Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday! Well, we are here, this is my last blog that I will be putting out for this class. If I need to put out any information next week I will use my blog but otherwise I plan on trying to get it all in today's memo. I am still finding it hard to believe our year is almost over. I will say the kids are ready. They are very talkative and some can't believe I am still giving them homework. I told them I plan to teach them up until the last day because that is my job. We still have things to do. We are trying very hard to get our interactive notebooks done. I am worried we won't make it happen. They get so mad when I give them multiple states to do. But the funny thing is they usually get them done.
Language Arts - This week I chose to cover week 28 in our books. This story was called Museums: Worlds of Wonder. It introduced 5 museums around the U.S. and what they have to offer. The most interesting are the Field Museum in Chicago, which houses "Sue" the only complete skeleton of a t-rex. I have been there 21 years ago but do not remember seeing it! Another one is space museum in Washington D.C., which I have been to. It houses all the cool things from air and space that has happened in the U.S. Orville and Wilbur Wright's first airplane, and a moon rock for all to see. The other is the City Museum in St. Louis. It is a very cool museum with fun things to do. Look it up to see. We talked about trash and recycling and covered possessive pronouns. This is the last week for a story and spelling words. I have been reading aloud Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I plan to show this movie on Tuesday and then Wednesday do a compare and contrast activity with them comparing the book and the movie. That will end our year of language arts.
Math - We finished up chapter 4 this week with a test. I have the results of the test coming home today. You will see that all questions are linked to a standard and you will see what score I intend to give them. You will also see the "pre" and "post" test results at the bottom. We will work on somethings in chapter 5 for the next 4 -5 days. Again, I plan to teach them as long as I have them.
Social Studies - We take a map test tomorrow over the West region. The final map test over all 50 states and capitals will take place next Thursday morning at 8:30. I keep reminding the kids, but I am not sure they are paying that much attention to me. This is the big granddaddy of them all for 4th grade. Hopefully they have studied hard each region so this one will not be too awful for them. We covered some important things about the Southwest and now we are covering important things about the West. They talked about the Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone National Park today. I plan to have them talk about the climates of the region next week. We will try and get to a Native American tribe from the area also. That will end our year.
Thursday, May 31st - On this day we will start the day with the States and Capitals test. After that we will have a cookie party sponsored by the PTO for getting 2nd place in lap-a-thon. I plan on cleaning out our desks that day so be sure to send an extra bag with your student that day to load everything home. The afternoon will be Field Day. It will begin at 1:00 and last all afternoon. Anyone is welcome to join us for the afternoon on the playground.
Friday, June 1st - We start the day with Mass at 9:15. It is the last mass of the school year. We will have awards at 10ish or when Mass concludes. When that is done we will be in our rooms, then we will eat lunch as a class. After that we have the 8th grad clap-out at 1:00 P.M> That will end our time together!!
I have had a very enjoyable year. Yes, we had some rough patches, but nothing we didn't overcome. I am very proud of this class and how they have grown this year. They have learned what it means to be organized ( some still need help), we have learned study skills and the importance of getting our homework done. I wish them all the best in 5th grade next year. I am always happy to know that I will still teach them one class next year. So this is not goodbye it is just that they won't be full-time with me next year. I hope everyone has a great, safe summer! See you next year!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday!! I hope all of you are enjoying your time outside! I had several of you respond to my last week's blog of how true it is that kids are busy due to baseball and other activities. They also agreed that kids are tired. I know there is not much we can do but it really does affect them at school. Try very hard to get them to bed, and also to get homework done before the game so that when they get home they are not stressing about it. We are going to continue to work hard for the next two weeks. I plan on working right up to the last day. I want them to get all they need and more before they head to 5th grade. I have really enjoyed my year with them and thank you for sharing your kids with me.
Language Arts - We are working on week 26 story which is called The Girl Who Loved Spiders. It is a cute little story about a boy who hates them and a girl who loves them. The fun part is the kids think that is backwards. I agreed with them. We have read the story but will only read it twice this week due to the field trip. We will still have our end of week test tomorrow also. We have worked on some grammar dealing with comparative and superlative adjectives. We have also had spelling words. Tomorrow we will also have a spelling post test as normal. We will also cover a story next week doing the same things. This will be week 28. I tried to pick the most interesting stories out of this last unit to cover. I hope to show them the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory during the last week of school and do a compare and contrast activity with them over the book and the movie. That is my plan for the last week. It will be fun. I may even get popcorn from the theater to eat during the movie. Definitely getting exciting getting down to the last day. That last week I also plan on giving out prizes for the Book It we did this year. I didn't have many follow through with participation but I will reward those who did for sure! They deserve it!
Math - We are finishing up chapter 4. It is looking like a test on Tuesday of next week for Math. This will be our last chapter test. We will move on into chapter 5 and work on it up until the last day, but we will not pretest or post test over it. I will make sure they understand some important concepts for 5th grade. The kids are excited thinking they will be taking their last math test for the year! We are finishing up a lesson on word problems today and doing a worksheet. They will review tomorrow, check it Monday and test on Tuesday!
Social Studies- I am covering the Southwest with them more quickly than normal. We will be taking a map test tomorrow over the Southwest. I told the kids I expect perfect papers because there is only 4 states!! They will be able to study quickly for it. I will give them the maps today to study. This will be the only map test on the Southwest because it is so little. I will then give out the West so they can get started looking it over. We will start covering that region next week. There are really only 3 lessons in the two chapters that I feel are of a lot of importance. I will make sure they get those chapters. The final map test over all 50 states will be May 31st. I plan this so far in advance so students have the opportunity to start working on all 50. There is a site online the kids are using to study! It is a good one and highly recommend they start doing it at home. It is very helpful. If they don't know it, have them ask at school. Lots of kids are doing it.
I will only be doing one more blog next week then I will blog only if there are things I need to tell you. Next week's will be full of information about that last week of school. I still can't believe it is here!! I hope you are ready for it. I think the best part is watching the building go up and knowing when we return it will be close to complete! Seeing the safe room is awesome! I am so happy we will have a safe place to go!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy Thursday!! I hope all of you are enjoying your time outside! I had several of you respond to my last week's blog of how true it is that kids are busy due to baseball and other activities. They also agreed that kids are tired. I know there is not much we can do but it really does affect them at school. Try very hard to get them to bed, and also to get homework done before the game so that when they get home they are not stressing about it. We are going to continue to work hard for the next two weeks. I plan on working right up to the last day. I want them to get all they need and more before they head to 5th grade. I have really enjoyed my year with them and thank you for sharing your kids with me.
Language Arts - We are working on week 26 story which is called The Girl Who Loved Spiders. It is a cute little story about a boy who hates them and a girl who loves them. The fun part is the kids think that is backwards. I agreed with them. We have read the story but will only read it twice this week due to the field trip. We will still have our end of week test tomorrow also. We have worked on some grammar dealing with comparative and superlative adjectives. We have also had spelling words. Tomorrow we will also have a spelling post test as normal. We will also cover a story next week doing the same things. This will be week 28. I tried to pick the most interesting stories out of this last unit to cover. I hope to show them the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory during the last week of school and do a compare and contrast activity with them over the book and the movie. That is my plan for the last week. It will be fun. I may even get popcorn from the theater to eat during the movie. Definitely getting exciting getting down to the last day. That last week I also plan on giving out prizes for the Book It we did this year. I didn't have many follow through with participation but I will reward those who did for sure! They deserve it!
Math - We are finishing up chapter 4. It is looking like a test on Tuesday of next week for Math. This will be our last chapter test. We will move on into chapter 5 and work on it up until the last day, but we will not pretest or post test over it. I will make sure they understand some important concepts for 5th grade. The kids are excited thinking they will be taking their last math test for the year! We are finishing up a lesson on word problems today and doing a worksheet. They will review tomorrow, check it Monday and test on Tuesday!
Social Studies- I am covering the Southwest with them more quickly than normal. We will be taking a map test tomorrow over the Southwest. I told the kids I expect perfect papers because there is only 4 states!! They will be able to study quickly for it. I will give them the maps today to study. This will be the only map test on the Southwest because it is so little. I will then give out the West so they can get started looking it over. We will start covering that region next week. There are really only 3 lessons in the two chapters that I feel are of a lot of importance. I will make sure they get those chapters. The final map test over all 50 states will be May 31st. I plan this so far in advance so students have the opportunity to start working on all 50. There is a site online the kids are using to study! It is a good one and highly recommend they start doing it at home. It is very helpful. If they don't know it, have them ask at school. Lots of kids are doing it.
I will only be doing one more blog next week then I will blog only if there are things I need to tell you. Next week's will be full of information about that last week of school. I still can't believe it is here!! I hope you are ready for it. I think the best part is watching the building go up and knowing when we return it will be close to complete! Seeing the safe room is awesome! I am so happy we will have a safe place to go!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday!! We are really getting down to the last few days. I count 15 school days left and one of those will be our field trip!! That really isn't much time. I am seeing some things withe behavior now. I know it mainly deals with it being the end of the year, but please talk to your child about the importance of the last days. They are just as important as the first few days. I have been praying for the students and talking to them after prayer about making good choices. They just get grouchy with each other very easily these days. I also think that has to do with baseball/softball, soccer and dance still happening and the students being so busy. Please be sure your child is still getting enough sleep at night. Days are tough on them when they don't.
Field Trip - Our field trip is next Tuesday the 15th. We are excited. Some kids are wondering what fun is riding a train. I tried to explain it is an old fashioned train, not a new one like Amtrak. I also told them about how important trains used to be to our history. There will be a guide talking in a microphone giving us some Iowa History as we ride to point out things of interest. We also travel over one of the highest railroad bridges built. It is called the High Bridge. If you are scared of heights I will instruct you to move to center of the train and not look. That is what I have to do. Some days I can look but most I can't. I sometimes bring a book to read while going over it to try and take my mind away from what is going on. I have been over it many times and for years and it doesn't get any easier. They slow down to go over it. So just a warning to you. We also cross a bridge over the Des Moines River and go through the YMCA camp which is interesting. We eat our lunches on the train also. Be sure to pack appropriate lunches for the kids to carry on the train. Also watch weather and dress appropriately. It will be a fun day!
Language Arts - This week we have tested over Unit 5. This is the last Unit test of the year. We will cover some stories in Unit 6, there will be spelling tests and worksheets still but I plan to do more fun activities with them also. I am reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory out loud to them. I usually do this as a whole book unit where all students have a book but we don't have enough time for that. I do plan on showing them the old movie towards the end of year. We will then do a compare and contrast activity over the book and the movie. I look forward to this every year. You will have week 24 results today in folder, week 25 will appear next week and hopefully Unit 5. I have had students gone and had to make up tests and I can't pull results until all have taken the test. Due to the students not doing to well with capitalization and punctuation this last unit I have started doing DOL (Daily Oral Language) with them. This is where they take sentences that are written incorrectly and they make the changes that make them grammatically correct. Also, they make capitalization and punctuation corrections in the sentences. We will do this for the rest of the year.
Math - We are finishing up chapter 4 in our book. I have 2 more lessons to go over with them. One working on division with larger numbers and one focusing on word problems. It looks like we will be taking the test next week! I am excited to see the improvement in this one. On the pretest they had no idea what they were doing and wanted to ask questions. Now they know what they are doing so it should really show improvement. I feel this builds confidence in our students to see this. After this chapter we will move into Chapter 5. This chapter is on factors, multiples and patterns. This chapter will be very helpful for them in 5th grade.
Social Studies - We went over some important lessons in the 2nd chapter of the Midwest Region. The students have a Midwest Map Test tomorrow. They are to study their maps tonight. We started talking about the Southwest States today. We will cover all of the first chapter on the Southwest but only parts of the 2nd. We will not test over those chapters but will have map tests over the region to practice for that end of year test. We will also continue to put states in our interactive notebooks. I love that they walk away with a notebook full of information about our states. It is a keeper for graduation for sure. I know that is a while but still it's a good one.
I hope all of you are enjoying the weather! It has been great! I love being able to sit and read outside. I have taken the kids outside a couple of times. I had them do art outside yesterday. They were to sit and draw something they see outside. They like to pull up pictures on the internet and draw them, so I thought let's go look at something real and draw it! Some liked it and some did not. We will work on it again next week weather permitting. Have a great weekend!!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy Thursday!! We are really getting down to the last few days. I count 15 school days left and one of those will be our field trip!! That really isn't much time. I am seeing some things withe behavior now. I know it mainly deals with it being the end of the year, but please talk to your child about the importance of the last days. They are just as important as the first few days. I have been praying for the students and talking to them after prayer about making good choices. They just get grouchy with each other very easily these days. I also think that has to do with baseball/softball, soccer and dance still happening and the students being so busy. Please be sure your child is still getting enough sleep at night. Days are tough on them when they don't.
