In the event that school is closed for an extended time due to illness, students can continue to learn at home. The activities listed below
are based on the curriculum pacing guides.
Complete the Alphabet. Students are learning about the letters Mm, Ss, Rr, Tt, Pp, Cc, and Aa.
Where are these letters located in the alphabet? Click here to access an
Uppercase Completion Sheet where students fill in the missing letters.
Click here to find the Lowercase Completion Sheet
for students to complete the lowercase alphabet.
Students are learning that they are special. On the attached prompt, the student chooses
a way that he or she is special and then draws a picture to show himself or herself as a special person.
Students are also learning that their family is important. On the attached picture frame, the
student draws his or her own family and tries to label each person's name.
November-December, 2009
Complete the Alphabet. Students have learned about the letters Mm, Ss, Rr, Tt, Pp, Cc, and Aa. They are learning about the letters Nn and Dd.
Where are these letters located in the alphabet? Click here to access an Uppercase Completion Sheet
where students fill in the missing letters. Click here to find the Lowercase Completion Sheet
for student to complete the lowercase alphabet.
TrophiesTheme Activity Alignment.Teachers from Kyrene School District have researched and located on-line activities based on the fourth grade Trophies themes.
Click here to use this great resource.
Making Sentences. Students are learning to read many words. Print out the Sight Word Cards
and cut them apart. Use the blank cards to print the student's name and names of members of the student's family. The student arranges
the cards to make sentences. Before returning to school, the student chooses two sentences made and glues or tapes the cards onto a piece
of paper. Return the glued or taped sentences to the classroom teacher.
Students are learning about themselves and what they like to do. In a conversation with the student, discuss what kinds of activities he or she
really likes to do. Have the student choose five things he or she really likes to do. The student draws self doing these activities and labels each
picture. Help the student try to sound out the words to label the pictures. Return the book to the classroom teacher when school resumes.
Students are learning about foods and identifying what their favorite foods are. Go through a grocery store ad with the student and have the
student cut out pictures of five favorite foods. Make sure that at least three of the choices are healthy. The student glues or tapes the
each food choice to a piece of paper. The student writes a sentence to explain why he or she likes this food so much. The student
then designs a cover and prints "My Favorite Foods" on the cover. Draw different foods or make designs to decorate the cover. Then staple, glue
or tape all the pages together to make a book. Return the book to the classroom teacher when school resumes.
TrophiesTheme Activity Alignment.Teachers from Kyrene School District have researched and located on-line activities based on the fourth grade Trophies themes.
Click here to use this great resource.
November-December, 2009
Making Sentences. Students continue to learn to read many words. Print out the Sight Word Cards
and cut them apart. Use the blank cards to print the student's name and names of members of the student's family. The student arranges
the cards to make sentences. Before returning to school, the student chooses three sentences made and glues or tapes the cards onto a piece
of paper. Return the glued or taped sentences to the classroom teacher.
Students are learning about themselves and how they have changed over time. Print out the Personal Timeline.
Help the student make a list of things the student was able to do at different ages. At the bottom of the timeline, the student can illustrate it by
drawing a self-portrait or by drawing things the student used at different ages.
Students are learning about pets and how to care for pets. Have the student draw a picture of a real or make-believe pet. The student then writes at least one sentence
to describe the pet. Encourage the student to use descriptive words to provide details about the pet.
Students are learning about animals and how they grow and change. Have the student visit The Smithsonian National Zoological Park webiste
and view the pictures of different animals. Have the student choose a favorite animal and draw a picture of it. The student can then label the picture and explain why he or she
likes this animal.
TrophiesTheme Activity Alignment.Teachers from Kyrene School District have researched and located on-line activities based on the fourth grade Trophies themes.
Click here to use this great resource.
The Friendly Letter. Students are learning how to write a friendly letter. To help students learn the parts in a friendly letter, view
this PowerPoint Presentation that explains the different parts. Once you
know all the parts of a friendly letter, you can get ready to write one. Decide what family member you would like to write to. Then decide what you want to say.
Is there something you did that you want to tell him or her about? Do you want to tell your family member what you are doing while you are home from school?
Use the friendly letter form to write your letter. Mail the letter. Tell your teacher if the family member writes back!
The Main Idea. Read the story "The Mystery of the Old, Green Purse" by a
second grade student. Why do you think the author wrote the story? In two or three sentences, write what you think the main idea of the story is.
Sequence of Events. Read the story "Armed and Contagious" by a second grade
student. Several things happen to Olivia in the story. On a piece of paper, make a list of what happens in the story. Make sure the list is in the right order.
After you write the list, read the story again and check your list. Fix anything that is out of order.
November-December, 2009
Personal Narrative. Students are learning to write about things they have accomplished in a narrative form. To help students understand the parts of a personal narrative,
use Time for Kids Personal Narrative Organizer. The organizer will help
students plan what they are going to write about and what details they should include. Students can then choose to write about:
I Help in School - tell a story of a time when you helped someone out at school - or -
I Help at Home - tell a story of a time when you helped a family member or your whole family at home.
Students should make sure to include at least one sentence of dialogue in the story and try to use quotation marks correctly.
Synonyms. Match words that mean nearly the same thing. Visit the Dositey website to practice matching
synonyms in a memory game.
Sequence of Events. Read the story "Max and the Candy Shop Surprise" by a second grade
student. Several things happen to Max in the story. On a piece of paper, make a list of what happens in the story. Make sure the list is in the right order.
After you write the list, read the story again and check your list. Fix anything that is out of order.
Making Predictions. Read the story "A Journey to Freedom" by a second grade student.
After you read page two, make two or three predictions about what you think may happen next in the story. After you read page five, review your predictions. Can any of your predictions be confirmed?
