Fourth Grade--Mrs. Owens

Fourth Grade News—October

          First of all, thank you all for coming to Back to School Night.  It was good to see old friends, and nice to meet new ones.  I would like to just go over a few    new items and add some reminders.  Every day I post a list of books that are needed for homework.  If your child is unsure about which books to bring home, all he or she has to do is to consult that list.  I am in the classroom every morning at 7:10, so if your child does need to come in for a book he has forgotten, he/she is welcome to come at 8:25.  Needless to say, if he comes at 8:47, he won’t be able to accomplish much since school starts at 8:50.  Of course, I am hopeful that I won’t see the exact same children every day before school!  As I think I mentioned, your child can earn a stamp every Friday if he/she has completed all of his/her homework that week.  If you want to know if he/she is doing his/her homework, simply ask if he received a stamp.  If he did not receive a stamp, then he did not complete all his homework that week.  I will be sending home Progress Reports for each child in the near future.  This is not something I am required to do.  It is something I do midway through each marking period so that you will have a better handle on your child’s performance.  On a more immediate note, some children were very disappointed with their scores on our recent Science test.  We have reviewed the test, and I will offer a retest for any child who wishes to take advantage of this opportunity. The retest will be given on Thursday during recess, and I will average this new grade with your child’s original grade.  This is purely optional.

            There are a few other points of information I would like to share with you:

**Our Homeroom parents this year are Mrs. Gilbert and Mrs. Brandner.  I am sure you will be hearing from them regarding the Halloween Party. 

**Starting today our lunch is being switched back to lunch first and then recess.  This is being done by teacher request since many of us on lunch duty have observed that children do not have enough time to eat, particularly on special lunch days (hot dog lunch, PTA lunch, etc.).

**If you have not already done so, please be sure that all hardcover books are covered.  This is a school rule to protect the books and, unfortunately, I still have several children with uncovered books.

**We have several visits coming up in the near future.  On Wednesday Mr. Schuetz will present a lesson to our class on trees.  This is being done in conjunction with our study of plants and the enrichment Nature Walk, which will be rescheduled.  Later in the month we will have a PTA sponsored assembly during which an author will speak to us.  Additionally, Sgt. Walden, with whom the children were pen pals last year, will visit us, and Sgt. Compton from the Washington Township Police Department will talk to us about staying safe.

**Enjoy the Fall colors as much as possible.  They’re only here for a short time!

 

 

     Fourth grade is a year of transition.  It involves moving from a primary situation to an intermediate one.  During the course of the year, students become much more independent in their work and in their thinking.  Some students make a very easy transition, while others need more "pushing and pulling" to achieve that independence and sense of responsibility that Fourth Grade requires. 
 

      The work, in general, is more content-laden and more difficult.  Higher level thinking skills, including the ability to analyze, critique, and make connections are more prevalent.  Specifically, Reading is now taught solely from novels.  While we include reading skills such as main idea, sequence, and cause and effect, we also view literary techniques such as foreshadowing, plot line, mood, and theme.  Math involves two and three step operations , including double and triple digit multiplication and division. In Social Studies our focus is on the Regions of the United States, and in Science we study Life Science, Physical Science, and MARE.  We continue to study Spelling, and we focus on Parts of Speech and Writing technique in Language Arts.  Projects are an integral part of the Fourth Grade curriculum.

     Fourth Grade is an exciting year where growth occurs physically, academically. socially, and emotionally!