Hello to all of our 4H families. The past week went by so fast! We made science class a priority during the first half of the week, testing the properties of four minerals for clues to their identities (calcite, quartz, gypsum, fluorite). Our students proved to be very good geology detectives! During the second part of the week, we dove into a new writing project. We began sharing our stories today, and we all enjoyed hearing the many different directions each of our imaginations can take us. I am impressed by the descriptive writing being produced as well. New books have been circulating our classroom this week, with the arrival of our April Scholastic Book Order (including many new books for the classroom library from the bonus points our orders earn). We've had many requests for silent reading time, so we did our best to make time for this opportunity as well. Unit 10 in Math this week is very different from past units. Our daily class time has us drawing lines of symmetry, reflections, translations, and rotations - trying to picture (and sketch) shapes and objects moving into new positions has been a challenging brain exercise for all of us. We are close to agreeing upon a test date next week for our latest spelling list (science vocabulary). Yes, no wonder the week flew by... plenty of stimulating activities and subjects to keep us busy and learning.
In other news items: You may have seen PTO announcements about one more Box Tops For Education drive this year. During the month of May, any class that can reach 750 Box Tops collected will be rewarded with a special treat. So families, we have one more push to cut out and collect, beg and scrounge, for those little cardboard squares! It has actually been quite impressive this year: West Middleton has collected 20,000 Box Tops amounting to $2000 to spend on improving our playground equipment. Wow! Also, this coming Monday, April 30, is the deadline to send in $14 for your student's own copy of the West Middleton Elementary Yearbook. Another PTO announcement is that on June 5th there will be a family picnic event in honor of our principal, Mr. Rykal. More details will come in May.
If you have been keeping track of our 'adopted' bald eagle family in Decorah, Iowa through Ustream, you know those babies are getting bigger and hungrier everyday. Their fuzz is transforming into feathers, and the parents are leaving them alone more often, as they begin to also move about the nest more as well. The growth has been fascinating to witness. They should 'fledge' in late June or early July - that will really be something to watch. Today's Wisconsin State Journal featured another kind of bird family on its front page, and we tuned in at school today for another first hand peek into nature (see go.madison.com/hawkcam). Right on Dayton St. near the Kohl Center in our own Madison, WI. is a camera set up by university students to watch the adorable family of two beautiful red tailed hawks and their three fuzzy white babies, hatched within the past week. They are perched precariously on a narrow concrete ledge outside a window several stories up from the ground - yikes. Take a look for yourself!
Next week brings us all into May. We are going to fill our last full month to the brim with creative projects, ambitious lessons, and lively discussions - as always, we will keep you posted on the details from Room 117! Melanie Hannam
Friday, April 27, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
April 20, 2012 Weekly Update
Hello to all! West Middleton Fourth Graders are the lunchroom champions! Our grade level survived the school wide challenge for neatness and manners in the lunchroom after a week's worth of inspections and an extra finalist rundown. When our students are motivated to do their best, they sure do shine! We enjoyed freeze pops as our reward on Friday. Our own class is also working on renewing our efforts to follow our classroom management system, especially respectful ways to share everyone's ideas and stories during class discussions. Everyone has so much to contribute, which is exciting, but waiting for our turn can often be difficult! :)
In other news items, the annual school yearbook can be ordered through the end of April. Your student should have brought home a form attached to an envelope, which you can return with a check for $14 made out to the West Middleton PTO. Another date to add to your calendar is May 31st. This past week we finalized plans for the final 4th grade field trip to take place that day. We will be touring Little Norway and the Cave of the Mounds. More details about that day will be coming in May.
This past week included some changes to our usual routine. Our school building held our yearly Tornado Drill on Thursday afternoon, coordinated with Dane County's practice drill. Mr. Rykal announced afterward that it was the most orderly drill ever! In our classroom, we rearranged some class periods so that we could dig into several science experiments for our Rocks and Minerals unit. The experiments have gone very well, and our students expressed and wrote out observations that were right on target. We have broken down "mock rocks" into their separate minerals, and further broken them down through dissolving and evaporation. Another change to our routine involves fitting in two sessions in the computer lab to take the Spring MAPS (Measures of Academic Progress) Assessments. We did these in January for the first time, and this is our pilot year throughout the district. As you probably heard from your student, this pilot year is not without its 'bugs and glitches' that have yet to be smoothed out, as we found out Friday afternoon as we attempted to take the Math Assessment. We were not successful in launching everyone's online test, so we will try again on Monday. I applaud our students for their patience and understanding - and even helpfulness - as we gave it a valiant effort in the computer lab. Sigh.
