Last week...

Well, we are coming to the end of 4th grade! It's a little bittersweet~we are all ready for summer but as a group, I know, we're sad to see each other go for the summer! This week is a lot of finishing up and cleaning up and organizing...

Come see our City of Ember tomorrow between 1:15 and 3:00!

It's been a great year~thanks for taking the journey with me! :)

Zoo and substitute

So, we visited the zoo on Wednesday and hopefully, you were able to see pictures that I either tweeted out or the 30 I put on our Facebook page... :) (@ADE4thGrade; Fourth Grade Superheroes)
In the afternoon, we had "Assignment Day" to pick our "jobs" for building Ember.

Thursday was a typical day other than I was out in the afternoon for a 4th grade meeting. We started with researching our topics. Then, we almost finished, The City of Ember! Lina and Doon have found the way out of Ember and have begun the journey. In Reader's Workshop, we used some of the extraterrestrial vocabulary to write a letter. We continued reviewing measurement topics in Math and in Science, we started construction on Ember.

Wow

We had an AMAZING field day! I hope you heard lots about it...I tweeted as the day went on and posted about 50 pictures on Facebook this morning... (I seem to take a lot of pictures...) Twitter: ADE4thGrade and Facebook: Fourth Grade Superheroes

I can't believe that we only have a handful of days left for learning! The students have grown so much over the year. I look at their writing and everything each day and am in awe at them. Thank you for all of your help in making that happen!

We began our day with editing two passages for capitalization, punctuation and spelling. They did an awesome job with this. I pointed out to them that this is what editing looks like and that they should do this with their own writing. Then, we continued our research. We had one student that was having difficulty finding information that she needed about a soccer player so we performed some modern day research by tweeting the question to the athlete! Waiting to hear back... In The City of Ember, Lina was captured and was being scolded by the mayor when they lights went out, which allowed her the opportunity to run! Mr. Higginbotham came in afterwards and gave them a Student Experience Survey. Students were asked to rate their experience as a student on a scale. (You'll have to ask them about it.) Then, we read the informational text story in StoryWorks about aliens. For Math, we continued reviewing all the measurement topics in our review packet and we finished our day with economics by watching a video, "Econ and Me" which showed some of the vocabulary and how it relates to them.

Fabulous!

Our day was like most Fridays--getting caught up and completing things. In Writer's Workshop, we revised, edited and completed our letters to our future 5th grade teachers. In Reader's Workshop, we completed blogs and wrote our Friday padlet. In Math Workshop, we reviewed all of the measurement concepts we've been learning over the last few weeks. Finally, in Science, we completed our inquiry study of electricity. Oh! In The City of Ember, Lina and Doon are wanted for spreading malicious rumors! Uh-oh! They found the way out of Ember but now they are "criminals!"

:)

It was just a beautiful day! We started with our letters to our future 5th grade teachers and these kids have such amazing goals and personal understanding that I'm smiling from ear to ear. In The City of Ember, Lina and Doon found movable light and how to get out of Ember!! They did NOT want me to quit reading! We read the poem, Who Am I? in Reader's Workshop and then completed the quiz about it...we misunderstood the mood...it was gloomy but we thought it was thoughtful--we must be in too good of moods to get the gloomy feeling! We also had time to read and blog. Students need at least 20 blogs by Monday to earn their sticker! (Ask your child if you don't know what I'm talking about...) We played-I mean, learned-using MinecraftEDU in Math Workshop today. We built homes, gardens, pens, etc. and then found the perimeter and area of these. We began a study of economics to conclude our day with an Ohio Studies Weekly about Specialization and Interdependence and a word search and scramble to review vocabulary.

More assessing...

I almost completed all of the reading assessments! I can finish the final 3 in the classroom while students are working independently. The patterns that I noticed on Monday continued today.

