ISATs are almost over! :)

Hi everyone! 
Just a few updates about what's going on in 4S.
First off, let me say that I'm so proud of the kid's hard work throughout the ISATs last week!  That being said, we have our last math session on Monday, and two Science sessions on Tuesday and then we're done!

Science:  Very exciting news!  The kids will make their human body presentations on Monday.  They will do their group speech first and then we'll watch their power point presentation over their part.  They've all worked so hard on this and it really shows!  Their speeches are creative and cover all the information about their system.  When they practiced in class, I was very impressed.  I'm really looking foward to seeing them on Monday.  Their power points are also great!  It will be fun for them to see their classmate's slides and hear their voice recorded. 

Next, we'll continue on with ecosystems and after Spring Break, we'll start our Bird Unit which is one of my favorites!  Through this unit, we'll incorporate different types of writing:  poetry, expository and narrative writing.  They'll publish these in the computer lab.

Math:  Next week we will be studying customary and metric units of measurement.  Also, to continue with our study of multiplication and division facts, we will be in the computer lab (until June) working on the Fasttmath program.  Many of the kids have moved on to division, which is really great!  They are also working hard with their "tutors."  We will still take mad minutes as well.  After Spring Break, we will get into long division.  The quick recall of multiplication and division facts is essential for this.  Thank you for your continued practice at home.  It really makes all the difference and it shows in the results of their tests.  They are so proud of themselves when they beat their old score! 

Writing:  We are finishing our persuasive essays.  Right now, we are making "super sentences" by adding details like "who, what, when, where and/or why." Next week, they will add internal and external transitional words to help make their paper cohesive and flow nicely.  After that, they will edit with three buddies and finally, publish their papers in the computer lab.

Social Studies: Next week they kids will show thier Revolutionary War power points along with a speech. Before Spring Break we will learn about the Southeast Region and after Spring Break we will learn about the Civil War.  In reading, we'll start the novel unit, Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.  These two units are perfect together, and the kids really make important cross-curricular connections!

Spelling:  Week 19's regular list and challenge list are on Spellingcity.com as of yesterday.  If they got a 20/20 on the Focus Words Spelling test last week, they do not need to take it again this year.  Way to go kiddos!

I think that's it for now, enjoy your weekend! Please remember that my new e-mail addres is ceschroe@cusd200.org
Mrs. Schroeder