OUR CLASS EARNED "PJ DAY" FOR BOOSTERTHON AND HAVE VOTED THAT WE WEAR OUR PJS TOMORROW! PLEASE NOTHING TOO WARM AS WE WILL BE GOING OUTSIDE IN THE HOT WEATHER. I ALSO TOLD THEM THEY COULD BRING IN ONE STUFFED ANIMAL- NOTHING TOO HUGE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO WEAR SLIPPERS, YOU MAY, JUST MAKE SURE YOU BRING A CHANGE OF SHOES FOR OUTSIDE.
June 3, 2014
WE DID IT! EOGs are finished! I am so proud of each of your children. They worked so hard during the entire test. Never giving up and using all the strategies we've practiced all year long. They are an awesome class and I have enjoyed being with them each and every day. They are all well prepared to meet the demands of 5th grade.
As some of you may already know, I'm taking next year off to stay at home with my 3 kids! Carter has one more year of preschool before we will start him to Kindergarten (late August birthday!), so it makes sense to take this "last" year to enjoy spending time with them at home being full-time mommy! I hope, after that year is up, to return to Hilburn, but we'll have to see. This is home and I love it here and definitely want to send my kids to Hilburn.
These last 7 days, the students will be participating in some engineer design challenges as well as continue with their animal study, which will also include some research and writing. As we begin preparing for the end of the year, I ask that you send in a brown paper bag so your child can bring his/her personal items home.
Our Academic Awards Assembly is this Friday, June 6th at 9:30. The students who will be celebrated include Ali, Sammi Jo, Marques, and Ashton. I wish I was able to recognize EVERY student for their accomplishments this year. They should all be very proud!
Thanks for a wonderful school year and have a fun and safe summer!
April 28, 2014
Hello everyone! As you may know, EOGs will take place during the week of June 2-5. Hilburn needs test proctors so if you are free that week and are available to volunteer, please let me know! You support would greatly be appreciated!
Please bring in any Box Tops that you may have lying around. The due date for Box Tops is coming sometime soon so please send them in to support our school.
Here is a look at the content we will be focusing on this week:
Reading: This week we will continue reviewing objectives we have covered earlier in the year. When covering these objectives, students will use the reading comprehension strategy called RUNNERS. RUNNERS has been an effective strategy to help students better comprehend the text which they read. They are also expected to annotate, or take notes, while reading the text. This helps them to engage with the text at a deeper level (it is also the "E" in the acronym, RUNNERS).
Writing: Our current focus in writing is persuasive writing. They are wrapping up a persuasive piece they are working on with a partner and then will soon begin, if they haven't already, their independent writing piece.
Math: Tomorrow, we are having our post assessment on Decimals. Today they were given a review sheet to work on in class. To help ensure that they are prepared for tomorrow's assessment, it may be helpful to go over the review sheet with them tonight, having them explain each of the problems and justify their answers. After decimals, our next unit is on Measurement.
Social Studies: The students have been comparing transportation, the landscape and communication of North Carolina since statehood in November of 1789. Ask them about what they have been doing in class to cover these concepts.
Have a wonderful rest of the week and stay dry!
April 7, 2014
Welcome back from break everyone! A 4th Grade Conferences invitation went home in Monday Folders today. Student-led conferences will be held on the evenings of Wednesday, April 16th and Thursday, April 17th from 4:30-6:30pm. Hopefully you can make it to one of the two sessions. The structure of student-led conferences will be the same as second quarter. There is no need to sign up. The conferences will be on a first come, first serve basis. After your child goes over his/her work, you will be able to meet with me for approximately 10 minutes. If this is not a sufficient amount of time to address your concerns, please contact me so that we can arrange a conference at a later time.
On April 21, is our field trip to Prairie Ridge. You should have received a permission form. If you have not, please have your child let me know and I will send another one home. On the form is the cost of the field trip ($9.00) and a consent form. I have already asked each student whether or not they will be bringing a lunch. An order form has been submitted for all lunch orders. If your child changes his/her mind and would like to order lunch, please send in a note!
This week is CASE 21 testing. Wednesday morning at 8:30 will be the Language Arts part of the test. Thursday morning at 8:30 will be the Math section of the test. Please make sure your child is fully rested and eats a huge breakfast before the test!
Here is a look at what we will be covering in each subject area:
Language Arts - This week in reading we will be focusing on different test taking strategies, such as the RUNNERS strategy. The RUNNERS strategy is an effective comprehension method for students to use when reading a text. In writing, we have started our unit on persuasive writing. Students are being taught what it means to persuade someone. By the end of this week, students will be starting their rough draft for their persuasive writing pieces.
Math - We have a lot going on in math this week. The beginning of the week we are focusing on adding and subtracting fractions. Towards the end of the week, we will complete our unit on multiplying fractions.
Social Studies - Economics will be our focus in Social Studies this week. We will continue to discuss key terms such as supply and demand, economy, scarcity, competition, and partnerships.
Once again welcome back! We hope everyone is ready to work hard to finish up the year! Report cards will be going home next Monday (April 14) because of snow make-up days.
If you need anything, please don't hesitate to email me! Have a great week!
IMPORTANT DATES COMING UP:
Wednesday, April 9th (4/9/14)- language arts CASE21
Thursday, April 10th (4/10/14)- math CASE21
Report cards home 4/11/14 (Friday) or 4/14/14 (Monday)
Conference week: the week of 4/14/14
Thursday, April 17th- Awards Ceremony
Fieldtrip on April 21st- money and slips turned in ASAP
STEAM NIGHT IS TONIGHT FROM 5:30-8! OUR CLASS PRESENTS FROM 6:55-7:40! HOPE YOU'RE ALL ABLE TO MAKE IT!
Monday, March 17, 2014
Check your child's Monday folder for assessments that need to be signed and returned. Also in your child's folder is a guidance career project from Ms. Daley that is due March 28th. If 100% of the students participate, Ms. Daley is rewarding them with a popsicle party!!!! Lastly, a permission slip for our next fieldtrip to Prairie Ridge was sent home today. Please sign and return the permission slip and send in $9 to cover the cost by Friday, March 28th. We are planning on eating there, so your child will need a bagged lunch. I did not send home an order form for a cafeteria lunch, so if your child will need a bagged lunch he/she just needs to tell me that and I will make sure to submit their order. Choices include: turkey/cheese, ham/cheese, PBJ or crackers/cheese + choice of milk (chocolate, white or strawberry). Please let me know if your child will need a lunch by Friday, March 28th as well.
