Monday

FYI:
KPrep Guidelines are below! Please Read! I will also have this in the Wed. Folders
NO school on Friday - I will be here to meet with my conferences

Science:
We worked on our animotos for Miss Rickard!

Reading:
We worked on our vocab. skills. We will have our last test on Thursday.  We also spent lots of time today in Lit. Groups working on finishing up our books and working on our leveled assignments.
HW: read book if needed

Math:
We reviewed capacity and length. Then we began on area and perimeter.  Students did pretty well with this. We learned the formula to get area and perimeter.
A=LxW
P=2L+2W
Here's a great site to help: http://www.mathplayground.com/area_perimeter.html

Writing:
We watched our Parts of Speech Raps and worked on possessive nouns.
No HW

KPrep Info. - Will be in Wed. Folder, too!

K-Prep Testing Info.
Mrs. Burton

*K-Prep is the new standardized state testing for KY this year.  This is a new test to us all. Here are a few guidelines I want you to be aware of!

Cell Phones: I am mandated to take all cell phones, turn them off, and leave them in a plastic tub on my desk.  I will give them back when we are finished testing each day.  If you need your child for an emergency, please call the office, 381-3388, and they will get to us immediately.

Sleep: It is VERY important kids get adequate rest during the testing period.  Sitting for long bouts and testing takes a lot out of a kid! Getting enough sleep will help them feel confident for the test.

Breakfast: Below, there will be a sign up sheet to help bring in breakfast for the class. It is SO important that students eat a healthy breakfast – especially during test time!  Many of our students do not eat breakfast, so if you could help out that would be great!

Homework: There will be NO HOMEWORK throughout the testing days.  Kids need to get out and play! Of course, if you’d like for them to continue reading or playing educational website games, that will be up to you.  I will not have anything assigned.

Good Faith Effort: This is school-wide and state-wide. It is a reward system for students who try their best. OF COURSE we do not know how they do on the test; however, doing their best includes: getting enough sleep, being on time for school, reading all the questions, answering all the questions.  Fourth Grade will have a reward party on May 21^st for this.

Layering Clothes: You never know how our room will feel! So, please send your child with layers or a jacket.  They need to be comfortable for testing!

Appointments: PLEASE try very hard to not take your child out during testing. It is SO important for the kids to be here when we take the tests.  We have a small window to get all the tests completed and need the student here!

Blogging: I am NOT allowed to discuss the test at all. So, I will not be blogging much during testing. If there is important information that needs to get to you, I will have the kids write this in their planners or I will post something on the blog and put a note for you to read it in your child’s planner.

Breakfast Sign- Up

Possible Treats:
granola bars, muffins, fruit, go-gurt, etc.

We have 25 students in our class.

May 9^th –

May 10^th –

May 11^th –

May 14^th –

May 15^th –

K-Prep Schedule

May 9^th
Reading Part A
Reading Part B

May 10^th
Reading Part C
Math Part A

May 11^th
Math Part B
Math Part C

May 14^th
Science Part A
Science Part B

May 15^th
Science Part C
Language Mechanics

Thursday

FYI:
Mid-Terms are coming home TODAY. Please look, sign, and return.  Many students have been not turning in classwork. I was able to show them how greatly it affects their grade.  I am determined to get everyone to A's and B's this last few weeks!

*Students were told today they needed to earn 5 tally marks from me before lunch for good behavior! They ALLLLLLL did it! We enjoyed a lunch together as a reward!

**Miss Rickard's last day with us is on TUESDAY. I'd like for each child to bring 1 flower to give her on TUESDAY. This can be one from your yard, or a single rose, whatever! I will also have some flowers for students to use who forget!! :)

Science:
Students were assigned a topic we've learned this year. They re-researched the topic and worked on an Animoto to share with the class as a review, and to show my kids next year! We hope to share them on Monday!
No HW

Reading:
Today we continued with cause and effect in stories.  Students worked on their own cause/effect story comic strips. They are awesome! Students also practiced their vocab. words and have Lit. Group time.
HW: complete comic strips if not in class

Math:
We are continuing with capacity and measurement in length.  Students worked on making a Gallon Man, while I pulled small groups to work more on measurement.
HW: complete gallon man

Writing:
We finished up the Parts of Speech rap.  Everyone did a great job! I am going through the media papers to make sure who can/cannot have their face on our Internet, and then I will upload the videos!  If you change your mind about letting your child be on the Internet for our songs, please let me know! :)

Wed.

FYI:
Wed. Folders coming home tonight
Mid-Terms will be TOMORROW

Science:
No HW

Reading:
read 20 minutes

Math:
complete Land of Gallon sheet and tell someone the Land of Gallon fairy tale for extra credit

Writing:
No HW

Monday

Good Afternoon!

FYI:
*Thursday night is Sonic Night
*ALL 4th grade teachers will be out tomorrow for the PLC from Fayette Co. I have Mrs. Yeary as my sub and my student teacher will be here. If you need a transportation change, please call or email the office as I will not get to check my email from the PD.  There will also not be a blog post tomorrow.
There WILL be tutoring tomorrow. I will come back for it and Ms. Layton is getting a sub for her group.


Science:
Miss Rickard led the kids through a study lesson for their test tomorrow. Students have a guide and notes in their science journal to study from.
HW: study

Reading:
Today students reviewed chronological order in reading and writing.  Students did a practice writing piece on making a PB&J sandwich. Next, they chose their own topic to write. They will share them tomorrow.  Students also received their new vocab lists (and last ones of 4th grade!!). Book 1 and 2 have new words, while SAT has review words from all their lists.  Lastly, students worked in their Lit. Groups on their books.
HW: practice spelling of words (all groups) with fun spellings (they have the sheet), finish chrono. piece if not in class

Math:
Students started a new unit today. We re-learned how to read a ruler by 8th's and 4th's.  Students did seem to have a little trouble with this, so they have practice HW.
HW: complete 1 sheet with ruler on it, please look and sign

Writing/Specials: We had to take ANOTHER MAP test. Poor things! I think they are totally tested out...and we haven't even started the major one - KPrep! Ahh! Today they took their MAP Science or finished their Math MAP.  We finished the rest of writing time taking a much needed Brain Break!

Have a good night,

Friday

*Kids who scored above their Winter Reading MAP test received a McDonald's treat today from me! I let them choose between ice cream or french fries. I had to buy lots...yay! :) We will do it again next week for Math MAP.  AND I'd like to give a special shout to Peyton who was the ONLY one who thanked me! Way to use your manners, Peyton!!!
~Mrs. Burton
Carnival: 5:30-7:30 - see you then!!!!


Friday!
 
    I hope everyone's Friday has been awesome! We had a busy day in 4th grade today!

Social Studies- We have started our Kentucky unit and kicked it off by making a salt dough map of all the regions of Kentucky. The kids formed the state, painted the regions, and outlined it with a fact about each region. We worked on this in the morning and also after lunch. They look awesome!! The salt dough recipe is super easy, 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, and 1 cup of cold water.

Reading- The kids finished up their reader's theaters. We switched for an hour this morning so we could get it in.We picked out the climax of each play and they were so good!!!

Math-We had a shortened math groups time because of the social studies. We squeezed in factors, multiplication, and word problems in 30 min!

Writing- We finished up our poetry this week by sharing some of the poems. They were so creative and cute! I will have these graded and sent home next week.


Have a fabulous weekend and enjoy the carnival! Happy Birthday to Charlie and Mrs. Burton!:)

Miss Rickard

*Looking For...

Hi! I'm looking for bottle caps! If you happen to drink sodas or 2-liters, could you save me the bottle cap only? I would really appreciate it! I'll be creating a game once I've collected several.

THANKS!

