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| Wise Words! |
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| YES She does!!! |
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| Run and Be Fierce |
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| Twice the Inspiration! Be a Wonder in the World! Inspire, Imagine, Innovate! |
Friday, September 20, 2019
T-Shirts of the Day
Such inspiring words from our students! We have a few more inspiring shirts coming your way next week. Stay tuned!
General Homework Tips
GENERAL HOMEWORK TIPS FOR PARENTS
(Reposted from the Department of Education. You can see the full article here.)
✪ Make sure your child has a quiet, well-lit place to do homework.
Avoid having your child do homework with the television on or in places with other distractions, such as people coming and going.
✪ Make sure the materials your child needs, such as paper, pencils and a dictionary, are available. Ask your child if special materials will be needed for some projects and get them in advance.
✪ Help your child with time management. Establish a set time each day for doing homework. Don‘t let your child leave homework until just
before bedtime. Think about using a weekend morning or afternoon for working on big projects, especially if the project involves getting together with classmates.
✪ Be positive about homework. Tell your child how important school is. The attitude you express about homework will be the attitude your child acquires.
✪ When your child does homework, you do homework. Show your child that the skills they are learning are related to things you do as an adult. If your child
is reading, you read too. If your child is doing math, balance your checkbook.
✪ When your child asks for help, provide guidance, not answers. Giving answers means your child will not learn the material. Too much help teaches your child that when the going gets rough, someone will do the work for him or her.
✪ When the teacher asks that you play a role in homework, do it. Cooperate with the teacher. It shows your child that the school and home are a team. Follow the directions given by the teacher.
✪ If homework is meant to be done by your child alone, stay away.
Too much parent involvement can prevent homework from having some positive effects. Homework is a great way for kids to develop independent, lifelong learning skills.
✪ Stay informed. Talk with your child‘s teacher. Make sure you know the purpose of homework and what your child‘s class rules are.
✪ Help your child figure out what is hard homework and what is easy homework. Have your child do the hard work first. This will mean he will be most alert when facing the biggest challenges. Easy material will seem to go fast when fatigue begins to set in.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Friday, September 13, 2019
Our Week In Review
After three weeks, our classroom community is really coming together! We are taking our time, learning our routines and becoming a community of learners. As you may have heard, the focus this year is independence and responsibility. This is our year long goal, and we will be taking steps toward this every day!
Today we had our first math assessment. The children worked really hard, despite some nervous feelings about this first test. Your child took home the work space sheet for the test today. There was a grade listed on the test, and your child used the space to show work. Beginning next week, our math focus with be addition and subtraction. If your child is not automatic with his/her addition and subtraction facts, there are some links on our curriculum pages which help provide practice in a fun way. Additionally, your child could use the website/app quizlet, which is a way to create and use electronic flash cards. Many children use this app on an ipod/ipad. To use this, go to Quizlet.com and search for "addition facts" or "subtraction facts". There are many options for flash cards. This tool can be used for all subjects, and students can even make their own flash cards to help with studying in other subject areas. Students can also practice fact fluency using Moby Max. A letter was sent home today with log in details. Please contact Mrs. Merten with questions about this.
Today we had our first math assessment. The children worked really hard, despite some nervous feelings about this first test. Your child took home the work space sheet for the test today. There was a grade listed on the test, and your child used the space to show work. Beginning next week, our math focus with be addition and subtraction. If your child is not automatic with his/her addition and subtraction facts, there are some links on our curriculum pages which help provide practice in a fun way. Additionally, your child could use the website/app quizlet, which is a way to create and use electronic flash cards. Many children use this app on an ipod/ipad. To use this, go to Quizlet.com and search for "addition facts" or "subtraction facts". There are many options for flash cards. This tool can be used for all subjects, and students can even make their own flash cards to help with studying in other subject areas. Students can also practice fact fluency using Moby Max. A letter was sent home today with log in details. Please contact Mrs. Merten with questions about this.
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| Math Centers |
During Writer's Workshop we have been working on our Hopes, Dreams and Goals for fourth grade. We enjoyed brainstorming and beginning our writing this week. We will wrap this up early next week.
In addition to practicing the routines of Reader's Workshop, we have been working on various reading strategies. This week we practiced checking books to determine if they are "Just Right". This can be challenging, as some students have a goal to read "long" books, and they may not be ready for those yet. We will continue to learn and practice our routines while reviewing strategies for reading. In the coming weeks, all students will have books in their book bags (added with Mrs. Merten), and should have an established routine at home for evening reading. If you have any questions about reading or your child's book choice, please contact Mrs. Merten.
