Reading: we are continuing to read brief literary pieces and identifying the theme and/or themes in each. Students are becoming more proficient with identifying themes and providing reasons as to why.

We will be having an all day read day on Friday! Please send in your student with plenty of reading material, snacks, one lovey, and a blanket or sleeping bag!

Prompts for Strategies

Writing: we will put a hold on our next Lucy Calkin's unit in order to support students in writing a script for our current unit of inquiry.

Math: This week will be lessons 20 and 21 today and tomorrow and then our Mid-Module assessment on Wednesday. This will be done on the computer. Students will submit answers and their work online. Depending on how students do, we will potentially start lesson 22 on Thursday.

Science: we will be recording our news broadcasts this week for our planetary research! Students should come dressed for the occasion, as we are hoping to get all filming done by Friday at the latest. Students are in groups of two or three and we need everyone to be present in order to film. Our designated time is Wednesday during our STEM block (1:55-2:55), so please let me know ASAP if you child will be absent. Thank you!

Reading: We are continuing our study of more fables and folktales this week. I have been pulling shorter pieces that we are reading as a class. Students are learning about the different features within a fable/folktale including how some have similar messages/themes. Students are also answering questions based on what they read including comparing and contrasting.

We will continue to develop our skills of using our comprehension strategy ("identifying cause and effect") and metacognitive strategy "(making connections").

Prompts for Strategies

Writing: we will put a hold on our next Lucy Calkin's unit in order to support students in writing a script for our current unit of inquiry.

Word Work: Students will be reviewing the prefixes we have covered so far this year.

Math: we didn't quite get to lesson 15 before break, so we will be doing that on Monday. That will be the last lesson in Topic C (fraction comparison). We will move directly into Topic D from Module 5, which has students adding and subtracting fractions using various strategies. The rest of this week's lessons will include 16, 17, 18, and 19. Homework packets will be coming home tomorrow.

Science: students have been researching their planets/moons diligently and are beginning to work on their scripts. The script is for a green screen broadcast explaining their research and if they would recommend human life on said planet.

Reading: We are beginning our genre study this week and it is all about Fables! This is something that I am excited to work with the students on and it may be a new genre (or just a different name) for some of them. We will be reading various fables and talking about the different themes presented in them.

We will continue to develop our skills of using our comprehension strategy ("identifying cause and effect") and metacognitive strategy "(making connections").

Prompts for Strategies

Writing: we are transitioning from our poetry unit into the beginnings of our next writing unit focused on "the literary essay". This builds upon the persuasive letters that students did earlier this year (similar organization of a thesis statement and reasons/evidence supporting that statement).

Word Work: Students are learning about four more prefixes this week. They are: ex-, non-, in-, and fore-. We will have a word sort this week and will talk about how these prefixes change the meaning of the base word. Students will also continue their word hunt of prefixes, adding these four to their search as well.

Math: students completed their quizzes last week and I will be sending those home in Monday folders. Please review them with your kiddo! We are moving into Topic C this week which is "Fraction Comparison". We will do lessons 12, 13, 14, and 15 this week. Homework packets will be coming home in Monday folders as well. Parent Tip Sheet is attached to email :)

Science: we are introducing students to their final project for this unit of inquiry. Students are being challenged to explore if humans could survive on other planets/moons in our solar system. We have been researching the unique components of the planets, but now students are being asked to become experts in just one. They will be researching, writing a script, and recording a green screen broadcast explaining their research and if they would recommend human life on said planet.

Reading: We have moved into our sixth unit for reading. The comprehension strategy we will be practicing for the next three weeks is "identifying cause and effect". Students are going to practice finding things that happened (effects) and why they happened (causes). We will do this with both fiction and nonfiction texts. The metacognitive strategy we will be focusing on for the next three weeks is "making connections". This is a great way for readers to connect what they are reading to something they already know. We talk about three different ways to make connections (text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world).

Prompts for Strategies

Writing: we are wrapping up our quick unit on poetry. Students have explored different forms of poetry and tried out a few (haikus, limericks, couplets). We will begin collecting our classroom anthology of poems once we decide on a theme.