In Math class, we reviewed the concepts for Unit 9, took the unit test on Thursday, reviewed the items on Friday, and now the tests have come home with your student for your signature. We would like these tests returned to school on Monday, so we may add them to our math folders. The scores were overall much better than the previous unit - yay! This was a 'meaty' unit, too, with much conversion between fractions, percents, and decimals. I am very pleased with the progress shown by everyone! We began Unit 10 on Friday as well, and it is very different - involving symmetry, reflections, patterns, and some work with negative numbers. Ask your student about "transparent mirrors"!
I can see that keeping very busy and involved in projects and digging deep into lessons makes our days fly, and helps our students stay motivated, so that will be the name of our game as we approach the final month of this school year. This won't be a problem as I formulate our lesson plans, since there is SO much material I want to cover yet in all of our subjects. So much to learn, and so little time....! Melanie Hannam
In other news items, the annual school yearbook can be ordered through the end of April. Your student should have brought home a form attached to an envelope, which you can return with a check for $14 made out to the West Middleton PTO. Another date to add to your calendar is May 31st. This past week we finalized plans for the final 4th grade field trip to take place that day. We will be touring Little Norway and the Cave of the Mounds. More details about that day will be coming in May.
This past week included some changes to our usual routine. Our school building held our yearly Tornado Drill on Thursday afternoon, coordinated with Dane County's practice drill. Mr. Rykal announced afterward that it was the most orderly drill ever! In our classroom, we rearranged some class periods so that we could dig into several science experiments for our Rocks and Minerals unit. The experiments have gone very well, and our students expressed and wrote out observations that were right on target. We have broken down "mock rocks" into their separate minerals, and further broken them down through dissolving and evaporation. Another change to our routine involves fitting in two sessions in the computer lab to take the Spring MAPS (Measures of Academic Progress) Assessments. We did these in January for the first time, and this is our pilot year throughout the district. As you probably heard from your student, this pilot year is not without its 'bugs and glitches' that have yet to be smoothed out, as we found out Friday afternoon as we attempted to take the Math Assessment. We were not successful in launching everyone's online test, so we will try again on Monday. I applaud our students for their patience and understanding - and even helpfulness - as we gave it a valiant effort in the computer lab. Sigh.
In Math class, we reviewed the concepts for Unit 9, took the unit test on Thursday, reviewed the items on Friday, and now the tests have come home with your student for your signature. We would like these tests returned to school on Monday, so we may add them to our math folders. The scores were overall much better than the previous unit - yay! This was a 'meaty' unit, too, with much conversion between fractions, percents, and decimals. I am very pleased with the progress shown by everyone! We began Unit 10 on Friday as well, and it is very different - involving symmetry, reflections, patterns, and some work with negative numbers. Ask your student about "transparent mirrors"!
I can see that keeping very busy and involved in projects and digging deep into lessons makes our days fly, and helps our students stay motivated, so that will be the name of our game as we approach the final month of this school year. This won't be a problem as I formulate our lesson plans, since there is SO much material I want to cover yet in all of our subjects. So much to learn, and so little time....! Melanie Hannam
Saturday, April 14, 2012
April 13, 2012 Weekly Update
Greetings to our 4H families! This week we have added to our 'family' in room 117, with the arrival of a new student, Amarriana Holmes. Our classmates welcomed her with hello notes all over her desk (their wonderful idea!), and she has had more offers for tours and lunches and recess dates than she can handle! Welcome to our classroom, Amarriana - we are all so happy to have you with us! (And I am so proud of our thoughtful 4th grade friends!)
We have worked our way to the last lesson in Math Unit 9 this week, and next week we will wrap up instruction, take a couple of days to review all the skills, and then take the unit test. It has required some good hard work and concentration to grasp and practice the concepts of converting between fractions, decimals, and percents. These skills will continue to be presented and built upon next year in 5th grade. Also, at this point in the school year, we are down to about one third of our class members who have yet to reach their goal of correctly answering 100 basic facts within 3 minutes for addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. I want to encourage a renewed energy toward improving scores during these final two months of 4th grade. I am reminding our kids that limiting their efforts to practice to just 3 minutes per week (!) is NOT going to get the job done! It takes some daily practice on their own time to get better results. I was just talking to the 5th grade teachers again this week, and they are saying that any 5th graders who do not know their basic facts are really struggling with their math lessons. I see the same thing in 4th grade. Parents, if you could arrange a regular 10 to 15 minute practice session with flashcards and fact sheets with your student most evenings each week, we would see marked improvement. Thank you for teaming up on this!
