Greetings Families,
I hope you are enjoying your weekend and that you are looking forward to a short week and the holiday to come. I have my father-in-law and a niece and nephew coming in for the holiday. I'm hoping we can do something fun with them over the time we are here. I'm thinking the zoo might be a good option since my family has memberships and we can do that for free.
Homework Survey
The headmasters are surveying your thoughts on homework. Here is a short blurb they've asked to be put on the blog.
In an effort to provide a fruitful homework experience for our scholars, we rely on the feedback of our families. Parents, please share your feedback by completing this homework survey
I do ask that you take the time to complete this survey. I think fourth grade had around a 30% survey response last time. With such a low response rate, it is difficult to know whether the survey represents all of the fourth-grade families. Last time, the results suggested that around one-third of fourth-grade families thought there was too much homework, most were satisfied with the homework load, while a few thought the homework was very little. The more responses we receive in fourth grade, the best data we have on what homework really looks like at home. When we met for conferences six weeks ago, I only had 4 families say that the homework was too much (exceeded an hour and 15 minutes a night). People may have been less inclined to say how they really felt because I was sitting right there. So please answer the survey so I really understand what the homework load looks like at home.
Lessons
Writing/Grammar: Students will continue to work on their first writing assignment of the year. The majority of the work being done on this writing assignment is being done as a class. The goal is to have the whole writing outline completed by the end of this week. When we come back from Thanksgiving break, we will start the typing and editing process.
History: Students will take the last test on the Middle Ages Monday. They had the chance to review for this in class on Friday. Most of the test is short answer and essay. Just in case they don't have the information for some reason, here is a Quizlet they can use to prepare. Assuming there is time, they will start there study of Arizona on Tuesday.
Literature; Students will continue their reading of Robin Hood on Monday and Tuesday. As we near the end of the book, you may see your child bringing their literature notebooks home to complete some assignments they aren't completing in class. On most days, the students have around 10-15 minutes to write their summary of each chapter and to work on their setting worksheets and the STEAL sheet for Robin Hood. When students aren't able to complete this task, they are supposed to take it home to finish it as homework.
Math: On Friday, students learned how to take a division problem and turn it into a mixed number. Here is the process they were taught to use.
7 / 2 = 7/2 = 3 1/2
They will have the opportunity to practice this skill on Monday and will be assessed on Tuesday.
Greek and Latin Roots: The students will take a Greek and Latin roots review check on Tuesday over the roots they learned last week. Here are the roots they are responsible for knowing.
Poetry: The students are expected to be able to recite "The Sin of Omission" this week in class. Given that there are only two days, many students will likely have to do this in the hallway with me during one of the tests.
Science: Students will continue to study meteorology in science. There is a quiz on Tuesday. Here are the study questions for that quiz:
1. Low, flat clouds that look like a layer or sheet. They produce rain and fog.
2. Feathery and wispy clouds that produce nice, fair weather.
3. Puffy clouds that usually mean nice weather.
4. ________________________ are masses of water droplets and ice crystals floating in the atmosphere.
5. ___________________________ is the force of the atmosphere on surroundings.
6. ______________ is the horizontal movement of air from high pressure to low pressure across the Earth’s pressure.
7. ____________________ measure wind speed.
Spalding: There is no Spalding this week since we only have two days.
Grade Reports
I'll be sending home grade reports tomorrow. Please review these with your child. There are a number of students who have a D and/or F because of missing homework, quizzes, and test. Some of this is due to the number of students who have missed because of illness. I think last week we had around 6 students leave school early because of being ill. Any missing quiz or test can be made up without any penalty. There are also some students who are missing assignments because of illness. These assignments are still required, but no late penalty will be added. Others have missing assignments without an excuse. These assignments should be turned in as soon as possible. Late work will receive a grade of 80% of its value.
Important Dates
Monday-Tuesday: "The Sin of Omission" Recitation
Monday: Phoenix Symphony (9 a.m.)
Monday: History Test
Monday: Math Quiz - Place Value, Order of Operations, Division, & Multiplication
Tuesday: Greek and Latin Roots Review Check (39-41)
Tuesday: Math Test - Unit 3 Chapter 5 - Fractions and Division
Tuesday: Science Quiz - Meteorology (Study Questions Above)
Tuesday: Thanksgiving Meal
Wednesday-Thursday: Thanksgiving Break (R&R)
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I am always here to answer any questions or field any concerns. Thank you for taking the time to read my lengthy posts.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren
I hope you are enjoying your weekend and that you are looking forward to a short week and the holiday to come. I have my father-in-law and a niece and nephew coming in for the holiday. I'm hoping we can do something fun with them over the time we are here. I'm thinking the zoo might be a good option since my family has memberships and we can do that for free.
