Donaldson, Latirah

In class, we will be working on:

Our January class reading goal is 50 steps! Students should try to read 2 steps nightly at home. Remember each step is 15 minutes. Please remember to have your child log their time.

Reading -  Our nonfiction reading unit continues. Students are learning strategies and skills necessary to successfully navigate various types of nonfiction. Students are also working in small groups to research various types of extreme weather. They will be presenting their information in Google Slides.

Writing - Our new writing unit is persuasive writing. We all have strong opinions abput one thing or another. Students are working on essays that will convince their reader see things "their way". 

Math - We are now in topic 5 in math - Division. We will review divison when we return, and we will have a quiz on Friday. This is a key fourth grade concept. Your assistance in helping your child master multiplication facts is appreciated. (since fact recall is essential to division) 

Nightly student job responsibilities: 
Read 2 steps (a total of 30 minutes) and get log signed.
Study spelling words 
Complete math worksheet and study fast facts. 

Pre- and Post On Demand Writing Assessments

For each Unit of Writing’ Workshop, students complete a Pre-on Demand writing sample at the onset of the new unit and then a Post On Demand piece upon completion of the unit. The Pre On Demand piece is a formative assessment used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the student(s) before beginning the unit of study.The Pre On Demand sample does not count toward the student’s grade. This assessment equips the teacher with an understanding of the student(s) needs while preparing instruction to meet the needs of his(her) learners. 

At the end of each unit, the students will complete a Post On Demand sample which is a summative assessment counting toward the student’s performance on the unit. The teacher analyzes each piece to identify the growth the student has made since writing the first sample.

Each assessment is scored on a rubric that analyzes development of ideas, organization, elaboration as well as conventions including sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization , and grammar. It is expected that the child will show growth from the onset. 

The rubric is scored on a scale of 1 - 4, with four being the highest score.

It should be noted that the rubric used is set on a June expectation.

4= writing exceeds grade level expectations

3= writing is on grade level and meets the expectations of the grade level.

2= writing is approaching grade level expectations.

1= writing is below grade level expectations

 Some important upcoming events: