Ms. Tovey's Blog

Progress reports will go home on Wednesday, October 10th. Each child will receive six progress reports with a cover letter stapled to the top. This letter should be signed and returned to the child's homeroom teacher on Thursday, October 11th.

English
We will continue our study of nouns. To date we have covered pages 76 - 81 of Chapter 3. This chapter does focus quite a bit on the spelling of plural nouns. There are a few rules that the children will need to memorize to be successful on the test. If you get some time, please review the rules from the book with your child. This week we will spend some time on proper nouns and singular possessive nouns. I hope to cover pages 82 - 87 in class.
Although most of the chapter is review from third grade, I do find there to be an extensive amount of information. The test may seem overwhelming to some if they do not put some extra work into the chapter as we go through it.

Writing
At the end of last week the children started to write their second creative writing assignment. This assignment has them playing the role of the roving sports reporter. Each child chose their favorite athlete and then wrote down four questions that they would like to ask the person. On Thursday, they took the role of their athlete and then answered these four questions. The children also began to write their rough drafts. We will finish the rough draft on Tuesday and write the good copy on Wednesday. Can you please reemphasize with your child how important it is to reread their work before they hand it in.
A rules sheet for the assignment was given to each child on Wednesday. Please feel free to look it over and check your child's rough draft to be sure they are following all the requirements.
On Thursday I will begin working with the children on writing good introduction paragraphs. We will then move on to the next type of writing which will be biography writing.

Science
We will continue our study of the Animal Kingdom. To date your child should have notes on invertebrates, vertebrates, body temperature, fish and amphibians. This week I hope to cover reptiles and birds. The test should be sometime next week. (If all goes as planned)

English
This week we will continue our study of nouns. To date we have covered pages 76 – 85 in the English book. In the beginning of the week we will continue to cover singular and plural possessive nouns and then move on to abbreviations. I hope to finish the chapter this week and give the test next week.

Writing
The children have finished their last creative writing story. However, I will continue to mix in creative writing assignments throughout the year.
This week I will continue covering biography writing. The first assignment was started together last week. The children were given a facts sheet on Cole and Dylan Sprouse (better known as Zack and Cody on the Disney Channel). As a class we went through the facts and organized them so that they could be divided into three body paragraphs. We also discussed plagiarism and how important it is to reword the facts. Next, the children used their outlines to begin writing a five paragraph paper about the twins. The introduction and conclusion were supplied by me. The children will finish writing their rough drafts on Monday and Tuesday and the hand written good copies will be due to me on Wednesday.
On Thursday I will be taking the children into the Computer Lab and using Google they will do some research on a person of their choice. Information they will be looking for will pertain to the person’s early life, career and any interesting facts they find. We will spend the remainder of the week writing the rough drafts and then on Tuesday of the following week the children will type their good copies in the Computer Lab.

Science
This week we will be finishing up the Unit on the Animal Kingdom. The test is scheduled for Wednesday. Please know that the test will come directly from your child’s notebook. They should have notes about the two main groups of animals: vertebrates and invertebrates, the five vertebrate groups, body temperature, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Each child will also be bringing home their Animal Kingdom booklet. These booklets are theirs to keep.

English
We will continue with the chapter on nouns. To date we have covered pages 76 – 89 in the English book. I hope to wrap up the chapter this week and test next week. This chapter does contain an extensive amount of information, so if you get the chance can you please review the previously covered pages with your child.

Writing
Last week the children wrote a biography on Cole and Dylan Sprouse. They did an excellent job. Please be sure to read your child’s paper. I think you will be quite impressed.
I had mentioned in my previous blog that the children would be able to choose the person that they wanted to write their next biography on. However, last week I did change my mind because I was worried that some children would not be successful in doing the research on their own. So instead, each child was assigned a president and had to fill out a questionnaire in the computer lab. We will then turn these answers into a four paragraph biography and type the good copies on Tuesday.
Also, this week we will be working on topic sentences, main ideas, editing paragraphs and hopefully spend some more time writing good introduction paragraphs.

Science
We have wrapped up the unit on Animals. Overall, the test scores were excellent. The largest majority of scores were hundred percents. (very impressive)
This week we will begin the second unit, which is The Human Body. The unit begins with cells, tissues and organs and then works through six of the body systems. Again a booklet will be given to each child. The booklet may go home any time you like but please make sure it is returned to school the following day.
This unit has much more information then the Animal Kingdom. I am strongly suggesting that the children look over their notes, as they get them, each night.
Along with this unit I use “Herman” an anatomically correct model of a person, who has body parts that can be removed. (My fourth graders years ago named it Herman because it is neither woman nor man) There are nineteen organs and body parts that the children will learn along with one job for each.

English
To date we have covered pages 76 – 93 in the chapter on nouns. The plan is to finish the chapter early next week. The test is scheduled for Friday, November 2nd. The children will be given a review sheet on Thursday. Please remind your child to bring home the review sheet Thursday night.

Writing
The children have completed two biographies to date: one on the Sprouse Brothers and one on a president of the United States. In general both were very good. This week, the children will be assigned their last biography. The topic for this one is Sister Jean. Sr. Jean has been kind enough to fill out a questionnaire for the kids. They will then turn this information into a short biography about her.

Science
We began the unit on The Human Body last week. To date your child should have notes in his/her notebook on cells, the 4 parts of cells, tissues with a definition and 3 examples and organs, definition and examples. As previously mentioned, this unit has much more information than the previous one and I do strongly recommend that each child look his/her notes over each night so as to not be overwhelmed at test time.
On Tuesday there will be a short quiz on the above mentioned notes.