Taos Charter School 4th Grade Class

-School is cancelled at TCS on Friday, December 23 due to the weather. We'll have our Secret Santa gift exchange on Wednesday, January 11. -Ski Program kids should be at school by 7:45 on Tuesday, January 10. Remember to have ski pants, jacket, gloves, hat, goggles, and lunch. We'll return to TCS at 5:00 p.m. Please be on time when picking up your children at the end of the day. Those riders who live on the north end of town can catch the bus at the Arroyo Seco community center at 8:20 and pick up your children at 4:20. -Non-skiers will be swimming and ice-skating at the TYFC. They should dress in warm clothes for skating, and bring $1, a swimsuit, and towel. Those students should report to Mrs. Streit in the 5th grade classroom at 8:15. I wish you and all of your families a fun, safe winter break. Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo!

-History: Complete steps 5, 7, and 8 on the blue checklist - title page, visuals, and the bibliography. Be ready to present and hand in your report. You can print, organize, and staple here in class on Thursday morning if you need to. Practice reading your final draft out loud at home a couple of times so you'll be ready to go. -If you are not yet ready to present and hand in your history report on Thursday, you can take an extra day to finish everything up, and then hand it in on Friday. That's OK with me, but still be sure to make the most of the 2 days you have left to write the BEST report you can.

-History: Complete Step #4 on the checklist - The Final Draft. Focus on finishing up 5 great paragraphs, and don't worry the bibliography or the images. You can do all that fun, easy stuff on Wednesday evening after you finish the FD tonight.

-History: Complete your 5 paragraph rough draft, and move on to Step #3 on the blue checklist - revising and editing. If you have time, begin Step #4 - writing the final draft. -Geo Bee: Congratulations to our grade-level winners Lily, Zoe, Miyoko, Mason, Hanna, and Elijah! These six will move on to represent 4th grade in the School-level Geography Bee that will take place on Wednesday, December 21 at 12:45 p.m. in the cafeteria. Parents are invited to attend. Honorable mention also goes out to Jake and Hayden, our 2 runners-up in a tough, seven-round competition. -Secret Santa: Students can start bringing in wrapped or bagged gifts on Tuesday. The exchange will happen at noon on Friday, and students may bring in a snack to share that day if they want. to.

-History: Complete Step #2 on the blue checklist, and bring your 5 paragraph rough draft into school on Monday. When you're writing the paragraphs, remember to follow your outline, and keep in mind the "Hamburger Model" of good paragraphs that we discussed in class (topic sentence, meaty juicy interesting supporting detail sentences, and a conclusion/ clincher sentence). -Geography: We held our grade-level Geo Bee on Friday before we ran out of time due to early dismissal. The class performed very well, and after 4 rounds 15 students are still "in" and competing to be among the Final 6 who will move on to the school-level bee on Wednesday, December 21. If you have time this weekend, use the geography games and activities in the links to prepare for Round 5 and beyond! -Secret Santa: Students drew names today for our gift exchange that will happen next Friday, December 23. Limit for gifts is about $10. You can start bringing presents in any day next week.

-History: Begin Step #2 on the blue checklist - use your outline and your notes to start writing the first 2 or 3 paragraphs of the rough draft. -Spelling/ Vocabulary: Study for the quiz. -Swimming: Swim lessons continue on Friday. Be sure to bring a swimsuit, towel, goggles (if you have them), and a warm hat.

-History: Complete Step #1 on the blue checklist - the outline of your 5 paragraphs. Use the format sheet that you got in class today to help. Remember, you're not writing the report yet. You're just planning and organizing the paragraphs before you start. Be brief, use abbreviations. You do not need to write the outline in full-sentence form. -Spelling and Vocabulary: Written work is due.

-History: Read and take notes on the person you're studying for the Revolutionary Biography Report. -Geography: Use the games and activities in the links to practice for the class-level National Geographic Bee that we'll have on Friday.

-Math: Complete p. 289-290 in My Math. -History: Continue to find information, read, and take notes on the person you're studying for the Revolutionary Biography Report.

1. outline 2. rough draft 3. paragraph 4. topic sentence 5. supporting details 6. conclusion 7. images 8. revise 9. edit 10. bibliography 11. biblioteca (library) 12. tarea (homework) 13. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

-History: Gather information, read, and take notes about the person you're studying for your Revolutionary Biography Report. Use the books you've checked out, and the 4 websites linked here to help (Wikipedia, Academic Kids Encyclopedia, Biography.com, and American Revolution!).

-Math: Complete p. 283-284 in My Math. -Spelling and Vocabulary: Study for the quiz. -History: Come up with your first, second, and third choices for the Revolutionary Biography Report. -Swimming: Swim lessons continue on Friday. Be sure to bring a swimsuit, towel, goggles (if you have them), and a warm hat.

-Spelling and Vocabulary: Written work is due. Study for the practice quiz. This week's list is posted at Spelling City for games and practice. -Spelling Bee: Our School-Level bee will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday in the cafeteria. Parents are invited to come cheer on our 4th grade qualifiers!

1. empire 2. liberty 3. monarchy 4. democracy 5. repeal 6. assembly 7. propaganda 8. research 9. biography 10. library 11. libertad (freedom, liberty) 12. listo/ lista (ready or smart) 13. Don’t judge a book by its cover.