Important Dates:
Fieldtrip form/money/lunch order: by March 28th
STEAM Expo: Wednesday, March 26th
Spring break: March 31st - April 4th
In language arts we've been working on persuasion writing which incorporates our STEAM challenge. We've also analyzed several different short stories, identifying and discussing social issues.
In math we took our post on equivalent fractions today. We will continue with fractions tomorrow, focusing on comparing fractions with different numerators and different denominators. We will also be adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions in the weeks ahead.
During our science/social studies block our focus has been on our STEAM challenge. Thank you so much for getting in materials quickly. The kids have been doing a fantastic job in their groups and I'm excited about the progress they've made! In social studies the focus is on economy. The students have been exploring this concept through discovery education and their social studies textbooks. I have rolled these assignments out during their language arts block to ensure that content is being covered during this busy "STEAM Expo" time;)
Have a wonderful week! I'm ready for this weather to get nice and stay nice!
Monday, February 24, 2014
Woohoo! Symphony is rescheduled for next Wednesday, March 5th! A second field trip is in the works for April- details to come soon! Interims will be coming home in your child's next Monday folder. Boosterthon Fun Run is this Thursday from 12:30-1:30- dress appropriately! Don't forget to wear your boosterthon shirt and bring a water bottle! Thank you for supporting our school by earning pledges! Next Thursday, March 6th, is the rescheduled Black History Program. A note went home in your child's folder today in regards to materials needed for our next STEAM Expo. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE donate what you can! Thank you in advance!
In language arts the students are working on opinion writing and using examples and experiences to support their opinions. We will continue opinion writing throughout the second half of the quarter. In reading we are comparing elements of three different genres: poetry, drama and prose. Students have been reading and analyzing examples of each.
In math we have been learning about geometric and numerical patterns. Our post will be this Friday and we will be moving on to fraction concepts!
In science we are wrapping up our magnet/electricity unit. Students have been building circuits and have been challenged to light a bulb, run a motor and incorporate a switch to open and close a circuit. This knowledge will be helpful in our upcoming design challenge! Our next social studies topic will focus on economics.
Have a great week!
Field trip forms and $5 due this Friday, January 24th, for the symphony. Parents, Gina Sanchez, one of our secretaries, is out until the end of February. She is the person who takes care of field trip money. If you send a check, please be aware that it may BE AWHILE until the check gets cashed. All money that is turned in will be locked up and safe until Gina is back to deposit it! Also, unfortunately this is NOT a field-trip that we can bring parent volunteers. Thank you so much for offering though!
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
What a quick week, and a 2 hour delay on top of it! Hope you enjoyed the extra long weekend!
We began quarter 3 today- hard to believe! Today we logged into Edmodo and read an article about a Chicago school that banned lunches brought from home. The students then had to form an opinion, based on the reading, and fill out a graphic organizer stating 3 reasons and evidence that supported their opinion. They will use this information to write an opinion piece as a lead into our next writing assignment. We will also begin reading historical fiction, paying attention to the setting and how the author uses details to describe what life was like during that time period. During the next couple of weeks we will be reading the book Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and other texts during the same time period. Students will be taking quizzes related to the material read that day which will all be uploaded to their Edmodo accounts.
In math we looked at different types of quadrilaterals today. The students had to complete an "assignment builder" on their discovery education accounts. Have them show you! This unit is very rich in vocabulary! The unit began with Unit 2 Lesson 3 in their math expression books and it may be helpful, over the next couple of weeks, to review the vocabulary and lessons with your child. We will also be learning about classifying triangles, area and perimeter and symmetry. Check out your child's discovery education accounts- I have created assignments to supplement the unit that you can view together at home!
We are beginning our science unit on magnets and electricity this week. Students will have a pretest tomorrow.
Volunteers- sorry I didn't have you in this month! Look for a February calendar in next week's Monday folder. Third quarter means conferences again! Beginning Monday, January 27, please start signing AND RETURNING 2-3 pieces of work from your child's Monday folder. Just like we did first quarter, students will be choosing several pieces from 3rd quarter and reflecting on his/her work for student-led conferences at THE END OF THE QUARTER.
Report cards come home next week- be on the lookout! Also, don't forget to send in the permission slip and money for the symphony!
Have a great rest of the week!
Monday, January 6, 2014
Happy New Year! I'm so glad to be back today and see the kiddos' faces! We had a great first day back together and the students, and teacher, are all refreshed and ready to go:)
In language arts we are working on integrating information from multiple resources in order to speak about a subject knowledgeably. We are practicing this skill in both reading and in writing with our research reports on a specific landform.
In math we will take our post test on lines and angles tomorrow. The students were told to bring home their volume 1 textbooks and study pages 95-98 as a review. Our next math unit will focus on measuring angles, an extension of our current unit. Your child will explore how to use a protractor and what complementary and supplementary angles are and how to find the measurements of missing angles.
We are going to be wrapping up our landform unit early next week and will give a post assessment. The end of quarter 2 is next Friday! We will begin quarter 3 with another science unit on magnets and electricity. This unit will help prepare us for our next STEAM Expo in March!
Today a letter was sent home regarding your child's EOG scores. You should have received your child's EOG scores on December 20th. If you did not, please email me and let me know.
Have a great week!
INTERIMS GO HOME WITH YOUR CHILD ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13TH!
Monday, December 2, 2013
Welcome back! I hope everyone enjoyed the break...I know I did! The book fair started this week. We were able to take a sneak peek today and create our wish lists! All week, starting at 7:45, the book fair will be open for students who would like to make purchases. Students will be permitted to visit the book fair during arrival and also right after lunch during our recess time. Be sure to check out Ms. Mock's wish list as well!
In language arts we are reading to understand different types of genre. These include historical, technical and scientific. Today we discussed what the differences might be between the three and read a historical piece. We have 2 goals as we read: 1) what was the event that happened and 2) what caused it to happen. We will be studying these different genres over the next two weeks. In writing we are finishing our informational pieces and will have the opportunity to share our work with our 4th grade peers on Friday, December 6th from 9-10 during a "Writer's Celebration". I am accepting donations of plates, napkins, juice boxes, fruit, pastries and other breakfast goodies. Thank you in advance.
