Mrs. Wijsmuller's and Ms. White's Class

CRCT Helpful Hints!

Students & Families,

    Spring is almost here, and you know what that means! The CRCT is coming soon!  The Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) will take place from Tuesday, April 21st through Friday, May 1st.   There are many things you can do to help prepare your child for these testing days:

1) Make sure your child is getting plenty of sleep. 

2) Have your child eat a filling breakfast each morning.  Studies have shown that students who eat breakfast score significantly higher on tests!

3) Please make SURE your child arrives at school on time.  Students who are tardy will not be allowed to enter the classroom until testing for that particular day is over. They will then be asked to take a "make-up" test for the test they missed.  Students typically do not score as high on make-up tests as they do in the regular classroom at the regular time.

Students and Parents, stay focused and motivated! If there are any questions or concerns that we can answer for you with regards to the CRCT, please do not hesitate to ask us!  We are here to help your child succeed!

March Update

    Attention parents!  If your child has not yet logged on to the Online Assessment System to take practice CRCT tests, please try to do so as soon as possible.  These practice tests are based on the Georgia Performance Standards curriculum that your child is being taught in school each day, and they are a great way to review and study for the Criterion Referenced Competency Tests (CRCTs) that will be administered at Milford beginning April 20th.  Please feel free to contact your child's teacher for information on accessing these practice tests on-line. 

    Want to help your child understand decimals?  One way to do this is to encourage your child to estimate individual prices to help keep tract of the cost of items you plan to buy on shopping trips. For example, if the cost of the items you buy are $2.29, $8.99 and $4.99, ask your child about how much money you are spending.  Another way is to encourage your child to check dollar amounts for you.  Ask how much is $3.59 and $4.15?  Ask how much change you will receive if you give the cashier $20 to pay for the items.  These are meaningful activities to show fourth graders that decimals are used in everyday experiences, such as calculating money.

    As always, the fourth grade teachers thank you for your continued support in having your child complete his or her daily read and respond, and practice basic multiplication facts.

Additional web site for types of stars research

 

http://www.kidsastronomy.com/stars.htm

Types of Stars Research

Please use the following web sites to research types of stars:

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/supernovae.html

http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/WAKI-ViewArticle.aspx?pin=wwwwak-218&article_id=549&chapter_id=12&chapter_title=Science&article_title=Milky_Way

http://www.cosmos4kids.com/files/stars_intro.html

http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/features/ast17aug98_1.htm

http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/messier/nebula.html

http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/WAKI-ViewArticle.aspx?pin=wwwwak-224&article_id=551&chapter_id=12&chapter_title=Science&article_title=Nebula

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/the_universe/Constellations/constnavi.html

http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/education/astronomy/index.html

Class Field Trip

      To the delight of their classmates, fourth graders brought history alive during our recent field trip to the Cobb County Youth  Museum.  Students dressed in authentic costumes and acted out skits representing events that led up to the Revolutionary War, including the Boston Massacre, the protest of the Intolerable Acts, and the Boston Tea Party.  Moving through the numerous settings and exhibit areas of the museum, students found themselves right in the middle of the conflict between colonists and British troops where they marched on Lexington and Concord to start the Revolutionary War.  Finally, our fourth graders found themselves in the shoes of the state delegates who drafted our United States Constitution.  A fun and fantastic learning experience was had by all!

January Math Web Sites

Web sites for equivalent fraction practice:

 

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_103_g_2_t_1.html?from=grade_g_2.html

 

http://www.interactivestuff.org/sums4fun/efrac1.html

 

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/fractions/memory_equivalent1.htm

 

http://www.interactivestuff.org/sums4fun/shade.html

 

http://www.aaamath.com/fra42a-idequivfract.html

 

http://www.learningplanet.com/sam/ff/index.asp

 

December Update

Welcome back Students and Families!

Only a few more weeks until we are halfway finished with 4th grade! We are busy, busy in our classroom these days with all things ranging from wrapping up curriculum units to planning our classroom holiday party planned for Friday, December 19th. 

We are right smack in the middle of our American Revolution unit.  Ask you students all about the famous ride of Paul Revere, the Battle of Lexington and Concord, and Bunker Hill! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much they know! Our Revolution test will be next Thursday, December 18th. We also just completed our unit on sound.  We had over seven 100% on the unit test! Way to go!!

In Math we are working on geometric shapes and classifying them by angles and sides. The math vocabulary the students are using is quite impressive!  Students are able to classify polygons, distinguish between parallel, perpendicular, and intersecting lines, and give the definitions for a variety of geometric shapes.  Keep up the hard work :)

We will be sending home a notice early next week regarding our classroom holiday party.  It will be from 1:15 - 2:00pm on Friday.  Families are welcome to join us!

Have a wonderful, safe holiday!

November Update

Hello students and families of Room 8!

Can you believe there are only three weeks left before the Thanksgiving Holiday? Where has the time gone?

We are working very hard in all subjects.  Students are using protractors in math to measure different types of angles.  Even though our focus has switched to geometry, please continue working hard on studying all multiplication and division facts.

In Social Studies we have finished our study on Early Explorers and are beginning our unit on Colonization.  Students will learn about the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies, as well as the origin of slavery.  Students will be taking on the role as a slave during colonial times and will be writing a friendly letter to be taken as a formal writing grade.

As we approach the halfway mark of the second nine weeks, Ms. Wijsmuller and Ms. White will be putting together progress reports just as we did halfway through the first quarter.  The purpose of the progress report is to make both students and parents aware of how they're performing in all subjects so that students can take advantage of the time left before report cards go home. 

Once again, thank you for all your hard work and support. A partnership between teachers and families is the best way to ensure student success!

October Update

We are nearing the end of the first quarter of the 2008-2009 school year!  Can you believe how quickly it flew by?  The end of the grading period is this Friday, October 10th.  Report cards will be distributed Friday, October 17th, so keep your eyes peeled! 

On Friday, October 30th, the 4th grade will be taking a field trip to see the Atlanta Ballet perform a shortened production of Swan Lake.  We are all very excited to experience this wonderful opportunity together! 

Finally, a thank you to both students and parents for working incredibly hard over the past nine weeks.  Ms. White and Ms. Wijsmuller appreciate your help in working together to help each of our students.  Please remember that you can contact us anytime for any concerns or questions you have.

Welcome