Our puff mobiles
More of our puff mobiles
The winners of the "Boys' Race"
The winners of the "Girls' Race"
The overall winners!
The overall Girl and Boy winners! Both from our class!
A Photo Finish!
The Puff Off!
The overall winners!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Puff Race
Today was our puff mobile race! We had a great time!
Our puff mobiles
More of our puff mobiles
The winners of the "Boys' Race"
The winners of the "Girls' Race"
The overall winners!
The overall Girl and Boy winners! Both from our class!
A Photo Finish!
The Puff Off!
The overall winners!
Our puff mobiles
More of our puff mobiles
The winners of the "Boys' Race"
The winners of the "Girls' Race"
The overall winners!
The overall Girl and Boy winners! Both from our class!
A Photo Finish!
The Puff Off!
The overall winners!
Monday, October 11, 2010
From the Teacher's Desk
From the Teacher's Desk
Our first six weeks of school have been great, and our class is becoming a little community. Overall, I am quite pleased about the progress we are making as a class. I wanted to share a few things about homework and assignments before the coming week.
Assignment Update
Often after I have graded an assignment, I have a question or comment for the student. I may write SEE ME on a paper. This does not necessarily mean that I have a concern about the assignment. In fact, at times I want to remember to give a student a blue ticket or a chip for work well done. When I have seen a student, I will cross off the "SEE ME" in a different colored pen. This shows you that your child has come to me.
At times, you may receive a paper from a student that says "parent signature" or "please sign". Understand that I ask for a signature not so that your child is punished, or gets into trouble, but because I want to be sure that information is communicated to you in a timely manner. If you get a paper that has a signature requested on it, and you have questions/concerns about this, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Homework Update
I have been noticing that more students have been forgetting items at home, which resulted in homework being missing. As you know, the focus of fourth grade is helping the students become independent, however some students still need reminders. Please check in with your child to see how they are doing with this. If he/she is forgetting things like getting the assignment notebook signed or library books, please try to remind them. I find that creating a list for children to follow helps them to remember all of the items they need. This week, I will no longer be checking all of the assignment books nightly, rather, I will be doing "spot checks" to check that all assignments are written and materials are packed for those I'm checking. This is another step in the independence process.
Our first six weeks of school have been great, and our class is becoming a little community. Overall, I am quite pleased about the progress we are making as a class. I wanted to share a few things about homework and assignments before the coming week.
Assignment Update
Often after I have graded an assignment, I have a question or comment for the student. I may write SEE ME on a paper. This does not necessarily mean that I have a concern about the assignment. In fact, at times I want to remember to give a student a blue ticket or a chip for work well done. When I have seen a student, I will cross off the "SEE ME" in a different colored pen. This shows you that your child has come to me.
At times, you may receive a paper from a student that says "parent signature" or "please sign". Understand that I ask for a signature not so that your child is punished, or gets into trouble, but because I want to be sure that information is communicated to you in a timely manner. If you get a paper that has a signature requested on it, and you have questions/concerns about this, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Homework Update
I have been noticing that more students have been forgetting items at home, which resulted in homework being missing. As you know, the focus of fourth grade is helping the students become independent, however some students still need reminders. Please check in with your child to see how they are doing with this. If he/she is forgetting things like getting the assignment notebook signed or library books, please try to remind them. I find that creating a list for children to follow helps them to remember all of the items they need. This week, I will no longer be checking all of the assignment books nightly, rather, I will be doing "spot checks" to check that all assignments are written and materials are packed for those I'm checking. This is another step in the independence process.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Our Week In Review
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This week we took our second math test. We reviewed in math centers on Thursday. We played games and completed some papers about our math unit.
In science we planted grass seed in three different soils. We planted it in soil, sand, and a mixture, and we made a hypothesis about which type of soil we thought the grass will grow best in. We will measure our grass on Tuesday.
Today we made our terrariums. We learned that the terrarium is a mini ecosystem. We went outside to plant, and we can already see the water cycle starting in some of our jars.
We finished racing our Puff Mobiles and we even got to test our vehicles in the gym. Our big race is scheduled for Wednesday!
This week we took our second math test. We reviewed in math centers on Thursday. We played games and completed some papers about our math unit.
In science we planted grass seed in three different soils. We planted it in soil, sand, and a mixture, and we made a hypothesis about which type of soil we thought the grass will grow best in. We will measure our grass on Tuesday.
Today we made our terrariums. We learned that the terrarium is a mini ecosystem. We went outside to plant, and we can already see the water cycle starting in some of our jars.
We finished racing our Puff Mobiles and we even got to test our vehicles in the gym. Our big race is scheduled for Wednesday!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Representative Jim Vallee
Friday, October 1, 2010
Our Week In Review
This week, We had our first English test. Mrs. Merten hasn't finished grading them yet, but they will be sent home on Monday.
We built our Puff Mobiles this week, too. Some groups are still working on their vehicles, and other groups are testing their Puff Mobile to see who is a better puffer.
Today we got to shop in our class store. Most of the kids bought Smarties and Twizzlers. Dennis bought a LOT of candy. Thank you to all of the families who made donations to our store!
We also rearranged our desks today. Mrs. Merten likes to move desks around once a month. We aren't sure if we like the new set up yet.
From the Teacher's Desk: Just Right Books
You may have heard the term "Just Right Books" from your child. A just right book is one that your child enjoys, can read with few errors, and has vocabulary that is understandable. It is expected that these books will look a bit easier than you expect.
When choosing a just right book, I've asked the children to follow some steps:
1. "5 Finger Rule": Students should open the book to a page (not the first one) and read it. Each time there is a word that needs to be sounded out, or is hard to read, one finger goes up on your child's hand. If 5 fingers are raised at the end of the page, that book is not "Just Right".
2. "Clunks": Reading the same page, students should keep track of "clunks". A clunk is a word that your child may be able to read, but does not understand. Two clunks on the page is the maximum.
3. Read the back: Students should read the back (or inside jacket) of a book in order to be sure that the book is interesting to them. I've really stressed that the book must interest your child. Please discuss this with your child, and remind him/her that the book needs to interest him/her, not the teacher, friends or family.
I have really been working to stress for the kids that reading is work, but it should be FUN! If it isn't fun for a student, I am working to help them get there.
We also rearranged our desks today. Mrs. Merten likes to move desks around once a month. We aren't sure if we like the new set up yet.
From the Teacher's Desk: Just Right Books
You may have heard the term "Just Right Books" from your child. A just right book is one that your child enjoys, can read with few errors, and has vocabulary that is understandable. It is expected that these books will look a bit easier than you expect.
When choosing a just right book, I've asked the children to follow some steps:
1. "5 Finger Rule": Students should open the book to a page (not the first one) and read it. Each time there is a word that needs to be sounded out, or is hard to read, one finger goes up on your child's hand. If 5 fingers are raised at the end of the page, that book is not "Just Right".
2. "Clunks": Reading the same page, students should keep track of "clunks". A clunk is a word that your child may be able to read, but does not understand. Two clunks on the page is the maximum.
3. Read the back: Students should read the back (or inside jacket) of a book in order to be sure that the book is interesting to them. I've really stressed that the book must interest your child. Please discuss this with your child, and remind him/her that the book needs to interest him/her, not the teacher, friends or family.
I have really been working to stress for the kids that reading is work, but it should be FUN! If it isn't fun for a student, I am working to help them get there.
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