Dear 4D Parents,

I hope you and your family had a relaxing weekend. I wanted to tell you how welcoming, receptive, and ready to learn your child was on Friday.  I look forward to sharing many wonderful memories with the class this year. 

We will be starting Pollyanna this week. Please ensure your child brings this book to school with them on Monday. 

In Science, we will begin by learning about the Scientific Method. Students will be able 

explain 5 reasons why science is important, and be able to identify and record each step of the scientific method. They will learn to define and identify variables in different scenarios as they conduct an experiment of their own. At the end of our study on the Scientific Method, we will each take on the role of scientists and conduct an experiment using M&M's to show mastery of all that we have learned about Scientific Method.

In Math, we will begin by discussing place value in numbers up to 5- and 6-digits. Using manipulatives, we will discuss how to write numbers in standard and expanded form, how each place value relates to other place values, and how to order large numbers. Place value is a foundational topic upon which many other later topics are based, and this week is an important one in laying strong groundwork for the rest of the year.

We will begin our study of history/geography this week by learning the importance of maps, and their many uses. Students will learn to measure distances using map scales, and other fundamental components of map reading. We will use latitude and longitude to find locations across the globe and become familiar with the Prime Meridian, Equator, International Date Line and how lines of latitude and longitude divide the earth. At the end of the week we will turn our attention to time zones across the world and here in the United States. 

In Literature this week, we will begin reading Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter. Please make sure your child brings in the book on Monday. I have put up a picture of the cover of the book we use. Learning about Pollyanna's difficult circumstances and how she deals with them is a great way to start the year. We will be focusing on setting and characterization this week.

Also this week, we will be working on summaries and dictation in our writing portion of Language Arts and capitalization in the grammar portion.

The students will start memorizing the poem "Dreams" by Langston Hughes. This will be presented the week of August 21.

Mr. Bergeron