Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Northeast Quizlet
Thank you to Mrs. K. for sharing this Northeast Quizlet! It will help you to learn your states and capitals.
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Our Week In Review
What a week! We began our week reflecting on our progress in both reading and math. This allowed students to set some specific goals in these areas for the remainder of the year. Your child can share more about their thinking.
During reading we continued to research dogs, then we shared the research with each other. We will be writing persuasive essays next week. Students continue to share the books they love through book talks. I am encouraging every student to do this at least one time this year. It is a great opportunity to practice speaking in front of the class about a topic that is comfortable.
We received an exciting package in the mail this week from our new friends in Mexico! Every fourth grader received a letter! We are excited about our new connection, and students will be writing back to their new friends this week.
We began our study of the Northeast Region of the U.S. Students are researching different aspects of the United States with their peers, and they will be creating presentations to show their learning. Students will be presenting their information to the class in the next few weeks.
During Science this week, we explored adaptations of insects. We learned about different types of insect mouths and then simulated food gathering with these types of mouths. We then had an exciting visitor in our class on Friday. This creature was on a desk when we arrived. After some research and help from Mrs. Brown (thanks Mrs. Brown!) we have learned that this is a house centipede. Can you see some of its adaptations?
Friday, January 24, 2020
Author Alert!
Are you a fan of the Bad Kitty Series? The author, Nick Bruel, will be at An Unlikely Story in Plainville in March. You can find information about this event here.
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Bad Kitty Joins the Team Tour
See Kitty as you've never seen her before: EXERCISING (reluctantly) in Bad Kitty Joins the Team, the latest installment of Nick Bruel's phenomenally successful New York Times bestselling series.
Kitty is terribly out of shape-she can barely torment Puppy without needing a break to huff and puff! When Kitty's owner catches her wheezing, Kitty is told it's time to EXERCISE.
It takes some serious convincing, a high-stakes competition, and a little bit of trickery but eventually Kitty gets into the competitive spirit . . . albeit reluctantly. What did you expect?
Will our favorite feline friend learn what it means to be a good sport? Find out in this hilarious addition to the Bad Kitty series.
Nick Bruel is the author and illustrator of New York Times bestseller Boing! and the Bad Kitty books, among others. He is a freelance illustrator and cartoonist, and during his down time, he collects PEZ dispensers and grows tomatoes in the backyard. He lives in Tarrytown, NY with his wife Carina and their lovely cat Esmerelda
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Our Week In Review
We began our week with our community meeting, where we discussed our weekly mantra, "I have a dream". We enjoy our Monday morning meetings, where we connect with our grade level friends.
We wrapped up the first part of our fraction unit this week. Our assessment covered equivalent fractions, comparing and ordering fractions and factors/prime/composite numbers. The students worked very hard on the assessment! Paper tests were sent home yesterday, and parents/students can view their child's test on Pearson Realize. Our next math unit will focus on adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers. Students should continue to practice facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) because all of these will help students with their precision in math. As a reminder, students can find their online text as well as videos and information from the day's lesson using their Pearson log in.
During writing, we have used our knowledge of Canada to create travel brochures about this country. Students researched and then used their research to write persuasive sentences encouraging people to visit. We will wrap this up next week. Students worked very hard on these, and the finished products will be displayed in our classroom after our gallery walk next week. Check in with your child about this project. Many will agree that it was a fun way to show evidence of learning.
In addition, during reading and writing we continued working on our dog research. Students have been reading nonfiction books and watching videos about dogs. Next week we will begin to write persuasive essays about dogs, using our research to support the topic "Which Dog is Right for My Family?". Students are enjoying this research.
We continue to give book talks to share the books we love. Please encourage your child do to this! It is a wonderful experience. We even reached author Gordon Korman with our tweet about this student's love of Swindle.
We began learning about the Regions of the U.S. with our first stop- the Northeast. We will be "traveling" to each region this year, and will learn about the geography, climate, resources, and people in that region. We hope to travel virtually do different classrooms around the U.S. as well.
