We made fossils!!

So...it used to be that the only fossil in our classroom was ME...but as of today, we have many fossils in our classroom. The kids created mold and cast fossils this morning...it was very fun and they are pleased with their results! That kind of sums up what our science lessons consisted of this week...we saw an informative video about fossils, we observed and recorded information about many different fossils, and we made a human/fossil timeline with the information we learned! Today we created mold fossils with seashells and then created a cast fossil using plaster of paris...check out the pictures of our fossils endeavor!

In Language Arts this week we are continuing our novel unit with King of the Wind. The students used specific examples from the chapters to answer comprehension questions. We are working on being a "word thief"...the only time you're allowed to steal in school! The students are encouraged to steal words from the question in order to write excellent answers. Most of my friends are doing a wonderful job...a few need reminders...which I'm happy to supply! Next week we will be turning our focus to good test taking habits...we are quickly approaching MSA's and we want our students to do the best job "showing what they know"...we all know they're bright, but without reminders of important test taking skills, sometimes the results are not what they could be...I try to explain to the kids that when I'm grading a paper, I already know them and know what they're capable of...so if I get a paper that could have shown more of what they know, I might return it and ask them to "fix" their paper. The people hired to score the MSA's don't know these kids and there are no second chances, so it's important for them to put their best effort out the first time...there are many tips to helping the kids do this and we will spend a week focusing on them and practicing different types of testing situations. We do many activities each week that are written similarly to the MSA's so this will not be foreign to the kids. Here is the MSA schedule so that you can make sure it is marked on your calendar.

MSA Schedule:
Monday, March 16 - Reading
Tuesday, March 17 - Reading
Thursday, March 19 - Math
Friday, March 20 - Math

During that week it is important to make sure your child:

• eats a great breakfast
• gets a good amount of sleep each night
• arrives to school on time

Although these things are important all year round, they are extremely important the week of testing.

In Math this week we have been working with fractions. Today, as I type, your child is on a website playing a fraction game..."Finding Grampy" which requires them to plot fractions on a number line, one of the 4th grade objectives. We have been working in different groups this week. Some kids have been working on fractions of a set, while others have been working on equivalent fractions. We will continue our fraction study next week and by the end of the week should be headed into decimals!

IMPORTANT NOTE: If your child has not mastered their multiplication facts, working with fractions can prove to be very difficult. If a child is trying to find 2/3 of 24 and they are not aware that 3x8 is 24, they have to work a lot harder. SO...please continue to work with your child on their multiplication facts...thank you!!



Something exciting happened for two of our very own students this week...Grace and Joy were honored at a Young Author's reception...Grace was awarded 1st place at the county level for her poem titled, "Who Says, I Say" and Joy was awarded 1st place at the county level for her story titled, "A Better Future." Congratulations to both girls!!

"Who in the World Reads our Blog?!?!"
Hello to Pratulya's Grandfather in India!!

Pratulya's Grandfather enjoys reading about his grandson's school days. We're happy to have you join our readers!!

Thank you to those of you that were able to help out with our classroom needs...we are now good with glue sticks and scissors!

Enjoy your families this weekend!

have any extras?

so...I do not like asking for things...and I DEFINITELY do not want anyone to go out and buy extras...but...our classroom is in need of a few things and if you have any extras hanging around the house...maybe you caught a good sale and bought extra...or maybe you have two of something and you could give up one for us...we would really appreciate it!

our needs...

-kid scissors/glue sticks
(we always have kids that do not have any to use)
-an electric pencil sharpener
(the one we use right now is so loud it can be heard from the front office!!)
-kleenex
-hand sanitizer


PLEASE do not go purchase anything...and know I appreciate all you do to support our classroom.

Thanks!

Welcome, Gordon!

Our brood is growing...Gordon Reeves will join us Monday as the 17th student in our class...and we're so happy to have him!

We had a busy, busy week! Read on for details...

In Language Arts the students are continuing their study of the novel King of the Wind. The students have been using examples from the story to support their thinking about character traits and feelings. They have been analyzing vocabulary (there are a lot of tough words), looking them up in the dictionary and trying to use them in meaningful sentences. You'd be surprised how many kids are not comfortable with a dictionary and require a bit of help! Hand your child a dictionary and ask him/her to look up a particular word...if they have trouble...make this part of your weekly routine...they should be able to find an unfamiliar word without wasting much time! Some big changes are coming for the character Agba in our story...we will be reading Chapters 11-13 on Monday and the kids will be surprised at the outcome! In Writing the kids did quite a bit this week...they wrote paragraphs to support their thinking about King of the Wind, they wrote letters to Mrs. Kaplan, and they're bringing home the graded (YAH!) Letters from the White House assignment...aren't they amazing?!?! If you haven't seen your child's letter...get that folder right now...they're wonderful!

