Fourth Grade

Mr. Malsack

amalsack@trinityhudson.org

My Favorite Bible Verse

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 1 Peter 4:12-13

My Greatest Joy in working in a Christian School

My greatest joy is working with children in order to help them develop into good citizens and Christians.

I Love Trinity Academy because

I love Trinity Academy because of all the wonderful families and staff members that work here. I also enjoy the awesome educational environment that is provided for our students.

About Me

I have lived in Wisconsin for my entire life. I graduated from college, got married, and started my career all in the same year. My wife and I have 2 cats and dog. I graduated from UW-RF wih a B.S. in Biology Secondary Education and a minor in conservation.

Dear Parents and Students,

 

          Welcome to fourth grade at Trinity!  I am looking forward to working with you this school year.  I am excited to get to know each of you! Here is a bit about me.

 

          I grew up in Merrill, Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, majoring in secondary education with a life science focus. I graduated in the spring of 2009 and am thrilled to be in my second year teaching here. Last year I was the Science Specialist. This year I am teaching 4th Grade in addition to some middle school science and math classes!

 

          I was married last October to my beautiful wife, Michelle. We met in college. We enjoy our pet cats, Lionel and Linus, and our Alaskan Malamute, Freya, around our home in Hudson. Once in a while my wife shows Freya in competitions. We both enjoy the outdoors and the occasional camping trip when time allows.

 

          I hope that you have all enjoyed a restful and relaxing summer break. I anticipate a wonderful year and look forward to working together to make it a successful year for each student and family.  I know that God has chosen each of us for this place and time, and I look forward to seeing where he takes us!

 

Yours in Christ,

 

Mr. Andrew Malsack

Monday:  No School

Tuesday: No School
                             
Wednesday:   First Day of School!!!                     


Thursday:

Friday: Return Spanish Name sheet

  

*Students should be marking their "Homerun Reading" calendar every day with at least 20 minutes of reading time.  These need to be turned in at the beginning of every month.  It is part of report card grading. 


*Music -  Songs change every 1-3 weeks and vary by class.

*Spanish - Bring your name sheet with 3 name options for the school year. First day of Spanish is Friday, September 3.

 

Language Arts:
1. http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_4th_original.htm
2. http://www.toonuniversity.com/free/elementary-education-4th-6th.asp
3. http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/ language_arts/pmp/interactive_guide/g04/g04home.htm
4. http://writingfix.com/
5. http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/prompts.html

Math:
1. http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_4th_original.htm
2. http://www.aaamath.com/grade4.html
3. www.mmhmath.com then choose McMillan/McGraw Hill-Math under “program” and choose WI as the state. This site correlates with our math curriculum.
4. www.funbrain.com A word of caution: a few "games" for older children ask for an email address in order to "return game results". Parent supervision is recommended to teach students about this type of activity online.
5. http://math.about.com/od/wordproblem1/ss/gr4wp.htm


Religion:
Bible Study will begin the first week of November. Youth Pastor Brandon Perry will lead boys in grades 3-5 while Mrs. Bystrom will lead the girls in grades 3-5.


Spanish:
1.  www.bilingualplanet.com On the left-hand side of the home page, there is a button called "Student Activities". Just click it and another page will open up -- on top is "English" and on the bottom is "Spanish" - choose this one. There are numerous links to web-sites with on-line practice, pronunciation or games. Some of them I have already used, i.e. www.spanishspanish.com, kiddiegames.com, digital dialects, etc. For example, in many of them, you can click on the alphabet letters and hear them pronounced, play hang-man, concentration, etc. and choose your category of vocabulary practice.

2.  Another fun activity is to go to the River Falls Public Library web-site, and they have a link to "Tumble Books". They have storybooks on-line to read, and quite a nice selection in Spanish. You can read along with the books and follow the sound and animation as the pages are turned.

September Events:

*Prayer families are families that are prayed for by the staff as well as our class.  If you have a specific prayer request that you would like to share with me, the staff, or our class please let me know.  Prayer families for this month are:

Fourth Grade Schedule

 

Monday

8:30-8:45 Arrival

8:45-8:55 Morning Meeting and Announcements

8:55-9:40 Math

9:40-9:50 Snack

9:50-10:23 Literature

10:25-11:08 Language Arts

11:10-11.35 Tech (Semester 1)

                     Health (Semester 2)

11:35-12:00 Recess

12:00-12:25 Lunch

12:25-1:08 DEAR and Literature

1:10-1:53 Phy. Ed.

1:55-2:10 Recess

2:10-2:55 Science

2:55-3:25 Social Studies

Thursday

8:30-8:45 Arrival

8:45-8:55 Morning Meeting and Announcements

8:55-9:40 Math

9:40-9:50 Snack

9:50-10:23 Literature

10:25-11:08 Language Arts

11:10-11.35 Tech (Semester 1)

                     Health (Semester 2)

11:35-12:00 Recess

12:00-12:25 Lunch

12:25-1:08 DEAR and Literature

1:10-1:53 Phy. Ed.

1:55-2:38 Religion

2:40-2:55 Recess

2:55-3:25 Social Studies

Tuesday

8:30-8:45 Arrival

8:45-8:55 Morning Meeting and Announcements

8:55-9:40 Math

9:40-9:50 Snack

9:50-10:23 Literature

10:25-11:08 Language Arts

11:10-11.35 Tech (Semester 1)

                     Health (Semester 2)

11:35-12:00 Recess

12:00-12:25 Lunch

12:25-1:08 DEAR and Literature

1:10-1:53 Art

1:55-2:38 Religion

2:40-2:55 Recess

2:55-3:25 Social Studies

Friday

8:30-8:45 Arrival

8:45-8:55 Morning Meeting and Announcements

8:55-9:40 Math

9:40-9:50 Snack

9:50-10:23 Literature

10:25-11:08 Language Arts

11:10-11.35 Tech (Semester 1)

                     Health (Semester 2)

11:35-12:00 Recess

12:00-12:25 Lunch

12:25-1:08 DEAR and Literature

1:10-1:53 Spanish

1:55-2:10 Recess

2:10-2:55 Science

2:55-3:25 Social Studies

Wednesday

8:30-8:45 Arrival

8:45-9:00 Announcements and Morning Prep

9:00-9:30 Chapel

9:35-9:45 Snack

9:45-10:23 Math

10:25-11:08 Language Arts

11:10-11.35 Tech (Semester 1)

                     Health (Semester 2)

11:35-12:00 Recess

12:00-12:25 Lunch

12:25-1:08 DEAR and Literature

1:10-1:53 Music

1:55-2:10 Recess

2:10-2:55 Science

2:55-3:25 Social Studies

 

September's Bible verse for Pastor Booth:

September's Books of the Bible for Mr.Malsack: The first 20 books of the Old Testament in order.

  1. Genesis
  2. Exodus
  3. Leviticus
  4. Numbers
  5. Deteronomy
  6. Joshua
  7. Judges
  8. Ruth
  9. 1 Samuel
  10. 2 Samuel
  11. 1 Kings
  12. 2 Kings
  13. 1 Chronicles
  14. 2 Chronicles
  15. Ezra
  16. Nehemiah
  17. Esther
  18. Job
  19. Psalms
  20. Proverbs

Spelling list: 

  1. drank
  2. rest
  3. ahead
  4. drink
  5. dock
  6. hung
  7. trouble
  8. magazine
  9. self
  10. deaf
  11. lift
  12. flock
  13. trust
  14. cousin
  15. cannon
  16. swept
  17. pleasant
  18. fist
  19. couple
  20. wealth

Challenge: 

  1. brand-new
  2. compass
  3. darted
  4. muttered
  5. talker

Faith Formation

At Trinity Academy, we incorporate the Christian life-style into all areas of the curriculum. To help students further their understanding about our Father as well as how we should live our lives, students participate in a Religion curriculum developed by Concordia Publishing House (CHP). The year begins with the history of the Old Testament through creation and the patriarchs. Students continue through the New Testament exploring the life of Paul, the beginning of the church, and Jesus’ life through his ministry and resurrection. Students are encouraged to develop their relationship with Christ, and to apply Biblical principles to their daily lives inside and outside the classroom.

