Fourth Grade News Flash
S
November 1, 2013
Language Arts
This week’s selection is So You Want to Be
President? by Judith St. George. We will be
practicing identifying main ideas and details
and making inferences. In grammar we will
continue our work with nouns, focusing on
plural possessive nouns.
Homework is due Wednesday. The weekly
selection test and spelling test are on
Thursday. The grammar quiz will be given
on Friday.
Math
I can tell that the
students have been
practicing their
multiplication facts at
home! I have had
several students pass
multiplication on
Xtramath.org. Keep up
the hard work! Next
week the students will
be taking the Unit 3
Assessment over
Multiplication and
Division; Number
Sentences and Algebra.
Check student’s planner for
daily homework
assignments!
Science
This week students learned that
temperature is NOT a measure of
how hot or cold something is but
rather how much thermal energy
the object has.
Students also discovered that
thermal energy (more commonly
referred to as heat) can be
transferred through different
materials. We will continue to work
on the different ways thermal
energy can be transferred
(convection, conduction and
radiation) and developing
definitions for these.
You can reinforce what we’re
learning in class by helping your
child identify energy transfers in
their daily life.
Check student’s planner for
daily homework assignments!
Spelling
Words
Words with
ear, ir, our, ur
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return
courage
surface
purpose
first
turkey
heard
early
turtle
birthday
journal
courtesy
nourish
purse
furniture
search
curtain
burrow
hamburger
survey
turquoise
absurd
furthermore
flourish
nourishment
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PDF
Name
Summary
So You Want to Be President?
President of the United States is a tough job that many people strive to get. This
book tells you what it takes to be president, but also how our past presidents stayed
true to themselves and their unique personalities while in office.
Activity
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved. 4
Presidential Decisions With your family, talk about the types of changes and
decisions you would make if you were president of the United States. Explain why
these changes are important to you and the country.
Comprehension Skill
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Main Idea and Details
Activity
The main idea of a passage makes a
point about the passage’s topic and has
at least one supporting detail. Details
are smaller pieces of information that tell
more about the main idea.
Radio News Together with a family
member, listen to a news report on the
radio. Pay close attention to what is
being discussed. On a piece of paper,
write down what you think is the main
idea of the report and two supporting
details. Compare your notes. Did
you agree?
Family Times
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Lesson Vocabulary
Conventions
Words to Know
Plural Possessive Nouns
Knowing the meanings of these
words is important to reading So You
Want to Be President? Practice using
these words.
Plural possessive nouns show
that something is owned by more
than one person, place, or thing. Like
singular possessive nouns, plural
possessive nouns are created by
adding an –’s to the noun. However,
if the noun already ends in s, add only
an apostrophe to the end of the word.
For example: men’s shoes, geese’s feathers,
books’ covers, buildings’ windows.
Vocabulary Words
Constitution the written set of
fundamental principles by which the
United States is governed
humble not proud; modest
Activity
politics the work of government;
management of public business
Animal Parts Describe a recognizable feature of a certain type of
animal. For example: These are long,
spotted, and stretch into the trees.
Have a family member respond with
the plural possessive name of the
animal and the feature. For example:
giraffes’ necks.
responsibility the act or fact of
taking care of someone or something;
obligation
solemnly seriously; earnestly;
with dignity
vain having too much pride in your
looks, ability, etc.
Practice Tested Spelling Words
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved. 4
howling very great
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Want to Be President?
Name
Vocabulary
Directions Choose a word from the box that best completes each sentence. Write the
word on the line to the left.
������������������� 1. A ____ person might look in
a mirror all the time.
������������������� 2. The President has much ____.
������������������� 3. He behaved ____ as he took
the oath.
������������������� 4. The ____ is an important
document.
������������������� 5. Many people voted, so the
election was a ____ success.
Check the Words
You Know
Constitution
howling
humble
politics
responsibility
solemnly
vain
© Pearson Education, Inc., 4
Directions Choose the word from the box that best matches each numbered clue
below. Write the letters of the word on the blanks. After you are finished, the boxed
letters will spell a secret word.
6.
6. seriously
x
e
7. government work
7.
u
8. the act of taking care of someone
t
9. having too much pride
8.
10. not proud
9.
10.
Write a Speech
Pretend you have just been elected President of the United States. On a separate sheet
of paper, write a short speech you would give to the public. In the course of explaining
how you will approach your new job, use as many vocabulary words as you can.
Home Activity Your child identified and used vocabulary words from So You Want to Be President?
Together, read an article about politics or government. Discuss the article, using as many vocabulary words
from the selection as you can.
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Vocabulary 155
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Want to Be President?
Name
Main Idea and Details
• The main idea is the most important idea from a paragraph, passage, or article.
• Details are small pieces of information that tell more about the main idea.
Directions Read the passage and complete the diagram. State the main idea and three
supporting details. Then answer the question below the diagram.
R
osalynn Carter, the wife of President
Jimmy Carter, took her role as First
Lady seriously. She did not let her time in
the White House pass her by. Mrs. Carter
attended official meetings and represented
the United States on business trips. Mrs.
Carter also supported programs to help
needy citizens. For example, she worked
to improve the lives of elderly people and
citizens with mental health problems.
Another accomplishment of Mrs. Carter
was pointing out the importance of the
performing arts to our society.
Main Idea
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved. 4
1. Rosalynn Carter took
Supporting Details
2. She attended
3. She represented
4.
5. What is a one-sentence summary of this passage?
Home Activity Your child identified the main idea and supporting details in a nonfiction passage. Together,
read an article about a famous person. Work with your child to identify the main idea and supporting details
of the article. Then ask your child to summarize the article.
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Comprehension
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Want to Be President?
Name
Plural Possessive Nouns
Directions Write the possessive form of each underlined plural noun.
1. cities residents
____________________
2. senators speeches
____________________
3. streets names
____________________
4. cliffs ledges
____________________
5. women dresses
____________________
6. children toys
____________________
7. mice tails
____________________
8. congressmen letters
____________________
Directions Write the possessive form of each underlined plural noun.
9. Two wolves approached the deer feeding ground.
__________________________
__________________________
11.They wanted a deer for their cubs dinners.
__________________________
12.The deer saw the wolves and vanished into the trees shadows.
__________________________
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved. 4
10.The wolves coats were thick and gray.
Home Activity Your child reviewed plural possessive nouns. Have your child find and circle examples of
plural possessive nouns in a magazine or newspaper article.
DVD•106 Plural Possessive Nouns
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