In math we began our next unit on solving multi-step word problems using all four operations. Many of the lessons in this unit focus on solving multistep problems that have implied or hidden questions. Multistep word problems may be difficult for some children. Learning to identify the questions that were not asked is an important step in learning to solve such problems. Math drawings with numbers can often help in solving. Review phrases that imply operations (sum, difference, product, quotient, more than, less than, etc.). While helping your child throughout this unit, read the problem several times together each time with a different purpose asking questions to probe for understanding (what is the situation of the problem and what is it asking?).
We are wrapping up our government unit in social studies with a detailed look at the branches of government and our U.S. Constitution. We are working to interpret the preamble and discuss the importance of this document on our lives as U.S. citizens. We will begin our science unit this week on landforms.
No Monday folders today due to shortened week last week and the holiday break.
June 3, 2014
WE DID IT! EOGs are finished! I am so proud of each of your children. They worked so hard during the entire test. Never giving up and using all the strategies we've practiced all year long. They are an awesome class and I have enjoyed being with them each and every day. They are all well prepared to meet the demands of 5th grade.
As some of you may already know, I'm taking next year off to stay at home with my 3 kids! Carter has one more year of preschool before we will start him to Kindergarten (late August birthday!), so it makes sense to take this "last" year to enjoy spending time with them at home being full-time mommy! I hope, after that year is up, to return to Hilburn, but we'll have to see. This is home and I love it here and definitely want to send my kids to Hilburn.
These last 7 days, the students will be participating in some engineer design challenges as well as continue with their animal study, which will also include some research and writing. As we begin preparing for the end of the year, I ask that you send in a brown paper bag so your child can bring his/her personal items home.
Our Academic Awards Assembly is this Friday, June 6th at 9:30. The students who will be celebrated include Ali, Sammi Jo, Marques, and Ashton. I wish I was able to recognize EVERY student for their accomplishments this year. They should all be very proud!
Thanks for a wonderful school year and have a fun and safe summer!
April 28, 2014
Hello everyone! As you may know, EOGs will take place during the week of June 2-5. Hilburn needs test proctors so if you are free that week and are available to volunteer, please let me know! You support would greatly be appreciated!
Please bring in any Box Tops that you may have lying around. The due date for Box Tops is coming sometime soon so please send them in to support our school.
Here is a look at the content we will be focusing on this week:
Reading: This week we will continue reviewing objectives we have covered earlier in the year. When covering these objectives, students will use the reading comprehension strategy called RUNNERS. RUNNERS has been an effective strategy to help students better comprehend the text which they read. They are also expected to annotate, or take notes, while reading the text. This helps them to engage with the text at a deeper level (it is also the "E" in the acronym, RUNNERS).
Writing: Our current focus in writing is persuasive writing. They are wrapping up a persuasive piece they are working on with a partner and then will soon begin, if they haven't already, their independent writing piece.
Math: Tomorrow, we are having our post assessment on Decimals. Today they were given a review sheet to work on in class. To help ensure that they are prepared for tomorrow's assessment, it may be helpful to go over the review sheet with them tonight, having them explain each of the problems and justify their answers. After decimals, our next unit is on Measurement.
Social Studies: The students have been comparing transportation, the landscape and communication of North Carolina since statehood in November of 1789. Ask them about what they have been doing in class to cover these concepts.
Have a wonderful rest of the week and stay dry!
April 7, 2014
Welcome back from break everyone! A 4th Grade Conferences invitation went home in Monday Folders today. Student-led conferences will be held on the evenings of Wednesday, April 16th and Thursday, April 17th from 4:30-6:30pm. Hopefully you can make it to one of the two sessions. The structure of student-led conferences will be the same as second quarter. There is no need to sign up. The conferences will be on a first come, first serve basis. After your child goes over his/her work, you will be able to meet with me for approximately 10 minutes. If this is not a sufficient amount of time to address your concerns, please contact me so that we can arrange a conference at a later time.
On April 21, is our field trip to Prairie Ridge. You should have received a permission form. If you have not, please have your child let me know and I will send another one home. On the form is the cost of the field trip ($9.00) and a consent form. I have already asked each student whether or not they will be bringing a lunch. An order form has been submitted for all lunch orders. If your child changes his/her mind and would like to order lunch, please send in a note!
This week is CASE 21 testing. Wednesday morning at 8:30 will be the Language Arts part of the test. Thursday morning at 8:30 will be the Math section of the test. Please make sure your child is fully rested and eats a huge breakfast before the test!
Here is a look at what we will be covering in each subject area:
Language Arts - This week in reading we will be focusing on different test taking strategies, such as the RUNNERS strategy. The RUNNERS strategy is an effective comprehension method for students to use when reading a text. In writing, we have started our unit on persuasive writing. Students are being taught what it means to persuade someone. By the end of this week, students will be starting their rough draft for their persuasive writing pieces.
Math - We have a lot going on in math this week. The beginning of the week we are focusing on adding and subtracting fractions. Towards the end of the week, we will complete our unit on multiplying fractions.
Social Studies - Economics will be our focus in Social Studies this week. We will continue to discuss key terms such as supply and demand, economy, scarcity, competition, and partnerships.
Once again welcome back! We hope everyone is ready to work hard to finish up the year! Report cards will be going home next Monday (April 14) because of snow make-up days.
If you need anything, please don't hesitate to email me! Have a great week!
IMPORTANT DATES COMING UP:
Wednesday, April 9th (4/9/14)- language arts CASE21
Thursday, April 10th (4/10/14)- math CASE21
Report cards home 4/11/14 (Friday) or 4/14/14 (Monday)
Conference week: the week of 4/14/14
Thursday, April 17th- Awards Ceremony
Fieldtrip on April 21st- money and slips turned in ASAP
STEAM NIGHT IS TONIGHT FROM 5:30-8! OUR CLASS PRESENTS FROM 6:55-7:40! HOPE YOU'RE ALL ABLE TO MAKE IT!
