Hour of Code

Tomorrow our students will participate in a global initiative called Hour of Code. Its goal is to teach students about computer coding and inspire their commitment to math, science, technology and human outreach. Todd Gilbert, Board of Education member, will also be joining us. Here is a link to an introductory video and the website we'll be using. Have fun exploring!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKIu9yen5nc

www.code.org 

Operation Gratitude

Room 348 remembered our Veterans this year and participated in Operation Gratitude. We created cards for Veterans, Wounded Warriors and New Recruits.

Point of View Rap

Here's a great song to help students understand and practice point of view in texts! Enjoy!  :)

Flocabulary Rap

Newsletter November 2015

ELA

Reading:

Ø  Target Skills: fact vs. opinion, summarizing

Ø  Review: characterization, point of view, theme, visualizing

Writing:

Ø  Our focus will continue to be on informative writing. We’ll create:

o   An informative paragraph

o   A book report

o   An explanatory essay

o   Native American Tribal Role Project

Grammar:

Ø  Verb tenses, progressive verb tenses and compound vs. complex sentences

Spelling & Vocab:

Ø  All tests are Friday!!!

Ø  Below is a great link to work on weekly vocab

https://www.spellingcity.com/sweeadam/

Math

Chapter 4 Divide by 1-Digit numbers

o   Estimate Quotients

o   Investigate & Interpret Remainders

o   Divide 10’s, 100’s and 1,000’s

o   Distributive Property

o   Divide Using Repeat Subtraction

o   Partial Quotients

o   Place the First Digit

o   Divide by 1-Digit Numbers

Chapter 5 Divide by 1-Digit numbers

o   Model factors

o   Factors and Divisibility

o   Problem Solving – Common Factors

o   Factors and Multiples

o   Prime and Composite Numbers

o   Number Patterns

Nightly homework - the even’s on the practice pages. Please feel free to do more if your student needs more practice. J

                                                       Social Studies

Concepts:

We’ll be wrapping up our study on Native Americans.  The test will cover Iroquois and Algonquin’s regarding their way of life & government.  As part of our culmination our class will have Haudenosaunee Day! Please be on the lookout for more information on how you can help out with this exciting day!

Our next study will be a science topic

Electricity

There will be homework, quizzes and tests along with this unit so make sure to check your student’s agenda each day.

                                                                    Reminders

ü 11-4 Quarter 1 ends

ü 11-10 Favorite Hoodie Day

ü 11-11 No school – Veterans Day

ü 11-12 & 11-13 – Student - Teacher - Parent Conferences

ü 11-23 Haudenosaunee Day

ü 11-25 PTA Box-top PJ Day

ü 11-27 – Book Orders due

ü 11-26 & 11-27 – No school – Thanksgiving

Invasion From Mars

Our anchor text this week was an excerpt from War of the Worlds original radio broadcast. The entire play is almost an hour so I told the class I would post the link so you could watch it with your permission. :) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs0K4ApWl4g 

An exciting morning!

This morning we were lucky enough to have 4 of our Shatekon 4th graders get a ride to school on a fire truck! Because of their thoughtful and artistic posters showing how to prevent fires, these students were picked up at their homes and got a ride of a lifetime. It was so exciting to see them rush around the bend sirens and horns blaring. Check out my class pictures page to see the fun!!

New Feature!

I have added access to all of our vocabulary words! Using the links list to the right, you can see all our vocabulary words as well as games to help understand their meanings. If you have any questions please contact me. :)

Math Video Resource

There is a new resource that GoMath just released. I made sure all students had access to this. If you can find it please let me know. 

GoMath Video Resources!

Dear Student,

There is something new in math.  You can now access a video clip from home that goes with each of the lessons in our GO MATH book!  These videos are designed to reinforce the lesson we did in class and support you with your homework.  The videos are fun and engaging.

To access the videos:

1.     Log in to Think Central using your username and password

2.    Select the “Math on the Spot Videos” icon

3.    Choose your grade, chapter, and lesson

Watch and enjoy!

Lot's of Important Dates!

There is a lot going on in 4th grade! I wanted to send a reminder about some important dates to keep in mind. :)

10/9 - Kids are dismissed 15 minutes early
10/13 - Fire Prevention Poster Due
10/14 - Drama Club forms and PTA fundraiser due
10/16 - Brookside Museum Field Trip  ***Send in a bagged lunch***

Go Home Early Drill

Friday, Oct. 9, is the annual “Go Home Early” evacuation drill. All students, K-12, will be dismissed 15 minutes earlier than the normal dismissal time and sent home with the following exceptions:
• Students who have athletic contests or practices will be dismissed to designated areas with their coaches and held there until the 15 minute emergency dismissal period ends. Coaches will inform athletes of the designated location.
• Y-Care students will be dismissed to their Y-Care provider.
The New York State Education Department requires all school districts to hold an annual "Go Home Early" drill to ensure that students and staff are prepared in case an emergency ever requires school grounds to be cleared and students to be transported home or to another location.

