WEEK 3

WEEKLY RIDDLE
"I am the center of gravity, hold a capital situation in Vienna, and as I am foremost in every victory, am allowed by all to be invaluable. Though I am invisible, I am clearly seen in the midst of a river. I could name three who are in love with me and have three associates in vice. It is vain that you seek me for I have long been in heaven yet even now lie embalmed in the grave. What am I?"

WEEKLY QUOTE
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." Wayne Gretzky
Week 3 Update

This week we have many exciting things happening in Room 12. We will continue our News Team Presentations. I was very impressed with the preparation and quality of the teams that shared their news stories on Friday. I have never had a class where every child had met their deadline. I am also encouraged by this class’ enthusiasm in all subjects to learn.
In 4th grade reading we will kick off our unit of study on World War II by reading Sadako and the 1,000 Paper Cranes. In 5th grade we will complete our study of Natural Disasters with a story about Volcanic Eruptions. In class each group in 5th grade will be researching a specific volcano that has erupted at some point in recorded history. Here are the directions:

1. Research your specific volcano and find out:
• The volcano’s history
• The description of the volcano and where it is located
• Classify the type of volcano
• How the volcano has affected the people that live nearby
• Is it still active?

2. Make a poster board
• With a title, key points, and history, of your volcano
• With an illustration of the various parts of a volcano
1. Crater 2. Pipe
3. Side vent 4. Lava
5. Lava flow 6. Magma
7. Magma Chamber 8. Vent

• Obtain images from the Internet, magazines and make drawings of the volcano
• Include a map that shows where this volcano is located.

4. Prepare a brief group oral presentation for the class.
5. Partners should contribute equally.
6. Volcanoes need to be selected by this Tuesday.


4th Grade - World War II Interview Questions
Directions – If possible, please interview a family member who was alive when WWII began. This may be done in an e-mail. Otherwise you may go to a neighbor, family friend, or even a local senior center with a parent. You may want to record it with a tape player and record the answers at a latter time. Please type the responses and write in complete sentences. Have fun! We will share these interviews with other 4th graders and learn from many different viewpoints.

Questions
1. Please tell me your feelings about war.
2. How old were you when World War II began?
3. Why do you think our country became involved in World War II? What was at stake?
4. Why do you think that Japan bombed us in Pearl Harbor? What provoked such an attack?
5. Please describe your memories of World War II and the impact it had on you and your family and your day-to-day lives.
6. Do you have any family members who served in World War II? Describe them and how they served.
7. Do you agree with our involvement and actions in World War II? Why? Why not? Explain.
8. Do you agree with President Harry Truman’s decision to drop the bomb? Why/Why not?
9. Do you feel there are any similarities between World War II and the current global war against terrorism? Why? Why not?
10. What do you think were the most important things we learned from this war that will help us in our future?

HOMEWORK MONDAY
Reading-20-4-1
Finish Math L20
Vocabulary-
1.Write the definition of perseverance
2.Write a paragraph about perseverance and what it means to you.Give an example in
your own life when you have needed it.
3.Find a quote about perseverance online and write it down.
4.Draw a cartoon illustrating this word and a scenario when it is needed.
DUE FRIDAY
Explorer/Cave Art Due: Wednesday

HOMEWORK TUESDAY
Reading-20-4-1
Math L22
Spelling-See Monday
Finish Explorer Brochure/Cave Art

HOMEWORK WEDNESDAY
Reading-20-4-1
Math Finish L24 + HM wkbk p 1-3
Finish Spelling-Due Friday

HOMEWORK THURSDAY
Reading 4th Grade-Read Ch.7&8
5th-20 minutes
Math-Finish L26 + HM Wkbk p 5-7
Spelling-Finish Perseverance HW-See Monday
Study for tests in Spelling, Language and Math
SOCIAL STUDIES TEST NEXT WEDNESDAY-4th Grade-Early Native Americans
5th Grade-Explorers

WEEK 2

THANKS MARY!
Dear Parents,
Thank you for all of your support at home these first two weeks. Our class is off to a great start and has been very responsible returning the massive amounts of paperwork at the beginning of the year, along with their homework assignments.

I started a new spelling blog at: http://mrsweetspelling.blogspot.com with all of our week's words posted on Monday afternoons. When the 5th grade is doing a story from our HM Literature Book the first 20 words will be in that book on the page specified. The last 10 vocabulary words will be posted on the blog.

Please remember that our Back to School Night will be at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 27th for upper grades. Please make every effort to come to this presentation to learn all you need to know about our class and what we'll need to do, as a team, to have a successful year together.

This week our class will be reading some exciting stories in both 4th and 5th grade. In 4th grade we will read about the Titanic and in 5th we will be reading a story entitled, "The Eye of the Storm." Our class is finishing up our Bio Poems and Acrostic Poetry. In addition, the 4th graders are learning about the Native Americans in CA History and doing an art project . The 5th graders are studying the famous explorers and creating a brochure working while researching their person in pairs.

This week we are also starting News Teams. I will be sending the grading sheet home with each child on Monday. These grading sheets should be stapled to the article they will be sharing with the class.

Weekly Riddle
What gets wetter as it dries?

WEEKLY QUOTE
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
Mahatma Gandhi
What gets wetter as it dries?

