February 7, 2014 Weekly Update

Greetings to our 4H Families!  Has your 4th grader shown you one of the coolest things to come out of his/her Take Home Folder all year yet??  On Friday, we received back the first letter from our Middleton High School Pen Pals!  What a delight!  Early in January we accepted the invitation from members of the National Honor Society to become pen pals with them, and we wrote our first letter to them.  Their replies are beautiful letters, and it was SO exciting to hand everyone their own personalized letter from a new high school friend.  This coming week we will answer them back and become even better acquainted.  Oh, what a fun time it will be at the end of school year when we can all meet in person!  For now, what a wonderful opportunity for some really motivating writing!! :)

In other writing news, in our Workshop we have been busy 'plotting' our realistic fiction stories.  It is probably the first time most of our students have done so much note-taking and list-making before they launch into a creative writing project - it will be so interesting for them to see how this affects their actual first draft writing experience.  My hope is that their stories become more focused and orderly and follow the 'story mountain' (ask your child for an explanation of what this is!).  We have been analyzing well thought-out characters, settings, and conflict development and resolution that makes real world sense! 

In Reader's Workshop, we have launched a new unit, reading Informational texts of ALL kinds, researching and grouping relevant facts for subtopics on the broad subject of Wisconsin Government!  This is perfect timing, since we are approaching this topic in Social Studies now, AND we will be going to the State Capitol Building and WI Historical Museum on February 26th.  Our students should be fully prepared with background knowledge by then!  You have received the permission slip for our trip, and please remember to return the bottom half of this slip along with $2.00 for the Museum entrance as soon as you can.  Thank you!  I would love to have any number of parents come along for these two tours, so do let me know if you can chaperone on this day.  You would need to bring along a lunch, and perhaps carpool together from school.  (Our three 4th grade classes fit just right on one school bus.)  I will divide our class into small groups for each of you for the day.  We are due by 10:00 am at the Information Desk on the first floor of the Capitol to meet our tour guide, will get to meet with Representative Dianne Hesselbein at 10:45, lunch at the Museum at 11:30, and then tour with another guide from 12 to 1:00, with an extra half hour to take our own small groups to other areas of the Museum before getting back on buses at 1:30.  Please see the top half of the permission slip for these details.  I hope you can come!  (If you are chaperoning, I would also need $2.00 for your Museum admission ahead of time, just like our students - thank you!)

In Math Class, our Unit 7 for 4th grade students deals with Fractions!  We do a lot of hands-on practice with pattern blocks to get a full understanding of the concepts.  Students should be bringing home their two workbooks every single day, even if they feel they have finished pages in class for their homework.  It would be SO valuable for them if you would ask them to explain what their lesson was about that day - the true sign they are understanding.  It may take a couple of days of work on some lessons before they fully 'get' it, but so far we are off to a solid start.  By this halfway point in the school year, we are also down to our last few students who have not been able to answer within 3 minutes the 100 basic facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  The first two operations should have been mastered long before this, and the last two should be at least 75 problems and more by now.  PLEASE give your student some extra practice help most evenings - just 10 to 15 minutes does make a big difference.  They should continually be recording their latest scores on a previously blank page in the back of their Studylink books, so do take a look! 

We will be able to share about your 4th graders progress in all subjects early in March. Coming home early this next week will be the sign up sheet for a time to conference with your student and with me in March.  Please mark your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices for a time, and return that paper just as soon as you can and I will reserve a spot for you.  When I have received all of your replies, I will send back a copy of the master schedule.  That will come in handy if you need to make a trade with another family - just let me know if that happens.  A heads up:  I am planning on after school times on March 3rd and 4th, and also March 10th and 11th.  (I must attend a workshop out of town all day on March 6th, which is one of our building conference dates - therefore the change in my schedule for our own class families).  Thank you!

One last note about upcoming events - Valentine's Day!  On Friday, the 14th, we will have a class party for the last 40 minutes of our day.  We have several moms coming in to help with a game, and some treats, and we are all set with plans for both.  The students may exchange cards at this time also (not a 'required' activity for every student).  We will be decorating some big envelopes beforehand. Also, February Scholastic Book Order Forms are coming home this week - stay tuned for the deadline to order online or through the paper catalog form.  Last month, the free books I was able to order for our classroom with our Bonus Points, thanks to your own orders, were so popular, I had to draw name sticks to decide who got to read the new books first!

