Week 29--Fourth Quarter!

Dear Parents,

I hope you had some extra time to relax with your students over their spring break. I know some families chose to take trips over break, and I hope the trips were peaceful and relaxing.

As we enter fourth quarter, state standardized tests are approaching. In general we do not “teach to the test.” We strive to present our students with material that is true and good in itself, not merely material that is relevant to a test. At the same time, we feel it would be unfair to our students expect them to take a test that contains material with which they are completely unfamiliar. For this reason we will be spending some time in all classes studying material that will likely be on state tests even if some of that material is outside our usual curriculum.

On that note one of the upcoming topics we will study for the state science test is is global warming/climate change. This topic has been highly politicized and emotionally charged, so it can be a difficult topic to cover. I will do my best to present a fair and balanced view of this issue in science class.

In math, we are finishing up our study of fractions in class and starting our study of decimals online. If your student is not already in the lesson “Decimals” on RM, they will be assigned some extra RM homework to help them catch up with their class. It is very important for them to complete this homework. In order to pass into fifth grade, students do need to complete the RM online curriculum. If you have any questions, please let me know.

One final note: the fourth grade team is changing its policy regarding homework. From now on late homework will only be accepted within one week of the original due date. For example if a worksheet is assigned on Wednesday a late copy of that homework will only be accepted through the next Wednesday. The exception, of course, would be students who are very ill. If this is the case please contact us so we can help your student make arrangements to complete their homework.

These are all the notes I have for you this week. Please send me a message through your Jupiter Ed account if you have any further questions, comments, or concerns.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Wycklendt

Week 28 Science Test and Math Quiz

Dear Parents,

I’m sure the students are all looking forward to spring break. I hope you are also looking forward to spending a little extra time with your children as well. I know a number of you have family trips planned, and I hope you enjoy them!

In case any of you are planning on leaving for trips before spring beak officially begins, please be sure to let the fourth grade team know your students will be absent. We have a number of assessments planned for this week, and we want to make sure your students take them before they leave. Otherwise we will have to give zeros for any incomplete exams.

In science we will be having a test on Wednesday. The topic will be the water cycle. I am not giving a study guide. Students should study the pages of their science notebook on the water cycle and the various steps of the water cycle. They should also study the page on sources of water on earth. They should review the information on ozone which will be in their notes on the stratosphere. They should also review the parts of the atom which will be early in their notebook at the beginning of their notes on electricity.  

In math we will have a quiz on Thursday. I do not normally pre-announce quizzes and I will not be giving information on topics ahead of time, but I want you to know there is a quiz on Thursday so your students can take it ahead of time if need be.

One last important thing: although we had our jump rope for heart contest last Tuesday money for donations is still being accepted online and by P.E. teachers through March 9, this Thursday.

These are all the notes I have for you this week. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please send me a message through your Jupiter Ed account.

Sincerely,

Miss Wycklendt

Week 27 Math Test

Dear Parents,

I hope you are all well. This will be a short blog post as there is not much going on this week. In math we are having a test on Friday. The topics are drawing models of mixed numbers and improper fractions, finding fractions equal to whole numbers. I will get a thorough study guide out to you all by Wednesday evening.

Also important for math class right now is where students are supposed to be in RM. Students should be starting the lesson “Adding Mixed Numbers with Like Denominators.” This comes right after the lesson “Adding and Subtracting Fractions with Like Denominators” so you will have to read those lesson titles carefully. I will be assigning extra RM to students who have not yet reached this lesson. However, it is often more helpful if students spend a large amount of time on one or two evenings catching up rather than spreading out the agony of extra homework! Any extra RM your students can do to ctach up with their class will  certainly benefit them.

Next week marks the end of the quarter, so there will be more going on next week. Students will have a test in science and a quiz in math. I don’t want to overload them with tests next week, which is why I am choosing to have the math test this week. The science test next week will be largely in the water cycle.

