Sallet's Newsletter

Upchurch Elementary School is celebrating READ ACROSS AMERICA WEEK FEB 26 - MAR 2

On each day, students should wear the following:

Monday, February 26th - Red and White Day – Wear red and white in support of reading across America!

Tuesday, February 27th – The Cat in the Hat Day – Wear wacky hats!

Wednesday,February 28th – Fox in Socks Day – Wear silly socks!

Thursday, March^1st – Grinchy Green Day – Wear Green!

Friday, March 2nd – Dress as your favorite Dr. Seuss Character or Thing 1 and Thing 2 Day - Find a friend and dress as twins!

Happy 2018 - ALL GR 4 STUDENTS AT UPCHURCH E.S. ARE WORKING ON THEIR CIVIC ORATION ESSAYS & SPEECHES!

Please be informed that our grade 4 classes are preparing for the annual Elementary Civic Oration. The topic for the 2017-2018 Civic Oration Speech contest is "A North Carolina Landmark."

There will be thee different levels: classroom, school, and district.

Each 4th grade classroom will have three winners (15 students in all) that will compete at the school contest and then one winner will be chosen to read their speech at the district level.

Due dates for essay and speech will be:

January 12th - Research organizer due

January 17th - Essay map due

January 19th - Rough draft due

January 23th- Final copy due

January 22-26th - Practice speech at home

January 29th Wk - Classroom competitions

February 9th - Classroom Winners Chosen

February 16th - School Civic Oration

February 22nd - District Civic Oration

Gr 4 students are asked to tell the historical, aesthetic or cultural story of one landmark. Then choose to describe the landmark’s location and physical characteristics; its history, and how the landmark impacted and/or continues to impact people.

A landmark that does not have to be officially declared a landmark. Ideas include but are not limited to national parks, capitol buildings, homes of famous people, museums, prominent buildings of business and industry or even important sports arena.

*Students should:

Create note cards to use as a guide during the speech

Practice their speech until it’s memorized and practice in the mirror to family and/or friends (watch time limits), and

Practice speech to deliver an exciting one (using arms, inflecting voice, using eye contact, body language)

Students will participate in a classroom competition the week of January 29th. The teachers will choose the top three speeches from each homeroom. These students will then compete at the school level on February 9, 2018. The top first place student from Upchurch Elementary School will then present his or her speech at the district showcase on February 22, 2018.

Students have chosen a landmark from the site listed: https://www.ncpedia.org/history/historic-sites. However, they can use other websites for their research.

Please assist your child in performing their essays, conduct their note taking, developing a quality speech, and adhering to the due dates listed above. Listed are the rubrics for the essay and presentation. Also, use these as a guide to see how students are being assessed.

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/printouts/Essay%20Rubric.pdf

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/printouts/30700_rubric.pdf

Thank you for your help! Mrs. Sallet and the GR 4 Team

November 2017

November is moving quickly! Of course, quarter 2 began November 1. Our 4th grade team had our November 6 parent meeting (if you missed Parent Night, Powerpoint slides and resources are on posted on the home page of this website - see first page). We are in the midst of parent conferences. In addition, students took their Reading, Math, and Science Benchmarks. I've attended a few professional development trainings with the district. In Social Studies, we have been learning about NC Native Americans, the Trail of Tears, and The Lost Colony. In Reading, we have been revisiting the skill of drawing conclusions and inferencing. In Writing, we have been creating summary paragraphs and developing an opinion writing on our views regarding Native Americans' treatment during the Trail of Tears. Our opinion writing will be 5 paragraphs long. Finally, we're looking forward to the holiday breaks! Happy Thanksgiving almost! Enjoy your families, food, and fellowship!

In October 2017, our students have been busy, busy, busy enhancing their grammar knowledge, writing their second personal narrative, and prepping informational essays for the Hoke County Farm City Essay Contest. Farm City Essay final papers are due Friday, October 13, 2017 to 4th grade Language Arts' teachers. How great would it be if one of our 4th graders won the Farm City Essay contest again from Upchurch Elementary School!?! Also, students have been learning to determine the Theme in a story, making self-to-self self-to-text, and self-to-world connections, along with celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.

In September 2017, Over the past few weeks, our 4th graders have been busy reviewing the Writing Process, steps most writers follow when writing. The steps of the writing process are: 1. Prewriting, 2. Drafting, 3. Revising, 4. Editing, and 5. Publishing. As our students learn the steps, they also have been writing personal narratives, a story from his/her life or their own experiences.