Mr. Johnson's Jargon
March 2010

Comments
Where did February go? It came and went so fast! Now spring is fast approaching, which means that there is much to do.

I want to thank everyone involved in our Valentine's Day Party! It was a great success!

Writing
We are still finishing our persuasive writing unit. After that, we will begin our Alphabet Books. These will be done in groups and will take up March, and probably go into April. After studying various forms and themes of published Alphabet Books, each group will choose a theme for their own book, and write and illustrate it.

Reading
March's Book Report Genre is Biography/Autobiograpy. Look for a note with more details.

We spent time in February working on using the dictionary and on reading non-ficiton texts. This means that we have just starting reading Sign of the Beaver as a class. After we finish that, we will resume our regular book clubs.

I want to encourage every student to continue to read at home. This month, we have the added incentive of the Seven Peaks Peak Reader program. Any student that reads over 500 minutes in March will receive a free pass to Seven Peaks.

Science
Our Rock Cycle unit went very well! We are now beginning our unit on fossils. We will mostly discuss the three ways fossils are formed, but we'll also talk about what we can learn from fossils about the animals that left them.

Math
We are about to finish geometry, and will then be moving on to fractions and decimals. This will take us all of March. In April, we will begin reviewing for the State Core CRT Tests.

I want to encourage every student to practice the multiplication facts at home. These are coming along, but we still have work to do. The goal is to have them memorized by the end of the school year.

Rendezvous
Our 4th Grade Rendezvous is tentively scheduled for March 22. That day, we will spend the morning playing various mountain man games. Then in the afternoon, we will be barterning in class. Look for more details later in the month.
Checking Out
If you need to check your child out of school, please remember that for the safety of our students, they should wait in the classroom until you have checked them out. The office will then call them down. Please don't ask them to wait for you in the office.

Important Dates
Report Cards Mar. 3
No School Mar. 5
Book Reports Mar. 26

Contact Information:
Phone: 785-8714 ext. 114
E-mail: johnc166@alpine.k12.ut.us
(Include the phrase "parent of" in the subject line.)

How Can I Help?

Items needed in the Classroom

We can always use more tissues, hand sanitizer, and hand soap. Right now, we have plenty of everything else that we need.

In the Classroom

We have Independent Reading time at 2:15 each day. We can always use someone to read with the students at that time. We have a schedule in place for volunteers, but if you'd like to be added, let me know and I will contact our Room Mothers.

I keep meaning to find a time to have parents work with students on their multiplication facts. It's hard to find a spot in the day where it won't be distracting to other students and won't take away from learning time.

At Home

At home, the best thing you can do for your child is to read with them. Sometimes, when they get to 4th grade, we feel like they should spend all their time reading independently. While that independent reading time is important, it is still vital that they spend time reading with an adult at home. As you know, I ask that my students spend 20 minutes reading each night, and that at least 10 of those minutes are read aloud. It makes a huge difference if they have that read aloud time, and an even bigger difference if it is with an adult. (Someone once asked, "At what ages should I start and stop reading with my child?" The answer is that you should start reading with them the moment they are born, and don't stop until they make you. It is okay to read with your child well into their teens, and I've even known some to read with their grown children.)

4th Grade is a time when we are trying to get our kids to memorize their Multiplication Facts. One thing you can do is to obtain a set of flashcards with which to practice these facts. (Each student has made a set at school and will be bringing them home later this month to practice.) They can also always use practice with their addition and subtraction facts.

Finally, it is always helpful if you can check over your child's homework. This extra few minutes of one-on-one time helps to reinforce what we have done in class. I often have kids come to me and say, "My dad showed me this way to do it!" Many times, it is a method that we learned in class, but that extra few minutes helped to solidify it in the child's mind.