Math - DMR Tuesday and Mock Rock POW due Friday; Today the students were given two math problems to solve as an extension to their science unit on rocks.  The problems required the students to locate a pattern.  We discussed the problems ahead of time and the students were allowed to work their 3 o'clock partners to solve the problems.  All work not completed in class was assigned as their POW for the week.  We will solve the problems together on Friday.  Some students did not catch onto the need to add the rocks together after each day of collecting, so at the end of the class we did talk about what collection meant and how the rocks accumulated over time and not just by the number they found for each day.

Science - The students were assigned a reading assignment yesterday with questions to answer.  They should read pages 190-193 and answer questions 1-6 on page 194.  Ms. Broeker will expect all sheets to be completed and with the students when they go to class tomorrow. The students are currently working as geologists as they learn about crystals, the rock cycle, testing rocks and minerals, etc.

Social Studies - All Native American work is due on Friday.  Students in Ms. Broeker and Miss Kao's class will be allowed to return their compare/contrast papers in next Friday.  All other work and all folders are due this Friday.  We will finish up PowerPoint presentation tomorrow and the students will begin sharing them in class.

Writing - DLR Tuesday and Spelling Practice.  Today we looked at r controlled vowels.  The spelling list this week consists of words with r controlled vowels.  As a starter activity today, the students were asked to make a list of new words that contained vowels controlled by the consonant r.

Reading - NLL Tuesday (don't forget to help your child choose a more challenging book to read for next week's NLL) and IBD (Island of the Blue Dolphins) reading assignment due on Thursday.  Please check your child's IBD folder for reading assignments and due dates.  They will be keeping track of their assignments in this sheet of paper.  The students have been asked to read chapter one and write one thing that stood out for them from this chapter.  They will share what they have written in their groups on Thursday.

Other - Books and Beyond (BAB) is being encouraged for the next few months.  Students are already asked to read each night and can record these pages for both their NLL and BAB sheets. Students are not required to participate, but I am encouraging it.  Book orders are due on Monday and the orders have been placed online for you to view and pay for without sending a check in - unless you want to.  I plan on ordering several copies of the second installment of the 39 Clues series and a few other books that the students have requested.  Lisa and Austin are students of the week.  Their newspapers will be posted on the classroom wall and their classmates can read what they have written about themselves.  On Friday, Lisa and Austin can bring in something to share with the class or just share their posters.  Items to share may be:  a family tradition, photos, a cultural activity or food, etc.

Math - DMR Monday - the students took their Chapter 4 pretest today.  We will be focusing on multiplication of two digits by two digits and multiplication of one digit by multiple digits during this chapter.  I sent home a multiplication table through the 12s today for students to use to help them memorize their facts. Independent contracts will be given for students who score above a 90% on the pretest.  Instructional contracts will be given to students who score below 90%.  At specific times, students will work as a whole class playing math games or completing problem-solving activities.  Students who are working on instructional contracts may be pulled aside to work with me one-on-one or to work with me and a small group of students struggling with the same skills.

Science - Read pages 190 - 193 and answer questions 1-6 on page 194.  This is due on Wednesday.

Social Studies - All enrichment activities and Native American related project activities are due by the end of the week.  Room 16/Room 25 students who meet at 12:50 for social studies should complete their Big Idea sheets for Lesson 1 by Wednesday (several students returned their sheets today).  Room 17/Room 25 students who meet for social studies at 1:50 began working on their compare contrast papers today.  They will be given time to work in class on their papers and their final copies will be due on January 16.

Writing - DLR Monday and spelling practice- the students completed an on demand writing activity today.  They were given 35 minutes to write an essay about what they did over their break.  I can't wait to read them.  I was able to read a little of each paper as they worked and learned a lot of interesting facts about their vacations.  

Reading - NLL Monday and Island of the Blue Dolphins (IBD) response.  Students were reminded that everyone must choose a difficult book to read for their NLL next week.  The activities we work on in class next week will focus on the responses they write for their NLL each night.  We will begin reading Island of the Blue Dolphins tomorrow.  Students were given a small reading response activity to complete today to get them thinking about the book and about other good books they have read.  