Monday, March 17, 2014
Check your child's Monday folder for assessments that need to be signed and returned. Also in your child's folder is a guidance career project from Ms. Daley that is due March 28th. If 100% of the students participate, Ms. Daley is rewarding them with a popsicle party!!!! Lastly, a permission slip for our next fieldtrip to Prairie Ridge was sent home today. Please sign and return the permission slip and send in $9 to cover the cost by Friday, March 28th. We are planning on eating there, so your child will need a bagged lunch. I did not send home an order form for a cafeteria lunch, so if your child will need a bagged lunch he/she just needs to tell me that and I will make sure to submit their order. Choices include: turkey/cheese, ham/cheese, PBJ or crackers/cheese + choice of milk (chocolate, white or strawberry). Please let me know if your child will need a lunch by Friday, March 28th as well.
Important Dates:
Fieldtrip form/money/lunch order: by March 28th
STEAM Expo: Wednesday, March 26th
Spring break: March 31st - April 4th
In language arts we've been working on persuasion writing which incorporates our STEAM challenge. We've also analyzed several different short stories, identifying and discussing social issues.
In math we took our post on equivalent fractions today. We will continue with fractions tomorrow, focusing on comparing fractions with different numerators and different denominators. We will also be adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions in the weeks ahead.
During our science/social studies block our focus has been on our STEAM challenge. Thank you so much for getting in materials quickly. The kids have been doing a fantastic job in their groups and I'm excited about the progress they've made! In social studies the focus is on economy. The students have been exploring this concept through discovery education and their social studies textbooks. I have rolled these assignments out during their language arts block to ensure that content is being covered during this busy "STEAM Expo" time;)
Have a wonderful week! I'm ready for this weather to get nice and stay nice!
Monday, February 24, 2014
Woohoo! Symphony is rescheduled for next Wednesday, March 5th! A second field trip is in the works for April- details to come soon! Interims will be coming home in your child's next Monday folder. Boosterthon Fun Run is this Thursday from 12:30-1:30- dress appropriately! Don't forget to wear your boosterthon shirt and bring a water bottle! Thank you for supporting our school by earning pledges! Next Thursday, March 6th, is the rescheduled Black History Program. A note went home in your child's folder today in regards to materials needed for our next STEAM Expo. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE donate what you can! Thank you in advance!
In language arts the students are working on opinion writing and using examples and experiences to support their opinions. We will continue opinion writing throughout the second half of the quarter. In reading we are comparing elements of three different genres: poetry, drama and prose. Students have been reading and analyzing examples of each.
In math we have been learning about geometric and numerical patterns. Our post will be this Friday and we will be moving on to fraction concepts!
In science we are wrapping up our magnet/electricity unit. Students have been building circuits and have been challenged to light a bulb, run a motor and incorporate a switch to open and close a circuit. This knowledge will be helpful in our upcoming design challenge! Our next social studies topic will focus on economics.
Have a great week!
Field trip forms and $5 due this Friday, January 24th, for the symphony. Parents, Gina Sanchez, one of our secretaries, is out until the end of February. She is the person who takes care of field trip money. If you send a check, please be aware that it may BE AWHILE until the check gets cashed. All money that is turned in will be locked up and safe until Gina is back to deposit it! Also, unfortunately this is NOT a field-trip that we can bring parent volunteers. Thank you so much for offering though!
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
What a quick week, and a 2 hour delay on top of it! Hope you enjoyed the extra long weekend!
We began quarter 3 today- hard to believe! Today we logged into Edmodo and read an article about a Chicago school that banned lunches brought from home. The students then had to form an opinion, based on the reading, and fill out a graphic organizer stating 3 reasons and evidence that supported their opinion. They will use this information to write an opinion piece as a lead into our next writing assignment. We will also begin reading historical fiction, paying attention to the setting and how the author uses details to describe what life was like during that time period. During the next couple of weeks we will be reading the book Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and other texts during the same time period. Students will be taking quizzes related to the material read that day which will all be uploaded to their Edmodo accounts.
In math we looked at different types of quadrilaterals today. The students had to complete an "assignment builder" on their discovery education accounts. Have them show you! This unit is very rich in vocabulary! The unit began with Unit 2 Lesson 3 in their math expression books and it may be helpful, over the next couple of weeks, to review the vocabulary and lessons with your child. We will also be learning about classifying triangles, area and perimeter and symmetry. Check out your child's discovery education accounts- I have created assignments to supplement the unit that you can view together at home!
We are beginning our science unit on magnets and electricity this week. Students will have a pretest tomorrow.
Volunteers- sorry I didn't have you in this month! Look for a February calendar in next week's Monday folder. Third quarter means conferences again! Beginning Monday, January 27, please start signing AND RETURNING 2-3 pieces of work from your child's Monday folder. Just like we did first quarter, students will be choosing several pieces from 3rd quarter and reflecting on his/her work for student-led conferences at THE END OF THE QUARTER.
Report cards come home next week- be on the lookout! Also, don't forget to send in the permission slip and money for the symphony!
Have a great rest of the week!
Monday, January 6, 2014
Happy New Year! I'm so glad to be back today and see the kiddos' faces! We had a great first day back together and the students, and teacher, are all refreshed and ready to go:)
In language arts we are working on integrating information from multiple resources in order to speak about a subject knowledgeably. We are practicing this skill in both reading and in writing with our research reports on a specific landform.
In math we will take our post test on lines and angles tomorrow. The students were told to bring home their volume 1 textbooks and study pages 95-98 as a review. Our next math unit will focus on measuring angles, an extension of our current unit. Your child will explore how to use a protractor and what complementary and supplementary angles are and how to find the measurements of missing angles.
We are going to be wrapping up our landform unit early next week and will give a post assessment. The end of quarter 2 is next Friday! We will begin quarter 3 with another science unit on magnets and electricity. This unit will help prepare us for our next STEAM Expo in March!
Today a letter was sent home regarding your child's EOG scores. You should have received your child's EOG scores on December 20th. If you did not, please email me and let me know.
Have a great week!
INTERIMS GO HOME WITH YOUR CHILD ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13TH!
Monday, December 2, 2013
Welcome back! I hope everyone enjoyed the break...I know I did! The book fair started this week. We were able to take a sneak peek today and create our wish lists! All week, starting at 7:45, the book fair will be open for students who would like to make purchases. Students will be permitted to visit the book fair during arrival and also right after lunch during our recess time. Be sure to check out Ms. Mock's wish list as well!
