English
We will wrap up the English chapter on Pronouns on Monday. I will review with the kids on Wednesday and due to "Rocket Launch" the test will be on Friday. Remember a review sheet should come home on Wednesday to make studying easier.
Writing
The children will finish their final copy for their persuasive essay this week.
Science
The final Science test is scheduled for next Wednesday, June 2nd.
As I am sitting down to write this blog I realized that I did not blog last week, so for that I would like to apologize.
English
We will be finishing up the chapter on pronouns this week. The test is scheduled for next week.
Writing
The children began a persuasive essay last week on wearing uniforms to school. They will finish writing their rough drafts this week and also handwrite, in cursive, their good copies on Friday.
Science
We will begin the last section of the unit on Space Travel this week. The last section covers the space shuttle, along with the "Challenger Disaster" and the "Columbia Tragedy." I would like to finish up the unit this week and test next week but I am not sure that is possible. I will let the kids know when the test will be as soon as I get a better idea of how long the section on the space shuttle will take.
Final important dates
1981 - First space shuttle, Columbia is launched
1986 - Challenger explodes 72 seconds into lift-off killing all seven crew members.
2003 - Columbia explodes during re-entry killing all seven crew members.
English
We will continue on in the chapter on pronouns this week.
Writing
The children will complete their outline for their persuasive writing topic early this week, and later in the week they will write the paragraph. I hope to also start the persuasive paper at the end of the week. The topic will be "Should Children Have to Wear Uniforms to School." This will be a four paragraph paper. It will include an introduction, paragraph 1 will argue for uniforms, paragraph 2 will argue against uniforms, and a conclusion.
Science
I hope to finish the Apollo program this week. There are no new important dates to add. A quiz will be given on all American space Travel note through the Apollo Program. Important dates will be included on the quiz.
English
We will continue with the chapter on pronouns this week. To date I have only covered pages 358 and 359.
Writing
On Monday, the children will be given a short, creative writing assignment; the topic of the assignment is "The Greatest Story Ever Told". The children will be given a story starter about a boy named Marvin who has a story to tell his classmates about a strange animal he has encountered. (sounds a little boring when I reread it, but I assure you it is not)
On Tuesday, we will begin the fourth and final type of writing, Persuasive Writing. I will begin with teaching the children how to make an outline to keep their ideas organized. The first assignment will be an easy one. The children will write a paragraph trying to convince you, their parents, to get them something they really want.
Science
We will begin the Apollo program this week.
Important Date
1969 - Neil Armstrong walks on the moon.
Rocket Launch letters will be coming home next week.
English
The Adverbs test will be on Tuesday. A review sheet will be given to each child on Monday; please remind your child to bring it home to make studying for the test easier. We will also begin the chapter on Pronouns this week. This will be the last chapter we will cover in the English book. I do take my time with this chapter because in the past I have found pronouns to be difficult for many children.
Writing
The children will finish up the "What Happened to the Shrouds?" mysteries and they will begin typing them on Friday in the computer lab. I have also scheduled next Friday in the computer lab so that the children will have more than enough time to complete their final copies.
Science
This beginning of this week will be spent on the Gemini Program and later in the week we will begin the Apollo Program.
Important Date for the Week
1967 - Apollo 1 fire kills White, Chaffee, and Grissom
Happy Home Opener Cubs fans!!!!!
English
I hope to finish the chapter on adverbs this week and test sometime early next week.
Writing
The children will begin their second and final descriptive writing assignment this week. They will work on solving the hundred year old mystery of "What Happened to the Shrouds?" This assignment was mentioned in my previous two blogs and more detail about it can be found there.
Science
The children will be introduced to the Mercury Space Program this week.
Important dates for the test are:
1961 - Shepard becomes first American in space.
1962 - Glenn becomes first American to orbit the Earth.
English
This week we will cover pages 426 - 427 on Using Adverbs to Compare.
Writing
I am going to put off the "What Happened to the Shrouds?" paper until after break.
Science
The Space Race has officially begun in 4th grade. To date the kids have learned about Sputnik I and II and Explorer I, the world's first man-made satellites. We have also talked about Laika, Able and Baker, and Ham, the world's first animal astronauts. This week the children will take their notes on these topics and set up their important date's page. No new dates will be added this week.
English
We will begin the chapter on Adverbs this week which can be found on pages
420 - 431 in the English book. We will cover pronouns after adverbs.
Writing
Due to a few interruptions in the schedule this week (Officer Friendly and St. Baldrick's) I was not able to cover all that I wrote in last week's blog.
The children will begin presenting their "Planet vacation" reports this week, and I hope to introduce the next descriptive writing assignment, "What Happened to the Shrouds?" this week as well.
Science
We will begin the unit on space Travel this week. The unit begins with the Soviet launching of Sputnik I and ends at the present. This unit has a lot of information, so additional review with your child will be very beneficial. The hardest part of the unit is learning the years in which the important events happened. I will include them on my blog each week so that you can review them with your child.
1957 - Sputnik I is launched
1957 - Space Race begins
!958 - Explorer I is launched
1958 - NASA is founded
As the children
English
On Monday, the children will be given an English review sheet for Tuesday's test on adjectives. This week we will also start the chapter on adverbs which is not the next chapter in the book; but since we are working on descriptive writing it makes more sense to me to keep the two chapters about describing words together. The chapter on pronouns will be studied after the chapter on adverbs.
Writing
The children will present their "Planet Vacation" reports to their class this week. I also hope to start the next descriptive writing assignment which is a mystery story about what happened to the Shrouds? The story will be based on the following short article.
What Happened to the Shrouds?
One of the most interesting spots to visit in Pleasant Valley is the Shroud Estate. Clyde Shroud built it in 1884 for his new bride, Charlotte. Nobody from town ever saw Clyde's mysterious bride. The Shrouds lived in their new home for only a few years but in then 1890 the entire family disappeared from Pleasant Valley. To this day, nobody knows where they went!
The Shroud Estate sits on top of the highest bluff like a guard over looking Pleasant Valley. The heavy, front door is always locked and the windows are all boarded up. The tall trees surround and enclose the house in a blanket of gloom.
A rusted iron fences encircles the mansion as a sign to stay away, but many visitors have come to the Shroud estate hoping to uncover the mystery of what happened to Clyde and Charlotte Shroud. Who will unlock the secrets that this house holds and determine once and for all "What Happened to the Shrouds?"
Science
On Monday, we will wrap up the chapter on the solar system with Pluto. The test is scheduled for Wednesday of this week and like the quiz will have some short answer questions. The five that were on the quiz will be on the test along with a few new ones which can be found in last week's blog. At the end of the week, I hope to begin the unit on Space Travel.
English
We will finish up the chapter on adjectives this week and the test will be on Tuesday, March 16th. A review sheet should come home on Monday, March, 15th.
Writing
The brochure part of the "Planning a Planet Vacation" project is finished. This week the children will work on writing their descriptive papers to go with the brochure. The paper will be seven paragraphs: introduction, five body paragraphs, and a conclusion. This will be the first time all year that the children will be writing their own introduction and conclusion. (Let's hope I have taught them something)
Science
We will finish up the unit on the solar system this week and the test is scheduled for Wednesday, March 17th. The five short answer questions from Quiz 2 will be on the test along with the following:
1. Name the four planets with rings. The four planets with rings are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
2. If a spaceship tried to land on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune what would happen? Why? If a spaceship tried to land on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune it would fall through the planet because they are made of gases.
3. Name the nine planets in order from closest to the sun, to furthest from the sun. The nine planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. (optional)
