Waters Landing Elementary School
Fourth Grade Newsletter
March 2013
Important Dates
March 3 & 4
Reading MSA PM
March 8 &11
Math MSA PM
March 5
PTA Meeting
March 20
International Night
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are half-way through our third marking period as we begin March!
The Maryland School Assessments are administered in the month of March. Fourth
graders will be assessed in reading on March 3rd and 4th . They will be assessed in
math on March 8th and 11th. It is extremely important that your child be in school
those days. It is also important for them to have had a good night’s rest the day prior and
to have eaten a balanced nutritious breakfast the morning of the assessment.
There is a light at the end…...Spring Break begins on March 25th for students.
Students will return to school on April 3rd and the 4th marking period begins the
same day. HAPPY SPRING!!!!
March 21
PBIS In School
DOLPHIN DANCE
March 25
1st day of
SPRING BREAK
April 2nd
No School for Students,
Professional day for
Teachers
March 25– April 3rd
No School
SPRING BREAK
Reading
During the month of March we will continue our study of the
genres of biography and autobiography. We will focus on many of the
same elements we have studied when reviewing other genres; mood,
theme, character motivation, etc. As we delve into this genre we will be
looking at individuals that have had an impact on society, and what
have they done for the betterment of society. We will read biographies
and autobiographies about individuals from all races, both men and
women. March is Women’s History Month!
We will finish March off with an exciting William and Mary lesson about a boy named “Charles”, be sure to ask your child all about
“Charles”.
Writing
We continue to focus on writing to persuade.
Students will have an opportunity to practice persuasive
writing in many different contexts.
Social Studies
In Social Studies students will continue to use a
timeline to show United States history in terms of the four waves of immigration.
Students will compare each of the four waves by discussing where immigrants
came from and why they chose to come to the United States. Students will record
social, economic, and political factors in migrating ,determine how those factors
affected the cultural development of immigrants, and how these waves of
immigration shaped the United States.
Science
In Science we will continue our chemistry
unit. We will begin by defining matter and the states of matter. Matter is defined as anything that has mass and takes up space. We will follow
this up by investigating how matter changes states. The states of matter are solid, liquid, and gas. We will be looking at the influences that
cause matter to change too.
4th Grade Math
We have begun Unit 4! In Unit 4 we will be diving into two– or three-digit
multiplication, division with remainders, and elapsed time. One way to help your student get a head start on this is to help them learn how to read an analog clock and ask
questions like “How much time has passed since we __________?” We will also use a
calendar to calculate elapsed time in days, weeks, months, and years. We will transfer
that information to an analog clock to calculate how much time has passed in
minutes and hours. An additional way to help your child in this unit is to pull
those multiplication flash cards out and continue their review. Knowing all
basic multiplication facts will help when we begin multi-digit multiplication.
5th Grade Math
The students worked really hard on the Unit 3 Assessment. We are proud of their
effort. Unit 4 covers data and statistics. The students will be learning various ways to
collect and organize data. They will be creating line graphs, line plots, and stem and leaf
plots. We will learn which graphs are appropriate for given situations. We will be analyzing various graphs, and determining the effect that changing the scale has on each kind
of graph. The Unit 4 Assessment will be given the week before Spring Break.
Thanks,
Mrs. Everhart, Ms. Guy, Ms. Kanner,
Mr. Leyva, and Mr. Warner