This week students have Thursday off due to the Jewish observance of Rosh Hashanah.
Our reading focus this week is to finish responding to the prompt: Why was the text (Lewis and Clark and Me) complex?
Wednesday we will have the Long a and i spelling test. This week we will begin our first writing unit where students will begin the writer's workshop by immersing themselves in a variety of personal narratives and exploring what their writer's notebooks are and what they are used for.
In Social Studies students will learn about the elements of physical and political maps.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
Newsletter September 15-18, 2014
The Scholastic Reading Inventory assessment will be administered this Tuesday and Wednesday. This test will give a baseline assessment of the student's reading and comprehension level (LEXILE) and will be used to tailor instruction.
What is a Lexile?
A lexile is a unit of measurement used when determining the difficulty of text and
the reading level of readers.
What is a Lexile range?
•It is the suggested range of Lexiles at which a reader should be reading.
•It is 50 above the Lexile, and 100 below the Lexile.
•Example
– Lexile is 820 (75% comprehension)
– Lexile range is 720-870
What is a Lexile?
A lexile is a unit of measurement used when determining the difficulty of text and
the reading level of readers.
What is a Lexile range?
•It is the suggested range of Lexiles at which a reader should be reading.
•It is 50 above the Lexile, and 100 below the Lexile.
•Example
– Lexile is 820 (75% comprehension)
– Lexile range is 720-870
Guiding Question - What is a Complex Text?
Reading Focus- Asking Questions (Monitoring and Clarifying)
Selections: Lewis and Clark and Me (Historical Fiction), Ellen Ochoa:Space Pioneer (Biography)
Spelling Pattern- Long a and i sound
Conventions- Types of Sentences (Exclamatory, Imperative, Declarative, Interrogative)
Concept Vocabulary- Territories, Experiences, Fortune
Writer's Workshop: What is a Writer's Notebook, Immersion into the genre of personal narratives, students will be generating ideas for their own personal narratives that will be published at the end of Unit 1 based on the theme "A Moment I Will Never Forget"
Social Studies Focus- Five Themes of Geography (Place, Location, Movement, Human-Environment Interaction, Region)
Important Dates To Remember
September 16-17 :SRI administration
September 17: Fall Individual Picture Day
September 19: No school for students
Monday, September 8, 2014
Newsletter for Sept 8-12
Last week I met several parents at Back to School Night where parents got to preview what the coming school year will look like.
This Friday the first bi-weekly progress report will go home that will give parent a quick view of their child's assignment completion and behavior in all subjects every two weeks.
We are finishing up the Beginning of the Year Information Writing Diagnostic Assessment in Language arts this week. As well as taking the Short Vowel VCCV pattern spelling test. The graded test will be sent home Tuesday to be signed by a parent/guardian and returned to school the following day as a homework grade. As soon as I check that the spelling test has been signed it will go back home with the student.
We are beginning Cycle 2 of Reading Unit 1: Expository Text- Jefferson's Bargain, Historical Fiction-Lewis and Clark and Me, Biography-Ellen Ochoa: Space Pioneer
Guiding Question: What is a complex text?
Reading Strategies used: Asking Questions, Monitoring and Clarifying
Concept Vocabulary: territories, experiences, fortune
Spelling: Long a and i pattern
Grammar: Types of Sentence (Imperative, Exclamatory, Interrogative, Declarative)
In Writer's Workshop we will begin using our writer's notebooks to gather sources for our writing. Students will take their writer's notebooks home to record interesting moments they experience or observations. Students will begin the process of writing their own personal narratives and reviewing the writer's workshop process.
Check out from the local library Amelia Writes Again by Marissa Moss and A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You by Ralph Fletcher. We are using these two texts to teach what is and isn't a writer's notebook. Amelia Writes Again is a good example what writer's can add to their writer's notebooks.
Amelia Write's Again is available to read online as an e-book at the following web address http://www.funbrain.com/books/ameliawritesagain/book.html
In Social Studies students will learn the Chinese language on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Using the Regions textbook students will explore the following geography concepts: hemispheres, longitude and latitude.
This Friday the first bi-weekly progress report will go home that will give parent a quick view of their child's assignment completion and behavior in all subjects every two weeks.
We are finishing up the Beginning of the Year Information Writing Diagnostic Assessment in Language arts this week. As well as taking the Short Vowel VCCV pattern spelling test. The graded test will be sent home Tuesday to be signed by a parent/guardian and returned to school the following day as a homework grade. As soon as I check that the spelling test has been signed it will go back home with the student.
We are beginning Cycle 2 of Reading Unit 1: Expository Text- Jefferson's Bargain, Historical Fiction-Lewis and Clark and Me, Biography-Ellen Ochoa: Space Pioneer
Guiding Question: What is a complex text?
Reading Strategies used: Asking Questions, Monitoring and Clarifying
Concept Vocabulary: territories, experiences, fortune
Spelling: Long a and i pattern
Grammar: Types of Sentence (Imperative, Exclamatory, Interrogative, Declarative)
In Writer's Workshop we will begin using our writer's notebooks to gather sources for our writing. Students will take their writer's notebooks home to record interesting moments they experience or observations. Students will begin the process of writing their own personal narratives and reviewing the writer's workshop process.
Check out from the local library Amelia Writes Again by Marissa Moss and A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You by Ralph Fletcher. We are using these two texts to teach what is and isn't a writer's notebook. Amelia Writes Again is a good example what writer's can add to their writer's notebooks.
Amelia Write's Again is available to read online as an e-book at the following web address http://www.funbrain.com/books/ameliawritesagain/book.html
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Newsletter - August 26-29, 2014
During the first week of the 2014-2015 school year here at Paint Branch the 4th grade class has shown that they are Responsible, Respectful and Ready.
We discussed classroom and school procedures and introduced each other through an "All About Me Robot" homework assignment. At the end of the week we complete a back to school art project where students got the chance to explore what they want to be when they grow up.
I sent home on the first day of school forms in addition to the ones provided by the main office; the 4th grade discipline policy and a parent survey entitled "Handle With Care".
Students also began the 4th grade Reading Baseline Diagnostic Test and will finish it when they return to school after the Labor Day weekend.
We discussed classroom and school procedures and introduced each other through an "All About Me Robot" homework assignment. At the end of the week we complete a back to school art project where students got the chance to explore what they want to be when they grow up.
I sent home on the first day of school forms in addition to the ones provided by the main office; the 4th grade discipline policy and a parent survey entitled "Handle With Care".
Students also began the 4th grade Reading Baseline Diagnostic Test and will finish it when they return to school after the Labor Day weekend.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Welcome 4th Grade Parents and Students
My name is Ms. Crystal Bikoi and I am looking forward to getting to know all of the 4th grade students and their parents here at Paint Branch Elementary.
During this first few weeks of school I will be reaching out to parents/guardians in order to get a better idea about your child's interests in and outside of school. If you have talents, hobbies and interests that you would love to share with our 4th grade students, please let me know and we can arrange a class visit.
If you need to contact me, feel free to email crystal.hunter@pgcps.org or call 301-513-5300. Thank you.
During this first few weeks of school I will be reaching out to parents/guardians in order to get a better idea about your child's interests in and outside of school. If you have talents, hobbies and interests that you would love to share with our 4th grade students, please let me know and we can arrange a class visit.
If you need to contact me, feel free to email crystal.hunter@pgcps.org or call 301-513-5300. Thank you.
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