Families of 4C,
Happy New Year!
I hope you are all well rested after the holiday break, and are as eager for a fresh start to a new year as I am.
There will not be any math tutoring this week. Tutoring will begin on Monday, January 14 on an invite-only basis. Invitations will be sent via email later this week with more details.
Grade reports will be sent after week two to allow more time for assignments to balance in the grade book.
This Week:
Writing: Students will start their second major writing assignment. This writing project will still be largely teacher-led, but students will have more freedom to form their own thoughts and sentences. This will be an opinion paper on the topic following topic: Is it right to call the Middle Ages the Dark Ages? This writing assignment will take place in week 1 and week 2.
History: This week students will start their next unit of study: the American Revolution. However, before we get there, students will review the thirteen colonies, which they studied next year, and about the rising tension between the English, who owned the thirteen colonies, and the French, the greatest enemy of the British from their conflict during the 100 Years’ War. There is a test Friday on the thirteen colonies that is open notes so it shouldn’t be very difficult as long as students take good notes.
Literature: In literature, students will start their reading of Prince Caspian. On Monday, students will review The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Please have them bring Prince Caspian on Tuesday, January 8. Students will read chapters 1-3 this week.
Math: Fourth grade will start a study of geometry this week. There is a test later this week over chapter 1. The first test is on right angles. Everything on this test is a review from last year.
Poetry: Students will start memorizing “Concord Hymn” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. This is a famous poem about the start of the American Revolution. They will be expected to recite this poem during week three.
Greek and Latin Roots: Students will learn the next four Greek and Latin roots this week, but there is no review check this week. However, the review check for next week will be over numbers 1-54 to ensure that students are retaining the ones they learned before the winter break.
Science: In science, students will start their study of geology. This week, they will learn about the four layers of the earth, Alfred Wegener’s Continental Drift Theory, and current theory of Plate Tectonics. There is a meteorology review quiz on Thursday.
Spalding: Students will begin the week with the monthly fifty-word spelling test to check their grade level. They will then learn twenty words and be tested on Friday.
I look forward to a strong start to the second half of the school year!
--Mrs. Conforti
