ITBS and other important information

A big thank you to all who helped with or attended the Swim Carnival last Friday. It was a great success and it couldn't have been accomplished without your support. It was fantastic to see all of the students having fun and cheering for their friends and classmates as they all swam their very best. Please stake a moment to look at our "Photos" page to see some of the shots captured at the carnival. Also, thank you for your generous "Free Dress Day" donations to support "Water for Sudan" and the GIN organization here at M'KIS.

I.T. with Ms. Best:In IT class, students have been reviewing their roles as digital citizens. They have been writing important rules to remember on an online, public wall. To view the comments students wrote about "Digital Citizenship," please visit our 4B wall on Padlet at  http://padlet.com/wall/jxynciihru

ITBS Testing:This week the class is taking the ITBS test. Fourth Grade will be administering it between recess and lunch each day. Please ensure that your child comes to school well-rested, and having eaten a healthy breakfast. Please see the school "Link" for more information about this and other important events happening around campus. Also, don't forget to check out the specialists' blogs for other important updates.

Language Arts:
In class, we have been reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo as our class read aloud. 

"Edward is a rabbit who was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely. And then, one day, he was lost. Edward goes on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hobos' camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle — that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again."

As we follow Edward on his journey, we have been discussing the many life-changing events he has experienced. We are practicing a variety of reading strategies and using sticky notes to show our thinking as we have been reading. Along with reading and discussing this book in class,  students are reminded to have a "Just Right Book" in class to read each day for Reader's Workshop.

We are also in the beginning stages of our Writer's Workshop, focusing on personal narratives. We discussed choosing a small moment to write about, while zooming in on exact details to retell a story.

Math: 
Students have been hard at working at reading and writing numbers through hundred millions and recently completed a chapter test. The test went home on Friday for students to review, correct and have signed by their parents. The Weekly Math Challenge has also been going well. While getting the problem correct is nice, showing good effort and  perseverance on a tough word problem is the real goal. Thanks for all of your efforts and support with this.

Social Studies: 

We have continued practicing map skills this week, focusing on using latitude and longitude. After some practice, students found their "home" on a map and recorded the coordinates.