Coming up this Week...

Published iMovies

We finally have a website ready with (almost) all of the Literary Essay iMovies on it.  I am going to be sharing the website with the class tomorrow.  They are going to be able to go on and watch the iMovies that their classmates made (and their own!) and then comment/compliment the different book trailers.  

I will send out the directions to get on the website tomorrow with the students.  We are hoping that you will be able to go on and watch and comment on the videos as well.  They are very proud and excited for their final products!

Eve Bunting Author Study

Over the past few weeks we have been reading picture books by the author Eve Bunting.  She writes some really thought provoking books that the kids have really enjoyed reading and listening to.  We have also been thinking about the patterns that we notice in the themes and characters in her books.

While listening to and reading her picture books in small groups, they were taking notes so that they could have a discussion about what they were thinking while reading her books. Over the next few days I am hoping that they will be able to use their notes to have some fun and thoughtful discussion about her books!

Eve Bunting has published many books.  We have just read a small amount when you look at just how many picture books she has written. These would be great books to check out of the Hudson Public Library and read with your child.  

Read In!

On Wednesday we will have a "Read In" during the morning.  We will spend the morning reading and being read to by some Mystery Readers!  The kids will be able to get comfy by wearing their Pajamas if they would like to on Wednesday.  


I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and a restful vacation!  

Jen

Coming Up This Week....

Publishing Our iMovies...

     The kids worked very hard last week trying to complete their rough draft of their literary essay.  Almost all of the kids were able to record their iMovie.  My plan is to post these iMovies on a website that I am going to create and allow parents, classmates, and other students to watch the book trailers and comment/compliment the author!  I will let you know the details once I have them all posted!

Taking Pride in Our Work...

     We talked a lot about what it means to take pride in our work last week in class.  I am starting to notice that many students are making silly mistakes and are forgetting to really show off what they know.  We talked about when you take pride in your work you make sure it is your very best work.  Some of the ways that you can take pride is to show off the strategies that you have learned, pay extra close attention to capitals and punctuation, and double check the work before turning it in.  

     This week many students will be getting classwork and/or homework papers returned that need to be fixed to meet the fourth grade expectations.  Be on the lookout for a paper with a colored slip attached.  Your child needs to fix the mistake/problem on a separate piece of paper OR with a different colored writing utensil (for example:  a colored pencil).  I will be explaining all of this to the students tomorrow morning!  Then I am asking for a parent to sign stating that they have seen the paper.  (This is similar to what was sent out earlier in the year.)

Here is an example of a slip:

Reading/Writing

Work Expectations

Your child is bringing home classwork/homework that hasn’t been completed according to fourth grade expectations (YET).  Your child needs to fix the work and return to school tomorrow.  Please sign the paper stating that you have seen your child’s work.

This paper is not meeting the following expectation(s): 

-      Correct capitalization

-      Correct punctuation

-      Complete sentences

-      It doesn’t match what you are capable of in the classroom

-      Other:  ______________________________________

Calling all MYSTERY READERS…

On Wednesday, December 23^rd we have a full day of school.  To kick start our winter vacation, we are going to be participating in a fun reading activity called, “Booked In.”   We are going to spend a large part of that day reading some great books.  To add to the fun, I thought it would be great if we could host some MYSTERY READERS. 

What is a MYSTERY Reader?

We are looking for parents, grandparents, or siblings to volunteer to read a favorite picture book or poem to our class on the morning of Tuesday, December 23^rd.  The mystery will be that the students will not know who is coming in to read to our class.  It will be a great surprise for all of the kids. 

Here is what you can do….

J  Volunteer as a mystery reader…let me know via email or a sealed envelope if you are available to read a picture book or poem on the morning of Tuesday, December 23^rd. 

J  Shhh….keep this a secret from the students!  J

If you can’t volunteer to read that day, it is completely fine.  I know that this is a very busy time of year.  Please let me know if you are available to be a Mystery Reader by Friday, December 18^th so that I can put together a schedule.

I hope everyone has a great week!  

~Jen

Coming Up This Week....

I hope everyone enjoyed the extra warm weather this weekend!

Reading Workshop

Last week in Reading Workshop we talked a lot about the theme or message of the story.  We talked a lot about how the theme is the big message that the author wants the reader to understand.  After determining the theme we can ask what does the author want me to learn about this big message. This is the lesson of the story.  We had many opportunities to think about and discuss the theme of some stories.

Below is an example of a "Tabletop Twitter" discussion that we had last week.  The kids were divided into several groups to "tweet" about what they thought the theme was for a fable called The Young Rooster.  After writing down their initial thought, they were able to respond to the responses of their peers.  This made for a great (quiet)  discussion and it was really neat to see the kids back up their thinking about the theme using ideas from the text.  Some of the students also changed their thinking as they started to read the other "tweets."

Writing Workshop

We are finishing up our second literary essay of the year.  Since the kids have learned many strategies for writing a literary essay and they are becoming experts in literary essay, they will have the chance to create an iMovie around their favorite picture book.  We have talked a lot about audience and the purpose of writing this second literary essay.  They will create the iMovie for an audience of other 4th graders, teachers, and parents who might be thinking about what picture book they would like to read next.  

I am hoping that many of the kids will start creating the iMovies this week.  We will have them published for you very soon! Be on the lookout!!

Erosion

We have continued our work with Erosion in Science.  The kids watched a few videos around erosion. One video was a flyover of the Grand Canyon and the other was a video that watched the erosion of coastal land.  After watching these videos they came up with a question that they wanted to find answers to.  We then watched an informational video on Erosion to find out some of the answers to our questions. We will continue with some experiments this week!

We are in need of more play-dough for the continuation of our Statue project from a couple of weeks ago.  If you can donate a few canisters of play-dough that would be very helpful!  Thank you!

Just a reminder that Wednesday there is a half day!  Have a great week!

Jen

Coming Up This Week....

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving break!  It is a great little break for the kids and gets them ready for the month of December!

Immigration Re-Enactment

      Last Wednesday, we had our Immigration Re-Enactment.  It was so neat to see the kids all dressed up in their "fancy" clothes!  They were very excited to travel back to 1901 as they arrived at school.  On Wednesday morning they put a few finishing touches onto their immigrant character including answering an Inspection Questionnaire that was common for immigrants arriving at Ellis Island to complete.  They also decided on their immigrant name and the country that they came from.

      After preparing for the journey, they walked to the boat called The Fox that would take them to America!  Then each immigrant went through the 8 different "stops" at Ellis Island. Some got to experience being a first class citizen, while most were third class citizens and faced many obstacles.

      It was a great experience and I am hoping that the students learned a lot and enjoyed it as much as I did!

     Here are some pictures of the passengers of The Fox!

Reading Workshop
     We have spent a lot of time in reading workshop talking about character change as well as describing characters in more depth by thinking about their motivations and struggles.  This week we will be starting to learn about inferring the theme of a book.  One way that we talk about theme is by using the following visual,,,  THE  MEssage.  We will spend a while reading many short stories, picture books, and fables to practice this skill.

Math Workshop

      We will be starting division this week in math.  In fourth grade the students will not learn the standard algorithm for division as it is not one of our standards.  They will learn a few strategies for solving division problems however, and will be able to choose the strategy that works best for them. I will remind the kids this week, but if your child has trouble completing the homework this week, please remind him/her to use the Homework Helper packet which was handed out at the beginning of the unit.

I hope everyone has a great week!  

~Jen

A Fun Day!

A Great Day at the Acton Discovery Museum!!

I 

What a Week in LL38.....

The Challenge Was Accepted!

The kids were designing sculptures that represent children.

They got right to work with lots of creative ideas....

The sculptures were left outside overnight, and Ooooops it rained!

Since it poured overnight, they were able to make some great observations about what happened to their sculptures when left out in the "elements."

      I am going to try something new this week.  I am going to be choosing a "Feature Blogger" for our blog.  On Friday, during our Digital Portfolio time that we have in the computer lab, students are going to reflect on one activity from the week.  I will choose a Feature Blogger based on details that draw the reader in, applying a writing skill that they have learned, and proper spelling, capitals, and punctuation.  

      I hope you are able to learn something from Ti-Ti, this week's "Feature Blogger" about our Sculpture Project!

Splat!  My soft play dough fell on my desk.  My palm went squish into it.  Our class was making a sculpture for the town of Hudson.  We were told to make a sculpture of something that we think is important to kids.   I did a book with a pencil.  I enjoy doing that because it feels good against my palm.  Also because we were making a sculpture!  What I didn’t like was we only could use half a cup.

                                                 By:  Ti-Ti Nguyen

 Ellis Island Re-enactment

On Friday you should have received a notice about our upcoming project about Ellis Island.  The kids have spent a lot of time researching and learning about Ellis Island as well as the journey that an immigrant would make from their homeland.  

