Weekly Update 5/31-6/2

Good morning,

It's our last week of school. I can't hardly believe it. I guess the old saying is true...

The only update you need for the week is the link for our party. There are still a few things you can sign up for. I've also uploaded all of our picture from the year to our photo folder. Feel free to take what you want!

Finally, some of you may know, but this week will be my last week as a member of the Elsa England family. My fiance was offered a promotion that we couldn't refuse. A few weeks later I was offered a position teaching fifth grade at a great school in Houston. To say that I'm heartbroken over the decision to leave the England community would be an understatement. I want to thank everyone for being absolutely lovely and kind. These past few years at England have been a true blessing both professionally and personally.

Since I'm not sure how long my RRISD email will work, I have set up a separate email address for parents and students to keep in touch. You can reach me at hellomisswright@yahoo.com

End of Year Party

It's time to celebrate another wonderful school year. If you would like to make a donation to our party to make it a success, please click the link for more information.

Weekly Update 5/15-20

Good morning!

It's going to be an exciting week in fourth grade! Here is a list of a few things we have going on:

Monday - Book fair preview
Tuesday - Symphony field trip
Wednesday - Bob Bullock field trip
Thursday - Spotlight Night
Friday - Field Day

Reading
This week, we are going to spend some time discussing different persuasive techniques. We will look at tricks we can use to persuade people to take action. We will also spend some time looking at advertising techniques used to persuade children to buy their products.

Writing
We are going to spend a lot of time reflecting on our year and how much we have learned. Students are currently working on a Spotlight Night presentation for parents and a blog update for future fourth grade students.

Math
We are circling back to personal financial literacy. We will review different savings options, different kinds of accounts, and ways to prepare for our financial futures.

Science
We are starting our last science unit on energy. Students will learn how to make simple and complex circuits. We will work on this unit all the way through the end of the year! You can check our science page for lots of extra practice links.

Fourth Grade 411
- Please do not forget to turn in your conference forms.
- Information about our class party will go home at the end of the week.
- Please check your email this week for updates about how the weather could possibly impact our plans for the week.
- Book Fair is this week! I will send kiddos to buy books as often as possible.

Weekly Update 5/2-6

Good Morning!

I cannot believe it's already May! Is it me, or has this year completely flown by? As always, May is packed with a million things to do. Please make sure you are keeping up with our calendar and notes home. We also have our last round of STAAR testing next week. Please make sure students arrive on time, if not early. They will need a snack that doesn't make mess with juices or residue on little fingers. Please make sure you read the fourth grade 411. There is a lot happening! 

Here is what our week will look like:

Language Arts
We are going to spend our week reviewing for STAAR. Last week, we played reading bingo to help jazz things up a bit. Don't forget to utilize all our fabulous resources to help prepare at home. Students will also have two reading passages that will go home for homework on Monday and Wednesday. They are due back the following day.

Math
We will spend this last week doing a lot of review and review games. Once STAAR is over, we will start a unit on financial responsibility. It's one of my favorite units to teach and is a topic that is near to my heart!

Science
We are moving on from adaptations and inherited traits. We will start a new unit on life cycles today! We will kick off the unit with some time with baby chicks that just hatched in first grade! Students will compare life cycles of chicks to life cycles of insects.

Social Studies
Now that the Civil War is over, how will America and Texas move forward?

Fourth Grade 411
- Please turn in rockwall, symphony, and Bob Bullock permission slips as soon as possible.
- Wednesday is an early release day.
- Math and reading STAAR are on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

-End of year conferences will be held at various times the next two weeks. I will not be available on Fridays or Monday and Tuesday of STAAR. I will have time on Wednesday with early release. Conferences are not required. I will send home a conference form to everyone in Thursday folders that will need to be returned with a signature. If you feel there is something you need to discuss, send me an email and we will setup a time. 

Weekly Update 4/25-29

Good Morning!

Our last round of STAAR testing is just two weeks away. If you're looking for some extra practice at home, please don't forget to use all of our amazing online resources. We wouldn't push them so hard if we didn't think they were great products that will help prepare your child for testing. Please let me know if I can provide any other resources for you.

Math Resources

Brain Genie
Math Flix
Khan Academy
IXL
Think Through Math

Released STAAR Assessments

Reading Resources

Released STAAR Assessments

iStation

Read Works Reading Passages 

This week:

Language Arts
Last week, all the kiddos wrote imaginative stories about what they would do if they were the principal for the day. We will spend some time celebrating and sharing those stories this week. We will also work on our blogs and complete a few reading passages.

Math
We are in review mode for STAAR. We will work through all the TEKS throughout the next two weeks. We will work in small groups, with partners, play games, complete a few independent assignments, you name it - we are gonna do it!

Science
This week, we are going to move on to inherited traits. We will talk about how we inherit our traits from our parents, and look at some common examples. This would be a fun topic to discuss at home! Who can curl their tongue, has a widows peak, can bend their thumb backwards, etc.

Social Studies
War within and without. We will learn how Texas plays a role in the Civil War and the Mexican War.

Fourth Grade 411
- Please remember to get those cans in by Friday!
- Rock-wall permission slips are due ASAP. This is a GREAT experience for all of our fourth graders.

-Don't forget to signup for Camp Invention. You can find the flyer in our online folder. 

Animal Adaptation Thing Links

Weekly Update 4/18-22

Good Afternoon!

I hope everyone is staying safe with this weather. Please make sure you are checking the district website for regular updates since it seems we aren't going to catch a break from this rain for a few days. As of right now, we will still have all afterschool activities today. That may change, and I will let you know as soon as I do.

Language Arts
Next week is Administration Appreciation Week. This week, we are writing fiction stories to share with Ms. Stowe and Mrs. McFerren. Kiddos are writing about what they would do if they were the principal, and what they think the principal does all day. We came up with quite a hilarious list today and started working on our plans. Students will finish their writing by Wednesday. They will spend Thursday and Friday creating a video to go with their stories. We will put it all together in a slideshow to share with them next week!

Science
We are going to continue to learn about adaptions and begin discussing inherited traits. We will discuss how animals have evolved over time, through inherited traits and survival of the fittest, to be best adapted to their environment. f

Math

We are going to spend the next few weeks jumping around to review all concepts before STAAR. We will start this week off with discussing ways to organize data. Students will focus on dot plots, frequency tables, and stem and leaf plots. You can find extra practice for these skills on IXL. We will then spend some time reviewing division, multi digit multiplication, and adding and subtracting decimals. Don't forget to use all of our great online tools for extra practice at home!

Social Studies
This week, we will learn about the repercussions of Texas joining the United States.

Fourth Grade 411
- I have uploaded some grades today. Feel free to check them out. I'm adding in more as the week continues.
- Each kiddo needs to bring in an empty soup can for a project we are doing for Mother's Day. Please bring them in by Friday!