ROOM 202 NEWSLETTER MRS.

LAURA BAUER

January 2018
ALBERT F. ARGENZIANO SCHOOL FOURTH GRADE

CALENDAR

1 No School

MLK Jr. Day

DEAR FAMILIES, 15
No School
2018! I hope you had a restful Winter Break with family and friends. As
students are welcomed back to school, we will again spend time
reviewing important classroom routines and expectations. We know 24 Half Day
transitioning back into the structure can be challenging. Please continue
to check in with your child about their day. Your interest, support, and
encouragement in their learning is important! Winter
? Concert TBD
In the upcoming months you can expect to see another jump in the
curriculum pacing and rigor. January and February are always very busy
times for us in the fourth grade. As a reminder, homework will be the same
each and every week, unless I send a letter/email home stating otherwise.
Students should be reading nightly for at least fifteen minutes and
recording that information in their weekly blue agenda log. Additionally
they will have a math page nightly. Math facts should be reviewed
regularly.

MRS. BAUER
WISH LIST
✴ Ticonderoga
1 2 3 Pencils/ Erasers

✴ Books for grade

FREE SNACK STRINGS & BAND FIELD TRIPS
levels 1-6
Free snack is Please remember to If you would like to
available several send students in with chaperone a field
days a week their instruments. trip, please complete
a CORI form.

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 CURRICULUM UPDATES
Reading
Before break we wrapped up our nonfiction unit. We are now beginning a brief drama unit. Students
typically really enjoy learning how to understand stage directions and take on a part in a play. After we wrap
up our drama unit, we will begin Poetry. During this unit emphasis will be placed on using multiple
strategies to understand poetry including: rereading, visualizing, hearing the poem aloud, and interpreting
figurative language. Additionally students will learn to explore poems analytically line by line,
understanding that poets choose each word with intention. Lastly, we will explore the message and
meaning of the poem as a whole. This unit will emphasize the reading and analysis of poems, but students
will also have the opportunity to write some of their own poetry.

Math
We are in the midst of our third math unit. Students have shown great competence with partial quotient
division and area model multiplication. This new unit is all about fractions! Students first learning about
equivalent fractions and strategies to compare two fractions. Now our focus is adding and subtracting
fractions. We will also do multiplication. Students will learn several ways for each skill with an emphasis on
using visuals such as tape diagrams and number lines to support our math.

Writing
Before break we worked on a brief Opinion and Persuasive writing unit. We imagined some scenarios, some
changes she might make such as shortening recess, or making uniforms mandatory. Students learned to
form strong opinion statements and support their opinion with clear reasons and examples. Use of
transition words was also emphasized. Up next is the imaginative narrative genre where students will learn
to create stories that do not have to be based on their own lives. This is always a very fun writing unit, where
students’ imaginations come to life! We will also continue to work on writing organized responses to text-
based prompts.

Social Studies
Students completed their continent/country projects. We had a lot of fun presenting what we learned to
another fourth grade class. Students learned about the population size, culture, and more. Up next we will
study the United States beginning with the northeast region.

Science
In Science, we have been exploring simple machines. Students will complete a lever challenge this week.

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