Greetings Families,
I want to start by saying thank you to all of the important people who made last week such a success. First, thank you to Mrs. Chilson, Mrs. Arnold, Mrs. Conforti, Mrs. Baugh, Mrs. LaVell, and the wonderful counselors and guests who made the field trip a success in my absence. I hate that I had to miss it, but I'm thankful for the adults who stepped in to make sure everything went so well.
Next, I want to once again say thank you to the families who jumped in so quickly to provide what we needed for the volcano activity. It was a huge blast. I don't think I've seen so much excitement in learning as I did during that activity. Thank you for making quick runs to the store and even raiding your own pantries.
I haven't said it enough this year, but I want you to know how thankful I am for the families represented in 4B this year. It is a joy to be your child's teacher. It makes my heart glad to see their excitement in learning, their successes in the classroom, and to build relationships with them that will last for years to come. Thank you for letting me be your child's teacher. I know that their virtue, charity, and grace are because of the love and care you provide them at home through time, effort, discipline, instruction, and much love. Thank you for the way you love your children. Thank you for your support of 4B. You, I believe, are what really make Arete such a special place.
Athletic Field Day
Athletic Field Day is Friday, January 31st from 8:30-11:00 for K-2 classes and from 12:00-2:30 for grades 3-5! Each year classes are assigned a Greek city-state for their team. This year, your child’s team is Persia, and our team color is yellow. Your child may wear a plain yellow shirt (no logos other than class section or Greek city-state) and athletic pants or shorts (yoga pants and tights are not permitted). There will be no school lunch offered on Athletic Field Day. Please send your child to school with a lunch. Volunteers for field day are also needed. Please sign up using the following link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080b4aa8af28a2fc1-field to help with the events. We need a few volunteers for the class to help with donating a cooler and snacks. Please sign up here to volunteer for our class.
Athletic Field Day Attire
I want to start by saying thank you to all of the important people who made last week such a success. First, thank you to Mrs. Chilson, Mrs. Arnold, Mrs. Conforti, Mrs. Baugh, Mrs. LaVell, and the wonderful counselors and guests who made the field trip a success in my absence. I hate that I had to miss it, but I'm thankful for the adults who stepped in to make sure everything went so well.
Next, I want to once again say thank you to the families who jumped in so quickly to provide what we needed for the volcano activity. It was a huge blast. I don't think I've seen so much excitement in learning as I did during that activity. Thank you for making quick runs to the store and even raiding your own pantries.
I haven't said it enough this year, but I want you to know how thankful I am for the families represented in 4B this year. It is a joy to be your child's teacher. It makes my heart glad to see their excitement in learning, their successes in the classroom, and to build relationships with them that will last for years to come. Thank you for letting me be your child's teacher. I know that their virtue, charity, and grace are because of the love and care you provide them at home through time, effort, discipline, instruction, and much love. Thank you for the way you love your children. Thank you for your support of 4B. You, I believe, are what really make Arete such a special place.
Athletic Field Day
PERSIA
Athletic Field Day Attire
Please have your child wear a yellow color t-shirt that day. Students may decorate their shirts with their team name and/or symbol of the Greek city-state. Students should wear athletic clothing free of pop culture references. Sports team and brand logos are acceptable on clothing. Athletic shoes are mandatory (any color). Hats and sunglasses may be worn. Sunscreen must be applied at home. Yoga pants and tights are not permitted. Please see pg. 52 in the family handbook for more detailed information.
Volunteers
I didn't include a place for volunteers on the SignUp Genius, but please know you are welcome to come and hang out on this day.
Schedule
Weeks 4-8: Memorize "Paul Revere's Ride"
Monday: Math Test - Triangles
Monday: Science Quiz - Chemistry Review
Tuesday: Math Test - Circles
Wednesday: Greek and Latin Roots Review Check - 58-60
Wednesday: Science Quiz - Electricity Review
Thursday: Math Test - Solid Figures
Friday: Field Day
Friday: Science Quiz - Life Science Review
Friday: History Test - American Revolution (Ch. 1-10) [Open-notes]
Friday: Spalding Test
Lessons
Grammar/Writing: For the rest of the quarter, students will spend their time focusing on writing as they prepare for AzMERIT.
