Hello everyone. I hope you had a nice weekend. This is a four day week and we are off Friday. We are also off next week for Spring Break. The music concert is this week at 6:30 on the 28th.  When we get back from break the M-STEP window opens for 5th grade. We will begin testing shortly afterward so it is important that each student stay fresh by reading and working on math over break.

Our week:

Spelling- grateful, kindness, comfortable, beautiful, portable, wilderness, respectful, loveable, wasteful, uncontrollable

square units, variable, formula, area, perimeter

Math- 3rd- We are working on patterns in multiplication and using multiplication fact families to solve division problems.

4th- We are working on measuring, naming, and labeling units.

Reading-We are identifying suffixes and figurative language.

Writing-We are working on constructed responses and commonly misused words like their, there, and they’re.

Social Studies- 4th- We are beginning our new unit with a pretest this week.

Science-We are working on structure, function, body systems of plants and animals.

Our living wax museum project will be coming home today. The students should have their research basically completed. There are portions of the project that you will have to assist your student with. They need to be ready for presentation on April 13th. Lastly, remember there is no STEAM club tomorrow after school. We will pick back up after the break. Have a good week.

I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the nicer weather this weekend. Hopefully, it sticks around for a while. This week on Wednesday is Literacy Night. Hopefully, everyone can come up and help celebrate March is Reading Month with everyone else. Today marks the beginning of the 4th card marking. I can’t believe we are 3/4 completed with the year already. My wish for every student is to continue reading 35 minutes each night and stay focuses on learning their multiplication facts. These two things will ensure that we are able to finish the year easily and the M-STEP/NWEA without much trouble. In order to have your students as ready as possible, I highly recommend each student spend some time on Khan Academy, Mobymax and/or ReadTheory.org to stay up on their math and reading.

This week:

Spelling: Suffixes- honestly,
friendless,
government,
beginning,
sympathy,
penniless,
clearly,
enjoyment,
accomplishment,
generous
Bill of Rights,
citizens,
responsibilities,
freedom,
elections

Math-3rd- Test this week on geometry and story problems

4th- working on long division mastery.

Science-Finishing up our earth unit and will be moving into our life science unit.

Social Studies- We are going to go through our work on the last unit and begin moving in the next unit.

Writing-We are working on writing constructed responses and supporting answers with text evidence.

Daily 5-We are finishing up our prefix work and will be moving into suffixes. We will be using context clues around words with suffixes to determine the meaning of the suffix.

Have a great week!

Hello everyone! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We have a busy week in room 30. This Friday is the last day for work to be submitted for the third marking period. I can’t believe it is that time already. We will be finishing up some assessments for the report card in both grade levels. Book Bingo is Thursday from 6-7 in the lunchroom. I hope everyone can make it, to celebrate March is Reading Month. There are still plenty of spots to sign up to be a guest reader this week so feel free to come in and read a favorite book of your’s to the class. The school Scholastic Bookfair is also happening this week with our preview day being today. The book fair will be open for shopping right after school and during Book Bingo for your convenience.

This week:

Spelling-We are working on prefixes in spelling and writing- Our list is: prefix, decrease, proceed, nonsense, unusual, introduce,  nonfiction, decompose, impossible, mistake, degrees, temperature, thermometer, Fahrenheit, Celsius

Math-3rd- The ladies are learning to classify polygons, specifically quadrilaterals based upon various shape traits.

4th-We are working on division. This is usually the most challenging unit for 4th grade in math as the students are learning long division for the first time. This requires fact fluency, accuracy, and understanding of what division means. Please support your 4th grader as much as possible at home as we move from single digit division to multi-digit with remainders.

Writing-We are working on writing narrative paragraphs on the same subject from the different point of views. We finished our “blizzard of 1888” journals and they will be hanging in the hallway for a week or so before they come home. Be sure to check them out when they do come home.

Reading-This week we are focusing on using clues from the text to determine an author’s purpose. We will then use these same clues to meet a specific purpose in writing. We will compare and contrast multiple texts on the same subject with different points of views and see what we notice. Book clubs, strategy groups and nightly reading for 35 minutes will continue all week.

Science-3rd-Mrs. Parana

4th-We are continuing to look at the cycle of the Earth and rocks on the earth. Specifically, we are going to start looking into plate tectonics and the idea of a solid original continent called Pangea.

Social Studies-3rd-Mrs. Parana

4th-We are continuing on our branches of government and checks and balances. There will be an assessment before the end of the week so watch for a study guide to come home before Friday.

Hi everyone. I hope we enjoyed the unexpected day off on Friday and that everyone has power! These next few weeks are going to be very content heavy as we begin our push for the end of marking period 3. The students will have spelling sentences due for all of the spelling words, on Thursday. There will be extra math practice sheets coming home almost daily this week that will be homework. Please check the math sheets when they are completed as they will be skills that your student is currently working on. Khan Academy should be at 75% complete by the end of the third marking period. This can be worked on by using a smartphone, tablet, or computer. Practice is done daily in class so students shouldn’t be too far off but if they need extra time, the library offers free computer usage to Dearborn residence and extra practice time can be arranged after school by talking to me.

