January 28 - February 1

Your child is responsible to watch the following BrainPop video this week:

1. Population Growth (Social Studies)
2. Review the following YouTube video on the Scientific Method

Science Board Example

Review The Scientific Method from August 2012

1. Make an observation - State the Problem
2. Ask a question - What do you want to learn?
3. Form a Hypothesis and make a prediction
4. Do a test/experiment with a control and a variable
5. Analyze data
6. Draw a conclusion

Science Project Idea Links

1. http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas.shtml
2. http://chemistry.about.com/od/sciencefairprojectideas/a/4thgradeproject.htm
3. http://www.education.com/science-fair/fourth-grade/
4. http://www.education.com/science-fair/third-grade/

Important Dates:

Jan. 29 - Unit C Chapter 1 Science Test
Feb. 1 - Science Project Experiment Chosen, Title, and Description of Experiment Due

Feb. 5 - Social Studies Chapter 7 Test
Feb. 6 - Typed and saved on USB Drive - Title & Problem Due (The specific question that your science experiment will answer).
Feb. 8 - Hypothesis & Materials List Due (Must Be Typed and saved on USB Drive)
Feb. 11-15 - A great time to do your science experiment!
Feb. 18 - Procedure Typed & Saved on USB Drive Due (Step by step instructions of how you did your experiment in complete sentences.  You will be graded on format, capitalization, and spelling).
Feb. 22 - Results, Data, and Conclusion Due - Typed/Formatted and Saved on USB Drive (Results will be a paragraph of what you discovered through your science experiment.  Data will be a table, chart, pictures of experiment, etc. Conclusion will be a sentence stating the answer to the Problem and whether your hypothesis was correct or incorrect).
Feb. 25 - Report Due - Typed and Printed
Feb. 25 - Mar. 1 - In Class Presentations (Your science project must be on a visual display consisting of a Science Board with all of the above elements, Final Project, Project Model on display) Click here for the Grading RUBRIC. See visual display examples below.
Mar. 1 - Science Fair @ BIS

January 21 - 25, 2013

Your child is responsible to watch the following BrainPop videos this week:

1. Immigration (Social Studies)
2. Graphs (Social Studies - Pay special attention to circle and line graphs)
3. Weather (Science - Pay special attention to fronts)
4. Review the following YouTube video about the Scientific Method

Review Scientific Method Song

Important Dates:

Jan. 29 - Unit C Chapter 1 Science Test
Feb. 1 - Science Project Experiment Chosen, Title, and Description of Experiment Due

Feb. 5 - Social Studies Chapter 7 Test


Science Project Idea Links

1. http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas.shtml
2. http://chemistry.about.com/od/sciencefairprojectideas/a/4thgradeproject.htm
3. http://www.education.com/science-fair/fourth-grade/
4. http://www.education.com/science-fair/third-grade/

Typing Assistance & Games

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

Welcome and/or Welcome Back to Miss Duke's 3rd & 4th Grade Class!

I hope that all of you enjoyed your Christmas break!  

As many of you already know, this blog is my main source of communicating with the parents of the 3rd & 4th grade class at BIS.  If you ever have a question, go to the blog!  If the blog doesn't answer your question, feel free to email me.

Our class is growing!  We will being the new semester with 20 students.  It is very important for you to encourage and help your children enter this next quarter prepared and focused.  Here are some basic steps you can take to make sure you and your child are prepared for this semester!

Parent & Student To Do List

1. Follow By Email - Parents, please follow this blog by email to receive updates every time I update!  (Fill out the section on the and confirm your subscription by responding to the email.)
2. Set up your Engrade account - All of the classes that I teach will be uploaded periodically to  Engrade's online grading software.  Check your student's agenda for their Access Code or email me to receive one so that you can continually check your child's progress.  
3. Supply Check - Please check the supply list and your child's belongings to make sure that they have all of the right materials and are prepared for learning!  (Especially pencils, erasers, and notebooks!)
4. Check Agenda & Reading Log Daily - Remember, if your child forgot either one of these items at school, they can write their assignments/reading log on a separate sheet of paper, followed by a parent's signature for full credit.  
5. Raz-Kids - Students are to read 15 minutes daily.  My preference is that they read online at the  Raz-Kids website.  The 3rd & 4th grade username is: BIS34  Some students have set up personal passwords, while others have not.  If your child cannot read online, they are able to check out 3 library books per week and/or 1 book from our classroom library at a time.  
6. BrainPop - We watch a ton of videos in my class to help the kids understand the new concepts.  Typically, we use the BrainPop website.  Be sure to watch the videos from home to help reinforce the new concepts! 
7. Review math facts.   Congratulations!  Both 3rd and 4th grade have mastered their math facts!  Click to play review games: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  Make sure to review before we come back to school!  Here is a website with some cool math games to refresh your math skills! 

Please note:  BIS has chosen to switch International Fair and Science Fair this year.  Science fair will be in February and International Fair will be in April.

January 14 - 18

Your child is responsible for watching the following videos on BrainPop this week:

1. Iroquois Confederacy (Social Studies)
2. American Revolution (Social Studies)
3. Temperature (Science)
4. Heat (Science)
5. Wind (Science)
6. Weather (Science - Pay attention to the Barometer)
7. Clouds (Science)
8. Water Cycle (Science)

We will watch the following videos on YouTube this week:

The Ride - Paul Revere short educational film piece

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow "Paul Revere's Ride" Poem animation

Permission Slips & Christmas Party

Make sure that you sent the bus permission slip for Friday, Dec. 7th dress rehearsal from Mackenzie to BIS!  Don't forget to send R$5 or 2 dozen cookies for snacks and refreshments after the Christmas Program. 

Thursday, December 13 - Trip to the Creche

Please turn in $10 and permission slip to go to the creche in Santa Maria by Monday.  

Friday, December 14 - Christmas Party

What to bring:  

1.  Your child knows what snack or disposable they are supposed to bring for the party.   (Sweet snack, salty snack, forks, plates, cups, juice)

2. White Elephant Gift Exchange - Send your child to school with a wrapped present (About R$5 value  with a candy, soda, or other snack) 

 

Important December Dates and Announcements

Important December Dates

Friday, December 7 @ 8:00 a.m. - All School Christmas Program Rehearsal @ Mackenzie (Students need to be dropped off at Mackenzie by 8:00 a.m. Students should wear their costumes and bring a uniform to change into following the rehearsal.  We will return to BIS by bus for lunch.  We will have 1:00 p.m. early dismissal.

It's a Wonder-Full Life: A Musical about the Best Gift at Christmas Time... Jesus 

Where:  Mackenzie  SHIS QI 5 Chacaras 74-79 Lago Sul

When:  Friday, December 7 @ 7:00 p.m. (Students should arrive between 6:15-6:30 p.m.)

Each family is kindly asked to bring 2 dozen cookies at the performance, or donate R$5.00 by Thursday, December 6th.

Monday, December 10 - Social Studies Test & Bible Verse Test

Tuesday, December 11 - Chapter 6 Math Test

3rd Grade - Multiplication 0 - 10 Facts & Word Problems

4th Grade - Geometry

Thursday, December 13 - Outreach Trip to the Creche in Santa Maria 

Our class currently has donated 112 items! 

Friday, December 14 - 3rd & 4th Grade Christmas Party & Early Dismissal @ 11:45 a.m.  Please be looking in your child's agenda to see what they should bring to the party, or write me a note if there is something particular that you would like to send.

Lost Books

Please be on the look out for any books that your child may have borrowed from the 3rd & 4th class library.  We have many books that have not been returned.  Take a look in your child's room, book shelves, backpack, etc.  Please return them as soon as possible!  

Donate Your Used Books & DVD's 

If you have any used books or DVD's that you would like to donate to our class, just send them with your child to school!  Your child can also write a note inside, "Donated to the 3rd & 4th Grade Class at BIS by: NAME."  