In the classroom, students began the day by working with Mad Libs-both online and the usual paper kind. Then, they worked on revising and editing their letters to their future 5th grade teachers. The substitute read, A Bad Case of Stripes, (one of my all-time favorites) for Read Aloud and discussed mood and the theme of the story. Students then finished their close reading questions for The Sword in the Stone during Reader's Workshop and returned all library books to the library. In Math Workshop, they reviewed line plots and then played an area game. Mrs. Vidic came in for Guidance to conclude the day.

Since I wasn't in the classroom, hopefully, your kiddo can give you all the details about the day!

Tuesday

Our day began with practicing parts of speech by completing Mad Libs. They are creating some pretty funny stuff! In Writer's Workshop, we continued writing our letters to their future 5th grade teachers. We read more from The City of Ember where Lina and Doon told the guard about what they found out about the Mayor. Lina also talked to Clary about everything and showed her the instructions. Clary shared with her that Egress means EXIT so these are Instructions to Exit! Reader's Workshop was focused on mood and in reading The Sword in the Stone, students answered specific questions about the story. We also read independently, blogged and visited the library for the final time this school year. In Math Workshop, we worked on tangrams and finding the area of the tangrams. Students are doing much better about persevering through problems. Finally, we ended our day with electricity and creating circuits.

Assessing

I was here today but there was a substitute in the classroom so I could assess student's on their reading abilities. So far, so good! I will be finishing up with these on Wednesday also, but what I'm seeing right now is that they get the basic ideas of the story but need some assistance in making inferences as well as understanding why and what the author did in creating the story. Continue to ask these questions of your child if discussing what they're reading.

The day started with completing Mad Libs and practicing parts of speech. Then, in Writer's Workshop, students started writing letters to their future 5th grade teachers. They will be telling them a little about themselves as well as what some of their goals are for next year. In Reader's Workshop, they discussed mood within the drama, The Sword in the Stone. Math Workshop was still dealing with area and perimeter but using shapes created with tangrams. Mrs. Hursey, the substitute, also began by reading Grandfather Tang, a story about tangrams. Finally, we ended the day with electricity and building circuits.

Week's End

We ended our week just as crazy and strong as we began it! We started with research. Students are able to pick any topic they'd like and whatever questions they want to find out. Then, after Music, we read more from The City of Ember where Doon found the mayor hoarding all the supplies! We also wrote our Friday padlet (padlet.com/heather_lambrig/Friday5-8), completed Mad Libs to practice parts of speech and read or blogged. In Math Workshop, we continued with area and perimeter and yes, their homework this week could entail playing Minecraft! Finally, we ended our day with our buddies-recess and completion of a secret Mother's Day project! :)

Full day of learning

I had to remind the kiddos that although the year is coming to an end, it is not over yet. It is so hard for them to continue to give their all these last few weeks but we'll do our best to continue with our daily learning up to May 29.

We began with Math 4 Today and I loved some of this say, "Oh, this isn't bad, we've already learned it!" Finally! Then, we looked at nouns, adjectives and verbs through School House Rocks videos and completed a Mad Lib to practice using them. Next, I stated that we would be completing some research and writing a research report and I actually got some excitement and "Yay!" out of them. They are picking their topics, researching their topics based on the 3 questions they developed and then writing a 5 paragraph report. Piece of cake! :) At lunch and recess, I checked my mailbox and found a letter from a 4th grade class in New Jersey. They invited us to join them in the Great Mail Race! We are so excited and hope to get letters from as many states as possible in return to what we are sending out tomorrow. Your student has a state or two and is supposed to find an elementary school's address to bring to school tomorrow. You can go to nces.gov.cdd/schoolsearch to help you find schools. We are so lucky they picked us! After that excitement, we got into groups of 3-4 and created shapes on the floor using tape. Then, we found the area and perimeter of our shapes. Finally, we went down to first grade to work with our buddies on a special treat for our moms!

Oh! We also got a new student today! Ask your kiddo about Claire!

