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Mrs Schmitz -Third Grade
Posted on January 27, 2012, by Maria Schmitz, under Third Grade.
PrintMath
We will be finishing up our multiplication and division unit. Most of the students in the 3rd grade have done an awesome job of memorizing their multiplication facts. This will really help them in the future with math. Once we have finished multiplication and division, we will be focusing our attention on learning to read graphs and charts as well as reviewing time.
Science
We are finishing up our Chemistry Unit, and now it is time to focus on the Science Fair. All projects will be completed in class. Students will work everyday in class on their individual or group project. I am sure you will be proud of the work they accomplish.
Social Studies
Once we finish with our Science Fair projects, we will begin working on Social Studies again. We will learn about prominent African American citizens throughout history, We will also be learning about where communities are located and how the weather and climate impact the lives of people that live in different parts of the world.
Religion
Now that we have learned our Ten Commandments, we are now looking at each of them in detail. We are gaining an understanding of how we should live these commandments in our daily lives. We will also learn about the season of Lent.
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Mrs. Schmitz – Third Grade
Posted on November 30, 2011, by Maria Schmitz, under Fourth Grade.
PrintMath
We are deep in the heart of Multiplication. It is critical that your students recite their multiplication each night when they get home. I know you may think that writing the multiplication facts is just busy work; however, it is critical that each student masters the facts in 3rd grade. I am having them write the facts, recite the facts, and work the facts each day because I want to make sure they will be successful in Math. I am even giving each student an incentive. If your student can memorizes all their multiplication facts by Jan. 11th, they will receive a free movie ticket. Once we finish up with Multiplication and Division, we will begin working with Maps and Graphs. Thank you so much for your help and support at home.
Social Studies
We have finished working in our Junior Atlas for the time being; however, we will come back to it later in the year. We are working on learning about the different types of communities and the people that work to make the community a success. Students will present a mock interview with a worker from the community so we can get a better understanding of all the people that work together to make a community successful.
Science
Students will be working on their science projects in class. Hopefully this will be a fun learning experience for each of the students. They will have the opportunity to learn through trial and error and learn about the Scientific Method. Parents will be invited to come and see their student’s projects during Catholic Schools Week. Students will also be learning about Chemistry. We will learn about the different elements and how to locate information on the Periodic table.
Religion
December
We successfully learned the Ten Commandments and have learned about many great Saints. The students did an awesome job presenting their saints to the class. As we move into the Advent season we will focus on what the season of Advent means within the Christian community. We will hear the story of Jesus birth and the story of how Mary accepted God’s call.
January
We will be taking a deeper look at our Ten Commandments and trying to gain a better understanding of what they mean. What does it mean to love God above everything else? What does obedience have to do with Love? Why go to church each Sunday? What should we do when we break God’s Laws of Love? We will discuss reconciliation and how this brings us closer to God when we have broken his commands.
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Mrs Schmitz- 3rd Grade
Posted on October 21, 2011, by Maria Schmitz, under Third Grade.
PrintMath
We are finishing up our addition unit and will begin working on subtraction. Please check your students’ evening homework assignments to ensure they have an understanding of subtraction. When we finish with our unit on subtraction we will begin working on memorizing all of our multiplication facts.
Science
We are finishing the unit that covers the Solar System. We will begin investigating elements and compounds. Some of the students are very excited about this new unit.
Religion
October is Respect Life month. Each student will be making a poster that will be placed in the hallway to represent how to respect life. This month we are also praying the rosary each week with the entire school on Wednesdays. In November we will be studying the saints. Each student will be asked to do a project on their favorite saint to share with the class.
Social Studies
We will continue to learn about communities. We will discuss how they are all alike and how they are different. We will also continue to work on our map skills.
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Mrs. Schmitz – 3rd Grade
Posted on September 19, 2011, by Maria Schmitz, under Third Grade.
PrintMath
We have been reviewing place value, standard form, expanded form and comparing numbers in math. We are learning how to round and count money. We will be working on making change and focusing on word problems too.
Science
We are studying Astronomy in Science. We are learning about our Solar System and how everything orbits around the sun. This has been very interesting. We know the Solar System consists of the planets, the sun, the stars, moons, asteroids, and dwarf planets. We also learned that the sun is very hot but it does have some spots that are called sun spots that are cooler than other parts of the sun and this is where solar flares form.
Social Studies
In Social Studies we have been discussing communities and citizens. We are figuring out that all communities consist of some of the same types of things; however they are very different. We have also been learning about maps, atlas’s and globes. We are figuring out how to read maps and how to use atlas’s.
Religion
We have already taken our first two quiz’s and have been learning about God as our creator. We are also finding out that God is all around us. We can see his glory in everything around us. We are also coming to realize that God exists inside each one of us – We make up the body of Christ. This helps us to understand why we need to be kind towards everyone!
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Mrs. Schmitz – 4th Grade
Posted on May 27, 2011, by Maria Schmitz, under Fourth Grade.
PrintAs this school year comes to a close, I would like to thank each of you for entrusting your students to the faculty and staff of St. Elizabeth. I hope everyone has a safe and blessed summer. I leave you with a prayer: (the source is unknown)
End of School Year Prayer
O God of all beginnings and endings,
We praise and thank you for the gift of this school year.
It has been a time filled with grace and blessings,
With challenges and opportunities, joys and sorrows.
The days have passed quickly, O Lord.
The weeks, the months, the seasons, the holidays and holy days,
The exams, vacations, breaks, and assemblies,
All have come forth from your hand.
While we trust that your purposes have always been at work each day,
Sometimes it has seemed difficult to understand and appreciate
Just what you have been up to in our school.
Give us the rest and refreshment we need this summer.
Let our efforts of this past year bear fruit.
Bring all of our plans to a joyful conclusion,
And bless us, according to your will,
With the fulfillment of our summer hopes and dreams.
Watch over us in the weeks of rest ahead,
And guide each day as you have done this past year.
Help us return to school with a new spirit and a new energy.
May we continue to grow
In age, wisdom, knowledge and grace
All the days of our lives.
Amen.
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Mrs. Schmitz – 4th Grade
Posted on April 18, 2011, by Maria Schmitz, under Fourth Grade.
PrintMath - We will be finishing up our unit on Fractions. We have learned how to find the GCF and LCM, we have learned how to simplify fractions, add fractions, subtract fractions. We have learned how to fix improper fractions and how to work with fractions that have unlike denominators. There was a lot to learn about fractions but “By George!” I think we’ve done it!
Science – We are learning about rocks and minerals. There are 40 common minerals found in the rocks around us! Each student should be working to create a character to represent the mineral they were assigned in order to share interesting facts about the mineral with the class. We will finish up this unit and then we will get to dissect a pickle and star fishes
Religion – As we near the end of the school year, we will finish up discussing the Ten Commandments in detail, and then we will begin to discuss and learn the Beatitudes. In honor of Earth Day, we will do a community clean. We will clean the school property and rid it of all the trash that people leave behind. We will also see the movie African Cats and learn about their natural habitats and what we can do to preserve their environment.
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Mrs. Schmitz – Fourth Grade
Posted on March 7, 2011, by Maria Schmitz, under Fourth Grade.
PrintReligion
In Religion we are discussing the importance of Respect! We know that the 4th Commandment tells us that we should honor our father and mother, but what does that really mean? We are discussing how we are to honor our parents by respecting and loving them, but we should not stop there. We need to respect all authority figures, and we also need to respect our friends and enemies. We also are learning the importance of respecting our belongings and our world.
Math
Wow! We are doing an awesome job with division. We are working on double digit multiplication, and everyone seems to be picking up on this skill pretty well. This is also a good refresher on subtraction skills. We will continue to work on division for the next few weeks, and then we will move on to more exciting things. We still need to cover Factor Trees which should be fun, and then we will begin working on measurements and time.
***Please make sure your student is working to memorize all of their multiplication facts!!!***
Science
We just finished our unit on the Water Cycle,and now we are looking at how the Water Cycle influences weather. We are looking at all aspects of weather such as how human behavior impacts weather, what causes weather to occur and what should we do if we find ourselves in a major weather related disaster. Hopefully, the kids will enjoy this unit.
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Auto Draft
Posted on February 28, 2011, by Maria Schmitz, under Uncategorized.
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Mrs. Schmitz – Fourth Grade
Posted on January 18, 2011, by Maria Schmitz, under Fourth Grade.
PrintReligion
We are moving into unit 3 in our Christ Our Life workbook. This unit will cover how we show God that we love him. We are discussing the different types of prayer and how we should find a place that we are comfortable praying. We are recognizing all of the gifts that God has given us but learning to realize that we should not put these gifts before God. The first commandment: I the Lord am your God. You shall not have other Gods besides me. We are discussing how the gifts God gives can sometimes get in the way of our relationship with God and how we always need to keep him #1 in our lives.
Math
Wow! What about these students! They are doing an awesome job with division. Everyone seems to be picking up on division so far. This is also a good refresher on subtraction skills. We will continue to work on division for the next weeks and then we will move on to more exciting things. We will have a lesson on Factor Trees which should be fun and then we will begin working on measurements and time.
***The 4th graders are also getting faster at completing their mad minutes.
Science
Science fair projects are in full swing. Fourth grade is so excited to be participating in the science fair this year. We have some really cool projects and everyone is working really hard to ensure that we have great displays for our big day. Thank you for your support in getting all the supplies required for us to be successful.
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Mrs. Schmitz – Fourth Grade
Posted on December 8, 2010, by Maria Schmitz, under Fourth Grade.
PrintReligion
We completed Unit 2 in our workbooks. This unit covered many topics like the Ten Commandments and why we honor Mary. We will now take a closer look at each of the commandments to ensure that we have an understanding of each of them and make sure we understand how to follow the commandments in our daily lives.
Math
Wow what about these students! They are doing an awesome job with double digit multiplication. We will be finishing up this unit on multiplication and begin our unit on division but will continue to work on double digit multiplication. Students will be required to do the check steps on all division work to ensure they have calculated correctly.
Science
We our beginning a unit on Solids, Liquids and Gases. Hopefully this will be a fun unit for us. We will make Rock Candy to demonstrate …. solids, liquids and gases. Students will begin selecting their science fair projects in class. When we return from the holiday’s students will focus all of their attention on completing their Science Fair projects in class. There will be several due dates for the students to meet to ensure that we complete the projects on time.
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Mrs. Schmitz – Fourth Grade
Posted on October 28, 2010, by Maria Schmitz, under Fourth Grade.
PrintReligion
We will begin learning about the saints over the next few weeks in Religion. We will learn some interesting facts about several saints including feast days, what they are the patron saint of and a few details of their lives. Each student will have the opportunity to present information about a saint they are inspired by in class. We will watch several videos: Mother Teresa, Bernadette, and The Lady of Fatima. Hopefully we will also get to see a video on Juan Diego and the Virgin of Guadalupe if the video becomes available.
Math
We are working to finish up our review of addition and subtraction; estimating and rounding; problem solving strategies and place value. Once we are finished with our review, we will begin working on multiplication math patterns and multiplication properties. This will hopefully be fun, exciting, and challenging for us.
Science
We are learning about the body and how our body systems and organs work. Each student has been assigned an organ or body system that they will research and then will present their findings to the class. They all seem very interested in figuring out just what makes us tick.
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Mrs. Schmitz – Fourth Grade
Posted on September 29, 2010, by Maria Schmitz, under Fourth Grade.
PrintReligion
We are finishing up with Unit One in our Religion workbooks. One of the skills we have acquired from this unit is saying the Act of Faith. We have learned this prayer and we say it frequently in class. This is a good prayer to have in our memory banks as it reminds us of what we truly believe as Catholics. The next several chapters discuss how God strengthens us to Be Holy.
Math
We are still in the review stages in Math. Currently we are working on Roman Numerals and putting together charts and lists. We will begin covering properties of addition and quick tips for addition. We will also be reviewing subtraction as well as doing a mixed review of the materials covered so far this year. We work many word problems together as a class to ensure that the students can find and understand the key words in the word problems. If the students only remember one thing this year in math, I would like for them to remember the math problem solving method: Read, Plan, Solve, and Check. If they follow this process they should be successful math problem solvers.
Science
We have now finished the Nancy Larson lesson booklets and are beginning to work in our textbooks. We will be discussing animal adaptation. Students will find out ways in which animals adapt to their surroundings and reasons why they have to make these changes. I am very excited about the students’ first Science Projects!
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Mrs. Schmitz – Fourth Grade
Posted on March 11, 2010, by Maria Schmitz, under Fourth Grade.
PrintReligion
We have begun discussing in detail the 7th commandment: Thou shall not steal and the 10th commandment: Thou shall not covet your neighbor’s goods. We have discussed that stealing is not only taking what does not belong to you but also damaging things that belong to others as well because they no longer have what was damaged. We discussed the importance of replacing items that you may have damaged even if it is an accident. We are having discussions about respect for our own property and the belongings of others. We are also talking about being happy for others when they receive great rewards instead of being envious or jealous.
Math
Wow! What about these students! We have just finished our unit on division and most of the students picked this up very easily. We are now focusing our attention on fractions. We have already learned about the GCF (greatest common factors) and putting fractions into lowest terms. We know that whatever we do to the top we must do to the bottom! Hopefully this background knowledge will help us as we learn to add and subtract fractions that have like and unlike denominators.
Science
We are finishing up our unit on Weather with a viewing of the movie Twister. Hopefully this will be an enjoyable treat. When we return from Spring break we will begin looking at layers of the Earth which will include topics such as earthquakes and volcanoes, rocks, minerals and fossils. We will probably have a project to go along with this unit.
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Mrs. Schmitz – Fourth Grade
Posted on December 10, 2009, by Maria Schmitz, under Fourth Grade.
PrintReligion
We just completed Unit 2 in our workbooks. This unit covered many topics like the Ten Commandments and why we honor Mary. We will now take a closer look at each of the commandments to ensure that we have an understanding of each of them and make sure we understand how to follow the commandments in our daily lives.
Math
Wow what about these students! They are doing an awesome job with double digit multiplication. We have just begun our unit on division but will continue to work on double digit multiplication. Students will be required to do the check steps on all division work to ensure they have calculated correctly.
Science
Students will begin selecting their science fair projects in class. When we return from the holiday’s students will focus all of their attention on completing their Science Fair projects in class. There will be several due dates for the students to meet to ensure that we complete the projects on time.
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Mrs. Schmitz – Fourth Grade
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Maria Schmitz, under Fourth Grade.
PrintReligion
We have been working to learn the Ten Commandments and how they apply to our daily lives. We are now working on Saint Projects and learning about the saints. We will reflect on the lives of the saints and how we should model our lives after them. As we enter the Thanksgiving season we will also take time to reflect on the blessings in our lives and what we are thankful for in our daily lives.
Math
We are working on our multiplication facts and working multiplication problems each day. The student’s have been working on knowing their multiplication facts by memory. We are now working on double digit multiplication and will soon be moving on to division problems.
Science
We are finishing up our unit on the food pyramid, healthy eating and hygiene. We will be introduced to the science article process. Each student will be required to complete a science article per month beginning in December. The articles will be due the second Friday of each month.
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Mrs. Schmitz – Fourth Grade
Posted on September 24, 2009, by Maria Schmitz, under Fourth Grade.
PrintReligion
We have finished up with Unit One in our Religion workbooks. One of the skills we have acquired from this unit is saying the Act of Faith. We have learned this prayer and we say it frequently in class. This is a good prayer to have in our memory banks as it reminds us of what we truly believe as Catholics. The next several chapters discuss how God strengthens us to Be Holy.
Math
We are still in the review stages in Math. We have recently covered properties or addition and quick tips for addition. Currently we are reviewing subtraction as well as doing a mixed review of the materials covered so far this year. We work many word problems together as a class to ensure that the students can find and understand the key words in the word problems. If the students only remember one thing this year in math, I would like for them to remember the math problem solving method: Read, Plan, Solve, and Check. If they follow this process they should be successful math problem solvers.
Science
Wow! What great science projects the students in fourth grade prepared. I was very impressed! We have now finished the Nancy Larson lesson booklets and are beginning to work in our text books. We will be discussing animal adaptation. Students will find out ways in which animals adapt to their surroundings and reasons why they have to make these changes.
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