Charlemagne 4th Grade

le 5 au 9 décembre 2022

Upcoming Dates

• December 19-January 3:  Winter break
• Wednesday, January 4:  First day back to school for students

OBOB:

Charlemagne’s Oregon Battle of the Books optional club is starting soon. You can find out more about the OBOB club and sign your child up at this link.

What’s up! Quoi de neuf?

Please make sure to send your child to school in proper footwear and a water-repellent jacket when the weather is threatening. Students will go out to recess unless the principal decides the weather prevents it. If your child is ill, or has had a fever or vomited within the previous 24 hours, please keep your child home. Please continue to follow current Covid rules as well. If your child will be absent, please email both teachers (kincaid_j@4j.lane.edu and hopper_s@4j.lane.edu) and Bernadette (conover_b@4j.lane.edu) or please call in and leave a message on the school line (541) 790-7080.

Also, please remember to send a snack! It is recommended to students that they put a snack in their backpack with their homework folder every evening, then put the backpack next to the door from which they leave.

Le français:

•We speak exclusively in French during French class.

•We write in complete sentences and can identify many parts of speech.

•We use kind words and actions when interacting with others. 

The kids are doing a fantastic job remaining in French. 👍🏼

There is no French vocabulary homework this week, but those students who haven’t yet completed their Moi! project may be bringing home some parts to complete. We did not take our vocabulary quiz because I was absent on Thursday, and I didn’t think they were quite ready, so we’ll do the quiz on Monday or Tuesday. In class, we will continue to work to understand the difference between un accent aigu and un accent grave (`). Our next homework will be words that contain un accent grave (`)

We’ll begin a new winter art project using liquid watercolor, but otherwise, we’ll be completing our fall work so we can begin new units in January. We’re going to work on body parts.

In cursive instruction, we just have capital letters G, S, and E to go. My hope for us is to complete cursive instruction in December, then we’ll be using it daily to continue to master challenging letters and links. We continue doing Tap’Touche French typing program once or twice a week. 

Most students are coming to the end of their first book for French reading groups. Some students may shift to a different group in January to create better balance and dynamics. We did not do reading groups last week so that we could complete some projects, and will use the next two weeks to work primarily on writing in French.

Most students have completed the “Moi!” project, and they will come home during Winter Break. Students who work more slowly or have gotten a bit behind for one reason or another may bring the project home in the coming weeks to catch up, but will complete the project at school.                 

Les sciences: 

This past week and this week, we linked our science to a social studies project on Oregon in English class and learned French vocabulary words for landforms, which we have defined and colored and will become part of the students’ Oregon project. We completed and handed over to Mme Shelli this past week our drawings and vocab for their Oregon project.

We looked at our crystals from the chemical weathering under the microscope. We’ll begin our first experiment on how landforms are created, so we’ll be using trays, large amounts of soil, pouring water, and observing erosion and deposition. 

Math

Unit 4: Decomposing & Composing Fractions for Addition and Subtraction

Here are some key concepts of the this new unit:

• We can construct (compose) a “whole” if we know a fractional part.
  
• We can decompose (breakdown) fractions in more than one way.
  
• We can add and subtract fractions with like denominators.
  

English

Look for your child to bring home their Oregon Geography booklet on Monday. This was a big projects, so please take a moment to have them share their learning with you.  Just so I know you received it, part of your child’s homework this week is to share this with you.

Wordstudy:  This week we will analyze words with long /ī/ and long /ē/ spellings. 

Literature & Writing: Students will finish the short novel Love that Dog by Sharon Creech this week. Students will be looking for ways the main character, Jack, grows and changes through out the novel and will find evidence for how the other characters in the text help him in his transformation. As we wrap up this “Great Heart” unit next week, students will be writing a multiple paragraph essay about their learning.

Information about the Wit and Wisdom curriculum for 4th grade can be found here.

 

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le 28 novembre au 1er décembre 2022

Upcoming Dates

• Friday, December 2:  NO SCHOOL (teacher work day)
• December 19-January 3:  Winter break
• Wednesday, January 4:  First day back to school for students

OBOB:

Charlemagne’s Oregon Battle of the Books optional club is starting soon. You can find out more about the OBOB club and sign your child up at this link.

