Off to a Productive Start in 2014!

     It was great to see the kids after such a long holiday vacation!  We started off 2014 by coming up with ONE LITTLE WORD instead of a New Year's Resolution.  The kids chose one word that they want to focus on in 2014.  It was a word that they want to have in the back of their mind each day.  They each made a little sign to put on their desk as a reminder.
     In writing we started to wrap up our unit on personal essays.  Overall the kids seemed to like the structure of an essay.  They put the finishing touches on their essays early in the week.  By the end of the week they used a checklist that shows them the expectations  for a fourth grade essay.  Each of the students needed to use the checklist to make sure that they were reaching those expectations.  The checklist helped them to focus on what they needed to add on to their essay.  On Friday, we went into the computer lab to start typing the final copy of their essays.  They are using Google Docs which allows the students to type in school and at home when they log onto the internet. 

This week the students will finish typing their final copies at home on Google Docs.  It will be due on THURSDAY!

     In reading we started to talk about the theme of a book using fables.  The kids learned that theme is the message or lesson of the story.  This week we will continue to discuss theme and look in the text for evidence to back up our thinking.

     I hope you have a great week!

~Mrs. Lewis