Vacation Reading Challenge!

     Unfortunately I was out sick the two days before vacation, so I wasn't able to wish your child a happy holiday and vacation! 

     I was also going to introduce them to the Vacation Reading Challenge.  Since our vacation is nearly two weeks this year, it will be important for your child to continue to read over that time so that they don't start to "lose" the reading momentum that they have built up over the past 3 months! 

     The reading challenge is simple, your child just needs to log down the amount of time that they read during vacation and you need to initial that they read.  I have attached the form that I was going to hand out.  If you can't print the form, your child can write down the book and time read with parent initials on a piece of paper.  Even 15-20 minutes a day is better than no reading at all. This will help to ensure that we can jump right back in to where we left off in December in 2014!

     I hope that you and your child have a wonderful holiday and a relaxing vacation.

 

Vacation

Reading Challenges

We have almost two weeks of vacation time coming our way.  During this time away from school, I hope that many of you will take advantage of this time to do some reading.   I know I will!  To motivate some of you who may not open a book, I have come up with two different challenges.

 

Challenge #1:  group challenge – the girls against the boys.  For this challenge, you’ll need to record how much time you spend reading each day.  The team that averages more time reading each day will win!

12/21 Time: PS:	12/22 Time: PS:	12/23 Time: PS:	12/24 Time: PS:	12/25 Time: PS:	12/26 Time: PS:	12/27 Time: PS:
12/28 Time: PS:	12/29 Time: PS:	12/30 Time: PS:	12/31 Time: PS:	1/1 Time: PS:

 ** PS Stands for Parent Signature

Challenge #2:  This will be an individual challenge – who can read the most books?  This challenge is simple!  Read a chapter book and record it below.  Please record the title and author.

___________________________________              ___________________________________

___________________________________              ___________________________________

___________________________________              ___________________________________

___________________________________              ___________________________________

___________________________________              ___________________________________

 

Prizes will be rewarded for the readers who read!  In order for your books to count, you must have this sheet when we come back to school next year, Thursday, January 2, 2014.  Good luck, happy reading, and see you in 2014!

 

“Books are like chips…You can never eat (read) just one!”

A Note Sent Home Today....

Snow Day!

     As you may know, this week the class got to choose their paw print reward by practicing what they have been learning about essay writing.  The students were given a choice for a reward and had to convince the reader with an opinion, reasons, and an example just like they have been learning in class.

     The class “vote” was for a “Snow Day.” We will have this on Friday, December 20^th.  In order to participate in this outside reward time, your child needs to have appropriate snow clothing.  Please make sure they come to school on FRIDAY with boots, snow pants, mittens, hat, and extra clothing in a bag.  We will go outside for a little while in the morning. 

     They were very convincing in their essay responses.  I think they are really looking forward to some snowy fun!

 

 

Busy Week

     We had a busy week working on our essays, open response answers, and math nutrition project.  We have been trying to keep busy even though holiday excitement is in the air!
     In writing, we have been talking about the expectations of essay writing.  We have been talking a lot about really focusing during instruction time so that they can take what they are learning and APPLY it to their own writing.  This goes for every subject, of course, but we have talked a lot about this in reading and writing these past few weeks.  Overall the students have a good understanding of essay writing so they are really taking what they learned in third grade and adding to it with fourth grade expectations. 
     To reinforce what your child has been learning in school, you could give your child an opinion statement.  For example, you could have them agree or disagree with a statement such as "winter is the best season" or "kids should get an allowance."  When they agree or disagree they then need to give 3 reasons to support their opinion.  Thinking of reasons that support our thinking or thesis will help the kids get into the habit of supporting their ideas with thoughtful reasons.
     In reading we worked on answering open response questions.  These types of questions are open ended and require the kids to infer about a character, find evidence in the story to back up their thinking, and explain their thinking.  It was great to see the kids trying to apply what they have been learning when they worked on the assessment earlier in the week. 
    In math, we have been busy working on a math nutrition project.  The kids are practicing multiplication skills using real world scenarios.  The enthusiasm around this project has been fun to watch!
     I hope everyone enjoys the snow this weekend!
~Mrs. Lewis

Fun at the Ecotarium

     We had a lot of fun at the Ecotarium on Tuesday!  As part of our field trip we got to go down to the pond and collect samples of the water.  After chipping through the ice on the pond, we were able to get a great sampling of water.  We then took it back to the auditorium and looked at what we collected under a microscope that was magnified 40x.  It was interesting to see the blood worm that was trying to eat some of the critters crawling around.  The kids also loved seeing Sox and Roxie the foxes.  They couldn't help but sing "What Does the Fox Say" as they watched them run around their habitat!  :)
     On Wednesday we spent our math time planning a Thanksgiving dinner using store circulars.  We had some very smart shoppers.  They all had $100 to spend on their feast.  Many groups only ended up spending closer to $50!  Bargain shoppers for sure!
     Next week we will choose a thesis statement for our personal essays.  The kids have been working hard at free writing where they try to write as much as they can on a particular topic.  It is interesting to see the kids "push their thinking" by expanding their thoughts on paper.
     I hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving!
~Mrs. Lewis

Celebrating our Authors!

