Q2 Week 3

"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." -Ellen Parr

Dear Parents,

Never forget to encourage your students to keep asking questions. Even though they can some times be frustratingly abundant, a child's questions are key to opening their minds to engage and understand new ideas. Ask them your own questions: "How do you think that works?", "Why do you think he made that choice?" Always keep them thinking and never discourage their natural desire to know.

This Week

1) In History we will be learning about the Magna Carta and the first Parliamentary government in England. The principles set down in the Magna Carta would become the cornerstones of the American Constitution 500 years later. Be sure to talk to your students about ideas such as trial by jury and no taxation without proper approval of those being taxed!

There will be a quiz this Friday on what we learned this week.

2) In Writing we are going to be reviewing proper punctuation and practicing our diagramming skills. You can help your students by asking them to identify what the subject noun and verb are in everyday sentences that they encounter. There will be a spelling test and a grammar quiz on Friday. The spelling quiz should be fairly easy for the students, the words we are going over in Spalding are mostly to get them back in the groove and rhythm of doing Spalding.

3) In Literature we are nearing the end of King Arthur. I must warn you, the ending is rather depressing in places, though with promises of greater victory to come. If you haven't been reading to your student so far, now would be a great time to start!

Best,

Mr. Ohbayashi

Q2 Week 2

"Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it." -Teddy Roosevelt

Dear Parents,

We are beginning to encounter assignments that are more difficult than what your fourth graders have been asked to accomplish previously. You may be seeing some frustration at home, but a little frustration is actually part of our goal. Learning is frustrating. One lesson we want our fourth graders to walk away from this year is that sometimes, in order to learn, you have to struggle. To that end we sometimes ask our students to reach for goals that are not easily accomplished. If you feel the workload is becoming too stressful on your scholar, please contact me and we can figure out a way to continue to challenge them without creating unhealthy levels of anxiety.

This Week

1. In History we will be working on our Medieval Persons project this week. This project requires students to ask questions and research a famous Medieval figure and gather information to share with their group. They will then present this information to the whole class. This is one of those difficult projects, especially the research. Do not think of this as a full on research project, but rather a foray into world of research. It can be really challenging for students to know where to start, but I have been very pleased with the results and experiences that students have had with this project in previous years.

2. In Writing we will be learning how to use Being verbs. Students will will be parsing and diagramming sentences using the verbs Am, Is, Are, Was, Were, Be, Being, Been. If you want to challenge your students at home, ask them to stop and tell you whether the sentences you have been using use Being or Action verbs.

3. In Literature we are continuing with King Arthur. This week we are reading the story of Gawain and Lady Ragnell. This is a story of the power of sacrifice and service. Feel free to read with your students and enjoy the story!

4. In Spalding we will be taking our first spelling test! The 20 spelling words this week have gone home as Spalding HW assignments #2 and #3. I do not expect these spelling words to be especially challenging for our students, but it is good for them to get into the routine of Spalding homework and spelling tests.

Best,

Mr. Ohbayashi

Q2 Week 1

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths"

Walt Disney

Dear Parents,

This quarter is a new beginning for us and our scholars. It will bring new challenges and new joys, and we don't know where we will be when we come to the end of it. Last quarter was a period of learning and adjustment. Now that we have our feet under us a bit more solidly, we will start seeing precisely what we can do. The rigor and expectations are going up, but don't panic if your student comes home frustrated once or twice. We will be working to help them rise to their potential here at school, just let us know if things seem to be getting too much for them and we will figure out a way to help.

This Week

1, In History we will be learning about the earliest European cities that began to grow in the Middle Ages. What was it like to live in a city? Why might a serf leave his home on a manor and move to live in a place like London or Paris? 

We will have an open note quiz on Friday.

2. In Writing we will be doing a myriad of activities this week. Because it is a week of half-days we will be switching from subject to subject in ELA. On Monday we will be learning our new poem, "Rhinoceros" by Ogden Nash and reciting it on Wednesday. On Tuesday we will learn how to write a personal letter and practice it with a homework assignment. On Thursday we will be doing Spalding and our first Spalding homework assignment! Look for an explanatory note coming home on that. Friday we will get back to reading King Arthur with reading homework.



Best,

Mr. Ohbayashi

Q1 Week 9

“Can't say I've ever been too fond of beginnings, myself. Messy little things. Give me a good ending anytime. You know where you are with an ending.” - Neil Gaiman

We now come to the end of our beginning, the first quarter in 4th grade at Archway Trivium East. It has been an awfully exciting beginning, and even in this time every one of us has grown a lot. As we wrap up our opening act it is always a good idea to review how things went. Did we do our best? How can we improve? What comes next? These questions and more can help focus us as we enter into a new chapter in our 4th grade adventure.

Sign ups for parent teacher conferences have gone out, if you did not get the email the link to find the sign ups is: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/30E084CAFAF22ABFF2-4thgrade

Sign up quickly! Spots fill fast.

This Week

In History we will be learning about city life in the Middle Ages and the urban environments that began to spring up across Europe. What was it like to live in a Medieval city? We shall discuss everything from the governments to the guilds, from the street design to the smells might one encounter on a jaunt through London or Paris.

In Literature we will be reading the tragic story of Tristram and Isault. You may see some weepy students this week as this is King Arthur's equivalent to Romeo and Juliet except with more dragons.

