October News Letter

Dear Families,

I hope this finds you all well! 

In class, we have been working on the following:

• Reading:  We have been consuming Stories From My Life (SFML).  While reading these stories together, we have been tracking our thoughts and sharing them as we read.  We have also been responding to our reading in our reader’s and writer’s notebooks.    Additionally, we have introduced Time for Kids magazine. Issues cover a wide range of real-world topics kids love to learn about and it's a wonderful example of nonfiction text. TFK (Time for Kids) builds reading and writing skills and is easily integrated across our curriculum, including social studies, science and math.
• Writing: We have continued to work on generating ideas in our writing journal and building story arcs.  Soon we will begin essay writing for our work with John O’ Flahavan. Students will be given the opportunity to compare two things such as books, or characters and write an essay sample. We will then look at these samples with Dr. O’ Flahavan and see how we can foster our kids to become better writers.

·         Math:  We are continuing to work on 2x1 and 2x2-digit multiplication.  We will begin long division soon. We are building and reinforcing our problem solving skills through the SBISD Problem Solving Model and Mountain Math.  Please remember to study multiplication and division math facts each night.  We have also started sending Lone Star Problem Solving each Monday for homework. These are due on Friday unless you hear otherwise.

• Social Studies:  We are finishing regions and have learned the symbols of Texas. After concluding regions, we will move on to Native American tribes present in early Texas.
• Science: We are studying the phases of the moon, and discussing tides which will conclude our unit on Space.  The next unit of study will be weather: what it is, how to measure it, types of clouds, air masses, and reading weather maps.  Keep track of the weather daily on www.weather.com. 

Reminders: 

• Columbus Day is Monday, October 14^th: NO SCHOOL
• Carnival: October 26^th @ Bunker Hill
• Early dismissal days are October 24^th and 25^th 
• Look for conference sign-ups shortly via email, if you haven’t already signed up
• Report cards go home October 28^th if they are not picked up at the conference.

Thanks so much,

Fourth Grade Teachers