• If you have any questions or concerns please contact the main office. :) 

Thank You!

Thank you to all the parents who were able to join us for Open House! It was wonderful speaking with all of you and getting on the same page. Hopefully, you found it informative and relaxing. I'll be sending home reminders about conferences and setting up conferences with those who didn't get a chance to sign up. Thanks again!

B.Y.O.D.

Starting tomorrow, students who have a signed and returned Bring Your Own Device permission form are welcome to use their electronics for instruction! We are very excited to start and I know using these interactive tools will help learning throughout the day. If at any point you feel like you would like your child to bring in his/her device, please contact me. I'll be happy to send home the district policy and permission form again.

2015-2016 Walk Thru!

Well, another Teacher Walk Thru on the books! It was lovely to see so many excited faces; some new, some familiar. A few of our friends took advantage of my selfie stand while exploring the classroom. Check it out!

Summer Reading List

This website is a great resource for appropriate summer reading! Make sure to curl up with a great book. :)

Morning Message

We made the news! Here is a link to our morning message to share with friends and family. :)

Summer Reading Programs

Here are the links to the different summer reading programs we've been discussing at school. Make sure to get the most out of your summer reading and join!

Capital Communications - $3 per book

Barnes and Noble -  Free book

Clifton Park - Halfmoon Library - A lot of fun events and activities

Summer Reading Challenge - Certificate of Participation signed by Assemblyman James Tedisco

June Newsletter

ELA

Reading:

Ø  Students are beginning our last unit in Journeys! The format stays the same for our lessons but we’ll be using magazines and a chapter book titled Phineas L. MacGuire…Gets Slimed!

Ø  We will not be having any reading logs during the month of June but I ask you still have your student read 30 minutes a night.

Writing:

Ø  We’ll finish our autobiographies and write some informational text for next year’s 4^th graders.

Assessments:

Ø  We will still have our spelling and reading assessments Friday mornings as usual. 

Math

Getting Ready for 5^th Grade:

ü We will continue with our exposure lessons to 5^th grade material. Many students have commented how excited they are for 5^th grade math because they can do it already!

ü Mrs. Schram, our district math coach, will come in to teach a lesson on toilet paper area and perimeter

Reflex:

ü  Our class logs on to Reflex math fluency twice a week. For maximum benefit they should do another 20-30 minutes at home. Many math skills are dependent on fact knowledge!

Social Studies

Chapter 5 American Revolution

v Students will learn the important dates and events of the American Revolution and how it affected NYS.

Chapter 6 NYS Government

v Students will find out how New Yorkers take part in their local and state government

v Students will find out what it means to be a US citizen

v Students will learn how NYS was effected by various water ways and means of transportation

Reminders

6/1 – NYS Science written exam

6/5 – Junior Achievement

6/11 – Mabee Farm trip

6/12 – Flag Day assembly & 11:00 dismissal

6/16 – field day

6/19 – 4^th Grade picnic 9:00-11:00

11:00 dismissal

6/24 – Last day of school ~ 11:00 dismissal

I'm back....

Dear parents,

I am so happy to be back teaching your amazing students. I missed them dearly while I was out snuggling my little ones. If you didn't hear I had a little boy named Noah. :)

While I was out Mrs. VanDeCar did an amazing job keeping the routine and structure of the classroom the same. She also did an excellent job keeping pace to make sure all topics could be covered by the end of 4th grade (all this without  the advantage of shadowing me like we planned).

The end of the year is coming up quick. May and June are very busy times. Please keep an eye on the blog (http://mrscushmansclass.blogspot.com) and my newsletter for important dates.

As a reminder:

5.19 - Budget vote / Celebrate Reading Night
5.20 - Science performance test & PTA meeting in library 6:30
5.22 - No school
5.25 - No school
5.26 - District level achievement test (ELA)
5.27 - District level achievement test (math)
5.28 - Albany field trip ** this is a change in date!!

Maternity Leave

Dear Parents and Families,

          As you know, I will be out on maternity leave soon. Mrs. Jean VanDeCar will fill in during my absence. She has been with our district as a daily substitute in past years and is currently filling a sick leave within our building. This makes for a smooth transition to our classroom! She is very familiar with building procedures, our students and Shatekon’s rules.

          I believe she is going to be a great fit for our classroom! We have already begun discussing how our classroom is run and you can expect minimal changes in routines and expectations. She will be in to observe our class to familiarize herself with our routines, students and curriculum content.  I have supplied Mrs. VanDeCar with many notes concerning our students individual needs as well.

I do plan on returning for the end of the school year and we will work together again to create a smooth transition. I look forward to returning to finish off a great year with your students!