Homework Survey
The headmasters are surveying your thoughts on homework. Here is a short blurb they've asked to be put on the blog.
In an effort to provide a fruitful homework experience for our scholars, we rely on the feedback of our families. Parents, please share your feedback by completing this homework survey
I do ask that you take the time to complete this survey. I think fourth grade had around a 30% survey response last time. With such a low response rate, it is difficult to know whether the survey represents all of the fourth-grade families. Last time, the results suggested that around one-third of fourth-grade families thought there was too much homework, most were satisfied with the homework load, while a few thought the homework was very little. The more responses we receive in fourth grade, the best data we have on what homework really looks like at home. When we met for conferences six weeks ago, I only had 4 families say that the homework was too much (exceeded an hour and 15 minutes a night). People may have been less inclined to say how they really felt because I was sitting right there. So please answer the survey so I really understand what the homework load looks like at home.
Lessons
Writing/Grammar: Students will continue to work on their first writing assignment of the year. The majority of the work being done on this writing assignment is being done as a class. The goal is to have the whole writing outline completed by the end of this week. When we come back from Thanksgiving break, we will start the typing and editing process.
History: Students will take the last test on the Middle Ages Monday. They had the chance to review for this in class on Friday. Most of the test is short answer and essay. Just in case they don't have the information for some reason, here is a Quizlet they can use to prepare. Assuming there is time, they will start there study of Arizona on Tuesday.
Literature; Students will continue their reading of Robin Hood on Monday and Tuesday. As we near the end of the book, you may see your child bringing their literature notebooks home to complete some assignments they aren't completing in class. On most days, the students have around 10-15 minutes to write their summary of each chapter and to work on their setting worksheets and the STEAL sheet for Robin Hood. When students aren't able to complete this task, they are supposed to take it home to finish it as homework.
Math: On Friday, students learned how to take a division problem and turn it into a mixed number. Here is the process they were taught to use.
7 / 2 = 7/2 = 3 1/2
They will have the opportunity to practice this skill on Monday and will be assessed on Tuesday.
Greek and Latin Roots: The students will take a Greek and Latin roots review check on Tuesday over the roots they learned last week. Here are the roots they are responsible for knowing.
Poetry: The students are expected to be able to recite "The Sin of Omission" this week in class. Given that there are only two days, many students will likely have to do this in the hallway with me during one of the tests.
Science: Students will continue to study meteorology in science. There is a quiz on Tuesday. Here are the study questions for that quiz:
1. Low, flat clouds that look like a layer or sheet. They produce rain and fog.
2. Feathery and wispy clouds that produce nice, fair weather.
3. Puffy clouds that usually mean nice weather.
4. ________________________ are masses of water droplets and ice crystals floating in the atmosphere.
5. ___________________________ is the force of the atmosphere on surroundings.
6. ______________ is the horizontal movement of air from high pressure to low pressure across the Earth’s pressure.
7. ____________________ measure wind speed.
Spalding: There is no Spalding this week since we only have two days.
Grade Reports
I'll be sending home grade reports tomorrow. Please review these with your child. There are a number of students who have a D and/or F because of missing homework, quizzes, and test. Some of this is due to the number of students who have missed because of illness. I think last week we had around 6 students leave school early because of being ill. Any missing quiz or test can be made up without any penalty. There are also some students who are missing assignments because of illness. These assignments are still required, but no late penalty will be added. Others have missing assignments without an excuse. These assignments should be turned in as soon as possible. Late work will receive a grade of 80% of its value.
Important Dates
Monday-Tuesday: "The Sin of Omission" Recitation
Monday: Phoenix Symphony (9 a.m.)
Monday: History Test
Monday: Math Quiz - Place Value, Order of Operations, Division, & Multiplication
Tuesday: Greek and Latin Roots Review Check (39-41)
Tuesday: Math Test - Unit 3 Chapter 5 - Fractions and Division
Tuesday: Science Quiz - Meteorology (Study Questions Above)
Tuesday: Thanksgiving Meal
Wednesday-Thursday: Thanksgiving Break (R&R)
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I am always here to answer any questions or field any concerns. Thank you for taking the time to read my lengthy posts.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren