Week of April 4th 2016

Hi Everyone,

     Can you believe that today is the end of the third quarter? We have just nine weeks of school left. Students will not have school this Friday for teachers planning day. For those of you that follow the grade portal closely you notice just a few more grades being added for math and science. Due to test prep we did not have as many graded items for this quarter. The few things that are left should not change your child's current grade too drastically. If you notice a huge difference in your child's grade please let me know. The final items will be added no later than noon on Friday.

     This week in math we will begin working on our end of year math project, Dream House. In this project students will work with a partner or group to completely design a home. Students will use many of the math skills that we have learned during this school year. 

addition/subtraction- keeping track of the amount of money spent, keeping                                       track of the total area used 
multiplication-determining the total cost of rooms, calculating the area of rooms
measurement-determining the area and perimeter of rooms.

     Also in math we will also work on a "Step Up to Fifth Grade Unit". In this unit we will learn some skills that will help students have a smoother transition to 5th grade math. This week we will learn about the order of operations. For this skill students will be learning:
PEMDAS (You may know it as Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally.)
Parenthesis
Exponents
Multiply/Divide
Addition/Subtraction 
Order of Operations tells us which order to solve mathematical expressions that contain more than one math operation. Take for example how would you solve 

2 + 3 × (8 + 5³ ÷ 1)

Step 1-Parenthesis In order to solve (8 + 5³ ÷ 1), we must first figure out 5³. 5³ is an exponent of 3 attached to a base of 5 and means 5 x 5 x 5 which equals 125. (8 + 125 ÷ 1) 125 ÷ 1 = 125 so 8 + 125 = 133
Step 2- 2 + 3 × 133 Now I multiply 3 x 133 =399
Step 3- 2 + 399 = 401
So 2 + 3 × (8 + 5³ ÷ 1) = 401
For more information you can watch a video at  http://mathantics.com/index.php/section/lesson/OrderOfOperations. You can also find a handy order of operations calculator at  https://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/operations-order-calculator.html

     In science this week students will receive the directions for food chain raft. Please see the hand out for more information. These projects are due on Friday April 15th. We will finish up our work on plants and animals and take the test next week. 

Have a GREAT week,
Aesha

Week of March 29th

Hi Everyone,

     I hope that everyone had a restful and wonderful Spring Break!! 

     We will begin FSA testing this Friday with session of one of the math test. Please make sure that your child gets plenty of rest on Thursday night and again on Sunday night. Session one is Friday and session two will be on Monday 4/4. Please also make sure that students have a hearty breakfast on Friday and Monday Morning. Students will not have snack until testing is completed. Each session will be 80 minutes with a short stretch break after 40 minutes. We won't finish testing until approximately 10:30.

     If your child is my homeroom please visit:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054fa5a622a75-fsatesting if you would like to send in a snack or drinks for the students to have after testing.

     For more information about the test please visit:

Spring 2016 PBT FSA Grades 3 and 4 Mathematics Student Presentation. This is a power point presentation that will give you more information about test invalidation, and how to answer FSA items. We have reviewed the power point in class, but feel free to review the information with your child.

     Needless to say our main focus in math this week will be reviewing different types of FSA items. The test will include any concepts that have been taught this year. 

     In science this week we will continue to work with our bean plants. They miraculously made through 10 days of no care and a number of us actually have beans growing on our plants. We are hoping to transfer them into the new JBE garden when it gets set up. 

Have a GREAT Week,

Aesha

Week of March 14, 2016

Hi Everyone,

    We will be going on our field trip to St. Augustine on Tuesday March 15th. I am asking that all students wear their JBE class shirt and comfortable walking shoes. Students may also want to bring a jacket or sweater for the morning coolness. Students may also bring a camera (with parent permission). Students need to bring a bag lunch and drink. Please pack lunches in a paper or plastic bag with the students name written on the outside of the bag. We will begin our day in St. Augustine by taking a trolley tour of the historic parts of the city. Next we will take a guided tour of Castillo de San Marco. We will then walk from the fort to the visitor center where we will have lunch. Our last activity of the day will be a scavenger hunt. 