Word Work: We are continuing to dive into our inquiry with prefixes this week. Last week students focused on the two prefixes un- and re-. This week, students are adding the three prefixes of dis-, mis-, and pre-. Due to our snow day last week, we are continuing our study/search for these prefixes in the world. Please help students track finding any words that begin with dis-, mis-, and pre-.

Math: we are continuing with topic B this week because of the snow day last week and the need for extra practice. We will be doing lesson 9 today, lesson 10 tomorrow, and lesson 11 on Wednesday. Students will do a quiz on topic B on Thursday. *Parent tip sheet attached to email, homework packet from last week

Science: we are continuing with our unit focused around the solar system. This week we are exploring the different planets more in-depth and will begin some further research into those planets.

Reading: We are in our third week of unit 5 for reading. This is the week that we practice reading aloud focusing on different components of fluency. For this week, the fluency skill we are practicing is volume. Students will practice using context clues (verbs, punctuation) to help them know when to raise or lower their volume when reading.

We are going to focus on the genre of poetry, as it is also our writing focus right now.

The comprehension strategy that we have been working on for the past few weeks is "compare and contrast". Students will be practicing identifying how two things are alike and how they are different. The metacognitive strategy is "determine text importance". We have already focused on this strategy once this year, but will be practicing it again throughout the coming weeks.

Prompts for Strategies

Writing: we are continuing our inquiry into poetry. We have covered quite a bit of figurative language and are now trying out different forms of poetry.

Word Work: We are continuing to dive into our inquiry with prefixes this week. Last week students focused on the two prefixes un- and re-. This week, students are adding the three prefixes of dis-, mis-, and pre-.

Math: we finished Topic A (Lessons 1-6) last week and took our Topic A quiz today. Once I get all students completed tests, I will send home the graded ones. We are moving into Topic B tomorrow which is focused on fraction equivalence using multiplication and division. For those of you who have requested the homework for this week, we will do Lesson 7 tomorrow (Tuesday), Lesson 8 on Wednesday, and lesson 9 on Thursday (hopefully).

Science: we are continuing with our unit focused around the solar system. This week we are exploring the different planets more in-depth and will begin some further research into those planets.

Reading: We are in our second week of our unit 5 for reading. We are going to focus on the genre of poetry, as it is also our writing focus right now.

The comprehension strategy that we will be focusing on for the next few weeks is "compare and contrast". Students will be practicing identifying how two things are alike and how they are different. The metacognitive strategy is "determine text importance". We have already focused on this strategy once this year, but will be practicing it again throughout the coming weeks.

Prompts for Strategies

Writing: For the next few weeks, we will actually be doing a mini poetry unit for writing. We will be reading some mentor texts and talk about the different components of poetry (and how it is a unique form of writing).

Word Work: for this next quarter, all students will be working with the same sorts/rules. We are focused on prefixes this week and will continue with more prefixes next week. Please check their Seesaw to see what they are up to!

Math: we have finished up Module 4 and are moving into Module 5. This next module is a big one--it covers fraction equivalence, ordering and operations. We are beginning with Topic A which has students decomposing fractions and creating tape diagrams to represent them as sums of fractions with the same denominator. We connect the repeated addition back to multiplication.

Science: we are continuing with our unit focused around the solar system. This week, students are exploring how we can use the sun for different purposes (telling time, seasons, etc.).

Reading: We are beginning a new unit this week, which means two new strategies, a new genre study, and a new fluency focus.

The comprehension strategy that we will be focusing on for the next few weeks is "compare and contrast". Students will be practicing identifying how two things are alike and how they are different. The metacognitive strategy is "determine text importance". We have already focused on this strategy once this year, but will be practicing it again throughout the coming weeks.

Prompts for Strategies

Writing: For the next few weeks, we will actually be doing a mini poetry unit for writing. We will be reading some mentor texts and talk about the different components of poetry (and how it is a unique form of writing).

Math: we are working our way through Module 4 of Eureka Math. We will be doing lessons 9, 10, and 11 this week, which will actually wrap up the module! Our art teacher has been teaching symmetry, which is also a part of this module, so it has been super cool for students to see the connections!

Science: we will be starting our new unit of inquiry this week! Students will learn about our solar system and how Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are connected.