Spelling: Prefixes- disappear, improper, miscommunication, antisocial, import, export,undone, misconception,  invisible, distrust, mislead, disagree, fraction, improper, angle

https://quizlet.com/_4jotnb

Math-3rd- We are working on our geometry unit. We are focusing on classifying quadrilaterals.

4th- We will reviewing today for our unit 5 test and the study guide will come home tonight. This is a tough unit so I recommend going over the different types of problems with the students. The test will be tomorrow.

Science-3rd-Mrs. Parana

4th-We are looking at dating fossils due to the layers of the Earth they are found in.

Social Studies- 3rd-Mrs. Parana

4th-We are going to be looking at how a bill becomes a law and what checks and balances are in place to stop laws that violate constitutional rights.

Writing-Both grades-We are working on figurative language and writing in the different point of views.

Reading-  Our focus is on using context clues to determine the meeting of unknown words and making inferences about a text as we read.

March is reading month is in full swing as well so we will have different activities to complete with the other classrooms in the building. Our sign-up sheet to be a classroom guest reader is also posted. I hope many of you can come read a favorite book to the class! Click here to sign up for a time slot: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0f44adad2eaaf94-march1

Welcome back, everyone! The students are buzzing with their great break stories. We are off and running already. The Brainstormers make-up assembly is this afternoon. Book orders are due this week and Wednesday from 6:00-7:00 is our building math night. Math night will be a C.S.I. evening for 3-5th and for k-2nd the students will create make-and-take math games. I hope everyone can make it.

This week:

Spelling- We are focusing on the -tion chunk. Our words are:

presentation, adaptation, petition, dictionary, direction, collection, reaction, communication, confrontation, disruption

government, Congress, Constitution, Senate, House of Representatives

Math- 3rd- We are bringing home a study guide today and the test will be tomorrow. This is on data and place value.

4th-We are still working hard on mastering multiplication of more than one digit. We will be wrapping this unit up towards the end of the week so look for a study guide to come home.

Daily 5- We are having our book clubs and as a class we will be working on identifying point of view in a text and Greek/Latin root words.

Writing-We are starting to look at figurative language and will be starting a new piece this week.

Social Studies- 3rd- Mrs. Parana

4th-We are working on the powers of government and how they are split between different branches.

Science-3rd- Mrs. Parana

4th-We are working on the rock cycle and types of rocks. We will be exploring geodes this week and the students will have a chance to observe and bring home a piece of a real geode.

Both groups are also working hard on cursive and will continue learning for the next few weeks. Once we finish, both grade levels will be writing nearly everything in cursive to practice. Free printable practice sheets and apps can be found online for extra practice if you wish. I will be sending out a March is Reading Month sign-up for you to be a guest reader. I hope we can get many of you to come in and share a favorite book with the class. That will be sent out on Dojo as soon as it is finished.

Have a great week!

Happy Monday everyone,

This week we have many different things going. We will not have a full Valentine’s Day party but we will be setting up mailboxes and writing kindness notes to each other. I will post a link to our class list on Dojo, if your student wants to make a Valentine for each student. Wednesday is the due date for all 4th grade Yankee Candle camp fundraisers so please send them in. Thursday is our class field trip to the Dearborn Orchestra. Please return those permission slips by tomorrow. I only have about half of the class’s slips.

This week:

Spelling- Both grades- final /le/ sound- Words are all posted on Quizlet at https://quizlet.com/_4fqw5z

Math-3rd grade- We are finishing our unit on place value and data representation. We will have a study guide and test towards the end of the week.

4th grade- We are still working on multiplication of 1 digit x 3 digit and up to 2 digit x 3 digit. This is a very challenging concept for the students and a very important one.  Here is a video from Khan Academy that you can use at home to solve 2 digit x 2 digit problems. https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic/arith-review-multiply-divide/arith-review-multi-digit-mult/v/multiplying-2-digit-numbers

Science-3rd- Mrs. Parana

4th-We are going to start looking at how fossils related the layers of the Earth. We will also create a model of erosion exposing fossils.

Social Studies-3rd- Mrs. Parana

4th-We are digging deeper into the branches of government and the powers provided by the people.

Writing-We are taking a break from our current unit to work on writing kindness notes with a positive voice. We will be writing these for different people all week.

Reading- We are focusing on pulling the main idea from texts, along with supporting details. We will be taking this information and turning it into a constructed response.

Have a great week!

Hello everyone. I hope you had a nice weekend and are warming up from this winter blast that arrived last night. This week is spirit week!

Today-Sports Day

Tuesday-Twin Day

Wednesday-Crazy Hair Day

Thursday – Pajama Day (My favorite!)

