Our Week In Review

What a week! We began a lot of new things this week. In Writing, we began participating in Writer's Workshop. We started by "quick writing" small moments about important people in our lives. We also wrote about small moments that happened in a particular place. Some things we learned this week are ~

• writing in the air
• how to work with our writing buddies
• sharing "knee to knee(this allows for eye contact when sharing)

It is a challenge to write for so long (20-30 minutes) about the same topic, but we are working hard to do this. Below are some pictures of us "Writing in the Air" with our writing buddies.

We also had our first MATH test yesterday! It was hard, but we did well. Mrs. Merten will send home the tests for parents to see next week. Before our test, we had math centers to review the skills from our Geometry Unit. We played two math games and reviewed many skills.

We also have been working really hard in Reading. Some topics of discussion this week were~

• Distractions during "Reading Zone"
• Reasons to leave your "zone" spot
• Narrative Elements (main characters, setting, plot) ~ we will continue this discussion next week.
• Journal Entries (we will review this discussion, too)

From the teacher's desk
The children have really adjusted to our routine and rules in the classroom. I am happy with their progress. I am working with the children to fill their book bags with "just right" books, so that they have a good set of books to begin with. After I've helped with this first round, it will be the children's responsibility to fill their book bag with a book each time one is finished. This is another step toward independence.

There is often an adjustment period when fourth graders begin the year, particularly with homework. Many of the children have used their "freebie" homework assignment already. While this may be due to the beginning of school and the newly found responsibility, I wanted to let everyone know. Your child will know if he/she has used up the "freebie".