Greetings to our 4H families! It has been such a satisfying week! Our kids have been writing and reading up a storm this week. Our Writer's Workshop hour is first thing in the morning, and maybe this is proving to be well timed. We have had three classes in particular this week where it was close to pin drop quiet for as long as 45 minutes while everyone worked on their 3 personal narrative pieces. The only sounds were pencils scratching on paper and my editing conferences with individuals. Our 4th graders are making beautiful progress with their writing stamina just like they have with their reading. I think you will really enjoy reading what your child has chosen to write about concerning important people, moments shared, places, and objects they value in their lives.
In our Reader's Workshop, the discussions about our books and favorite authors and what makes for 'wide-awake' reading have been extremely stimulating for all of us! We have so many in our class that practically eat books for dinner, and they are recommending good books to me as much as I am guiding them! Almost everyone in our class allows themselves to get excited about analyzing characters and events during our discussions, and it is so much fun to listen to everyone share their thoughts and opinions. We finished our first class read-aloud book, The Lemonade War, last Friday, and this week we started Stone Fox together. This is prized time in our classroom along with 'stamina' time when we all dig into our current favorite book. We will soon also begin reading Out Of My Mind, by Sharon Draper, which is this year's Global Read Aloud book. We will be reading through this special story at the same pace and time frame as thousands of other upper elementary students from all over the world!
Both of our 4th and 5th grade math students are past that first unit test, and have begun the first assignments for Unit 2. Thank you for returning the 4th grade tests with your signature. This is the second year we are using the grading system using the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 - so hopefully you are familiar with it. We assign these numbers to each of the goal concepts in Everyday Math, which are aligned with the Common Core Standards. I award a '3' whenever proficiency is demonstrated, meaning they are meeting all expectations. A '2' is given where they show they are well on their way to proficiency, with some need for some extra practice or improved accuracy. A '1' is given when beginning skills are still developing. I tend to reserve that '4' for report cards when our students have been able to show consistently over time a high level of mastery and are able to apply a concept to another situation. If you ever want to discuss this system, or see a written summary of each level in more detail, just let me know. Conference time will also give us a chance to talk about it as well.
Somehow we also managed this past week to fit in some reading assessments, our first spelling assignments, and our schoolwide tie dye shirt project. I hope you were all able to finish the process at home without too much hassle! The entire fourth grade is encouraged to wear their new shirts next Tuesday when we go on our first field trip. All plans are in place to attend the World Dairy Expo. We have 5 moms who volunteered to come along on Tuesday - many thanks! Our social studies classes have been full of talk about each of the main cow breeds we hope to identify at the Expo. We are also learning about the bigger picture of Wisconsin agriculture, and we opened some eyes in our discussions about cranberries, soybeans, corn silage, Christmas trees, ginseng, mink pelts, baitfish, cucumbers for pickles, carrots, green peas, potatoes, maple sugar, tart cherries....and much more... who knew?!
Thank you for all your support as your student brings home assignments and notices about events and projects. We'll let you know all about our trip next week, and maybe share some pictures as well! Sincerely, Melanie Hannam
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