Happy Friday!

Happy Friday Parents,

I hope you have a wonderful weekend full of rest and fun activities.  Today, all fourth and fifth grade teachers sent home ParentVUE activation codes.  This is your individualized code to access our grade books.  This will help to keep you updated on your child's progress and work habits.  I have attached a welcome letter and a guide for parents.  There is a Spanish and an English copy attached for your convenience.  Please email me with any questions you may have.

Welcome to ParentVUE
ParentVUE Guide for Parents

Welcome to ParentVUE-Spanish
ParentVUE Guide for Parents-Spanish


Please check my blogpost from yesterday to sing along with our students as they perform the water cycle  song, to the tune of Old McDonald.

Homework this weekend

Read to self=20 min Friday and Sunday

Quizlet=sort 3 for 15 min Friday and Sunday

Mobymax=fact master for 15 min Friday and Sunday

Kidblog=journey of a rain droplet story due Monday at 8:00am

Today in class, we combined with Mrs. Beason's class to explore clouds.  We looked closely at why clouds form, the different types of clouds.  In particular, we looked at nimbus (storm) clouds, using food color and shaving cream.  Here are some picture of our day together!

The Water Cycle Song (to the tune of Old McDonald)

Good Evening,

For the past two weeks, we have been working very hard in class learning about the water cycle.  We have even learned a song, and the students want you to see it and sing along with them. Enjoy!

The Water Cycle Song

The water cycle has many parts, these are the parts I know

Precipitation water falls

rain, sleet, or snow

with a drop, drop here and a drop, drop there

here a drop, there a drop, everywhere a drop, drop

The water cycle has many parts, these are the parts I know

Accumulation water flows

as bodies start to grow

with a puddle here, and a puddle there,

here a puddle, there a puddle, everywhere a puddle, puddle

The water cycle has many parts, these are the parts I know

Evaporation liquid to gas

water rises from below

water vapor here, and water vapor there

water vapor, water vapor, everywhere there's water vapor

The water cycle has many parts, these are the parts I know

Condensation forms the clouds

droplets start to grow

Rain clouds here, and there's rain clouds there

rain clouds, rain clouds everywhere there's rain clouds

The water cycle has many parts, these are the parts I know

Math HW 8-26-2015

Tonight for math, students must go to 

http://connected.mcgraw-hill.com/connected/login.do 

sign in (located in their math journal) and complete the assigned work. 😃

Homework in Fourth Grade

Homework in fourth grade is crucial to the success of each student.  Students must complete their homework each night.  If students are unable to complete their homework, they will need to make up the time, and it adds up quick.  Here is a shot description of what is expected each night/week.

For all internet sites, students were to record their username and password in the front of their agenda.  If it is not located here, students have failed to follow directions.  Each night students are to complete the following:

Reading: Reading log for 20 minutes. 

Math: Students that have not been told to stop Mobymax by a teacher, must get on to Mobymax for 15 minutes a night.  In order to test out of mobymax, students must make a 100% on both division and multiplication for two nights in a row.

Students will also have Snapshot on Edmodo occasionally and will need to have access to the internet to complete these.

Writing: Kidblog is where students will record their weekly blogs.  Students must make one blog post each week and then comment on three of their peers.  Responsible, meaningful comments are required, and we call these TAGs

T: tell something positive

A: Ask a question

G: Give a grow or suggestion

To log onto kidblog, you can find the directions on my blog: mskraftschik@blogspot.com

Please assist students if they say they are unable to log on.

Spelling: Students must log on to quizlet for 15 minutes a night.  This will help them to better understand the definitions of words.

Science and Social Studies:  This homework will vary and you will need to check their agenda’s each night. 

Students must complete their reading log, mobymax, and quizlet for 15 minutes on Friday and Sunday!

All subject areas may also have additional homework and you must check their agenda to make sure they are completing everything.

TAG

For Kidblog, students needs to comment on three of their peers' introduction posts.  In order to make a meaningful post, students must TAG their comment.  TAG, is an acronym for: tell something positive, Ask a question, Give a grow or suggestion.  Below is an anchor chart with this information.  I also did examples for the students in class.

Please email me if you have questions.

