Sunday, October 28, 2012

Week of Oct 29.12



Hello! I hope everyone had a terrific weekend and is ready for Sandy! Looks like a terrible system and I know we all pray for our friends up north and along the coast as they weather the storm.  As many of you know, I was supposed to be in New York over the weekend. However, I got that nasty bug that was going around on Thursday, left school early and, with the storm coming and feeling like I’d been run over by a semi, decided to postpone my trip. I was very disappointed, but think it was best. The last thing I wanted was to be stranded in Washington, DC Sunday afternoon, where I was scheduled for a 2 hour layover, sick and in the middle of a major storm system!
Report cards went home on Friday, please make sure you ask your student for theirs and discuss the progress they are making.  If they are doing well, and I consider an “A” and a “B” doing well, praise them. The Common Core curriculum has added a layer of difficulty for students this year. Grades should be tied, at least in part, to EOG test scores. This is Neuse Charter School policy. If your child struggled with end of grade testing last year, they will need extra support this year. I am following closely the new curriculum in an effort to stave off any surprises and make sure students will emerge successful, but this is uncharted water; the curriculum is much more challenging and the tests are new.  So far, I have been very impressed by how hard students in 4th grade work (for the most partJ) and how much progress has been made.  Bravo! (Awards ceremony Friday at 10:00 a.m.)
Halloween in Wednesday and we have our chip reward celebration in the cafeteria! Students may wear costumes (remember, no gore or masks) Sadly, I pulled the short straw this time and will miss the party! Students who failed to earn the requisite number of chips will come to my room and work and I will supervise them.  Congrats to all who earned the party and for those who didn’t, you’ll earn it next time!
We will finish up Harriet the Spy this week and begin a new unit about animals next week. Unit 2: Animals as Characters. There is a voluminous amount of writing for young readers focusing on animals as characters. We will examine how animals are portrayed in writing. Why are wolves big and bad? Why are dogs always in sad stories? What does our portrayal of animals say about us? We will focus on personification, character development, elements of a narrative, and comparing and contrasting. We will work in Literature Circles reading a variety of fiction and non-fiction books. The guiding question for this unit is: “How do we portray animals in writing?” This unit will last about 4 weeks.  The unit test for Harriet the Spy will be on Thursday.
Vocabulary will take a new turn this week. We will begin Greek and Latin roots and affixes. This week we will focus on the Latin roots: sens or sent: meaning to feel, to think, and grad, gress: meaning steps, to go or to walk. Also this week we will learn about the suffixes: tion and sion meaning: act of, state of or result of.  
 
Vocabulary Week of Oct. 28
4A
 This week we will focus on the Latin roots: sens or sent: meaning to feel, to think, and grad, gress: meaning steps, to go or to walk. Also this week we will learn about the suffixes: tion and sion meaning: act of, state of or result of.  Students must know the Latin or suffix meanings in addition to definitions. Students will write 14 compound sentences that indicate they understand the word’s definition.
sens, sent: meaning to feel, to think
sentiment
consent
sensory
resent
sensible
grad, gress: meaning steps, to go or to walk
gradual
graduate
progress
tion: meaning: act of, state of or result of
limitation
formation
reflection
separation
sion: meaning: act of, state of or result of
suspension
expression
discussion
decision
conclusion
Vocabulary Week of Oct. 28
4B
 This week we will focus on the Latin roots: sens or sent: meaning to feel, to think, and grad, gress: meaning steps, to go or to walk. Also this week we will learn about the suffixes: tion and sion meaning: act of, state of or result of.  Students must know the Latin or suffix meanings in addition to definitions. Students will write 15 compound sentences that indicate they understand the word’s definition.
sens, sent: meaning to feel, to think
sentiment
consent
sensory
resent
sensible
grad, gress: meaning steps, to go or to walk
gradual
graduated
progress
tion: meaning: act of, state of or result of
limitation
formation
reflection
separation
sion: meaning: act of, state of or result of
suspension
expression
discussion
decision
conclusion
Vocabulary Week of Oct. 28
4C
 This week we will focus on the Latin roots: sens or sent: meaning to feel, to think, and grad, gress: meaning steps, to go or to walk. Also this week we will learn about the suffixes: tion and sion meaning: act of, state of or result of.  Students must know the Latin or suffix meanings in addition to definitions. Students will write compound sentences that indicate they understand the word’s definition. All words
sens, sent: meaning to feel, to think
sensational
dissension
consent
sensory
resent
grad, gress: meaning steps, to go or to walk
gradual
graduated
progress
egress
tion: meaning: act of, state of or result of
limitation
formation
reflection
separation
sion: meaning: act of, state of or result of
suspension
expression
discussion
decision

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