Dear Parents,
     Happy Thursday!!!  A week under a belt is a great feeling.  Things are going well in 4th grade.  On the first day of homework I did not have to give any late slips, which was a first!!  Now, the 2nd day is a different story.  This is how we learn how important it is to double check that all our work is completed.  Things are still moving slowly as we continue to learn the of 4th grade, but soon it will be moving steadily along.  Students are doing a great job paying attention and be engaged in lessons.
     I will be gone tomorrow Aug. 29th.  We are leaving for Chicago tonight.  I am visiting the University of Chicago with my daughter Jami on Friday.  Not sure this is my first choice of schools for her just because of the distance but we have family there.  Molly is attending the One Direction Concert with her Aunt as a birthday gift on Saturday night.  As for me, my birthday is Friday and I consider the whole trip my birthday trip.  Sunday we will spend on a boat on Lake Michigan which I have never done.  Exciting!!

Language Arts - We are finishing up our week on the story Because of Winn-Dixie.   We have spend a lot of time this week focusing on the vocabulary words form the story, decoding words, and picking out subjects and predicates of a sentence.  These are all things that they will be assessed on tomorrow.  It will also assess their comprehension of the story.  I also worked on an extra story with some students and we focused on story elements: setting, characters, and plot.  Remember there is a spelling post test tomorrow! I have instructed the students to be sure and study for spelling and also study their vocabulary words in their notebooks.

Math - We have had two full lessons in Math this week.  The first one focused on the base ten system and understanding that each place value is 10 times the previous place value.  We looked at base ten blocks up to 1,000 then discussed what they would look like if we had physical example past 1,000.  We also learned 3 ways to read and write numbers: standard form, word form, expanded form.  Ask your student to show you.  Their homework tonight focuses on this topic.  We will move on to comparing numbers next. 

Social Studies - We are discussing the 5 regions of the United States.  These regions are: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and West.  We begin by talking about the United States as a whole and our government system.  Then we will move on and study the states by their region.  All 4th graders love social studies because of the content we study and the projects they will complete.  

I hope everyone has a very enjoyable and safe Labor Day weekend!!  Mrs. Irelan will be here in the room tomorrow with the kids.  We are meeting tonight to go over her day tomorrow.  I am sure they will have a very productive day.

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels 

Hello!!! Welcome to 4th grade!!!
     I am so excited about starting a new year.  I am looking forward to working with your child!!  Thank you for sharing your precious gem with me!  I think we have had a great first couple of days.  The class has been rather quiet, which is normal in the beginning of the year.  I know this will change so I will just enjoy it!  So far no homework!! I have been working on assessing your kids to see where they are in Language Arts and Math so I know what direction I need to go with them.  I did give them an extra recess today just to get outside and wake up.  I hope this blog is helpful in keeping you posted on things we are doing in class and fun things we may do throughout the year.  If you have any questions or concerns for me shoot me an email at msickels@crestonstmalachy.org  or call the school 641-782-7125.  I am available most mornings 7:45 - 8:10 then again 8:30-9:00.  Also at the end of the day 3:15-3:45.

Language Arts -  This first few days I am assessing the kids on what they retained from last year and what areas they struggle in, so I know where to begin work with them.  We took half of the test today and will finish tomorrow.   I also gave them a diagnostic spelling test to see how well they spell.  Next week I will begin the first story of the Unit with them, which is called Because of Winn Dixie.  It is a story from a book right off my book shelf written by Kate DiCamillo.  They will enjoy it. You will begin to see homework next week.

Math - I am very excited about our new math series!!  The math series is based on Iowa Core.  This means I will be teaching the students all the standards and benchmarks that are aligned with Iowa Core.  I will use the same strategies to teach the material to the students that I have been using.  I love the way this book progresses through the year.  We took half of a diagnostic test today, this test will tell me what they retained from last year.  Keep in mind this is based on if the students had learned from this series.  It will really tell me what area they really don't know and what I need to focus on.  We will take a  beginning of the year test next week which is based on what they are going to learn this year.  This will let me know the weak areas that I may need to slow down and allow time for students to absorb new  concepts. 

Science and Religion - Just a reminder that your child will go to Ms Surma for Religion class and Mrs. Burg for Science.  I am in charge of 3-5 Social Studies.  This is the same as last year.  Any questions about these two classes, please feel free to contact them.

Again I am looking forward to a great year full of fun and LOTS of learning.  Have a great weekend!

God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels