Gjurasic News - September

Text Box: We have started the nuts and bolts in most curriculum areas. We are on a roll…
Reading: This week we completed our RAI Reading for Application and Instruction. This assessment tool is administered whole class and tests the following skills: Identifying the Main Idea, Recalling Details, Recognizing Cause and Effect, Identifying Sequence, Predicting Outcomes, Drawing Conclusions, Inferring Meaning from Context/Visual Aid, Analyzing Character, Applying prior Knowledge,

Text Box: Distinguishing Fact from opinion, Analyzing Point of View/Tone, and Analyzing Language. It represents nonfiction, fiction and poetry. We will be starting our reading novels sometime within the next two weeks.
Writing: Students just completed a writing sample for me to look at and gauge where the “need” is for the class. This year we will be starting our writing instruction focusing on two of the six traits of writing; Organization and Word Choice.
Math: We are off and running in math! This year the fourth grade teachers have structured our math towards focusing on number sense in the beginning of the year. Having a strong number sense background is vital for understanding the more complicated concepts that are later introduced in

Text Box: mathematics.
Social Studies: We have started our map skills lessons. Students look at the WA map and get to explore the map in a structured way that helps them to decipher all of the key components of a map.
Math Facts: We are rolling on our math fact timings. This year, students are required to get 26 problems completed in one minute. When they complete a sheet, they get to put a sticker on our math facts board. Students are required to pass 4 sheets before they get to move on to the next fact family.

Text Box: This year we will be having only one fundraiser that is held at SES. THE WALK-A-THON! In the past, we have held a school auction, but this year, we hope to focus on only one fundraiser. Fitness week always precedes the School-wide

Text Box: walk-a-thon. (October 6-9) The Walk-a-thon will be held on October 9th. Start thinking about what we want as our class theme. In years past, there has been contests between the classrooms. Can we make it big this year?

Text Box: I will be sending more information home as time gets closer to the BIG EVENT!

Text Box: Volunteers
I will start having volunteers help out in the classroom, reading with students and practicing math facts starting in October. If you would like to help out with workroom items, I leave a colorful basket in the workroom under the desk with items that can be worked on. Directions are always on top of the pile. Thank you!

Text Box: Every student can learn, just not on the same day, or the same way.
-- George Evans Text Box: "How will that help?" -- Kindergarten student, when the class was instructed to hold up two fingers if any of them had to go to the bathroom. Text Box: We will be starting half-hour power on Monday, September 15th. Our first focus will be on place value. The entire fourth grade classrooms have taken a pre-test and will be placed based on the pre-test scores.

Some students will be working on reading while others will be focusing on math based upon their WASL scores from last year.