In Science we spent quite a bit of time this week learning about and discussing renewable and nonrenewable resources. We also saw a fun Bill Nye the Science Guy video about the Hydrological Cycle...the kids made a scientific drawing showing their understanding of the water cycle using the words evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection. Our trip to the ESSL will have activities surrounding the water cycle, as well as fossils...speaking of fossils...that's where we're headed soon...we have one more investigation with different types of soils and then we'll be moving into fossils. Do you have any fossils hanging around your house? I have one...his name is Mr. Wills...just kidding! If you or your child collects fossils and would like to share them, please have your child bring them in...they will be a great addition to our study! Speaking of Mr. Wills...he will be visiting next week to share his knowledge of gems. It ties quite nicely with our science unit and the project many of the kids are doing. We look forward to his visit!

In Math we are getting ready to move into fractions. The kids took a pretest last week, and as usual, we have someone on every part of the learning curve, so we will be splitting up into groups to make sure we all have a good handle on the fourth grade indicators that deal with fractions. We finished up our geometry unit with a "Fun Activity"...ask your child about it...they had to "help" a student named Karen (cute name, huh?) who had completed an assignment...but had not done a great job...Karen needed their help and they had to "fix" her paper! This is where their knowledge of geometry vocabulary was put into play. I have the papers to grade this weekend, so you'll know sometime next week how your child did. The geometry unit was fun, and FULL of vocabulary...I was very impressed with their use of obtuse and acute angles, parallel and intersecting lines, and of course, their knowledge of all of the different shapes...ask your child, "Why is a square a rectangle, but a rectangle is not a square?"...I love that question!!

I could still use a couple more parents for our field trip to the ESSL. It is Thursday, March 5th from 12-1:30pm...please send a note with your child if you'd like to attend.

On Friday, Mrs. Kaplan visited our class to share her love of Langston Hughes poetry. February is Black History month and there is so much to be learned about Black History through Langston Hughes' poems. One particular favorite of our class was The Merry-Go-Round. A lot of the children referenced that one in their letters thanking Mrs. Kaplan for her visit. Take a moment to read it...I've included it below.

Merry-Go-Round

Where is the Jim Crow section

On this merry-go-round,

Mister, cause I want to ride?

Down South where I come from

White and colored

Can't sit side by side.

Down South on the train

There's a Jim Crow car.

On the bus we're put in the back—

But there ain't no back

To a merry-go-round!

Where's the horse

For a kid that's black?

-Langston Hughes

Have a great weekend with your families!

Happy Valentine's Day!

First off...mark your calendars...We need at least 4 parents to attend our field trip to the ESSL (Earth Space Science Lab) on Thursday, March 5th! You will need to provide your own transportation to the facility...our bus will be full of students! Our visit is from 12-1:30 pm that day. Please send a note with your child if you would like to attend. We have two other field trips before our year is through, so if you cannot attend this one, there will be others!

Now for our week...

Well, as you know...the week started a little rough for me, but I am happy to report I am fully recovered! I was very fortunate that Mrs. Janik made her return to the classroom just in time to substitute for me, so lots of excellent teaching and learning went on while I was at home!

In Language Arts this week we began a new novel titled King of the Wind. The kids are really loving this novel and they hate that we have to stop to "do work" about it! :-) We focused on character traits and the kids wrote a paragraph using examples from the book to support their thinking. We have also been focusing on the vocabulary used in this novel. The kids have been marking unfamiliar words, discussing their meaning in small groups, and then verifying the meaning using the dictionaries. I LOVE this assignment because it helps the kids to see that you can indeed read a novel without looking words up, but how enlightening it is when you take time to find out what those words mean! I think they've been pleasantly surprised!

In Writing we are beginning to focus on two other traits of writing...word choice and voice. This is a fun one to teach! Today the kids did a writing assignment all about a hershey kiss...they did an amazing job! Here are a few excerpts from their writing...they could not use the words chocolate or candy...trust me, you're going to be headed to the store to get some after reading this....

YUM

a hershey kiss...

a masterpiece, tastes

better by the minute, circular

base, endless delicioushappiness,

mouth watering, un-nutritious, volcano,

droplet, teardrop, mouth drooling, crinkling

wrapper, cocoa treat, cone, teasing/pleasing,

fatty food, stomach tingling, scrumptious,

motivating me to gobble it up, tag...flag, YUM!

In Math we are into geometry...if I even tried to list all of the vocabulary we're covering you'd still be reading tomorrow...but here are some important ones: prism, pyramid (and the differences between the two), cone, cylinder, quadrilateral, rhombus, trapezoid, parallelogram...and the list goes on! We made 2D and 3D shapes using toothpicks and marshmallows...so fun! This helped to clarify the prism/pyramid debaucle!! We will stay in geometry through next week and then head into fractions and decimals.

In Science we are all over the place!! The kids did an investigation while I was gone about different types of soil. They looked at loam, humus, and clay and observed the different properties. They saw a video All About Soil and brought soil from home. We used that soil to create the perfect compost pile...some good soil, newspaper strips, orange peels, and potato peels...yum. Our worms are happy and busy decomposing! We spent one whole morning reading about worms and observing the worms...the kids were surprised by many of the facts about worms...so was I! We placed our worms in their new homes and we will keep an eye on the compost and our slimy friends. We are going to be investigating which type of soil is best for planting and doing an experiment to test our predictions. We will also be discussing renewable and nonrenewable resources and "dip" into the water cycle a bit!

