A Busy Week

          We have lots of hard working students in our class!  The kids were working hard to get their first “seed story” completed in writing.  It is amazing to see that the writers are taking what they are learning and trying it out in their stories! 

          In reading, we are asking question, after question, after question!  The kids have gotten a lot of practice asking thick or talk-worthy questions while reading.  Asking these types of questions will help to get students to go back into a story to support  their thinking with “evidence” from the text.    Earlier in the week we read The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg.  The kids had some different thoughts about exactly who the stranger was.  They had to use many clues in the story to help them figure it out. 

          In social studies we learned about Ellis Island in New York as we take our journey across the Northeast Region of the United States.  The kids were shocked at how people were treated when they arrived in America.  We created a “Word Splash” as a class about words that came to our minds after learning about Ellis Island.  Then they started to write a journal entry about what it was like immigrating to America. 

          At the end of the day on Friday we continued to work on our Genius Hour Project.  This is a project that the students are very excited about.  Each Friday, students who have turned in their homework completed and on time, get to work on a project where they get to learn about whatever topic is of interest to them.  It is really a privilege to work on this project.  They will end up finding out information about their topic of choice.  Then they will think of a way to “teach” their information to their classmates.  We have a wide range of interests ranging from studying the country of Brazil to learning about outer space.  The classroom was buzzing at the end of the day with excitement about the Genius Hour Projects!

          I introduce the Character Costume Book Report to the class today.  The packet of information should have come home with your child today.  At the back of the packet there is a calendar to help you and your child “plan out” the project.  Many of the kids couldn’t wait to get started on this!  J

          Please don’t forget to sign up for conferences!   I look forward to talking with you at your child’s conference next week.

Have a great weekend!

~Mrs. Lewis

Conference Sign Up Link

Below is the link that you can click on to sign up for conferences.  Please sign up by Sunday, so that I can confirm appointments early next week.  If you have trouble signing up, please let me know I can sign you up for a time.

https://sites.google.com/a/hudson.k12.ma.us/farley-elementary/

Conference Questionnaire

October 3, 2013

 Dear Parents/Guardians,

         I thought it would be helpful to get some information from you before we have our conference next week.  You will not be receiving a report card at the conference so it leads us to truly being able to have a discussion about what we all see happening right now and where we need to strengthen your child’s academic and social skills. With that in mind, please answer these questions as best you can and return it to school by Tuesday, October 8^th so that we’re all ready to discuss your child in a timely manner.  You could also email me the answers if you would rather at jlewis@hudson.k12.ma.us

 

          1. What strengths do you see your child showing?

 

          2. What weaknesses do you see your child showing?

 

 

          3. What questions do you have about homework so far this year?

  

4. What social concerns do you have for your child this year?

 

5. What other topics would you like us to discuss?

  

Sincerely,

Mrs. Lewis

A few homework reminders...

         Now that we are about a month into the school year, I figured I would let you know about the homework reminders that I have told the students.  If you could reinforce them at home that would be helpful.  Thanks in advance!

·         MAH and RAH~ parents need to sign each night stating their child has completed the time that is written on the page

·         MAH and RAH~ should be written by the students since this is their homework

·         RAH~ the titles of books need to be capitalized properly and underlined

·         MAH Attached Multiplication Page~ the entire page needs to be completed including the outside border of problems

·         RAH Thinking Page~ The students have been getting a lot of practice with writing down their thinking.  This is expected during RAH.  The ideas at the bottom of the RAH page are just suggestions.  The students have learned about MANY things that they can think about while reading.

 

As of right now, we will not have spelling each week at home.  We are working as a fourth grade team to determine what approach to spelling is best for fourth graders.  I will let you know if/when spelling starts up again on a formal basis.  In the meantime, if your child is writing at home, after they get their ideas on the paper, you could ask them to go back and highlight words that “look wrong” to them. 

         

Conference Sign-Up

         Parents are now able to sign up for their child's conference on PTC Fast.  The link to sign up is below. 

The spots tend to fill up fast, so please sign up as soon as possible!  Thank you!

 

http://www.ptcfast.com/schools/C_A_Farley_Elementary_School

Reporting from Mount Washington...

    

          It was a great week in fourth grade.  Thank you to all the parents that came out to Parent Night last night!  I hope that you found the presentation informative and that it gave you a snapshot of our school day.

The kids had learned about Mount Washington last week.  They got to watch a few videos about the weather at the top of the mountain, the Cog Railway, and a car race to the top!  The kids took all that they learned and created a newscast about Mount Washington.  They were so creative, and they loved seeing themselves on the big screen.

          In reading, we started our asking questions unit.  We have started to think about the questions that we have before, during, and after we read.  We started reading The Widow’s Broom today.  The kids had so many questions about the events in the story. 

          When your child is reading at home, you could have him/her stop and think about what they are wondering.  Having a conversation around the questions that they have while reading will help your child to become a more thoughtful reader.

          I hope you have a great weekend!

~Mrs. Lewis

         

Math Practice Ideas

Here are a few math game websites that your child might enjoy using at home.  Practicing the multiplication facts on these websites would be a good way to get their "MAH time" in.
 

http://www.mathplayground.com/

http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/4th-grade-math.html

http://www.math-play.com/

http://www.mathnook.com/