    Thursday


We had a very fun day today!

Science- Today we studied pitch and sound waves through a fun interactive website activity. The website is www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips. It's a great resource for both science and math activities. Then we  were able to have a treat and enjoyed the sun with our next experiment. The kids did so well we got to test out our homemade telephones outside! They did awesome as they learned how the sound waves travel down the string into the cup and are amplified. Some even took it further, crossing several strings and having conversations with up to 6 people at a time!
No Homework


Reading- Our reading was cut a little short today, due to Mrs. Moldonado's class having map testing. The kids took their vocab tests and then we watched two groups perform their plays. They were awesome!! We will watch the remaining groups tomorrow!
No Homework


Math- The kids took their math test today along with a post assessment with the clickers.
No Homework


Writing- We went to the orchestra and band concert today during writing.Way to go orchestra kids!!

Have a wonderful Thursday,

Miss Rickard

*Update* Learning Games

*I've placed a few more learning games on my Fun Learning Games tab to the right.

Remember, any time your child plays a game on any subject, please write a note in the planner and I will give your child extra credit in that subject area!

This also applies to my Reading students and Math students who are not in my homeroom!! :)

FYI:
CARNIVAL this Friday!! Hope to see you there!


   We had a great day today and where able to do a lot of fun activities!

Science- The kids tested which state of matter sound travels through best with an experiment with a plastic bag. They did great with this! We will continue studying sound tomorrow.
No Homework


Reading- We started off reading by practicing vocab. Their test is tomorrow! Be sure to study both spelling and definitions. The kids then worked with their reader's theater groups. We focused on mapping the plot today and they will begin preforming tomorrow! They seem really fun and the kids are pretty good little actors:)
Homework- Study for Vocabulary and finish plot map if not already complete.


Math- Today was our review day in math. We went over their study guide and prepared for the test tomorrow.
Homework- Study for Test


Writing- We were able to continue our poetry unit today with hyperbole. We played a matching game, connecting the hyperbole with its real meaning. The kids made up 5 of their own and put them in their poetry book. They did really great at this!!
Homework- 5 hyperboles ( most finished in class:)

Have a wonderful night!

Miss Rickard

Good Afternoon!
   

Science- We had a busy day in science today. We started off with a pre-assessment about sound and did our first science experiment with sound. We discussed how sound is made by vibrations causing sound waves. The kids put a penny and a hex nut in two separate balloons and compared the sounds. The hex nut made a loud engine sound caused by its many edges vibrating the balloon. It can be a fun experiment to try at home!
No Homework


Reading- We had our normal reading time today and continued our unit on literary elements. The kids were put in groups of 5 and will be preforming a readers' theater play! They focused on the setting today and how it can influence a story.Make sure your child is continuing to study for the vocabulary test on Thursday. They are making a crossword puzzle tonight. We finished the class in lit groups.
Homework- Finish crossword (use at least 10 vocab words)
                    Study for test Thursday

Math- We are wrapping up our unit on algebraic thinking and focused on factor pairs today. We did an activity where the kids circled all the factors of a number and practiced factor pairs on the white boards.
No Homework

We had Health in place of Writing today, but will continue our poetry books tomorrow!

Have a great night!


Miss Rickard

Good afternoon from Mrs. Burton's class! I hope everyone has a great Monday. Today was the start of my second solo week and we got a lot accomplished. Today was also out scheduled math MAP testing time. This took the time of normal reading class so we put reading in place of science and will catch up on science on Thursday.

