CNN Student News

I'm not sure if you have heard your child talk about CNN Student News, but the kids have really enjoyed it this week!

CNN Student News is a ten minute news program designed for students.  While it is really designed for kids a little older than these fourth graders, I believe it is still very understandable for these students.  The show typically starts with a couple big news stories spoken/explained in a little bit more manageable ways, then there are interesting stories about new scientific discoveries, new technologies, on this day in history, or people doing really amazing things.  There are usually fun facts scattered throughout and incredibly cheesy puns by the energetic host.

I have been previewing the show each morning to make sure none of the news discussed is too graphic or too frightening for the children.  There will be some days that we won't watch it if I don't think it is appropriate, or when we run out of time.  I wanted to share the link in case you wanted to watch it or you and your child wanted to watch it together sometime.

CNN Student News

Since we are watching it as we get packed up in the afternoons, it is possible something from the show is the first thing out of your child's mouth when you pick him/her up.  I hope some of what they learn sparks some great discussions!

First Nine Weeks, Week 4

Reading Goals: This week, students are choosing two reading goals.  These reading goals are on a bright green sheet of paper they will keep in their Reading Log folder.  Once your child has chosen his/her goals, please sign the goal sheet, showing that you and your child know the goals for this nine weeks.  So far, they are picking great, challenging goals!  Once children have set their goals, our reading homework will no longer say "Read for 30 minutes."   Instead, it will just say "Reading Goals."  We are setting goals that will mean your child should read for about thirty minutes each night, so hopefully reading time will be about the same.

Reading: This week, students are reading nonfiction articles paying close attention to details to help them better respond and interact with the text.  We will also begin looking at decoding words and our first signpost: contrast and contradiction.  You will hear more about these signposts in the upcoming weeks, but just know that these are things that readers look out for as they read to help them understand the text.

Math: Our focus is still place value with particular attention to rounding.  There are online rounding games that can be found on our Schoology page.  Also, don't forget to help your child practice his/her multiplication facts!

Language: We are working on upper case cursive letters this week as well as common and proper nouns.

Alabama History: Students are researching specific regions of Alabama to learn more about the geography of our state.  We will also discuss the counties in our state and hopefully do some map reading this week.

Science: We will be completing a few fun experiments this week to see just what light can do as well as looking more in depth at our three focus words for this unit: transparent, translucent and opaque.

Class Picture

Man, what a great looking group of 4th graders!

Who know how to have a good time! :)

Reading Goals

Each nine weeks, the students will set reading goals for themselves.  I will help them and guide them, but I do want these to be self-chosen goals so that the students are working toward something that they want to achieve.  I typically ask the children to choose three goals per nine weeks, but as there are only about six weeks left in this nine weeks, I believe two goals will be perfect.  On Monday, the students and I will begin choosing goals.  

Please take a few minutes and discuss these goal possibilities with your children:

1. I will earn _____ AR Points.
2. I will read _____ books.
3. I will try some new genres, such as: _________________________________.
4. I will try a book written by: _______________________________________.
5. I will read books from this series: __________________________________.
6. I will challenge myself to read a book that is at least ______ pages.
7. I will ________________________________________________________.

The last one is open in case there is some other goal your child wants to accomplish, such as reading a certain book or a certain amount of pages each night. The only thing I ask is that the goal be measurable in some way.

Thanks for your help and support!

First Nine Weeks, Week 3

I am currently performing my civic duty this week at jury duty. I am very thankful to have a highly qualified, retired teacher looking after the students and continuing the lessons we have been working on.

Reading: The students will be discussing best practices with reading such as thinking while you read, choosing appropriate books and what to when you don't understand what you're reading. Next week, students will be setting reading goals for themselves. Please be in discussion with your child about what sorts of books, genres, series and/or authors he/she may want to try.

Math: Students are working on their first math menu this week, solving problems involving creating, comparing and reading large numbers as well as understanding place value. 

Language Arts: Cursive is still being reviewed this week to ensure students are comfortable writing in this format. Students will also be working on nouns, particularly singular and plural nouns. 

Alabama History: Alabama geography will be the focus this week as students study the varying geography in our state.

Science: Students will enjoy investigating light this week as they look for different objects that are opaque, translucent or transparent. There will also be a few experiments where students investigate the tricks that light can play with our eyes.

STAR Scores

In the Tuesday Communicator this week, your child should be bringing home his/her STAR report for Math and Reading.  If you've been at Shades Cahaba long, this is probably something you have seen before.  I just thought I would explain a bit about these tests.

STAR Math and STAR Reading are both online tests that the students complete.  In both tests, questions vary and difficulty level adjusts based on how successful the student is on the previous questions.  These tests are taken at least three times a year and are one part of a collection of data we use to monitor progress throughout the year.


STAR Reading:
GP - This represents the point in the year.  Right now, it says 4.0.  If taken in January, it would say 4.5.

SS - The scaled score is just the score of the test calculated in another way.

GE - This is the number we most often watch.  It is the grade equivalent. This is "a norm-referenced score that represents how a student’s test performance compares with other students nationally. For example, a fourth-grade student with a GE score of 5.6 performed as well as a typical fifth-grader after the sixth month of the school year. This score doesn’t necessarily mean that the student is capable of reading fifth-grade material—it only indicates that the student’s reading skills are above average for the fourth grade."

PR - This is the percentile ranking of your child and how he/she compares to other students across the country who took this test in 4th grade at the same point in the year.

NCE - Normal Curve Equivalence is another way to compare students in a nationally ranked comparison, similar to the percentile rankings but using a different scale.

IRL - This is also an important number to watch.  This is the level at which your child should be able to read independently.  This will be a little bit lower than the GE.

Est. ORF - Based on how long it took your child to answer questions, this is the estimated oral reading fluency score, or about how many words per minute the program believes your child can read.

ZPD - This is the reading range which your child should probably be reading in.  This is JUST a guideline.  The students and I have discussed making sure to choose books that we understand, but ones that also challenge us a bit.

STAR Math:
GP - See Above

SS - See Above

GE - See Above

PR - See Above

NCE - See Above


My apologies, I know that was probably more than you ever wanted to know!  Just wanted to share in case you were a numbers person and wanted to understand what was coming home!

Picture Books

This week, for our read alouds, we read picture book biographies about some pretty amazing people.  Each of the people we read about accomplished something great, something noteworthy.  But each and everyone of them had to overcome sort of obstacle, some sort of hurdle that was in their way.  Each of them persevered when the world told them they couldn't, and when things got really difficult.  As a class, we discussed that the lessons we can learn from these people is how important it is to try hard and to persevere.  My hope is that throughout the year, when a task seems difficult, that they can each think of one of these role models and remember the struggles they went through and the remarkable things they were able to accomplish.

Unfamiliar with some of these people?  Ask your child to tell you more about them!