Other - Lisa and Austin are Students of the Week this week.  They will share their posters and/or other special information about themselves with the class on Friday.  Please refer to the sheet sent home in Friday folders several weeks ago about what can be brought to school to share.  Books and Beyond began on December 19.  Students should keep track of the pages they read from now until May 15.  When Books and Beyond (BAB) sheets are completed, please sign them and have your child calculate the total pages for the entire sheet - this saves Mrs. Gauthier a lot of time.  Book orders are due on Monday.

Special Note to Parents:

Thank you to everyone for making 2008 a wonderful year.  I appreciate the support and understanding that I have received from everyone.  I hope you are enjoying your child's time in my classroom and feel that his/her needs are being met.  If at any time you have a question or concern, please feel free to contact me. My personal email and school email are available to me at all times while in the classroom and I try to keep both accounts visible on my computer during recess and lunch. I am looking forward to what 2009 has in store for us.

 

Math - DMR Wednesday; The Chp. 3 test will be given on Friday; Today we looked at increasing both sides of an equation by the same amount and how the increase does or does not influence the value of the variable in an equation/expression.  Students saw how the solution did not change.  I pointed out that when both sides of the equation was increased by the same amount (in this case by multiplying) the relationship between both sides of the equation was still the same.  They continued working on contracts after our lesson together.

Science - No HW.

Social Studies -Today the students worked in the tech lab to compete their PowerPoint presentations.  They will work again in the tech lab tomorrow and I will show them how to add the transitions between slides.

(The following was copied from yesterday's entry) Students should be working on their enrichment activities at home.  These are due when they return in January.  Both classes voted on doing the weaving activity with me, so that will also take place in January.  Due to the conflict in scheduling, I am working with half of the students on the compare/contrast paper and will work with the other half after the break.  I saw that students were getting too stressed about the paper and I want this experience to be stress free in order for them to learn and understand what I really want them to focus on for this paper.  We worked on it today in class and I clarified their questions and hopefully calmed their concerns.  There is currently no due date for this paper in order to get students to focus on what I am looking for and not completing it by a due date.

Writing - DLR Wednesday and Spelling Practice - Today the students worked on their favorite place papers and/or their Native American essays.  I helped each student who needed help revising, help with transitions, or help organizing their ideas.  It was a wonderful independent writing time and I am looking forward to reading their essays.

Reading - NLL Wednesday and Cereal Boxes due on Friday.  (The following sentences were copied from yesterday's entry). Please let me know if you have any concerns about this project.  I really want students to think creatively about the qualities of the story they have read.  I apologize if the directions are unclear or misleading.  I am looking forward to hearing all of the mini commercials on Friday and have demonstrated to students how simple the commercials are and how short the minute really is.  Ms. Broeker's class finished reading Island of the Blue Dolphins and has now passed the book onto my classroom.  In order to keep the students more focused on the book, we are not going to begin the book study until January.

Other - Thank you to those who were able to return permission slips today.  On Friday, we will be having holiday themed activities throughout the day. If you can donate a bottle of tacky craft glue, please do.  We will be using the glue to make a small gift for Mrs. Gauthier, the office staff, and for the students to keep for themselves.

Math - DMR Tuesday; The Chp. 3 test will be given on Friday; Today the students worked on contracts while I helped individual students at their desks.  I also reviewed over function tables and writing rules using algebraic equations.  One thing I pointed out to the students is the fact that they have been using the idea of algebra for a long time - whenever they were asked to fill in the missing number in a blank line or square, they were thinking like an algebra student.  Now, they have the variables and the new vocabulary, but the basic idea is the same.  Tomorrow we are going to look at increasing both sides of an equation by the same amount and how the increase does or does not influence the value of the variable in an equation/expression.

Science - None today.

Social Studies - Students should be working on their enrichment activities at home.  These are due when they return in January.  Both classes voted on doing the weaving activity with me, so that will also take place in January.  Due to the conflict in scheduling, I am working with half of the students on the compare/contrast paper and will work with the other half after the break.  I saw that students were getting too stressed about the paper and I want this experience to be stress free in order for them to learn and understand what I really want them to focus on for this paper.  We worked on it today in class and I clarified their questions and hopefully calmed their concerns.  There is currently no due date for this paper in order to get students to focus on what I am looking for and not completing it by a due date.

