We are well on our way to halfway through the 3rd quarter already if you can believe that! I find myself trying to put the breaks on and slow the year down a bit, I am not ready for it to be over. I have truly enjoyed getting to know each of my students this year. Trust me when I say with confidence, this class has an INCREDIBLE amount of potential and I cannot wait to see what they do!
We have been talking a lot about what it means to be a Golden Eagle Learner vs. a Baby Bird Learner and identifying different behaviors we may default to. It has brought on some fantastic discussions and I am so proud of them. Keep encouraging your student to be a Golden Eagle Learner who goes after their learning rather than just sitting and waiting for someone to bring them the answer (like a baby bird). We watched a funny video of a baby bird who had just left its nest. It was holding its little mouth open to a worm waiting for it to jump into its mouth. We talked about how just sitting and waiting for someone to give us the answer, do the right thing, or lead us to the answer, is similar to the baby bird and how ineffective it is.
ELA:
This week in ELA we are continuing to work on reading comprehension with The One and Only Ivan. We DO have a Morning Warm Up quiz on Thursday along with our spelling test on List R.
January Reading Calendars were due last week on the 1st. If your student forgot, please help them remember to turn it in or just send me a quick email letting me know how many minutes they read. Also, if they don't have the total minutes read written on their calendar when they turn it in, I will hand it back to them to total it up. If you thought your student had turned it in but it's still marked missing, that may be why. :)
Math:
We are going to be finishing up Topic 8 this week. We have been working to understand fractions, equivalent fractions, and how to compare fractions. We have done several Interactive Math Journal pages on this that your student is welcome to use when they are working on assignments at home or on their homework.
I have noticed a signification decrease in math homework since we have been back from Christmas break. Please ask your student to show you how many minutes they have completed for each skill each evening, even if they say they got it done in class. This does affect their grade as well as their learning when they aren't spending time practicing those skills.
Valentines Day:
We will celebrate Valentine's Day on Wednesday, February 14th. This party is different than our other parties as it mostly consists of passing out valentines and then reading them. Students are welcome to create a box at home to collect their valentines from classmates. They do not have to though. I will have a grocery sack for students who need something, it isn't fancy but it will do the trick. :)
I posted our class list in the virtual classroom and you can click on that from the whiteboard or click HERE. Bringing valentines is optional! Your student is not required to bring any. However, if they do, please have them bring one for every student or one for every boy or every girl. That way no one has hurt feelings. :) This is a day that we focus on love and friendship. We don't worry about boyfriends and girlfriends in 4th grade so please remind your student of that as well. :)
We will also be watching Because of Winn Dixie on this day. It is a great story that celebrates friendship and family. We will compare and contrast it to the book as well. This movie is rated PG. If you do NOT want your student to watch the movie, please email me and let me know and I will provide an alternate activity for them to do during that time. If you would like to send in HEALTHY snacks like fruits, veggies, meat and cheese trays, etc. that would be great! Please no cookies or anything like that since they will have candy from their Valentines.
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