Manic Monday

Oh my goodness! I'm not sure who's idea it was for our final assessment to take place on a Monday morning in May, but wow! I think the kiddos were crazier than they've ever been~it was like wrangling cattle to try and get them to stay quiet and focused!

After our Ohio Social Studies Assessment, we played Scattergories and had a blast! Ask your kiddo about our game. We had a lovely lunch and recess and then returned and followed along with a power point presentation on area and perimeter. Afterwards, we went to Music and then concluded our day with Science and more electricity inquiry!

Removal of clutter=ahhhhh

So I sent a bunch of stuff home with the kids which may add to your clutter at home-sorry-but at least the amount of clutter here, has helped me to feel less chaotic! (You only have one kid's clutter where I had 28!)
After reviewing basic Social Studies skills, we completed our LEGO project with dialogue. In Reader's Workshop, we read silently (I still don't have much of a voice), completed our Time For Kids work, blogged and worked on our Friday padlet. In Math Workshop, we completed our shoe designs and then finished up our Immigration work. Fridays seem to be a lot of "completing" and "finishing" up things.

Almost there

We had a busy day today but we are almost finished with the week and tomorrow is May! Wow! I cannot believe it is the end of the year already!

This morning we worked with iPads and laptops to take our LEGO creations and put them into the StoryVisualizer software. Then, in Reader's Workshop, we took a virtual field trip to the White House and listened to President Obama talk about reading and technology and getting connected in schools. In Math Workshop, we continued to secure our understanding of the metric system and conversions and managed to start a project where we are designing shoes--MY FAVORITE THINGS! :) Our day ended with electricity and completing circuits with MUCH better teamwork.

Walk-a-thon!

What a gorgeous day for the Walk-a-thon! We had raised money for our school, got in some good exercise and fresh air AND had a ton of fun! Thank you for all of your donations and support. You can donate still, in your child's name, at localevelevents.com/events/details/969, until May 6.
I also have lost my voice so that's been fun today...

In Writer's Workshop, we used iPads to take pictures of our LEGO creations and then began our "stories" using the StoryVisualizer software. In Reader's Workshop, we took a closer look at medieval times with a video by StoryWorks as well as learned some new vocabulary and read over the drama, The Sword in the Stone which we will read as a play tomorrow. We also read in our Time For Kids about taking care of our eyes as well as the rest of our body and learned about foods that give the appropriate nutrients to keep our eyes healthy. Do you know what carrots are good for your eyes? In Math Workshop, we continued our work with the metric system by playing a game where we did mental math, estimation, measuring and conversion. We also took a "quiz" as an exit/entrance slip to move on to our mini-measurement problem where we get to design SHOES!! Our day concluded with Guidance with Mrs. Vidic and talking about kindness.

I think my head is about to explode...

The children may have told you but I was out yesterday afternoon sick, but not before I fell off my chair and scared them half to death! I went to the doctor and have a sinus infection and I'm seriously surprised that my head hasn't exploded yet as it feels like it could happen at any moment. Luckily, I think I'm going to live! Anyway, here's what the last two days entailed:

Yesterday, we began a story using Lego StoryStarter prompts that will allow for dialogue. We created our designs yesterday and today. Then, in Reader's Workshop, we focused on identifying text structures, read and blogged. (Our blogs are getting caught up!) In Math Workshop, we put capacity measurements on a number line to help see how many cups in a pint? cups in a quart? quarts in a gallon? We also discussed how this number line reminds us of fractions and decimals and their equivalences. Aha! :) To end math for today, students discovered how many months, days, seasons, hours and even seconds old they are! (I was very sad to learn that I am 13,140 days old...) Finally, our days ended with completing our Immigration mini-project showing the following statement:  Explain how Ohio's population is increasingly reflective of the cultural diversity of the United States. 

TGIF!

