Weekly Wrap-Up (March 28th)

 I recently heard the term "Weekly Wrap-Up" and thought it had a nice ring to it! So, instead of "Blog Post" I will be referring to it as this now. It's the little things, right? 😊

It was so great to speak with you all at parent teacher conferences this week! I am looking forward to finishing out the school year strong with your fourth grader. Thank you again for all you do to support your child in doing great things here at school. 

Upcoming Events:

Friday, March 25th: Half Day of School 

Thursday, March 31st: 4th Grade Field Trip to Madison

Sunday, April 3rd: Summer School Registration Begins (I'll be teaching Scrapbooking if any of your kiddos want a little extra time with Ms. Burris this summer!)

Tuesday, April 5th: Crazy Sock Day & Forward Testing Begins

Tuesday, April 12th: Book Fair / Family Night

Wednesday, April 13th:  Easter / Pastel Wear Day

Thursday, April 14th - Monday April 18th: NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, April 26th: Class Colors Day (4th Grade wears BLUE)

Friday, May 27th: Half Day for students

Curriculum Updates:

Reading: These fourth graders are really pushing through this test prep unit. It is a lot of hard work, and they are really giving it their all. Throughout this test prep unit, we've been working hard to understand how to read passages deeply, understand the questions we are asked, and how to answer questions to the absolute best of our ability. I have definitely seen some great growth out of all students as they've taken multiple practice tests. 

Math: We are working through Unit 7. We will have our first Quick Quiz on Monday. We've been spending a lot of time working on equivalent fractions as well as comparing fractions with unlike denominators. Students seemed to have understood equivalent fractions fairly quickly. Comparing fractions still seems to trip us up a bit. I am working hard with the students to think about the piece size as well as how to find a common denominator using multiplication and division. Students tend to revert to drawing out a fraction strip, but it is important for them to note that our drawings might now always be accurate. You'll notice that Math homework will be coming home more frequently. That was requested by the students, so they really didn't even have to ask me twice! I love how much they love math. Sometimes math homework can be tricky, so if it is ever causing your child frustration or stress, shoot me a quick email and I can work on it/finish it with them here in the classroom. 

Writing: We've been working on how to appropriately answer short response and extended response questions in preparation for the forward. They've all seemed to understand the difference between the different type of responses and the aspects of writing they need to include. This week was heavy on extended response. We've written our responses, revised them, scored them, and even practiced typing them! I am confident that these kiddos will do great on the writing portion of the Forward!

As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. I am looking forward to next Thursday's trip to Madison!

Carly Burris

Week of March 21st

 Happy Friday! Woohoo! Hopefully you were able to enjoy the little taste of spring that we had this week! ☀

Please fill out this survey before conferences if you haven't already! It'll be very helpful to guide our conversation and make sure we discuss what you and your child feel is a priority! Thank you!

We had a blast at 1,000 Islands on Tuesday learning all about maple syrup production! A very special thank you to Mrs. Larson, Mr. Hoppe, & Mrs. Kreisman for chaperoning! Here's some fun photos from our field trip!

If you haven't turned in your child's permission slip for Madison by Monday, please know that they then must bring a cold lunch. I have to submit the hot lunch request on Monday in order to have hot lunches prepared for the trip. Please contact me with any questions.

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, March 22nd: Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday, March 24th: Parent Teacher Conferences

Friday, March 25th: Half Day of School 

Tuesday, March 29th: ELA Forward Testing  This has been rescheduled for the first week in April.

Wednesday, March 30th: ELA Forward Testing This has been rescheduled for the first week in April.

Thursday, March 31st: 4th Grade Field Trip to Madison

Curriculum Updates:

Reading: We are continuing to prepare ourselves for the Forward test. Students are reading and responding to different passages. This past week we focused on Narrative Nonfiction. Students are continuing to take practice tests based on various standards on iReady. If a student scores 50% or below, we meet in a small group/one-on-one and discuss their answers. Doing this isn't to shame or make the kiddos feel bad, it's simply so they can catch their errors before it actually counts. When working through their incorrect answers in small groups, I end with, "What did you learn about yourself as a test taker?" This prompts the kiddos to almost give themselves a tip. To remember these tips, we've created reading and writing "tip" sheets where students decorate them with test taking tips. These sheets then were tapped to their Forward folder to help remind them of how they need to improve! It would be very helpful if whenever you see these test results come home, if you could take a moment and walk through them with your child. Any extra discussion/exposure to these questions will really benefit them!

Math: We are making a dent in Unit 7. Students just took their first quick quiz on Thursday! As a class we did pretty well. This week it seems especially hard for students to compare fractions that have different denominators. We will continue to work on this to make sure all the mathematicians in the classroom are confident in this!

