December 20, 2013 Weekly Update

I send you wintery greetings on this Thursday night, as we await the effects of our freezing wet weather on tomorrow's schedule.  Assuming we do have school tomorrow, we have several special plans to carry out - the Rocks and Minerals science test, our 'board game day' during 3rd hour with our first grade buddies, a math contest with Ms. Somers' room, a special present to wrap to take home, and finally a chance to relax and unwind with a wildlife DVD and a treat at day's end.  If we do have to miss tomorrow's classes, we will probably be able to do all these activities during the two days we get back on January 2nd and 3rd.  So stayed tuned to the weather reports and we will see what happens! 

 

 

It is my hope that many pages will be read by our students over the holiday break!  Hopefully plenty of books are already home or went home today, and for tomorrow I had also planned to make sure our readers are well supplied with good books, and extra reading logs sheets.  If anyone runs out of lines on their current reading log, they may continue to note books and pages and time read on the back of their last sheet. That should pretty much be all there is to any 'homework' over vacation time.  Speaking of reading books, I would like to pass along an appeal for help from our 4K teachers.  They have learned that at least two of the 4K rooms which are located at community sites in Middleton do not have even nearly an adequate supply of picture books or early reader level books for a classroom library.  Many of the children who attend these 4K classrooms do not have a good supply of books at home, either, so it is critical that their classrooms have good libraries.  Our West Middleton 4K teachers are asking all of us to collect books to give these rooms.  I wondered that if any of you have time to look through your shelves at home, and find books that you do not mind giving up, would you send them in with your 4th grader?  I will make sure they get to our 4K staff.  Thanks so much for checking!

Today in math our 4th graders wrapped up Unit 5 with their final test.  Also, there are quite a number of our students who have been making some noticeable progress on their basic facts drills, and that has been fun and exciting.  Keep it going all the way to 100%!  This week we also finally completed our class ReadAloud book, "Out of My Mind" by Sharon Draper.  Today we checked out this author's official book website together, and also watched an interview done with her, all about the writing of this book.  The kids were SO interested in what she had to say about the writing of this book, and how she came to develop the character of Melody, who truly became a new friend to all of us as we shared in her story.  Now most of our students want to read more of Sharon Draper's books.  She writes for adults, teens, tweens, and middle elementary aged children, so it might be a good idea for you to check out her official book website before your student begs you to get or borrow any more of her books.  There are two series (about a girl named Sassy, and a set of mystery stories where a club of elementary aged boys follow the clues) that seem very appropriate at this point.

Once we get back to school after the Break, I will fill you in on the latest in each of our subjects.  In the meantime, as I sit here writing to you, I hear ice hitting my window - so we will see what develops by morning.  I wish you all a most wonderful time together with your family and friends over the next two weeks, and I will be thinking of all my 4th graders, looking forward to catching up on all their news and stories when we gather back in room 117 on January 2nd once again.  Happy holidays to you all, Melanie Hannam

December 6, 2013 Weekly Update

December Greetings to our 4H families!  I certainly enjoyed meeting all of our parents and families at conferences a couple of weeks ago!  It was a real pleasure being able to meet with you and your 4th grade around the table to talk over your child's hard work and continuing progress.  I've always believed conversation together is the best way to help our students achieve their best in school, and to update you on their efforts.  You will also be receiving the first trimester report card by the end of next week.  Keep in mind the 'new' (as of last year) method of reporting progress, which is a number system 1 through 4.  A '3' is noted when students demonstrate they have met the grade level expectations with consistent accuracy.  A '2' is noted when they are well on their way to achieving the expectations, but still need more practice or instruction to achieve proficiency.  A '1' is given when skills are beginning to form, but more work is required to meet expectations.  A '4' is reserved for demonstration of skill that consistently rises above the expectations for grade level, where students show they can apply that skill in new situations.  Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.

In both of our Reading and Writing Workshops, we are moving into the 'informational' phase of our studies.  We are analyzing how to best read and communicate in writing about nonfictional content.  We are examining what text features most effectively relay important factual information, how to pull out the main and supporting facts, and then how to do the same in our writing!  This is new ground for many in 4th grade, but so very valuable for their future years in school.  This week we are also wrapping up our work writing essays with thesis statements and supporting evidence.  This was an obvious stretch for everyone in class, but by breaking down the process step by step each day, I've been able to see their growing awareness of what it takes to write these essays effectively, and I am so very proud of our kids for their efforts and their growth!  I would like to take the time to have them type their final essay drafts, which may be a bit of a painstaking process, but it will give them a chance to practice much needed keyboarding skills.  Our kids are pretty motivated to be able to create a page with their choice of font, etc. so we will take advantage of this positive mindset!  :)  They will be typing their essays in Google Documents, so their papers will be accessible from home computers as well, in case our students want to do more typing at home to help with progress in this endeavor!  Thank you in advance for your patience and encouragement at home in this task!

We are making excellent progress in math.  All groups have begun Unit 5, and this unit will give our 4th graders the chance to practice multi-digit multiplication.  We will be using the traditional method as our main way to solve these problems.  Alternative methods, such as 'lattice', are no longer used after this year, so we are not going to spend more time practicing this.  You will see extra practice sheets coming home so our students can get as comfortable as possible with more involved multiplication problems.  This is when those who know their basic facts thoroughly will be SO glad they do!  For those who still struggle, I encourage continued practice at home whenever possible (long division problems are also coming soon!).

 

Science will finish off this month with the remainder of the Rocks and Minerals unit.  In Social Studies, we have moved off those chilly glaciers and on to the characteristics of different regions in our state.  We have just confirmed plans to take a 4th grade field trip to our State Capitol building and the Wisconsin Historical Museum on February 26th, 2014!  More details will come when we get closer to that date!

This Friday, we have 4 students from our classroom taking part in the annual West Middleton Spelling Bee (1:20pm).  Fourth grade is the first year students can take part, and will include 5th graders.  Top spellers remaining from our Bee will move on to our district Bee which will include 4th through 8th graders.  This first experience for our kids can be a bit stressful, but a valuable experience for future participation, and all of our 4th graders will be there for support! 

Thank you for any Scholastic Book Orders for this month - I will submit our order online during the evening of December 9th. I have been informed that if I order by December 10th, we will get our new books before we leave for the Winter Break.  Box Tops are still piling up in Room 117!  We hope to sneak in with a surprisingly large amount by this Friday's deadline, and blow all the other rooms away!  We will see!  Thank you for any last contributions on Friday this week. We will let you know how it ends up!!  Till next note, stay warm!  Sincerely, Melanie Hannam