Week of January 17th

Happenings in

Our Learning
Writing: Once more, students went through the expository
writing process to prepare them for STAAR Ready Writing.
We had an interesting discussion on what they think
makes a good student as planned for our draft. The 4th
grade teachers will grade the STAAR Ready compositions
next week and look closely at whole-class and individual
areas of improvement. We will use the assessment to set
goals and monitor progress for the official test in March.
Reading: This week was writing intensive! Next week, I am
excited resume our poetry study and continue to discuss
the elements of poetry and figurative language.
Math: Students worked on converting mixed numbers to
improper fractions and vice-versa. We also focused on
solving word problems involving mixed numbers. On
Monday we will review fraction concepts we have
learned over the course of the unit and take our final
fraction assessments on Tuesday. You can review via
Khan Academy or use the links I sent each student. Next,
we will be working on decimals. This is a great time to
have them explore and count money!
Social Studies: Students finished their summative projects
on immigration. We had a blast participating in a
presentation form the Williamson County Historical Society
on Friday. We have been looking into pioneer life in early
Texas so it was neat to see artifacts from that time period.
Science: This week we explored shadows as we traced a
classmates shadow at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Students
noticed that our position in relation to the sun determines
our shadow and that this finding helps explain the phases
of the moon. We have a new class moon in our room that
displays each phase. Students should know that,
regardless of what we see, the moon is always half lit by
the suns rays.

Spice World
Additional Notes
Thank you for all your assistance with
your childs Science Fair experiment!
Im lucky to be working with such
supportive parents!
International Mother Tongue Day is
Tuesday, February 21st. Spicewood
would love to feature students who
speak multiple languages. Forms
are due Friday, Jan. 27th.

Practice at Home
One session of XtraMath per night is
required to be completed MondayThursday. Students may complete
Jam Sessions on TenMarks as well.
With our fractions unit, students are
realizing the importance of knowing
their basic multiplication and division
facts. Timed tests are a good way to
drill and check. 5 minute, 100
question tests can always be found
on MathAids.com (along with other
practice sheets for all types of skills
we cover in 4th grade).
Students can record their minutes on
their Six Flags Reading Record Log.
Logs are due February 10th.
Encourage your child to read as
much as they write at home!

Upcoming Events
Thursday, January 19 PTA General Meeting in Library @ 6:00PM
Monday, January 23 Science Fair Experiments Due
Wednesday, January 25 6:00-7:00PM Science Fair Family Viewing Night in the Library
Thursday, February 2 Spring Individual & Group Picture Day