Mrs. Cooper's Candidates

The End is Near

It's hard to believe that the end is near.  As you know, the Boosterthon Fun Run has been postponed until Monday, May 11.  Please come cheer us on as we raise money for technology at Mountain View.  Thank you for your pledges!  The participation was been amazing!  I am so proud of our class!  We also have been rehearsing for our annual fourth grade musical.  This year we will be performing "The American Revolution".  Please mark your calendars for May 19th at 8:30.  Our end of the year celebration will be on Thursday, May 21 at 12:00.  The entire fourth grade will be having a Luau complete with refreshments, games, and music!  We certainly have a lot to celebrate.  This has been an exceptional year!  I have enjoyed this class so much this year.  It will be hard to see them go.  Thank you for your support in this year long journey!  Have a wonderful summer!

May Fun Run

^{Save the Date of May 6th}

^{Hey parents! Today your child will be bringing home the Boosterthon Fun Run DVD. Please watch it tonight with your child and then visit the Super Fans website at}

^{www.boosterthonsuperfan.com}

^{We look forward to seeing you at the Fun Run on Wednesday, May 6th at 12:15. Thank you again for helping to support our school.}

March

Hello!

I can't believe how fast the year has gone and how close we are to Spring Break and the CRCT!  Please take the time with your child to take the practice tests on www.georgiaoas.org.  These tests "mirror" the ones on the test next month.  Also, please utilize the Online Textbook features of this year's adopted textbooks.  Last week I sent home a username and password sheet.  Please let me know if you need any help with any of these.

January 2009

Hello 2009! 

I hope everyone had a wonderful break!  This past week was a little hard to get back into a routine, so we took it a little slow!  We began our unit on Space in science and the Revolutionary War in social studies.  I want to let you know what we will be doing in class over the next few weeks.  We have started a novel study of Johnny Tremain, Toliver's Secret and The Secret Soldier.  These books are classic historical fiction novels about the events that led up to the Revolutionary War.  They are discussing each chapter and creating a diary as if they were one of the characters in their book.  In science, we will be studying space.  This will include the planets, stars, constellations, moon phases, and space technology.  In social studies, we will be studying the Revolutionary War.  This week we learned about the French and Indian War and "taxation without representation in the colonies" that both led to the War.  In math, we are learning about fractions and decimals.  This week we will work with improper fractions and mixed numbers. Our writing focus for this nine weeks is informational writing.  The students will be researching a famous person or event of the Revolutionary War and writing an information paper about that person or event.  We will also be researching planets. 

December

Welcome to one of the busiest months of the year!  December marks the end of the second nine weeks of school and the half way point of 4th grade.  It is also a very busy month and we have a lot of curriculum left to cover.  In math, we are finishing our using on geometry by reviewing polygons, quadrilaterals, parallelograms, and will work on graphing coordinates on a grid.  We will spend this week reviewing and will take our post math test online, next Thursday, December 18th.  In science, we finished sound last week and have begun light this week.  We only have 3 standards in light and will finish the unit before we break for the holidays.  We will have an open book test next Friday, December 19th.  In social studies, we are almost through with colonization.  The students have enjoyed the history of the

United States

and I think colonization is one of their favorite parts!  I told them that it gets even better!  Hopefully you are working on your colony brochure with your child.  Please stress to them the importance of doing their best work on this project. 

I have so enjoyed this class this year.  We are a wonderful group and it just keeps getting better.  We just got a new student on Friday as we say good bye to another.  I want to thank all of you for your support at home and with the class.  I couldn't do it without you!  Happy Holidays!!

Report Card Survey

The Cobb County School District encourages parents to participate in the online fall survey for the new standards-based report cards.  As part of the ongoing development process, a survey link has been posted to the Cobb District website to gather input on the recently distributed K, 1, and 2 report cards.  Please visit www.cobbk12.org to respond.  The survey will be open until Dec. 1, 2008

September News

I would like to thank everyone for coming to curriculum night last Thursday.  This was the first time in 12 years that I had 100% parent participation.  That really starts us off on the right foot. 

Well, we made it through the first month of school!  Most students have settled into the routines and are doing quite well.  We just finished our unit on Economics in Social Studies, Place Value in Math, and Weather in Science.

Our water and weather test is on Friday.  I sent home a study guide for water last week and one for weather today.

Remember that Wordly Wise will be assessed on Tuesdays after a week and a half of lessons.  Our 2nd test is September 9th.

Welcome Back!!

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all back to school.  I have an exciting, but challenging year planned.  The first week of school will be spent going over school and classroom rules, as well as, trying to establish a regular schedule in the classroom.  I really enjoyed meeting all of you at Sneak-A-Peak last week.  I hope you all had a great weekend.  During the first two weeks of school, I will be conducting various assessments to help me better understand your child. 

Some things that you can expect to see this week that will continue throughout the year:

Communication/Agenda

        Your red communication folder will be sent home each night.  Please check the contents of this folder. Your child will use this folder for homework, notes, forms, etc throughout the year. The agenda needs to be signed every night.  This is where your child will record all of their homework, as well as, tests and project due dates

Behavior Management

        I use a checkbook system that I know the students will love.

Math

        Expect to see math homework each night. 

Reading Log

        The reading log will be in the back sleeve of the communication folder.  Please sign this every night.  It is part of their homework and will be checked.

AR Tests

        Your child will be required to get a minimum of 2 AR points per week with 80% accuracy.  I will send home a weekly report to let you know where they stand.

Spelling

       We will be using the Sitton Spelling program.  We will focus on these words throughout the week in class with activities and writing assignments.  The homework packet will go home on Monday to be returned by Friday.  The spelling assessment will be on Thursday. 

Vocabulary

        We will be using Wordly Wise Vocabulary this year.  I feel that vocabulary is an important component of our curriculum as it encourages students to apply word meanings, think critically, and discover word relationships. The words will be introduced on Wednesdays with each unit lasting about 10 school days.  Flash cards and a study guide will be sent home before each test. 

 

Here is a general idea of what we will be working on the first few weeks of school.

Math…

        Each digit in a number has a specific value.

        Numbers can be decomposed in various ways - a three-digit number e.g. 123 has a value of 123 ones, 12 tens and 3 ones, or 1 hundred and 2 tens and 3 ones.

        Estimation strategies have two main purposes. They are used for prediction and to determine reasonableness of an answer.

        Numbers have patterns and that rules can be applied to solve equations with an unknown.

        Data can be shown in many different ways.  The same data can be shown in different graphical representations.

Language Arts…

        Narrative writing and reading.  In English we will be working on subject/predicate, the four parts of speech, basic mechanics, homophones, synonyms, and the 4 types of sentences. 

Science…

        The water cycle is ongoing and is powered by the sun. Water circulates through the Earth’s crust and atmosphere as part of the water cycle.

        Water can exist in three states of matter: solid, liquid, gas.

        Clouds are formed when condensation occurs in the atmosphere.

        When liquid water evaporates, it turns into a gas in the air and if cooled can reappear as a liquid or a solid.

Social Studies…

        Relationship of opportunity cost to decision-making

        Impact of price incentives on people’s behavior and choices

        Improved standard of living from specialization

        Benefits of voluntary exchange to buyers and sellers

        Trade promotes economic activity

        Impact of technological advancements on business productivity

I'm sure after reading this you might have many more questions.  Hopefully we will be able to answer these on curriculum night.  If you have any questions feel free to email myself any time.  I look forward to a wonderful year!

                                                        Mrs. Cooper