Mrs. Spakausky's Blog Sept.9-13

Mon 9/16 & Tues 9/17 - PV Beginning Band Sign Up Conferences 4:00-8:00pm
Fri 9/27 - PV Movie Night 6:30-8:45pm
Wed 10/2 - Early dismissal at 11:00am
Mon 10/14 - No school (Columbus Day)
Tues 10/29 & Wed 10/30 - Parent/Teacher Conferences

Mr. Pagel came to Visit on Friday!  Group HUG!!!

Another Team Building Activity-Marshmallow Challenge

If you missed our Summer Snapshots, here they are! Enjoy!

Name Art

Our Class Family came up with some wonderful class expectations for this year!

Spelling -  Week 2- Words that End in Suffixes "-ible" and "-able"

This week's spelling/vocabulary list will include words with the suffixes -ible & -able. We will study the word pattern and how the suffix impacts the meaning of the base word. We will also study at synonyms for many of the words on the list. The final TEST is scheduled for Friday, 9/13.

English - What is a Sentence?
The first lesson in this chapter looks at the difference between sentences and fragments. Students will recognize that a complete sentence contains a subject and an action. We will also review punctuation and capitalization as it relates to writing sentences.

Reading - Close Reading- "Casey at the Bat"

Our close read of Casey at the Bat continues with a look at using context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words, author's perspective and text to text comparison. 

Students' first exposure to close reading in fourth grade involved "close reading" an Oreo cookie. For their "first read" they were given a cookie and were told to eat it quickly. This simulated reading text for the "gist". Then we shared words to describe the cookie. For their "second read" they took their time eating another cookie. They ate it with their eyes closed, thinking about the texture, ingredients, taste, uniqueness and other attributes of the yummy treat. This simulated what a close read of text is like. Students then listed words to describe their second read. Below is a picture of the poster we created during the activity. Please note the difference between what was observed in the first and second "read". Also included are some pictures of students close reading their Oreos I think they enjoyed the activity!

Social Studies - The Beautiful Northeast 

We have begun our journey across the United States...first stop is the Northeast! Students will label and color their own maps of the region in preparation for a map quiz scheduled for the week of 9/16. The Northeast region is tricky with a lot of small states. I highly encourage students to be well prepared for the quiz. They will each receive a blank copy of the map that they should use to practice with. We will also take a look at the geography of the Northeast. 

Mrs. Spakausky's Math Class-

This week we talked about Math Expectations and brainstormed what a great math class would be like.  (See Poster Below)
We also talked about what math might look like and sound like in 4th grade. (see below)

Unit 1:  Expressions, Equations and Volume

In Unit 1 we will focus on :

Module 1-Models for Multiplication and Division-The students will  learn how to interpret products of whole numbers using number lines, ratio tables, and rectangular rays.  

Module 2-Primes and Composites

Module 3-Multiplicative Comparisons and Equations

Module 4-Measurement Experiences (linear measurement, mass/weight, volume and capacity)

There will be a nightly homework assignment.

PDF copies of the Bridges workbooks are always available via Google Classroom. Pages from the workbooks may be printed using a Chromebook, a desktop or laptop computer.