Week of April 27th

We are in the final week of testing and your students are working so hard! I am proud of them and the effort they are putting into showing what they know. I am slowly getting ELA ISAT scores and they are looking good so far!

ELA:

In ELA this week we are going to continue working on our reading comprehension. It's like I tell the kids, just because testing is over doesn't mean that our learning is over! We still have a lot of learning to squeeze into the next few weeks!

Math:

This week we are focusing on reviewing for the math ISATs. Today we are taking the Math CAT (computer adaptive test) and we will be taking the PT (performance task) on Thursday. Please make sure your student is getting plenty of sleep this week. They really need it to have the stamina to get through these tests, they take a lot out of the kids. A good protein filled breakfast the morning of the tests is also an important thing! 

ISAT Party and Incentives:

One of the things I offer my students every year is the opportunity to earn an invitation to our class ISAT party after testing is over. They can earn an invitation one of two ways. 

1. One is to meet their goal that I made with them one-on-one and this is based on individual growth. 
2. The second way is to work really hard leading up to testing and doing their best on their test. If your student has missing assignments, this will keep them from the party. Please work with your student to stay up on their work.

As someone who deals with testing anxiety, I never want my students to work really hard and then feel bad because they didn't do well on the test because they were anxious. The learning is what matters and the ISAT is just ONE way we see that growth. I have several different other measures of growth I look at to ensure my students are growing each year. :)

Our school is offering an incentive for students by grade level. This is in ADDITION to my ISAT Party Incentive. These goals may be a little different than the goals I came up with when I met with each student because they are determined by the state. However, if my students meet the goal they set with me they should be ok to meet the school's goal as well. This incentive is a tiered incentive and will be determined by the percentage of 4th grade students who meet their goal. 

Tier 1: 75% - extra recess and ice cream sandwich

Tier 2: 85% - extra recess, pizza, bounce house

Tier 3: 95% -  field trip bowling or zoo & park Mrs. Burton decide

Science Fair Projects:

Your student should be working their way through the packet I sent home just before Spring Break. All the parts of that packet are parts they will need for their final project. I also sent home the rubric for the project so that they can use it to guide them when they are putting together their display boards. All of those documents are attached to the assignment in Infinite Campus if they got lost and you need to reprint them. I know sometimes I get "toss happy" at my house and accidentally throw things away sometimes so I try to link everything for you in Infinite Campus. :) Science projects are due on Tuesday, May 12th. 

Week of April 20th

Here we are at the first week of ISAT testing and I can hardly believe it! Please help your student do their best by making sure they are getting to bed early and getting lots of sleep leading up to the tests. This will help them have the stamina and endurance to get through these long tests. Making sure they eat a good breakfast before their tests is also so helpful! A breakfast packed with protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs will give their brains the fuel they need to recall all of the amazing information we have learned this year!

A HUGE thank you to the Faustino family for reaching out to donate some of our ISAT snacks! I still have a few available if you would like to help out and are able, please email me and I will send you the options available. I like to do snacks this way to ensure that students with allergies still get to enjoy the same snacks as everyone. :)

ELA:

This week we will be taking the two portions of the ELA ISAT on Tuesday and Thursday. We will begin these first thing in the morning, so please make sure your student is at school on time so that they start with the class and don't feel flustered and stressed when they get here. 

We have been reviewing skills we have learned so that they are fresh in their minds for testing. I am excited for them to get to show what they know! 

Math:

This week in math we are going to begin reviewing what to expect on the Math ISAT and review skills we learned earlier in the year so that they are fresh for my students. Your student will most likely not have any extra math assignments to work on at home this week from Savvas. I try to keep their work load lighter the weeks we are testing to encourage them to get lots of rest. 

Science Fair Projects:

Your student should be working their way through the packet I sent home just before Spring Break. All the parts of that packet are parts they will need for their final project. I also sent home the rubric for the project so that they can use it to guide them when they are putting together their display boards. All of those documents are attached to the assignment in Infinite Campus if they got lost and you need to reprint them. I know sometimes I get "toss happy" at my house and accidentally throw things away sometimes so I try to link everything for you in Infinite Campus. :) Science projects are due on Tuesday, May 12th. 

Week of April 13th

Whew! Looks like Idaho decided to save all of it's yearly precipitation for this weekend and week! Please make sure your student dresses for the weather as we do go outside every day if we can to get some fresh air! 

ELA:

This week we are really honing in on those skills that we have been learning to make sure students have a clear understanding. One of the things I am really pushing them on is correct capitalization. We only capitalize the beginning of sentences and proper nouns. If you notice your student using incorrect capitalization, please have them erase and rewrite it correctly. 

Math:

We have had several more students pass their multiplication facts this last week! I am so proud of them! Remember, once those are passed your student won't have that as homework anymore.

We will be finished introducing new 4th grade math content by the end of this week. We will spend next week reviewing those concepts to make sure we are reading for ISAT testing the following week (two weeks from now). 

ISAT Testing:

ISAT testing starts next week! Today we talked about the importance of going to bed at a decent time so that their bodies are well rested for testing, I had a lot of sleepy kiddos this morning. :) 

As we are preparing to take the ISATs it is so important for students to be here every day unless they are sick. I know sickness can't be helped and we will do our best to get them caught up when they come back, but some things can't be made up. 

