Ms. Tovey's Blog

English
On Tuesday we finish up our short lesson on alliteration. The children will be writing a poem about an animal using words beginning with the animals first letter to describe it. Wednesday we begin chapter 2 which is an in-depth look at nouns. (what nouns are, singular form, plural form, singular possessive and plural possessive form) I will break this chapter down into smaller sections again and quiz on each of the smaller sections. Upon completion of chapter 2 there will be a test covering the material from the quizzes.

Writing
The majority of Superhero stories were typed and handed in on October 4th. However, some children still have not turned in their stories. The completed story is due Friday, October 13th. Please check with your child to make sure they have completed their story. This is a very important part of their English grade for first quarter.
The next writing assignment will again be creative writing. The children will pretend they are a sport announcer covering the big game. They will be conducting an interview with the sports player of their choice in the locker room after the game. They will write this story as though they are on the 6:00 news. A guideline sheet to follow will be passed out to each child before we begin. Please ask your child to look at the guidelines and go over them with your child. (Following directions is not always easy for some fourth graders.)

Science
We continue our study of the human body. Again the notes are starting to pile up. If possible can you review the science notes with your child once or twice a week? To this point their notebook should have notes on cells, 4 parts of a cell, tissues and 3 types of tissues, organs and organ system, the circulatory system and heart.
On Tuesday (10/10) the children will be finishing up their first lab report. The question posed for this experiment was; which exercise will make my pulse and breathing rate go up the most? We spent most of Thursday and part of Tuesday working on the lab report. The lesson that was to be learned from the experiment was that pulse and breathing rate go up while exercising because the cells need more energy to perform the exercise. In order for the cells to receive more energy the heart needs to pump the blood faster. The blood is carrying the oxygen and nutrients to the cells at a faster rate and thus creating more energy.(hopefully all children learned this)
We will also begin covering the respiratory system on Tuesday. This is another system that is not in the science book, so look for a handout in your child's folder.
Finally, we continue to add parts to Herman each week. To date your child should know 8 of his/her body parts, where they are located and a simple job for each. This information is also in their notebook if you would like to review it with your child.

8 parts to date
1. brain 5. heart
2. skull 6. lungs
3. larynx 7. liver
4. thyroid gland 8. gall bladder

English
The fourth graders continue their study of nouns. A quiz will be given on Thursday. It will cover pages 76 - 83 in the English book. A review will be given in class on Wednesday. Be sure to ask your child to see the review because the quiz will follow the same format.
The second part of Chapter 2 is a bit more difficult than the first part. On Friday we will begin singular possessives and then next week move into plural possessives and using the two correctly. If you have time can you go over pages 86 - 91 with your child to make sure they are understanding the concept of possessives.

Writing
Last week's writing assignment was to become a sports reporter and interview your favor athlete after the big game. The directions were passed out on Thursday and the rough drafts are due on Monday, October 16th. Final drafts will be due Friday, October 20th. Please ask your child to read his/her report. I will be reading any rough drafts that are completed on time. However, if the assignment is not ready to be read on Monday then the child will have to ask you to read it and correct it for them. The assignment will be graded on following directions and indenting each paragraph.

Science
On Thursday the fourth grade learned about their Respiratory System. We read a short handout as a class and notes were given. There will be a short quiz on Tuesday. It will cover the notes on the Circulatory and Respiratory Systems only. The quiz will be an oral quiz where I read the questions out loud and the children write down the answer. Spelling does not count as long as the answer looks close to what it is actually supposed to be.
This week we will move on to the third system which is the Digestive System. Of the five this one will be the most difficult because it has the most parts. Please ask your child to look over his/her notebook and review the notes with them.

English

We will be finishing up the second half of Chapter Two - Nouns this week. There will be a quiz on Tuesday, October 31st. This quiz will cover pages 84 - 94. On Monday, October 30th a review will be given. Please remind your child to bring the review home so that you can go over it with him/her. Friday, November 3rd will be the Chapter Two test.

Writing
On Monday, October 24th the children will begin Biography Writing. A questionnaire will be coming home on Monday. Each child is expected to interview an adult in their life. (Grandparents are recommended) The children should interview their person of choice following the questionnaire. Their answers should be written into their writing notebook. Please encourage your child to write their answers with as much detail as possible and to include as many dates (years) as possible. The answers to the questionnaire are due on Monday, October 30th.

Science
This week the Digestive System will be covered. The notes for this System will come from a handout. The Food Pyramid and eating right will also be covered. Each child will become a restaurant owner and create a healthy menu, following the Food Pyramid.
I hope to finish the Chapter on The Human Body next week. Please continue to review the notes with your child.

English
We wrapped up Chapter Two - Nouns on Friday, October 27th. The second quiz for this Chapter will be on Tuesday, October 31st. A review will be given on Monday, so please be sure to ask your child to look at it and go over it with him/her. The Chapter Two test will be on Friday November 3rd. It will cover all information from both quizzes.

Writing
Last week the children wrote their first biography. The biography was written about Dylan and Cole Sprouse. (The Suite Life of Zach and Cody stars) I cannot tell you how impressed I was with their biographies. Please be sure to ask your child to read their story.
This week we will begin to write the biography about the adults that the children decided to interview. This will be their longest writing assignment to date and will probably take the full week to write. Rough drafts will be due by Friday, November 3rd. The following week we will type the good copies in the computer lab.

Science
We will be covering both the Skeletal and Muscular Systems this week. On Tuesday, the children will be putting together a skeleton that will have the names of most of the bones in their body. The test on the Human Body is tentatively planned for Tuesday, November 7th. Please continue to review all notes for the Chapter with your child.