Also, please remember that students have next Friday, 3/10 off. Usually you are all good at remembering these things, but I wanted to remind you because it’s not a holiday or any other known date. Rather students have off of school for two reasons: One is to give families who are leaving over break an extra day for their trips. We have found that many families will take their students out of school the day before a break, and we are trying to help them out by simply giving their students that day off. The other reason is to help teachers wrap up all the grading, classroom cleaning and evaluation writing that naturally comes with then end of the quarter. We do appreciate your flexibility and support in this matter!

These are all the notes I have for you this week. Please contact me through your Jupiter Ed Account with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have.

Sincerely,

Miss Wycklendt

The following is the study guide for the math test:

1.       Students should be able to draw models of improper fractions. For instance if they are asked to model 16/5, they need to understand that the denominator, 5, tells us how many parts make one whole. Since there are more than 5 parts in the numerator, they will need to draw more than one whole. They should start by drawing one whole, splitting it into 5 parts, and shading 5 out of 5 parts. Since that’s not enough they should draw another whole, split the second whole into 5 parts, and shade all the parts. They should keeping drawing wholes, splitting them into 5 parts, and shading the parts until they have 16 parts shaded. In this case, they will need 3 whole and 1 extra fifth of another whole shaded.

2.       When students model improper fractions, they should know what mixed number the improper fraction equals. In the above example, their model also shows 3 and 1/5.

3.       Students should be able to draw models of mixed numbers. For instance, if they are asked to model 2 1/3, they should draw and shade two wholes. Then they should draw another whole, split it into thirds, and shade one of the thirds.

4.       Students should know how to convert fractions to division problems and division problems to fractions. The rule is that the dividend = numerator and denominator = divisor. For instance, 3 divided by 7 = 3/7.   19/5= 19 divided by 5.

1.       Students should be able to draw models of improper fractions. For instance if they are asked to model 16/5, they need to understand that the denominator, 5, tells us how many parts make one whole. Since there are more than 5 parts in the numerator, they will need to draw more than one whole. They should start by drawing one whole, splitting it into 5 parts, and shading 5 out of 5 parts. Since that’s not enough they should draw another whole, split the second whole into 5 parts, and shade all the parts. They should keeping drawing wholes, splitting them into 5 parts, and shading the parts until they have 16 parts shaded. In this case, they will need 3 whole and 1 extra fifth of another whole shaded.

2.       When students model improper fractions, they should know what mixed number the improper fraction equals. In the above example, their model also shows 3 and 1/5.

3.       Students should be able to draw models of mixed numbers. For instance, if they are asked to model 2 1/3, they should draw and shade two wholes. Then they should draw another whole, split it into thirds, and shade one of the thirds.

4.       Students should know how to convert fractions to division problems and division problems to fractions. The rule is that the dividend = numerator and denominator = divisor. For instance, 3 divided by 7 = 3/7.   19/5= 19 divided by 5.

5.       Students should be able to find fractions equal to whole numbers by multiplying by whole numbers by fractions equal to one. Students must have the multiplication problem written correctly and completely in order to get credit for their work. For example, how many fourths equal 12? 12 x 4/4 = 48/4. Students must write the entire multiplication problem in order to get full credit for their work!

6.       Other ways of asking students to find fractions equal to whole numbers include: What improper fraction with a denominator of 4 equals (the whole number) 12?  12 (wholes) equals how many fourths? How many fourths are in (the whole number) 12?

Week 26 Science Test!

Dear Parents,

This week we have a short week but a fairly eventful one. Tuesday will be a normal day, but the Trivium East Bard Competition will occur on campus from 6:00-7:00. The winners of the competition will go on to compete at Great Hearts-wide competition. Families and friends of all Trivium East students are encouraged to attend. Please come to cheer our on our brave competitors and show your school spirit!

