Happy New Year!

Good Afternoon,

It was great getting back to into routine, and start the new year off with all the students. Hope everyone's holidays were enjoyable as we head into a brand new year, and for this group of 4th graders their last months at NDLC. Everyday we will continue to try and make it the best day, and along the way make some growth academically and socially so that when that final day comes this group is ready to take on anything that comes their way!

Week in Review:

Leader in Me: This week as we transitioned back we spent time reviewing our classroom and school expectations. As leaders in our school, we want to be displaying positive behaviors in all areas whether that be at recess, hallways, lunch, etc.

Writing: Writers got their writing gears back in motion in a new form of essay writing as they started a compare and contrast essay this week. They took two short stories that they had read, and from there worked on comparing and contrasting either characters or themes in the two stories taking those ideas then to their essay writing.

Math: Mathematicians rang in the new with a brand new unit which will be focusing on addition, subtracting, and measurement. This week was started with a pre assessment to see what students know about the concepts already, and then we dove into place value up to millions and rounding. 

Reading: Readers spent this week building back up their volume and stamina after a break. We put a challenge out to everyone on building interpretations of our books even before we start reading it by studying the cover and the back blurb, and then as we read it's like we are trying to put together a mental puzzle as each chapter is like a piece that makes the story more clear for our understanding and interpretation.

Content: We started a new unit where students will investigate features and processes of the Earth’s surface. Students will also explore the rapid process of volcanic eruptions!  In contrast, students will also explore the gradual Earth processes of weathering and erosion. Students will apply their knowledge and design solutions to mitigate the impacts of these processes on humans. This week, students explored the past and present pattern of where volcanoes exist on the earth. In the activity, Mapping Volcanoes, students plotted volcano locations on a world map and looked for patterns.

A Look Ahead:

  • Winter i-Ready testing
    • January 9th-12 in the mornings after specials
      • We are breaking the i-Ready diagnostic up so that it is not so much in one big chunk of time, but instead spread out more throughout the week. Getting a good nights sleep and breakfast will help students with their stamina when working through the diagnostic.
  • January 15th - No School
  • January 18th - Funset Night
    • Forms sent home yesterday with students
  • January 19th - 11:30 Dismissal


That's all for this week!

Have a great weekend!


Mr. VW




  

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