In language arts we are reading to understand different types of genre. These include historical, technical and scientific. Today we discussed what the differences might be between the three and read a historical piece. We have 2 goals as we read: 1) what was the event that happened and 2) what caused it to happen. We will be studying these different genres over the next two weeks. In writing we are finishing our informational pieces and will have the opportunity to share our work with our 4th grade peers on Friday, December 6th from 9-10 during a "Writer's Celebration". I am accepting donations of plates, napkins, juice boxes, fruit, pastries and other breakfast goodies. Thank you in advance.
In math we began our next unit on solving multi-step word problems using all four operations. Many of the lessons in this unit focus on solving multistep problems that have implied or hidden questions. Multistep word problems may be difficult for some children. Learning to identify the questions that were not asked is an important step in learning to solve such problems. Math drawings with numbers can often help in solving. Review phrases that imply operations (sum, difference, product, quotient, more than, less than, etc.). While helping your child throughout this unit, read the problem several times together each time with a different purpose asking questions to probe for understanding (what is the situation of the problem and what is it asking?).
We are wrapping up our government unit in social studies with a detailed look at the branches of government and our U.S. Constitution. We are working to interpret the preamble and discuss the importance of this document on our lives as U.S. citizens. We will begin our science unit this week on landforms.
No Monday folders today due to shortened week last week and the holiday break.
Friday, November 22, 2013
A reminder that Ms. Flores is coordinating a small Thanksgiving Celebration Tuesday in the afternoon. Your child needs to bring in a piece of candy in a ziploc baggie labeled with his/her name. Please bring in by Monday. Also, if you signed up to help with supplies for the celebration, please send those items in Monday or Tuesday morning.
We are going to have our second "Writer's Celebration" on Friday, December 6th. The students will get the opportunity to share their informational pieces with their 4th grade peers in Ms. Fox's and Mr. C's class! I am asking for donations of plates, napkins, pastries, cookies, donuts, waters or juice boxes, fruit, etc., for the celebration. Anything you can send in by Friday, December 6th would be very much appreciated!
Our math unit was a quickie- 3 days! The objective is multiplication comparatives. Unit 1 lesson 4 can be used for review plus "Days 54 and 55" from the alignment lessons. I will give a small post assessment next Tuesday morning. I'm afraid with the Thanksgiving Break they may forget;)
In reading we are working on using context clues to find the meaning of unfamiliar words. In social studies we are learning about the French and Indian War, Revolutionary War and Civil War. The students have a rubric and guiding questions to guide their research. I have posted several videos to their discovery education accounts for them to view on these topics. After they have found their answers they are supposed to create some type of visual to present what they have learned. This assignment is taking a little longer than expected. Please ask your child about it, feel free to watch the videos with him/her and help with some of the research at home. I'd like for them to be finished my mid week the week of December 2nd. Please email me if you have any questions about this. We are also talking about government concepts.
Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving Break!!!
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Please ask your child for his/her report card as it was sent home today. Also, your child has been working on a NC symbol project in social studies. I would like these to be completed by end of day Thursday. The students have been given plenty of time in class to work on it, and will be given a small amount of time on Wednesday and Thursday this week. If this is not a sufficient amount of time for him/her to complete this assignment, please make sure they are working on it as homework. Thanks!
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Monday night conferences went amazingly well! I am so proud of all the students and their accomplishments. They did a fabulous job reflecting on their work and setting goals for the current quarter! If you were unable to make it on Monday, I hope to see you Wednesday. Again, you may come any time between 4:30 and 6:30. Your student will share his/her work samples and goals with you and at the end you will meet with me for 10 minutes. On the white board in the front of the room there will be a place for you to "sign in". This will help me keep track of who is next to meet with me in case we get busy. During our 10 minutes I will have a timer set so that I am finishing in a timely manner for the parents who are "waiting in line". As I said before, if you feel like all your questions/concerns were not met during this time we can certainly set up another conference at a future date, just email me and let me know:)
It has been a crazy, hectic, busy time of year! I am definitely ready for things to "get back to normal"! Between STEAM, report cards, conferences, CASE 21...I tell ya! Thank you for your patience, I know the website has taken some what of a "back seat"...my apologies!
We began division in math. Based on our pretests, this is a difficult topic for the majority of the students. They will be learning strategies that you and I were never taught in school. Please encourage your child to bring home his/her book and BINDER. A lot of the beginning lessons are coming from the "alignment lessons". Your child has a copy of the materials for each lesson in his/her binder. Tonight, for example, I asked each student to bring home a copy of "Mrs. Jordan's Method", this is to help YOU, parents, understand the rectangle method of division. Have your child teach it to you:) Discuss vocab: quotient, dividend and divisor. See if your child knows the difference.
In reading we will be looking at text features and how they help to expand our understanding of the text. Beginning tomorrow, you will see homework/examples coming home from the reading lessons. Make sure to take a look at the reading homework with your child and make sure your child can cite evidence from the text to support his/her answer. In writing we will look at informational books and begin thinking of topics we are knowledgeable about and can write an informational piece about. Your child will have to include 3 text features in his/her writing that support his/her topic. Brainstorm possible ideas with your child.
In social studies your child is completing a NC symbol project. He/she is learning about the process of how something becomes a state symbol and why that particular symbol was chosen and important to our state. We are also discussing early exploration and settlement of NC.
Have a wonderful rest of the week! Don't forget: Early Release on Friday! Students are encouraged to wear sunglasses to school! And no school on the Monday (Veteran's Day).
The students did an amazing job at the STEAM expo on Thursday! Thanks to all the parents who were able to attend and celebrate the student's hard work! Today was the first day of second quarter...hard to believe! Report cards will come home in your child's Monday folder on Monday, November 4th. That is also the first night of student-led conferences. If you can not attend Monday between the hours of 4:30-6:30, the second night will be Wednesday, November 6th, same time. Please arrive no later than 6:00 or 6:10 in order to allow plenty of time for your child to discuss his/her 1st quarter work with you, as well as allowing 10 minutes to meet with me. Look forward to seeing you Monday or Tuesday!
