This will be the last week that homework is displayed on the home page of our blog. Week five and beyond will be located under the homework tab. Please make sure to continue to check the home page of our blog for news and other updates.
MAP Testing:
On Thursday, your child will take the MAP test (Measures of Academic Performance). This test is simply a diagnostic assessment to help evaluate your child's current academic performance to best support their academic development. The test will give your child an overall performance grade in reading and math, along with provide us detailed information about where your child is in his or her math and reading development. It often indicates learning gaps that the child may have from previous years, which need to be supplemented and corrected before more advanced learning can happen.
This test does not impact your child's grade on their report card. However, this information will be used to inform us if your child needs to attend math tutoring or other interventions: BURST (a reading intervention) or Dreambox (a math intervention). We do not make the testing information public to parents except upon request. We are happy to meet with anyone who has any questions.
Lessons:
Grammar/Writing:
Our scholars will be introduced to personal pronouns and prepositional phrases. We will begin each lesson reviewing previous knowledge. At the end of this week, our scholars will have a cumulative test on what they have learned up to this point.
Here are some review pointers:
- Review the definition of a sentence. A sentence is a group of words that make a statement, ask a question, express a command, or an emotion.
- Review the five parts of a complete sentence: capital letter, subject, verb, end mark, complete sense.
- Review the four types of sentences: declarative, exclamatory, imperative, interrogative.
- Review the parts of speech:
- A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea.
- A verb is a word that does an action, shows a state of being, links two words together, or helps another verb.
- An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.
- An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or a pronoun.
- An article adjective is a special adjective: a, an, and the.
- A pronoun is a special word that can take the place of a noun in a sentence.
- A preposition is a word that connects two other words in a sentence in a special way.
History:
Our scholars have completed their first four sections of the Middle Ages unit and will be tested on Wednesday. Students will be assigned the study guide on Monday night and it will be due on Tuesday. On Tuesday night, students may use their 25 minutes of reading time to review for the history test. We will spend some time reviewing on Tuesday to ensure that students have the correct answers on their study guides. It is important for our scholars to study at home to prepare themselves. Our next section will turn to the Eastern Roman Empire, which became known as the Byzantine Empire and lasted much longer than the Western Roman Empire.
Literature:
This week, students will read chapters 10 - 14 of The Princess and the Goblin. On Friday, we will begin our next seminar from The Book of Virtues. The topic of discussion will be about the virtue of friendship in Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan's relationship.
Math:
Our scholars worked on developing a deeper sense of numbers, while working through factors. This week, we will begin our next chapter on multiples. Our next test will be on Friday.
Poetry:
Almost all students have successfully recited their first poem of fourth grade. We are so impressed with their courage, as some of them get up in front of the class to recite it. We look forward to coaching them on their delivery, in the coming weeks. The next poem for memorization is "Afternoon on a Hill," by Edna St. Vincent Millay.
Greek and Latin Roots:
Our scholars now have the first nine greek roots. This week will be adding roots 10-13. On Wednesday, our scholars will take a review check over the first ten. If your child is missing any of the roots cards, you can find a PowerPoint with them, here.
Science:
During science this week, our scholars will experience two labs in which they determine which kinds of materials are insulators and conductors. Students will learn about Benjamin Franklin's experiment, that electricity is the flow of electrons, and the role of insulators in making electricity safe.
Spalding:
After spending the first few weeks completing our rule pages, our scholars will start learning how to spell words. We likely won't put any notes in our blogs about Spalding unless there is something noteworthy. If you've forgotten what a typical Spalding week looks like, scroll down to last week's post. Monday through Wednesday involve learning new words. Thursday, students will review all the week's words and write them for homework. Spalding tests will be on Fridays.
We are thoroughly looking forward to seeing you at Curriculum Night on Wednesday. Remember to email me any questions you may have, that you would love answers to.
Miss Kogler
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