MrHowd.com

Spelling: I guess we’ll be starting spelling next week!

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 1-3 were due today.

Reading: Today was a reading skills practice day. Today, students used MobyMax Reading to practice literature skills. Some students were working on using clues to make an inference about a story.

Writing: We practiced a way to generate drafting ideas quickly, called free writing. Students wrote non-stop for three minutes, trying to writing as much as they could about their topic. Then they looked at what they wrote to find good parts to include in their story.

Students also continued to draft their story. A personal narrative is due next Friday, September 25. Students should be about half done with their draft. Monday will be the final drafting day for this piece. Students can work on their story from home by going to docs.mrhowd.com.

Math: We reviewed properties of multiplication today:

• commutative: 7 x 3 = 3 x 7. The numbers are moved around, but the answer is the same.
• identity: 5 x 1 = 5. Anything multiplied by one is itself.
• zero: 5 x 0 = 0. Anything multiplied by zero is zero.

Today was also our math skills practice day. We used Khan Academy to practice math.

Homework is to practice MobyMax Math or Khan Academy for at least 15 minutes.

Science: None today.

Social Studies: None today due to our math skills practice day.

Notes:

• We are looking for chaperones for our BioBlitz field trip to For-Mar Nature Preserve on Friday, September 25 from 9-noon.
• The Energy Fair is on Tuesday, September 29. This is an at-home project.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue and StudentVue.

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

Spelling: We’ll be starting spelling this week (hopefully!).

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 1-3 are available in the classroom and due on Friday.

Reading: We finished skits to review how to handle class and library books so that they aren’t damaged.

Writing: We talked about focusing a story on the best part. Instead of writing a story about Christmas break (two weeks long), focus on just New Year’s Eve. Then focus on just the best part of that night, which would be the ball dropping. Focusing on the best part allows the writer to spend their time writing about the things that matter most.

Students also started drafting their story today. A personal narrative is due next Friday, September 25. Students can work on their story from home by going to docs.mrhowd.com.

Math: We practiced using patterns to multiple. Students also practiced math using MobyMax Math and Fact Master. Homework is to practice MobyMax Math for at least 15 minutes.

Science: None today due to art.

Social Studies: Today was Constitution Day. We watched some SchoolHouse Rock videos about the need for No More Kings. We also learned and sang the Preamble to the constitution.

Notes:

• We are looking for chaperones for our BioBlitz field trip to For-Mar Nature Preserve on Friday, September 25 from 9-noon.
• The Energy Fair is on Tuesday, September 29. This is an at-home project.
• School Supply list: one important item on the list is a dry erase marker (I have some in class for $0.50 each).
• Students will need a pair of earbuds this year. Something inexpensive will be fine.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue and StudentVue.

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

Spelling: We’ll be starting spelling this week.

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 1-3 are available in the classroom and due on Friday.

Reading: The class worked on skits to review how to handle class and library books so that they aren’t damaged. Students also completed a STAR Reading test today. You can see your student’s score at ParentVue and StudentVue.

Writing: Today we talked about prewriting by thinking about the characters, places, and the plot of a story. Students continued to work on prewriting for their current writing piece. A personal narrative is due next Friday, September 25.

Math: Students used MobyMax to practice math today. Homework is to practice MobyMax Math for at least 15 minutes.

Science: Students made magnet minibooks today. We’ll use these small notebooks to write down important ideas about magnets as we learn them.

Social Studies: None today.

Notes:

• We are looking for chaperones for our BioBlitz field trip to For-Mar Nature Preserve on Friday, September 25 from 9-noon.
• The Energy Fair is on Tuesday, September 29. This is an at-home project.
• School Supply list: one important item on the list is a dry erase marker (I have some in class for $0.50 each).
• Students will need a pair of earbuds this year. Something inexpensive will be fine.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue and StudentVue.
• More class information…
  • About MrHowd.com
  • Class Info
  • Contact Mr. Howd
  • Policies and Procedures
  • Subjects

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

Spelling: We’ll be starting spelling this week.

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 1-3 are available in the classroom and due on Friday.

Reading: We read some of our class read aloud book, “A Long Way from Chicago,” by Richard Peck.

Writing: Today, students drew a map of a familiar place and placed marks on the map where an interesting event happened. That map is a list of “buried stories” that students might use this year for story ideas.

We also started prewriting for our first piece of writing, which is a personal narrative. This type of writing is a personal story about a true memory in a person’s life. A personal narrative is due next Friday, September 25.

Math: Today was a math work day using MobyMax Math. Homework is to practice MobyMax Math for at least 15 minutes.

Science: We talked about our first science assignment, called the Energy Fair (see here for guidelines). The Energy Fair will be on Tuesday, September 29. This is an at-home project.

Social Studies: None today.

Notes:

• We are looking for chaperones for our BioBlitz field trip to For-Mar Nature Preserve on Friday, September 25 from 9-noon.
• School Supply list: one important item on the list is a dry erase marker (I have some in class for $0.50 each).
• Students will need a pair of earbuds this year. Something inexpensive will be fine.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue and StudentVue.
• More class information…
  • About MrHowd.com
  • Class Info
  • Contact Mr. Howd
  • Policies and Procedures
  • Subjects

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

Spelling: We’ll be starting spelling this week.

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 1-3 are available in the classroom and due on Friday.

Reading: Today was library orientation.

Writing: Students worked on creating Authority Lists today of topics they know a lot about, things they know how to do, and places they’ve been. They’ll use this as a list of story topics this year. Homework is to think of a personal narrative topic to begin tomorrow. A personal narrative is due next Friday, September 25.

Math: We reviewed multiplying using repeated addition today. Homework is to practice MobyMax Math for at least 15 minutes. (Note: we’ll be using chromebooks for math practice this year, so students won’t often bring home paper math worksheets. MobyMax is one of the websites we’ll use often for math practice. Working on math daily for at least 15 minutes will be the standard homework in math this year.)

Science: None today.

Social Studies: We used this time to talk about how homework is practice. I asked students to make an origami bird. I also gave directions to two teams. The students with directions were more successful, and the ones that had no practice failed. Later, I gave everyone directions and asked students to see if they could make the origami bird again without looking at the directions. Many could. We noticed that practicing and following directions makes a person become better at a skill. Homework in fourth grade is a type of practice, and students will master more and more skills as the practice.

Notes:

• School Supply list: one important item on the list is a dry erase marker.
• Students will need a pair of earbuds this year. Something inexpensive will be fine.
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• Visit our Links page: keep track of all the websites we use for learning, or try something new.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at ParentVue and StudentVue.
• More class information…
  • About MrHowd.com
  • Class Info
  • Contact Mr. Howd
  • Policies and Procedures
  • Subjects

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