Last week they took a closer look at their original notes and decided on people during this time that would be important to Ellis Island.  For example, a health inspector was an important person in Ellis Island.  

The  kids were so motivated by this project that they started to talk about props besides what they could make in school.  So, conversations started around bringing in old-looking clothes or stuffed animals that looked worn.  The kids asked if we could declare Wednesday Immigration Day and come to school dressed up as an immigrant or Ellis Island worker.  This is completely optional of course, but I did want to give kid the opportunity to participate to make our re-enactment as real and authentic as possible!  :)  I can't wait to see what they come up with!  

I am looking forward to a great week!  Just a reminder, we have our field trip to the Acton Discovery Museum on Tuesday.  We will be eating lunch back at the school, however, I would send in a snack with your child.  I will have them bring a snack since it will be a long way to lunch.  

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.  I hope you are able to spend the day with friends and family.  

~Jen

This Week in LL38....

And the Winner is....

After weeks spent reading, writing, and discussing the books for our Battle of the Books, we finally have a winner!  The kids started voting last week and narrowed it down to The Stranger and The Can Man. They had lots of fun thinking about the books that were facing off against one another for each round.  There was a clear winner though!  The Can Man won with a vote of 17 to 1!   

The board with the CHAMPION book!

The Can Man won with a vote of 17 to 1!

We are "ZEARN"ing a lot in Math!

We started using a new math website called Zearn during math last week.  Zearn is a website that follows the Engage NY curriculum that we use.  The website allows the kids to work at their own pace through a lesson.  The program knows when the student doesn't understand a concept and provides more support in that area.  This allows me to work more with small groups and work helping the kids to apply the concepts that they are learning.

As of now we are still trying it out to see how it goes, but during our first week students were engaged and challenging themselves.

The website is www.zearn.org.  Each student has a username and password.


Partial Product Multiplication

Last week the students were learning about Partial Product Multiplication.  The example on the left is an example of what your child learned last week.  We will soon move onto the Area Model for multiplication as well.  

I hope everyone has a great week!

~Jen

This Week in LL38....

     I hope everyone had a great weekend!  We have a busy week coming up.  Just a reminder that we do not have school on Wednesday as we observe Veteran's Day. 

Reaching Our Goals...
     
     Last week during RtI some of the kids reached their Reading Goals.  We met to talk about whether or not they felt that they met their goal as a reader and what effective effort strategy they used to meet that goal.  Many of them realized that meeting their goal required a lot of time and focus on the goal.  
      They were able to move their goal over to their ACCOMPLISHMENTS page in their Reader's Notebook.  We then talked about a new goal that they could work towards.  Congratulations to the kids who have worked hard to meet their goal.  I can't wait to post more pictures after meeting with more readers this week!  

Proud to be accomplishing our Reading Goals!

Achieving our Goals through TIME and FOCUS,

Reading Workshop

     Last week we started to think more deeply about the characters in the books we are reading by thinking about how characters change throughout a book.  We read The Bat Boy and his Violin and thought about Papa and how his feelings changed throughout the book about his son playing the violin.  To help us keep track of character change we use a story arc.  A story arc is a way for the kids to picture "how" a fictional story goes.

Here is what the kids learned:
1.  A character is introduced in the story
2. There is a problem
3. The problem can get worse
4. The heart (climax) of the story-  the character learns a lesson or changes
5. The problem is solved.

Below is an example of a story arc:

(This isn't the exact one that we use, but it shows a visual similar to what we have talked about in class.)

                                              

This would be a great tool to use at home if you are having a conversation about the book that your child is reading.  You could have your child choose a character and think about how the character's traits, thoughts, or feelings change from the beginning of the story to the end.

Writing Workshop:

     In writing we are continuing to draft our first literary essay.  The kids worked hard last week to get all of the evidence (words from the text) collected to back up their reasons in their essay.

     This week we will continue to work on drafting our first literary essay and begin to talk about how we can "lift the level" of our next literary essay.

A "Spook"tacular Week....

I hope everyone had a fun weekend!  It was a very busy week last week in our classroom. This week will also be filled with lots of learning!  Just a reminder that there is no school on Tuesday this week.  

Math Workshop

We finished up Module 2 early last week.  It was great to see the strategies that the kids used on their assessment.  Each student also needed to fill out a Self Assessment form after taking the assessment.  They had to decide what effective effort strategy that they had focused on throughout the test. Many students used the strategy of time by reading over the questions a few times until they really understood what the question was asking.  

