Tuesday, November 29th

Good Afternoon, Room 36 Families!

Please remember:  Brentwood's 100th Anniversary Celebration is this Saturday!

Homework:
- Read 20 minutes + reading log
- Math Worksheet: lattice (B)
- Metaphor Packet (lavender) finish

Monday, November 29th

Good Evening, Room 36 Families!

Welcome back! I hope you all had a relaxing Thanksgiving Break.  (I stayed away from my LAUSD email last week, so I will be catching up on any messages over the next couple days.) 

Don't forget: Tomorrow is Make Up Picture Day! If your child was absent for the date in October, or needs to retake their school photo, tomorrow is the day.

The 4th Grade Chorus will be performing at Brentwood's 100th Year Anniversary Celebration this Saturday!  The Chorus will sing at 12:15 p.m.  If your child is in the Chorus, please make sure they are here by 12:00 so they can line up to perform. Chorus members should wear a white button down shirt and black or dark pants (girls have the option of wearing a skirt.)

(Chorus students had an extra long rehearsal today, so they missed our homework review.) 

Room 36 took their diagnostic test on the Reading Counts/SRI site today, and I will be sending them home with a suggested reading list this week.  This is very exciting, because now that their Lexile level has been assessed, it will be easy to choose books at an appropriate reading level.  From now on, at least one of their library books needs to be from this list -- or at a comparable Lexile level. Students will be taking reading assessments once a week to check their independent reading comprehension. (This will replace reading logs.)

Homework:
- Read 20 minutes + reading log
- Math worksheet: lattice multiplication
- Metaphor packet (lavender): first page

Make-Up Picture Day

Just a quick reminder:  Make-Up Picture Day is Tuesday, November 29th. If you child was absent on Picture Day, or you would like a redo, next week is your last opportunity. Please let me know if you need an additional order form, and I will send one home with your child on Monday. 

Friday, November 18th

Good Evening, Room 36 Families!

Have a great Thanksgiving Break! Make sure your children read every day.  See you in 10 days!

Thursday, November 17th

Good Evening, Room 36 Families!

Today we began our Art rotation with Ms. Green!  We reviewed art terminology the students had learned in previous years, in preparation for the painting project we will begin after Thanksgiving Break.

Our Thanksgiving "Feast" will be tomorrow afternoon! Students will be bringing food to share.  It would be difficult (but not impossible!) to warm up food, so please consider sending something that is ready to go.  (We have 31 students in our room.)

I have decided to put off our Chapter 5 math test until after Thanksgiving break.  During Parent Conferences, I mentioned that this chapter was the first with all new material -- Chapters 1-4 were mostly review.  We are going to spend a couple more days practicing our new skills, and will test when we come back.

Homework:
- Read 20 minutes + reading log
- Chapter 5 review worksheet
- Close Reading: Turkey Pardoning

Wednesday, November 16th

Good Evening, Room 36 Families!

Today, Room 36 had Physical Science with Mr. Wilcox. Please ask them about what they learned!

Please check in with your student to see if they need extra practice working on Time and/or Money.  Several students have been struggling with the concepts of "elapsed time" and "how much change should you expect," because they don't really understand foundation concepts. (For example: How much is each coin is worth, etc.)  We are addressing these concepts daily, but any extra practice you can do at home would be helpful.

We've been working on lots of great tech stuff in Room 36!  In addition to Reflex Math, this month we started using a great Language Arts program called Imagine Learning, and have set up our Google Classroom accounts. (Students can login to Google Classroom from any internet linked device. They can also access Imagine Learning at home, but you will be most successful if you download the app to your computer.)  After Thanksgiving break, we will start with SRI/Reading Counts, to really bump up their independent reading Lexile levels, as well as Typing.com and more!

We had lots of fun learning about logic puzzles today.  Expect many more in the future.   ;-)

I sent home a notice about the Thanksgiving "Feast" we will be having on Friday afternoon.  If you are interested, and able, please return the green half-sheet to let me know what you might be able to send.

Homework:
- Read 20 minutes + reading log
- MyMath: Reteach Chapter 5, Lesson 6 (purple handout)
- Close Reading: Why I Am Afraid of Balloons

Tuesday, November 15th

Good Evening, Room 36 Families!

School pictures went home today. Even students who did not order photos received a School ID. Please make sure you check backpacks.  (Make Up Picture Day is coming up.)

