Room 204 Update November 11, 2013 Spring Street School Mrs.

Liportos class

General Information Our Grandfriend Luncheon is this Wednesday, November 13th. Grandfriends should plan on arriving to school by 12:40. Students will come down to the main entrance to greet them and escort them up to the classroom. We will head down to the cafeteria for lunch at 1:00. Please remember that if students did not pay for lunch ahead of time, they MUST bring their own lunch on that day. All students that sent in tickets or money ahead of time are all set to buy on that day and do not need to bring in anything. We are also hoping that a few Grandfriends would be willing to adopt a student from our class that was not able to have a Grandfriend attend the gettogether so no one feels left out. Thanks! Information about our schools food drive is going to be coming home in the Monday folder tomorrow. Each classroom is being asked to focus on bring in one type of item for local food pantries. Our class is in charge of jello/instant puddings. They will be collected next week, the week of October 18-October 22nd. As an extra incentive, I will offer 10 team points for each item that a student brings in and shows to me (even if they are not specifically the jello/pudding). So if a

student brings in 4 items, thats an extra 40 points for their group (Students, the secret number this week is 10, the amount of points you will receive for each food item you bring in NEXT week). IMPORTANT DATES *Thanksgiving Break- Wednesday, Nov. 27Friday, Nov. 29 *Winter Break- Monday, December 23Wednesday, January 1 *MCAS Long Composition Tuesday, Mar. 18 *MCAS English Language Arts Wednesday, Mar. 26- Thursday, Mar. 27 *MCAS Math Tuesday, May 13Wednesday, May 14 Homework I had told the students that if the Red Sox won the World Series that as a treat they could have a week with limited homework. This week they will only be required to do their nightly reading (reading logs are due this Friday) and study for their East Region States and Capitals quiz that is on Thursday. Language Arts This week one of the areas we will be focusing on is coding the text for multiple choice questions. This involves going back into what we have read and highlight or underlining important or interesting information and locating information to answer questions. We are using the text

about space camp to practice identifying the type of multiple-choice questions that we are sometimes asked to answer. The two type of questions we are focusing on are In The Text (ITT) and Author And Me (AAM). Ask your student to tell you about the different between these questions. Well also continue to work on open response questions. Writing Weve started taking notes on the three different types of rocks. So far we have read two different nonfiction articles on the topic and will complete one more tomorrow. Our next task will be to turn all of this information into an Informative writing piece. That will be our goal for the week, to complete the introductory paragraph as well as at least one or two of the details paragraphs. Math We will be finishing up with unit 4 in math this week. Before we are done, well continue to learn about measuring with decimals and converting between the different measurements. We will be reviewing and taking our assessment at the end of the week, Math Club on Tuesday morning will focus on decimal review. All students are welcome to attend from 8:00am to 8:30am on Wednesday morning. EVERYDAY MATH FAMILY LETTERS online address:
http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/4 th-grade/view-family-letters/

Social Studies We will continue to use the text to learn more about the features, climate, and people of the East Region. This week we will complete the text packet and take the states/capitals quiz on Thursday. State tourist posters are also on the agenda students will use books to learn more about an East Region state and create a poster to encourage others to visit! We have begun discussions about where our ancestors came from before immigrating or traveling to this country to live. This is a great time to talk with your child about family history and family traditions and artifacts. Science We started to learn all about soil this week. The students should be able to tell you a little about the different types of soil (sand, clay, loam and humus). Next week we will be looking at some sites on the computer and playing some games to learn more about this important Earth Material before starting our first Science Court session of the year. (Students, as an extra bonus for reading ALL of the newsletter this week, if you write the word monkey on your secret number slip of paper you will receive an extra prize. But shhhhdont tell anyone else!) Happy Birthday!!! There are not classroom birthdays in November.

If you cannot access them, please let me know.

*Specials*
MUSIC: Tuesday 10:45-11:25 AM ART: Wednesday, 11:25-12:05 PM Health: Thursday 9:15-9:55 AM CHORUS: Friday 10:45-11:25 AM PHYSICAL EDUCATION: Friday 2L25-3:05 PM MEDIA: Every Other Wednesday, 2:45-3:00 PM

As always, your questions/comments are welcome. Please send me an email or a note to school. Kristen Liporto