Mr. Z's Grade 4 Class – Remote Learning Update #5

What do labradoodles, LeBron James and Legos all have in common? They all are the subjects of some great non-fiction books available on the digital library site Epic!. Due to school closures, Epic! is offering free student accounts until June 30. I created a classroom for us, so now your student can access this reading site from home.

Besides tons of great non-fiction books on topics like history, science and animals, Epic! has lots of popular fiction titles, including many graphic novel series like LumberJanes and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It also has audio books and videos. I hope this resource can help ease frustration around getting access to appropriate reading materials while the school and libraries are closed. Your student can find a personal password and link to Epic! through our Typing Club, Epic!, Etc Google Classroom.

On the subject of math, I have heard the MathGames website that I steered students to last week can be a little laggy on some computers and contain a little more advertising than some parents would prefer. In response, starting this week I will offer a second option for practicing the targeted skills. It is a website that allows you to print skill-specific worksheets and answer keys. In the meantime, I will continue to research other online math practice sites.    

This is Week #5 of remote learning, so all the new work I provide in the Google Classrooms will be labeled as “Week #5.”

The overview of this week’s new work is in the Remote Learning Week #5 Parent-Caregiver Guide, available as a PDF file attached to this e-mail message.

Lastly, every week I learn about some new website created by Northampton school staff to support families. Links to all those sites, plus these weekly emails that I send to you, can be hard to keep track of. I want to remind you that I post copies of every class-wide email I send on my teacher blog, available at bssroom302.blogspot.com   Click on “List of Websites” on my blog to get to a list of all the websites I mention. I encourage you to visit and bookmark the blog for one-stop shopping to these emails and links.

OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

* Bridge Street Adjustment Counselor Laurie Sperry and her NPS colleagues have created a website loaded with social emotional learning opportunities, supports, and contacts. Among the many resources are videos of our awesome counselors reading aloud some great books about worrying, mindfulness and bullying.