Thank You & Update

Families,
Thank you all enough for the extremely generous gifts.  My husband and I will very much enjoy treating ourselves over the holidays to coffee, dinner, and shopping!  I feel so grateful that I get to work with kind, caring, and supportive families here at Barretts.  I hope everyone has a relaxing and joyful holiday season with family and friends, and I look forward to seeing everyone after break!

Take care, Happy Holidays, and stay warm.

Best wishes,
Carrie Nagy

Math

Students assessed their learning this week, and we will be beginning our Rational Numbers unit when we get back from break.  Remember to continue to practice basic math facts to stay sharp!

Social Studies

Students assessed their learning this week, and we will be beginning our Westward Expansion unit when we get back from break.

Reading

Please remember to keep up with your daily 30 minute reading homework over break!  When we get back, we are going to jump into our next nonfiction unit where we will learn about and research the Revolutionary War!  If you are interested in donating Revolutionary War books to the classroom library, please see our Classroom Wishlist.

Writing

Coming back from break we will begin our expository writing unit!  Students will write books about the Revolutionary War events!

Upcoming Dates

• 1/4: Students return!!!
• 1/8: Library Checkout
• 1/10: Late Start; 11:05 start
• 1/15: No School

December 15 Weekly Update

Good morning and happy Friday!  Here is what we've been up to this week...

Math
In our Multiplication and Division unit this week mathematicians learned about...

• how to find factors of a number by using multiplication
• classifying numbers as prime or composite
• finding multiples of a number
• reviewing for their assessment

Please remember that students should be practicing their math facts nightly until mastery.  Online Practice Buddies are also assigned as optional homework and are a great way to review concepts for our upcoming assessment.

Science
The Ninjas wrapped up their Structures of Life unit with Mrs. Waters by assessing their learning!

Social Studies
This week the Ninjas wrapped up our Early Settlement unit by reviewing the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the Louisiana Purchase.

• Students were assigned two assignments that were to be completed before break.  Students has ample class time to complete these assignments.  If they are not yet completed, please allow your child to complete these at home.  They can be found in our Social Studies Google Classroom.
• Lewis and Clark Webquest
• Louisiana Purchase

Reading
In preparation of our next nonfiction reading unit, we have been building our background of the Revolutionary War.  If you have time, please discuss this with your children and continue their learning about the Revolutionary War at home!

Please remember to read 30 minutes nightly!

Writing
In our Poetry unit writers learned to...

• include personification in their poems
• write haiku poems
• write limerick poems

Upcoming Dates

• 12/18: Social Studies Assessment
• 12/19: Math Assessment
• 12/19: Genius Hour Presentations Due
• 12/20: Whole School Holiday Spirit Wear Day
• 12/21: Whole School PJ Day; half day for students (1:05 dismissal)
• Winter Parties @ 11:45 -- 4th grade will have a storyteller, so please allow your child to bring a blanket with their PJs
• 12/22-1/3: Winter Break

December 8 Weekly Update

Happy Friday!  Check out what we've been up to this week...

Math

This week in our Multiplication and Division unit we focused on solving comparison word problems and multi-step word problems involving all operations!  This is a skill we will continue to focus on throughout the school year.  

Please make sure that your child is practicing their math facts nightly!  Online Practice Buddies are also assigned and are a great way for your child to practice math concepts at home!

Science

The Ninjas are wrapping up their Structures of Life unit next week with Mrs. Waters.  They will be assessing their learning on December 14.

Social Studies

This week we focused on the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Corps of Discovery).  They took a virtual field trip along the trail!  We will be assessing our learning over our Early Settlement unit the week of December 18.

Reading

In our Views, Values, and Cultures of Others unit this week  we continued to focus on identifying points of view in a text and comparing perspectives.  Our next reading unit after break will include learning about the American Revolution!  We will start to compare perspectives of the Loyalists vs. the Patriots starting next week to build background knowledge.

Please remember to read 30 minutes nightly!

Writing

This week in our unit of poetry, writers selected themes for their personal anthologies.  We also focused on adding similes and metaphors into our poems.

Upcoming Dates

• 12/12 & 12/15: Genius Hour time
• 12/13: Library Checkout
• 12/14: Mrs. Nagy out in the PM
• 12/14: Science Assessment
• 12/19: Multiplication and Division Assessment
• Week of 12/18: Social Studies Assessment
• 12/21: Half Day for students; 1:05 dismissal
• Winter Parties at 11:45
• 12/22-1/3: Winter Break

Emma's Genius Hour Project!

