Greetings Families, Conference Week / Half-Days
I hope you are enjoying your break. My family had the privilege of going to a wedding yesterday on a horse farm. It was fun for my children to get to go around to see and feed the horses.
Conference Week
This week will have a fast-paced feel because every day is a half-day. With that being the case, there are no clubs or tutoring this week. If you haven't signed up for a conference time yet, please do so here.
With it being half-days, there is also no lunch. This shouldn't impact the students too much because their normal lunchtime is 12:15, and we get out of school at 12:05. They will, however, likely be ready for lunch as soon as you pick them up. You may pack them with a larger snack if you think this would be beneficial.
With the half-days, there is an altered pickup schedule and daily schedule. The pickup schedule will be K-2 at 11:45, 3-5 at 12:05, and Prep at 12:20. There is still the usual study hall provided. However, with no clubs or tutoring, traffic will be a little heavier at pickup, so please be prepared to wait a little longer than usual.
Here is the daily schedule for this week:
I hope you are enjoying your break. My family had the privilege of going to a wedding yesterday on a horse farm. It was fun for my children to get to go around to see and feed the horses.
Conference Week
This week will have a fast-paced feel because every day is a half-day. With that being the case, there are no clubs or tutoring this week. If you haven't signed up for a conference time yet, please do so here.
With it being half-days, there is also no lunch. This shouldn't impact the students too much because their normal lunchtime is 12:15, and we get out of school at 12:05. They will, however, likely be ready for lunch as soon as you pick them up. You may pack them with a larger snack if you think this would be beneficial.
With the half-days, there is an altered pickup schedule and daily schedule. The pickup schedule will be K-2 at 11:45, 3-5 at 12:05, and Prep at 12:20. There is still the usual study hall provided. However, with no clubs or tutoring, traffic will be a little heavier at pickup, so please be prepared to wait a little longer than usual.
Here is the daily schedule for this week:
- 7:50-8:05 - Morning Activities
- 8:05-8:35 - Literacy Lyceum
- 8:35-8:45 - Poem/Roots
- 8:45-9:25 - Special
- 9:25-10:05 - Literature
- 10:05-10:20 - Recess
- 10:20-10:30 - Snack
- 10:30-11:30 - Math
- 11:30-12:00 - History/Science
Homework Survey
In a prior blog post, I asked for families to complete this homework survey to give the fourth-grade team a good picture of what homework is looking like in your homes. If you haven't completed it, please do.
Lessons
Grammar/Writing: There is no writing/grammar this week because of the half-day schedule.
History/Project: The students should be continuing to work on their Europe Projects. The essays and packet are due on Tuesday on week five (November 12, 2019). There project presentations, including their poster boards and food or dress or architecture, are due the day they present. I will hopefully have that schedule up by the end of the week.
History: In history last week, we looked at Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor was the Duchess of Aquitaine. She first married Louis and became the Queen of France. Over the span of 15 years, Eleanore and Louis' marriage fell apart, and they had it annulled. Eleanor then married Henry II, which made Henry have the knights he needed to take control of England. They became the most powerful couple in Europe, but even their marriage had issues. Eleanor convinced her sons to rebel against their father and after the rebellion had been put down, Henry put Eleanor under house arrest in one of his castles for 15 years.
History: In history last week, we looked at Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor was the Duchess of Aquitaine. She first married Louis and became the Queen of France. Over the span of 15 years, Eleanore and Louis' marriage fell apart, and they had it annulled. Eleanor then married Henry II, which made Henry have the knights he needed to take control of England. They became the most powerful couple in Europe, but even their marriage had issues. Eleanor convinced her sons to rebel against their father and after the rebellion had been put down, Henry put Eleanor under house arrest in one of his castles for 15 years.
When Henry died, his eldest son, Richard, more famously known as Richard the Lion-hearted, became king and freed his mother. Richard had many of the qualities of Henry, but government leadership was not one of them. He was also much more concerned with something other than ruling England. He was a committed Catholic and sought to regain the important Christian territory that had been lost to the Muslims.
Because the topic of the Crusades was introduced, I spent Friday discussing the religion of Islam with the students by reading the chapters for the Pearson textbook we use. We looked at its origin with Muhammad, briefly discussed the development of the Koran and the five pillars of Islam, and how Islam spread to bring about the rule of Allah. This spread is what lead to the clash between Muslims and Christians. Given the religious nature of our conversations about Islam, you may want to discuss it with your child.
This week we will spend some time reviewing for Wednesday's test over chapters 11 through 16. We will then look at the Magna Carta.
Literature: We fell a little behind in our reading of Robin Hood last week, but will hopefully catch up this week. By the end of this week, the students should have read through chapter six of Robin Hood. One of the cool things about reading Robin Hood right now is that it is taking place while King Richard, Richard the Lion-hearted, is off fighting in the Crusades. So, for the next few weeks, our history lessons and literature are covering the same time period.
Math: Things seem to be moving along quite well in math as we started out fractions unit this past week. This past week the students were introduced to equivalent fractions. Most of the students have a good grasp of this from last year. As a result, I've moved the test up from Thursday to Tuesday. They received a practice test to work on (numbers 1-7) over the weekend. We will spend Monday reviewing and teaching the last little bit they haven't been introduced to, and they will then be tested on Tuesday. After the test on Tuesday, students will look at how to add and subtract fractions.
A point that I've made a number of times this year is how important math facts are. This week, it is really showing. Students who have worked toward mastering their math facts are finding equivalent fractions to be a pretty easy task. Students who do not know their math facts are really struggling. The reality is, if a student doesn't know their math facts, he or she cannot be successful in 4th-grade math. It only gets more difficult next year. During conferences, I will address math fact skills with the families whose children are struggling. If your child is struggling with math facts, having them work on these nightly is likely one of the most important things you can do to help them succeed in fourth grade.
Poetry: Students should continue to work toward memorizing "Clouds." The recitations will be next week.
Greek and Latin Roots: During the first week, I gave students all 25 roots that they will be required to learn this quarter. I did this so they have everything they need to prepare for each week and to prepare for the quiz at the end of the quarter. However, the weekly assessments will continue as usual. This week, on Wednesday, they will be assessed on roots 26-29. However, next week, as it will be the twelveth week of the year, the students will be assessed on roots 1-32. The purpose of this is to ensure that they are not neglecting the roots they have already mastered. All of this is continuing to build toward the 100 root quiz at the end of the year.
Science: This week, students will look at topics such as adaptation, competition, defense strategies, the relationship between animals, biomes, conservation, resource use, and the regions of Arizona. There is a quiz on Thursday. Here are the study questions for the quiz this week: 1. Be able to read a graph. 2. Be able to interpret a graph. 3. Be able to identify an example of an abiotic factor. 4. Be able to explain competition. 5. Be able to define community. 6. Be able to list the limiting factors. 7. Be able to define mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.
If you want to discuss with your child what they are learning in science, the best place to go in their notebook. You can use the notebook to discuss the topics with them and to see what they understand. There are also additional readings you can use here.
Spalding: There is no Spalding this week due to the shorted days.
Schedule
- Monday-Friday: Half-days - No Clubs / No Tutoring
- Monday: Math Quiz (review quiz - I neglected to give it last week)
- Tuesday: Math Test - Equivalent Fractions
- Wednesday: History Test - Europe in the Middle Ages (ch. 11-16)
- Open-notes, Open-book
- Wednesday: Greek and Latin Roots Review Check (roots 26-29)
- Thursday: Math Quiz (review quiz)
- Thursday: Science Quiz
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I look forward to seeing all of you this week during conferences.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren