Announcements

Welcome to Fourth Grade
Fourth graders have not skipped a beat as we launched the school year with joy and
virve! We have bid goodbye to the lazy days of summer and urged our bodies and minds into gear
for a year of learning, exploration, and fun. But we need your help. It will be a year of successful
teamwork if you agree to help us. More on that later. Here�s what we�ve been doing so far.

Language Arts
We have begun our standard-based Houghton-Mifflin curriculum, which we work on both
individually and as a group. Students are also reading an independent reading book of their choice
at their appropriate reading level. They are responsible for transporting it to and from school each
day and for filling in a simple reading log each evening. Once or twice a week, students meet with
me to read aloud and discuss the book. This allows me to monitor their progress. Please listen as
your children read aloud to you each evening, and read to them as well. This is so important as we
work on improving fluency and the ability to decode larger and larger words. Students need to be
reading a minimum of one-half million words a year out side of school according to the state
standards. The more you read, the more successful you are in every academic area. It�s a fact!
Students will also take an Accelerated Reader quiz as they complete each book to assess the
comprehension level. Once a month, students will write a Book Club letter to be shared at Book
Club. We hope some of you will sign up to provide us with refreshments for these fun and
inspirational meetings. We are reading Poppy, by Avi, during our literature time together, and will
write a multi-paragraph response to literature when we have finished this charming book. Students
have completed their first Writer�s Workshop piece, Bestselling Biographies. Please check these out
on our bulletin board! We will do lots of writing together this year, both for fun and in preparation
for the state writing assessment. Students should be quite proficient in writing perfect paragraphs at
this point, as we are poised to begin working on organizing and writing multi-paragraph essays in a
variety of genres.

Math
We are currently running two math groups to accommodate various ability levels in fourth grade.
Both groups spend part of the math period on problem solving and review. One group will cover the
entire fourth grade curriculum before the spring tests, and the other will begin on Chapter 4, and
possibly move ahead into the fifth grade book if they have mastered the fourth grade material before
the end of the year. This group will also spend some of their time on Math Club material, and have
the opportunity to try out for a place on the Math Superbowl team. If you would like to help out with
math support, please let me know. Thank you for your support!

Social Studies
We have begun our study of beautiful California! Students are learning about the various and diverse
regions of our wonderful state. (Please check out the amazing bulletin board which creatively
depicts them!) They are also learning map skills, specifically: latitude and longitude. We will soon
move on to the history of our state, and will be adding events to an interactive timeline showing
events as they evolved in California and also providing a national and international context. Our
upcoming hike to Montecito Peak supports our study of California geography.

Science
Our current unit covers earth science. We will study diverse land forms and various types of erosion.
Our hands-on labs will support an understanding of the scientific process, and our lab write-ups will
review and reinforce the manner in which scientists carefully predict, observe, record and form
conclusions.

Homework
Homework is due at 8:25 the morning after it is assigned. If it is not turned in, neatly and
accurately completed, you will receive a homework notice apprising you of the fact. Please sign it
and return it so that we know you are aware that your child was not prepared. She will be asked to
stay in during recess to complete missing assignments. I try and keep homework to a minimum,
realizing the importance of play time and outdoor exercise. Reading is extremely important. Please
be sure that your child has read for at least 30 minutes, and neatly filled in his reading log in cursive.
I also give a short math review on most evenings, and also send home all unit tests for your
signature. If your child has not mastered basic math facts at this point, she is at a disadvantage, and
needs to practice them with you each night for at least 10 minutes. No Excuses Spelling comes
home if your child has misspelled any previously taught words in the course of class work or
homework. Students need to neatly write each word 5 times each evening and turn them in the next
morning. I found this to be extremely successful last year in breaking bad habits. It�s worth a shot!

P.E.
Students participate in P.E. each day. We work on sportsmanship, positive participation, and
cardiovascular fitness. Students need to come to school in clothes and shoes appropriate for
physical activity. If your child cannot participate for any reason, please send a note to school.
Thanks!

Technology
We are looking forward to having new computers in our classroom. We expect to have four or five
laptops for the students to share in the near future. Also, we are glad to have Mr. Christian Garfield
back with us in the tech lab, which will be opening this week. I am looking forward to integrating
technology into our curriculum in a variety of ways. I am also excited to introduce the children to
Renzulli Learning, a web based individualized search engine, which will be useful for independent
study projects and exploratory learning.