In Social Studies class, we have taken a step into Wisconsin's history during the 1800's, and we have uncovered the difficult story of how the native American tribes were affected by the influx of the many Europeans who wanted to claim land and resources here. Our discussions and our research are bringing history alive to all of us, and it is eye opening. (I have been learning right along with our students, since I grew up studying about California missions and Spanish explorers!) Our new social studies textbook has been an excellent guide, and our students really seem to enjoy digging into their own research, so everyone is contributing very thoughtful questions and realizations. I love this!!
We got started on our new Science unit this week, which is Rocks and Minerals. We start off with a series of experiments, and there's no better way to grasp new vocabulary and concepts. We have a booklet of notes and observations we will fill out with information we are discovering, and soon all our spare counter space will be covered with rocks and lenses and evaporation trays. Also, our next spelling list will provide the perfect opportunity to practice some of the most useful new scientific terms we are using.
We continue to strive for daily silent reading time. Several students have discovered new authors and book series that they love, so they are glad when I can announce a reading session (and that sure makes me happy!). Our field trip to the Overture Center on Wednesday morning to see the African folktale "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters" was a fun experience. The singing and dancing was so well done, and the story was beautifully told with just 6 core actors. Thank you again to Jennifer Deptula and John Maasch for coming along and helping to keep our group together in the crowd. I will be sending out our April Scholastic Book Orders on Monday. May will bring us one final chance to order books, and you will see the choices come home during the first week of that month.
April is flying by. There are so many projects and lessons we want to fit in yet before we get to June, so I am striving to take advantage of every minute we have left! Thank you for your support from home. Sincerely, Melanie Hannam
We have worked our way to the last lesson in Math Unit 9 this week, and next week we will wrap up instruction, take a couple of days to review all the skills, and then take the unit test. It has required some good hard work and concentration to grasp and practice the concepts of converting between fractions, decimals, and percents. These skills will continue to be presented and built upon next year in 5th grade. Also, at this point in the school year, we are down to about one third of our class members who have yet to reach their goal of correctly answering 100 basic facts within 3 minutes for addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. I want to encourage a renewed energy toward improving scores during these final two months of 4th grade. I am reminding our kids that limiting their efforts to practice to just 3 minutes per week (!) is NOT going to get the job done! It takes some daily practice on their own time to get better results. I was just talking to the 5th grade teachers again this week, and they are saying that any 5th graders who do not know their basic facts are really struggling with their math lessons. I see the same thing in 4th grade. Parents, if you could arrange a regular 10 to 15 minute practice session with flashcards and fact sheets with your student most evenings each week, we would see marked improvement. Thank you for teaming up on this!
In Social Studies class, we have taken a step into Wisconsin's history during the 1800's, and we have uncovered the difficult story of how the native American tribes were affected by the influx of the many Europeans who wanted to claim land and resources here. Our discussions and our research are bringing history alive to all of us, and it is eye opening. (I have been learning right along with our students, since I grew up studying about California missions and Spanish explorers!) Our new social studies textbook has been an excellent guide, and our students really seem to enjoy digging into their own research, so everyone is contributing very thoughtful questions and realizations. I love this!!
We got started on our new Science unit this week, which is Rocks and Minerals. We start off with a series of experiments, and there's no better way to grasp new vocabulary and concepts. We have a booklet of notes and observations we will fill out with information we are discovering, and soon all our spare counter space will be covered with rocks and lenses and evaporation trays. Also, our next spelling list will provide the perfect opportunity to practice some of the most useful new scientific terms we are using.
We continue to strive for daily silent reading time. Several students have discovered new authors and book series that they love, so they are glad when I can announce a reading session (and that sure makes me happy!). Our field trip to the Overture Center on Wednesday morning to see the African folktale "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters" was a fun experience. The singing and dancing was so well done, and the story was beautifully told with just 6 core actors. Thank you again to Jennifer Deptula and John Maasch for coming along and helping to keep our group together in the crowd. I will be sending out our April Scholastic Book Orders on Monday. May will bring us one final chance to order books, and you will see the choices come home during the first week of that month.
April is flying by. There are so many projects and lessons we want to fit in yet before we get to June, so I am striving to take advantage of every minute we have left! Thank you for your support from home. Sincerely, Melanie Hannam
Friday, April 6, 2012
April 6, 2012 Weekly Update
Happy April to all! After a week off last week, and only 4 days this week, I can report that we filled our short week with some solid hard work, and shared some fun stories, discussions, and activities as well. Everyone was anxious to share about their vacation weeks, and we couldn't wait to check in with our bald eagle family in Decorah, Iowa. We've continued to watch them all week, and those three fuzzy babies are getting hungrier and more active with each passing day! What a great experience for all of us to witness this real time event of nature at its best, with a camera that zooms in so close we feel like we are right in that nest with this precious family.