Reading

Fourth grade students are developing and improving many reading skills and are exposed to a variety of both fiction and nonfiction books. Students practice specific reading skills through a short story from the Macmillan/ McGraw-Hill curriculum. Over a longer period, they also participate in literature circles as they read novels with a small group and interact with the literature through oral and written responses. These literature circles allow students to put the skills they have learned into practice.

Writing

Students engage in writing in various ways. Writer’s workshop is a portion of the morning devoted to developing writing skills. As students engage in the writing process through expository, persuasive, and narrative writing, they develop the skills they have learned in the grammar component of language arts. Each piece of writing provides the opportunity to plan, draft, edit, revise, and publish their work.

Writing and reading are combined as students respond to different texts read in the classroom. Some of these responses include the writing process, book reports, and keeping a journal.

Spelling

The fourth grade spelling words are taken from the reading text as well as content in other subjects. Words are grouped together based on spelling rules such as long or short vowel sounds. Students will see these words used in context throughout the week and will learn how to use them in their own reading and writing responses.

Handwriting

Fourth grade students practice correct letter formation, and are improving on writing legibly in cursive. Letter size, slant, spacing, and alignment are important elements of writing that are practiced.

Language Arts


Science

The science curriculum takes students through six areas of exploration: the human body, trees, the earth’s land resources, animals, weather and climate, and light energy. Principles learned through these units are discovered through hands-on experiments, critical thinking, and teacher assigned projects. Through science, students are able to discover more of God’s creation, and to connect their scientific knowledge to God’s word. We use a variety of resources in science such as Harcourt, Concordia, and Foss Kits for hands-on experiences.

Literature


Mission Class


Bible


Math

Students’ mathematical skills are being learned and refined through the Macmillan McGraw-Hill curriculum in fourth grade. The year begins with a review in place value and working with money. Students build on their knowledge through improving their addition and subtraction skills, multiplying and dividing with two digits, graphing, working with decimals, practicing fractions and probability, and learning measurements. Geometry is introduced by the end of the year, and elements of algebra are found woven throughout the curriculum. Students learn these concepts through exploration, teacher-guided instruction, and hands-on activities using math manipulatives.

Social Studies

Social Studies Alive is a curriculum that students begin and end the year with.  They journey across the United States learning about the land, resources, and people grouped in each region.  During the exploration of the Midwest they will take a break and begin working with the Gibbs-Smith Wisconsin Journey fourth grade curriculum which allows students to learn about Wisconsin's rich history and how the state was created.  Through a variey of activities, worksheets, and projects, skills are developed such as interpreting and using maps.  A field trip to the Sunnyview one room school house and log home brings their journey into history alive.

Art

Continuation and expansion of the elements of art and artists such as Kandinsky and Klee illustrate and enhance the learning objectives. The principals of design continue to be taught.

Click here to learn more about Art.

Music & Band

In the upper level grades, students explore advance tonal and rhythm exploration, improvisation, two-part singing, rounds, and music theory. They play simple instruments while singing and play along to various types of music. Correct posture, breathing, and vocalizing techniques are taught throughout the year. These students complete a year long comprehensive study of comprehension study of composers from various time periods on a historical time line. Fourth and fifth grade students have the opportunity to play band or orchestra instruments and also to participate in private piano lessons that are available during the school day. Cooperation with a local private school allows the band and orchestra students to play in an ensemble band and orchestra. Students are required to participate in the annual Christmas Musical and spring choral concert.

Click here to learn more about Music.

Technology

Practices touch keyboarding techniques and uses a “presentation software” program. Fourth graders use “special features” of a word processing program in a document and are able to identify and use simple search engines and directories.

Click here to learn more about Technology.

Physical Education

The primary focus continues to be mastering skills while using game strategies. Fourth graders are expected to know basic rules of game and skills sets so that participation in games may continue with less guidance. More time is spent playing actual games rather than skill-work activities. Knowledge-based assessments are continued in the sporting units.

Click here to learn more about Physical Education.

Spanish

Spanish learners will be able to speak in short sentences. Heavy emphasis is placed on speaking in Spanish as well as talk about themselves in Spanish to one another. Correct pronunciation is stressed. Verb conjugation in the present tense is introduced. Students work on writing in paragraph form.

Click here to learn more about Spanish.

Specialized Learning