Room 204 Update December 16, 2012 Spring Street School Mrs.

Liportos class

General Information This week we will be doing our Secret Snowflake exchange. A list of what is due on each day went home over a week ago. If you need an extra copy, please let me know. Our classroom party will be on Thursday at 1:45. At that time, students will exchange a small gift, no more than $5 to $7, with their secret friend. Here is a reminder of what is due this week: -Monday, December 17th, make a bookmark with your Secret Snowflakes name on it (to be passed out on Tuesday, the 18th.) -Tuesday, December 18th- create a piece of writing for your SS, such as story starring them, or a poem (To be passed out Wednesday, December 19th) -Wednesday, December 19th- free choicefor example, make a craft, draw a picture, write a top ten list for your SS (To be passed out Thursday, December 20th) -Thursday, December 20th- bring in a gift that costs no more than $5-$7 that you think your SS would enjoy (no food, please); a book is always nice! We will exchange gifts and make guesses as to who the Secret Snowflake is at our holiday party on 12/21 at 1:45 Only five more days until vacation! I have heard from the kids that many of you

have big plans for vacation such as visiting relatives, skiing, museums, etc. Whatever you do, I hope that you enjoy the holidays and time with your kids. A Note from the 4th Grade Celebration Committee In preparation for the 4th Grade celebration the PTO is putting together a slideshow of memories and we need your help! We are asking each parent to submit one baby photo (no older than age 2), one current photo, and one candid photo to: amienemesdesign@gmail.com. To assure we get your child's photo's we ask that you send them with the following name tags: Teacher's name-child's first & last name and then baby, current, or candid at the end. (ie: liporto janesmith baby photo) (ie: liporto janesmith current photo) (ie: liporto janesmith candid photo) * Please include all three photos in one email with your last name in the email tag. We hope to collect most of the photos ASAP so we can make a really great memory for your 4th grader. We appreciate all of your help and look forward to receiving your child's photos. Please feel free to email me with any questions. Thank you! Amie Nemes amienemesdesign@gmail.com

IMPORTANT DATES *Holiday Party in Room 204- 1:45-3:00, December 21st

*December Vacation- December 24- Jan.

In guided reading we will continue to focus on inferencing skills and identifying the schema from our heads that help us to make inferences. Math We completed the test for unit 5 last week. I want to take some time this week to review it with all of the students because there were a lot of mistakes that could have been avoided by carefully checking the work. We will also spend time this week working on math open responses. I have been noticing that the students can do the math that is asked of them but that they struggle with explaining their thinking. This will be the focus of math this week. After vacation we will begin on unit 6, which includes long division, number stories and measuring angles. Everyday Math uses the partial quotient method to teach division. To familiarize yourself with this method, you can watch at tutorial at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsL6vuA BxTY&feature=related. Students that want to get a head start of long division could watch this video as well. There will be NO math club this week. We will resume after vacation. EVERYDAY MATH FAMILY LETTERS on-line address:
http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/parents/4 th-grade/view-family-letters/

*Lowell Mills Field Trip- Monday, February 4th (rescheduled date) *MCAS Long Composition Tuesday, Mar. 19 *MCAS English Language Arts Wednesday, Mar. 27- Friday, Mar. 29 *MCAS Math Tuesday, May 14Wednesday, May 15 Homework Reading logs will be due again this Friday. Students should have them signed and ready to go for Friday, as we will not be counting minutes over vacation. I will provide the kids with new reading logs when they return in 2013! Writing Work on our tradition writing pieces will continue this week. In class, students have been encouraged to share their successes and struggles with their writing with their fellow classmates. They can learn a lot from the other writers in the classroom. Weve also been focusing on the fact that there is no one size fits all plan for writing. Sometimes you have to improvise and just go with your gut! Language Arts This week we will work on determining importance. We will begin by categorizing information from text into two categories: important to know, and nice to know. We will be reading the book Snowflake Bentley about the man who first learned how to photograph snowflakes and learned that they are all unique.

If you cannot access them, please let me know. If your student forgets to bring home the Study Link for homework, they can be printed from the following site: http://www.mrnale.com/StudyLinks_Grade _4.htm

They can also print the Study Links from the Everyday Math Online site.: www.everydaymathonline.com Social Studies- from Mrs. Luby Congratulations to all students on their great oral presentations at the Traditions/Artifacts Museum. Everyone was very knowledgeable about their family history! Many of us know how it feels to have our rights taken away! (Ask your child about Thursdays class!) We will continue our discussions and assignments on the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and specifically, the First Amendment. Its FIVE freedoms (speech, religion, press, petition, and assembly) are essential to our everyday life, but we still have responsibilities to use them wisely. This topic will continue into the new year before we take our next regional adventure into the South Region of the United States. Science Weve continued our exploration of the six simple machines in science. So far we have experimented with the lever and inclined plane and next week well learn about the wheel and axel and the screw. There has been a great deal of excitement in the classroom during these times! After vacation we will experiment with wedges and pulleys. Hopefully the students will be looking for examples of simple machines in their daily lives over vacation.

Happy Birthday!!! DECEMBER Birthdays:

Luke 12/6 Max 12/19

Mrs. Liporto 12/29

*Specials*
ART: Monday, 10:45-11:25 AM MUSIC: Tuesday 10:00-10:40 AM PHYSICAL EDUCATION: Wednesday 10:4511:20 AM Health: Thursday 9:15-9:55 AM CHORUS: Friday 10:00-10:40 AM MEDIA: Every Other Wednesday, 2:45-3:00 PM

As always, your questions/comments are welcome. Please send me an e-mail or a note to school. Kristen Liporto