What’s up! Quoi de neuf?

Please make sure to send your child to school in proper footwear and a water-repellent jacket when the weather is threatening. Students will go out to recess unless the principal decides that the weather prevents it. If your child is ill, or has had a fever or vomited within the previous 24 hours, please keep your child home. Please continue to follow current Covid rules as well. If your child will be absent, please email both teachers (kincaid_j@4j.lane.edu and hopper_s@4j.lane.edu) and Bernadette (conover_b@4j.lane.edu) or please call in and leave a message on the school line (541) 790-7080.

Also, please remember to send a snack! It is recommended to students that they put a snack in their backpack with their homework folder every evening, then put the backpack next to the door from which they leave.

Le français:

•We speak exclusively in French during French class.

•We write in complete sentences and can identify many parts of speech.

•We use kind words and actions when interacting with others.

I hope everyone had a warm Thanksgiving break and got to spend some quality time with family, friends, and self.

Un grand merci to Daphne’s parents for donating a new French globe to the classroom. Un grand merci also to Miya’s parents who quickly responded to my request for slides last week and sent Miya to school with a whole box of them! 

This week’s French vocabulary homework includes words that include un accent aigu (´). This accent goes from lower left to upper right and only goes over the letter E. We had the vocabulary word(s), un accent aigu, on last week’s vocabulary, and the quiz showed me that many students still don’t understand the difference between un accent aigu and un accent grave (`), which is important but also challenging since we don’t use accents in English. Since there is no school on Friday, we will do one day of the homework at school on Monday, and kids will have homework Monday through Wednesday nights. Here is the homework:  vocab é nov 2022 l Vocab

Our cursive instruction is nearly complete. We just have capital letters I, G, S, J, E, and L to go. Our goal is to complete cursive instruction in December, then we’ll be using it daily to continue to master challenging letters and links. We continue doing Tap’Touche French typing program once or twice a week. 

Most students are coming to the end of their first book for French reading groups. Some students may shift to a different group at this time to create better balance and dynamics.

Most students have completed the “Moi!” project, and they will come home during Winter Break. Students who work more slowly or have gotten a bit behind for one reason or another may bring the project home in the coming weeks to catch up, but will complete the project at school.                 

We began our new “J’observe…” writing project entitled “Une tornade de poissons” (a tornado of fish). We still have a lot of work to do.

 

Les sciences: 

This past week and this week, we linked our science to a social studies project on Oregon in English class and learned French vocabulary words for landforms, which we have defined and colored and will become part of the students’ Oregon project. Those will be completed and handed over to Mme Shelli this week.

Thanks to Miya’s parents, we’ll be able to look at our crystals next week. Also, we’ll begin our first experiment on how landforms are created, so we’ll be using trays, large amounts of soil, pouring water, and observing erosion and deposition. It will be delightfully messy.

Unit 3: Multiplication and Division Strategies with larger numbers.

Here are some key concepts of the this unit:

• We can solve problems with multiplication and division that involve area.
• We can find the perimeter of rectangular and irregular shapes.
• We can use a letter to represent an unknown in equations.

 

English & Social Studies

Wordstudy:  This week we will analyze words with long /ī/ spellings.  We also will discuss the Greek root “nym.”

Literature & Writing: We will continue Love that Dog by Sharon Creech and will read the poems, “The Pasture” by Robert Frost, “The Tiger” by William Blake, and “Dog” by Valerie Worth.  Not only will students discuss the meaning and themes in these poems, but they also will analyze poems’ structure of lines, stanzas, rhythm, repetition, and meter.

Information about the Wit and Wisdom curriculum for 4th grade can be found here.

 

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 le 21 au 23 novembre 2022

Upcoming Dates

• Thursday and Friday, November 24-25:  NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving)
• Friday, December 2:  NO SCHOOL (teacher training day)
• December 19-January 3:  Winter break
• Wednesday, January 4:  First day back to school for students

OBOB:

Charlemagne’s Oregon Battle of the Books club is starting soon. You can find out more about our OBOB club and sign your child up at this link.