In between feeding sessions of raw fish and squirrel, we have managed to complete another chapter in Wisconsin history. I am so impressed with the thinking skills of our 4th graders, as we try to put ourselves in the place of the native Indian people who saw their world changed time and again by newcomers to our part of the country throughout the last several centuries. Our students are asking excellent questions, and bringing up ideas that show they are truly getting a glimpse of what life must have been like in those days. This study has been so enriching for all of us, me included. We are also going to make every attempt next week to begin our final unit in science this year, which is the study of rocks and minerals.
We are almost halfway through Unit 9 in math, which is providing more in-depth practice with converting fractions to decimals to percents. I have noticed lately that our students are staying well focused during our math hours each day, and I complimented them about this today, after a hardworking week. The Unit 8 tests results were a bit of a shock for many of our kids - Part A had fewer items than in previous tests, so unfortunately, this time even two careless errors brought score averages down a whole grade. I have attempted to reassure them that the concepts of area and perimeter for various geometric shapes will continue to be part of future assignments and test questions, and so our students will continue to get more practice and more chances to improve their competency as well as their scores.
In Literacy class, we are finishing up the final drafts and illustrations of our latest writing project, and we will be sharing these and adding them to our Language Binders. The students have also been given extra editing practice this week, with pages full of numerous "errors" written by Mrs. Hannam herself! It has become their turn to correct my "work" and while it was fun to fix my mistakes in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar, our students' detective work needed several attempts before all mistakes were remedied. It has proven to be a valuable exercise. The class had their spelling test today as well, and scores happily reflected some very good efforts in studying! Way to go! Also, next week the April edition of the Scholastic Book Orders will be coming home, and orders will be due by Friday, April 13th. We will send home one more chance to order books during the first week of May, and that will be the last one of the year. Wow.
Next week on Wednesday morning, all the 4th graders will board buses to the Overture Center to see a play called "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters" which is an African Folktale. We read the award winning story by John Steptoe this week, so all can be familiar with the characters and plotline. It is a beautifully written story, with a positive message, and we are really looking forward to seeing it played out on a stage.
May you all enjoy the longer holiday weekend with your families, and I will see everyone back on Monday, ready for the last two months of 4th grade. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. Melanie Hannam
In between feeding sessions of raw fish and squirrel, we have managed to complete another chapter in Wisconsin history. I am so impressed with the thinking skills of our 4th graders, as we try to put ourselves in the place of the native Indian people who saw their world changed time and again by newcomers to our part of the country throughout the last several centuries. Our students are asking excellent questions, and bringing up ideas that show they are truly getting a glimpse of what life must have been like in those days. This study has been so enriching for all of us, me included. We are also going to make every attempt next week to begin our final unit in science this year, which is the study of rocks and minerals.
We are almost halfway through Unit 9 in math, which is providing more in-depth practice with converting fractions to decimals to percents. I have noticed lately that our students are staying well focused during our math hours each day, and I complimented them about this today, after a hardworking week. The Unit 8 tests results were a bit of a shock for many of our kids - Part A had fewer items than in previous tests, so unfortunately, this time even two careless errors brought score averages down a whole grade. I have attempted to reassure them that the concepts of area and perimeter for various geometric shapes will continue to be part of future assignments and test questions, and so our students will continue to get more practice and more chances to improve their competency as well as their scores.
In Literacy class, we are finishing up the final drafts and illustrations of our latest writing project, and we will be sharing these and adding them to our Language Binders. The students have also been given extra editing practice this week, with pages full of numerous "errors" written by Mrs. Hannam herself! It has become their turn to correct my "work" and while it was fun to fix my mistakes in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar, our students' detective work needed several attempts before all mistakes were remedied. It has proven to be a valuable exercise. The class had their spelling test today as well, and scores happily reflected some very good efforts in studying! Way to go! Also, next week the April edition of the Scholastic Book Orders will be coming home, and orders will be due by Friday, April 13th. We will send home one more chance to order books during the first week of May, and that will be the last one of the year. Wow.
Next week on Wednesday morning, all the 4th graders will board buses to the Overture Center to see a play called "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters" which is an African Folktale. We read the award winning story by John Steptoe this week, so all can be familiar with the characters and plotline. It is a beautifully written story, with a positive message, and we are really looking forward to seeing it played out on a stage.
May you all enjoy the longer holiday weekend with your families, and I will see everyone back on Monday, ready for the last two months of 4th grade. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. Melanie Hannam
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)