LEARNING IS FUN!

Today was such a fun day! We boarded the bus this morning and headed to the Cobb Safety Village, a really neat replica of the Marietta Square, for a full day of learning. We were greeted by a firefighter/ instructor who led us through important safety lessons. We even practiced escaping from a burning home. I’m sure your child is anxious to tell you what he/she learned and about driving around “town” in his/her own car! We were very excited when Sparky came out to tell us goodbye! Next week we will review the Fire Safety workbook and will take a test on what we have learned.

Labor Day is Monday, September 1 and a school holiday. I trust that you all will have a chance to relax and enjoy time with your families over this three-day weekend.

September 9 is Picture Day at Addison! Smile!

WHAT’S AHEAD?

Math: We will work on increasing our accuracy of adding and subtracting whole numbers using the standard algorithm. We will also continue to work on rounding whole numbers so that we can estimate sums and differences. We are developing problem solving skills using real world situations. Please encourage your child to practice multiplication facts every night. I hope you are accessing some of the websites on this blog (Math Practice page). We will begin multiplication of whole numbers soon!

Science: We will investigate the weather and may even become expert meteorologists!We will make weather forecasts, observe weather patterns, create weather instruments, and conduct weather experiments. Next week we will visit the Science Lab to learn from some engaging hand-on activities.

Spelling: Sort 5 – Vowel pairs ai, ee, eain accented syllables.Has your child gone to Spelling City or any of the other websites on the Spelling Practice page?You will find some fun ways to study and reinforce good spelling habits.

Social Studies: We will be wrapping up our study of map and globes but will certainly put the skills to use throughout our study of American History this year.We will practice longitude and latitude next week and will be ready for an assessment to show that we know how to use maps!

Language Arts: Have you overheard your child singing the Noun Song? We have had a good review of nouns and will putting the apostrophe to work next week as we form singular and plural possessive nouns. We will also be working on verbs. They will love the Verb Song!

Writing:We will put our best pens forward as we try to “hook” our readers.We will be working on writing engaging openings to our paragraphs.

Reading:Next week we will focus on the differences between genres and story elements (settings, characters, events, and theme). As your child reads each night, ask him/her about the main idea of what he/she just read. Then ask about details that support that main idea.

At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child's success is the positive involvement of parents. ~~~ Jane D. Hull

TIME FLIES!

August is nearly over . . . . Time flies when we are learning! I am enjoying the time I spend with your children. They are showing a great deal of enthusiasm about learning and they’re doing a good job of following through with homework. Your support is appreciated. Thank you, too, for supporting our “Leader in Me” initiative and sending the forms back to school describing how your children are practicing the “Habits” at home.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

LABOR DAY – NO SCHOOL –SEPTEMBER 1
SCHOOL PICTURE DAY -- SEPTEMBER 9

So, what are we learning at 306 Listening Lane?

MATH: Students have shown a good understanding of place value and rounding numbers. We will be adding and subtracting some very large numbers next week. Our classroom “Number Talks” are helping students with basic facts while they exercise their mental math skills. This should transfer to more accurate computation with large numbers.

READING: Next week we will discuss story elements and focus on reading skills to help improve our overall comprehension. We will also be learning about asking questions during reading and making predictions. The students will also apply these reading skills as they read independently each day. Reading homework will reinforce reading skills. Having your child read each day’s passage aloud to you will help improve fluency.

What strategies can I use to help me better understand what I am reading?                    *Identifying main idea: determine what the passage is mainly about                                *Recognizing details: notice how the author supports the main idea with examples and descriptions                                                                                                                               *Understanding author's purpose: what was the reason the author wrote the passage? *Visualizing: make pictures or play a movie in your mind as you read                                  *Inferring: read “between the lines” – what can you assume?                                        *Questioning: what questions come to mind as you read the passage? What do you wonder?                                                                                                                                         *Connecting: relate characters, events, or information to yourself, another text, or the world                                                                                                                                                  *Predicting: what do you think will happen next?
PRACTICE “PREDICTING” AT THIS WEBSITE:
http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/o/makingpredictionsp.cfm

WRITING: We will begin discussing the elements of good writing and comparing our list to the 6+1 Traits of Good Writing. Next week we will review the writing process with an emphasis on prewriting and brainstorming great ideas. We will work at the art of writing.
This week teachers were informed that in Cobb County, Writing Craft will now account for 70% of the overall English Language Arts grade (previously, Writing was 50% of ELA). Spelling, grammar, and other word work will be 30% of the ELA grade.