OBOB is a statewide voluntary reading motivation and comprehension program sponsored by the Oregon Association of School Libraries for students in 3^rd-12^th grade. Students are encouraged to read from a list of quality literature representing a variety of literary styles and viewpoints.

OBOB’s mission is to encourage and recognize students who enjoy reading, to broaden reading interests, to increase reading comprehension, to promote academic excellence, and to promote cooperative learning and teamwork among students.

What’s up! Quoi de neuf?

Please make sure to send your child to school in proper footwear and a water-repellent jacket when the weather is threatening. Students will go out to recess unless the principal decides that the weather prevents it. If your child is ill, or has had a fever or vomited within the previous 24 hours, please keep your child home. Please continue to follow current Covid rules as well. If your child will be absent, please email both teachers (kincaid_j@4j.lane.edu and hopper_s@4j.lane.edu) and Bernadette (conover_b@4j.lane.edu) or please call in and leave a message on the school line (541) 790-7080.

Also, please remember to send a snack! It is recommended to students that they put a snack in their backpack with their homework folder every evening, then put the backpack next to the door from which they leave.

Le français:

•We speak exclusively in French during French class.

•We have a positive attitude and growth mindset.

•We use kind words and actions when interacting with others.

We have begun French-only and most students are doing just fine with it. The hard start French-only, no excuses, so dommages can be given, began last Friday, November 18. 

No French homework this week.

Our cursive is coming along. We just have capital letters H, K, I, G, S, J, E, L, and I to go! Yes, they are the hardest ones. We are also still doing Tap’Touche once or twice a week. Blue class had buddies this week, where they made up their own secret handshakes after playing a math game.

We spent a little time making cards for our classmate George Forsythe, whose father passed away this past week. Our thoughts and wishes go out to George and his family. We are talking to the students about how to treat George when he gets back into the classroom, not to crowd him, etc. Please take some time to talk to your children at home about this tragic event. Many students may need to talk it through. Mme Rachel, our school counselor, is also an excellent source if kids need to talk during school.

Many more students have completed the “Moi!” project. See below. More students have also completed the “Tubes” art project, which we are hanging in our classroom.                                                                                                                                                                                 

 

 

 

 

We began our new “J’observe…” writing project entitled “Une tornade de poissons” (a tornado of fish).

Les sciences: 

I got out a microscope so the kids could look at the crystals under a microscope, but it turns out I can’t find any of my slides or slide covers. If anyone has access and could send in one or two clean slides to school with your child, we would put them to good use. Our next experiment moves on to how landforms are created, so we’ll be using trays, large amounts of soil, pouring water, and observing erosion and deposition. It will be delightfully messy, but we’ll begin it the first week after Thanksgiving.

This past week and this week, we linked our science to a social studies project on Oregon in English class and learned French vocabulary words for landforms, which we have defined and colored and will become part of the students’ Oregon project. 

Unit 3: Multiplication and Division Strategies with larger numbers.

Here are some key concepts of the this week:

1. We can solve problems with multiplication and division that involve area.

2. We can find the perimeter of rectangular and irregular shapes.

 

English & Social Studies

Wordstudy: Though there is a wide range of spelling ability in 4th grade, all students can benefit from analyzing sound and spelling patterns and root words. We started “Wordstudy” last week, looking at spellings for the sound of long /a/. This week we will look at long /i/ spellings.  In the future, we’ll look at Greek and Latin roots in English words.

Literature & Writing: Students began a short novel called Love that Dog by Sharon Creech and read a few poems, Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams and Stopping by a Snowy Woods by Robert Frost.  They looked at elements of poetry such as line, stanza, and rhyme. This week, students will look more closely at rhyme scheme and descriptive adjectives. They will continue to read the novel a few pages each day. Information about the Wit and Wisdom curriculum for 4th grade can be found here.