We will be taking the ISATS on April 21st, 23rd, 28th, and 30th. If your student is going to be gone one of those days, please let me know as soon as possible so that I can plan an alternate day for them to test. 

IXL Weekly Assigned Skills:

I just want to remind parents that the Weekly Assigned IXL skills ARE a grade in the grade book. I have  several students not completing them and it is having a negative impact on their grade. Please make sure your student is getting those skills done each week. They do have the weekends to get them done, but they do not get to go to Thirsty Thursday if they aren't done because of the number of students I have not getting them done at all. 

ISAT Party and Incentives:

One of the things I offer my students every year is the opportunity to earn an invitation to our class ISAT party after testing is over. They can earn an invitation one of two ways. 

1. One is to meet their goal that I am making with them one-on-one and this is based on individual growth. 
2. The second way is to work really hard leading up to testing and doing their best on their test. If your student has missing assignments, this will keep them from the party. Please work with your student to stay up on their work.

As someone who deals with testing anxiety, I never want my students to work really hard and then feel bad because they didn't do well on the test because they were anxious. The learning is what matters and the ISAT is just ONE way we see that growth. I have several different other measures of growth I look at to ensure my students are growing each year. :)

Our school is offering an incentive for students by grade level. This is in ADDITION to my ISAT Party Incentive. These goals may be a little different than the goals I came up with when I met with each student because they are determined by the state. However, if my students meet the goal they set with me they should be ok to meet the school's goal as well. This incentive is a tiered incentive and will be determined by the percentage of 4th grade students who meet their goal. 

Tier 1: 75% - extra recess and ice cream sandwich

Tier 2: 85% - extra recess, pizza, bounce house

Tier 3: 95% -  field trip bowling or zoo & park Mrs. Burton decide

ISAT Snacks:

I like to provide snacks for my students to enjoy during testing. I don't let them bring their own snacks because of allergies and the reality that they really don't have much room on the tops of their desks. I encourage my students to eat a breakfast with lots of protein and healthy fats the morning of the tests. 

The school will also provide some small snacks as well. If you would like to donate towards snacks for the class, please email me and let me know and I will send you an item to buy that will be safe for allergies as well as being a healthy option for students. Please do NOT just send in random items as I want to make sure that all of my students can enjoy the snacks. :)

Week of April 6th

I don't know about you but I am LOVING this warmer weather and longer days! I love the spring with all of the new growth and excitement. I feel like it perfectly represents what I see in my students this time of year, and I love that!

ELA:

This week in ELA we will continue working to improve our reading comprehension through reading non-fiction texts on ReadWorks and paper passages. We are also working on our next opinion writing with the "Case of the Missing Grandpa". 

Math:

We are making great progress towards covering all new content before ISAT testing. There will be a few days that we double up on lessons to make sure we cover everything in time, but students will still only have one math assignment each day. 

I also have SO many students who are just about ready to pass their multiplication facts! I am so excited with our progress, keep practicing those at home to make sure they get there!

ISAT Testing:

We just have 2 weeks left before we start ISAT testing. In 4th grade we take the English Language Arts and Math ISATS. Each test has two parts, the Performance Task (PT) and the Computer Adaptive Test (CAT). Each part is fairly lengthy and involved so we break them up into two days to make it easier on our students. We will be taking our ELA ISATs on Tuesday, April 21st and Thursday April 23rd. We will take our Math ISATs on Tuesday, April 28th and Thursday, April 30th. The state made the testing window earlier this year so we are doing our best to cover everything before students test. If your student is going to be absent while we are testing, please let me know ahead of time so that I can make sure they take it before they leave. :)

My number 1 goal is to make testing as comfortable and stress free as I possibly can for your student. One way I have learned to do that over the year is to talk about testing leading up to give kiddos an insight into what it will look like and what will be asked of them based on the provided practice tests. It is so important your student is here every day so that they can get all of that information since it isn't anything I can assign them to work on at home. If they are absent, they just miss it. 

ISAT Party:

One of the things I offer my students every year is the opportunity to earn an invitation to our class ISAT party after testing is over. They can earn an invitation one of two ways. 

1. One is to meet their goal that I am making with them one-on-one and this is based on individual growth. 
2. The second way is to work really hard leading up to testing and doing their best on their test. If your student has missing assignments, this will keep them from the party. Please work with your student to stay up on their work.

As someone who deals with testing anxiety, I never want my students to work really hard and then feel bad because they didn't do well on the test because they were anxious. The learning is what matters and the ISAT is just ONE way we see that growth. I have several different other measures of growth I look at to ensure my students are growing each year. :)

Our school will be offering a second incentive as well and I will be sharing those details soon! 

Science Fair Project:

Our Science Fair Project information went home with your student before Spring Break. They will need to turn in two components to me. The first is their guiding question that will guide their project and investigation. That was due tomorrow, Tuesday, March 31st. If your student needs to revise their question, I will go over that with them and send it home with them to make sure you are ok with it as well since you will be helping them with the investigation. 

The second component is their presentation board. This will have all of the data they have compiled while working on their project and all of that is in the packet that was sent home. If you lost the packet, I included all documents in the assignments in Infinite Campus so you should be able to print them from there.