We have a post test in math tomorrow! It's been a hectic week...sorry I haven't updated homework on the website! The post test "date" has been posted in my room since last week, and therefore recorded in your child's agenda, so hopefully this isn't a surprise to anyone. There are only 3 multiplication problems on the post and they may use any strategy to solve~ so they may "pick" their favorite one!!! But this also means that they must do all steps carefully without error. They should practice a 1-digit by 3-digit, a 2-digit by 2-digit and a 1-digit by 2-digit. Our next unit with be on division! They should be practicing their multiplication facts EVERY NIGHT to gain fluency!
We are going to spend the next 5 weeks on social studies. We will begin with a small project on state symbols and NC history and move into government. The last 4 weeks will focus on our next science unit, landforms.
You will not see a social studies grade for first quarter. Although we have scratched the surface on NC history, we have not dedicated enough time to fairly assess the students at this time. 1st quarter was largely dedicated to science and STEAM expo!
Our Fall Learning Experience is Thursday. Please send in $3 by tomorrow (10.30.13). Thank you Astrid for all your hard work and planning!!!
Monday, October 14, 2013
*****Mix It Up Day, Friday, October 18th*****
For our 2nd Mix it Up Day, we are planning a literacy day! DRESS AS A STORYBOOK CHARACTER: Students AND staff are encouraged to dress as a storybook character. Be creative with your team….maybe dress as the main characters in one book. BRING IN A FAVORITE CHILDRENS STORYBOOK: students will read their books together. Our class is paired up with Ms. Griffin's 1st grade class for buddies!
Please sign and return your child's edmodo permission slip if you haven't already. Your child has his/her first "fun" edmodo assignment due this Friday:) Check it out!
In your child's Monday folder was a letter from Ms. Flores, our room mom. She will be in charge of planning all our learning experiences this year. Please read the letter and send in $3 addressed to Ms. Flores ASAP. Thanks in advance for helping to make this a successful event!
Conferences will be student-led and held the week of November 4th-8th. We will conduct them 2 evenings during that week. You and your child will be expected to attend one of the evenings. Details about the conference will be coming home very soon!
In math our focus is on multiplication. We are learning strategies for multiplying a 2-digit number by a 1-digit number. So far we have learned to make base-ten drawings and use the "area model" to help us multiply. It is very important that math facts are practiced and memorized. Starting this week, students will focus on their 2s time-tables. A timed test will be given on Friday. They will have 2 1/2 minutes to answer 25 multiplication facts for 2s only. We made flash cards today and it is my expectation they are practicing daily. Each child will track his/her progress and will not move on to their "3s" until 2s are mastered and so on. Once we are "Multiplication Masters" we will celebrate our hard work with a sundae party!!!
In language arts we are working on identifying first- and third- person point of views. In writing, we are brainstorming ideas for a realistic fictional piece. So far we have identified "struggles" in our own lives and started to create a fictional character who will experience this struggle through events in our story. We used "Peter's Chair" to identify struggle and create a "story mountain" to identify the events in the story. We are applying these same strategies to our own writing plans.
In social studies we are using Discovery Education to learn about the Native Americans and exploration/colonization of North Carolina. I create an assignment on Discovery Education for your child and he/she watches a video and is given a written assignment that accompanies it. Look for these to come home and ask your child about it.
We are working hard on our STEAM projects! Thank you for sending in materials...the projects and ideas are great! We look forward to sharing our hard work with you at the Expo on the 24th!
Don't forget Fall Carnival THIS FRIDAY, THE 18TH, FROM 5-8 (same day as early release!)
Have a wonderful week!!!!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
It's been a busy week! Ms. Lyons' has worked us hard through the writing process with our narrative pieces. She has provided the students' with valuable tools and resources that I hope they will continue to use throughout the year. In reading we continue to work on identifying theme. This week we looked at poems and biographies to determine theme.
In math we finished our unit on addition and subtraction of large numbers and solving word problems. Our next unit will focus on factors and multiples. It will be a quick unit and come mostly from our "alignment lessons" which your child has in his/her binder. Tonight your student has a flipped lesson to view and it's called "Multiplication Arrays".
We took our post test in science and will begin focusing our afternoons on our STEAM expo. Tonight your child is bringing home the "entry doc" which outlines the challenge for the STEAM expo. We made our groups today and will dig deeper into the project tomorrow (10.3). I did ask your child to bring the entry doc home this evening to read through it on his/her own or with a parent. These were only handed out today- tomorrow we will take a closer look.
Today half of the class (the students who did NOT have global language) got accounts for discovery education! The username is the letters "wcp" followed by their lunch number and the password is their lunch number. The other half will get it tomorrow! I will use discovery education and our language arts block to integrate our social studies. The students who were in my room during global today were able to log in and view their first social studies assignment! They loved it!
Have a great rest of the week and, as always, please contact me with any questions or concerns:)
**Tomorrow is a "D" day! Apparently when it's an early release it's a "nothing day" (no letter day). My mistake...sorry! Also on Friday students can wear their PJs to school for cancer awareness. $1 donations are appreciated as well!!
Early Release on Friday! "Mix It Up" Day! Wear mix-matched clothes to school! No hats!
Writer's Celebration
Thursday, October 3rd from 12:55-1:55
Our classroom, room 600
All parents welcome!
*accepting donations of snacks* --> In my newsletter I had asked for breakfast items not realizing it will be in the afternoon! Any small snack items will be appreciated and drinks. Also, napkins, plates and possibly cups will be needed as well. Thank you in advance!
Somehow I erased all of my previous newsletters!!! Ooops!!!!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Hi wonderful parents! Today your child was assigned some new homework assignments! They were given a username/password for "Tweentribune" and I also posted my first flipped math lesson for them to view and fill out a homework sheet on. I spent a lot of time going over my expectations/procedures for both assignments so hopefully your child can explain them both to you:)
In language arts we are continuing with writing a summary by identifying the main idea and 2-3 key details. Your child will have a quiz this week. Our next objective is identifying theme. In writing we are still working on publishing our first narrative. We have a "Writer in Residence" coming on Friday, Ms. Lyons. She will be with us Friday and Mon-Thurs of next week for one hour each day. We worked with Ms. Lyons last year and she is excellent! We will have a writing celebration on Thursday, October 3rd from 12:55-1:55. Each student will read out loud his/her finished writing piece using a microphone and sitting in a special "Author's Chair". All parents are invited to come! We are also accepting donations of cookies/donuts/pastries and beverages to help us celebrate the students' hard work! Please send in the day of the celebration. There are 21 students in the class.