Oh happy day! Today was great! Our day began with completing the revising and editing using the comment feature on Google Apps of our fictional narratives with dialogue. Lina figured out a few parts to the instructions in The City of Ember. She thinks there is something in the Pipeworks to help them and she's going to Doon to see what he thinks. In Reader's Workshop, we completed our Friday padlet, visited the book fair, read independently and blogged. During lunch today, 9 kiddos shared pizza lunch with me from Romeo's as a celebration from completing their Winter Break Challenge. (It took a long time to organize-sorry!) In Math Workshop today, we made a friend for Gallon Man to help us with conversions of customary measurements. Finally, our day concluded with our electricity inquiry and Immigration mini-projects.

Forgetting

Some kiddos are forgetting that "Every student shall be safe and able to learn," as well as at ADE, we take care of ourselves, others and our school. Spring and testing are notorious for this happening but as long as we continue to remind them, everything will go well.

Our day began like too many have, with PARCC testing, however, today was our last one! We have the Ohio Social Studies test on May 4, but that is it! After testing, we gave Mr. Buss our book that we made for him and he loved it. :) Then, we played Funglish-a really cool game where you have to get your team to guess a word using adjectives. Ask your kiddo--it took them a little while to get the hang of it but once we did, they rocked it! And, we had a ton of fun! In Math Workshop, we continued measuring and converting within the metric system. We still need more practice with conversions but we are getting there. Then, we worked on our Immigration in Ohio "project." Our day ended with Art.

Midway through the week already??

This morning we began with the Math End of Year PARCC test. The majority of the class showed a ton of effort~kudos to them! Part 2 of the Math will be tomorrow and that will end the PARCC!! We have the Social Studies test on Monday, May 4 and then we can say that we have completed testing! After the PARCC, we made flowers out of plastic bottles to decorate for the Garden Dedication ceremony. After lunch and recess, we had gym and then we enjoyed learning about the ADE Garden and the story of how it came to be. We then traveled outside and stood holding what we hope to be, a record breaking length of continuous ribbon. The ribbon was cut and then we ran back inside because it was soooo cold! :) Finally, the students chose to read independently while we listened to calming music. It was such a nice way to end such a chaotic day!

Walk-a-thon

We started our day with a community meeting in the gym to discuss the upcoming garden dedication and Walk-a-thon. We also introduced ourselves to Omar, our new student! In Writer's Workshop, we continued our work with our fictional narratives and in Reader's Workshop, we focused on text structures--the ways authors write to get their ideas/purpose across to the audience, (i.e. description, cause/effect, sequence, etc.). In The City of Ember, there was a big black out and Lina and Poppy were separated during that, which was super scary. Luckily, Doon was there to "save the day!" In Math Worskhop, we moved on to the metric system. We DISCOVERED, using cm cubes, dm sticks and meter sticks, that 100 cm = 1 m, 10 dm = 1 m, 1,000 mm = 1 m. We also found the fraction and decimal equivalents and discovered that the metric system is a lot like place and value. :) Our day concluded with Mrs. Vidic and guidance.

Only Tuesday??

Well, it's only Tuesday, I guess... We are chatty and social BUT we are completing our work, for the most part. We are also getting a new student tomorrow! Omar starts tomorrow and he comes here from New York. We are super excited and can't wait to meet him! Our day began with M4T and continuing our fictional narratives. Students are so much more focused with using these story plot graphic organizers. We gathered more details about The City of Ember and learned about Clary and the greenhouses. Then, students read Up from Slavery in their StoryWorks as well as listened along with someone reading the story and/or watching a video about Booker T. Washington, thanks to the amazing resources provided along with our StoryWorks subscriptions. We made it outside for recess and then came in and continued our work with measuring and understanding angles. Students are doing great with this and some got the chance to use their understanding to play a game of golf on the computer. http://www.mesc.gov.ws/ssn1/Golf/golf.htm if you'd like to play at home-they really seemed to enjoy it! Finally, our day concluded with electricity!

Perfect weather for outside classroom!