On Friday we have our science test on the atmosphere and the water cycle. Students will be expected to know general facts about air and the atmosphere, specific facts about each layer of the atmosphere. There will also be some questions on the first two steps of the water cycle, precipitation and collection. This includes facts about the specific kinds of collection, namely, surface runoff and groundwater. I will not be including a study guide for this test. All students have very thorough notes on these topics and I will only be including questions on the test which students can learn/review by studying their notebooks. However, this is NOT AN OPEN BOOK TEST. I don’t mean to yell, but I don’t want there to be any confusion on this point. J Students who wish to get a good score on the test will need to study for it!

Remember, jump rope for heart is still going on. Students can collect money for heart research and turn it on to their P.E. teacher, or they can collect donations on line. At the same time, whether or not students are collecting donations, they should be sure to practice their jump-roping skills for our jump rope competition next week!

In math, we will continue to study fractions with a special focus on the relationships between whole numbers and improper fractions and also on the relationship between fractions and division.

This week students should be on the lesson “Adding and Subtracting Fractions” in RM. Students who are not there will begin to be assigned extra RM homework to catch up.

These are all the notes I have for you this week. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please be sure to message me through your Jupiter Ed account.

Sincerely,

Miss Wycklendt

Week 25 Fractions Test

Dear Parents,

I hope your students enjoyed the half day last Friday. This week, we have a full week of school on our normal schedule, but next week we do have Monday off for President’s Day, so mark your calendars!

This week in science, we will be having a quiz on the stratosphere and the troposphere. We will review states of matter and then start studying the water cycle. I am particularly excited for our discussion of condensation because we have an experiment on his topic that should provoke lots of interesting discussion. Of course, I can’t say too much here so that students don’t find out ahead of time, but it should be fun!

In math we will continue our study of mixed and improper fractions. We do have a math test on Tuesday for which the topic is proper fractions and mixed numbers. The information contained on the test should largely be a review of information learned in second and third grade, so students who study for the test should be confident of earning a good grade. I am still including a short study guide below. Please note that we will be using mainly vertical fractions on the test. I have  use horizontal fractions here because vertical fractions don’t work well on the blog’s interface.

Definition of fractions: A fraction is a number written with a numerator and a denominator.

Numerator: The top part of a fraction

Denominator: The bottom part of a fraction

Proper Fraction: A fraction in which the numerator is less than the denominator

Improper Fraction:  A fraction in which the numerator is greater than or equal to the denominator

Whole number: One of ordinary numbers we have been using to count, add, subtract, etc. since kindergarten

Mixed Numbers: Quantities which are compose of a whole number and a fraction such as 5 1/3 or 2 3/5. The whole number is called the whole part, and the fraction is called the fraction part.

Students should be able to read fractions correctly, and they should be able to correctly identify numerators and denominators. NOTE: Some students assume the numerator must always be smaller than the denominator because most of their previous experience has been with fractions less than one. Thus, when presented with fractions like 8/5 they will say the numerator is 5, the denominator is 8, and they will read it as “five-eighths.” These answers are, of course, incorrect.

Fractions equal to 1: Students should recognize that improper fractions in which the numerators and denominators are equal are the same as the whole number one. Such fractions are, therefore, equal to each other, and students should also recognize this fact. Students should be able to pick fractions equal to one from a list and give examples when asked.

Comparing fractions with numerators of 1: Students should understand that the greater the denominator, the more pieces a fraction has, but the smaller each piece is. Thus, 1/3 >  1/5  > 1/6 > 1/7 > 1/19 > 1/257. A good example is sharing a cake. You want to share a cake with the smallest number of people as possible because the less people you share with, the bigger your piece is!

Fraction Models: Students should be able to draw models of proper fractions, fractions equal to one, horizontal fractions, and mixed numbers. Fractions models should have equal pieces. The whole shapes sued to model mixed numbers should be equal to each other. When modeling fractions equal to one, students may NOT merely draw a single shape and shade it. They need to divide it into the correct number of parts and shade all the parts.

Students should be able to correctly read and identify numerators and denominators of horizontal fractions.