Math: Tomorrow, students will be assessed on triangles. Following the brief assessment, students will explore circles, which will include a look at radius and diameter. After assessed on circles, they will be taught solid figures.
If it feels like they are flying through geometry, it is because they are. Though geometry is important, and many of the students find it fun, everything they learn this year will be retaught in fifth grade. Thus, we are moving pretty quickly through this unit to get to decimals next.
Literature: Students will continue to read Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. This is my favorite 4th-grade book. It is based on the true story of Nat Bowditch, one of America's greatest mathematicians who achieved greatness without any formal schooling. He is a great example of what one can accomplish if he applies himself to it. If you haven't purchased it or sent it in, please do so quickly.
History: The journey toward American frustration with Great Britain continues in history. On Friday, students will have an open-notes test on chapters 1-10.
Poetry: Students should start memorizing "Paul Revere's Ride." This 14 stanza, 143 line poem tells the story of Paul Revere's ride the night before the first shots of the American Revolution were fired. Below, I've placed the text of the poem, a dramatic reading of the poem, and a video about why learning the poem is a worthy endeavor.
Greek and Latin Roots: This week, students will be assessed on Roots 58-60.
Science: Students will continue their study of earth this week by looking at hot springs and geysers, how mountains are formed, and what the surface of the earth looks like under the sea. There are also three review quizzes this week: Monday is chemistry, Wednesday is electricity, and Friday is life science. I'll place the study questions for the quizzes below the poetry items.
Spalding: Students will learn new words this week and be assessed on Friday.
Paul Revere’s Ride
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five:
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, “If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch
Of the North-Church-tower, as a signal-light,—
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country-folk to be up and to arm.”
Then he said “Good night!” and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war:
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon, like a prison-bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.
Meanwhile, his friend, through alley and street
Wanders and watches with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers
Marching down to their boats on the shore.
Then he climbed to the tower of the church,
Up the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry-chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,—
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town,
And the moonlight flowing over all.
Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night-encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel’s tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, “All is well!”
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,—
A line of black, that bends and floats
On the rising tide, like a bridge of boats.
Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride,
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse’s side,
Now gazed on the landscape far and near,
Then impetuous stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle-girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry-tower of the old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry’s height,
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns!
A hurry of hoofs in a village-street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed that flies fearless and fleet:
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders, that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.
It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer’s dog,
And felt the damp of the river-fog,
That rises when the sun goes down.
It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, blank and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.
It was two by the village clock,
When be came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadows brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket-ball.
You know the rest. In the books you have read,
How the British Regulars fired and fled,—
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard-wall,
Chasing the red-coats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,—
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo forevermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
Chemistry Review Quiz - Monday
1. ___________________ is everything around you; it’s the material of the universe.
2. ___________________ are the tiny particles that make up matter.
3. ___________________ are particles that have a positive charge.
4. ___________________ are the particles that have a negative charge.
5. ___________________ are the particles that have no charge.
6. ___________________ is the amount of matter in an object.
7. ___________________ is the amount of space a thing occupies.
8. ___________________ is the amount of matter in an object relative to the space the object fills.
9. ___________________ is the absence of matter.
10. ___________________ are pure substances that cannot be broken down into simpler substances.
Electricity Review Quiz - Wednesday
1. ___________________ is the amount of electricity caused by having too few or too many electrons.
2. The build up of electric charge is called ___________________.
3. Most matter is electrically ___________________.
4. The movement of ___________________ can build up a charge.
5. ___________________ is an example of the discharge of static electricity.
6. The flow of electrons is called ___________________.
7. Materials that allow electricity to flow are called ___________________
8. Materials that don’t allow electricity to flow are called ___________________.
9. Electric current flows through a closed loop called a ___________________.
10. A _________________ circuit is complete and allows for the continuous flow of electric current.
11. An _________________ circuit is not closed and does not allow for the continuous flow of electrons.
12. Current flowing through a wire can cause a __________________________________.
13. Wrapping a wire around a nail, and connecting the ends of the wire to a battery make a simple __________________________________.