I will continue to keep you informed through this very busy month!  Sincerely, Melanie Hannam

January 24, 2014 Weekly Update

Hello, dear families of 4H!  As we all struggle to get to our destinations of work and school each day in this terribly cold winter, we continue to be warm and productive at West Middleton and in our classroom.  We have all been working on completing our midyear assessments for reading and math and will have updated data to study on each student's progress after one more week.  In room 117, I have completed an evaluation of our last two big writing projects (our Essay writing and the Informational Booklets).  We are keeping the beautiful final drafts of both projects in each student's Writing Binder which goes home at year's end, but I did make a copy of their Essays to send home next week, so you will be able to read your child's efforts.  In many cases they are quite touching... enjoy.  Most of our Info Booklets turned out to be works of art!   We will be trying them out on one more audience next week - our first grade buddies!   We have now launched into writing Realistic Fiction!

Our 4th grade Math students have completed Unit 6 and will be taking the final unit test on Tuesday of next week. Please see the Review Sheets in your student's Take Home Folder for samples of the kinds of items which will be included on our test.  Any extra practice you can give with long division (and story problems using division) and measuring angles with a half circle protractor, will be helpful. On Monday, we will only have half of class time to do an additional practice and review of the material.  This is because staff members from Glacier Creek Middle School will be coming to visit both 4th and 5th grade classes that afternoon for a 45 minute info session to introduce "middle school" and answer some first questions from students.

I have also launched a new opportunity in our room for students to dig deeper into topics that spur their interest - and get extra credit for their efforts!  It is called "Gold Star Researchers".  During our discussions, readings, and lessons in every subject we cover, new questions from students come up, about which we all wonder and wish we knew more (including me!).  Since there isn't time to go exploring down every path our studies could lead us, I am giving extra credit to every student who chooses to take the time and effort to research more information, get it written (or typed) in their own words (or arranged on a poster, presented on a computer, made into a booklet - endless options....), and then presented to our class.  Their names get printed on a big "Gold Star" on our special "Star" wall in the classroom, and their work is saved and displayed in the room.  We want to see how many Gold Stars with which we can cover our walls!  There is no 'due date' for any project/presentation - whenever a student is ready to present their research, they can bring it in, and we will make special time for them to educate us all!  Thank you for your support and encouragement - and perhaps some extra computer time at home!

There are some events coming up that you will want to put on your calendar:  Next week Wednesday, January 29th, has been designated "Bright Color Day" at West Middleton - for a fun way to keep our spirits up during this difficult winter, we have all agreed to wear our brightest colors from head to toe!  On Thursday, we will have a guest teacher in our room, as I attend a conference on culturally responsive classrooms along with several other staff members.  On Friday, January 31st, remember that all of our 4th and 5th graders are attending a full day "Kindness Retreat" at the District Admin. Center's gymnasium, led by our counseling staff.  All students must either bring their own sack lunch, or have already reserved a school sack lunch for this day.  We will leave our building at 8:30 and be back to WM soon after 2:30 that day.

The next big event is our annual West Middleton Winter Carnival, set for Saturday, February 8th, from 2:00 to 4:30 pm at our school.  Ten dollars buys admission for each student and they earn tickets from the games and activities they enter to earn prizes, with refreshments included.  This is an important fundraiser for our PTO, which provides every classroom's field trip expenses each year along with many other helpful supports.  The PTO has asked staff to let all families know that they need more help with various stations at the carnival - so please look at the link in the PTO news you received earlier this week, and sign up, if you can!   (I will see you in the prize room!)  They also need more new or gently used items for the prize room.

Stay tuned for news about our February 26th Field Trip to the State Capitol and Wisconsin Historical Museum, and also parent/student/teacher conferences during the first two weeks of March.  If keeping busy is one way to beat the cold, then we've got that going on at our school, no doubt about that!  May you all stay cozy and healthy, and I will continue to keep you updated!    Melanie Hannam

January 10, 2014 Weekly Update

"Warm" greetings to all of our 4H Families! Ha, we got to experience the 'fun' of coming back to school after long breaks TWICE within a week! Augghh! But it was nice to be able to stay in on those coldest days - hope everyone survived the extra together time okay! We have made full use of our days back so far this new year - jumping right in to many new lessons and projects and events. It is time to update you....

In math classes, the 5th grade students have completed pretesting for the new unit and will begin the next unit promptly, while the 4th grade students have had their first days with learning how to do long division problems. I have tabled the next lessons in our unit to give everyone time to master the routine and steps with some extra practice sheets. Everyone is making progress, but at different rates, which is to be expected. Each day it gets surprisingly easier - I have reminded everyone to be patient with themselves and try to go as far on the problems as they can each day at home for 30 to 40 minutes at a time. No worries if they are not done or do not grasp it all right away, since the next day in school we go over it again and practice more - and it does become clearer. It's always fun for the kids to find out that what seemed so complicated the first day, seems so much simpler the next day or two later.