Let's see...what have I forgotten?! We are two letters away from knowing all of the capital cursive letters. More assignments are being required in cursive and their cursive improves weekly!


And last, but certainly not least....my new segment titled...

"Who in the World Reads our Blog?!?!"

We have a reader in South Korea...hello Mr. Lee (Grace's Dad)!!

And Ms. Kim's sister reads our blog in Toronto, Canada...so hello to Grace's aunt! :-)

How cool is it that we are all over the globe?!

Bears....Bears....Bears....

THREE IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. The Teddy Bear Picnic is TOMORROW! That's right, you read it here first...she's back and the teddy bears are ready to party! :-)

2. The Dancing Bear owners have sent personalized thank you notes to each child who participated!! They are in your child's take home folder. Each child received $5 bear bucks to be used at our store. They are truly wonderful people!

3. Mrs. Maenner (the organizer of this event...thank you, Mrs. Maenner!) brought along the camera and Flip Video, I helped gather clips and pictures, and our wonderful Mrs. Cicerone put together a short movie about our time at the Dancing Bear...enjoy!!

Good News and Bad News...

The good news...not sure I ever had the stomach bug...

The bad news...I have the flu...and bronchitis.

I went to Urgent Care yesterday and I tested positive for influenza...and YES, I did have the flu shot!! Obviously I caught whichever strain the shot didn't cover...nice, huh?

The good news...we will still have our teddy bear picnic.

The bad news...not tomorrow.

We will plan the picnic for the day AFTER I return so that we can write it on the homework sheet.

The good news...Mrs. Janik will return tomorrow!

The bad news...I miss 16 of my very favorite people!!

I wish I could tell you when I'll return...but I cannot...I'd REALLY like to be back on Tuesday, but I have to be careful...the flu and bronchitis can turn into pneumonia...and Lord knows I don't have time for that!

Take care and STAY HEALTHY, please!

Happy Friday!

FYI...sometimes I start these posts on a day other than Friday...that is why the date does not always coincide with the date of publication...it records the date you begin the post...

So...as luck would have it, I could not escape the stomach bug...there have been about 7 cases (8 including me) over the past week...I got hit with it Wednesday, I was out Thursday, and tried to come back today...the stomach bug part was gone, but around 10am, I realized I should have stayed home...luckily the office was able to find me a sub...and many of you have probably already heard...it was Elaine Janik! For those of you who do not know who she is, she was one of the second grade magnet teachers last year...11 of the kids in our class had her for a teacher! The kids were so cute, they would say, "YAH! Mrs. Janik is coming...oh, sorry you're not feeling well, Mrs. Wills, but YAH, Mrs. Janik is coming!" :-) It was very cute how excited they all were! I hope their afternoon was good...I slept through most of mine!

Our week was full of fun and learning...wait until you hear how much they've accomplished!!

In Math, we are officially leaving division...hip hip hooray! The kids did a neat activity called You Do the Fixin' and I can tell they have a good handle on estimating and dividing..."bye bye, division!" If I sound happy, you're right...I'm ready for GEOMETRY!!

In Science we have been discussing erosion and weathering. They conducted a weathering investigation where they rubbed talc and granite together...a simulation of weathering...a big rock being worn down by forces and turning into smaller rocks. We discussed the physical properties of the "new substance" and made a scientific drawing of the evidence of weathering. Next week we will explore erosion...this will be demonstrated with water and a sand mountain. We will discuss the difference between slow moving water and fast moving water. The kids will also help to simulate wind erosion. Other good news...our worms have arrived...so our composting with decomposers will finally begin!!

In Language Arts we are in the publishing stage of writing our Letters from the White House. The kids used a proofreading checklist to help them edit and revise. They did a very nice job and we went to the computer lab today to begin publishing. You will eventually see the finished product...I promise! We also have been searching for the main idea in our science text books and wrote summary paragraphs this week. The students used color to identify the important parts of their paragraphs before handing them in. I am excited about reading them this weekend. They should be in their take home folders next week. We ALSO began a novel this week. The kids will be reading King of the Wind. We will be exploring story structure and working on comprehension as we read the novel.

An optional science project will be introduced next week. This project will focus on gems and the students will have an opportunity to "show what they know" (or learn) through a summary paragraph, a song, a poem, or by any other suggested means.

As you now know, the kids filled the marble jar this past week. Today we were supposed to celebrate with our Teddy Bear picnic. However...I did not make it until lunchtime...so the kids are to bring their furry friends back to school on Monday...we will picnic then! I am very proud of this group. For the most part, they give me 100% every day...and they deserve a reward!!

EXCITING NEWS...I was informed we have a reader in INDIA!! Welcome, Ashwin's grandfather!! I am very curious how far this blog has spread...anyone else have a relative in another state/country reading our blog? Email me...I think it would be a neat mapping assignment.

Valentine's Day and Silent Auction reminder:
Ms. Kim has sent home paperwork about both the Valentine's Day party and our Silent Auction basket. Please help by emailing her and offering to bring something for our Valentine's Day party and/or by considering making a donation to our silent auction basket. Thank you!

Have a great weekend...stay healthy!!