Friday- Nowlin School Spirit day( wear Nowlin shirts, hoodies or blue and white clothing)

Valentines grams are due back to the classroom teacher no later than this Wednesday.

A permission slip will be coming home for 3rd and 4th to go see the orchestra play at the Ford Performing Arts Center. There is no cost. These are due back by Friday.

This week: We are focusing on the /el/ chunk- channel pixel chapel flannel panel tunnel vessel snorkel travel unravel

Content words: divisor, dividend, quotient, remainder, division

Math- 3rd- We are continuing to work on modeling fractions and will begin looking at equivalent fractions.

4th- We are going to be creating numbers utilizing place value clues and then solving problems with them. These multi-step problems will begin to prepare them for the rigor expected on future testing.

Science-We will be constructing models to show plate tectonics and how they move to cause landforms and earthquakes.

3rd-Mrs. Parana

Social Studies- We are still learning about the branches of government and why we have the government divided this way.

Writing-We are going to begin reading a non-fiction book about the worst blizzard in US history and the students will be writing a journal from the point of view of a someone going through the blizzard. We are going to be focusing on the voice they use to reflect the time period.

Reading- Our biggest focus for the next few week is pulling details directly from a text to support a reading strategy. Our current strategy is main idea and they need to be able to quote from the text to tell me how they arrived at the main idea.

Report cards came home Friday along with NWEA. If you have questions or would like to go over any of it, please let me know.

Have a great week!

Hi everyone. I hope you all enjoyed the weekend and the nice weather we had yesterday. Card marking 3 starts today. It is hard to believe that we are stepping over the halfway point already! Report cards will be coming home towards the end of the week. Now that NWEA is over, our days return to our normal schedule.

This week:

Spelling both grades- Final /ile/ and /il/ sounds- https://quizlet.com/_4cyad1

Math- The fourth grade is going to be focusing on rounding and double-digit multiplication. The third will also be working on rounding but they will move on to learning about representing fractions with models.

Science-3rd- Mrs. Parana

4th-The difference between erosion and weathering

Social Studies-3rd-Mrs. Parana

4th- We are beginning our unit on the Federal government. We are going to go further in depth on the branches of government, checks and balances, and the organization of our government.

Reading: Both grades- We are going to be digging deep into main ideas and finding the details that support them. When your students are reading for 30 minutes each night, you can practice this by asking them to tell you the main idea of their text and to show you the exact details that tell them what it is.

Writing- Both grades- We are working on research for an informational piece of writing. The students are learning about bibliographies and how to cite the use of resources.

Have a great week everyone!

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. This week is our last week of the second card marking. I can’t believe how quickly everything is going. We are still working on finishing our math NWEA and we have to take science. These will be done today through Thursday. On Friday, the students have a half day.

Spelling: The /al/ chunk-neutral, fatal, numeral, although, almonds, total, final, medal, vocal, royal, executive branch, legislative branch, judicial branch, separate, balance

Math-3rd- We are starting our unit on place value and we will be using lots of models to represent place values

4th- we are going to start a unit on double-digit multiplication. We will be using area models and standard algorithms to solve these problems.

Science- 3rd- Mrs. Parana

4th-We are constructing models to look at how erosion impacts the face of the planet

Writing-We are working on linking ideas and facts in informational writing.

Reading-We are learning about a new thinking map. Last week we used the circle map to get down ideas about ourselves and this week we will be using double bubble maps to compare and contrast these maps.

Social Studies- 3rd- Mrs. Parana

4th- We are finishing our unit on immigration and there will be a study guide sent home and a test on Thursday.

Have a great week everyone!

Hello everyone! Thank you for your understanding and for all of the well wishes from the days I was gone last week. We have about a week and a half until the end of the second report card marking. Both grades will be finishing their current math units with their unit assessment near the end of this week or early next week. The 4th will also have a social studies assessment next week. Please make sure the students have a good breakfast and get a good night’s rest each night for the next two weeks as we are taking their mid-year official NWEA tests.

This week:

Spelling in both grades-irregular plurals-

scissors, cacti, oxen, children, fungi, people, geese, sheep, fruit, fish

Earth, distance, cycle, phases, seasons

Math:

3rd-They are continuing to work on using and understanding how to model multiplication. We are looking at fact families as well.

4th-We are working on converting fractions to decimals and decimals to fractions.

Reading- We are focusing on quoting text in a constructed response based upon multiple pieces of writing.

Science:3rd- Mrs. Parana

4th-We are finishing our energy unit with the second half of the wave unit. Next, we will be moving into the solar system.

Social Studies:3rd -Mrs. Parana

4th-We are looking at natural resources and using these resources can have a major impact on the environment.

Writing:

Both grades- We are finishing up a piece for our Brainstormer’s Assembly and we will be moving into informational writing.

Have a great week!