No Science today

Reading- We are staring a unit on literary elements and discussed point of view and how it changes the story. We looked at two accounts of the Three Little Pigs Fairy tale. One perspective was from pigs view and the other was from the wolf. the students decided as if they were a jury which view they believed. The responses were well thought out and creative!
HW- Finish part  E of vocab
         Begin studying for test on Thursday

Math- We are continuing our algebraic thinking unit and looked at number patterns. We reviewed several examples and discussed what the rule of the pattern was. The kids then played a game in which they ordered different sets of numbers to make a pattern and stated the rule.
HW- 4 number patterns to complete


Writing- We began a unit on poetry with an introduction to alliteration. We listened to examples and practiced making some. Students will be compiling different types of poems into their own poetry book. This book is a big project for writing and should be kept neat with the best work in it. Some students will need to finish writing their alliteration poem at home, though they were given plenty of time in class. This can be done on a separate sheet of paper and then transferred to the book tomorrow, because I didn't want any books to be forgotten at home. I'm excited to see what they have come up with! Each student will also record a favorite poem on a podcast over the course of the week. I have plenty of books for them to choose one from, but if they have one at home they like, that's awesome too!
HW- Finish alliteration if not finished in class ( at least 8 words of alliteration, can be two short poems also)

Have a wonderful Monday night!

Miss Rickard

Conference Forms

Conference Forms were given in the Wednesday Folders last week.

PLEASE turn those in if you haven't already.  Even if you cannot make a conference or would just rather get the written copy, I still need to have the paper back!
Also, please mark if you'd like your child to receive an individualized summer packet on the form. It takes A LOT of work putting these together and the sooner I know the more time I have to work on this.
Only 26 days left!

Thanks so much.

I will be giving out Conference times and dates TOMORROW - so please get the slip in.  I will email you the date/time and write it in your child's planner.

Friday

We've had a wonderful day exploring Raven Run! It was a lot of fun and I think kids really enjoyed it! We also had lots of fun eating a picnic lunch!

HW to remember:
MY Reading Class:
Complete Vocab. assignments (they are written in your planners) for Wed. and Thurs.
Complete Author's Purpose packet (you received this on Tuesday)

Our Class MAP Math is during Computer Class on MONDAY. Encourage your child to do their best. I was SUPER excited by the Reading MAP scores I was seeing!  We will do goal sheets just like Reading and they will bring them home for you.

****Miss Rickard's Solo Week will begin on Monday and go through Friday.  PLEASE remind your children to be respectful to her!! :)  Also, she will be writing the blog each day, but of course I will be here each day and  will be answering emails.

School Carnival is NEXT FRIDAY!!! Our Classroom Auction gift is SO neat! Also, we can take donations for the UK Class Basket if you want to grab something this weekend. Thanks so much to the people who were able to send something in!

Thursday

This week is flying by! Do you agree?!

*PLEASE turn in your Conference forms by tomorrow! Even if you do not want to meet, please turn it in so that I will know you received it.  I realize a lot of the times are not suitable with your work schedule...but it is hard for me to stay late these days since I have to pick up Harper at the sitter's home by a certain time! We can always do a phone conference if that will work better for you.

*Field Trip Tomorrow:
YES, I told the kids to wear deodorant. :) I'm sorry if that offended you! But, our sweet kiddos are growing up and we will be hiking and getting pretty sweaty tomorrow!! Kids also need to wear tennis shoes (or hiking boots) and can wear a ball cap and sunglasses.  If you are packing your child's lunch, please put it in a paper sack or walmart sack and everything must be able to be thrown away.  If you are coming with us - great! The buses are supposed to be here by 9:00. It takes about 30 min. to get to Raven Run.  Our tour is from 10-12 and then we will eat lunch there for 30 minutes before returning to school at 1:00.

Our schedule was a little bit different today!
We started off the day with our 4H Dollars and Sense program. The kids had a great time learning to budget and buying wants vs. needs!

Next, we had our science lesson. (no reading today due to the other class MAP testing)  We talked about how roller coasters are made and how they relate to force and motion.  Students built their own roller coasters through a really cool website.  The site graded you on safety and fun. It took the kids a while to create a safe roller coaster that was also rated fun! :)  Next, students had a hands-on experiment with our rubber roller coasters and marbles.  It was great and the kids did wonderful!