In math we are working on estimating/rounding, adding and subtracting numbers. They should be able to subtract large numbers to the thousands place and explain the process of ungrouping to subtract.
In science we are looking at rocks and performing tests on the rocks to see if they contain the mineral, calcite.
In your child's Monday folder are several things to look for: math pre- test and post- test, spelling/vocab test, comprehension sheet, several "Tickets Out" for math and one for language arts. Please choose 2-3 samples to sign. We ran out of time and I was unable to stamp their work. Sign anywhere and return in your child's folder.
Always email me with any questions/concerns. Have a wonderful week!
A reminder that Ms. Flores is coordinating a small Thanksgiving Celebration Tuesday in the afternoon. Your child needs to bring in a piece of candy in a ziploc baggie labeled with his/her name. Please bring in by Monday. Also, if you signed up to help with supplies for the celebration, please send those items in Monday or Tuesday morning.
We are going to have our second "Writer's Celebration" on Friday, December 6th. The students will get the opportunity to share their informational pieces with their 4th grade peers in Ms. Fox's and Mr. C's class! I am asking for donations of plates, napkins, pastries, cookies, donuts, waters or juice boxes, fruit, etc., for the celebration. Anything you can send in by Friday, December 6th would be very much appreciated!
Our math unit was a quickie- 3 days! The objective is multiplication comparatives. Unit 1 lesson 4 can be used for review plus "Days 54 and 55" from the alignment lessons. I will give a small post assessment next Tuesday morning. I'm afraid with the Thanksgiving Break they may forget;)
In reading we are working on using context clues to find the meaning of unfamiliar words. In social studies we are learning about the French and Indian War, Revolutionary War and Civil War. The students have a rubric and guiding questions to guide their research. I have posted several videos to their discovery education accounts for them to view on these topics. After they have found their answers they are supposed to create some type of visual to present what they have learned. This assignment is taking a little longer than expected. Please ask your child about it, feel free to watch the videos with him/her and help with some of the research at home. I'd like for them to be finished my mid week the week of December 2nd. Please email me if you have any questions about this. We are also talking about government concepts.
Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving Break!!!
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Please ask your child for his/her report card as it was sent home today. Also, your child has been working on a NC symbol project in social studies. I would like these to be completed by end of day Thursday. The students have been given plenty of time in class to work on it, and will be given a small amount of time on Wednesday and Thursday this week. If this is not a sufficient amount of time for him/her to complete this assignment, please make sure they are working on it as homework. Thanks!
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Monday night conferences went amazingly well! I am so proud of all the students and their accomplishments. They did a fabulous job reflecting on their work and setting goals for the current quarter! If you were unable to make it on Monday, I hope to see you Wednesday. Again, you may come any time between 4:30 and 6:30. Your student will share his/her work samples and goals with you and at the end you will meet with me for 10 minutes. On the white board in the front of the room there will be a place for you to "sign in". This will help me keep track of who is next to meet with me in case we get busy. During our 10 minutes I will have a timer set so that I am finishing in a timely manner for the parents who are "waiting in line". As I said before, if you feel like all your questions/concerns were not met during this time we can certainly set up another conference at a future date, just email me and let me know:)
It has been a crazy, hectic, busy time of year! I am definitely ready for things to "get back to normal"! Between STEAM, report cards, conferences, CASE 21...I tell ya! Thank you for your patience, I know the website has taken some what of a "back seat"...my apologies!
We began division in math. Based on our pretests, this is a difficult topic for the majority of the students. They will be learning strategies that you and I were never taught in school. Please encourage your child to bring home his/her book and BINDER. A lot of the beginning lessons are coming from the "alignment lessons". Your child has a copy of the materials for each lesson in his/her binder. Tonight, for example, I asked each student to bring home a copy of "Mrs. Jordan's Method", this is to help YOU, parents, understand the rectangle method of division. Have your child teach it to you:) Discuss vocab: quotient, dividend and divisor. See if your child knows the difference.
In reading we will be looking at text features and how they help to expand our understanding of the text. Beginning tomorrow, you will see homework/examples coming home from the reading lessons. Make sure to take a look at the reading homework with your child and make sure your child can cite evidence from the text to support his/her answer. In writing we will look at informational books and begin thinking of topics we are knowledgeable about and can write an informational piece about. Your child will have to include 3 text features in his/her writing that support his/her topic. Brainstorm possible ideas with your child.
In social studies your child is completing a NC symbol project. He/she is learning about the process of how something becomes a state symbol and why that particular symbol was chosen and important to our state. We are also discussing early exploration and settlement of NC.
Have a wonderful rest of the week! Don't forget: Early Release on Friday! Students are encouraged to wear sunglasses to school! And no school on the Monday (Veteran's Day).
The students did an amazing job at the STEAM expo on Thursday! Thanks to all the parents who were able to attend and celebrate the student's hard work! Today was the first day of second quarter...hard to believe! Report cards will come home in your child's Monday folder on Monday, November 4th. That is also the first night of student-led conferences. If you can not attend Monday between the hours of 4:30-6:30, the second night will be Wednesday, November 6th, same time. Please arrive no later than 6:00 or 6:10 in order to allow plenty of time for your child to discuss his/her 1st quarter work with you, as well as allowing 10 minutes to meet with me. Look forward to seeing you Monday or Tuesday!
We have a post test in math tomorrow! It's been a hectic week...sorry I haven't updated homework on the website! The post test "date" has been posted in my room since last week, and therefore recorded in your child's agenda, so hopefully this isn't a surprise to anyone. There are only 3 multiplication problems on the post and they may use any strategy to solve~ so they may "pick" their favorite one!!! But this also means that they must do all steps carefully without error. They should practice a 1-digit by 3-digit, a 2-digit by 2-digit and a 1-digit by 2-digit. Our next unit with be on division! They should be practicing their multiplication facts EVERY NIGHT to gain fluency!
We are going to spend the next 5 weeks on social studies. We will begin with a small project on state symbols and NC history and move into government. The last 4 weeks will focus on our next science unit, landforms.
You will not see a social studies grade for first quarter. Although we have scratched the surface on NC history, we have not dedicated enough time to fairly assess the students at this time. 1st quarter was largely dedicated to science and STEAM expo!