In Writing we will continue learning about describers, this week our focus will be adverbs. Adverbs allow us to not just learn, but learn well. They are essential to describing our actions and even our very being.

I hope you and your students enjoy the final week of our quarter!

Best,

Mr. Ohbayashi

Q1 Week 7

"Glory follows virtue as if it were its shadow." -Marcus Tullius Cicero

Going into our 7th week we are facing new challenges. Our commitment to virtue and excellence in behavior is being tested, but we are all working to persevere through trial to emerge to the great glory of the learning on the other side. Keep encouraging your students to come to school ready to give their all to the pursuit of truth and knowledge. Learning starts with listening and following instructions, which can be hard, but it ends in mystery, adventure, and wonder.

This Week

1. In History we will be exploring the life and relationships of the people of the Middle Ages. How did the average person live in the 1100s? What were the expectations of peasants, knights, lords, and kings? How would one effectively besiege a castle?! Feel free to ask all these questions and more so you can join into the fun of learning about such a fantastic period.

We will also have a history test on Friday. There will be a study guide sent home that will be based on their review and their notes. Make sure you remind your scholar to bring their notes home on Wednesday and Thursday!

2. In Writing we will be learning about the dynamic verb. Verbs are what make a sentence interesting! They tell us whatever it is that there is to say about our subject, and they can be used in so many different ways. This week we will focus on the Action Verb and will be introducing diagramming to the students. Look out for some simple diagramming homework to come home later in the week.

3. In Literature we will continue to read King Arthur and meet more of his mightiest knights. The diction and vocabulary in this book are more difficult (as you have noticed) so it would be super helpful to read with your scholar if you have time. If not, encourage them to write down words they don't know and ask you about them when you are free. Reading with your scholar is the number one best way to help them improve their reading level, so make it a priority if at all possible.

4. In Poetry we will be finishing memorizing Shel Silversteins "Clarence" this week. Have your student perform it for you! Don't worry, we made sure to explain to them that they cannot actually sell you and get new parents. The whole poem should be memorized by Monday (Sept 26th)

Best,

Mr. Ohbayashi

Q1 Week 6

"Well begun is half done." -Mary Poppins (But really Aristotle).

Dear Parents,

We are half way done with out first semester of 4th grade at Archway Trivium East. Let's all take a moment to wonder at what our students have accomplished even in this short time. They have read an entire book and had a seminar discussion on kingship. They have discussed the fall of Rome and what causes were most significant in its destruction. They have begun to learn the process of writing a clean and beautiful sentence. In these few weeks they have learned a lot, and impressed us even more. Find the time this week to congratulate them on a year well begun.

In Class

1) History: In history we will be learning about the rise of Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire. We will also learn about the institution of a feudal society and the different roles played by peasants, knights, and royalty in such a society. There will be a quiz this Friday (9/16) and a test NEXT Friday (9/23).

2) Reading: We are starting King Arthur! This will match up well with out study of Feudal Society and knighthood. Be sure to ask your students about the story if you are not already reading with them.

3) Writing: This week we will be reading the story "the leap frog" and learning to identify the main narrative thread of the story and then summarize it in an original sentence. The key process is for the students to 1) Think what they want to write, 2) Say what they want to write, and finally 3) Write what they want to write. Following these steps will help train your students to become organized writers.

Keep up all the good work you are doing at home, and thanks so much for all the support you give us here.

Best,

Mr. Ohbayashi
4th Grade ELA/History Lead

Q1 Week 5

"Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men." Martha Graham

Dear Parents,

Week five of our school year is upon us and with it deficiency notices. For those who are not aware, a deficiency notice is a communication to you that your student has a deficient grade in a one of the 4 subjects they are graded on in 4th grade. Our struggles with putting names on our homework have led to a few more deficiency notices than is normal, so there may be some surprising notices coming home.

 This is a time that can be stressful for both you and your scholars, but I urge you and your students not become discouraged if you receive one. Deficient grades are easily solvable this early in the quarter. For most students it will be as simple a matter as making sure they have their name on all of their assignments.

The 4th grade is the best time for students to learn to struggle through adversity. A deficiency notice is often the lesson they need to get them to take are part of their education more seriously. I urge you to treat deficiency notices, and grades in general, as lessons to learn from rather than failures to be punished for.


This Week

History: We are moving into the Middle Ages proper this week and will be learning about the life of peasants after the fall of Rome.  Students will learn the role prayer and work had in the lives of peasants and how the vulnerability of the average person in the chaos of the Medieval age lead to the rise of Feudalism. We will have a quiz on Friday on pgs. 10 and 11 of their history notebook which SHOULD come home with them Thursday night.

Writing: In writing we will be introducing the importance of a sentence and why they can be so difficult to write. We will learn what a sentence is and how to identify a well structured sentence vs. a poorly structured sentence. We will have a quiz on nouns and pronouns next Monday (9/12/2016)

Literature: This week we will ACTUALLY seminar on Prince Caspian! Last week the chaos of MAP testing delayed our seminar. We have decided that the only question that will be discussed is "What trait is most important to have to be a good king?" Ask the question to your students and see how they respond!

The next book we will be reading is King Arthur, which will be assigned from the class.

Spalding: We will begin adding pages to our Spalding book this week. Next week you should see Spalding spelling words coming home.


Best,

Mr. Ohbayashi
4th Grade History/ELA Lead Teacher