After this we had a little Study Hall. My Reading kids had quite a bit of learning to get finished. Most of them chose to use this time wisely and get it finished so they can play on the weekend! Other students got on Study Island and practiced other reading skills or had DEAR time.

Math:
Miss Rickard continued to teach her Algebra unit.  They worked on word problems with add, sub, mult., div.  Kids still need a lot of help with this.
HW: worksheet with 4 problems, parents please sign
*kids need to show in the morning!!

Writing:
We worked more on our parts of speech jingles to help us remember the parts of speech. These are so creative! Once we get the videos up I will share them with you!
No HW

Wednesday

FYI:
Check Wed. folder's tonight!
We are still taking UK items for our school Carnival!
*I am currently looking ahead with placement cards for next year. If there is anything you feel I need to know about, please email me. Thank you!

Science:
We had a great lesson today! Students had 5 stations to go around to and work on the big question- How does force affect motion. They did awesome!
No HW

Reading:
We did not have reading due to my class MAP test.
HW: vocab and author's purpose packet

Math:
Miss Rickard continued her lesson on algebraic thinking with word problems and variables.
HW: 1 problem, parent please sign

Writing:
We focused on subject and predicate of sentences and then viewed several songs and raps about the parts of speech. Students are creating their own today, tomorrow, and hopefully publishing on Friday! I can't wait to hear them!
No HW unless wanted to work on songs

Tuesday

Quick Post:

FYI:
Field Trip forms are DUE TOMORROW!
Raven Run on Friday
MAP testing tomorrow morning

Science HW:
One sheet with an Extended Response. Students are to answer on the back page. Please check and sign (we did the experiment at school.

Reading HW:
TONIGHT: complete B on vocab/SAT group write definitions
WED. NIGHT: complete C on vocab/SAT group sentences
THURS. NIGHT: complete D on vocab/SAT group synonyms
*Students also received a Author's Purpose packet to complete by MONDAY
{I will not see Reading class students again until Monday because of MAP testing}

Math HW:
One sheet with 4 word problems, please sign

Writing HW:
None

Monday

Hope you all had a wonderful Spring Break!!! I know I sure did!
The kids came in great today! I hope we can keep it up for the next 31 days!


FYI:
*MAP testing will be taking place this week. We will NOT have Reading Class on Wed. and Thurs. due to my MAP testing and Mrs. Maldonado's MAP testing. However, my reading students will still have vocabulary and lit. group reading to do.
*Raven Run Field Trip is THIS Friday. We need MONEY IN! Also, I need a few volunteers! If you'd like to go, please email me! (Your child will need to bring in a SACK lunch if he/she did not sign up to get school lunch)
*Conference Forms will be coming home in the Wed. Folders this week
*My homeroom class signed a Behavior Contract this morning. Those will also be coming home in the Wed. Folders this week

Science:
Today we had our pre-lesson for the 4H Dollars and Sense Program. It is super neat - ask your child about it! We used the rest of the time to discuss and fill out our Behavior Contracts for the rest of the school year.
No HW

Reading:
Students received their new vocab. packets. The test will be NEXT Thursday. They were to complete part A in class and study their words for 15 minutes tonight.
We also practiced Author's Purpose again. Students remembered PIE very well! They were to write about the same topic in all three PIE ways. They did a great job! Lastly, we got our new Lit. groups. Students were able to read a little bit out of their new book.
HW: practice vocab. words for 15 minutes/finish A on packets/SAT-just practice words

Math:
Miss Rickard began her unit on Algebraic Thinking.  Students took a pre-assessment and then learned about variables in number sentences.
No HW

Writing:
We finally finished up the rest of our Famous Women Animotos. Grades will be entered in soon.  Students also had DEAR time. Students are working on verbs/pronouns/nouns this week.
HW: watch at least 20 minutes of TV (yes, TV!) and write down as many verbs as they can hear or see in action!