Dear Parents,
Week three into quarter two, and some changes coming to the 4th grade!
After a lot of discussion the 4th grade team has decided to change our discipline policies. Instead of 3 identical infractions in a month adding up to a detention, we are changing it to 3 identical infractions in a week. This means that if a student receive 3 TLK infractions in a single week, they will receive a detention. But if they receive 2 TLK infractions in the first week of November, and another TLK in the second week of November, they will NOT be given a detention. If you're still confused, feel free to email me for more clarification, but in essence we are shortening the amount of time that infractions can add up into detentions.
On the topic of infractions, make sure you are reminding your students to get their homework done and turn it in when its due! We have many missing homework assignments so far this quarter, and we are going to start handing out UPLs for every missing assignment (they build up fast, even in one week).
Also remember to remind your scholars to log their reading minutes for the Read-A-Thon. Its through those pledges that we are building our school library, so its important!
This Week
1) In History we will be spending Monday and Tuesday learning about the Crusades, and on Wednesday and Thursday we will be studying for our first TEST of the quarter. The test will be on everything they have learned so far this quarter about the religion of Islam. Islam Quiz 1 went home today and will be useful for studying for the test. Islam Quiz 2 will go home on Monday, so look out for that too when helping your student study. Islam has been more challenging for our students than previous units, so you should especially focus on memorizing Arabic terms such as "Mosque," "Minaret," and "Caliph."
2) In Writing we will be dissecting sentences to see how removing words can totally change the meaning of a sentence. Our students will get to see how the parts of speech function to create beautiful sentences and how much thought has to go into communication.
3) In Reading we will be continuing in King Arthur and our discussions of bravery and the meaning of being a knight. Feel free to ask your students questions about what they think it means to be a "true knight." As always, reading with your students gives them the best chance to comprehend and remember the plot of the story.
Thanks for all you are doing! Your children are truly a blessing to teach.
Best,
Mr. Ohbayashi
Friday, October 30, 2015
Monday, October 26, 2015
Q2 Week 1
Dear Parents,
We are back to full weeks of school and the second quarter is officially underway! I spoke to most of you last week, and mentioned that the curriculum is going to get a little more difficult. Expect the homework to ask more of your students and maybe take a bit longer, but let me know if it becomes too much. All homework should take about 90 minutes to complete, if it is taking significantly more than that for your student, let us know and we will work with them.
This Week
1) In History we will continue to learn about Mohammed and the rise of Islam. Make sure your students are doing the readings and focus questions that will be going home and feel free to discuss and ask them questions about the early days of the Muslim religion. This is a topic many students are much less familiar with than Medieval and Christian history, so extra discussion at home will help a lot!
2) In Reading we will be reading the story of Sir Gareth in King Arthur and also starting the tale of Tristram and Isolde. Read along with your students and focus on discussions of bravery in its different forms. There will be a quiz at the end of the week that will ask them to discuss the bravery of these two knights (and of Isolde) and try to define the difference between bravery and brashness.
3) In Writing we will be learning about adjectives, the great describers of the English language. A great thing to do at home is to ask your students to identify the different parts of everyday sentences. Questions like "Is that a noun or a verb?" or "Can you find the subject of this sentence?" help give students the experience to be confident in their understanding of the parts of speech.
Lets start the quarter off strong!
Best,
Mr. Ohbayashi
We are back to full weeks of school and the second quarter is officially underway! I spoke to most of you last week, and mentioned that the curriculum is going to get a little more difficult. Expect the homework to ask more of your students and maybe take a bit longer, but let me know if it becomes too much. All homework should take about 90 minutes to complete, if it is taking significantly more than that for your student, let us know and we will work with them.
This Week
1) In History we will continue to learn about Mohammed and the rise of Islam. Make sure your students are doing the readings and focus questions that will be going home and feel free to discuss and ask them questions about the early days of the Muslim religion. This is a topic many students are much less familiar with than Medieval and Christian history, so extra discussion at home will help a lot!
2) In Reading we will be reading the story of Sir Gareth in King Arthur and also starting the tale of Tristram and Isolde. Read along with your students and focus on discussions of bravery in its different forms. There will be a quiz at the end of the week that will ask them to discuss the bravery of these two knights (and of Isolde) and try to define the difference between bravery and brashness.
3) In Writing we will be learning about adjectives, the great describers of the English language. A great thing to do at home is to ask your students to identify the different parts of everyday sentences. Questions like "Is that a noun or a verb?" or "Can you find the subject of this sentence?" help give students the experience to be confident in their understanding of the parts of speech.
Lets start the quarter off strong!
Best,
Mr. Ohbayashi
Friday, October 2, 2015
Week 9
Dear Parents,
Its hard to believe the quarter is almost over already. Both Mr. Elefson and I have greatly enjoyed the past 8 weeks teaching your students. As we close out the quarter, make sure to encourage and praise them. Making it through even one quarter of a Great Hearts curriculum is no small achievement.
They will have little homework over the break (possibly none at all, I have to confirm), so make sure to let them to rest and relax, they have earned it!
This Week
1) In History we will be studying great people of the Middle Ages. Your students will have a project where they study their own famous person. More details will come home on Monday.
2) In Reading we will continue to read King Arthur. The next tale is the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It is incredibly exciting so make sure to talk to your students and get the details. As always it is always so helpful for you to have your students read to you.
3) In Writing we are going to be copying a passage from the Magna Carta. There are a lot of beautiful sentences that we will be breaking down and putting back together to give your students an understanding of how the English language can be used to express ideas with power and verve.
Your students are doing great here at school, keep encouraging them and keep up the great work you are doing at home!
Best,
Mr. Ohbayashi
Its hard to believe the quarter is almost over already. Both Mr. Elefson and I have greatly enjoyed the past 8 weeks teaching your students. As we close out the quarter, make sure to encourage and praise them. Making it through even one quarter of a Great Hearts curriculum is no small achievement.
They will have little homework over the break (possibly none at all, I have to confirm), so make sure to let them to rest and relax, they have earned it!
This Week
1) In History we will be studying great people of the Middle Ages. Your students will have a project where they study their own famous person. More details will come home on Monday.
2) In Reading we will continue to read King Arthur. The next tale is the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It is incredibly exciting so make sure to talk to your students and get the details. As always it is always so helpful for you to have your students read to you.
3) In Writing we are going to be copying a passage from the Magna Carta. There are a lot of beautiful sentences that we will be breaking down and putting back together to give your students an understanding of how the English language can be used to express ideas with power and verve.
Your students are doing great here at school, keep encouraging them and keep up the great work you are doing at home!
Best,
Mr. Ohbayashi
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)