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Spelling: We finished our spelling pretest today.

Cursive: Cursive pp. 4-6 are available and due on Friday.

Reading: We finished reading a story about a dragon and a person who had to defeat the dragon with problem-solving. We also learned about making predictions, putting events in order, and what fairy tales are usually like.

Writing: We talked about focusing on a short time in writing. If a student wanted to write about interesting events that happen during lunch, they should focus just on lunch, not on the bus, in the classroom, at recess, or what they did at home. Focusing on a short time lets the reader spend their energy on the best parts.

Students also spent some time editing for spelling, capitals, periods, and other mistakes.

Our first piece of writing, a personal narrative, will be due Sunday, September 22. Homework is to work on writing for 15 minutes. Your student should be editing at this point.

Math: We practiced using place value to make a large or small number from a set of digits. Some students also practiced writing numbers in expanded and standard form. Homework is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: We read more about how fossils can give us clues about the past.

Social Studies: We started reading about questions political scientists ask and what our government is like.

Character Strength: We are learning about curiosity this week.

Notes:

• Picture Day is Friday!
• Chromebook insurance payments are due by September 26.
• Have you started a Daily Homework Time with your student? If homework causes tears or battles, or if you have had to deal with missing assignments or low grades, read more about Daily Homework Time and start one with your student. It will help!
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at JupiterGrades.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 5th grade.

Spelling: None today.

Cursive: Cursive pp. 4-6 are available and due on Friday.

Reading: We read a story about a dragon and a person who had to defeat the dragon with problem-solving.

Writing: We talked about how writers should prove what they say by including details, such as talking, action to show how the characters move, and visual details to show what things look like.

Students also worked more on revising by rereading their writing and making some changes.

Our first piece of writing, a personal narrative, will be due Sunday, September 22. Homework is to work on writing for 15 minutes. Your student should be revising at this point by adding more writing or making improvements.

Math: Students worked on a STAR Math test today. Homework is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: None today due to extra social studies time.

Social Studies: Today we learned about the preamble to the constitution and why we have a government.

Character Strength: We are learning about curiosity this week.

Notes:

• Buying chromebook insurance for $25 can save you from a $50-200 repair bill if a screen breaks or a keyboard is damaged. Payments are due by September 26 and you can pay online. Here are more details about chromebook insurance.
• Have you started a Daily Homework Time with your student? If homework causes tears or battles, or if you have had to deal with missing assignments or low grades, read more about Daily Homework Time and start one with your student. It will help!
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at JupiterGrades.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 5th grade.

Love and Logic tells the interesting story of a child that saved up money received from his grandma. His parents helped him use the value of a dollar to learn the value of good behavior:

Money wasn’t the only thing he saved. He also stored up lots of energy for when Mom and Dad went out. In fact, so much energy that he wore out every babysitter in town.

Mom finally convinced a sitter to work with her to help Junior realize the error of his ways. The deal: If he was good, Mom and Dad would pay for the sitter. If he wasn’t, he paid. This got his attention.

And I bet you can imagine how the next babysitting session went!

Love and Logic suggests using natural consequences like this to teach responsibility. You might be able to find several places you could use this in your family:

• Parents pay for good dentist visits, and children pay for the bad ones if their cavities are caused by not being responsible to brush their teeth.
• Parents pay students to complete some chores (Dave Ramsey says to call this a commission, not an allowance). What if they don’t do the chores? They don’t get paid. Maybe they even pay their parent or sibling to do the chore that they were supposed to do.

What about paying for grades? People disagree about if parents should do this, with some saying paying for grades is like adults getting paid for work. That’s close, but adults are paid for hours worked, not usually on the results of a certain product. So you probably shouldn’t pay for grades.

But if you’ve already started or committed to paying for grades, research shows that if you stop, your student will likely not work as hard for their grades. So you might need to continue for a while, and if you do, this Love and Logic tip might apply. Parents pay for the good grades, and students pay for the bad ones, especially if you have evidence (missing assignments, students not doing their daily homework time, arguments) that they didn’t try their hardest.

Again, paying for grades should not be your top way to motivate your student. If you don’t pay for grades, don’t start now. But if you do, try the tip from this article. And certainly with other areas of your student’s responsibility, look for ways that a student’s greedy little heart for cash can teach them that their actions have consequences.

Originally posted 2016-10-03 06:18:15. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Parents often ask how to help with writing. It’s not as black and white as spelling or math. Here are some guidelines.

Bottom line: ask a bunch of questions (not telling your student what to do), and to let the student type everything. Read below for the specifics.

See more on the writing page of the site.

For tech-savvy parents:

• Have your student share their writing with you at your Google account (don’t have one? Create one! It’s free. Let me know and I’ll show you how).
• You can add comments like I do and check your student’s progress.

Originally posted 2014-09-27 10:57:49. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Spelling: We continued working on a spelling pretest today.

Cursive: Cursive pp. 4-6 are available and due on Friday.

Reading: Students received new reading books and we read a story about how a queen used her imagination to solve a problem.

Writing: We talked about how writers should prove what they say by including details. If a student writes that they have a secret hiding spot with lots of treasures, they should prove it by telling about some of the treasures! If they write a ride is fast, or a house is scary, or a food is delicious, they should prove it with details!

Students also worked more on drafting the end of their personal narrative. Some students who were finished started revising by looking back at their writing and making changes.

Our first piece of writing, a personal narrative, will be due Sunday, September 22. Homework is to work on writing for 15 minutes. Your student should be finishing with their draft tonight and should have about a half page written.

Math: Students worked on a STAR Math test today. Homework is to practice math for 15 minutes using MobyMax or Khan Academy.

Science: We wrote notes about how time and water can change land features. We also started reading about fossils and learned how fossils can be created in catastrophes such as volcanic eruptions, landslides, or floods.

Social Studies: None today due to extra science.

Character Strength: We are learning about curiosity this week.

Notes:

• Buying chromebook insurance for $25 can save you from a $50-200 repair bill if a screen breaks or a keyboard is damaged. Payments are due by September 26 and you can pay online. Here are more details about chromebook insurance.
• Have you started a Daily Homework Time with your student? If homework causes tears or battles, or if you have had to deal with missing assignments or low grades, read more about Daily Homework Time and start one with your student. It will help!
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at JupiterGrades.

Our Mission:
All students in Room 130 will do their best and get ready for 5th grade.