Writing: We are working hard at understanding how to compose a short and extended writing response question for the Forward. We've spent a lot of time making sure we understand what the question is asking first, and then being able to answer accurately. Short responses tend to be easier for kiddos, so we are really trying to make that jump into writing longer with greater evidence. This is a lot of work for the students, but they are really pushing through and working hard. I'm very proud of them!

I hope you have a fantastic weekend! 😎

Carly Burris

Week of March 14th

 I hope you had a great week! ☀

Please check in with your child every night that they are completing their homework. Students are assigned to read 30 minutes each night. They also have a reading log that they are in charge of stapling into their agenda each Monday morning. A good percent of the class either isn't doing the reading or not logging it. I want to support these kiddos in transitioning to middle school and holding themselves accountable for the work they are assigned. 

Please fill out this survey BEFORE conferences! 

Upcoming Events:

Monday, March 14th: No school for Students

Tuesday, March 15th: 4th Grade field trip to 1,000 Islands (If you are chaperoning, you have already been contacted by me)

Thursday, March 17th: Happy St. Patrick's Day! 🍀

Tuesday, March 22nd: Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday, March 24th: Parent Teacher Conferences

Friday, March 25th: Half Day of School 

Tuesday, March 29th: ELA Forward Testing

Wednesday, March 30th: ELA Forward Testing

Thursday, March 31st: 4th Grade Field Trip to Madison

Curriculum Updates:

Reading: Our test prep unit has begun! Students are engaging in a variety of lessons and activities that are meant to help prepare for the Forward. Through mini lessons, small groups, "games", and online practice tests, students are able to practice their test taking abilities and skills. They are also able to share what they know and express how they were able to identify the correct answer. Students don't always love this unit and it makes sense as to why. Any support at home to keep your kiddo pushing through this test prep time would be greatly appreciate. They are working hard! 😊

Math: Your child came home with their graded Unit 6 Math Test earlier this week. If you haven't signed it so they can return it back in, please do so as soon as you can. We began Unit 7 this week! We are continuing our knowledge about fractions and now comparing fractions with different denominators. 

Writing: We've been working hard at understanding how to write a short answer response to a test question. We've made a chart that we follow for each of the steps. The students have been awesome at referring to it when writing out their response. Yesterday we discussed what "test graders" look for when reading short responses. Then, partnerships graded each others work. This activity was really helpful as it allowed students to identify what they are doing that is great, and what needs more improvement.

Enjoy your weekend! ☀

Carly Burris

Week of March 7

We had a blast on our Skate City field trip with Mr.Guell last Monday! Here's some photos! 🕺

As you probably know, graphic novels are all the rage here in fourth grade. A lot of students have also been really enjoying the I Survived series and we recently learned that they make I Survived graphic novels! If you're interested in purchasing and donating this series, we'd greatly appreciate it!

Environmental Club Project:

NDLC will be collecting your Little Bites bags from now until May! The Entenmann company has a collection service where if you send in a box of recycled Little Bites bags they will give you the money for your organization. It's a nice way to raise money for our school for recycling!

Here are examples of what we are collecting:

Send the empty bags to school and we will take care of the rest!

Thanks,

NDLC Environmental Club

Curriculum Updates:

Reading: Our historical fiction book club unit has come to an end! I have really enjoyed students working with students in these book clubs and watching their club conversations and discussions really level up. Watching them learn about historic events while engaging in texts that have interested them, has been really rewarding. My hope for them is to have been exposed to a genre they now love!

Math: We will have our Unit 6 Math Test on Tuesday! Student's pink review packet will be due Tuesday as well! Please check in with your child and encourage them to complete it!

Writing: Just like reading, our historical fiction writing unit has come to an end. Students celebrated all their hard work and their pieces by gifting Mr. VW and Mrs. Kocourek's third graders with a new bin of stories for their classroom libraries. When having a discussion on how we should celebrate, the students enjoyed teaching the third graders about their writing from the previous unit, so they thought this was another way that they could be leaders and help the younger grades. They hope that their writing can inspire the third graders, learn about the fourth grade writing expectations, and simply enjoy their writing. 

Word Study: For fourth grade word study, we revisit the same material learned in third grade. That being said, there is a certain expectation that students are much more comfortable with the material learned. I've been feeling that students aren't finding the importance in word study and it is beginning to show much more on their end of unit tests. To try and motivate them, we've been aiming to get a class average of at least 80% or higher. Our Unit 6 class average was 58%, and earlier this week we found out that our class average for Unit 7 was 64%. Seeing the improvement is great, but I believe this group of kids can easily achieve that 80% or higher. My goal is to start making the word study unit review packets (that students have always been receiving to go home) mandatory for those kiddos who are demonstrating they need more practice

Enjoy your weekend! ☀

Carly Burris