Many of the kids brought back their signed assessment.  I handed it right back to your child so that you could have a record of the skill focus for home.

On Wednesday we jumped right into Module 3.  Module 3 starts with Area and Perimeter which is a skill that the kids focused on a lot in 3rd grade.  Many of the kids were able to remember some of the strategies from third grade and use them to apply to their new learning.  

On Friday the kids became "architects" and developed a plan for a Fall Carnival.  They needed to use area and perimeter to create the carnival.  It was very neat to see just how focused they were throughout the project.  Students had to use trial and error based on the directions for each part of the carnival activities.  Some of the kids used drawings to help them while others used cubes to help them figure out the problems.  Below are some pictures from our Fall Carnival project.  We will finish up the final copies of these at some point this week!  

Social Studies and Reading Integration- Learning About Immigration

We continued our learning of immigration this week in the computer lab.  We went up to the computer lab to learn about the life of an immigrant.  The kids got to create an immigrant character and create a passport for that character.  Then they got to go through Ellis Island as an immigrant would have.  

Here is the link to learn more about the life of an immigrant:

https://tenement.org/immigrate/

On Thursday we went back to the computer lab to take an interactive tour of Ellis Island.  The kids got to visit 10 stops at Ellis Island.  They got to learn about Ellis Island through text, pictures, and videos.  

Here is a link to the Interactive Tour:

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/tour/ 

I hope everyone has a great week!  If you haven't done so already, please send in your child's permission slip for our field trip to the Acton Discovery Museum.  

Jen

Glow in the Dark Party!!

We had a great time at our Glow in the Dark party this afternoon!  The kids played hot potato and had fun putting together their necklaces and other goodies!

LL 38 News...

It was a crazy week last week with all of the half days, but the kids were able to adapt to the change in some of our routines.  Last week they earned another Paw Print Reward!  Tomorrow we will have a "Glow in the Dark" party at the end of the day to celebrate being respectful, responsible, and ready.

It was great to get to talk to so many parents last week at Parent-Teacher Conferences.  It is great to be able to meet early on in the year and share some of the goals that your child has at this point in the school year and share how you can support your child at home.  I know conferences are only 10 minutes and that goes by very quickly.  If you have any additional questions about your child's progress, please feel free to email me.

Reading Workshop and Ellis Island

 We continued to work on making inferences in reading workshop last week.  We used two books about immigration and Ellis Island to help us think deeply about this topic.  We read Coming to America and watched the wordless picture book called The Arrival on YouTube.  It was amazing to talk about all of the inferences that the kids were able to make around the wordless picture book.  While watching the video and reading the book, we focused on:

• Reasons People Left Their Country
• The Journey to America
• Ellis Island Experience
• Life in the United States

I have included the links to The Arrival.  The book is divided into 2 parts.  Even though the kids have already seen the video, I am thinking that they will see and learn something new when they watch it again.  If you watch this again with your child, ask them to share what they are thinking about as they watch the video.  This video led to many great discussions in the classroom!

The Arrival Part 1:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nJKse-UCFM 

The Arrival Part 2:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knnEJnohSbo 

This week we will head into the computer lab to take a virtual tour of Ellis Island.

                                        

Math Workshop

We are working to finish up Module 2- Metric Measurement in math.  We will be starting Module 3 by the middle of the week.  You can expect to receive a Homework Helper packet for this module by mid week.  

Writing Workshop
Last week we started to create thesis statements for our Literary Essay.  We talked about the thesis statement or big idea needs to be big enough that it isn't only about one small part of the book.  Some kids needed to go back and revise their thesis as they started to learn more about writing a thesis statement.  
This week will continue to work on writing our Literary Essay by including reasons and evidence to back up our thesis.  

Coming Soon...

• We are going to be starting our unit on Erosion soon in science.  Our class is looking for containers of play-dough for a project that we will work on during this unit.  
• Field Trip Permission Slips were sent out on Thursday.  We will be going to the Acton Discovery Museum.  Please send in your child's permission slip and $16.50 by Wednesday, November 4th.  If you would like to offer to chaperone, please let me know.  Just a reminder that the you need to have an up to date CORI form.  This takes a few weeks, so you would need to come into the office to get a CORI completed if you haven't done so.  

I hope everyone has a great week!  

~ Jen