Do you want to change any of your predictions? Put a check next to any prediction you can confirm, and change any prediction you want to change. After reading page nine, see if you can confirm any predictions
or if you want to change any predictions.
TrophiesTheme Activity Alignment.Teachers from Kyrene School District have researched and located on-line activities based on the fourth grade Trophies themes.
Click here to use this great resource.
Decoding Long Words. Students are applying what they have learned in decoding words to longer words. They are working on using prefixes and suffixes to
help decode a word. There are steps that can be taken to help decode long words. To review these steps, click here. These are the steps
as they were presented in Trophies. There is also a great webpage,
"Decode Long Words," that can help you with ways to sound out long words. Practice using your decoding skills by
clicking here. Now, try to read the
"Preamble to the Constitution" out loud using
your decoding skills.
Descriptive Paragraph. Everyone has something that he or she really likes to do. What do you like to do? Pretend that you have to explain this activity to a being from
another planet. In detail, write a paragraph to describe the activity and explain how you feel when you do it.
Make and Confirm Predictions. Good readers make predictions all the time. Good readers also change their predictions while they are reading because something
in the text tells them that their first prediction wasn't correct. For this activity, read a story by a third grade student called
"The Middle Child." Read the title carefully and look at the cover of the story. Think about what you know about families. Now write down three predictions about
what you think is going to happen in Emily's story. Read the first six pages of the story. Look at your predictions. Do you want to change any of them? If so, cross out the ones you want to change
and write a new prediction. If not, keep reading. Now read on until you get to page 13. Check your predictions again and change any that need to be changed. Now read on
until you get to the end of the story. Decide which predictions were correct and change the others to make them correct.
November-December, 2009
Writing to Provide Information. Students are learning how to write to provide the reader with information. Have the student respond to this prompt: "People do many things to stay healthy. Think about some
things people do to keep from getting sick. Now write about things people can do to stay healthy" (Trophies). Encourage the student to use a
Graphic Organizer to plan the writing.
Decoding Long Words. Students are continuing to apply what they have learned in decoding words to longer words. They are working on using prefixes and suffixes to
help decode a word. There are steps that can be taken to help decode long words. To review these steps, click here. These are the steps
as they were presented in Trophies. There is also a great webpage,
"Decode Long Words," that can help you with ways to sound out long words. Practice using your decoding skills by
clicking here. Now, try to read the
"Preamble to the Constitution" out loud using
your decoding skills.
Author's Purpose. Writers choose their topics for different reasons. If a writer wants to get the reader to do something, the writer is trying to persuade. If the writer wants to explain something or provide
information to the reader, the writer is trying to inform. If the writer wants to give the reader an enjoyable experience, the writer is trying to entertain.
Finally, if the writer wants to help the reader learn how to do something, the writer is trying to give directions. Student writers should have a purpose, too.
Have the student read "The Bald Eagle who Loved the Ocean" by a third grade student. After reading the story, ask the student to
write a paragraph about the story. In the paragraph, the student should explain what he or she believes is the author's purpose and why the student believes this is the author's purpose.
Writing a Summary. Students are learning how to read a longer story and then write a summary of the story. The student can choose a favorite story or
"Invisible Alligators" by Hayes Roberts. After the student has read the story, the student will write a summary of the story in one or two paragraphs. If the student needs help to plan the summary, the student
may use a Sequence Chart Graphic Organizer to help organize his or her thoughts.
TrophiesTheme Activity Alignment.Teachers from Kyrene School District have researched and located on-line activities based on the fourth grade Trophies themes.
Click here to use this great resource.
Using a Graphic Organizer to Understand a Text. One way to help you understand a particular character or event in a story is to use a Word
Web to organize your ideas and help you pull out the details the writer gave you about the character or event.
Read the story called "The Littlest Knight" by Carol Moore. The dragon is an important character in the story. He has
lots of special powers, and he has some weaknesses. Fill out the Word Web to help you describe the dragon. Write the word "dragon" in the middle of the web.
Then use the other ovals to list facts about the dragon you learned from the story. After you have finished the word web, write a paragraph that describes the dragon.
Conflict and Resolution. When good readers read a story, they know that two key things that happen in every story is that there is a conflict (a problem) and a resolution (a solution).
A graphic organizer can help you decide what is the conflict, what the character does to try to solve the conflict, and what is the final resolution.
Read "Who Did Patrick's Homework?" by Carol Moore. Complete the graphic organizer to
identify the problem, steps taken to solve the problem, and the solution.
The Personal Narrative. A personal narrative tells a story about the writer, but it also has to have a purpose. Often, a personal narrative is used to help teach the reader something
about life. you can write a personal narrative about somethign you really like to do. When you write the narrative, think about what you want to teach the reader. Do you want to teach the
reader how to complete this activity? Do you want to teach the reader that having personal activities is important to be a happy person? Do you want to teach the reader that doing something
that is challenging can make the reader feel good? Or do you have another lesson to teach your reader?
Think about something you recently enjoyed doing or something you just learned to do. How can you describe this activity to teach your reader something about life? Write a personal narrative to teach your reader
something? Write a personal narrative that is at least three paragraphs long.
Note: Read "My Diary of China" by a third grade student. In this story, Rylee tells a narrative, and she describes her trip. But Rylee is also
teaching her reader a lesson: travelling is a great way to learn and try new things. If you are having trouble figuring out what you want to teach your reader, look at Rylee's story carefully. You can also read any of the
Aesop's Fables at the Online Collection for ideas on how to teach a lesson. Aesop's fables are not true, but they all tell a narrative that leads to an important lesson.
See if any of them spark an idea for your personal narrative.
TrophiesTheme Activity Alignment.Teachers from Kyrene School District have researched and located on-line activities based on the fourth grade Trophies themes.
Click here to use this great resource.
