Weekly News 

Specials Spanish this week P.E is Tuesday and Friday         

 This week is a BUZZZZYY week with tons going on! Where do I start? Bullets below for easier reading. 

1. It's Bully Prevention Week. In addition to our SEL lessons, there will be four anti-bullying lessons throughout the week. 

2. Monday at 2:45 will be the Fun Run Award Assembly. 

3. Parent Teacher conferences are Wednesday and Thursday this week. Click here for Sign Up Link 

4. A Multiplication Quiz will be on Monday. 

5. Fall Break is next week! 

6. We will update Data binders with the Unit 1 Math test, spelling test #6, and Multiplication Quiz #4. 

Our SEL (Social Emotional Learning)  program focuses on displaying confidence. 

What is  READING Quiz/Test? This was a good clarification questions asked recently. Our Math program comes with weekly quizzes, and writing I can assess with weekly in conferences, but I wanted a piece of formative and objective data for reading. The reading program (Benchmark) comes in three week units. The first two weeks comes with short quizzes (eight questions), and each third week comes with a longer test (usually 18 questions and one written responses). I use the "test" data to make more valid small groups for reading instead of relying on I-Ready from August or informal observations. 

The quizzes and tests in Math and Reading are aligned to state standards, which also make report cards more accurate. And yes....we have report cards. A student was shocked to hear we have report cards. Sigh. 

 In READING  students will continue Unit 3 in Benchmark Reading. This unit emphasizes informational text that mostly deals with governments, politics, landmarks around the country, and two articles on persuasive topics. This week the mentor text includes a push for supporting veterans, and a persuasive piece on naming a hiking trail after someone famous. Level books vary in topic based on the group.  Skills we are focusing on are central idea and supporting it with evidence, context clues, and using visuals to enhance the meaning of a text.  W.I.N groups will be news, and now access to our reading specialists, so students will be split up into FIVE groups based on the skills they need support with. 

In WRITING this week we are using our TIDE (Topic, Important Evidence, Details, and Ending) to finish a math writing prompt from last week. We will also start a new writing essay from our Mentor text that compares and contrasts the Federal and State governments. We finished our famous people essays, and I am excited for you to see them in their data binders! 

In Math this week we focus on Unit 2 Lessons 7-8. This is building up the concept of multiplication and division, and how multiplication and division is a comparison used in story problems. These are one-step story problems used to help students write the equation. NOW MORE THAN EVER, multiplication fact mastery is needed. It becomes the foundation for the rest of Fourth Grade material for the year. Math W.I.N groups are from 2:30-3:00, and my group is focusing on place values and rounding still. They will be in week three of a six week intervention block. 

Our IB (International Baccalaureate) section this week starts a NEW IB UNIT! We finished up maps, landforms, and the history of Colorado! Now we move into a unit on Native Americans. We will explore the specific tribes who resided in Colorado, their shelters and government structures, and the roles of men and women with in each tribe. 

Any thoughts, questions, comments, or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out! 

jfnezbeda@dcsdk12.org