January 26, 2012

This was a cold week!  We definitely were not used to this type of weather!  Our temperature in our room is off alittle bit, so if your child has been cold bring a sweater.

In writing we are still working on writing for readers.   Writing for an audience will really help students focus on writing for a purspose.  This will also give meaning to the editing process.

We began our exploration with nouns.  They have really grasped the idea that a noun is a person place or thing.  I breifly mentioned that it could also be a feeling or idea.  Next week I will introduce proper nouns.

The entire class is very proud of the story that we created.  We began with a character we picked.  Theneach student took part in writing their part of the story.  It is a very interesting story and it will be added to our classroom library.

We have continued our practice with 2 digit addition and subtraction.  Next week we will review and finish up any make up pages that are not finished in our Math Journal Volume 1.  When it is finished it will be sent home!  We have our second Math Journal ready to go.

The student were let in on a secret!  They found out that in fourth grade they learn how tto make inferences about characters.   They started to learn how to make inferences this week!  They were very excited to learn that they are diong things that older students do.  We will be practicing how to make inferences for the next couple weeks.

I will be sending home sign up sheets soon, to take Taddy over rthe Winter break that is coming up!

I hope everyone is doing wonderful!

January 20, 2012

We had a wonderful week!  It was nice to start the week off on a Tuesday!  We accomplished so much this week. 

In math, we really focused on the simplest form of multiplication.  We continued with arrays and making equal groups.  We played array bingo.  On Friday, we were introduced with different ways of division(equal grouping and equal sharing).'

All week long we created a classroom story.  Each student was able to write one or two sentences of the story.  They had to added to the story.  The name of the story is The Runaway.  Please come in and see our classroom story outside of our room on the bulletin board.

In writing, we picked out a piece of writing that we wanted to fix up.  This writing was edited by a partner and then again by the writer.  On Thursday and Friday, the final draft was formed.  On Friday afternoon, we had an Author's Celebration.  We read our stories and after we enjoyed juice and talked about each others writing.  Here are some pictures of the wonderful event!  Have a great weekend!

 

January 13, 2012

This past week we have been reading three different kinds of Gingerbread books.  We started with the Gingerbread Man.  We practiced putting the events in order and then retelling the story out loud.  The next book was the Gingerbread Baby.  We compared the two books using a venn diagram.  The last book was the Gingerbread Girl.   After the third book, we looked at all three books together and completed a three way venn diagram as a class.  We noticed that all three story had a similar sequence to there events.
We began really focusing on 2-digit subtraction with borrowing or trading.  We practiced this in many ways.  First we used base-10 blocks to help understand the concept.  Then we used our number chart.  After that they were taught the pencil and paper way focusing on the tens column and the ones column.  We used number stories for addition and subtraction.  On Friday, we explored what an array is.  This concept will help student get ready for multiplication.
In writing we are still focusing on creating an ending that fits the story.  The students will soon have an author's celebration for their hard work.
Remember that homework needs to be finished and turned in on Fridays!  There are many students that turn in homework with many pages unfinished.  IF homework is made a priority, then the student will feel the same about the work in school.
Have a great weekend!

January 6, 2011

I hope that everyone enjoyed their time off during the holiday season!
I know it is hard to get back in the swing of things, but don't give up!  Many of the students have had a hard time staying focused and awake.  Remember to go to bed early so that your child will get plenty of rest.  Make sure to have them eat a good breakfast so their brain has food to function!

Even though we only had three days of school this week, we accomplished many things!
Each student set a goal that they would like to reach by the end of next year.  After that they had to give reasons how they will reach this goal.  Many of their goals included reading or writing more.  Setting aside a special time for reading and writing will make these goals happen. 
We are beginning to learn how to have an interesting ending to the story and making sure it fits.  We will be working on this for a while. 
We started to learn how to subtract 2- digit numbers and reviewed how to add 2-digit numbers. 
Next week we will begin learning about biographies and learn about Martin Luther King Jr.
Have a wonderful weekend!