4th Grade November[1]

gR

P.S. 238

Greetings Parents

The Anne Sullivan School 1633 East 8th Street Brooklyn, NY 11223 November 2008 Vo l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1

Reader’s Workshop

It is so nice to return from my maternity leave and meet these fantastic 4th graders. There are many exciting things planned and a lot of work to do! Please be sure that your child is completing all of his/her homework assignments carefully and with great effort. In addition, each night the children are required to read for at least 15 minutes and to complete their reading log. I ask that you truly monitor this reading time and be sure that your child is engaged in the reading he/she is doing. With your help at home, each child can have a successful school year and that is my main goal!

These past few weeks of school have been spent assessing your child’s reading level on a one-toone basis. In doing so, I am learning about your child’s strengths and weaknesses. This will allow me to group the children accordingly and provide them with the appropriate instruction. Students will be working in different groups, learning strategies and skills to increase their comprehension and fluency. These are life- long lessons and hopefully will make your children stronger in literacy as they go on to later grades.

Mrs. Ratner

For our first writing piece, we will be focusing on a narrative account, which is simply a story. We have decided to teach the children how to write their very own legends. We will be using standard-based lessons to teach them the elements of a legend and will be using the writing process to complete this task. In the first 2 months of school, students were taught the rituals and routines that I expect to be followed during our writer’s workshop. One key component of this is for your child to work independently and stay focused on their writing. It is hard work and I look forward to seeing the published pieces.

This Month’s Events November 4…Election Day. No school for students. November 11…Veteran’s Day. School is closed. November 17…Parent – Teacher Conferences. Half day for students. November 26 …Class 4-317’s Traditional Thanksgiving Feast November 27 & 28 …Thanksgiving. School is closed

Science and Social Studies In science, we are learning about animals and plants in their environment. We are learning how living things, or organisms, get classified and how they get their energy. We will be learning about animal behaviors, animal needs and ecosystems. This year in Science, students will be exposed to a lot of new vocabulary. They are creating their own flashcards that will help them understand these new words. In Social Studies, we are learning about the geography of NYS and life in colonial New York. We will be studying how the colony changed in the early 1700’s, how it is was like to grow up during this time, and how goods were produced and services were provided. We will also be learning about slavery.

Writer’s Workshop

Everyday Mathematics For the month of November, we will be completing Units 3 and 4 in our Everyday Math program. We will cover addition and subtraction of multi-digit numbers, displaying data on a bar graph, multiplication and division facts, and working with number sentences. A great deal of what I will be teaching was taught to the children in previous years. Please be sure to assist your child, if necessary, and encourage him/her to memorize the multiplication and division facts. It will only help your children to be successful now and in the future.