JOHNSONS JOURNAL

MRS
Issue No.
P I N Seventeen
.J
E

OH
NS
ELE ON
MEN
TAR
JOH
Y
NSO EMAI
ND@ L:
BCR
EEK
.OR
JOH
W
G
NSO EBSIT
ND.
E:
WE
EBL
Y.C
OM
RIV

ER

September 21, 2015

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Writing

We are off and running in fourth grade. We have had

a good start to the school year. The students have
learned many new routines and have made new
friends. Thank you for the privilege of working with
your child. Im looking forward to a great year.

Students are composing personal narratives, which are

stories about their lives. Theyre learning techniques
on how to select a topic and how to develop it.

It was nice to see many parents at our recent

curriculum night. Thank you for taking the time to
attend. Feel free to contact me with any questions.
The children have spent time taking the following
baseline assessments: math (multiple assessments),
writing, and spelling. Reading assessments will take
place this week. I will go over the assessment data at
the parent-teacher conferences in October.
Grades are now being posted online. More
information can be found here. Please note that not all
class work and assignments will be entered into the
grade book. Please call the office if you have any
difficulty accessing your childs account.

Reading
The students have been working to choose books that
are just right to read during their daily reading
workshop time. Those are books that are not too
difficult. Research has shown that students who read
books that are just right, or even a little easy, make the
most growth in their reading levels. Books that are too
difficult actually slow down progress.
So, how can you tell if a book is just right for your
child? One way to check is to listen to your child read
aloud. If the reading sounds choppy, then its probably
too difficult. More information can be found here.

Mathematics
Our current topic in math is the place-value of
numbers to 1,000,000. Students have been practicing
writing numbers in standard form (i.e. 1,246), expanded
form (1,000+200+40+6), and in word form (one
thousand, two hundred forty-six). Also, they have been
creating place value drawings in preparation for their
work with adding and subtracting large numbers.
Multiplying fluently was a third grade skill. In an effort
to improve the speed and accuracy of that skill,
multiplication facts testing will continue to take place.
Please watch the planner for quiz dates.

Science
The children have learned about the states of matter
and are currently learning about metric measurement
in grams (g), kilograms (kg), and cubic inches (cu in).

Social Studies
Weve reviewed cardinal and intermediate directions
(N, S, E, W, NE, SE, NW and SW). Next, well review
the names and locations of the continents and oceans.
National Constitution Day was last Thursday. Were
studying the Preamble to the Constitution.

Spelling
Spelling lists and interactive games are available here.

JOHNSONS JOURNAL!

PAGE

Specials Schedule
Our daily schedule can be found here.
Monday Library Checkout & Physical Ed.
Tuesday Art & Computer Lab
Wednesday Physical Education
Thursday Library Skills
Friday Computer Lab

Lunch & Recess Schedule

Lunch & Recess

12:10 - 1:04

Important Dates
September 22
Laurenz Farm Field Trip (8:50-1:00)
Students need to bring a sack lunch.
September 29
Picture Day in the PM
October 5
PTO Meeting at BCEl @ 6:30 PM
October 9
No School (Prof. Development Day for Teachers)
October 13
PTO Pizza Kit Pick-Up @ BCEl (3:30-6:00 PM)
October 16
PTO Popcorn Day
(More information coming soon.)
October 15 & 19
Parent-Teacher Conferences
(More information coming soon.)

Calculation fluency [answering facts quickly and accurately] is important for measuring future math ability, enabling
performance on advanced arithmetic, and reducing processing time in order to maintain meaningfulness in the problem.
Adela Korn, Cognitive Scientist