Reading: We are wrapping up this unit with our fluency focus for the week. We are specifically focused on inflection in our voices when we read. Students are learning to use different punctuation marks to help them know what do with their voice (raise at a question mark, lower at a period).

Our comprehension strategy that we will be focusing on for the next few weeks is "summarize information". Our metacognitive strategy is "fix-up monitoring".

Prompts for Strategies

Word Work: new sort this week! Please check Seesaw to see what your child is working on.

Writing: we finished our persuasive letters last week. They turned out great! Our next focus will be on informational writing.

Math: we have started Module 4 this week. This module is one that we have to condense, so we will be covering multiple lessons/topics in some upcoming days. On Monday, students were introduced to our new unit (focused on geometry) and began Topic A. We will hopefully complete lessons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 this week. Of course, we will slow down/review anything we need to.

Social Studies: students will be completing a hands-on economic experience tomorrow during STEM and then we will jump into our next unit of inquiry which is related to science! Yay!

Reading: We are doing a genre study of persuasive letters this week to support students as they craft their own! They will read different examples of persuasive letters and identify the features of this genre.

Our comprehension strategy that we will be focusing on for the next few weeks is "summarize information". Our metacognitive strategy is "fix-up monitoring".

Prompts for Strategies

Word Work: no new sort this week

Writing: we are working on persuasive letters! Please see "social studies" below for more details.

Math: we are in our final topic of Module 3! Students are learning about three different ways to solve multi-digit multiplication. We will do lessons 34, 35 and 36 this week and then move into Module 4 (geometry) next week.

Social Studies: students have researched both sides of an issue in the state of Colorado. They will be working on crafting a persuasive letter to our governor as their final project. Please support them in any way you can!

Reading: We are going to continue to use our two strategies this week. I was planning on doing DRA2 testing on Friday, but due to the snow day, I was not able to. We will be spending a fair amount of our reading/writing blocks completing testing before break.

Our comprehension strategy that we will be focusing on for the next few weeks is "summarize information". Our metacognitive strategy is "fix-up monitoring".

Prompts for Strategies

Word Work: no new sort this week, due to NWEA and DRA2 Testing.

Writing: we are working on persuasive letters! Please see "social studies" below for more details.

Math: we are continuing with Module 3. We will combine lessons 28/29 on Monday, do lesson 30 and 32 on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then we will complete our end of module quiz on Tuesday!

Social Studies: students have researched both sides of an issue in the state of Colorado. They will be working on crafting a persuasive letter to our governor as their final project. Please support them in any way you can!

Reading: We have started our 4th unit of Benchmark! Our comprehension strategy that we will be focusing on for the next few weeks is "summarize information". This is when readers take key ideas from a text and put them together in their own words to form brief statements telling what the text was mostly about. Our metacognitive strategy is "fix-up monitoring". This is really focused on readers using a variety of strategies when they find that they are confused while reading.

Prompts for Strategies

Word Work: students will have a new sort this week! Please check Seesaw on Tuesday so see what they are working on :)

Math: we are going to continue with Module 3 this week (we are nearing the end!). We will start Topic G tomorrow which is "division of thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones".

Social Studies: students are researching a current public policy/issue facing the state of Colorado. They will be writing a persuasive letter in support of, or against a proposed solution to the issue. Please support them in any way you can!

Reading: We are continuing our third week of Unit 3 this week during reading instruction. This week focuses on fluency for the mini-lessons. The specific skill we will focus on for this week within fluency is coming to a full stop when reading aloud. We will also continue to use our comprehension strategy (making inferences) and our metacognitive strategy (visualizing).

Prompts for Strategies

Word Work: students will have a new sort this week! Please check Seesaw on Tuesday so see what they are working on :)

Math: this week the plan is to finish up Topic E of Module 3 (completing lessons 17, 18, and 20) and then doing Topic E quiz on Thursday. From there, we will try to complete lessons 22 and 23 on Friday with the end goal of completing Module 3 before Holiday Break!

Social Studies: students are wrapping up state government roles and responsibilities and we will begin exploring Colorado's economic history as well.

Reading: We will continue with our study of historical fiction and working with our two strategies for this short (2-day week).

I will also be working with students on setting reading-plans for over this break! Please check-in with them on Tuesday on what they plan to read over the break!

