Welcome to Fourth Grade!
Week 21 - February 1, 2010
IMPORTANT NOTE: NO SCHOOL ON 2/4/2010 DUE TO FUNERAL SERVICES FOR HELEN FRIES.
We are half way through fourth grade and the year seems to be flying by! I am sure that the next ten weeks will prove to be a challenge for the kids as we move into harder math concepts, more in depth reading strategies and my expectations rise for the homework ethic of the kids. A reminder that any missing homework will count as a zero – this includes homework that was due to absence. I will allow a two day grace period but it will count as a zero if not handed in during that time. I expect the kids to keep up the homework.
This week we will be reading “The Great Kapok Tree.”Our targeted skill is how to use graphic sources to help with comprehension. Gentle reminder – the next “book in a bag” is due February 5th.
Grammar will consist of irregular verbs. The kids will have homework in grammar each night this week except Friday.
Usually you add -ed to a verb to show past tense. Irregular verbs do not
follow this rule. Instead of having -ed forms to show past tense, irregular
verbs change to other words. Below are some examples.
Present Tense Past Tense Past with has, have, or had
come came (has, have, had) come
fall fell (has, have, had) fallen
go went (has, have, had) gone
hear heard (has, have, had) heard
hit hit (has, have, had) hit
is/are was/were (has, have, had) been
leave left (has, have, had) left
read read (has, have, had) read
see saw (has, have, had) seen
take took (has, have, had) taken
tell told (has, have, had) told
write wrote (has, have, had) written
Spelling words are possessive words this week. Please help your child learn the difference between an apostrophe and a plural. Not all possessives have an apostrophe – for example: its, ours, yours.
We are starting Chapter 7 in math, which is all about division.
We started Chapter 4 in science “Changes in Ecosystems.” The kids will discover how living things depend on each other and their environment; how living things interact in an ecosystem; how ecosystems change and how changes to the environment affect living things. This is a fairly short chapter and I hope to conclude it by the end of this week if possible.
Important dates to keep in mind:
February 3, 2010 – Spelling Bee at 8:00 a.m. in the Gold Gym
February 15-10, 2010 – No School; winter break