We kicked off our next science unit, Plants and Animals Structures/Adaptations with a virtual visit to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Wyoming. Our guide, Emily, took us through different areas in Wyoming and discussed the animals from those areas. We were able to answer/ask questions through Skype! Check out some videos of our experience on our Twitter feed (@mertenladybugs).
On Friday we participated in a mini-lesson about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. We learned about civil rights, segregation and peaceful protesting, and then listened to his "I Have a Dream" speech. Our class already knew a lot about Dr. King, and enjoyed listening to his speech.
From the Teacher's Desk
For some students, remembering homework has become more challenging as the year has progressed. Some are forgetting to bring materials home and/or back to school. Some students are working hard to complete assignments, only to realize that they did the wrong page. Students have 10-15 minutes daily to write in their assignment books and pack up. All assignments are written on the board for them to copy. Remembering their independent reading book is a very important part of homework completion. Each student is working on his/her own individual goal/skills during Reader's Workshop, and maintaining flow with their reading book is an essential part of this. If you have signed a homework notice in the last few weeks, please discuss this with your child. Though we are working on independence and responsibility, if your child is struggling with this, perhaps a nightly check would help. Please encourage your child to have his/her assignment notebook out while completing assignments, and to check off each assignment as it is finished. Before leaving a homework space, please encourage your child to put all materials back into his/her backpack. This will help with organization and become a habit with practice.
Our chorus concert was AMAZING! Check out our video of The Eye of the Tiger on our Twitter feed @mertenladybugs.
We wrapped up the first part of our fraction unit this week. Our assessment covered equivalent fractions, comparing and ordering fractions and factors/prime/composite numbers. The students worked very hard on the assessment! Paper tests were sent home yesterday, and parents/students can view their child's test on Pearson Realize. Our next math unit will focus on adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers. Students should continue to practice facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) because all of these will help students with their precision in math. As a reminder, students can find their online text as well as videos and information from the day's lesson using their Pearson log in.
During writing, we have used our knowledge of Canada to create travel brochures about this country. Students researched and then used their research to write persuasive sentences encouraging people to visit. We will wrap this up next week. Students worked very hard on these, and the finished products will be displayed in our classroom after our gallery walk next week. Check in with your child about this project. Many will agree that it was a fun way to show evidence of learning.
In addition, during reading and writing we continued working on our dog research. Students have been reading nonfiction books and watching videos about dogs. Next week we will begin to write persuasive essays about dogs, using our research to support the topic "Which Dog is Right for My Family?". Students are enjoying this research.
We continue to give book talks to share the books we love. Please encourage your child do to this! It is a wonderful experience. We even reached author Gordon Korman with our tweet about this student's love of Swindle.
We began learning about the Regions of the U.S. with our first stop- the Northeast. We will be "traveling" to each region this year, and will learn about the geography, climate, resources, and people in that region. We hope to travel virtually do different classrooms around the U.S. as well.
We kicked off our next science unit, Plants and Animals Structures/Adaptations with a virtual visit to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Wyoming. Our guide, Emily, took us through different areas in Wyoming and discussed the animals from those areas. We were able to answer/ask questions through Skype! Check out some videos of our experience on our Twitter feed (@mertenladybugs).
On Friday we participated in a mini-lesson about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. We learned about civil rights, segregation and peaceful protesting, and then listened to his "I Have a Dream" speech. Our class already knew a lot about Dr. King, and enjoyed listening to his speech.
From the Teacher's Desk
For some students, remembering homework has become more challenging as the year has progressed. Some are forgetting to bring materials home and/or back to school. Some students are working hard to complete assignments, only to realize that they did the wrong page. Students have 10-15 minutes daily to write in their assignment books and pack up. All assignments are written on the board for them to copy. Remembering their independent reading book is a very important part of homework completion. Each student is working on his/her own individual goal/skills during Reader's Workshop, and maintaining flow with their reading book is an essential part of this. If you have signed a homework notice in the last few weeks, please discuss this with your child. Though we are working on independence and responsibility, if your child is struggling with this, perhaps a nightly check would help. Please encourage your child to have his/her assignment notebook out while completing assignments, and to check off each assignment as it is finished. Before leaving a homework space, please encourage your child to put all materials back into his/her backpack. This will help with organization and become a habit with practice.
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