West County Firehouse Field Trip

December 1 Weekly Update

Good morning!  I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving break that was full of good food, warmth, and family.  Here's a look at what we've been up to this week...

Math
In our Multiplication and Division unit this week, mathematicians working to...

• develop strategies to divide fluently
• solve comparison word problems involving multiplication or addition

Please remember to practice your math facts nightly!  Online Practice Buddies are also assigned as optional homework!

Science
The Ninjas are currently in their Structures of Life unit with Mrs. Waters.

Social Studies
In our Early Settlement unit, the Ninjas have been learning more about the Louisiana Purchase and the Corps of Discovery Expedition (Lewis and Clark).

Reading
We are currently in our Views, Values, and Cultures of Others unit in reading.  This week we focused on identifying multiple points of view on the same event by reading a variety of texts including picture books and articles.

Please remember to read 30 minutes nightly!

Writing
We started our Poetry unit!  This week the Ninjas worked to identify common themes within poetry to decide on a theme for our class anthology.  We read through different poems to search for characteristics and wrote poems about animals for our class' thematic anthology!

Genius Hour
We kicked off Genius Hour this week!  It has been a lot of fun seeing our students' passions and project ideas.  Genius Hour will be every Tuesday and Friday until break, so students will need to come prepared with any materials they may need.  Also, you are welcome to check our Genius Hour tab to see our project logs!

Upcoming Dates

• 12/6: Late Start; 11:05 start
• 12/13: Library Checkout
• 12/14: Science Assessment
• 12/14: Mrs. Nagy out in the PM
• 12/19: Multiplication and Division Assessment
• 12/20: Social Studies Assessment
• 12/21: Half day for students; dismissal @ 1:05
• Winter Parties @ 11:45
• 12/22-1/3: Winter Break

Update

Good morning,
It's that time of year!  We take time to reflect on our lives and what we are thankful for.  I am truly blessed to be working with such a great group of students, parents, colleagues, and community.  My wish is that everyone's Thanksgiving holiday is filled with warmth, family, friends, and love.

This week I plan to introduce Genius Hour to our students.  Coming back from break, they will get two 90 minute days a week (up until winter break) to work on a project they are passionate about.  They must create a project that has a research component, has the potential to make the world a better place, and showcase a passion of their's.  Please check out our Genius Hour tab on the blog and ask your child about Genius Hour over break.  They should have an idea ready to submit when we get back on 11/27.

Upcoming Dates & Notes

• PE sent home permission slips for their skating unit, please sign and return by 11/27
• 11/22-11/24: Thanksgiving Break
• 12/1: PE Field Trip to the Firehouse
• PE is sending slips home today; please sign and return asap
• 12/6: Late Start; 11:05 start
• 12/14: Mrs. Nagy out in the PM
• 12/21: Half day for students; dismissal @ 1:05
• winter parties
• 12/22-1/3: Winter Break

Weekly Update - November 17

Happy Friday!  Take a look at what we've been up to in our classroom...

Math
In our Multiplication and Division unit this week, mathematicians focused on developing division strategies.  We did this by...

• using mental math to find quotients
• estimating quotients
• interpreting remainders

Please remember to practice math facts nightly.  In addition, Practice Buddies are assigned daily.  Students are welcome to complete these as optional homework.

Science
The Ninjas are continuing their Structures of Life unit with Mrs. Waters.

Social Studies
In our Early Settlement unit, students worked to complete and present information relating to the Late Missouri Tribes.  We also read and discussed the arrival of Europeans in the Missouri area.  On Friday, we also had a speaker come to teach us more about Sacajawea!

Reading 
In our Views, Values, and Cultures of Others unit, readers worked to...

• consider multiple points of view for the same event
• recognize their own cultural lens and how that impacts their point of view

Please remember to read 30 minutes nightly!

Writing
We wrapped up our Personal Essay unit!  Writers ended our unit by...

• revising their writing pieces using a learning progression
• editing their writing pieces for run on sentences, capitalization, and puntuation

We will begin our Poetry unit when we get back from Thanksgiving Break!

Upcoming Dates

• 11/22-11/24: Thanksgiving Break
• 12/6: Late Start; 11:05 start
• 12/14: Mrs. Nagy out in the PM
• 12/21: Half day for students; dismissal @ 1:05
• 12/22-1/3: Winter Break

Veterans Day

November 10 Weekly Update

This week in our classroom...