There will be at least one column multiplication problem and one long division on the test.

These are all the notes I have for you this week. Please send me a message through your Jupiter Ed account with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have.

Sincerely,

Miss Wycklendt

Week 24 Jump Rope for Heart!

Dear Parents,

On Friday afternoon, we had the exciting kick-off to our school’s annual Jump Rope for Heart event! Hopefully most of your students have told you about it by now, but we are encouraging  all our students to get involved. Jump Rope for Heart has two components. One is a fundraiser for the American Heart Association to aid in their research on heart defects, especially for kids’ hearts. Students will be asking their families, relatives, and friends for donations for the American Heart Association. The second component is a jump rope competition that will be held near the end of the month. All students should be taking care of their own hearts by practicing for this event!

 Regarding the fundraiser, our school has a goal of raising $6,500. Last year we raised over $6,000, so this is a very achievable goal.  If every student raised $5 for heart research, we would already be very close to our goal. There are quite a few prizes students can earn for raising anywhere from $5 to $150. However, the first two prizes are extremely easy for students to earn. The first prize is a lanyard with a zoo animal students can earn for bringing in a single $5 donation. The second is another zoo animal for their lanyard students can earn for getting one donation online. They should print the coupon they receive after the online donation is complete and bring it in to school.

Anytime students have donations or coupons; these need to go directly to the P.E. teachers at the beginning of the students’ next P.E. class. Neither the other teachers nor the front desk staff will be accepting donations or coupons. Last year, there was a great deal of confusion regarding which students had earned which prizes. By having only P.E. teachers accept donations and coupons, the matter will be simplified, and students will receive their prizes more quickly.

This week on Wednesday, deficiency notices will be sent to parents whose students are averaging C- or in any class. The deficiency notices are intended to help parents are understand where their students are struggling and to give students an opportunity to improve. Most of you should have a pretty good idea where how your students are doing in my classes. I have been sending their graded homework, quizzes and tests home on a regular basis, and I have also sent regular emails when students are missing assignments. If your student has received a lot of low scores and tests, quizzes, or homework, or if you have received multiple emails regarding your student’s missing assignments, there is a good chance they are in the deficiency range. However, if you have any doubts about your students grades, please feel free to contact us.

In math we will continue our study of fractions. This week we will place a special focus on mixed numbers, improper fractions, and the relationship between fractions and division. We will be having a math test next week. I will follow up with details by next weekend, at the latest. In science we will continue our study of the atmosphere, and hopefully the lab will be free for us to perform at least one experiment related to air this week.

These are all the notes I have for you this week. Please send me a message through your Jupiter Ed account with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have.

Sincerely,

Miss Wycklendt

Week 23

Dear Parents,


This last week during our Friday assembly, we had a special time together dedicating our school's new friendship bench. One of our very own fourth grade students had the idea for the friendship bench as a place where anyone in need of a friend could go and sit. Others, seeing someone sitting on the bench, would know they needed a friend and would come and sit with them. The fourth grader who had this idea presented it to Ms. Washburn, who liked it so much that she put the plan into action. And so, our beautiful friendship bench came to be. Congratulations to the student whose idea has enriched our campus so much!

This week in fourth grade, we are having some changes in our schedule of classes. The idea is to cut down on the transitions between classes that steal valuable learning time while still giving our student the benefit of preparing for middle school by switching between multiple teachers and classes throughout the day. As a result of this change, I will be teaching 4A science now in addition to 4B science and math, but I will no longer be teaching 4B literature, Please direct all future questions regarding literature to Mr. Ohbayashi and all future questions regarding science to me.


This week in science, we will continue our study of meteorology by discussing the various layers of the atmosphere. We will also be working on the water cycle. In math, we have finally started our study of fractions! This is very exciting as fractions will be our major topic for the rest of the year.

These are all the notes I have for you this week. Please send me a message through your Jupiter Ed account if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.


Sincerely,

Miss Wycklendt