witness someone being hurt by others. It only takes ONE helpful bystander to stop teasing and there are several direct and indirect ways a person can help. We will have lots of discussions about the role of the bystander and the power of this role in either:
- Ignoring the mean behavior and allowing it to continue, or
- taking action, speaking up and stopping the mean behavior.
They will role-play various scenarios in which they will use their words and/or actions in a way that is helpful and compassionate. Students will learn 3 ways to help someone else, which include:
Report – tell a trusted adult
Refuse – say something (using assertive words and body language)
Support – go to the person who was hurt, sit by him or her and ask if they are okay
Upcoming Events
- Tuesday, Dec. 19th - Thursday Schedule
- Thursday, Dec. 21th - House Event, Winter Parties, & Winter Assembly
- Friday - Dec. 22 - Jan. 13th Winter Holiday
- Sunday - Jan. 14th School Resumes
Announcements
NO After School Activities on the week of Dec.17- 21
Just a reminder that there is no ASA next week, that include Softies as well.
If your child is usually a bus rider after his/her ASA, they will then be expected on the 3:20 pm bus next week. After school activities will resume right after the winter break.
CCS Cross Country is Coming
The second event of the Cairo Challenge Series for 2nd-5th grade, the cross-country running race around campus is coming next week! All races will be done at lunchtime. In the event of bad air quality, races will be combined with another grade on the next available day. All students that are competing should have proper footwear and a packed lunch from home. Please encourage your student to compete!
The second event of the Cairo Challenge Series for 2nd-5th grade, the cross-country running race around campus is coming next week! All races will be done at lunchtime. In the event of bad air quality, races will be combined with another grade on the next available day. All students that are competing should have proper footwear and a packed lunch from home. Please encourage your student to compete!
- December 17 - Grade 2
- December 18 - Grade 3
- December 19 - Grade 4
- December 20 - Grade 5
Students should come to the track at the beginning of lunchtime if they are competing.
Warm Clothing & Toy Drive
Winter Celebration Community Service (Pass the Parcel the Parcel)
The Service Learning Office, in partnership with the ES Student council, is proud to announce Pass the Parcel. This year’s recipient organization is Stabl Antar Dreams School. We are collecting warm clothes, gently used toys, wrapping paper, batteries, and zip lock bags. We are still collecting till Wednesday, December 20th, 2017. Elementary school students will have boxes for donations in their classrooms. Let’s get these boxes filled, make a donation today.
The Service Learning Office, in partnership with the ES Student council, is proud to announce Pass the Parcel. This year’s recipient organization is Stabl Antar Dreams School. We are collecting warm clothes, gently used toys, wrapping paper, batteries, and zip lock bags. We are still collecting till Wednesday, December 20th, 2017. Elementary school students will have boxes for donations in their classrooms. Let’s get these boxes filled, make a donation today.
During the ES Winter Celebration, on December 21, 2017, from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm, different stations will be set up to clean, fix, sort and wrap the donated items. Parents are welcome to help at these stations. You can find the full plan of the day here: Winter Celebration Community Service Plan. Please follow our announcements and updates on the CACN.
Thank you for your continued support of CAC and for helping others stay warm this winter.
Winter Celebrations Schedule
We are looking forward celebrating the winter holidays with a fun day on Thursday. Here’s the schedule for Thursday, Dec. 21 and we hope parents can join in the fun.
8:30 -10:00: PreK - 5 House Event. Opening in the main gym, parents welcome
10:00 -10:30: PreK - 5 Recess break including snack, students bring snack from home
10:30 - 12:00: K - Grade 5 on ES lawn community service project
10:30 - 11:00: Pre K supports community service project
11:00 - 1:00: Pre K winter celebrations in class. (12:00 - 1:00 parents welcome to join)
12:00 - 1:00: Lunch/recess (pizza x 2, juice x 1, cupcake x 1)
1:00 - 2:00: Winter parties, parents welcome
2:00 - 3:00: Winter assembly: Christmas Around The World on the ES lawn
Repeat Announcements
Winter Celebrations
As we are planning for the last day of school which includes a house event, winter parties and culminating in a winter assembly at the end of the day, we hope you will all be here to join in the fun! If you can’t, we would appreciate knowing if you are planning to take your child/ren away at an earlier date. Please inform your classroom teacher.
This is the song that the grade 4 students will be singing at our winter concert if you would like to practice at home: Six White Boomers
Core Value of the Month
During the months of December and January, we will focus on Integrity.
We wish you & your families a fun winter holiday,
and a healthy and flourishing 2018!