In Reader's Workshop we have begun a new focus on identifying themes and life lessons in stories we have already read and are currently reading. This has led to some really satisfying, deep discussion - wow! Our readers are coming up with lessons for life and common themes with great depth and thought, providing supporting evidence, and building off of each other's ideas... I would have loved to record a couple of the discussions we have had this week! We are building a list together as we analyze everything from novels to picture books to TV shows to our own written narratives and essays we have saved. All students will get copies of this list to put in their Writing Binders, so you will get to see their ideas - very impressive. Also, the Informational Booklets that we began in December will finally be due next week (Tuesday). I have encouraged those who are not yet done, to work on them at home to meet their deadline - so please ask your student what his/her status is on this project. Many of our classmates are putting in some really beautiful efforts which are turning this project into a keepsake! We will not only be sharing these 'how to' booklets with each other, but also presenting them to our 1st grade buddies, which will be very interesting!

Our class was able to take their final Rocks and Minerals test with Mrs. Bertz since coming back in January, and will begin Magnetism and Electricity with her next. In Social Studies class with me, we have begun a new unit as well, which has us investigating the history and ways of life for the first groups of people who lived in our area of the country, and how native Americans' lives were changed with the coming of new settlers as our country (and our state in particular) grew. This will prepare us perfectly for our visit late next month to the Wisconsin Historical Museum (all our 4th grade classes have a field trip planned for February 26 to our State Capitol Building and the Museum). Early in February we will take care of permission slips, chaperones, etc.

Speaking of events, an extra special event that our guidance counselor has been able to coordinate is the Kindness Retreat for our 4th and 5th graders all day on January 31st, at the District Administrative Center's gym on South Avenue in Middleton. You should have received the information and attached permission slip already, and we welcome those back as soon as you are able. I am sure this day will become one of this year's special memories, with trained counselors leading small groups in activities designed to develop compassion and understanding for each other. (Remember, sack lunches can be ordered through school, or students can bring their own sack lunch.)

Every year, all 4th graders in Dane County have the opportunity to enter an annual "Haiku" writing contest. We are beginning to introduce and develop the concept and skill of writing Haiku poems with our classes in this next week. This is an easy way to bring out each child's creativity, since these poems are only 3 lines long (5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables - bring back any memories for you?) and are used to describe subjects mostly about nature and relationships. We will all write many drafts and each end up with 2 or 3 of our best attempts to type up and send in to the contest, so stay tuned to see some beautiful writing - we'll keep you posted on what develops from our entries.

This week, we have also begun the second of three assessments for the school year, with MAPS testing in the computer lab for Reading and for Math, as well as an oral reading assessment for some of our readers, so we can evaluate progress with skills. The data we collect will help teachers further identify areas that need more practice.

I do believe the January calendar is filling up more than any other month so far! As more planning becomes clear with any event, project, or assignment, I will be sure to email you any updates to keep you in the loop. If anything puzzles you, don't hesitate to ask for more clarification! It is getting kind of crazy sometimes to keep up with everything - for all of us! We are certainly not letting this winter weather slow us down inside our cozy West Middleton home or in Room 117!   Sincerely, Melanie Hannam

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

November 8, 2013 Weekly Update

Hello, 4H families! Even with the addition of WKCE testing sessions during the past week, we were able to settle into some very productive and satisfying lessons this week. In Reader's Workshop, we got good, uninterrupted time with our favorite books and carried our study of 'character' and 'prediction' to deeper levels. We began our new unit in Writer's Workshop, which is essay writing. Our curriculum starts us off with small steps toward this largely unfamiliar mode of writing for our 4th graders, and we build up each day to a complete essay over at least 2 or 3 weeks. Every day our students figure it out a little more. In Social Studies we have finally been able to start studying about the Ice Age and Glaciers and the Ice Age Trail - and the kids are very enthusiastic about our discussions! We have all begun Unit 4 in math classes. In the 4th grade group we have jumped into decimal work and they have bravely held on with their attention as we practice some very new concepts - I am quite proud of our group. Like I said, it has indeed been a satisfying week of learning!

It has proven to be very beneficial to stretch out our WKCE testing over a 3 week period, using only parts of two days in each of the three weeks. None of our students appears to be feeling too anxious about the testing sessions, and all seem to be giving it their best efforts. They are being good troopers! Next week, our final week, we will be testing once in the morning on Tuesday, and once in the afternoon on Wednesday. Thank you, parents, for our students' excellent attendance!

