Weekly Update January 3rd-7th

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fantastic winter break. It was a great time to catch up with family and friends. I know we were busy at our house playing with all the toys that Santa left for Charlie and Nick!

A special welcome to Elizabeth! Elizabeth is joining our class this week. We are so excited to have her in room 221!

Here is what we will be doing as we ease into 2011!


Math: This week we will begin Chapter 12. Multiplying two-digit and three-digit numbers is officially here! Remember that the math book is online
http://www.eharcourtschool.com
Log-in : tfourth
Password: pass
I will be providing students graph paper to work these multi-digit problems. The biggest problem I anticipate is keeping the numbers neat and organized! Hopefully graph paper will help!

Reading: All groups have finished their book club books. Not all groups were able to meet before due to the snow day and winter party. We will begin new book club groups and guided reading groups this week.

Writing: This week we will begin our expository writing piece. We will be doing some prewriting activities. Each students will choose one person to research and write about. More details will be given in class.
Students will continue to write 10 minutes a nights for homework. I have decided to modify this requirement to be 3 days a week instead of 4 days a week. On Fridays I will check the journal for 3 10 minute entries.  

Word Study: This week I will be giving students a word study inventory. This inventory is a 20 word test but it does not count for a grade. It is a tool to help me better place your child in word study groups based on their individual strengths and weaknesses. Do not expect words and contracts to come home until late in the week or early next week.

Science: We will begin studying electricity this week!

Enjoy the last few days of break! See you soon!

Weekly Update: December 13-17

The winter concerts have been RESCHEDULED for this Wednesday, December 15th.  The 4th grade will perform at 7:00 and the choir will perform at 8:00. 

Math- We are working toward 2-digit times 2-digit multiplication!  This wee we will continue using strategies to solve multiplication problems (using zeros, distributive property) that will prepare us for the next steps.  We will take our Chapter 11 test this Thursday. The study guide will come home a day earlier than normal (on Tuesday). I realize that with the winter concert being rescheduled the students will not be able to do all their studying on Wednesday night.

Reading- This week we will continue looking at nonfiction text structures. We will focus on table of contents, bold faced words, captions, diagrams, and the index. As a weekly reading response this week students will be looking for nonfiction books at home and identifying the nonfiction text structures they find in these books.

I have been very impressed with our book club discussions recently!  We are truly becoming a class of readers who can discuss our books with our peers! Way to go!

Writing–Persuasive writing continues!  The students have been working on writing a persuasive letter to you, their parents, about an unusual pet they would like to have. The polished pieces are due this Wednesday. I am impressed by some of the arguments the students have come up with on this topic. After reading the letters you may just want to buy a monkey, dolphin, or DRAGON for under the Christmas tree (yikes!).

In writing we have also discussed some no excuse expectations in writing. We are identifying writing expectations that MUST be present in all our our writing, NO EXCEPTIONS. Some ideas we have generated are:

• Capital Letters
• Beginning of a sentence
• Proper Nouns
• Punctuation
• Correct use of commas in a series
• Correct use of the friendly letter format

We will continue to add to this list in class. 

Word Study- We will have our word study test on Thursday. Remember this week the word study test focuses on some no excuse words.

Fun Holiday Games

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/operation_snowman/

http://resources.kaboose.com/games/santa-flibriks.html

http://www.multiplication.com/flashgames/HolidayPractice.htm

http://www.thekidzpage.com/freekidsgames/games/alllights/christmaslights.html

Stocking Assignment

Today each student was given a stocking (thanks for the donation Mrs. Schlaker!)

The assignment is to pick one character from a read aloud book  (The Big One-Oh, Magic Half or Stolen Children), book club book, or independent reading book. Then, they are to decorate the stocking fitting that person's personality. Students should then add at least three items that they might expect to find in that character's stocking. What talked, at length, about this project today. Students will present their stockings on Monday. Have fun and be creative!

Baby, it's Cold Outside!

