4th Grade

Jeffers’ Journal

Week of March 27^th – March 31^st   

Welcome to the twenty-eighth issue of the Jeffers’ Journal.“  And he said to all: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23).”  Please come to school each day with an open mind, positive “I can” attitude, a friendly smile, and eager to be a member of our team! Are you prepared to board the learning train?

Important Dates to Remember:

March     27^th Mass with Father Pat at 9AM

                  29^th Hatch Day for the Chicks

                  30th Hatch Day for the Chicks

April       3^rd Mass with Father Pat at 9AM

                 5^th End of the 3^rd Marking Period

                   6^th Holy Thursday-No School or CASE

                7^th Good Friday-No School or CASE

                   10^{th –} 14^th Spring Vacation-No School or CASE

               24^th Spring Concert at 6pm

              27^th Spring Pictures Taken      

Here’s a breakdown of our learning:

1. Math: Its important children learn math facts for addition/subtraction and multiplication/division with the goal of automatic recall. For the upcoming week, the students will complete individual lessons on I-Ready Math each day. To start the week, we will focus on subtracting mixed numbers.  We will review how to add and subtract fractions with like and unlike denominators and mixed numbers in preparation for the Topic 9 test which will be on Wednesday, March 29^th.  The theme of Topic 10 is multiplying fractions. The topic begins with understanding a fraction as a multiple of a unit fraction using models. They will practice multiplying fractions by whole numbers.
2. English Language Arts:
   1. Grammar: Students will learn how to proofread their writing for subject-verb agreement, capital letters, and punctuation using the proofreading symbols. What is an adjective? Were you aware that the adjectives good and bad compare?  What is an adverb and what do they describe? Can you spot an adverb in a sentence? Do you know any adverbs?
   2. Vocabulary: Each week students have 12 new vocabulary words and complete different activities each day (sentence completion, synonym/antonym, matching, word meaning, and context clues).
   3. Reading: An important skill we will be practicing is reading articles or passages and answering comprehension questions. The three types of connections that good readers make: Text-Text, Text-Self, and also Text–World. A Text-Self connection is when the reader can connect the text to his/her life.  Next, a Text-Text connection is a connection between texts. Finally, a Text-World connection is when the reader can connect the text to the world.  Students are also completing independent lessons on I-Ready Reading in comprehension and vocabulary each day.
   4. Spelling: Each day the students will learn two or three commonly misspelled words and a mnemonic device to help them remember correct spelling.  They will write a sentence for each word to demonstrate an understanding of its meaning and of conventional spelling.
3. Summary: My goal this year is to encourage your son/daughter to find a love of reading. I am asking that your son/daughter read a minimum of 20-30 minutes each night and also complete a summary of what they read.  A summary is a short and sweet retelling of a text. It only includes the most important details. You can use the writing strategy of “Somebody Want But So Then” to help you write a short fiction summary. We will continue practicing how to write summaries this week by listening to more stories and also reading short passages.
4. Writing: The explanatory writing train is still in the Body Paragraph station. The students reviewed the categories that they are going use. Now we are working on writing a main idea and details for each category and deciding the order of the categories. After we depart the station we will be approaching the Conclusion station. In the conclusion, you restate the thesis statement and your whole writing comes to an end. We will also work on revising, proofreading, and editing our writing.
5. Social Studies: This week, we will explore the theme trouble in the colonies. Some questions we are going to explore are: What led to the American Revolution? What was New York’s role in the American Revolution?  How did the American Revolution end?  At the end of each lesson we read, the students complete a quiz on Google Classroom to check their understanding of the material.
6. Religion: At Morning Assembly, we are spending time looking at a picture of one of the Stations of the Cross and discussing what we see. The next day, the students locate the reading in their Bible and then we read and discuss story about the station together. In class, we will be starting a new chapter and the theme is “Witness to God’s Kingdom.” How has God been generous to you?  Have you ever treated someone unfairly or been treated unfairly?  When do you experience the Kingdom of God at Mass? Do you live a holy life?
7. Google Classroom: Students are using my Google Classroom and will continue to use it throughout the year to complete assignments and quizzes in English/Language Arts, Math, Religion, Science, and Social Studies. They are also using Google Classroom to complete their Spanish activities assigned by Mrs. Green.
8. Mass: On Monday, March 27^th, we will be attending Mass with Father Pat. Father Pat will be collecting our class book of good deeds. Did you do something that was good or kind that should be included in our book?  All are welcome to attend.
9. Stations of the Cross: Stations of the Cross will be held on Friday, March 31^st, at 1:30 in the Church. All are invited to attend.