 

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 le 14 au 18 novembre 2022

Upcoming Dates

• Thursday and Friday, November 24-25:  NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving)
• Friday, December 2:  NO SCHOOL (teacher training day
• December 19-January 3:  Winter break
• Wednesday, January 4:  Back to school for students

OBOB:

Charlemagne’s Oregon Battle of the Books club is starting soon. You can find out more about our OBOB club and sign your child up at this link.

OBOB is a statewide voluntary reading motivation and comprehension program sponsored by the Oregon Association of School Libraries for students in 3^rd-12^th grade. Students are encouraged to read from a list of quality literature representing a variety of literary styles and viewpoints.

OBOB’s mission is to encourage and recognize students who enjoy reading, to broaden reading interests, to increase reading comprehension, to promote academic excellence, and to promote cooperative learning and teamwork among students.

What’s up! Quoi de neuf?

Please make sure to send your child to school in proper footwear and a water-repellent jacket when the weather is threatening. Students will go out to recess unless the principal decides that the weather prevents it. If your child is ill, or has had a fever or vomited within the previous 24 hours, please keep your child home. Please continue to follow current Covid rules as well. If your child will be absent, please email both teachers (kincaid_j@4j.lane.edu and hopper_s@4j.lane.edu) and Bernadette (conover_b@4j.lane.edu) or please call in and leave a message on the school line (541) 790-7080.

Also, please remember to send a snack! It is recommended to students that they put a snack in their backpack with their homework folder every evening, then put the backpack next to the door from which they leave.

Le français:

•We do our best to express ourselves in French.

•We have a positive attitude and growth mindset.

•We look for patterns in language.

Thank you so much for meeting to discuss your children. Conferences went well from our perspective. We have begun French-only and most students are doing just fine with it. The kids start French-only, no excuses, so dommages can be given, on Friday, November 18. 

French homework this week is on punctuation and accents, plus a couple of words that are commonly misspelled. Here is a copy of the assignment:  Nov 14 les mots variés 2022 Vocab 

We played a fun game where a student was given a card in French with a classroom item on the card, and they had to go and put the card on the item. They enjoyed it, and now we have a lot of things labeled in the classroom. 

Students had a bit of time to work on the “Moi!” project which is all about them… in French. Many students have completed their art, and many more are in the midst of writing their paragraphs in cursive. Students are at a number of different points in the project. Quite a few students have completed the project already, and they are hanging in the stairwell that leads down to our level. I hope you were able to take a look at them if you came for parent/teacher conferences. A couple of students have completed their “Tubes” art project, which we’ve begun to hang in our classroom.

Les sciences: 

We examined our vinegared stones for differences and saw what did or did not happen to the stones as the vinegar evaporated.

We learned about acid rain and how it’s caused and who causes it (pollution caused by us). We talked about the crystals that formed and that they come from a chemical reaction between the vinegar and calcite that is present in some stones. I’m going to get out a microscope and let the kids look at the crystals under a microscope! Our next experiment moves on to how landforms are created, so we’ll be using trays, large amounts of soil, pouring water, and observing erosion and deposition. It will be delightfully messy.

This week, we’ll be linking to a social studies project on Oregon in English class and learning French vocabulary words for landforms. 

Unit 3: Multiplication and Division Strategies with larger numbers.

Here are some key concepts of the this unit:

 

English & Social Studies:

This week, students will wrap up  their learning in English class as they some write about what they learned about a group of Oregon’s indigenous people and how they historically lived in Oregon’s regions. In French class, students will continue learning Oregon geography with a study of landforms.

This Wednesday, we will venture back into our English Curriculum with part two of the Wit and Wisdom Unit, A Great Heart. Students will read a short novel called Love that Dog by Sharon Creech as well as various types of poetry. We will be asking what makes a poem a poem? How do poets show “great heart” in their writing? Students will also try writing some of their own poetry.

Information about the Wit and Wisdom curriculum for 4th grade can be found here.

From last week’s news: FREE National Parks Pass for every 4th grader:

 Your child should have brought home to you a free National Parks Pass. This valuable pass is good through August 31st, 2023 for FREE admission to National Park and many federal lands. Find out more at Every Kid Outdoors. If you lose the pass, you can apply for a replacement pass on the website.