SCIENCE: Water, water everywhere! Three fourths of our planet is covered with water but 97% of it is in the oceans. Most of the other 3% is frozen in glaciers. But we still have plenty to drink. In fact, did you know we drink the same water the dinosaurs drank? We currently have all of the water we have ever had on the earth. The water cycle is how water travels through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. As the sun evaporates water (turning from liquid to gas) from lakes, rivers, and oceans, it condenses (gas changes to a liquid) toform clouds. Once the clouds are heavy, precipitation (water falls to return to  the ground) occurs. This process happens over and over. Our water continues to move through the same pattern over and over again.
This week we created our own water cycle models in the Science Lab. We appreciate Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Hernandez volunteering to assist us.
Next week we will learn about the role the weather cycle plays in our weather.

FIRE SAFETY: We welcomed a Cobb County firefighter to our classroom as we began to learn about safety and the importance of having a home escape plan. We took home our Fire Safety workbooks to draw a floor plan of our home (just the floor where we sleep) and a primary and a secondary escape route. We can really use parent help with this! We will have Fire Safety homework next week and will take a field trip to Safety Village on Friday. If your child plans to bring a lunch from home, please be sure that all packaging is disposable.

 

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD’S LEARNING!

IN FULL SWING!

Parents, thank you so much for taking time to attend Open House last Thursday evening. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with you all. I trust that you gained some insight into our classroom and that you felt your time was well spent. I really had fun watching you all find your children at their seats! 

We are in full swing! The students have really been working hard and I am pleased that they have adjusted so well to fourth grade and our classroom! The only problem we have is that we all LOVE TO TALK!  Some of us are still working on knowing when it is and is not a good time to talk to our classmates.

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Friday, August 29         Field trip to Cobb Safety Village  

Monday, September 1   Labor Day - No School!

Tuesday, September 9   School Picture Day    

                        PREPAY ORDER FORMS COMING SOON!

What are your  Gators doing at school?

MATH:  Friday, we will have our first test, assessing what we have learned about place value and our base ten number system, rounding, comparing, and ordering numbers. We will continue to practice reading large numbers with fluency. Next week we will add and subtract large numbers so students need to brush up on basic addition and subtraction facts. 

ALL MY STUDENTS NEED TO BE PRACTICING MULTIPLICATION FACTS EVERY NIGHT!  I HAVE ADDED TWO NEW LINKS TO THE TOP OF MY MATH PRACTICE PAGE. PLEASE CHECK THEM OUT!

SCIENCE:  We are learning about the water cycle and will be applying those concepts to our study of weather.  Check out the page on this blog titled "Water Cycle on the Web" for a wide variety of information sources, activities, and games.

SOCIAL STUDIES: We will explore the United States as we review map skills. We are creating maps showing some major physical features of the United States including the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Great Plains, the Continental Divide, the Great Basin, Death Valley, the Gulf of Mexico, the St. Lawrence River, and the Great Lakes. 

HEALTH:  This Friday we will be instructed by a Cobb County firefighter or police officer. Students will learn the importance of having a home escape plan. Thank you, parents, for helping your children draw floor plans and determine escape routes in their workbooks. Students will have Fire Safety homework next week:  reading passages and quizzes in preparation for our field trip on Friday, August 29 to the Cobb Safety Village.  We are excited about all the fun activities we will experience while we learn to put safety first!  Students will be tested on what they learn. 