An event coming up soon: We will be holding 7 rounds of individual classroom spelling bees over the next two weeks, in preparation for the School Bee sometime in December. Our students each get 7 chances to spell their word correctly in the class rounds, and then I send those scores to our Advanced Learning Coordinator, Ms. Weber, who will then choose the top 25 scores among all of our 4th and 5th graders to take part in the School Bee. The words being used for both Bees should be located in your student's Take Home Folder, and it is entirely up to the students, and you, to decide how much time and effort goes into preparing and studying.

Also keep in mind that our November Scholastic Book Orders are due November 15th. If you haven't tried to order online, give it a try - I was so pleased to find out it was quite user friendly when I started ordering for our class this way the first time in September. Otherwise, you may still feel free to send me your paper order form and check to Scholastic Book Club, and I can take care of it from there. I am just so thrilled at the opportunity we've had to grow our classroom library this way, using bonus points from our orders. We have quite the READING CLASS this year, and we use our books more this year than I have ever seen so far. We keep our awesome school librarian, Mrs. Dagitz, very busy as well, with requested books. It's impressive, and so much fun to share out about the great stories our students are discovering. Our students still ask to get as much reading time each day as I am able to provide - yay!

Upcoming events for our calendars are: NO school on Monday, November 11th, the new BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION contest starting next week and lasting till December 6th, parent conferences (including our 4th graders!) on November 19th and 21st, the Book Fair in our West Middleton Library during that same week, and NO school on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The first trimester ends with that holiday weekend - wow, how did we get to that milestone so quickly?! The first report cards will be ready about two weeks into December. Also, December 4th, Wednesday, is the annual West Middleton Winter Tea!

Stay tuned for continued updates and news notes, and please take time daily to look through your student's Take Home Folder with him or her. I will be seeing you all soon! Sincerely, Melanie Hannam

November 1, 2013 Weekly Update

Happy Halloween Week! I have just looked again at the pictures taken at our classroom holiday celebration - full of 4th grade mummies! I can't wait for you to see these great shots! (There will be a photo album for your to page through when you come for conferences.) While it just poured rain outside, it was an exciting time in room 117 on Halloween as we snacked on goodies, played Spooky Bingo, and lost several of our classmates as they became rolled up in toilet paper! Hilarious! Many, many thanks to the team of 'moms' who plotted and planned such a good time: Melissa C., Mary O., Michele P., Wendy K., Wendy A., Patty S., Lori C., Sara D. Thank you all for your generosity and creativity - wow! The kids won't forget this party!

What a contrast that was to our two very quiet mornings this week when we got a solid start to our WKCE testing. Our students are doing their best and I am very proud of them. Next week we will be testing only on Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon. The 3rd week will be similar, and I will keep you up to date on days and times. Thank you for your support at home!

Some notices about upcoming events: The School Picture Retake Day is Tuesday, November 5th. We have no school on Monday, November 11th (due to the two evenings on the 19th and 21st when we hold conferences). Beginning November 12th until December 6th, West Middleton will hold a contest for the most BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION collected by classrooms - so start saving and scrounging and snipping!! The PTO will provide the winning classroom with a pizza lunch (we like pizza!). By the way, if you can attend, the next WM PTO meeting is scheduled for Wednesday evening, November 13th, at 7 pm in the Library.

Also, you will soon see the November Scholastic Book Order forms come home. Included this month will be a Holiday Catalog as well. If any parent wants to order books as a surprise for gifts, just let me know and I can set these aside and get them to you. Ordering online is very helpful and quite easy! You will also see the flyer come home about our annual Scholastic Book Fair, held again in the school library. Different this year is the timing - the Fair days will coincide with the week of Parent Conferences - this will be so convenient for your family!

We continue to make steady progress with our math lessons. We are reviewing Unit 3 in 4th grade, and the final test will probably be Monday. Check the Homework Page on the classroom blog to be sure. After our 'Bold Beginnings' writing project and our 'Ghost Story' project, next week our Writer's Workshop leads us into a new unit on writing essays. Stay tuned for more details as we get into those next week. In Social Studies, we are finally going to be able to enter the Ice Age in Wisconsin.

There is always SO much to do in 4th grade! The days just fly by, and our group becomes closer and more cooperative and helpful with each passing week (also more sociable, which we are working hard to channel to the appropriate times!). It is such a pleasure to be together each day! More news soon! Melanie Hannam