It is pretty hard to believe that it is April and spring break is behind us. The Lafontaines had a fun, but mostly cold, trip to Massachusetts. I hope your break was fun and relaxing and that everyone at your house is ready for what is sure to be a busy spring of sports, recitals, science projects, field trips, Oregon Trail, testing, and I'm sure much more. Important reminders about this week and into the next:
A letter about testing went home during conferences, (or right after if you missed conferences). This week we will begin PRACTICING for testing (click on the word practicing to access practice tests at home). We will practice in the lab from 8:20-9:00 AM on Wednesday for the ELA CAT. Even though it is important that we practice the format of the tests and mentally prepare ourselves to focus and do our bests, I always tell students that we have been practicing for these tests all year simply by coming to school and learning what 4th graders are supposed to learn. The following is our testing schedule over the next two months:
Reading For the next 4 weeks we will continue our "Westward Movement" Pockets. These pockets are historical information about Westward expansion in the United States. Students practice reading nonfiction text, answering text based questions, noticing different structures of nonfiction text and summarizing text. This weeks pocket is "The New Frontier". This week we focus on the reading skills of visualizing what you read and determining the main idea of a nonfiction article. Book Study This week we continue our new book study, Among the Hidden, by Margaret Haddix. Writing In writing this week we continue to work on our expository nonfiction country reports. This week students will finish collecting research notes and move towards drafting. Science This week in science we are working on two different projects: -Students will finalize their project questions for their wildlife summit projects. -Students will create their blueprints for our civil engineering project on Earthquake Safe Design. Dictado (formerly spelling) Dictado is a new strategy we will be using to practice spelling (and punctuation, capitalization and sentence fluency). This week's dictado is as followed. How did Kenya become a country? Kenya was not always an independent country. In 1895, the British began their rule in Kenya. The British were cruel rulers and passed laws that prohibited Africans from owning land. In the 1940s, a group called the Kikuyu formed. Their purpose was to stand up to the British government. Teaching Points:
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It was wonderful to see so many of you at student led conferences. Hearing the students explain their work to you gives me so many new insights into student learning! It is a really fun way for them to take pride in and ownership of their hard work. If you missed conferences I will send home a number of items with your student on Monday for you to check out. One week until spring break (begins March 26th). Seesaw: I heard many of you mention that you had seen some of your students work on seesaw. If you have not been seeing your students work on seesaw encourage them to post more often by telling them how fun it would be to see more of their work. They can post pictures of activities, copies of assignments, or thoughts about their learning. Permission slip: This week students will bring home a permission slip for a short field trip on April 6th. We will be taking an hour tour of the wave research lab at OSU. Reading For the next 5 weeks in reading we will be working on "Westward Movement" Pockets. These pockets are historical information about Westward expansion in the United States. Students practice reading nonfiction text, answering text based questions, noticing different structures of nonfiction text and summarizing text. This weeks pocket is a big picture overview which discusses the many reasons people migrated to North America and then why they continued to expand Westward. Book Study This week we will begin a new book study. We will be reading Among the Hidden, by Margaret Haddix. Writing In writing this week we continue to work on our expository nonfiction country reports. This week students will learn how to record facts on note cards in an organized manner. Science This week in science we are working on two different projects: -Students will finalize their project questions for their wildlife summit projects. -Students will begin our civil engineering project on Earthquake Safe Design. Dictado (formerly spelling) In case you missed conferences, I am attaching the sheet on Dictado here. Dictado is a new startegy we will be using to practice spelling (and punctuation, capitalization and sentence fluency). This week's dictado is as followed. There were too many children crowding in the elevator. As two more squeezed on, she started to feel panicked. Her eyes squinted, she clenched her fists and let out a yelp of desperation. “Get out, get out, everybody get out!” she screamed. Teaching points: -Too, two, to -Dialogue -panicked (c+k+ed) -qu -Show, not tell writing
This is a short week of school, but we have a lot going on!