Prompts for Strategies

Writing: students will share their realistic fiction pieces with the class this week!

Word Work: No new sort--short week

Math: Lesson 16 continued from last week. No lesson on Tuesday.

Social Studies: students are wrapping up state government roles and responsibilities.

Community Meeting Prep: Our class is hosting the school-wide community meeting on Monday December 2nd. If you would like to join us, please do! It will be at 8:45am in the gym!

Reading: We started are continuing with our third unit for reading this week. The two strategies we are focusing on are "making inferences" and "visualizing". This week, we will do a genre study of historical fiction! This is one of my personal favorites, so I am excited to share with the kiddos!

Prompts for Strategies

Writing: we finished our realistic fiction pieces last week! Woohoo! We will begin our next unit (informational writing) after Thanksgiving break.

Word Work: students will have a new sort this week! Please check Seesaw on Tuesday so see what they are working on :)

Math: We finished up the first half of module 3 last week--which was all about multiplication. Students are taking a math assessment today in order for me to see how they are progressing with their multiplication skills. Tomorrow we will begin division and move into different strategies/methods for multi-digit division (similar to the ones we used for multiplication). Fluency and automaticity with single-digit multiplication AND division facts (0-10) is extremely helpful for students at this time. If you have time to practice math facts at home, I would recommend it!

Social Studies: students are working on creating a miniature booklet on Colorado government including different leaders and their roles, information about the state bird, song, and flag, and state parks! I am hoping we will get this done this week!

Reading: We started our third unit for reading this week. Our comprehension strategy that we will be practicing for the next few weeks is "making inferences". This is when readers use clues and evidence from the text to figure out something that the author did not directly state. Our metacognitive strategy for the next few weeks is "visualize". Students will be practicing form pictures in their minds to see what the author has written.

Prompts for Strategies

Writing: today we talked about how to write powerful endings to our stories. Students are now revising and editing their realistic fiction stories, and we will hopefully get them typed up and printed this week. If students are not able to use time wisely in class this week, they may come home with some typing to do during the night :)

Word Work: students will have a new sort this week! Please check Seesaw on Tuesday so see what they are working on :)

Math: Last week we paused our progress with Module 3 to spend two days reviewing strategies students can use to solve basic multiplication facts (examples: skip-counting, drawing equal groups, drawing an array, etc.). We did complete lessons 6, 7 and 8 last week from Topic C. That means that we still have lessons 9 and 11 to do this week, and then we will do a quick assessment to see how students are doing with multi-digit multiplication. We will most likely begin Topic D at the end of this week. Fluency and automaticity with single-digit multiplication facts (0-10) is extremely helpful for students at this time. If you have time to practice math facts at home, I would recommend it!

Social Studies: students did an amazing job with the wax museum last Friday. Thank you for coming to watch and for supporting them with outfits and practicing speeches! We are beginning our third (and final) unit of inquiry that focuses largely on social studies standards. This next one is about economics and state government.

Reading: We are continuing with our two strategies from last week which are "identify sequence of events" and "determine text importance". We were going to begin our fluency week last week but ran out of time, so we are going to start it this week! Students are going to practice the skill of appropriate pauses when reading aloud.

Prompts for Strategies

Writing: we paused our writing unit last week in order for students to have plenty of time to write and practice their speeches for the wax museum. They also did a longer written response to reading. We will resume and wrap up our realistic fiction pieces ASAP!

Word Work: students will have a new sort this week! Please check Seesaw on Tuesday so see what they are working on :)

Math: we are continuing our work in Module 3 for math. We will wrap up Topic B with lesson 6, and then move on to Topic C with lessons 7, 8, 9, and 11 (hopefully). Topic C's main objective is for students to be able to multiply up to four digits by any single-digit numbers. Fluency and automaticity with single-digit multiplication facts (0-10) is extremely helpful for students at this time. If you have time to practice math facts at home, I would recommend it!

Social Studies: students have been working hard to prepare for the wax museum that is this Friday! We spent two days working on their backgrounds last week, and two days using their research to write speeches! This week, they will have more practice with memorizing their speeches, and we will do our dress rehearsal on Wednesday afternoon! I am SO excited for you to all see their hard work!

