Our Week in Review

It was a busy week in Room 24!

In Math, we continued learning about multiplication. We discussed the steps to solving problems, and today we even learned some algebra. Miss Johnson was impressed with our work in math! Next week, on Wednesday, we will be having a test on Unit 3 in Math. You can find some activities to help your child study for the Unit 3 assessment here.


We have been working on revising and editing our writing during Writer's Workshop. This week we discussed "thought shots" and breaking our writing into paragraphs. We also discussed all of the different ways to say "said". Our writing buddies have really helped us with the revising and editing process. We plan to have our first work published by the end of next week!

In reading we have continued to read our interactive read aloud Mr. Popper's Penguins. We are enjoying Mr. Popper and his little group of penguins, and we are excited to see how this story progresses. At the end of this book, we will celebrate with a "Black and White Day". One of the fun parts of this day is when the children bring a "black and white" snack. This is tentatively scheduled for 11/10. The children are also encouraged to give a book talk if they read a book which they LOVE. Below is a student giving a book talk yesterday about a Matt Christopher book. Great Job!

We have also been working on finishing up our Puff Mobiles and choosing a "puffer". Our race will be on Monday- and we are excited to race against the other fourth grade classes. Here we are building our puff mobiles and practicing puffing!

This week, we have been talking about nouns. The Schoolhouse Rock videos are great ways to learn different parts of the curriculum. This one was shown in class, and is a great way for some children to remember nouns. (And some of you parents might remember this from Saturday mornings during your childhood.)

From the Teacher's Desk




Things are progressing very nicely here, and I'm very proud of all of the hard work the children are doing. I want to remind you about the nightly reading assignment. It is the goal for the children to read 5-7 nights for a minimum of 15 minutes. I ask the children to read the same book at home and at school. There are a few reasons for this. One reason is that the children's comprehension is usually stronger when they are focusing on one book, one plot, one set of characters. Another reason is that, in order to discuss the book in the ways that I would like the children to do this, the book needs to be read within a 2 week period of time. I am very agreeable to allowing the children to put a book in the front of their bookbag that they are reading at home. That way, they are still reading the same book at home and school. If your child is interested in this, he/she should bring the book in from home and discuss it with me during our "housekeeping" time.

I also want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has donated items for our store! The children and I really appreciate all of the items. We were able to shop today and buy all sorts of Halloween themed items. Thank you so much.

One last note: We will be celebrating Halloween on Monday with a few theme based activities. Students should remember their Party in a Bag for a snack.

Classroom Update

We have been very busy in room 24! Last week, we completed our second math test. Mrs. Merten was so proud that everyone did well! We are continuing to work on writing answers to open response math problem, and Mrs. Merten is seeing improvement. (Ask your child about this ~ Mrs. Yanuskiewicz, our math CET supports this in our classroom).

We are continuing on with our work in Writer's Workshop. Everyone has finished a first draft, and most students are well into their second draft. Early next week we will begin the steps to choose a writing piece to publish. We can't wait to see the result of this writing work!

In Social Studies, we took our Maps and Globes test yesterday. Mrs. Merten was impressed with how well we did!! Bravo to everyone who studied and helped with studying! Next week we will begin our next unit, on the country of Mexico.

In Science, Miss Johnson has been teaching us about hurricanes. We learned about the categories of hurricanes and what to do in a hurricane emergency. We are also learning about some famous hurricanes from history ~ and we'll even talk about Hurricane Irene!

In Reading, we began our first interactive read aloud. We are reading the book Mr. Popper's Penguins. This book was written in the 1930s, but is a timeless story. You may have seen the summer movie which was based on this book. Mrs. Merten says it is pretty different from the book.

Author Alert

Jarrett Krosoczka, author of picture books including The Lunch Lady series will be at the Wellesley Free Public Library on October 27th at 4PM to celebrate the publication of his 10th book. Specific information about the event can be found here.