During our morning meetings we have been getting to know one another. We each interviewed a classmate, and we have been introducing each other to our group. We have learned a lot about each other- and we have found some new things in common with one another!
Each week, on Friday, we end our week with an End of the Week meeting, where each students shares a "High, Low, Bet You Didn't Know" from the week.
After our meeting we celebrate one student's accomplishment (this may be kindness, being a good friend, demonstrating excellent effort or something more that the teachers notice). Way to Go!!!!!
Looking Ahead ~
- Next week we will celebrate Constitution Day-- learning about the history of our Constitution.
- Next Thursday, we will have a visit from our "Engineers in Residence". We will begin our first engineering project next week.
- We will begin our Map Skills unit in Social Studies
- We will continue working on our Hopes and Dreams during writing.
- Conference Dates are open - please sign up for a conference date/time here.
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Friday, September 6, 2019
Our Week In Review
We made it to our first Friday! This week we continued to work on establishing our classroom community, while beginning to focus on our academic tasks.We began our week with our first 4th grade Community Meeting. We greeted each other, and learned a little about one another. We finished our meeting by learning a few yoga poses.
On Tuesday, we were entertained by the FPS Music Department! The music/band teachers came to JFK to share information about various instruments. I'm sure many students were at the instrument rental night last night.
During math, we have been learning about Place Value, as well as working on our routines and expectations of Math Workshop. Students can find some videos, games and other links which reinforce this topic on our blog on the Homework Help page (The link is also at the top of this page). If your child would like to access the online version of the math book, there is a link on the Homework Help page as well. Our first math quiz - on Place Value- will take place next Thursday. Students will receive a study guide soon, and we will discuss the best ways to prepare next week.
During Reading this week, we focused on learning the structure and routines of Reader's Workshop. We read some picture books, and students filled out a survey, sharing their feelings about reading. We practiced our "Reading Zone" (independent reading) and began discussing strategies for choosing a "Just Right" book. Next week, Mrs. Merten will help students fill their book bags and we will begin to have formal reading conferences. One important aspect of Reader's Workshop is that the students read the same book at home and at school. This maintains consistency with student thinking about the plot, characters, theme, etc. Students should be taking reading books back and forth to school each day, and are invited to take books from our classroom library. Students are also invited to bring books to school from home. In the coming weeks, this will continue to be reinforced.
Looking Ahead~
A major focus of fourth grade is independence and responsibility. There has already been much discussion about what this looks like, and how students can show independence and responsibility. This theme will be woven into our year. I look forward to meeting you at our parent orientation meeting on Thursday.
Choosing 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.
We are working with the students to help them understand that although reading is work, it should be FUN!
On Tuesday, we were entertained by the FPS Music Department! The music/band teachers came to JFK to share information about various instruments. I'm sure many students were at the instrument rental night last night.
During math, we have been learning about Place Value, as well as working on our routines and expectations of Math Workshop. Students can find some videos, games and other links which reinforce this topic on our blog on the Homework Help page (The link is also at the top of this page). If your child would like to access the online version of the math book, there is a link on the Homework Help page as well. Our first math quiz - on Place Value- will take place next Thursday. Students will receive a study guide soon, and we will discuss the best ways to prepare next week.
During Reading this week, we focused on learning the structure and routines of Reader's Workshop. We read some picture books, and students filled out a survey, sharing their feelings about reading. We practiced our "Reading Zone" (independent reading) and began discussing strategies for choosing a "Just Right" book. Next week, Mrs. Merten will help students fill their book bags and we will begin to have formal reading conferences. One important aspect of Reader's Workshop is that the students read the same book at home and at school. This maintains consistency with student thinking about the plot, characters, theme, etc. Students should be taking reading books back and forth to school each day, and are invited to take books from our classroom library. Students are also invited to bring books to school from home. In the coming weeks, this will continue to be reinforced.
Looking Ahead~
- We will be talking more about our Hopes, Dreams and Goals for fourth grade, and writing about these during Writer's Workshop.
- We will begin our first Social Studies unit, Map Skills.
A major focus of fourth grade is independence and responsibility. There has already been much discussion about what this looks like, and how students can show independence and responsibility. This theme will be woven into our year. I look forward to meeting you at our parent orientation meeting on Thursday.
Choosing 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.
We are working with the students to help them understand that although reading is work, it should be FUN!
Thursday, September 5, 2019
T-Shirts of the Day!
Positive messages are everywhere in room 24!
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| YES! They can! |
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| So important...and words to live by! |
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| Yes she will!!! |
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| Work hard and the sky's the limit!!! |
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| Life IS Good! |
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| 100% Beast!!! |
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| Amazing things are in her future! |
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