Our Fall Learning Experience is Thursday. Please send in $3 by tomorrow (10.30.13). Thank you Astrid for all your hard work and planning!!!
Monday, October 14, 2013
*****Mix It Up Day, Friday, October 18th*****
For our 2nd Mix it Up Day, we are planning a literacy day! DRESS AS A STORYBOOK CHARACTER: Students AND staff are encouraged to dress as a storybook character. Be creative with your team….maybe dress as the main characters in one book. BRING IN A FAVORITE CHILDRENS STORYBOOK: students will read their books together. Our class is paired up with Ms. Griffin's 1st grade class for buddies!
Please sign and return your child's edmodo permission slip if you haven't already. Your child has his/her first "fun" edmodo assignment due this Friday:) Check it out!
In your child's Monday folder was a letter from Ms. Flores, our room mom. She will be in charge of planning all our learning experiences this year. Please read the letter and send in $3 addressed to Ms. Flores ASAP. Thanks in advance for helping to make this a successful event!
Conferences will be student-led and held the week of November 4th-8th. We will conduct them 2 evenings during that week. You and your child will be expected to attend one of the evenings. Details about the conference will be coming home very soon!
In math our focus is on multiplication. We are learning strategies for multiplying a 2-digit number by a 1-digit number. So far we have learned to make base-ten drawings and use the "area model" to help us multiply. It is very important that math facts are practiced and memorized. Starting this week, students will focus on their 2s time-tables. A timed test will be given on Friday. They will have 2 1/2 minutes to answer 25 multiplication facts for 2s only. We made flash cards today and it is my expectation they are practicing daily. Each child will track his/her progress and will not move on to their "3s" until 2s are mastered and so on. Once we are "Multiplication Masters" we will celebrate our hard work with a sundae party!!!
In language arts we are working on identifying first- and third- person point of views. In writing, we are brainstorming ideas for a realistic fictional piece. So far we have identified "struggles" in our own lives and started to create a fictional character who will experience this struggle through events in our story. We used "Peter's Chair" to identify struggle and create a "story mountain" to identify the events in the story. We are applying these same strategies to our own writing plans.
In social studies we are using Discovery Education to learn about the Native Americans and exploration/colonization of North Carolina. I create an assignment on Discovery Education for your child and he/she watches a video and is given a written assignment that accompanies it. Look for these to come home and ask your child about it.
We are working hard on our STEAM projects! Thank you for sending in materials...the projects and ideas are great! We look forward to sharing our hard work with you at the Expo on the 24th!
Don't forget Fall Carnival THIS FRIDAY, THE 18TH, FROM 5-8 (same day as early release!)
Have a wonderful week!!!!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
It's been a busy week! Ms. Lyons' has worked us hard through the writing process with our narrative pieces. She has provided the students' with valuable tools and resources that I hope they will continue to use throughout the year. In reading we continue to work on identifying theme. This week we looked at poems and biographies to determine theme.
In math we finished our unit on addition and subtraction of large numbers and solving word problems. Our next unit will focus on factors and multiples. It will be a quick unit and come mostly from our "alignment lessons" which your child has in his/her binder. Tonight your student has a flipped lesson to view and it's called "Multiplication Arrays".
We took our post test in science and will begin focusing our afternoons on our STEAM expo. Tonight your child is bringing home the "entry doc" which outlines the challenge for the STEAM expo. We made our groups today and will dig deeper into the project tomorrow (10.3). I did ask your child to bring the entry doc home this evening to read through it on his/her own or with a parent. These were only handed out today- tomorrow we will take a closer look.
Today half of the class (the students who did NOT have global language) got accounts for discovery education! The username is the letters "wcp" followed by their lunch number and the password is their lunch number. The other half will get it tomorrow! I will use discovery education and our language arts block to integrate our social studies. The students who were in my room during global today were able to log in and view their first social studies assignment! They loved it!
Have a great rest of the week and, as always, please contact me with any questions or concerns:)
**Tomorrow is a "D" day! Apparently when it's an early release it's a "nothing day" (no letter day). My mistake...sorry! Also on Friday students can wear their PJs to school for cancer awareness. $1 donations are appreciated as well!!
Early Release on Friday! "Mix It Up" Day! Wear mix-matched clothes to school! No hats!
Writer's Celebration
Thursday, October 3rd from 12:55-1:55
Our classroom, room 600
All parents welcome!
*accepting donations of snacks* --> In my newsletter I had asked for breakfast items not realizing it will be in the afternoon! Any small snack items will be appreciated and drinks. Also, napkins, plates and possibly cups will be needed as well. Thank you in advance!
Somehow I erased all of my previous newsletters!!! Ooops!!!!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Hi wonderful parents! Today your child was assigned some new homework assignments! They were given a username/password for "Tweentribune" and I also posted my first flipped math lesson for them to view and fill out a homework sheet on. I spent a lot of time going over my expectations/procedures for both assignments so hopefully your child can explain them both to you:)
In language arts we are continuing with writing a summary by identifying the main idea and 2-3 key details. Your child will have a quiz this week. Our next objective is identifying theme. In writing we are still working on publishing our first narrative. We have a "Writer in Residence" coming on Friday, Ms. Lyons. She will be with us Friday and Mon-Thurs of next week for one hour each day. We worked with Ms. Lyons last year and she is excellent! We will have a writing celebration on Thursday, October 3rd from 12:55-1:55. Each student will read out loud his/her finished writing piece using a microphone and sitting in a special "Author's Chair". All parents are invited to come! We are also accepting donations of cookies/donuts/pastries and beverages to help us celebrate the students' hard work! Please send in the day of the celebration. There are 21 students in the class.
In math we are working on estimating/rounding, adding and subtracting numbers. They should be able to subtract large numbers to the thousands place and explain the process of ungrouping to subtract.
In science we are looking at rocks and performing tests on the rocks to see if they contain the mineral, calcite.
In your child's Monday folder are several things to look for: math pre- test and post- test, spelling/vocab test, comprehension sheet, several "Tickets Out" for math and one for language arts. Please choose 2-3 samples to sign. We ran out of time and I was unable to stamp their work. Sign anywhere and return in your child's folder.
Always email me with any questions/concerns. Have a wonderful week!