Writing - DLR Tuesday and Spelling Practice - We had to change a few due dates for our favorite place essays.  I did not want the substitute to carry the responsibility of guiding students yesterday on their first drafts, so we will focus on them tomorrow.

Reading - NLL Tuesday and Cereal Boxes due on Friday.  Please let me know if you have any concerns about this project.  I really want students to think creatively about the qualities of the story they have read.  I apologize if the directions are unclear or misleading.  I am looking forward to hearing all of the mini commercials on Friday and have demonstrated to students how simple the commercials are and how short the minute really is.  Ms. Broeker's class finished reading Island of the Blue Dolphins and has now passed the book onto my classroom.  In order to keep the students more focused on the book, we are not going to begin the book study until January.

Other - Permission slips were given out today for a March 23rd trip to the Sunnyvale Theater.  We will be viewing, as an entire 4th grade, a performance based on Jackie Robinson, who is a character in one of the book studies we will be doing this year.  We thought it would be a nice tie in for the students to learn a little bit more about the person behind the fans.

 

Math - DMR Thursday; Today the students began math contracts directly from the textbook for the algebra portion of Chp. 3.  While they worked today, I met with each student to assess how well they used the DMSB steps (Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring Down) in long division.  Please continue to help your child see the importance of showing his/her work in math.  As a teacher, I will always encourage a child to challenge himself or herself to learn how to use mental math skills, but I will also require that a student be able to communicate to me his/her understanding of the steps or concepts used to solve problems.

Science - The students have had a great time working with Ms. Broeker to demolish mock rocks.  They worked as scientists to break down the ingredients of a mock rock and observed the setteled particles in their mock rock vials today.

Social Studies - The students are being asked to start working on their enrichment projects for their Unit 2 project.  All students have  chosen to two projects they want to complete.  Because the class voted to complete the weaving with me in class, the students only have one enrichment activity to complete by January 5.  I am currently working with the students on room 16 and room 25 on completing the compare/contrast papers.  Students will work with me during recess this week and lunch next week.  I am strongly encouraging them to come into my classroom at this time to have more direct instruction on how to use the template and suggestions made to help them write a good compare/contrast paper.  

Writing - DLR Thursday and Spelling; Today the students were assigned their peer editors and revisers.  We will be completing this piece of writing (My Favorite Place) in the format of a writer's workshop.  The students have been given due dates for the different stages of the writing process and have been asked to focus on subject-verb agreement, voice, organization, and sentence fluency in their writing.

Reading - NLL Thursday and Cereal Box Report due next Friday.  We will take our Unit 1 Theme test tomorrow.  This is not a test that can be studied for.

Other - Tomorrow is Stuffed Animal Day - we have spent a lot of time talking about what is and is not allowed;)  

There is no HW required tonight due to Dine Out Nite at Chevy's from 4:00 - 10:00.  I will not be able to attend due to a very hectic schedule right now, but have told the class that I will try to be at the next one.

It has been a very busy day today. I mostly want to talk about the changes that have been made in social studies.  I forgot about our Hidden Villa presentation tomorrow when I planned out the project.  Since we only have one day this week to devote as a class to the compare/contrast papers, I am allowing students from the first social studies rotation (room 16 and room 25) to meet with me during recess and lunch this week and next week to work on the papers together.  Ms. Broeker and Ms. Kao's classes will start and complete the compare/contrast papers in January.  I want to devote the same amount of time to both classes and I feel that this way is the best way to do it.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Please note that attached to this update is a copy of the book report directions.  If you cannot open it, just let me know.  Several students have lost their copies and instead of printing off more, I told them to check with the website tonight to download the directions instead.

I wanted to take time to let you know that we are having a teacher sponsored (that's me!) party this Friday to celebrate earning our 20 symbols.  Since one of the students will be out next week, I am also making it our big Christmas party.  I will be provding all of the goodies for this party.  I would like to have a small celebration next week as a little treat to the students while we work on Christmas activities together.  I will send a little note home in Friday Folders with more information on how you can volunteer to come into the classroom next Friday and how you can help by donating a healthy snack for the day.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Mrs. Bell

PS - If you sent a note to school in your child's report card, please know that I have read it.  I will be contacting you within the week to answer your questions or to send helpful ideas as to how you can help support your child at home.  If you have contacted me via email, I will be in touch soon.  This is always a busy time of the year and I want to be sure that I do not give you quick notes in passing just to reply.  I would rather send a reply two days later that is more detailed, and hopefully seen as more informative by you.  I appreciate your patience.