     It is almost Spring Break!!! Please remember that there is no school on this Friday 3/18. We do not return to school until Tuesday 3/29. We hope that you have a wonderful vacation!!

     When we return to school after spring break we will begin our FSA testing for math with the first session on Friday April 1st. Students will take the second session on Monday April 4th. The ELA test will not begin until April 21st. To help students get in a little more practice the 4th grade math teachers have put together a packet of practice sheets for students to work on during vacation. If students complete the entire packet they will earn a special prize, a pizza lunch party. Please see the letter and packet that will come home by the end of the week. 

    In math this week we will take our test on geometry. Students should have their study guide in their MOOSE.  The test is this Wednesday.  On Thursday we will review for the FSA. When we return after spring break we will continue with our review on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. For some at home review you can go to www.floridastudents.org. Click on the math button and then search by benchmark for a variety of activities that will help students practice for the test. Students can also work on i-Ready during vacation.

     In science this week we will continue learning about food chains and food webs. We will also continue to take care of our bean plants.

Have a Wonderful Spring Break,
Aesha

The Week of 2/29/2016

Happy Leap Day Everyone,

     As you know students took their FSA Writing Test today. Students seemed relaxed and pleased with the job that they did during the test. Please remember that students are asked to not discuss the prompts.

     Our next round of testing will not begin until Friday April 1st. Please see the full testing schedule below.

Date	Subject	Session	Type
Friday April 1st	Math	Session 1	Paper Pencil
Monday April 4th	Math	Session 2	Paper Pencil
Thursday April 21st	Reading	Session 1	Computer
Friday April 22nd	Reading	Session 2	Computer

     This week in math students will begin learning about angles. For this unit students will learn about acute angles (less than 90 degrees), right angles (exactly 90 degrees), obtuse angles (between 90 and 180 degrees), and straight angles (180 degrees). We will also learn to use a protractor to measure and draw angles.

     In science this week, we will complete chapter 7 and begin chapter 8. The test on chapter 7 will be on Wednesday 3/2. In chapter 8 we will learn about ecosystems and the parts of a food chain. We will also continue our work with our bean plants.

Have a great week,
Aesha

Week of February 22, 2016

Hi Everyone,

     This week we will have early release on Wednesday. A week from today (Monday 2/29), students will take the FSA Language Arts Writing Test. Students will be given a prompt, which they won't know what it is until the moment that they open their test book. Students will have 120 minutes to read the given articles, plan their writing, write their essay, and revise their work. Testing will begin promptly at 9:00. Please make every effort to have your child get a restful nights sleep. Please also have make sure that your child eats a good nutritious breakfast. Students will not be allowed to have water bottles or snack until testing is complete (9:00-11:15ish).

     We will be using the following schedule for the remainder of our FSA testing:

Date	Subject	Type	Session
Friday April 1st	Math	Paper Pencil	Session 1
Monday April 4th	Math	Paper Pencil	Session 2
April 11 – April 22	ELA	Computer

When we have more specific dates for the ELA sessions I will let you know. We are in need of snacks on testing days. If you child is in Ms. Johnson's homeroom and you are interested in helping out with snacks, please follow the link below:

                   FSA Snacks Sign Up--Ms. Johnson's Homeroom

      We will be going on our field trip to St. Augustine on Tuesday March 15th. The cost of the field trip is $12 for students and $27 for parents. Each class can have 5 chaperons. All monies are due on Friday March 4th. 

     This week in math we will complete our work on fractions and decimals. Students will take the end of unit test on this Friday (2/26). We will then move on to our unit on angles. In this unit students will learn about the different types of angles-acute, obtuse, right and straight. Students will also learn how to use a protractor to measure angles.  

     In addition to using I-Ready math students can also use w ww.floridastudents.org for access to additional resources to help review all of the math standards.

     This week in science we will finish up our study of chapter 7. The test on chapter 7 will be next week. We are continuing our work growing our bean seeds. Most groups have at least one plant growing!! I will post pictures soon.