14. _________________ discovered that lightening was static electricity using a kite, a key, and a Leyden jar.
15. Engineers use electromagnets when they design and build _________________.
16. Electrons flow through a single path only in a _________________ circuit.
17. Electrons flow through multiple paths in a _________________ circuit.
1. Thefour main parts of a plant are roots, stem, _________________________, andflower.
2. Theenvironment that an animal lives in is called it’s ____________________.
3. Allliving things need ___________________, water, living space, and stableinternal conditions to survive.
4. A_______________ is a group of land ecosystems with similar climates andorganisms.
5. ______________________factors are the non-living parts of a habitat.
6. Theprocess of grouping organisms based on their similarities is called_______________________________.
7. _____________________is the scientist who made the naming system called binomial nomenclature.
8. Inthe scientific name for the grey wolf, Canislupus, the word lupus representsthe animal’s _______________.
9. Inthe scientific name for the grey wolf, Canislupus, the word Canis representsthe animal’s _______________.
10. Inthe scientific name for the grey wolf, Canislupus, the word Canis representsthe animal’s _______________.
11. ___________________________________is the two-part taxonomic system for naming organisms.
12. An______________ is defined as a many-celled organism that eats other organisms.
13. A__________________ is a type of animal that has a backbone.
14. _______________________factors are the living parts of a habitat.
15. Whatis the correct order of taxonomic groupings?
Schedule
Weeks 4-8: Memorize "Paul Revere's Ride"
Monday: Math Test - Triangles
Monday: Science Quiz - Chemistry Review
Tuesday: Math Test - Circles
Wednesday: Greek and Latin Roots Review Check - 58-60
Wednesday: Science Quiz - Electricity Review
Thursday: Math Test - Solid Figures
Friday: Field Day
Friday: Science Quiz - Life Science Review
Friday: History Test - American Revolution (Ch. 1-10) [Open-notes]
Friday: Spalding Test
Lessons
Grammar/Writing: For the rest of the quarter, students will spend their time focusing on writing as they prepare for AzMERIT.
Math: Tomorrow, students will be assessed on triangles. Following the brief assessment, students will explore circles, which will include a look at radius and diameter. After assessed on circles, they will be taught solid figures.
If it feels like they are flying through geometry, it is because they are. Though geometry is important, and many of the students find it fun, everything they learn this year will be retaught in fifth grade. Thus, we are moving pretty quickly through this unit to get to decimals next.
Literature: Students will continue to read Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. This is my favorite 4th-grade book. It is based on the true story of Nat Bowditch, one of America's greatest mathematicians who achieved greatness without any formal schooling. He is a great example of what one can accomplish if he applies himself to it. If you haven't purchased it or sent it in, please do so quickly.
History: The journey toward American frustration with Great Britain continues in history. On Friday, students will have an open-notes test on chapters 1-10.
Poetry: Students should start memorizing "Paul Revere's Ride." This 14 stanza, 143 line poem tells the story of Paul Revere's ride the night before the first shots of the American Revolution were fired. Below, I've placed the text of the poem, a dramatic reading of the poem, and a video about why learning the poem is a worthy endeavor.
Greek and Latin Roots: This week, students will be assessed on Roots 58-60.
Science: Students will continue their study of earth this week by looking at hot springs and geysers, how mountains are formed, and what the surface of the earth looks like under the sea. There are also three review quizzes this week: Monday is chemistry, Wednesday is electricity, and Friday is life science. I'll place the study questions for the quizzes below the poetry items.
Spalding: Students will learn new words this week and be assessed on Friday.
Paul Revere’s Ride
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five:
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, “If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch
Of the North-Church-tower, as a signal-light,—
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country-folk to be up and to arm.”
Then he said “Good night!” and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war:
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon, like a prison-bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.