 

 

Cereal Box Book Report2.doc (31.00 kb)

Math – DMR Monday; Today the students worked on solving their POW.  I am not assigning it as HW, but will having the students work on it in class.  We read the problem together and I asked the students to write down all of the strategies that they could use to solve it (we have a list of problem solving strategies posted on our classroom wall for the students to use to help jog their memories!).  After they made their list of strategies, they were allowed to work individually or with a partner.  My main focus for this problem is for them to look at different ways of solving a problem and explaining their reasoning in a clear, detailed, easy to follow manner.

Science – The students worked with mock rocks today.  Please ask them what they did in class and what they are looking forward to learning about during their unit on Earth Materials.

Social Studies – Native American Projects are due on the specific due dates mentioned on the project direction packet.  Today we spent time discussing all of the enrichment activities and students were able to choose the projects they want to work on at home.  Both classes voted to complete the weaving activity as a whole class.  In January, after the PowerPoint presentations are shared, we will take time to learn how to weave together.  This will be a nice break from all the research and will be a fun way for students to learn about a new art form.

Writing – DLR Monday and Spelling Practice.  We will be focusing on sentence fluency and word choice this week in class.  Students will be given their next writing assignment tomorrow.

Reading – NLL Monday; Cereal Box reports due 12/19/08; We discussed the fix it up strategies that the students took notes on last week in class.  Please do not hesitate to have your child bring home his/her folder – as long as it is brought back to school each day.  I am challenging students to read a difficult book during the next month of NLLs.  The students can choose to read a difficult book during the entire 4 weeks, or they may choose one of the weeks to read a more challenging book.  During this time, student NLL entries will change.  Instead of writing a summary and sharing connections, I would like students to read from the difficult book choice and reflect on the strategies.  They should attempt to use the strategies to help them.  If they get stuck on vocabulary, I want them to write down what they did to try to better understand the strategy and what did or did not work for them.  If they struggled with the topic, I want them to write down the strategies they tried and what helped them, etc.  Basically, they are being asked to monitor their understanding by focusing on using strategies to help them and then communicating in their NLL what strategies they tried and what worked.  If you need more clarification, please contact me and talk to your child.

Other – Friday is Stuffed Animal Day; Please continue to send in box tops and food for the food drive.  We will be having our Christmas/Holiday/20th Symbol party this Friday.  The students have voted on having ice cream, snacks, and a movie.  We voted on a list of rated G movies today and will find out the results tomorrow.  

Math - Problem Solving Worksheet - today we looked at the problems solved in small groups from yesterday.  Student volunteers went up to the board to solve the problems and we discussed how they are multi-step problems.  For HW, I have given the students a worksheet with more multi-step problems to solve.  I also reviewed over the HW policy with students.  Fourth grade students are expected to complete up at 30 minutes of HW.  I have asked them to make this sheet their priority.  If they finish it is less than 30 minutes, they should go onto complete their other assignments.  Students who are struggling with completing HW in a reasonable amount of time should only complete a couple of the problems or if they focus just on the math today, a note or letter from parents can let me know that most of the HW time was spent on the math and other assignments were not completed.  Parents, please let me know if your child is struggling with HW.  In order to better meet the needs of your child, I do need to know if my assignments need to be modified for them.  If you think your child is not getting enough HW, you can always have them complete practice activities from their text or enrich their experience with books by reading aloud a book together and discussing it.

Science - No HW.  A parent letter about the upcoming science unit will be coming home in Friday Folders.

Social Studies - Students continued working on their Native American research today.  They can use this weekend to take more notes.  By going to the Dilworth homepage, students can have access to the cool links websites used at school.  All notes and research will be due by the end of the day on Monday; however, most of class time on Monday will not be devoted to research.