Hoover Updates and Reminders:
Week of kindness: This week we will not of spelling words. Instead we will have small writing assignments for students to complete when they come to class, related to our "week of kindness". We are taking a week to revisit kindness because I have noticed that it is the time of year for this in our classroom. The following will be our writing assignments, followed by mini-lessons on kindness:
Reading In reading this week we will be wrapping up our story elements unit. We will review the story elements in books we read throughout the unit, culminating in a small assessment on Friday, using the book The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Students also continue to work on their Earthquake Terror projects. Writing This week we continue to work on exploring, writing and growing our curiosity about countries. Dear wonderful room 12 Families,
Thank you so much for the lovely baby shower last week. We love the book, outfit and gift card! It was very fun to bring Llewyn in, the whole class was very sweet to him! Spring Conferences:
This week in reading we will be focusing on R.I.8. This reading standard focuses on finding the author's purpose/point of view and supporting it with evidence from the text. Students will have a reading homework assignment this week that focuses on this standard. Writing This week we begin a new writing unit on expository nonfiction writing. During this unit students work with a partner to publish a book on a country. This unit focuses on researching and informational writing skills. Science This week in science we focus on the causes and effects of earthquakes. Students will also begin working on their wildlife stewards summit projects this week. Spelling This week’s spelling words relate to our new expository nonfiction writing unit on countries.
Turns out we are going to have a little winter after all. Make sure to check the district website and your e-mail for school closures. The cold weather seems like the perfect excuse to hunker down and write fiction stories, just like we will be doing in class this week. Also, it's a great excuse to read a play about the Abenaki myth "Gluskabe and Old Man Winter" which explains why we have the seasons.
In order to see another play we will be venturing out this week. On Thursday we'll head to CHS to see a preview of "West Side Story" (9:30-11:30). Speaking of field trips, a permission slip will come home on Tuesday for our 4th grade trip to the Capitol building on March 13th. Also, look for the letter about our Health curriculum which will also come home on Monday. The plan is to teach our health unit March 5th- March 12th. Finally, we'll look forward towards the spring as students form groups and begin to plan projects for the 4-H Wildlife Steward Summit this May at Hoover (see last week's blog post for more information)! We will be wrapping up our Earthquake Terror book study this week and next as student teams create final projects. Spring Conferences: Conferences are March 14-16th. Individual conferences will be on March 14th or the 16th. I will be in touch with you over the next few weeks if I am hoping to have an individual conference with you, but feel free to let me know if you would like an individual conference. On March 15th, there will be student led conferences in the classroom, open house style, which I encourage all families to attend. Upcoming Dates to make note of include: · Now through February 23rd Hoover Post Office for Students and Families (look for more information coming soon!) · Friday, February 23rd HPTO Read-a-Thon Wrap Up Celebration today (time TBD) · Friday, March 2nd EXTRA Early Release at 12:40 p.m. for all students · Wednesday, March 14th NO SCHOOL – Parent/Teacher Conferences · Thursday, March 15th NO SCHOOL – Parent/Teacher Conferences · Friday, March 16th NO SCHOOL – Parent/Teacher Conferences · Monday, March 26th NO SCHOOL – Spring Break (through Friday, March 30th) This week’s spelling words are homophones: words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings.
It's a busy week at Hoover! The Hoover Post Office is operational this week (and next), so come on in and send some letters. We also have a really neat assembly on Friday with Wildlife Safari Ambassadors coming to visit Hoover. In addition there are OBOB battles and our classroom Valentine's celebration (get those mailboxes ready!)
Spelling: This week and next week there will be no spelling. I am giving students time to write letters in the morning to send through the Hoover Post Office. However, I will expect students to write 2-3 thoughtful letters throughout the week in exchange for no spelling work. Writing This week in writing students are working on editing and revising their fiction stories. Next week students will work on publishing these stories in the form of a picture book. Reading This week we continue to explore the fiction narrative genre and story elements. This week we will read examples of myths. Science This week we continue to explore "how the earth changes". Particularly, this week we will investigate why some volcanoes explode, while others do not. 4-H Wildlife Stewards Summit You may have heard that the 4-H Wildlife Stewards Summit is being hosted at Hoover this year on May 3rd. This is a very exciting event that I want to encourage all students to participate in. To participate students form teams (2-4) members, complete a natural science related project or experiment in our school natural area/habitat. Finally, groups present their project as a poster or oral presentation. (There is also an individual option to present art from a field journal or videography). There are a numbers of requirements to complete the project and I am including some information here. I plan to devote an hour of class time per week to this project. I would love in class parent volunteers to support student projects and it would be great to have parents support student teams as they work on their projects outside of school.
Wow, a full week of school! This feels like a rare thing in the winter months. I hope everyone has a relaxing weekend, stays healthy and enjoys the Super Bowl. E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles!! (I grew up 20 minutes from Philly!)
Reminders and Updates
This week we continue our fiction unit with a focus on conflict, theme and answering text based questions. We will be reading Bat Boy & His Violin by Gavin Curtis. Also: Read for Read-A-Thon pledges should be collected this week. Book Study We began Earthquake Terror at the beginning of the school year. The class elected to wait till I got back to finish the book. We will spend the next couple weeks in book teams finishing the book and completing a related project. We will use this book study to review fiction story elements: setting, characters/ traits, plot, conflict, theme, and genre. Vocabulary and figurative language from the story will be included in our study. Students will also practice strategies for summarizing narrative text. This week we will read chapters 11 and 12. Writing This week we continue the writing our Fiction Writing Unit. We will focus on some "show not tell" strategies, which is important for creating vivid narrative writing. We will also read Ahmed's Secret, a great example of vivid narrative fiction! Science We continue "How the Earth Changes Unit" which focuses on erosion, deposition and earthquakes. Later this transitions into a related unit on Civil Engineering. If anyone has a background related to these topics, I have enjoyed having guest speakers in the past and would love to have you! This week we will learn about tectonic plates and faults. Number Corner February's number corner focuses on angles; including identifying types and measuring angles using a protractor. Spelling This week’s focus is a variety of “r” sounds at the end of words. The sounds are: “er”, “eur”, “or”, “eer”, and “ure”
Hello! It's been awhile, but I am very excited to be back and looking forward to so many exciting academic adventures to come this school year. We've had students come and go and two different subs for me, so this week we will take some time to reunite as a class and review routines. I have been so impressed by everything that I have heard about during my time away. Both of our subs, as well as many other teachers around the school, have shared with me how wonderful this class of students is. I was also so impressed by the Oregon geography project students completed with Mrs. Beasley. The brochures are factual and engaging and the topographical maps are very neat! Upcoming and Reminders:
This week we will continue the fiction unit that Mrs. Beasley began with the class. This weeks lessons focus on identifying story elements, particularly character traits and conflict. Also: Read for Read-A-Thon at home this week! Book Study We began Earthquake Terror at the beginning of the school year. The class elected to wait till I got back to finish the book. We will spend the next couple weeks in book teams finishing the book and completing a related project. We will use this book study to review fiction story elements: setting, characters/ traits, plot, conflict, theme, and genre. Vocabulary and figurative language from the story will be included in our study. Students will also practice strategies for summarizing narrative text. Writing We will be continuing the writing unit on Fiction Writing that students began with Mrs. Beasley. This week we will read two great examples of fiction Owl Moon by Jane Yolen and Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran. Science We will be beginning our "How the Earth Changes Unit" which focuses on erosion, deposition and earthquakes. Later this transitions into a related unit on Civil Engineering. If anyone has a background related to these topics, I have enjoyed having guest speakers in the past and would love to have you! This week we will learn about erosion. We will do an activity called the sugar shake. Number Corner February's number corner focuses on angles; including identifying types and measuring angles using a protractor. Spelling We will be continuing the new work routine begun with Mrs. Beasley. Below is a copy of the directions students follow each morning. They should be finishing their morning work for homework if it is not complete in the morning. This week’s focus is contractions. Contractions are formed from two words by combining and leaving out certain sounds.
Hello! It was really nice to have a full week of school last week, students are cruising right along on lots of learning and projects. Here are a few reminders for this week:
Reading This week in reading students continue to practice asking questions and answering questions about expository text. This skill helps students to pay close attention to what they are reading, as they determine if their questions have been answered in the text. We have really enjoyed the mentor texts about animals senses. This week's text is called Slinky, Scaly, Slithery Snakes. Writing This week in writing we will continue to investigate diverse examples of personal narratives. Students will continue to collect ideas for drafts in their writing journals, when they feel inspired students will also begin drafts of their personal narratives. Students can share drafts with you on Seesaw in order to get feedback on their ideas. Science This week in science students will wrap up their Teams' Science Inquiry. These inquiries have tested either Bess Beetle or Crayfish functions or structures. Each team is collaboratively typing up their investigation. I will post your student's inquiry on seesaw later this week. Spelling This week's spelling list focuses on the suffixes "-able" and "-ible", both of which mean "can" or "able to". Our extra vocabulary word is inquiry. We will take our spelling quiz on Thursday this week, since we do not have school on Friday.
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