Meanwhile, his friend, through alley and street
Wanders and watches with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers
Marching down to their boats on the shore.
Then he climbed to the tower of the church,
Up the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry-chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,—
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town,
And the moonlight flowing over all.
Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night-encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel’s tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, “All is well!”
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,—
A line of black, that bends and floats
On the rising tide, like a bridge of boats.
Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride,
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse’s side,
Now gazed on the landscape far and near,
Then impetuous stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle-girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry-tower of the old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry’s height,
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns!
A hurry of hoofs in a village-street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed that flies fearless and fleet:
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders, that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.
It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer’s dog,
And felt the damp of the river-fog,
That rises when the sun goes down.
It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, blank and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.
It was two by the village clock,
When be came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadows brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket-ball.
You know the rest. In the books you have read,
How the British Regulars fired and fled,—
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard-wall,
Chasing the red-coats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,—
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo forevermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
Chemistry Review Quiz - Monday
1. ___________________ is everything around you; it’s the material of the universe.
2. ___________________ are the tiny particles that make up matter.
3. ___________________ are particles that have a positive charge.
4. ___________________ are the particles that have a negative charge.
5. ___________________ are the particles that have no charge.
6. ___________________ is the amount of matter in an object.
7. ___________________ is the amount of space a thing occupies.
8. ___________________ is the amount of matter in an object relative to the space the object fills.
9. ___________________ is the absence of matter.
10. ___________________ are pure substances that cannot be broken down into simpler substances.
Electricity Review Quiz - Wednesday
1. ___________________ is the amount of electricity caused by having too few or too many electrons.
2. The build up of electric charge is called ___________________.
3. Most matter is electrically ___________________.
4. The movement of ___________________ can build up a charge.
5. ___________________ is an example of the discharge of static electricity.
6. The flow of electrons is called ___________________.
7. Materials that allow electricity to flow are called ___________________
8. Materials that don’t allow electricity to flow are called ___________________.
9. Electric current flows through a closed loop called a ___________________.
10. A _________________ circuit is complete and allows for the continuous flow of electric current.
11. An _________________ circuit is not closed and does not allow for the continuous flow of electrons.
12. Current flowing through a wire can cause a __________________________________.
13. Wrapping a wire around a nail, and connecting the ends of the wire to a battery make a simple __________________________________.
14. _________________ discovered that lightening was static electricity using a kite, a key, and a Leyden jar.
15. Engineers use electromagnets when they design and build _________________.
16. Electrons flow through a single path only in a _________________ circuit.
17. Electrons flow through multiple paths in a _________________ circuit.
Life Science Review Quiz - Friday
1. Thefour main parts of a plant are roots, stem, _________________________, andflower.
2. Theenvironment that an animal lives in is called it’s ____________________.
3. Allliving things need ___________________, water, living space, and stableinternal conditions to survive.
4. A_______________ is a group of land ecosystems with similar climates andorganisms.
5. ______________________factors are the non-living parts of a habitat.
6. Theprocess of grouping organisms based on their similarities is called_______________________________.
7. _____________________is the scientist who made the naming system called binomial nomenclature.
8. Inthe scientific name for the grey wolf, Canislupus, the word lupus representsthe animal’s _______________.
9. Inthe scientific name for the grey wolf, Canislupus, the word Canis representsthe animal’s _______________.
10. Inthe scientific name for the grey wolf, Canislupus, the word Canis representsthe animal’s _______________.
11. ___________________________________is the two-part taxonomic system for naming organisms.
12. An______________ is defined as a many-celled organism that eats other organisms.
13. A__________________ is a type of animal that has a backbone.
14. _______________________factors are the living parts of a habitat.
15. Whatis the correct order of taxonomic groupings?
16. Which of the following is an example of an abiotic factor in a habitat?
17. Which of the following is not a limiting factor to an animal population?
18. A person who cares about the earth and our environment is called an_____________.
17. Which of the following is not a limiting factor to an animal population?
18. A person who cares about the earth and our environment is called an_____________.