Saturday, September 23, 2017

Next week: September 25-29

This week in Class:

History: This week, students will enjoy a serf/lord activity in which they will take on the roles of lords and serfs. This is in line with the theme of servitude and cooperation. Students will have a peer discussion about the medieval Code of Chivalry.

Science:   Having completed their study of electricity, students will now proceed to a study of living things. They'll begin with a unit on plants, photosynthesis, and vascular versus non-vascular plants. 

Language Arts:  This week in Language Arts, students will write their first major essay of the year. This is a step-by-step process, and each step will be carefully outlined and monitored by the teacher. In Literature, students will read "Emil and the Detectives," a wonderful story. This is a read-aloud and students are not required to have a copy of their own. In Spalding there will be more words and more markings.

Math: On Monday, we will wrap up our review of order of operations and negative numbers before the test. On Tuesday, we will continue the unit on order of operations and proceed into multiplication and division.




Friday, September 15, 2017

Friday Update

Good evening and Happy Friday, families!

Here's what your children have to look forward to in class next week: Week 7 (!), September 18-22:

History: Students will read about Charlemagne, the European emperor who united and ruled much of Europe from 768-814. We will also study the rise of feudalism in the Middle Ages, exploring what life was like for serf and lord through a series of activities. 

Science:  This past week, students learned basic concepts in electricity and studied the difference between a series circuit and a parallel circuit. They practiced creating circuits of their own, predicting and testing how various materials would act as insulators to stop electric flow or as conductors allowing electricity to flow through. This week, we'll wrap up our unit on electricity with a test on Monday and a brief lesson on electromagnetism, followed by an introduction to our first life science unit.  

Language Arts: We will resume following the adventures of Curdie and Princess Irene. What plans do the nasty cobs have in store? Will Curdie survive? Who is Great Grandma Irene? All and more will be answered as we reach the book's final chapters.

In Grammar, students will conclude our unit on parts of speech and types of sentences. 

Spelling will recommence this week with approximately 30 words for the children to copy (approx. 10 per day, 2x, with markings) and be tested on next Friday. 

Math We will continue our unit on the Order of Operations when completing multi-step problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and or division.

Please read on for a math tip from 4th grade teacher Mr. Posner!

Very often, in math, students seek out shortcuts, especially when they do not thoroughly understand the process and whether or not their process will affect the outcome. This is always a good thing, because as they are taught each day: there is more than one way to solve a mathematical equation
    
One shortcut that is not only detrimental, but also inaccurate, is PEMDAS, or Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. This mnemonic stands for Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction. This mnemonic device often leads to confusion, as students rely solely upon it and forget that multiplication and division are treated at the same level as addition and subtraction. I do not allow students to use this. I supply "rules" for each operation that not only make it clearer, but are always true. These guidelines are written in their math notebooks. Many, many, many years ago, I remember learning PEMDAS as a student, and being confused (this was the age of blackboards and chalk).  When solving order of operations, it is much easier, and better, to simply rely on the guidelines and rules I supply them through our class instruction and the Singapore textbook.
    
  Please contact me with any questions. 

  Mr. Posner

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

This Week in Class

A few notes on what we're studying this week:

History: This week in history, students are continuing their study of the Byzantine Empire, covering Emperor Justinian, Empress Theodora, and the Hagia Sophia. They will write an essay on the Empress and the church and take a short test on the Byzantine Empire. They will also be tested on the countries of Europe that we have been labeling in class. 

Science:  This week in science, students will use their lab observations to solidify their understanding of circuits. By the end of the week, the children will be able to explain how a series circuit is different from a parallel circuit and the advantages of parallel circuits in building a home. On Friday, students will learn how electricity can turn metal into a magnet. 

Language Arts: Students have been deepening their understanding of sentence classification and sentence diagramming. Students will be able to use adverbs and adjectives (including article adjectives!) properly in sentences. In Literature, the mystery surrounding Great Grandma Irene will be revealed. In Spalding, students will study more words with more markings. 

Math:  Students will take a test on factors and multiples and begin the unit on order of operations. 

Upcoming Tests & Quizzes (updated schedule)

Hello families, happy Tuesday!

In consultation with the fourth grade team, I've decided to adjust our test schedule a bit for this week and next. Updated test dates are listed as below. (We've also discussed most of these as a class.)

Our first big geography test on European countries is tomorrow, September 13, as the students should be well aware. Please note that they will ONLY be tested on the list of countries sent home today (Tuesday) for final review. (These are the same countries we've labeled on the map at a rate of 2-4 countries per day for the past few weeks.) Thank you for helping your children study the countries at home!

Here's that link again to some helpful online games for memorizing European countries. 

Wednesday, September 13: 
  • Spalding mini-quiz on just seven words (this is an usual Spalding week -- we will not have a test this Friday)
  • European Map Test 
Thursday, September 14:
  • Math Test on factors and multiples
  • Science mini-quiz
Friday, September 15:
  • History Test on the Byzantine Empire
  • Grammar Quiz on parts of speech (noun, verbs, adjectives, article adjectives, adverbs) and labeling/diagramming sentences with just those components
  • NO SPALDING TEST
Monday, September 18:
  • Science Test on Electricity

Saturday, September 9, 2017

Online quizlet treasure trove!

Hello, families, hope you're having a nice weekend!

Mr. Naaktgeboren, who helps craft our science lessons, has helpfully created many "quizlets" (AKA mini-quizzes) for reviewing concepts in science and other subjects. His quizlet master page is here:

https://quizlet.com/michaelnaak

Here's another fun interactive website to help students study European country names:

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/European_Geography.htm

If you have questions on using these quizzes or would like to request more in other subject areas, please let me know.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Laboring unto Week 5

Hello families, hope you all had a wonderful three-day weekend and are ready to return with gusto tomorrow!

A few notes:

I. Grandparent's Day

Grandparent's Day is this Friday, September 8, here at Arete. Grandparents will be invited to school, participate in an all-school assembly, and then visit our classroom for a brief activity. I'm looking forward to it!

Students whose grandparents are unable to attend will honor them with cards.

The assembly is scheduled for 9:15-10:00am (3-5th grades) in the gymnasium. Please RSVP to Joy Whitehead at (480) 222-4233 x 2110. Be sure to include your grandchild’s name and grade when you RSVP to help us reserve your seat next to your grandchild.


III. This week in Class:

History: This week in history, students will complete their maps of European countries. We will then proceed to a brief two-week unit on the Eastern Romance Empire.  Topics to be discussed with include the Byzantine Empire, Justinian and Theodora, and the Hagia Sophia.

Science:  Students will take the information they gathered from the lab and apply it to a new lab. The goal is that they come to understand the differences between insulators and conductors. By the end of the week, students should grasp the concept of series circuits, and the flow of electrons.

Language Arts: In Grammar, students will deepen their understanding of sentence classification and sentence diagramming. Students will be able to use adverbs and adjectives properly in sentences. In Literature, the Princess and the Goblin plot will thicken as Curdie discovers the plot hatched by the Cobs. Will Princess Irene fall into danger? In Spalding, students will copy, mark, and memorize approximately thirty additional words. 

Math: Students will go through a final week of review in multiplication and division before starting a unit on order of operations.

Friday 9/22- History Quiz

Friday 9/22- No School- Teacher Work Day

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