Week of September13

This week we continued our study of place value in math.  We compared, ordered and rounded numbers this week.  In ELA we started writing in our writer's notebook.  We are learning to gather ideas for writing a story and our goal is to write a personal narrative at the end of the month.  In reading we continued to monitor our reading by recording our thinking and sharing with the group.  Also on 9/11 we discussed the Statue of Liberty and the poem written on the bottom of this great monument, "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus in 1883.  The Statue of Liberty lights to way to America and welcomes everyone.  We are memorized one stanza from the poem.  (see below)

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Week of Sept. 6 

Welcome Back!

This week we went over routines and procedures along with the daily schedule.

 Also we started the year with the book How Full is your Bucket for kids.  "Through the story of a boy named Felix, this book explains to children how being kind not only helps others, it helps them, too. As he goes about his day, Felix interacts with different people — his sister Anna, his grandfather, other family and friends. Some people are happy, but others are grumpy or sad. Using the metaphor of a bucket and dipper, Felix’ grandfather explains why the happy people make Felix feel good (drips), while the others leave him feeling bad (dips) — and how Felix himself is affecting others, whether he means to or not.  The message of the story is that the way we treat each other has an affect on our lives."   We hope this year we are "drippers" and avoid being "dippers".

We read the poem THEY and made an illustration.   The illustrations are of what we visualized as we read which is a strategy we will work on this year to improve comprehension.  We are learning routines for reading and how to record our thinking while we read.  In addition, in writing we are learning ways to gather ideas for a writing piece. .  In math, we took the math pretest and began the year with place value.  Also students received their Envision Math user name and password information.  They can now go on line to view the math book, assignments and games.   See link below.  Also, in science we started our study of rocks and minerals.   In social studies we will start with map skills.




www.pearsonsuccess.org



Reminders: 
Early Release,  1:15pm, Tuesday, September 10
Open House, 5:30-7:00, Thursday, September 12

March - April


The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand. 

                                                                                                       --Vince Lombardi

Students completed their Term 3 projects.  Each student researched a state and created a Google presentation.   As an extension, students researched their inquiry questions about the state.  There were a variety of topics shared such as the Wright brothers, Mesa Verde, Neil Armstrong, the Chincoteague Wild Pony Swim, Earl Douglass, Nez Perce tribe, Brevard water slide rock, and Thomas Edison to name a few.  In addition,  a student dressed as Robert E. Lee and made a speech.  Also a student wrote and performed a song about North Carolina. 

There is no substitute for hard work.

 

                                ---Thomas A. Edison

March -April

After a few weeks of research, planning and typing a final copy, students completed their Diary of an invertebrate.  We shared our books with Mrs. Cirillo's and Mrs. Zarr's  first grade classrooms.  Students were excited to share all their hard work.
See below some examples of the books.

Weeks of February 15 and March 1

We started a new science project by reading Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Spider and Diary of a Fly.   These books are our inspiration to create our own Diary of a ...books.  After reading these books, we discussed what research the author needed to do in order to write the books and we created our own criteria for research of an invertebrate.  Next we will make a storyboard and write a rough draft.

Also a Grade 4 Term 3 Social Studies project was introduced.  We held a lottery to pick which state we will research.  One requirement will be to use Google presentation to share information about our state.  Another requirement will be determined by the students through their inquiry questions about the state.

Weeks of February 1 and February 8

Students have experienced with Google Drive. To go along with opinion writing, students created a document, wrote in their opinion how the class should be arranged and who they want to sit next to and then shared the document with me. This was a way for the student to get used to sharing documents and give their opinion of the class. We have been working on opinion writing and Ms. Bender, a writing consultant for the district, did a lesson with us.

See previous post for an example (draft) of our opinion writing.


We took our first test in Journeys on the net books. There were multiple choice and open response. Students are able to pause and score the test.

In math we continued to work with Envision on the net books. Student are able to review previous lessons to reinforce a concept while others are able to preview new learning.

Examples of Opinion Writing