Field Trip - Our field trip is next Tuesday the 15th. We are excited. Some kids are wondering what fun is riding a train. I tried to explain it is an old fashioned train, not a new one like Amtrak. I also told them about how important trains used to be to our history. There will be a guide talking in a microphone giving us some Iowa History as we ride to point out things of interest. We also travel over one of the highest railroad bridges built. It is called the High Bridge. If you are scared of heights I will instruct you to move to center of the train and not look. That is what I have to do. Some days I can look but most I can't. I sometimes bring a book to read while going over it to try and take my mind away from what is going on. I have been over it many times and for years and it doesn't get any easier. They slow down to go over it. So just a warning to you. We also cross a bridge over the Des Moines River and go through the YMCA camp which is interesting. We eat our lunches on the train also. Be sure to pack appropriate lunches for the kids to carry on the train. Also watch weather and dress appropriately. It will be a fun day!
Language Arts - This week we have tested over Unit 5. This is the last Unit test of the year. We will cover some stories in Unit 6, there will be spelling tests and worksheets still but I plan to do more fun activities with them also. I am reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory out loud to them. I usually do this as a whole book unit where all students have a book but we don't have enough time for that. I do plan on showing them the old movie towards the end of year. We will then do a compare and contrast activity over the book and the movie. I look forward to this every year. You will have week 24 results today in folder, week 25 will appear next week and hopefully Unit 5. I have had students gone and had to make up tests and I can't pull results until all have taken the test. Due to the students not doing to well with capitalization and punctuation this last unit I have started doing DOL (Daily Oral Language) with them. This is where they take sentences that are written incorrectly and they make the changes that make them grammatically correct. Also, they make capitalization and punctuation corrections in the sentences. We will do this for the rest of the year.
Math - We are finishing up chapter 4 in our book. I have 2 more lessons to go over with them. One working on division with larger numbers and one focusing on word problems. It looks like we will be taking the test next week! I am excited to see the improvement in this one. On the pretest they had no idea what they were doing and wanted to ask questions. Now they know what they are doing so it should really show improvement. I feel this builds confidence in our students to see this. After this chapter we will move into Chapter 5. This chapter is on factors, multiples and patterns. This chapter will be very helpful for them in 5th grade.
Social Studies - We went over some important lessons in the 2nd chapter of the Midwest Region. The students have a Midwest Map Test tomorrow. They are to study their maps tonight. We started talking about the Southwest States today. We will cover all of the first chapter on the Southwest but only parts of the 2nd. We will not test over those chapters but will have map tests over the region to practice for that end of year test. We will also continue to put states in our interactive notebooks. I love that they walk away with a notebook full of information about our states. It is a keeper for graduation for sure. I know that is a while but still it's a good one.
I hope all of you are enjoying the weather! It has been great! I love being able to sit and read outside. I have taken the kids outside a couple of times. I had them do art outside yesterday. They were to sit and draw something they see outside. They like to pull up pictures on the internet and draw them, so I thought let's go look at something real and draw it! Some liked it and some did not. We will work on it again next week weather permitting. Have a great weekend!!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Dear Parents,
Happy Thursday! I hope all of you are having a great week! this week, to me, has gone by quickly. If this is how fast they all go it will be over before we know it. Today was Lap-a-thon. Thank goodness the rain stayed away so we could get it in. The students got a treat from the Little Green Trailer today. All were treated to a small tropical sno! I had took the afternoon off to head to Molly's Hawkeye 10 Conference track meet in Harlan today but it was postponed until Monday! Which was a bummer, but I did go get a pedicure! Now I have pretty toes!!
Language Arts - We are working on a story called The Fun They Had. This is a pretty cool story about the future. Kids don't go to school they have a computer in their home programmed to match the child's ability and learning. They read books on a TV screen or computer screen and the words scroll across it. They are always moving. The kids find a real "book" and they talk about how the words don't move and how kids went to a school to learn. It is fun to read about their thoughts of the past, which is our reality. We have been reviewing in grammar. We talked about Commas in compound sentences, ending punctuation, and capitalization in titles. We also discussed some latin and greek words parts; therm, fac, meter, aud. Learning these help the kids to decipher meaning of the words they are a part of. Tomorrow is our end of week testing. Please be sure to study the vocabulary words and spelling words for tomorrow.