Writing - DLR Thursday

Reading - NLL Thursday and Book Reports are due Friday, December 19.  We continued are discussion on monitoring our reading.  Students took the last two notes of what good readers do and were given a Fix It Up Strategies sheet with helpful hints of what to do when they encounter different problems while they read.  I have asked students to underline the strategies they already use, to star at least two new strategies that they want to learn how to use, and to place a question mark next to the strategies they do not understand.  We will be focusing on using these strategies during our first literature study - The Island of the Blue Dolphins.  Ms. Broeker's class has finished reading the book and we will be getting started with the reading next week or as soon as the book set is ready for us to use.

Other - Please remember to bring in books to donate to The Gift of Reading program and to bring in food to donate to the food drive being headed up by our GATE students.

Math - DMR Wednesday; Today the students worked with their 6 o'clock partners again to complete the problems they looked at yesterday.  Before beginning, we discussed the meaning of multi-step problems and sub problems.  I shared with the entire class the list of ideas each group recorded yesterday and they saw how most of the class did not agree on which problems were or were not multi-step problems.  I had them really focus on communicating their ideas about the problems today as they worked and for several groups. I hinted that mental math work done in their head is still a step.  It was interesting to see that the students still had differing views even after rethinking the problems through.  We will share the answers to the problems tomorrow.

Science - No HW

Social Studies - Native American projects - These projects can we worked on at home - research only for right now.  I have given the students one more day to get parent signatures.  Today the stuents used the entire class time to conduct research.  They will be allowed to research more tomorrow.

Writing - DLR Wednesday and Spelling Practice page 70; Bring in (for extra credit) an example of good sentence fluency on Friday.

Reading - NLL Wednesday; Today the students took time to reflect on their skills as a reader.  They answered the following question independently and recorded their responses on a sheet of lined paper that will be kept in their reading folders: What strategies do you use to help you understand what you are reading?  We began taking notes today on fix it up strategies that good readers use to help them monitor their understanding.  Today we looked at two obvious steps - #1 good readers read - they read for information, they read for pleasure, they read, read, read - #2 good readers pause every once in a while and summarize what they have read or ask questions about what they have read.  After taking these notes, I asked the students to respond to these strategies by writing down how their own reading habits compare to them.  Tomorrow, we will add two more strategies to the list.

Other - Don't forget to donate a book to The Gift of Reading program and to send in boxtops!  Also, next Thursday we will be having our Hidden Villa presentations.  Please let me know if you are available to volunteer in the class during this time to help supervise and lead student activities. 

Math - DMR Tuesday; Today we finally corrected our chapter 2 math contracts.  I apologize for the lateness.  The packets were found under a stack of corrected class work at home (which was hidden out of reach of Sydney's crayons and markers!).  Again, I apologize for the delay in having the students correct their work.  The students worked with their 6 o'clock math partners to read over a group of word problems from the textbook and decide if they were multi-step problems.  It was shocking to see how many different answers there were among the groups.  We will be focusing on guess and check problems and problems that require multiple steps or the solving of sub problems before a solution can be found.

Science - No Science today

Social Studies - Native American’s Project - the students conducted research today in the tech lab.  They have been asked to have a parent sign their packet for them as a way to hold them responsible for communicating with parents about the projects.  The majority of this project will be completed at school.  Students are allowed to bring the work home to conduct more research, but all other portions will be completed at school with my help and supervision.  Please ask your child to clarify the project and please feel free to contact me.  I want the students to become more responsible for their learning by being able to answer your questions (with enough detail to get the basic idea!) by listening carefully to directions in class and y asking me questions while they are at school.

Writing - DLR Tuesday, Spelling Practice page 69; EXTRA CREDIT - bring in a good example of sentence fluency to school on Friday - this can come from magazines, newspapers, books, etc.  Today we ended our discussion on voice by taking a few notes and reading a student sample of writing with strong voice.  We began talking about sentence fluency and will continue to talk about it tomorrow.  We also focused on subject verb agreement by doing a mini lesson using three sentences that all had incorrect agreement.  We looked at common errors made in subject verb agreement and how to avoid them.

Reading - NLL Tuesday; Book reports due Friday, December 19

Other - Please send in books to donate to the Gift of Reading program and continue to send in box tops.  Thank you for the support you give your children every day and the encouragement you give me.  Have a great Tuesday.