HOMEWORK MONDAY
*Reading-20-4-1
Finish Math L12
*Spelling in Cursive due Fridays-
4th p. 33 & 35 in purple spelling book
5th p. 29-31 in orange wkbk
*Writing-Patience activity due Tuesday
*News Team Summaries Due Thursday
*Sign Internet Form
*Extra Credit-Research and create a 1-page
newspaper about a famous Natural Disaster(Use computer)
Due next Monday


HOMEWORK TUESDAY
*Reading-20-4-1
Finish Math L14
*Spelling in Cursive due Fridays-
*News Team Summaries Due Thursday-Typed or neatly written
*Extra Credit-See Monday
*Finish Name Acrostic with color


HOMEWORK WEDNESDAY
*Reading-20-4-1
Finish Math L16
*News Team Summaries Due Thursday-Typed, or neatly written-Practice Speech
*Extra Credit-See Monday

HOMEWORK THURSDAY
Finish Math L18
Finish Spelling HW
Finish Perfect Paragraph
Rehearse News Team for Presentation
STUDY!
EXTRA CREDIT-Due Monday

Full Week #1

Dear Parents and Students,
This Monday begins our first FULL of week of school together. This last week we did a lot of getting to know each other activities along with some assessments in reading and writing. We all used the computers to do a fun 3 true and 1 false activities. Some of them may have told you some interesting stories. Remember...don't believe EVERYTHING they say about me and I won't believe everything they say about you! :>)
The students were excited and ready to learn. We had a wonderful time getting to know each other while learning the rules, procedures and expectations. I am sure a lot of you have questions about how this combination class will operate. I look forward to meeting you at Back to School Night on Thursday, August 27th at 7:30 p.m. If you have any questions, please feel free to stop by class after school, or e-mail me.

I am very confident that this will be a memorable year for everybody, and I look forward to meeting you soon. Let me know if you would like to volunteer in class. I can use help when I am teaching math. I already have parents on Monday and Wednesday. I would love help on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays too.

Weekly Quote
" Praise does wonders for our sense of hearing."
Arnold Glasgow

Weekly Riddle
What can you put inside a barrel to make it lighter?

Homework
Our homework will be posted daily for both the 4th and 5th grades. This will help students who are sick or out of town. This year I started a Spelling Blog for you to study online. This way we can save a lot of paper together and those students who are sick, will get their words on Monday nights.

Homework MONDAY
Reading-Read 20 minutes and write a four-sentence paragraph summary
Math - Finish L4
Writing-Preparation Vocab. Activity-Due Friday
Spelling-GO TO NEW SPELLING BLOG at: http://mrsweetspelling.blogspot.com
4th Grade-Do p. 9, 11 in purple book on Binder Paper in CURSIVE
5th Grade-Do p. 9-11 in Orange Wkbk in Cursive
DUE FRIDAY

Homework TUESDAY
Reading-Read 20 minutes and write a four-sentence paragraph summary (20-4-1)
Math - Finish L6
Writing-Preparation Vocab. Activity-Due Friday
Spelling-GO TO NEW SPELLING BLOG at: http://mrsweetspelling.blogspot.com
4th Grade-Do p. 9, 11 in purple book on Binder Paper in CURSIVE
5th Grade-Do p. 9-11 in Orange Wkbk in Cursive
DUE FRIDAY
Complete Coat of Arms Shield for those not finished yet
4th Grade-Bring brown grocery paper bag for art activity

Homework WEDNESDAY
Reading-Read 20 minutes and write a four-sentence paragraph summary (20-4-1)
Math - Finish L8
Writing-Preparation Vocab. Activity-Due Friday
Spelling-GO TO NEW SPELLING BLOG at: http://mrsweetspelling.blogspot.com
4th Grade-Do p. 9, 11 in purple book on Binder Paper in CURSIVE
5th Grade-Do p. 9-11 in Orange Wkbk in Cursive
DUE FRIDAY
4th Grade-Bring brown grocery paper bag for art activity
* Bring back signed A.R. Goal Sheet

Homework THURSDAY
Reading-Read 20 minutes
Math - Finish L10
Writing-Preparation Vocab. Activity-Due Friday
Spelling-GO TO NEW SPELLING BLOG at: http://mrsweetspelling.blogspot.com
DUE FRIDAY
4th Grade-Bring brown grocery paper bag for art activity
* Bring back signed A.R. Goal Sheet
* Choose Article for Newsgroups-Cnn.com, ksbw.com, santacruzsentinel.com, msnbc.com
etc. OR get a newspaper.


See you at school!

Our First Week Together!

It was a great first day of school and I feel that this class will have an amazing year together. Please check out all of the papers that went home and return them a.s.a.p.
Thanks!
Mr. Sweet

HOMEWORK WEDNESDAY-
* Parents and students need to read the parent letter sent home
4th Grade Math L1/5th Grade L1
* Parents sign and return e-mail list/permission for blog
* Sign and return after school forms, for those interested
* Get supplies by Friday

HOMEWORK THURSDAY-
* Parents and students need to read the parent letter sent home
4th Grade Math L2/5th Grade L2
* Parents sign and return e-mail list/permission for blog
* Sign and return after school forms, for those interested
* Get supplies by Friday-SUPPLY CHECK TOMORROW

My School Promise by unknown

Each day I'll do my best
And I won't do any less.
My work will always please me,
And I won't accept a mess.
I'll color very carefully,
My writing will be neat.
And I will not be happy,
Till my papers are complete.
I'll always do my homework,
And try my best on every test.
I won't forget my promise,
I'll do my BEST!!!