Our morning began with creating a plot map for our fictional narratives. After we figured out where our story was going, we began writing. I noticed that the writing was much more focused after creating this plan. Then, after Music, we decided that since it was so nice outside, we'd show Mr. Buss our outdoor classroom space. We read The City of Ember while enjoying the gorgeous fresh air! We are still getting to know the characters and setting of Ember so not much is happening right now. Once we got back inside :( , we began reading a new story in our StoryWorks, Up From Slavery, and worked on understanding some new vocabulary words. We also read independently and took some time to count up our blogs and how many we have left to complete our 30-book challenge. In Math Workshop today, we tried to work on all of the measurement that deals with angles and students did a great job applying their understanding. At the end of the day, we had a bonus special by helping out in Music with the 3rd graders and recorders.

TGIF

What a good day! The storms and rain cleared out and we were able to go outside! This morning, we began putting dialogue into a fictional narrative. Then, after Art, we read, blogged and worked on the Grammar Cop portion of our StoryWorks. We also created a Friday Fun padlet. Remember those letters/notes we used to write on Friday's? Well, they went away but we found a more fun way to bring them back! Check it out at: padlet.com/heather_lambrig/Friday4-10 . In Math Workshop today, we all worked on the same task, although some were able to be more independent than others, we completed some real world implications of using angles and measuring angles. Our day ended with electricity inquiry and we finally got all 6 groups to complete their circuit and light the bulb!

Storms

Well, there are definitely some kiddos with a fear of storms in our class... I gave out some free hugs after a few cracks of thunder and a power glitch! :)

This morning, Mr. Buss and Mr. Smith led the students in an activity with dialogue and punctuating quotation marks correctly. They used pictures of themselves making expressions and partnered up to make a conversation. Good times! Then, in The City of Ember, Lina began her messenger job and is tasked with a message to the mayor. She doesn't know yet, but this message is the beginning of something big. After read aloud, students worked with Mr. Buss and Mr. Smith to share discussion and understanding of the paired text about toy safety from StoryWorks. We also had time to read independently, visit the library and blog. In Math Workshop today, we were a little disjointed compared to yesterday. I was enthralled at how well the differentiation of learning went yesterday but today, it seemed a little too chaotic. I think they all still learned and continued to be in charge of their learning but I felt that I didn't have as good of a grasp on their understanding and security as I did previously. It's ok. I'll be a little more organized with the chaos tomorrow! Finally, we began our Science Inquiry unit on electricity but first, we watched the Electricity song from School House Rocks!

Celebration time!

I am overwhelmed with the feeling of such a full heart! Watching the students' plan come together to celebrate Layth and his family was indescribable. Thank you!!
Our day began with a community meeting led by Mr. Higginbotham. We talked about how at ADE, we take care of others, take care of ourselves and take care of our school, as well as what that looks like. Then, we had a FUN quotation mark activity. What would the conversation look like if Justin Bieber, President Obama and Lebron James were all chatting? What about Katniss, a minion and Beyonce? Or Katy Perry, Mr. Higginbotham and Elsa? SO FUN! After music, we learned a little more about The City of Ember and Lina and Doon. What is this place? Then, we worked on providing text evidence to answer questions about the paired text in StoryWorks. Ask your kiddo about the creepy baby! Our celebration was great--check your email for pictures... Then, in Math Workshop, some moved on to additive angles and finding missing angle measures when they know part of the picture. To conclude our day, (and coming down from the sugar high), we watched a couple videos about Immigration.

Deluge!

Deluge is a word that we learned earlier in the year but with the way it was raining yesterday, I think it fit!

We uploaded our book trailers to padlet all morning. It was a process but now that we know the steps (and there are many), we should be able to do this more often and quicker next time. Check it out by going to padlet.com/heather_lambrig/booktrailers  . We also began a new read aloud, City of Ember. This will jumpstart our electricity unit and help us to understand the real life implications of electricity. After lunch and recess, we measured using protractors and learned more about what the journey was like for immigrants and why they chose to immigrate. 

New seats maybe?

Ok. The chatting and talking while others are talking and not paying attention has got to stop. So, tomorrow, we will be getting new seats. This happens every spring and although they aren't doing anything terrible, they are keeping learning from happening. I'll let you know how it goes but I'm sure you'll hear about it! Our day began with 2 FEEP students from OSU! Mr. Smith was also with us as his school, Starling Elementary, is on Spring Break this week. I have to say, it's nice having 2 sets of extra hands! Anyway, we began with "talking." We discussed dialogue and quotation marks. We looked at the 'rules' of adding dialogue to our writing and how we use it to add to our writing. Said is dead! We brainstormed a list of words to use instead of said. Then, using elbow macaroni as our comma and quotation marks, we corrected sentences using dialogue. Mr. Terupt made it! He had the brain surgery and woke up from his coma! AND, the class gets to loop and continue the magic next year. Because of Mr. Terupt was a great read! Then, we got a new StoryWorks and read a pretty creepy story about dolls-according to the children. We also read, blogged and/or visited the library. After lunch and recess, we discovered what we already know about measurement before starting our measurement unit. Listing everything we already know helped us to feel more confident with moving forward. I also shared with them the statistics of students passing their math assessments from the first math test to this last one. On the first assessment, 16 students scored below 72%. On this last geometry assessment only 2 students scored below a 72%. Wow. Again, this knowledge helped them gain confidence in their mathematical knowledge. Finally, our day ended with learning about Immigration. We began with a School House Rocks video, then read some from a book about young, recent immigrants to the United States. Social Studies ended with an Ohio Studies Weekly about Immigration more specifically in Ohio.

Here is a picture of a birthday treat we enjoyed today. 

Spring has sprung!

Sorry for no post yesterday, I had my OSU class until 7:30 and then forgot. Oops!

This morning I was out because of doctor appointments but Mrs. Bowers was in and said they were great and she loved the creativity she saw from them. Kudos! They began their day completing their paired texts--a personal narrative about their spring break and a poem that they've either written or found. Then, in Reader's Workshop, they continued working on their amazing book trailers! You'll see these on our padlet next Wednesday after we upload them with the help of Mrs. Riley, our technology teacher. I arrived around lunch time and then after lunch and recess, in Math Workshop, some kiddos took their Geometry assessment while others continued practicing and/or working with me to clear up and misconceptions they may have had. The last two assessments, we've completed this way, where the students have been in charge of when they test and how much practice they need. It has really worked out! Then, since we completed our Mrs. Potato Head before break but the weather was too cold, we celebrated our reward with extra recess. It was glorious and I loved seeing them play, enjoy and be kids!

Crazy day!

Wow. It was a crazy day trying to get back into the swing of things. We began by creating dollar words and figuring out how much our name is worth. (This is something from our read aloud book-ask your kiddo.) Then, in Writer's Workshop, we are writing personal narratives about our break and finding or writing a poem to be paired with our narrative. After some recorder time in Music, we finished up March in Because of Mr. Terupt. Then, we used iMovie to create our book trailers. These will be going on a padlet for you all to see soon! After recess, we discussed the importance of hand washing. There are so many germs going around right now, especially the nasty stomach bug one, and we want to stay as healthy as possible. So, after MAKING them wash their hands, we moved on to math. We worked with 2 different Exemplars, both with symmetry. Finally, we read about transportation in the 1800's and used our LEGO StoryStarters to "show" the changes in transportation in Ohio.

Yay!

We have earned our final potato head piece and will be celebrating tomorrow with extra recess!

As always, we started our day with M4T and then moved on to researching and writing our I Survived stories. Tomorrow is the last day to work on these. Then, after gym, things got really interesting in Because of Mr. Terupt! The "accident" has happened. Mr. Terupt has been hit in the face/head? with an ice ball... Will he be ok? No one wanted to stop reading but we had to go get our picture taken! Then, they continued working on their perspective question and answers. After lunch and recess, we worked with triangles and quadrilaterals in math workshop through stations. They used geoboards and measured triangles and applied what they've learned in an Exemplar. We read Sir Cumference and the Knight of Angleland and watched the 1st grade musical to end our day.