There are many places right here in Oregon that you can use the pass for day use: National Forests, Cape Perpetua, Ft. Clatsop, Crater Lake, Oregon Caves, BLM lands and more.

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 le 7 au 10 novembre 2022

Upcoming Dates

• Wednesday and Thursday, November 9-10:  NO SCHOOL Parent/Teacher conferences (8-8, then 8-12)
• Friday, November 10:  NO SCHOOL (Veterans Day)
• Thursday and Friday, November 24-25:  NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving)

What’s up! Quoi de neuf?

Please make sure to send your child to school in proper footwear and a water-repellent jacket when the weather is threatening. Students will go out to recess unless the principal decides that the weather or air quality prevents it. If your child is ill, or has had a fever or vomited within the previous 24 hours, please keep her/him home. Please continue to follow current Covid rules as well. If your child will be absent, please email both teachers (kincaid_j@4j.lane.edu and hopper_s@4j.lane.edu) and Bernadette (conover_b@4j.lane.edu) or please call in and leave a message on the school line (541) 790-7080.

Also, please remember to send a snack! It is recommended to students that they put a snack in their backpack with their homework folder every evening, then put the backpack next to the door from which they leave.

Le français:

•We do our best to express ourselves in French.

•We have a positive attitude and growth mindset.

•We look for patterns in language.

We have begun French-only and most students are doing just fine with it.

Each student received his/her/their own first and last name for tracing in cursive. This week, I am gone on Monday, so my French-speaking sub, Andrea Fox, will work on cursive letters P, B, and R. (I apprised the kids that I would be gone.)  

No French homework this very short week.

This past week, we conjugated verbs ending in –er (90% of verbs), then in coming weeks, we’ll work on pouvoir (to be able), vouloir (to want), mettre (to put or place), prendre (to take), tenir (to hold), venir (to come), and devoir (to have to). 

We began reading and phonics instruction last week.! I did reading groups, and Lisa did phonics instruction at the same time with a different group. Other groups worked on grammar and word work.

Students had some time to work on the “Moi!” project which is all about them… in French. Many students have completed their art, and many more are in the midst of writing their paragraphs in cursive. Students are at a number of different points in the project. Quite a few students have completed the project already, and they are hanging in the stairwell that leads down to our level. Take a look for them when you come for parent/teacher conferences. A couple of students have completed their “Tubes” art project, which we’ve begun to hang in our classroom.

Les sciences: 

We began our chemical weathering (l’usure chimique) experiment. Each group got to observe what happened when vinegar (le vinaigre) was added to four different kinds of stones, basalt (le basalte), marble (le marbre), limestone (le calcaire), and sandstone (le grès). They were meant to look for signs of a chemical reaction (une réaction chimique) between the stones and the vinegar. Next, we dumped the vinegar and stones into our little science trays, so on Tuesday, we’ll examine them for differences, and see what happens to the stones as the vinegar evaporates. We’ll be linking up to a social studies project on Oregon in English class and learning French vocabulary words for landforms. We began learning some landforms vocabulary and did some drawing and labelling.

Unit 3: Multiplication and Division Strategies with larger numbers.

Here are some key concepts of the this unit:

 

English & Social Studies:

This week, students will do some brief research about a group of Oregon’s indigenous people and how they historically lived in Oregon’s regions. We will also be learning about Oregon’s current 9 Federally recognized tribes.  This unit, while focusing on writing and reading skills, integrates the Geography and Historical Knowledge understandings in Oregon’s 4th grade Social Studies standards. You can find these online here.

FREE National Parks Pass for every 4th grader:

Last Thursday, a park ranger from the National Parks Service visited us and built up students’ excitement about visiting the outdoors. Your child should have brought home to you a National Parks Pass. This valuable pass is good through August 31st, 2023 for FREE admission to National Park and many federal lands. Find out more at Every Kid Outdoors. If you lose the pass, you can apply for a replacement pass on the website.

There are many places right here in Oregon that you can use the pass for day use: National Forests, Cape Perpetua, Ft. Clatsop, Crater Lake, Oregon Caves, BLM lands and more.

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