     It was great to see everyone after the extra long weekend on Tuesday!  We got to end our day with an Author Celebration.  The kids got to share their published personal narrative stories.  There was excitement in the air as each student got to share their story with a small group of their classmates.  It was nice to see the "audience" asking questions of the author as well as paying them a nice compliment.  At the end each student got to create a "compliment card" for one of their group members.  We shared the compliments with the class.  As a class we also celebrated how much we learned as writers over the first two months of school. 
     We are now moving on to writing essays.  Essays are quite different from personal narratives and they follow a specific structure. This structure makes it easier for some kids to write down their thinking.  We will continue to learn about essays over the next few weeks.
     In reading we continued to talk about making inferences.  It was great to see such a wonderful turnout at our Read with Me workshop this past Thursday.  The kids talked about how they love being able to share what they are learning in school with their parents and act as the "experts."  It is such a great way for the students to show off what they know.  Thank you to the parents that were able to make it to the workshop!  We will have another Read with Me workshop in January!
     Please remember that permission slips are due for the field trip to the Ecotarium.  Permissions slips were due today, so if you haven't sent it in yet please do so by early next week. 
    I hope everyone enjoys this November weekend!
~Mrs. Lewis

Field Trip Permission Slip

Please remember to send in the Ecotarium permission slip with your child this week (if you haven't done so already).  Along with the permission slip, please send in $12.00 cash or a check made out to Home and School.  Thank you!

Final Copy Reminder

Just a reminder that your child's personal narrative final copy is due on Thursday.  Please allow them to work on this by themselves so that I can assess what they know how to do and what they need to continue to work on.  Thank you for your support with this!

A "Spook"-tacular Week!

     It was a very busy and fun week!  We had a lot of fun coming up with a "lucky" Red Sox handshake at morning meeting on Wednesday.  Obviously the Red Sox won because of our lucky charm!  :)  (It was fun to think that was the reason anyway!)
     The kids did an awesome job with their Character Costume Book Reports.  They were so excited to get into character.  After each of them shared their speech, they handed out a "Kids Choice Award....Character Costume Book Report Edition" to each speech that they listened to.  We got to witness some thoughtful and kind comments about each character.    
      We also got to learn about sensory details.  Sensory details are specific words that we can add to our personal narratives to make them more exciting to read.  The kids got to visit some different stations including the "gak" station.  They got to make a sticky, rubbery mixture and write down some adjectives about what they were observing with their senses.  We took all of these words and created a list that we can refer to when we are writing.
      Earlier in the week we wrapped up our adventure across the Northeast.  Next week, the kids will begin science with Mrs. Leger.  They will learn about Rocks and Minerals through lots of fun, hands-on experiments.
     On Thursday a note was sent home explaining the new homework assignment.  Your child brought home their personal narrative story.  They need to write the final copy of this story.  If for some reason your child didn't finish writing their story in school, they need to finish it on their own.  Like the notice stated, it is very important that your child finish this independently.  The final copy needs to be returned by next Thursday, November 7th.  We will have our writing celebration that day.  Thank you for your support with this.
     I hope you have a great weekend!
~Mrs. Lewis

Getting Ready for a Busy Week

     It was great to see all of the hard work that the kids put into their Character Costume Book Report rough drafts.  It will be so much fun to see them "in character" on Thursday!  We have talked about and will continue to talk about how important it is to practice their speeches.  They can have their report in front of them when presenting to the class, but they shouldn't be reading it word for word.  If they practice a few times between today and Wednesday night, they will become familiar with their report.  I have also explained to the kids that they can practice in front of stuffed animals, a pet, or even the mirror!  :)
     Last week, we took a trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania.  The kids got to see what an assembly line is by being part of one.  We talked about the pros and cons about having machines do the work of making Hershey Chocolate over having people doing it.  The kids loved being part of an assembly line and having one special job, however, when we started talking about how this would be their job 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, the excitement seemed to go away quickly!  They also got to see how Hershey chocolate is made.  There are many steps to making delicious chocolate, but it is so worth it!
     In writing we continued to work on our seed stories.  We are close to finishing our first published piece.  A lot of hard work has gone into their personal narratives!
     Have a great week!
~Mrs. Lewis

Read with Me Workshop

      It was great to see so many parents at our 1st Read with Me Workshop! We had a great turnout.  When we were talking about the workshop in class the last few days, the kids were very excited to "teach" you what they have learned as readers in fourth grade.  Below I have posted a handout that went home during this mornings workshop (it didn't go out on Monday night).  I will be sending this home with the kids tomorrow as well.

SAVE THE DATE....NOVEMBER 14th will be our 2nd Read with Me Workshop.  We hope to see you there!

 

 

Asking Questions

Let’s get talking….TOGETHER!

Asking questions while reading is an important strategy to use to help us better understand what we are reading.  When we read we want to ask lots of different types of questions, but it’s the thick or talk-worthy questions that get us to think more DEEPLY about a story.  These types of questions will allow us to have a conversation with another reader about our books.

 

When talking with your child about books, here are some ways to start a “talk-worthy” question….

    What if….?

    Why did…?

    What caused….?

    How would you feel if you….?

    Why do you think….?

    How did….?

    What would happen if….?

    What might….?

    What word could you use to describe ____ character?

    Why is….?

 

 

 

 

Talk-worthy questions also get us talking about:

ü Theme/lesson

·       What can you learn from this story?  Then ask…. “What makes you think that?”

ü Author

·       Why did the author write this book?    Then ask… “What makes you think that?”

ü Title

·       Why is this book called…..?  Then ask…. “What makes you think that?”

ü  Symbol

·       Why is __________ so important to the story?  Then ask… “What makes you think that?”

ü  Character

·       How could you describe the character? Then ask…. “What makes you think that?”

ü  Setting

·       Why is the setting important to this story?  Then ask…. “What makes you think that?”

·       Could this story have taken place in a different setting?  Then ask…. “What makes you think that?”

 

Character Costume Book Report Sample Presentation

     Last week Mrs. Leger presented her Character Costume Book Report to our class.  We talked about how she spoke loud and clear, tried to make eye contact, and had a few props to add to her presentation.  If you or your child have any questions, please let me know!


https://www.dropbox.com/s/weo0fsrvzsoduy7/2013-10-18%2014.16.37.mov

Character Costume Book Report RUBRIC

I have attached the rubric that we will be using to assess the students.  We talked about how we are looking for kids to look at the "meeting expectations" column.  This is what we are looking for the kids to be able to do in October of 4th grade!

 

Standards Addressed

·         Summarizes the main ideas of a book using supporting details.

·         Determines and describes story elements.

 

Costume Book Report Rubric

Beginning of a Story	Insufficient Progress   Student does not attempt to identify the beginning of the story.	Progressing with Support Student attempts to identify how the story began, but is incorrect.	Progressing Independently Student can give 1-2 details from the beginning of the story, but does not state the key point, or what the problem is.	Meeting Expectations Student can give 3-4 key elements of the beginning of the story, including the problem or situation.	Exceeding Expectations Student correctly expresses 5-6 key elements from the beginning of the story, including the problem, and describes how it introduces the story.
Middle of a Story	Insufficient Progress   Student does not attempt to identify events from the middle of the story.	Progressing with Support Student attempts to identify events from the middle of story, but is unable to correctly do so.	Progressing Independently Student can give 1-2 events from the middle of story, but leaves out the key point(s), or what the character is doing to solve the problem.	Meeting Expectations Student can give 3-4 key elements from the middle of the story, which tell what the character is doing to solve the problem.	Exceeding Expectations Student correctly identifies 5-6 key elements of the story and can express why it is important to the story.
End of a Story	Insufficient Progress   Student does not attempt to identify events from the end of the story.	Progressing with Support Student attempts to identify events from the end of story, but is unable to do so.	Progressing Independently Student can give 1-2 events from the end of story, but leave out key point.	Meeting Expectations Student can give 3-4 identifies key elements from the end of the story.	Exceeding Expectations Student correctly expresses 5-6 key elements from the ending of the story and describes how it concludes the action.
Character	Insufficient Progress   Student does not attempt to describe what type of person the character is.	Progressing with Support Student tries but is unable to describe what type of person the character is.	Progressing Independently Student provided one detail to describe what type of person the character is.	Meeting Expectations Student provided two details to describe what type of person the character is.	Exceeding Expectations Student provided three details to describe what type of person the character is.