What a day...

Wow. I'm not sure what is going on but 4 behavior slips went home today. It was not a great day for some of the class. :( Our day began with M4T and then continued research and writing for their "I Survived" stories. After Music, we learned a little more about the 'insides' of the characters in Because of Mr. Terupt. We realized that the more we get to know them, the harder it is to draw how others see them. We discussed using figurative language to help with these drawings. Then, we looked at perspective and point of view with literary text but with NON human characters. For example, what would your shirt have to say if it could talk? We read some books and then started creating our questions for interview. We also read independently and visited the library, if it was our day. It was a beautiful recess! In Math Workshop, we discussed and classified triangles by their angles and sides. We also looked at the properties of quadrilaterals and how to classify the different types. Finally, we discussed the different viewpoints of the parties involved with Ohio becoming a state and why they might feel the way they did. Then, we snuck in a little bit more reading of Because of Mr. Terupt!

Close but...

Unfortunately, my littlest had a doctor appointment this afternoon so I had to be out. The report I have received from a student in the class was that we will not be earning our final piece today because of the mess and behavior of some kiddos... If it looks like it is just a few kiddos, after reading the substitute's note, then I will look at awarding the final piece to Mrs. Potato-head but those students will not be participating. I'll let you know.
This morning, we researched and wrote, researched and wrote... These stories are going to awesome! After Art, we read more from Because of Mr. Terupt and learned some new things about some of the children and now have some further questions about them too. Does your child have a favorite character? Why do they like them? Are they able to identify with a character? Why? Then, they continued working on their newspaper articles that we began yesterday. The afternoon was supposed to be full of triangles, quadrilaterals and fossils!

One more piece

We only need one more potato head piece for our next celebration. They can do it IF they use self-discipline. Some kiddos are being way too social and too noisy.
Our day started with Math 4 Today and then on to research for our I Survived stories. They are doing pretty well with the story ideas but need to dig a little deeper with their research to truly write from the perspective of someone in the era they are writing in. For example, today, a student talked about using a sword in a battle. I challenged him to research exact weapons used by which people (Native Americans, French, English) so that he could be more exact. We also discussed researching from the perspective of their character. An example of this would be during the French and Indian War. What do they need to know from the perspective of the British compared to that on the Native Americans? Speaking of perspective, our focus in Reader's Workshop has been on point of view and perspective. We visited this topic earlier in the year while reading Wonder, but now we are diving deeper and comparing and contrasting the different perspectives. We are doing this through reading Because of Mr. Terupt in read aloud where we are viewing a class from the different perspectives of the students in the class. Last week and the beginning of this week, we've also been looking at perspective with informational text through first-hand accounts vs. second-hand accounts. We used Ruby Bridges' story last week and read from a few very different perspectives about Christopher Columbus' voyage to the New World, as well as the impact of September 11 through the book 14 Cows for America. Students are now journalists and writing articles from different perspectives about one of the events, using the literature we've read. After a glorious outdoor recess, we were, "All about the shapes, 'bout the shapes..." in Math Workshop. We sorted and categorized and discovered and discussed. By the end, students were able to describe shapes using all of the geometrical terms we've been discussing. Our day concluded with Social Studies and an Ohio Studies Weekly to help learn about the road to Ohio's Statehood and the Northwest Territory.

It's Friday, Friday...

