Thursday, September 8, 2016

Welcome to the 2016-2017 School Year!!!!

Welcome to Fourth Grade! 


I am very excited to begin a new school year with your children.  Here you will find information about what is going on in our classroom.  I will try to include information about what we will be covering in class and any other important updates you may need to know about.  This year I am hoping to have the students do some blogging, as writing for a purpose is highly motivating and we are fortunate to have the Chrome Books! 

Thank You!

I truly appreciate all of the supplies you have sent in with your children and they will all be put to good use!  We have color coded folders for each subject.  All of the students have been given a planner and will write their homework down every night.  Thank you for all of the tissues and wipes, as we are always in need of those throughout the year!
 



 Homework!

Please sign your child's planner Monday through Thursday to indicate that they have completed their homework and have read for a half an hour.  The planner can also be used as a communication log between home and school.  Planners will be checked daily for signatures and notes.  Written homework should not take more than 30-40 minutes per night.  If it does take longer or your child does not understand something, please send it in and I will gladly help them complete it during enrichment.  Math homework is taken from our math workbooks and usually contains a section of review at the top of each page in case students are struggling with the concept.  


Technology

This week students were assigned usernames for two math programs we use on the Chrome Books daily.  The first is Ten Marks, in which students solve problems and can watch videos or get hints to help them solve each problem. The program automatically grades them at the end and collects the data for me to view as a teacher and see which skills the students need help with.  It is awesome! The second program is Xtramath, in which the students practice multiplication and division facts.  This program really helps the students improve their fact fluency, which is essential to all 4th grade math.  We will also be using Google Classroom, Google Docs, Google Sites and other Google apps frequently this year in order for the students to show their understanding of content and bring out their creative side!  As always, I make it a priority to keep student safety in mind when creating anything on the Chrome Books.  We talk a lot about digital safety and digital citizenship.   New students will be receiving their Chrome Books very soon, but for now are using our class computers.  

Scholastic  

Scholastic News! This year students will be receiving Scholastic News each week.  I feel this resource is a valuable way for students to learn about current events, while practicing their Non-Fiction reading strategies.  Students really enjoy the articles, photographs, debates and online component in each article.  

Scholastic Book Orders:  I am pleased to inform you that all Scholastic orders for your child can be placed online with our special class code.  You simply enter the class activation code NJYGH or click on the link below, which will bring you directly to our class page, then add your child and verify that he/she belongs in Mrs. Clapprood's Class.  This option allows you to pay with a credit card directly online. https://orders.scholastic.com/NJYGH

Please note**** If you are unable to order online, but would still like to order books, please send in the order written on the traditional order form and I will enter the order online for you.  All orders help to gain bonus points for our class in which we can order free books and keep our class library current!  Only checks made to Scholastic Book Clubs will be accepted.  NO CASH PLEASE!!


Volunteering- Please remember that in order to volunteer in our classroom or attend field trips, you must have a current BCI check.  There is a lot of thought, planning and checking on the teacher's part when preparing for these trips and our children's safety is of the utmost concern.  So please don't wait until it is too late to get one done if you plan to join us for any activities!   The form is available on the school website!

http://rles.smithfield-ps.org/

Here's a quick overview of what we will be starting off the year with


Reading:  We will be reviewing comprehension skills that we have learned over the years.  We will also be using details from the text to answer and ask questions and form constructed responses as we learn about story elements and summarizing.  An important skill that is consistently emphasized this year is that students will cite evidence from the text when responding to their reading. 
Writing: So far we have been covering the basics: subject and predicate, sentence fragments and run on sentences, topic sentences and paragraph formation.  Once we have covered the basics we will begin working on the components of writing narratives.
Math: We will be starting with place value, rounding numbers and adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers fluently.  
S.S.We will be studying the geography of the world.  The students will learn and be tested on the seven continents and the oceans soon.