Math
This week in our Multiplication and Division unit, students continued working through our Teachers' Lounge investigations to continue to develop their understanding of place-value and strategies for division.  Next week we will begin our EnVision lessons again and Practice Buddies will be assigned daily as optional homework.

Please remember to practice multiplication facts nightly.

Science
The Ninjas have worked through their first learning target in their Structures of Life unit with Mrs. Waters.

Social Studies
In our Early Settlement unit this week, the Ninjas started to research Late Native American tribes of Missouri and plan a presentation.  Ask your child which tribe they researched and are creating a presentation for!

Reading
We wrapped up our Nonfiction unit this week by...

• pulling out the main idea with supporting details of a text
• creating a presentation for our Natural Disasters

Our next reading unit of study will be Views, Values, and Cultures of Others.  We will focus heavily on point of view and perspective.

Please remember to read 30 minutes nightly!

Writing
In our Personal Essay unit, writers worked to...

• revise for transitions in their essays
• revise introductions
• revise conclusions

We will be wrapping up and celebrating our Personal Essay unit next Friday!

Upcoming Dates

• 11/15: Library Checkout
• 11/17: Pretzel Sale; form and money turned in by 11/16
• 11/17: Springboard Performance; Sacajawea
• 11/17: Progress Reports go live
• 11/22-11/24: Thanksgiving Break 

November 3 Weekly Update

Welcome to November!  We had such a busy week with Halloween, Late Start, and Author's Visit, and JA Day.  Take a look at what we've been doing in our classrooms...

Math
This week we started our Teachers' Lounge lessons!  Mathematicians are working to solve situational division problems with math partners.  Through their problem solving, mathematicians are developing efficient skills to solve problems involving division.  Ask your child what situations they have been working to solve!

Please remember to practice math facts nightly!  Next week will be our last week working in the Teachers' Lounge lessons.  Practice Buddies will start back up on November 13.

Science
The Ninjas are working hard in their Structures of Life unit with Mrs. Waters!

Social Studies
In our Early Settlement unit, the Ninjas have been learning about the first Missourians and late Missouri tribes.  Our focus question was, "Who were the first people in Missouri?"

Reading
In our current nonfiction unit, readers continued to develop their nonfiction reading skills.  We focused on the learning target "I can tackle challenging texts."  We discussed strategies for understanding difficult language and vocabulary in our nonfiction texts.

Writing
In our personal essays, writers worked to organize their drafts by checking to make sure they had strong reasons and evidence to support their claim.  Next week we will focus on adding strong evidence to our essays and revise for transitions and introductions.

Upcoming Dates

• 11/6: No School; Records Day
• 11/10: Veterans Day Celebration; assembly @ 1:30
• 11/22-11/24: Thanksgiving Break; No School

Author Visit Photos

Halloween

October 27 Weekly Update

Take a look at what we've been working on this week...

Math
We ended the first half of our Multiplication and Division unit.  Students had an opportunity to review and reflect prior to taking their mid-point assessment.  The second half of our unit will focus on division strategies.  Our current lessons are structured more into investigations, so you will not be seeing Quick Checks come home for the next week.

Math facts continue to be essential to our unit and fourth grade math concepts.  Please make sure your child is practicing their facts nightly.

Science
The Ninjas began their second unit of study in science, Structures of Life!  They will learning with Mrs. Waters during this unit.

Social Studies
We kicked off our next unit of study, Early Settlement!  We began our learning by...

• thinking how expansion can help or hurt others.
• learning about the First Missourians before Europeans entered the area.

Reading
In our nonfiction unit, readers worked to...

• plan their research projects in teams (make sure you ask your child which extreme weather event they are studying)!
• structure the main idea of their texts into boxes and bullets.
• synthesize their learning within a text.

Please remember to read 30 minutes nightly!

Writing
In our opinion writing unit, writers worked to...

• draft their personal essays into an essay structure.
• self-assess their writing by using our writing progressions.
• add evidence to support their reasons for their claim.

Upcoming Dates

• 10/31: Halloween Parade & Parties
• Parade: 2:20-2:40
• Parties: 2:40-3:40
• 11/1: Late Start; 11:05 start
• 11/2: Author Visit
• 11/3: JA in a Day
• 11/6: No School; Records Day for Teachers
• 11/10: Veterans Day Celebration

MO Day