Almost Time for NAAPID!

1/30/17

Dear Families,

I would like to personally invite you to come visit my classroom and A2 STEAM for National African American Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID) on Monday, February 13th. NAAPID is a day for families to come show support for their child’s education. Unlike any other days you might come visit, we have lots of special activities planned during the day to help give you extra information and more hands on learning opportunities about your child’s education. It means a lot to students and our school as a whole for family members to come visit. You are welcome to come for just a short time or for the whole day. You can visit our classroom, as well as attend any of the special events throughout the day. I have attached the NAAPID schedule.  On top of the events that are listed, there will be an all day parent cyber cafe in the computer lounge for you to come get some guided hands-on experience with the technology resources your child uses every day at STEAM (iPads and apps, computer programs, etc.).

If you are able to come, please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you get the most out of your day with us. Sometimes families are interested to see a lesson in a particular subject area, or to have some time to share about what school was like when they were kids, or to read a story aloud to the class, etc. Our class is excited to have visitors, and we hope you will be able to make it!

With kind regards,

Mrs. Bertelson

A Letter from Ms. Jones

Dear Fourth Grade Families,

My name is Maggie Jones and I will be in your child's classroom learning from and helping Mrs. Bertelson this year.  I am in my fourth year of college at the University of Michigan and in my second year in the School of Education's Elementary Education program. I am working toward a Bachelor of Arts in Education, majoring in Language Arts. I am very excited to be at A2Steam this year and even more excited to be Mrs. Bertelson’s student teacher! I look forward to teaching and learning from the students in the classroom.

One of the strengths of the elementary program at the School of Education is its emphasis on fieldwork. The first part of the year, I was able to be here a day and a half each week, but now, I will be in the classroom all day, all week long. I will be here until April. In the next few months, I will start to do more and more around the classroom. This will all be leading up to my lead teaching, when I will be the main teacher for two weeks. All of the things I teach will be reviewed by Heather Bertelson and my supervisor, and Heather will be in the room observing me.

It’s been a joy to get to know your children and some of you over the past half year, and I look forward to spending even more time working together! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me through Mrs. Bertelson.

Sincerely,

Maggie Jones

Want to learn more about natural selection?

Here are some games that you and your child can play.

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/asset/lsps07_int_buildafish/

http://www.sciencechannel.com/games-and-interactives/charles-darwin-game/

http://www.similarsites.com/goto/biologyinmotion.com

An Exciting Author Visit!

Paper copies of this form will come home soon! 

Weekly Update 1/20 through 1/27

Here’s what we were up to last week:

Math: We took our Unit 4 Post test and our Unit 5 pre test.  Students will be placed into groups daily based on the outcomes of their scores.  The Unit 5 pretest will come home in the Friday folder next week.  We had one lesson in unit 5 on unit fractions.      Ask your student what this term means.   

Read Aloud: With the short week, we did not finish our read aloud.  We will finish up this week and begin Hoot.  This week we focused on asking questions of the author and the characters.  Ask your student about questions that they have about our book or a book that they are reading at home.  

Reading: Guided reading is still going strong.  Most groups will be finished with their book this week and will begin a realistic fiction book.   Ask your student what book they are reading this week.  

Writing:  We began a realistic fiction writing unit this week.  Ask your student what they will be writing about.  

PBL: We began a new unit on adaptations of organisms.  We played a fun game that taught us about natural selection and then we learned more about natural selection and Charles Darwin.  Ask your student about their definition of natural selection. 

Ms. Jones will begin taking over more and more of the instruction as the month progresses.  I will shift more into a small group role as she gets her feet wet with delivering content.  We are lucky to have two teachers for the next few months!

It has been very wet outdoors.  Please keep sending in boots so they have an extra pair of shoes they can wear in our classroom to keep the mud to a minimum.  Thanks in advance!

Weekly Update 1.16 - 1.20

Where did the snow go?  Rain in January?  

Here’s what we were up to last week:

Math: We finished Unit 4.  We worked on multistep story problems and finding the area of rectilinear shapes.  A review sheet will be coming home this weekend to study for our Unit 4 Post Test on Tuesday.    Ask your student what a rectilinear shape is.   

Read Aloud: We are currently reading From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.  Have you read this book?  Its an oldie, but a goodie.  We will finish this up next week and begin reading Hoot.  Ask your student what his/her favorite part is.  

Reading: We are continuing with our guided reading.  A few groups have started new books and others will begin new texts next week.   Ask your student what book they are reading this week.  

PBL: We finished our Energy Collisions unit this week.  Students worked with a partner to create a system that converted energy and helped some one move things from one place to another.  Ask your student about the system he/she created.  

Fact Fluency:  We have several students who are still not secure in their facts.  PLEASE, PLEASE help your son/daughter continue to work on these.  If you need ideas for how to support, please let me know.

Ms. Jones will begin taking over more and more of the instruction as the month progresses.  I will shift more into a small group role as she gets her feet wet with delivering content.  We are lucky to have two teachers for the next few months!

Weekly Update: 1.9 - 1.13

Welcome back!  I hope you had a chance to rest and relax and spend time with family and friends.  

This is what we will be finishing up this week:

Math: We will finish Unit 4 this week and take three tests.  We will do the Unit 4 post test, a cumulative test of what we've done so far and a pre test for Unit 5.  I know that it seems like a lot, but this information is so help!  Ask your student about how they did on these tests by the end of the week.  

Read Aloud: We will finish up From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.   Ask your student what his/her favorite part is.  

Reading: We will finish up our guided reading books and begin new ones!  Ask your student what book they are reading this week.  

PBL: We have a few more days of PLTW Energy Conversions and then will move to a science unit on organisms.  Can't wait to get started with that one.  

Fact Fluency:  We have several students who are still not secure in their facts.  PLEASE, PLEASE help your son/daughter continue to work on these.  If you need ideas for how to support, please let me know.  

Reminder, we do not have school on Monday, January 16th to celebrate MLK day.