Reading and Language Arts

Sunday, March 6, 2011

March 6, 2011 & March 11, 2011

                             MSA
Students will "show what they know" when we ace the Reading MSA Tuesday and Wednesday (March 15th and 16th) this week. Please help your child do their best by getting a good night's sleep and beginning the day with a healthy breakfast, a good mood, and lots of optimism!  Confidence and attitude are half  the battle on these tests, and your child will need you to help them "get in the zone."

We will test in the first part of the day; if you need to schedule an appointment, please don't  do so until after 12:00. Thank you!

Students can earn a homework pass by doing a practice MSA reading test! (They can do this more than once- each time you go to the site it shows a different test.) Please print the score sheet (or bring a parent note saying that you did this test.) Here's the link:

http://www.brainchild.com/wademo/Test/DiagnosticTest.aspx?isPostTest=1

( If  it says"Session has expired" click http://www.brainchild.com/.  Go to "Choose your State" (in the upper right cornet), select Maryland, then Grade 4 Student Demo, then Language Arts, then "Take Practice MSA Test." Enter your answers, then scroll down to the bottom and click "Score Test."  Print the Test Scores page and turn it in for extra credit!  Students: The secrect password for a treat is "Advanced."

Students will not have homework on MSA days so they can play and celebrate their hard work!


MATH

We are learning how to do long division.  Here's a link to a video tutorial:
http://mathplayground.com/howto_longdivision.html
This site also has worksheets you can print for extra practice.


This is a great powerpoint to help you remember the steps of long division (Scroll down to Keynote Presentations and Resources and choose Long Division.)  This shows division with two-digit divisors, but we are only working with one-digit divisors.  Still, this is still helpful for remembering the steps.)


LANGUAGE ARTS
We will begin a research project. Students will research an animal and present what they've learned by writing a seven-paragraph report and making either a Prezi or Powerpoint presentation (their choice.) The written report will be due on April 15th, but the presentation won't be due until May 16th . (Students may need to spend time at home reviewing the tutorials.) We will have time in class to work on this, but some of  the work will be done as a project at home (instead of regular homework.)  If your child doesn't have computer access at home, just let me know- I'll be happy to stay after school with students if necessary.  If you can't arrange transportation, your child is welcome to make a display board instead. Here's a link to the sites:

Prezi tutorial:
http://prezi.com/learn/

Powerpoint tutorial:
http://video.about.com/presentationsoft/Start-PowerPoint.htm

How to Write a Research Report:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/writing/prepare.asp?topic=Research

Free Bibliography Maker (Be sure to copy and paste!)
http://www.oslis.org/orig-steps/resources/cm/mlacitationss

Adjective vs. Adverb practice
http://www.cityu.edu.hk/elc/quiz/adjadv.htm
BOWIE BAYSOX & BLUE CRABS TICKETS
Students have a great opportunity to win tickes to Bowie Baysox and Blue Crabs games. All they need to do is to read four books by March 28th! Since they already have the standing homework to read 20 minutes, four nights per week, this should be easy to do! (If they read an unusually long book, like Harry Potter, it will count as four books.) They should read and test at least two Accelerated Reader books by March 23rd, so this would be a good way to meet part of that goal.  They will need to write a brief epilogue (a creative paragraph telling what happens in regards to the characters, situations, or events in the future) or a book review (a brief summary filled with personal opinions) for the remaining two books to receive credit.

We've written these types of reports in class, but here are links for directions on how to write them, in case your child needs a review:

How to write an epilogue:
http://www.ehow.com/print/how_5001509_write-epilogue-novel.html


An example of a book review:


READING
We are learning about idioms.  Here's a link to a site that has passages that enable readers to deduce the meaning of idioms in context.:

                        SOCIAL STUDIES
Students did a wonderful job on a recent Social Studies project.  Groups evaluated the decision to support the Revolution or be loyal to the king from the perspective of a specific member in colonial society (ie. government official, import/export merchant, farmer, craftsman, indentured servant, etc.).  They weighed the potential benefits and consequences of their decision, and discovered some insightful factors.  I'm hoping to post the video of their presentations, so stay tuned!