Our Week In Review

This was a fantastic week! We started off working on our Puff Mobiles. Everyone is doing a terrific job working together and cooperating. We are also learning the steps of the Engineering Process, and we are practicing those steps! Mrs. Merten can't wait to see our finished vehicles. Our race has been scheduled for Halloween!

In Math this week, we have been learning about landmark numbers. We learned new math terms. We are also practicing reading and writing large numbers and adding and subtracting big numbers. Our math test is scheduled for next week. (This is Miss Johnson teaching about MEDIAN ~ ask your child to explain how to do this.)

In Reading, we have been working on reading strategies, and conferencing with Mrs. Merten. We are still working on choosing Just Right books. This has been a bit challenging. We are working on making progress with this. Here is Collin giving a book talk this week!

This week we reviewed the Water Cycle, and today we planted terrariums! Everyone was really well behaved and worked so well together that we had a great time. We can already see the water cycle starting in our terrariums. We will observe our terrariums next week and in the weeks to come to see how they grow.

Today we shopped at our first STORE! Everyone enjoyed spending their chips on fun things. Thank you so much for all of the donations! The children really enjoyed them.

From the Teacher's Desk

The children have adjusted well to our expectations, and are working really hard to stay organized in school. One area that continues to be hard for some is homework. At school, we have moved away from checking everyone's assignment books and materials, to spot checking some for appropriate materials and assignment books.

Our students are expected to read the same book at home and at school daily. Therefore the book is an essential part of instruction. Forgetting a book or homework at home is considered a homework miss. If your child has forgotten his/her book or homework often, I have spoken to him/her about strategies to help to remember it. Some suggestions are to use a checklist at home, or to put a note on the door so that your child sees the note on his/her way out the door.

I hope your child has enjoyed the first month of school as much as I have. Please remember if you have any concerns or questions, don't hesitate to contact me at school. Have a wonderful long weekend!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to our September Birthdays, Georgy and Paul, and our October Birthdays, Jenna and Andrew!

Our Week in Review

We all enjoyed a day off this week! Happy Rosh Hashanah to those who celebrated yesterday!

In Reading, we were fully able to follow the Reader's Workshop structure this week. The children are really becoming quite independent in following all of the steps. After the housekeeping portion of our Reading time, a student gives a "Book Talk" where he/she talks about a book that they LOVED and they suggest it to their classmates. Below is Charlotte giving a book talk on The Meanest Doll in the World. This is a very popular series of books.

Today we began our first Technology and Engineering project . Mr. Adams (Mrs. Adams' husband) came to school to talk about the Engineering Process (he is an electrical engineer). We learned about the steps need to design something, and then we broke into groups to try to design a "PUFF MOBILE". This is a vehicle that is powered by breath or "puffs" and is blown across the gym floor in a race. We will work on creating our puff mobiles over the next few weeks, in groups, and we will race them in the gym with the other fourth grade classes.

In other news.....Shane and his family went to the Cape. While they were there, they met the GREAT HOCKEY LEGEND ~ Bobby Orr!!!!! and they also got to see the Stanley Cup. I thought it would be timely to share this, considering what happened with the Red Sox this week.

From the Teacher's Desk
If your family or your child does something special or exciting, and you would like me to share it on our blog, I'd be happy to do so. Just send in the information and a picture if you have it, and I'll be happy to include it in our weekly post!

Grading Information

From the Teacher's Desk
As the year progresses, you will find more and more papers sent home that have been graded. I wanted to share my thoughts and feelings about this. I believe that grades are just one way that I can communicate with you about how your child is doing. Occasionally, I will ask for a parent signature on an assignment. If this is written on your child's paper, please sign it and return it to school with your child. This signature is to show that you are aware that your child had difficulty with the particular assignment or task. Sometimes I find that this opens up a dialogue with your child, and gives you insight as to why the assignment is a struggle. For example, the Daily Geography and Daily Language assignments are independently done as the children arrive in the morning. In addition to demonstrating proofreading skills and map skills, the children are learning to manage time as they arrive. Often this is as difficult as the actual question.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

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".