January Birthdays

The last 15 minutes of Friday, January 27th has been designated to celebrate any January birthdays. If you would like to send in a special snack, please contact your child’s teacher by Monday, January 23rd.

Symbols and Landmarks Project Reminder

If your child has not done so already, please be sure he/she gathers information in the form of books, articles, appropriate internet websites, magazines and/or brochures regarding the topic which he/she has been assigned to research. These items are necessary for the success of the project and should be brought to school as soon as possible.

FOURTH GRADE NEWSLETTERJANUARY 2012

FRANKLIN PARK SCHOOL

Dates to RememberWeek of January 3rd This is the last week to complete the FPS School Climate Survey, found on the FPS website.  YOUR OPINION COUNTS! Please take a few minutes to fill out this brief online

survey. Monday, January 16th

NO SCHOOL Martin Luther King’s Birthday

This month’sWords of the Week

January 2nd - cringed

January 9th - atonement

January 16th - dismay

January 23rd - abandoned

January 30th -renounce

*Please encourage your child to use these new and exciting vocabulary words at home!

Dear Families, Happy New Year and welcome back! We hope that everyone has had a wonderful break and that students have returned to school renewed, refreshed and ready to take on whatever comes their way! We look forward to a wonderful 2012, as we continue on our journey through fourth grade together! Sincerely,

The Fourth Grade Team

Reading• • •

Upon returning from winter vacation, students will work in groups to begin their research on a chosen interdisciplinary topic. They will utilize the nonfiction skills and strategies previously learned to read and gather facts from a variety of resources such as books, internet articles, magazine articles, etc. As students use note taking strategies to compile new information, they will also spend time discussing and analyzing the facts found. Based on what they are learning through their research, students will be encouraged to develop new questions, work together to find the answers, and draw their own conclusions regarding the topic at hand.

Writing• • •

During the month of January leading into February the fourth grade will learn about specific time periods and create historical fiction stories with an emphasis on setting.

Students will build on the skills taught during their realistic fiction unit of study such as brainstorming, crafting and developing their ideas. The students will continue the use of their writers’ notebooks to help with the drafting process. They will also revise and edit to continue the process of evaluating their writing.

Math• • •

During the month of January we will be covering several new topics.  Students will learn how to solve problems involving elapsed time and use the mathematical process of reasoning to communicate mathematical ideas.  After that, the students will understand and apply strategies for multiplying two digit numbers and dividing three-digit numbers by one-digit numbers.  Students will also solve multiplication and division word problems and will be expected to explain their mathematical reasoning.  Please make sure you keep practicing basic multiplication facts at home! 

Science• • •

This marking period the fourth grade students will continue their study of rocks and soil. They will begin to think like paleontologists, people who study ancient life, relying on fossils to learn about the past. They will have an opportunity to learn about how fossils are made and what fossils tell us about animal behavior.

Social Studies• • •

This month we will be continuing our work with the branches of government, Bill of Rights and the Constitution. We will also be moving on to learning about the Native Americans that lived here in New Jersey, the Lenni Lenape.

This Month’s Curriculum

Classroom Highlights Mrs. Laub’s Class: Mrs. Laub’s fourth grade class had the opportunity to welcome “Winter” with a winter celebration in partnership with Mrs. Kelly’s Kindergarten students. They made snowflakes, read winter poems and shared memories of winter experiences. The students will begin to research topics on symbols and landmarks of the United States, compare and contrast different texts and articles, and then share with their peers what they have learned. They will begin to read historical fiction novels and discuss different periods of time in American History.

Ms. Glassberg’s Class: Students have been working hard to identify and summarize central ideas in informational texts. As they are actively reading both expository and narrative nonfiction passages, students are encouraged to use a new note-taking strategy called Boxes and Bullets. The Boxes and Bullets strategy assists students in finding the main idea (written in a box) as well as facts that support that idea (written under the box using bullets). Using this strategy helps students organize the new information that they are learning when reading nonfiction texts.

Ms. Anderson and Ms. Ballow’s Class: We have been studying features of nonfiction texts.! We are reading many biographies about famous people and learning about their achievements.! During the month of January we will be working on a Biography Project.! !!!!

Mrs. Rodriguez’s Class: We wrote personal essays in which we selected a topic that was important to us and developed a thesis statement about our topic. We then came up with reasons to support our thesis and examples for each of our reasons. Just before the break, we were able to share our personal essays with one another and celebrate our hard work! We are now familiar with writing essays and look forward to writing more in the future!

Mrs. Pilgrim’s Class: Mrs. Pilgrim’s class will be demonstrating understanding of non-fiction reading strategies focused on by presenting their X-Zone book report posters this month. Mr. Walczyk and Mrs. Weber’s Class We will be researching symbols of the United States, creating a project to display the information we’ve gathered and will be presenting this to the class.

To aid their comprehension, skillful readers ask themselves questions before, during, and after they read. You can help your child become a more proficient reader by modeling this process and encouraging your child to use it when he/she reads independently.

This questioning strategy will be important during the month of January, when your child will be researching a topic both independently and with a group. By asking questions before, during and after reading, your child will be able to pinpoint the areas he/she would like to know more about. The questions that your child has can also serve as a catalyst for conversations with other group members.

Why Is Asking Questions Important?

Successful reading is not simply the mechanical process of "decoding" text. Rather, it is a process of active inquiry. Good readers approach a text with questions and develop new questions as they read, for example a reader may ask: "What is this story about?" "What does the main character want?” "Will she get it?" "If so, how?"

Even after reading, engaged readers still ask questions such as: "What is the meaning of what I have read?" "Why did the author end the paragraph (or chapter, or book) in this way?” "What was the author's purpose in writing this?"

How Can You Make It Happen?

To help your child learn to ask questions before, during, and after reading, think aloud the next time you are reading a book, article, or set of directions. Write each question on a post-it note and stick it on the text you have the question about. You may be surprised at how many typically unspoken questions you ponder, ask, and answer as you read. You may wonder as you read or after you read at the author's choice of title, at a vocabulary word, or about how you will use this information in the future. Encourage your child to do the same as he/she reads and discuss the questions that he/she had after they have read.

Examples of Questions a Reader May Ask:

"What clues does the title give me about the story?" "Why am I reading this?" "What do I already know about___?" "What predictions can I make?" "Which of my predictions were right? What information from the text tells me that I am correct?" "What were the main ideas?" "What connections can I make to the text? How do I feel about it?"

Continue to model the questioning process and encourage your child to to use it often. It can be a great conversation starter and could be a wonderful entry for your child to include in his/her Reader’s Notebook.

Happy Reading!

Reading Strategy of the Month:Asking Questions Before, During, and After Reading

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