Stay inside and and play some math games!


http://media.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/drag_race/drag_race.swf
 
http://media.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/demolition/demolition.swf

http://oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/mathsmulti.html

http://oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/mathsdiv.html

http://www.playkidsgames.com/games/apples/savetheApples.htm

Hats for Haiti

Jaimi has raised over $140 selling Santa hat earrings! All proceeds go to help the orphans in Haiti. We are so proud of Jaimi! She will be selling earrings at the winter musical this Sunday. They are $3.00 or 2 for $5.00.



General Rules for Making POSSESSIVE NOUNS

http://www.english-zone.com/spelling/possessives.html


Exceptions

Of course, we’re talking about the English language, so we’re going to have some exceptions to the rule. While grammar books and style guides don’t necessarily agree on how to determine these exceptions, most consider a word’s pronunciation. Here is what a few of the books say:

■“If pronunciation would be awkward with the added -’s, some writers use only the apostrophe. Either use is acceptable.” (Diana Hacker, A Writer’s Reference)

■“Exceptions are the possessives of ancient proper names in -es and -is [such as Achilles' and Isis'], the possessive Jesus’, and such forms as for conscience’ sake, for righteousness’ sake.” (Strunk and White, The Elements of Style)

■“With some singular nouns that end in -s, pronouncing the possessive ending as a separate syllable can sound awkward; in such cases, it is acceptable to use just an apostrophe.” (Kirszner & Mandell, The Brief Holt Handbook)

■“Since writers vary in the use of the apostrophe, it is not possible to make a hard and fast rule about the apostrophe in singular words ending in s.… Punctuate according to pronunciation.” (John E. Warriner, English Grammar and Composition)

Weekly Update December 6th-10th

Here is what is going on in our classroom this week:

Don't forget that Wednesday is an early release day! 

Please remind students to bring winter coats, hats, scarves, and gloves! Winter has arrived....brrrrrrrr!

• Math–We are working toward 2-digit times 2-digit multiplication!  Last week we worked on 2-digits times 1-digit. We will take our Chapter 10 test on Tuesday. A study guide will come home tomorrow evening.  If you have been looking for little blue math quizzes we have taken a break from them for awhile. We have been spending more time doing guided practice, classwork, and small group instruction. I will let you know when to look for the quizzes to come back!

• Reading–This week we will continue to review inferences and work on proving our answers using the author's words (proof from the text). I was very pleased to see the book summaries students turned in on Friday! They did an excellent job!

• Writing–This week we will continue working on our persuasive pieces about unusual pets. We are working on a five paragraph letter (introduction, 3 supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion). We have been thinking hard about how to argue against opposing viewpoints, and have been spending a lot of time developing quality arguments and making an outline.  Students have the option to finish their choice piece for extra credit or as their nightly 10 minute writing assignment (this is optional). I enjoyed reading the students' nightly writing assignments! Each week the writing homework is worth 4 points (one point for each entry). 

Our class is working very hard to have quiet transitions. This is a very exciting time of year for the students and we have become very talkative in class. 

Everyone Loves Pasta!

Starting December 1st our class will be participating in the Reading, Writing & Ravioli program sponsored by The Pasta House and Coca-Cola. Students who choose to participate must read a total of 10 books (or 500) pages each month and prepare a summary of each book to be eligible. Students who meet these requirements will be awarded a free child's Ravioli dinner and a Coca-Cola beverage from Pasta House!

Today I sent home a monthly calendar for December. Students who wish to participate must write the name of each book and the number of pages read each day. For each book your child completed they must write a summary and staple it to the calendar. Students who total 10 books or 500 pages  and do the summaries will receive a coupon in January! Calendars are due the day before the Winter Break.

Happy Reading!

Nightly Writing Homework

I gave each student a hard copy of this on yellow paper today. I am posting this to be sure that all parents also see this information :-)

Writing Homework


Beginning this week each student will be responsible for 10 minutes of writing each night Monday-Thursday in their writer’s notebook. This writing may be about anything! Each page must be dated. I will check notebooks weekly for completion. If you child has writer’s block here are some ideas:

• Write a poem

• Write a personal narrative

• Write a fiction story

• Write a persuasive letter

• Think about the following questions and write about them. Don’t answer in one sentence write for the whole 10 minutes!

o Do you own an object of great value even though it isn’t worth a lot of money? Describe it.

o Can you remember the happiest day you ever had in school? Describe it.

o If you could meet any famous person who is alive today who would you pick and why?

o Have you ever become friends with someone who didn’t treat you nicely? Why did you do this?

o If you were asked to advise people not to smoke, what reasons would you offer to convince them?

o Do you think you’d like to get married some day? Why or why not?

o What else besides money is important to consider when choosing a career?

o If you could offer three suggestions to someone about how to live a happy life, what three things would you suggest?

o Has anyone ever been jealous of you? What were they jealous about? How did that make you feel?

o Can you think of any worthwhile jobs that don’t pay any money?

o How much money makes a person wealthy?

o Can a person be happy without a lot of money?

o Did you ever get in trouble for laughing? What happened?

Your child should keep this sheet in their expandable folder (writing section) to refer to if they ever need an idea! Also, the writer’s notebook should stay in the expandable folder and travel back and forth you’re your child.



Happy Writing!

Weekly Update November 29th-December 3rd

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!

Math

Two-digit multiplication has arrived!  We are beginning Chapter 10 this week and will begin by estimating products.PLEASE continue practicing multiplication facts at home on a nightly basis!  Overall, I was very pleased with the Chapter 9 math tests. The tests should have come home Tuesday afternoon (except for my LEAP students). The scores are posted on SIS.

Reading
We had a crazy week last week and we be catching up with our book clubs this week. We will also continue to review fact and opinion.

Word Study
Students will be receiving new Word Study words tomorrow. We are also going to change things up a bit in word study. Students will not be receiving a word study contract, we are going to try some different word study techniques this week. Expect word study homework at least once this week!

Writing
We finished up our persuasive writing pieces and have moved onto choice pieces. Each student it working through the writing process on a piece of their choice (fiction piece, personal narrative, persuasive letter, or anthology of poems). Starting this week students will be required to write for 10 minutes a night in their writer's notebook. I talking with the students about this new routine on Monday and will be sending home information with students.

Important note: Homework completion has been a bit of a challenge for some children. I know that it is a busy and exciting time of the year. Please help you child remember to complete his/her homework and put his/her name on it! Thanks so much for your help with this matter!

Multiplication Games

Lets multiplication and two digit multiplication!

http://www.prongo.com/farm/
Multi-step problems.

http://www.aaamath.com/B/mul310x4.htm
Multiplication two-digit by one digit explanation and practice

http://www.funbrain.com/fractop/
Choose: Whole Numbers, Medium, Multiplication

http://www.prongo.com/math/
Choose: multiplication

Weekly Update 11-15

I am combining weekly updates for this week and next week due tot he fact that next week we only have two days!

Important Reminders:

• We have Early Release this Wednesday. Please remember to send a note if your child is not going home the way you indicated on your form at the beginning of the school year.
• Please mark your calendars for the Winter Concerts on Sunday, November 12th. Fourth grade will be performing at 4:00 PM, followed by the Oh The Places You’ll Go Character Choir at 5:00. Many students have dancing, singing, and acting parts, and all have been practicing very hard!
• Please continue to donate to our Adopt-A-Family. We are off to a GREAT start. A special thanks to all those who have donated!

Math
We are moving quickly into concepts of multiplication that will prepare us for two-digit multiplication.  Two-digit multiplication will begin  after Thanksgiving. Keep practicing those multiplication and division facts at home! This week ware learning how to write equations and expressions using multiplication and division.

Reading
This week we will continue to look at the authors' purposes for writing. We will also spiral back and review questioning and inferring. I am very proud of the hard work and dedication the children have shown in their book club books recently. Be sure to ask our child what book club book he/she is reading in class.

Writing
We are steadily moving through the writing process with our persuasive letters. This type of structured writing has been challenging for some students. We have been discussing topic sentences and supportive details in class.


Science
We will complete our look at matter this week. We will have a test at the end of this week. Look for a study guide by Wednesday and a test on Friday. If you would like to begin reviewing, please review the concepts of  mass, volume, density, mixture and solution. This information can be found in the textbook in Chapter 10.

Character
Please be on the look out for a flyer coming home about a special project we are doing with our buddy class, Mrs. Boughman's awesome 1st graders!

Out of the Office 11-12

Boys and Girls Nick has a fever and is throwing up :-( I will be home with him tomorrow. Be good for the substitute teacher and I will see you Monday.

Mad Scientists!

Today we began experimenting with mixtures and solutions!

Reading Response Due November 12th

I am looking forward to reading your reading responses this week! I hope you enjoyed the of week last week! I can't wait to hear what you have been reading! Please write a paragraph for your reading response. The paragraph should include:

Topic sentence: Book title and author.

Paragraph body: A summary of your book.

Conclusion sentence: Would you recommend this book to a friend why or why not.

Example:

This week I am reading the Magic Half by Annie Barrow. The main character, Miri, accidentally traveled back in town and met Molly. Molly is in a horrible family and needs Miri's help. Miri is now back in the present time and is desperately trying to return to the 1930s and save Molly. I would recommend this book because each chapter is a cliffhanger and I never want to stop reading! I also feel like the characters are realistic and I can make connections to my own life. 

IMPORTANT:

I will give 1 extra credit point to any student who comments on another student's posting. You can ask a question or make a comment. I will give 2 extra credit points to a student who goes to the library and checks out and reads (the whole thing) a book that a classmate recommended on the blog! Happy Reading!

Groovy Science Experiement

Lava Lamp Instructions

•Clean, plastic soda bottle (16 oz size works well)

•Soda bottle cap

•Vegetable oil (the cheaper the better)

•Food coloring

•Alka-Seltzer tablet or Kosher Salt

•Water
 
1.Fill the bottle 3/4 full with vegetable oil.

2.Fill the rest of the bottle with water (almost to the top but not overflowing).

3.Add about 10 drops of food coloring. Be sure to make the water fairly dark in color. Notice that the food coloring only colors the water and not the oil. Hmmm...

4.Divide the Alka-Seltzer tablet into pieces.

5.Drop one of the tiny pieces of Alka-Seltzer into the oil and water mixture. Watch what happens. When the bubbling stops, add another chunk of Alka-Seltzer. It’s just like a lava lamp!

6.When you have used up all of the Alka-Seltzer and the bubbling has completely stopped, screw on the soda bottle cap. Tip the bottle back and forth and watch the wave appear. The tiny droplets of liquid join together to make one big lava-like blob.
 
How does it work?

First of all, you confirmed what you already knew... oil and water do not mix. The molecules of water do not like to mix with the molecules of oil. Even if you try to shake up the bottle, the oil breaks up into small little drops, but the oil doesn’t mix with the water. Also, food coloring only mixes with water. It does not color the oil.

When you pour the water into the bottle with the oil, the water sinks to the bottom and the oil floats to the top. This is the same as when oil from a ship spills in the ocean. The oil floats on top of the water. Oil floats on the surface because water is heavier than oil. Scientists say that the water is more dense than the oil.

Here’s the surprising part... The Alka-Seltzer tablet reacts with the water to make tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. These bubbles attach themselves to the blobs of colored water and cause them to float to the surface. When the bubbles pop, the color blobs sink back to the bottom of the bottle. Now that’s a burst of color! Your own homemade lava lamp... groovy baby!

Adopt-A-Family

Our class has adopted family #6. This is a family of 4, There is a mom, dad, 6 year-old girl, and 13 year-old girl. This family only speaks Bosnian. Today Mrs. Deeter can into our class to discuss this family's needs. Please think of our family as you grocery shop over the next few weeks. Please send in any non-perishable food items (plastic containers). I look forward to helping this family have a wonderful holiday season!

Persusive Writing Assignment

Please talk with child about their persuasive letter topic. Some students are struggling with thinking of advantages for their chosen topic. I have encouraged them to talk to their parents or look at online resources. We are learning to write persuasive letter that we will actually mail! Below is my fictional example letter :-)


Dear Principal Pineapple,




My name is Mrs. Apple Dumpling and I am a teacher at Fruit Bowl School. The school day MUST be extended to save parents money, to help students learn more, and to have a shorter school year.

First, extending the school day would save parents a lot of money. Parents who work must pay for after care or daycare for their children. These are tough economic times and parents need to be spending their money on more important things. Parents could also save this money and put it towards their child’s college fund.

An extended school day would also help students learn more. Due to the fact that our school day is so short certain subjects like science are only 30 minutes long. Extending the school day would allow teachers, like myself, to plan more science experiments and other fun learning activities. Teachers would also be able to give less homework because there would be more time in the day to get the school work done.

Finally, an extended school day would allow the school year to be shorter. If the school board added 1 hour to each day we could start summer break one month early! Who wouldn’t want to have all of May off school? This would give children the opportunity to play outside before it becomes scorching hot outside.

In conclusion, an extended school day benefits everyone. Teachers, students, and parents would be happy with the change. I hope you take my ideas into consideration and present this idea to the school board at your next meeting.



Yours Truly,



Mrs. Apple Dumpling

Making Lava Lamps

Tomorrow we will be making lava lamps in science. Please remember to bring in a plastic bottle. It can be a water bottle, juice bottle, soda bottle, anything with a lid!

Weekly Update

Weekly Update:

Welcome to November....gobble gobble!

Math–Today we are testing over Chapter 7. We will do a quick review before the test! It is hard to get our minds in gear after a long weekend (and lots of Halloween candy).  We are beginning Chapter 8 this week and looking at one-digit multiplication and its relationship to division.  Students need to know all of their multiplication facts as soon as possible, so please practice at home nightly!

Reading-We will continue our work on summarizing this week.There will not be a a reading response due this week due to the shortened week.  Check out this link to find out some of the Mark Twain award nominees for 2010-2011. http://www.maslonline.org/?page=1011_MT_Nominees We are currently reading the Magic Half in class.

Writing-We will begin out work on Persuasive Writing this week. Our goal is to write a persuasive letter that encourages someone to change their mind about something or take a certain action. Students will be choosing a community or school issue that they want to address.

We will also be working on work choice. The words we choose affect our reader's perception. Some tired words need a vacation. Ask you child what words they sent on a jet plane!

Science–We will continue exploring matter this week.  We will be looking at how matter has different properties, measurable ones (mass, volume, density) and observable ones (color, shape, texture, etc.). Please have your child bring in an empty water bottle or 2 liter soda bottle for a science experiment this week. Please let me know if you would like to help with a science experiment Friday afternoon from 2:30-3:00.

On a side note I want to thank you for supporting the Lindbergh School District yesterday. I am so proud to work and live in this community. I look forward to sending my children through this wonderful school district. Its a great day to be a FLYER.

Pumpkin Run Pictures

Fall Festival Pictures

Fall Festival Schedule

8:30-9:00 Halloween morning work in our own classes.




9:00 Red Ribbon Week Drug-Free Assembly



10:00-10:55 Halloween Fun with our buddies in Mrs. Phillips's Room




11:00-11:45 Buddy Lunch



11:45-12:20 Restroom Break and Halloween Book with our buddies in Mrs. Boughman's classroom



12:30-12:50 Pumpkin Run-Outside




12:50-1:40 Go back to our own rooms and regroup and get in costumes




1:40-2:00 Halloween Parade



2:00-3:00 Party- The fourth grade will be all together in the tile floor gym

Poems

Figurative Language

We are wording on poetry in writing. One aspect of poetry is word choice. I also like to teach figurative language with word choice. Check out some great similes and metaphors. from our class! I will post more soon!

"Twinkling stars are a cave of diamonds." -Grace
"A raindrop is a teardrop from the sky."-Lucas
"The waiter is as busy as a mother bird"-Myles
"The line of cars was like a metallic snake."-J.C.
"The cat's purring is a car's motor running." Isabella
"Her blue eyes are like the summer sky."-Elizabeth
"Mom's hug was a cobra's hello."-Kara
"Grandpa's laughter sounds like thunder."-Kayla
"The baby's smiles was as sweet as a rose."-Sam

Out of the Office

I will be out of the classroom tomorrow, October 19th. My son, Charlie, is sick. Nicholas was sick last week!It is the season for colds and the flu.

Weekly Reading Response

This week we are working on summarizing. For your reading response I would like you to write a 3-4 sentence summary. Then, a paragraph response to your reading. Your response is a paragraph about what this book made you think about.

Example:

This week I read the book The Kamishibai Man. In this book an old man was not happy about the changes he saw happening in Japan. He misses the way things used to be when he could tell children stories and give them candy. In the end he finds out that the children did appreciate and love him.

 This book mad me think about the changes I have seen in my community. When I was little children played outside until the street lights came on. Today, it is rare for me to see all the neighborhood children outside. Is it because they are inside playing video games or do their parents think it is unsafe outside?

Weekly Update 10-18

Good Morning,

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. It has definitely felt more like spring, then fall! I am excited to begin 2nd quarter this week!

Math- In math we are finishing up Chapter 6 on data analysis and moving on to graphing. We will take our Chapter Test on Thursday.  This chapter has a LOT of vocabulary, so please study carefully.

Reading- This week we will continue to work on summarizing. Summarizing is a difficult skill for a lot of children. In addition to summarizing we are working on responding to text using our own thinking. We are also continuing our exploration of picture books. We are learning that pictures books are not just for little kids! There are some great, meaty picture books in our library. Ask you reader about the Kamishibai Man and Mr. Lincoln's Way.

Writing- We have finally finished our choice pieces. This was a laborious process as it was the first time the students have gone through the entire writing process this year. I am very pleased with the outcomes and look forward to sharing them with you at parent-teacher conferences. This week we will look at poetry and word choice.

Science-I am excited to welcome your students back to Science. We will begin our unit on Matter today.

Finally, thank  you for your patience with all the papers that have come home in the past two weeks! Just a reminder:

•Pumpkin Run permission slip

•Fall Festival lunch order form

•Parent-teacher conference notice

 

•Pioneer Day–$4.50 (THURSDAY)

•Powell Hall–permission slip and $3.50

 

Thank you for all the Magic House Volunteers! I will be drawing names this week. We had so many parents want to attend!

Week of October 11

Good afternoon!

A few important notes...

• There will not be a new word study list or contract this week. We are taking a break this week to focus on some grammar and writing skills. Word study will resume next week.
• Please return conference letters as soon as possible.
• We have a practicum student from Mizzou working with our class for the next two weeks. Welcome Ms. Hash!
• Reading Response will be due of Friday. The focus this week is student choice. The responses may focus on  making an inference, questioning, or point of view. As always this may be posted on the blog or turned in on lined paper.
• Friday is a half day. Dismissal is at 11:45. Lunch will not be served at school.

Electronics Day

Wow, I am blogging while the students are having their well-deserved electronics day party. They earned this party as their mystery motivator. I am feeling very out-of-touch as I do not understand all their Nintendo DS lingo! They are having so so much fun! We have come a long way from chutes and ladders!

The Writing Process

We have been learning about the writing process. We have made signs for each step of the process.


Click to enlarge the picture.

Check us out working the process! 









Kara and Kayla are reading to the wall during the reading stage. Check our their rereading hats! When we reread we take off our "writing hat" and put on our "reading hat."

Grace is doing her proofreading and editing. The red pencil is used for editing punctuation, the green is for capitalization, and the blue is for spelling. When we edit for spelling we read our writing backward like real editors!

Lucas is working hard to polish his piece and make it shine! The teacher grades the polished piece and "teacher edits" them before they are published.