SPELLING:  Sort 3.  In class, we are learning about vowel sounds and syllables (where and why words are divided into syllables). Spelling homework is designed to help us practice and remember spelling patterns. There are several websites on my Spelling Practice page to help your children become better spellers.

READING:  We have focused on Reading standards that include identifying main idea, details, text structure, and vocabulary. We are reading The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies and are enjoying an entertaining story while learning some economic concepts and examining the writer's craft. She uses lots of idioms and is so descriptive that we are able to "see a movie in our heads" as we read.  Several students are looking for other books by this author! Students are getting into the habit of recording their nightly 20 minutes of reading in their agendas (title and pages read). Thank you for your help in reminding them.

Thank you for supporting your child and signing his/her agenda each night.  

GREAT GATORS ----- WEEK ONE!

GATORS have been back in school for just a week and I can already tell that this is going to be a fantastic year! During our first few days together, I have truly enjoyed getting to know my new students . . . they are leaders already!

Parents, thank you for making sure your children brought their supplies and for completing all those forms! At “Sneak a Peek” many of you volunteered your time and talents for future events as well as for more immediate needs. There is a wide variety of opportunities for parent involvement at Addison and your willingness to help out is greatly appreciated! Sign-up lists will be available again at Open House on Thursday, August 14.

We have been very busy this week! We have established classroom rules and routines. We attended an assembly with Mrs. Hallmark and Mr. Cohen to review Addison and Cobb County policies and expectations. We have also completed our first week of Spelling and have learned the importance of homework.

Our first week of 8:00 Specials rotations went well. We were able to watch the Gator News show, call roll, complete morning work, check in with our homework and agendas ----- and still arrive on time to Specials! This year, we will always go to Computer Lab on Monday, P.E. on Tuesday, Music on Wednesday, Art on Thursday, and P.E. on Friday. Our mornings are very busy so being on time is very important. The tardy bell rings at 7:45 at which time, students must be inside their classrooms.

We visited the Science Lab for orientation, and then we signed our safety contracts. We were happy to have Sadie's mom and Daniel's mom volunteering. 

In Math, we have had our first addition, subtraction, and multiplication timed tests. Unfortunately, the girls and boys “forgot” too much over the summer. Fluent recall of basic facts is crucial for success in Math. Every student in my class needs to practice daily. On my “Math Practice” page, there are many free interactive websites for multiplication practice. Please make sure that your child has multiplication flash cards. They are cheap (check Dollar Tree) and will be well worth your money! Please, please remind your children to practice every day.

We were given an interesting prompt and wrote our first narrative piece. In fourth grade, we will continue to develop our skills and will grow as young writers.

We met our Book Buddies, Ms. Walston’s awesome kindergarten girls and boys. We had so much fun helping them make a surprise for Open House. I was very proud of the leadership qualities your children showed. They were such nice role models for the younger students. We can hardly wait for our next Book Buddy visit!

Next week, we will have our initial visit to the Media Center and will be checking out some great books so we can meet the expectation of reading for 20 minutes each night. Students are to record their book title and page numbers read at the top of each day's column in their agendas. For example: Boxcar Children, p. 64-81.

Ms. Weston will coming to our classroom for our first fourth grade Guidance lesson on Tuesday.  
ALP students will join Mrs. Schwartz for the first time on Monday. 

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

                     Review and sign your child's agenda every night.
                     Send a note if there is a transportation change.
                     Send a healthy snack each day.
                     Update your child's lunch account as needed.  

OPEN HOUSE – THURSDAY, AUGUST 14                                     

                      5:00 ALP in Media Center, K and 1^st Classroom Orientation
                      6:00 PTA in Cafeteria
                      6:30 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th Classroom Orientation
Only Addison students may go to the gym to watch a movie while parents go to the classrooms. Students must be signed in and signed out by their parents. The gym will be open from 4:45 until 7:40. A shuttle will run from Sandy Plains Baptist Church to Addison Elementary to help with parking.

 I look forward to a seeing you all at Open House and to a wonderful year of helping your children learn and lead!