4th and 5th Grade Book Club

We are excited to offer a reading opportunity for your fourth grader!  Your child should have brought home a note with details about our Book Club for upper elementary students.   Here are the quick facts:

*Read the selected book, The Whipping Boy.
*Attend the discussion group with Mrs. Mitchell (5th grade parent) and Mrs. Takac (5th grade Language Arts teacher) on Friday, November 15th from 3:15-4:15. 

If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Takac at becky.takac@fpdmacon.org

We look forward to this chance to read, learn, and grow without the pressure of a grade, assignment, or project to complete! 

Fall Conferences

We would like to say a big THANK YOU for taking time out of your busy schedules to meet with us and discuss your child's progress in fourth grade. We thoroughly enjoyed our time getting to know each and every one of you. Your children are such treasures, and we count it a privilege to have the opportunity to be their teachers. The Lord has blessed us richly!!!

Explorers...

Hi!  This is a reminder of 2 important Social Studies dates.  This Friday (11/8), all explorer cut-outs are due.  Students have worked very hard in class on their explorer biographies, and I look forward to sharing these on Friday.  

On Thursday (11/7), we will also have a quiz over several of the explorers we have already discussed in class or will be discussing this week.  Study guides came home last Thursday, but a copy is here for your reference as well.  Thanks so much for all that you do!  :)

Social Studies Quiz 

Explorers--Study Guide

What do you need to know for the quiz?

·       You should be able to recognize the explorers listed below in order to match them to their accomplishments/discoveries:

o   The Vikings—Examples of these include Eric the Red and Leif Erikson; they were known for sailing to Iceland, Greenland, Canada, and possibly even Northern Maine.

o   Marco Polo—He was a merchant who traveled to China and the Far East; the stories of his travels inspired Christopher Columbus. 

o   Christopher Columbus—Sent by Spain in 1492, he thought he had discovered a way to sail west to reach the Far East, but instead, he had actually discovered the New World.

o   Amerigo Vespucci—Another explorer who was sent by the Spanish, he reached South America and realized that this was not the New World, but a brand new continent.  North and South America are named for him.

o   John Cabot—An explorer sent by England, he reached North America (following the same path taken by the Vikings years before).  He saw amazing shoals of fish and wrote about the excellent fishing he found.

o   Henry Hudson—He was sent by England to look for a Northwest Passage; the Hudson Bay and the Hudson River are named for him.

o   Lewis and Clark—They were 2 men sent across the United States by President Thomas Jefferson in order to explore and to reach the Pacific Ocean with their Corps of Discovery.

o   Daniel Boone—He was a wilderness scout who was captured 4 times by Indians and who inspired the Boy Scouts of America in the early 1900s.

o   Hernando Cortes—He was a Spanish explorer that conquered the Aztecs in Mexico and discovered Baja California.

o   Sacagawea—She was a Native American woman who helped Lewis and Clark and translated for them during their travels across the United States.

o   Amelia Earhart—She was the first female to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

o   Nellie Bly—She was a reporter known for her record-breaking trip around the world in less than 80 days; she traveled by boat, train, and even donkey.

o   Roald Amundsen—He was the first person to sail through the Northwest Passage by way of the Arctic Ocean and to reach both the North and South Poles.

·       There will also be a few discussion questions, based upon information that we have gone over in class, such as Describe what it would have been like to be a Viking… or How do you think Marco Polo felt when others did not believe his stories of adventure?  How would you have felt…

I can’t wait for you to show me what you know on our upcoming quiz! 

I love exploring with you in Social Studies! 

Field trip fees due

Just a reminder that the 1st payment is due for your student's field trip fee. Make checks payable to FPD. You may pay 1/2  now and the second 1/2 in January.  Thank you!

Online Report Cards

4th Grade Parents,

For the 1st and 3rd 9 weeks, report cards are available online.  Below are the directions for accessing your child's report card.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact Carrie Rogers.  We have had a wonderful 9 weeks getting to know your children! :)

FPD NetClassroom

To access NetClassroom, go to www.fpdmacon.org.

Go to FPD Community at the top of the page.

Scroll down to the NetClassroom tab.

Click on that tab and enter your

 user ID and password on the log in page.

New to NetClassroom:

Your user ID is your first and last name with no spaces. It is not case sensitive. Your temporary password is 12345.

When NetClassroom opens, go to the green bar at the top and click on settings. This drop down menu offers an option to change your password to whatever you would like.

*If you used NetClassroom last year, then your ID and password will stay the same.

To View Report Card:

On the NetClassroom home page, hold your cursor over the student’s grades tab located at the top of the page. Slide your cursor down to report card tab and click. Your child’s report card should be visible. *Report cards will be posted to NetClassroom quarterly as indicated on the Red School Calendar.

Questions/Forgot password:

Contact Carrie Rogers

477-6300 ext.118

carrie.rogers@fpdmacon.org

 

Air Pressure Experiments in the Science Lab

4th grade students are finishing an information-packed science unit entitled Weather and Climate. 

Today in the lab students completed a variety of experiments about air pressure.  Below are just a few pictures of our learning in the lab...

Upcoming Explorer Projects...

Parents,  By now you have received the information about your child's upcoming Social Studies Explorer Project.  These projects will be due on November 8th.  A copy of this information is located below, as well as a few photos to help you get started.  We hope that children learn a great deal about Exploration and Research through participating in this unit of study.  Happy exploring and please don't hesitate to contact us if you have a question.  Thanks so much for all that you do at home to support learning in the classroom! :)

RESEARCH 

Over the coming weeks, you will be conducting research in class, in the computer lab, and in the library using notecards provided to you.  You will be answering the following important questions as you investigate your explorer:

Who?    Who is your explorer? (Name, Family Facts, etc.)

What?   What did your explorer do? What makes your  explorer famous? What did he/she discover?

When?   When was your explorer born?  During what time period did your explorer live?  When did he make his discoveries?

Where?  Where was your explorer from?  Where did he/she explore?

Why?    Why did he/she choose to explore? 

How?     How did he/she explore (by air, by land, or by sea)?  If possible, tell what type of vehicle he/she traveled in.  J

BIOGRAPHY/REPORT

This information you gather through your research will be used to write a biography in class about an explorer that you have selected.  Most written work will be done at school during our Social Studies time, however, if you are unable to finish in class over the next few weeks, biographies may be sent home to complete.  All final drafts/written biographies will be due Friday, November 8^th.

AT-HOME PROJECT:  EXPLORER CUT-OUTS  

In addition to researching your explorer in class, you will also have a“character cut-out” to dress and decorate to look like the explorer you are researching.  After cutting out your explorer from the file folder provided, you may use fabric, yarn, string, markers, crayons, felt, foam, etc. to decorate; use ANYTHING you choose to help make your explorer stand out and look interesting. 

We will share biographies and character cut-outs on Friday, November 8^th.    Please be prepared to spend about 5 minutes sharing about your explorer’s life, travels, and accomplishments. 

Have fun with this project!  Make it interesting and full of fun facts, creative cut-outs, and remarkable research.