Reading: We are continuing with our two strategies from last week which are "identify sequence of events" and "determine text importance". We are continuing our genre study this week of "personal narratives". Additionally, we are going to begin our fluency week which focuses on appropriate pauses when reading aloud.

Prompts for Strategies

Writing: we are continuing to work on our realistic fiction pieces this week!

Word Work: we will be following a different schedule for word work this week! Students were introduced to a new rule/sort last week. They are continuing to practice that sort this week through virtual sorting, sentences, and an end-of-week assessment.

Math: we completed Topic A of Module 3 last week. We will do short quiz on the topic on Tuesday then move into Topic B. Topic B builds of off Topic A and moves into multiplication by 10, 100, and 1,000.

Social Studies: students should have finished their "research notebooks" on the Colorado Hero they selected to research. We will use the information they have learned to create backgrounds for the wax museum. Students will be writing speeches this week and practicing them as well. We will have a dress rehearsal next week, and I will film students reciting their speeches for Seesaw as well.

Reading: This week we are continuing Unit 2 of Benchmark Literacy. We are continuing with our two strategies from last week which are "identify sequence of events" and "determine text importance". We will begin our genre study this week of "personal narratives". This is a great connection to our writing unit right now of realistic fiction!

Prompts for Strategies

Writing: we have passed the first bend in our unit of writing and will be moving into the second bend this week. Last week students used a "story arc" to plan how the plot of their story will go. This week, we are going to work on showing, not telling for planning and writing scenes within the story, feeling and drafting the heart of the story, and revising our leads.

Word Work: we will be following a different schedule for word work this week! Students will review their sort from last week on Monday and then will do a quick assessment on Tuesday. We will try to get a new rule/sort introduced on Wednesday that students will work on at the end of this week into the following week.

Math: we have wrapped up Module 2 and are starting Module 3 tomorrow! This is our second longest module of the school year (the longest being Module 5)! This module is focused on students using place value understanding and visual representations to solve multiplication and division problems with multi-digit numbers.

Social Studies: this week students will be picking a hero from Colorado history that they would like to research. This culminates into our wax museum project where students become a part of "living history". They will be coming home with a biography to use as a part of their research over break. Please support them in reading through it (it is not long, but can have some challenging vocabulary).

Reading: This week we are beginning Unit 2 of Benchmark Literacy. The comprehension strategy we will be focusing on for the next three weeks is "identify sequence of events". Our metacognitive strategy for the next few weeks is "determine text importance". Please check out this link below on how to best support your child! I also sent home an orange paper that has home/school connections on it for the next three weeks.

Prompts for Strategies

Writing: we are continuing with our unit on realistic fiction for writing. This week we are developing our story ideas by focusing on character development and utilizing a story arc to help plan.

Word Work: please check your child's Seesaw on Tuesday to see what rule/sort they are focusing on for the week!

Math: we are in our last lesson for Module 2 of math. This was a quick module (only five lessons). We will be finishing up lesson 5 tomorrow and students will take their module assessment on Wednesday/Thursday.

Social Studies: We are continuing with our second unit of inquiry. We are currently exploring present-day heroes and talking about what characteristics/traits heroes display.

Reading: This week we are wrapping up our Unit 1 of Benchmark Literacy. The comprehension strategy we will be focusing on for the next three weeks is "identify main ideas and supporting details". . Our metacognitive strategy for the next few weeks is "ask questions".

Our fluency focus for this week is speed and pacing. Students are going to practice varying the speed and pace in which they read aloud to best fit the author's purpose.

Writing: we are focusing on the first unit in Lucy Calkins where students write realistic fiction pieces. We have talked about ways in which authors can be inspired and will continue to collect ideas for writing pieces this week.

Word Work: students have been put into one of four groups in our class to match their needs in spelling and rules of the English language. Each week (for the most part), students get a new sort that we work on for the week. Here is the schedule for each day:

• Day 1: Teacher models sort and explains rule(s), students record sort in word work journal

• Day 2: Students try sort on own, check sort with journal and make corrections--post sort to Seesaw for parents to see and to practice spelling at home

• Day 3: Sentences typed/written and posted to Seesaw using words from the week's sort

• Day 4: Game or catch-up

• Day 5: Assessment and Review

Math: we completed Module 1 last week and students worked on their end of Module assessments. This year, students will be completing more of their math assessments in an online format to get them better acquainted with online tools (Edulastic). For this assessment, I printed the online version as a paper copy for students to show their work. They also needed to fill in correct answers online. Please take a look at the assessment with your child. I put an X next to questions that were not answered correctly (online or on paper). I did not count 14, 15, and 16.