Homework:
- Read 20 minutes + reading log
- MyMath: Chapter 5, Lesson 6
- Finish Simile handout (pink)

Monday, November 14th

Good Afternoon, Room 36 Families!

Thanks again, for a great week of Parent Conferences.  It was so wonderful to speak to all of you.  There are a few of you who requested a phone conference, and I will be making those calls this week.  I will also be sending home report cards in backpacks if you were not able to make it to school this past week.

During conferences I was able to let most of you know that math will be getting a little more challenging from now on.  Chapters 1-4 were mostly review; Chapter 5 is the first chapter that covers new material.  Our math lesson today was particularly challenging: Solving Multi-Step Word Problems.  Word problems always add a layer of difficulty, because the students need to figure out what the actual math problem is!  I will be sending home extra word problem homework at least once a week for a while, so that students can practice working with them more frequently.

Homework:
- Read 20 minutes + reading log
- MyMath: Chapter 5, Lesson 5 (pages 309-310)
- Similes handout (pink)

Thursday, November 10th

Good Afternoon, Room 36 Families!

First, I wanted to say that I have really enjoyed getting a chance to speak with so many of you at Parent Conferences this week!  Technology is great, but it's so nice to have a chance to communicate with you face-to-face about your kids.

No school tomorrow, due to Veteran's Day. 

Have a great three-day weekend!

Wednesday, November 9th

Good Evening, Room 36 Families!

Your students had Physical Science Lab with Mr. Wilcox today.  Ask them what they learned about Static Electricity!

On Monday, we visited the Computer Lab with Mr. Zanotti.  He got us all set up with our Google Classroom accounts!  I'm very excited about this, because now we can start typing our writing, and working on PowerPoint presentations.  It's going to be great!

Most parents have signed up for a Parent Conference, but I still have a few slots available on Monday (11/14) if you are interested.

Don't forget: No School Friday!

Homework:
- Read 20 minutes + reading log
- MyMath: Chapter 5, Lesson 3 (p. 297-298)
- Finish the "Figurative Language in Song Lyrics" worksheet

Tuesday, November 8th

Good Evening, Room 36 Families!

I had so much fun with Parent Conferences yesterday, I forgot to post the homework! Sorry about that.

A couple of Conference Sign-Up Sheets were turned in this week, and I will do my best to fit you in.  This week is busy, busy!

Homework:
- Read 20 minutes + reading log
- MyMath: Chapter 5, Lesson 2
- Grammar Handout: Common/Proper Nouns
- Science: Review Questions (page 8) -- unfinished work from class 


Monday Homework:
- Read 20 minutes + reading log
- MyMath: Chapter 5, Lesson 1

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, Everyone! Have a great weekend.  :-)

Thursday, October 3rd

Good Afternoon, Room 36 Families!

Your students brought home a note with your Parent-Teacher Conference time today.  I was able to schedule almost everyone with their first, second, or third choice.  Students do not need to attend, but they are welcome.

Today we met with Ms. Clark for a Restorative Justice circle, and she encouraged us to start thinking about who we want to be in our futures.  Next time we meet, we will talk about the steps and choices necessary to make our goals a reality.

Tomorrow we will have a Math Test on Chapter 4.  We took a practice test today, and the class did very well.

Homework:
- Read 20 minutes + reading log
- MyMath: Reteach Worksheet
- Write a paragraph: How do you see yourself in your future? 

Wednesday, November 2nd

Good Afternoon, Room 36 Families!

Your students experimented with magnets in Physical Science with Mr. Wilcox today. Ask them about what they learned!

Parent Teacher Conference schedules will be coming home in your child's backpack tomorrow.  Please look for them.  Students do not need to accompany parents to the conference, but they are welcome.

Homework:
- Read 20 minutes + reading log
- MyMath: pages 269-270 (review)
- Vocabulary Story: Students must use all 6 vocabulary words (peculiar, positive, selecting, consisted, advanced, aware) in a story PLUS add 1 simile and 1 onomatopoeia!  

Tuesday, November 1st

Good Evening, Room 36 Families!

It's going to feel like a long week, since Halloween was on a Monday, so please do your best to make sure your kids get as much "catch up" sleep as they can.  ;-)

Homework:
- Read 20 minutes + reading log
- MyMath: Chapter 4, Lesson 11
- Close Reading