Field Trip Pictures from CAESB (Special "Thanks" to our AWESOME translator dad!)

The water separating from the "flocus" to be cleaned.

I thought the 3rd & 4th graders looked like college students!  

Outside observing the water treatment process in the rain.  

Upcoming Events & Giving Updates

Our 2012-2013 3rd & 4th Graders on Picture Day

Wednesday, November 21 

1. We have met our 2nd Reading Goal and have earned a Reading Party!
Find out what your child is supposed to bring by checking their agenda.
2.  Science Test - Make sure that your child studies their Notebook because we made flashcards with the vocabulary words.  The test will cover A Chapter 4.


Wednesday, November 28
Field Trip to CAESB (Brasilia's Water Treatment Plant)
Cost: $10 to cover bus fare
When: 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Who: 3rd & 4th Graders
Parents are all welcome to ride on the bus and attend this field trip!  We need parents that are able to translate for the kids that don't speak Portuguese.  Please write a note in your child's agenda if you are able to attend the field trip with us!

These kids can always bring a SMILE!  Such joys in my life!

CRECHE Donations
Our class currently has 53 items!  Please get involved by sending: Toothpaste, Noodles, Rice, Beans, Tomato Sauce, Dish Soap, Body Soap, Milk, Nescau, Gently Used Clothing, and Gently Used Toys.  

Child Sponsorship through World Vision

Our class has currently raised $560 Reais to go toward sponsoring a child through World Vision. When we get $850 Reais, the kids have raised enough to sponsor 2 children (1 from the Congo and 1 from India).

Remember: Whatever they give, I will match.

Malnutrition, Giving & Grades

Help Our World

Last Friday, the 3rd and 4th grade class began studying MALNUTRITION.  We looked a website called 30 Hour Famine.  We learned many facts about The World Food Crisis.  (Please go to the link and check out the facts).

We discussed the quote, "Give a man a fish, feed a man for a day.  Teach the man to fish, feed him for a lifetime."  The students were very passionate about helping this cause.  They recognized the difference between just giving away money to buy food for malnourished people, and using resources to provide tools, medicine, and ways to help educate the people in need.

World Vision is an organization that, among many other things, helps to provide children from over 100 countries in the world with access to healthy food, clean water, education, and medicinal needs.  They have a "Sponsor a Child" program.  For about $70 Reais per month, our class can sponsor a child.  Here is more information regarding child sponsorship.

In order to sponsor a child for a year, our class needs to raise about $850 Reais.  The kids volunteered to give all of the money that we raised from Children's Day, $380 Reais, toward raising this amount of money.  We also discussed how much money they use at our school's canteen.  The kids realized that if they gave up one or two snacks a month and put the money towards sponsoring a child, that we would reach our goal very fast!

I challenged the kids NOT to go home and say, "Mom, Can I have money for sponsoring a child in Miss Duke's class?"  I challenged them to choose to sacrifice something that they usually spend their money on to go toward our class goal, or even see if there is an extra job they can do around the house to raise money.  Please have this talk with your kids.  Challenge them to sacrifice a candy or soda and give that money towards the sponsorship.

Neither you nor your children are not obligated to give.  It is entirely optional.  However, I made a deal with the class.  Whatever they give toward our class goal, I will match.  So, if your child gives $2 Reais, then I will give $2 Reais.  If they give $850 Reais, then I will give $850 Reais.

Let's make a difference.

Help Our Community

This week we will also begin collecting Rice, Beans, and other items for a Creche in Santa Maria.  Send these items with your child so that our class can impact our community!

Our class will go on a trip to the Creche in December to spend an afternoon with the kids!

Want to be able to know you child's grades all the time?

Please use the pink slip in your child's agenda to go to the ENGRADE website. Use the access code on the slip and create a username and password.  By doing this, you can see your child's grades at anytime!  As long as I have updated them!