Math - We began learning the standard algorithm for division. The kids are not liking it! They like the partial product strategy better. I am not surprised. The partial product way make so much more sense to them then the long division. Some have really struggled. We are still working on it and will work on it for the a few more days. I am trying to get them to master this since it is a basic function of math. Funny that some of the new things we are learning kids are really choosing and wanting to use over what we were taught as kids. I hope you are doing the best you can helping them at home. I am trying to be sure they are done with homework so it is me or the aid Mrs Kendrick helping them here at school. I am always happy when this chapter is over!
Social Studies- We just took a test over the first chapter of the Midwest States. We will begin the next chapter and read through it quickly and not cover all areas. I will focus on people of the region and any historical things. We will have one more map test over the Midwest then we will move on to the Southwest. Trying to fit everything in is gong to be pushing it. We will do what we can do but I will get to all the regions.
Field Trip - You have a form in the student's folder for our field trip. The trip is Tuesday, May 15th, we are headed to Boone to ride the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad. The fee for the day is $10. This will cover the train and bus ride. We are going on this trip with the 5th grade. We can have 5 adults from each class attend with us. So 5 of you can go with us. The train fee for you will be $18. You are welcome to ride the bus with us. This will be a first come first serve basis. Students will need a sack lunch with a drink. Also please watch weather and dress accordingly.
I can believe we are nearing the end of the year! I have enjoyed helping your students learn and always wonder what will I do without them! Have a great weekend! Enjoy the sun!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
Happy Thursday! I hope all of you are having a great week! this week, to me, has gone by quickly. If this is how fast they all go it will be over before we know it. Today was Lap-a-thon. Thank goodness the rain stayed away so we could get it in. The students got a treat from the Little Green Trailer today. All were treated to a small tropical sno! I had took the afternoon off to head to Molly's Hawkeye 10 Conference track meet in Harlan today but it was postponed until Monday! Which was a bummer, but I did go get a pedicure! Now I have pretty toes!!
Language Arts - We are working on a story called The Fun They Had. This is a pretty cool story about the future. Kids don't go to school they have a computer in their home programmed to match the child's ability and learning. They read books on a TV screen or computer screen and the words scroll across it. They are always moving. The kids find a real "book" and they talk about how the words don't move and how kids went to a school to learn. It is fun to read about their thoughts of the past, which is our reality. We have been reviewing in grammar. We talked about Commas in compound sentences, ending punctuation, and capitalization in titles. We also discussed some latin and greek words parts; therm, fac, meter, aud. Learning these help the kids to decipher meaning of the words they are a part of. Tomorrow is our end of week testing. Please be sure to study the vocabulary words and spelling words for tomorrow.
Math - We began learning the standard algorithm for division. The kids are not liking it! They like the partial product strategy better. I am not surprised. The partial product way make so much more sense to them then the long division. Some have really struggled. We are still working on it and will work on it for the a few more days. I am trying to get them to master this since it is a basic function of math. Funny that some of the new things we are learning kids are really choosing and wanting to use over what we were taught as kids. I hope you are doing the best you can helping them at home. I am trying to be sure they are done with homework so it is me or the aid Mrs Kendrick helping them here at school. I am always happy when this chapter is over!
Social Studies- We just took a test over the first chapter of the Midwest States. We will begin the next chapter and read through it quickly and not cover all areas. I will focus on people of the region and any historical things. We will have one more map test over the Midwest then we will move on to the Southwest. Trying to fit everything in is gong to be pushing it. We will do what we can do but I will get to all the regions.
Field Trip - You have a form in the student's folder for our field trip. The trip is Tuesday, May 15th, we are headed to Boone to ride the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad. The fee for the day is $10. This will cover the train and bus ride. We are going on this trip with the 5th grade. We can have 5 adults from each class attend with us. So 5 of you can go with us. The train fee for you will be $18. You are welcome to ride the bus with us. This will be a first come first serve basis. Students will need a sack lunch with a drink. Also please watch weather and dress accordingly.
I can believe we are nearing the end of the year! I have enjoyed helping your students learn and always wonder what will I do without them! Have a great weekend! Enjoy the sun!
God Bless,
Mrs. Sickels
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