Kidblog.org Directions

Good evening,

Tonight, students need to post their introduction post to https://kidblog.org I have shown the students how to do this multiple times in class.  If students forget, here is a step by step picture tutorial for how to login.  Click new post once you are logged onto kidblog in order to type a new post.

Kidblog Directions

Also, tomorrow students will have their first spelling test.  I will read the definition to them and they will need to know what word I am reading the definition for and then they will need to spell the word correctly.  I DO NOT tell them the word.  I only tell them the definition.  We took a practice test on Monday so students are aware that this is how I test in fourth grade.

Please email me with any questions and I will get back to you ASAP.

Laura Kraftschik

Open House Prezi

Hello Parents,

Thank you for coming to Open House! If you were not able to come, I have posted our Prezi presentation below.

PREZI Presentation from Open House

Signing Up for Quizlet and Edmodo

Good evening,

It was so great seeing everyone last night at open house.  Thank you so much for coming.  For those of you not at open house, we discussed that students would be studying for their spelling tests using a website called Quizlet.  Words will usually be introduced on Fridays, and spelling tests will be the following Friday.  Students MUST know the definition of each word for their spelling tests in fourth grade.  Tonight, your students homework is to sign up for Quizlet and explore the first sort.  Students may complete the activities at the top of the sort page.

For Quizlet and Edmodo, students will only need to sign up once. Students need to write their username and password on the inside cover of their agenda. 

Signing up for Quizlet

Step 1: Click on your classes sign up link below

Ms. K's WTW : https://quizlet.com/join/MyhTTFq8D

Ms. K's WTW-Beason: https://quizlet.com/join/fHEvDGtbe


Step 2: Create an account

You will need to sign up with an email to create a username and password.  This can be the students email or the parents email depending on the parents preference.  We encourage students to have their own email address, but they do not need to have their own.

Username:  firstnamelastname
Password:  kraft302

Example
username:  laurakraftschik
password:  kraft302


Step 3: Click on WTW Sort 1


Step 4: Explore the different activities

• flashcards
• learn
• speller
• test
• scatter
• space race

Signing up for Edmodo

Step one: create an account on https://cobbk12.edmodo.com/ 

• click the URL above
• on the right hand side, click the students tab
• fill in the information
• class code: buhjqx
• first name
• last name
• username (appropriate for school)
• email (optional)
• password: kraft302 (for everyone)
• write down the username and password in the front cover of your agenda
• once on edmodo, click Ms. Kraftschik's 4th grade on the left.
• click on join group on the left 
• join Mrs. Beason's math (group code: 5ncqv6)
• Explore both groups.

Welcome Back

I enjoyed meeting each of you at Meet and Greet. I know there is a lot of information at the beginning of the year; however, I promise to make sure to answer all questions through the blog, e-mail, Remind app, and Open House. 

If you look at the right-hand side of the blog, you will find links and information. Some of these include: class links,  grading rubric, learning links, and an update from our latest Remind app message.  Make sure to subscribe to our blog. You will need to enter your e-mail address and you will also need to accept the subscription by logging into your e-mail. 

Also, if you have not already done so, please do not forget to download the Remind101 app.

 If you cannot download the app, you can also access it from the Internet at https://www.remind.com/join/mskraft. To get the update text, you will need to enter in your phone number. Directions can also be found on the handout from Meet and Greet. 

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I have a few things to pass along from Ms. Mansfield:

Parents are to sign in to the front office in order to be in the building

Please do NOT bring in food from restaurants to give to your child for lunch

Standard attire - Knee socks are to be a solid color only. Hoodies are not allowed unless it has Teasley written on it. Solid color jackets and sweaters only

Do NOT drop off your child in the morning at the old entrance

OPEN HOUSE is this Tuesday, August 11, from 6:00-7:30pm for our 4th grade class.  I look forward to seeing you at Open House!

School News

I have a few things to pass along from Ms. Mansfield.

• Parents are to sign in to the front office starting tomorrow in order to be in the building.
• Please do NOT bring in food from restaurants to give to your child for lunch.
• Standard attire - Knee socks are to be a solid color only. Hoodies are not allowed unless it has Teasley written on it. Solid color jackets and sweaters only.
• Parents are NOT to walk around the old building to gain entrance into the school. 
• Do NOT drop off your child in the morning at the old entrance.

Next Tuesday, August 11 from 6:00-7:30 for our 4th grade class.