Have a GREAT week,

Aesha

Week of February 8th

Hi Everyone,

     As you may know we are having our BoosterThon Fundraising event this week. Our team name is Johnson Jaguar Jedi!! So far the students have received enough pledges to put our class at $20+ per lap!!! The run is this Thursday at 10. Parents are invited to cheer us on at the side playground. Students are bringing home their fun run shirts today. Please have your child try on their shirt. If it does not fit please send it back to school tomorrow and I will change it out for a better size. Students should wear their shirts to school on Thursday. Students may want to wear a long sleeve shirt under their fun run shirt to stay warm. The low on Thursday morning is projected to be 46 the high will only be 61 so it will still be very cold at 10 AM.

     On Friday afternoon, we will celebrate Valentine's Day. I am asking that each child bring in one card for each of their classmates.

     We are also in need of parents to volunteer to drop of treats (cookies or cupcakes) and drinks (mini bottles of water or juice boxes) for us to enjoy while we read our cards.

     We will enjoy our cards and treats on Friday afternoon at 2:00. If you are interested in bringing in treats or drinks please let me know no later than Thursday 2/11.

     As part of our Florida History studies we will be traveling to St. Augustine for our next field trip. The field trip will be on Tuesday March 15th. During the trip we will take a guided trolley tour of the historical parts of the city and a visit to the fort. The cost for students is $12. The cost for parents is $27. Due to visitor restrictions at the fort each of the fourth grade classes are only allowed 2 chaperones. If you would like to be a chaperone please send me a note or email. I will put all of the names in a hat and pick two to be our chaperones. If you can't go on this trip we still have a trip planned to MOSH in the spring. If you are interested please send me your name no later than Tuesday February 16th.

     This week in math we will begin our study of decimals. Decimals are just like fractions they represent a part of whole. We will study decimals through the hundredths place. Students will learn how to read and write decimals. Students are being asked to express decimals in the following way: 5.67 would be read as five and sixty-seven hundredths. Students will also learn how to compare and order decimals, and how to find equivalent decimals and fractions.

     This week in science students will continue to learn about the characteristics of animals and plants. Students are working on growing bean plants with their table groups and we are growing radish seeds without soil. 

Have a Great Week and enjoy the Long Weekend!!!

Aesha

     

     

The Week of 1/25/2016

Hi Everyone,

     This is Literacy Week. We will have several fun activities for the students to show  how important literacy is in our everyday lives. 
Literacy Changes Our World
Monday, 1/25/16: Door Decoration!
Tuesday, 1/26/16: Guest Readers around Our School Community!
Wednesday, 1/27/16 (Early Release): Light up Our World with Reading!
Thursday, 1/28/16: Wacky Word Walk!
* All students and teachers will be asked to dress as a vocabulary word. Each grade level will be responsible for coming up with a list of vocabulary words for students to choose from. Students will need to wear their chosen vocabulary word on either a sentence strip or index card that is visible to the audience. The entire school will participate in a parade around the outside track while parents and school staff cheer them on from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Only resource classes scheduled during this time will be canceled.
Friday, 1/29/16: Door Decoration Awards!

     As part of our study of plants and animals we will be going on our field trip to the Jacksonville Zoo on this Friday.  Students are asked to wear their class shirts. If your child does not have an official JBE class shirt please have your child wear a light blue shirt. Please also have your child bring a jacket or sweat shirt. The weather right now is projected to be sunny with a high of 64 and low of 41. Students may also bring a camera and sunglasses. We will not be riding the train, carousel, or visiting the gift shop, so students will not need to bring any money. 

     In math this week students will learn about equivalent fractions Students will learn how to use models, multiplication and division to find equivalent fractions. We will discuss writing fractions in simplest form (you may know as reducing fractions), renaming mixed numbers as improper fractions and changing improper fractions as mixed numbers. Students will also learn how to add and subtract mixed numbers with like denominators. Students will have a quiz on these concepts this Thursday.

     In science this week we will continue to learn about the parts of flowers. So far we have learned the names for the male and female parts of the flowers and the processes involved in plant reproduction (pollination, fertilization, seed dispersal, germination). We will hopefully have time this week to begin planting some seeds. Students will have quiz on lesson 1 this Thursday.

Have a great week!!
Aesha