Social Studies: We are reflecting on our 1st unit of inquiry tomorrow and then beginning our next unit of inquiry on Wednesday! This next unit continues with some Colorado History, but is more focused on important people from Colorado. Students will pick a person they want to learn more about from our state's history, and research about this person. This culminates into the "wax museum" where students pretend to be living artifacts.

English Language Arts: This week we are continuing with Unit 1 of Benchmark Literacy. The comprehension strategy we will be focusing on for the next three weeks is "identify main ideas and supporting details". We will build on students' prior knowledge of this strategy to support their ability to determine what a paragraph, passage, or chapter is mostly about. Our metacognitive strategy for the next few weeks is "ask questions". This supports our comprehension strategy, in that we will focus on ways to ask questions that help readers understand the text.

Math: we are wrapping up Module 1 this week. We will be completing lesson 16 tomorrow, and students will take their first Module Test this week. They will first do it on the computer, and then we will revisit it on paper.

Social Studies: We are continuing with Colorado geography this week and the various landforms found around our state. Students will be creating 3D maps (out of salt clay) on Wednesday. Send them in with clothes they don't mind getting a little dirty :)

English Language Arts: This week we will begin our first unit of Benchmark Literacy. The comprehension strategy we will be focusing on for the next three weeks is "identify main ideas and supporting details". We will build on students' prior knowledge of this strategy to support their ability to determine what a paragraph, passage, or chapter is mostly about. Our metacognitive strategy for the next few weeks is "ask questions". This supports our comprehension strategy, in that we will focus on ways to ask questions that help readers understand the text.

Math: we have passed the half-way point in our first Module for math. This week we are doing lessons 13, 14, and hopefully 15. We are focusing on solving word problems using the standard algorithm for subtraction and checking the reasonableness of answers (by rounding/estimating). Please see the "Tips for Parents" sheet that is coming home today in Monday folders.

Social Studies: We are moving into geography this week and the various landforms found around our state. Students will also complete some post-visit activities from the Colorado History visitors we had last week.

English Language Arts: we are continuing to work on reading shorter passages/texts and summarizing what they are about. Students are working on creating a rubric to help solidify what a summary needs to include.

Math: we are going to continue with Module 1 this week, moving into topic D on Thursday. Students are working on adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers and solving multi-step word problems. This is HARD work! Please see the "Parent Tip Sheet" that is coming home tonight!

Social Studies: We are continuing to add to our timeline in the hallway of Colorado Historical events. This week, we are researching specific groups that came to Colorado. On Friday, we have visitors from Summit Historical Society coming in to talk with students in more detail about this groups!

English Language Arts: these first few weeks, we are focusing on summarizing fiction and nonfiction literature. This is a skill that students will utilize throughout the year. We are continuing to work on writing summaries by taking notes while reading.

Math: we are going to be doing lessons 7, 8, and 9 this week from Module 1. Please see the "Math Tips" sheet that is coming home tonight for more information.

Social Studies: We are working on a timeline of events in the United States as well as Colorado. Students will then learn about different groups of people who migrated in (and out) of Colorado.

English Language Arts: these first few weeks, we are focusing on summarizing fiction and nonfiction literature. This is a skill that students will utilize throughout the year, and continue to use in elementary school. We are practicing pulling out important information, retelling stories, and how to write a summary.

Math: we are into the second topic of Module 1 for Eureka Math. Topic B includes lessons 5-6. This continues to build on student's understanding of place value. Please see the "Math Tips" sheet that is coming home tonight for more information.

Social Studies: we have started our first unit of inquiry, and it focuses on Colorado history. This is a large part of what fourth graders need to know according to our state standards. We are working on a timeline of events in the United States as well as Colorado. Students will then learn about different groups of people who migrated in (and out) of Colorado.