We got a lot accomplished today and it was chaotic and fun and stressful and crazy! We took a M4T test this morning and only a handful of kiddos did well on it. Hrmph. Then, we had Guidance with Mrs. Vidic and Mrs. Williams' class. After special, we started a new book for read aloud to help us with perspective and point of view, called Because of Mr. Terupt. So far, it is really good! Ask your child what it's about and be sure to ask them about Dollar Words, too. After Read Aloud, we looked at comparing and contrasting first-hand accounts and second-hand accounts of historical events using informational text. We read about Ruby Bridges and compared Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges and The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Cole. The students did a great job finding the similarities and differences between the two accounts of the same event. They didn't have much time to read independently or blog though but they were ok with this. We thought we were going to make it outside for recess but it started raining while we were eating and we ended up staying in. Blah. The afternoon was a little where the chaos and fun came in... we made fossils! (and a big mess!) and we played Mrs. L says with geometry terms and looked at the geometry of letters and explored and discovered using geoboards! I'll be posting pictures on Twitter and Facebook of our Fridaty Fun! Check them out: Twitter: @ADE4thGrade and Facebook: Fourth Grade Superheroes !

Almost there

It's only Thursday?? This has been a long week for me. Anyway, our day began with research and writing. Our stories are coming along great but some feel like they're finished when I feel they need to dig a little deeper. So, tomorrow, we will be conferencing so that we can figure out where they need to find more information to make their stories more delicious! After special, Mr. Buss finished Chasing the Falconers and they almost fought over the two copies of book 2 because they all want to continue with the series! In Reader's Workshop, Mr. Buss and I met with the remaining groups of kiddos to discuss the drama about Mrs. Parks, they also read, blogged and worked on their book trailers. It was outside recess!!!! Then, in Math Workshop, we began Geometry. We first learned some basic terms, practiced the terms with a little game of Mrs. L says and then went on a hunt around the school and outside to find examples of these new Geometry ideas. I don't know what happened but this group of kiddos are showing that they are finally just as strong in Math as they are in Reading. Kudos! Finally, we worked in Social Studies on the Northwest Territory leading up to how Ohio becomes a state. Let's just say the girls and students that aren't white males were a little perturbed at the second step in the process! :)

Hump day!

We love Wednesdays because of our school news and the hump day commercial! Our day started with research and transitioning into characteristics of the "I Survived" books. We compiled all of the characteristics and some of us have enough research to start writing. After our hygiene lesson by Nurse Stoner last week, some kiddos informed me that they made sure to put deodorant on this morning since we had gym. :) We are almost finished with Chasing the Falconers but will let Mr. Buss finish it with them tomorrow. After read aloud, we worked on our critical thinking questions for the drama in StoryWorks, continued our work with our book trailers, read and blogged. We had one more day of indoor recess because of the leftover snow and puddles but we should definitely be outside tomorrow! In Math Workshop, the rest of us took our test and we did the best we've done on an assessment yet! 22/26 passed! 16/26 received A's and B's! Woohoo! After our test, we used the time for free math. Finally, we completed our fossil books.

Well that was easy!

I was out this morning with my littlest--her asthma has really been flaring up so we were meeting with the pulmonologist to try and figure out why. Anyway, I wasn't able to give the final assessment-Social Studies, but they said that it was the easiest one they took. That could either be good or bad. I guess we'll know when we get the results! :) Mrs. Richardson was proctoring the test for me, Mrs. Lantz was the substitute and Mr. Buss was there too! I guess it takes a lot of people to fill my shoes! haha After the assessment, they worked on creating book trailers. We previewed a lot of book trailers in voting for March Book Madness and thought they were super cool and creative so I thought we'd give it a try. I'm going to be learning about a new tool, Padlet, next week, to use to compile all of our trailers when finished, and will share them with you when I get that complete. After recess, some students took their decimal math test and others continued with practice. I think they really liked doing this one at their own pace. The rest want to take the test tomorrow so I guess we'll be doing that. I think we'll keep up with this way of understanding concepts. I will have some projects ready to go for those that might need an independent study topic while the rest of the class is continuing to practice. We had special after Math Workshop and then came back and continued working on our fossil stories.

Meh

Today was alright-nothing great, nothing horrible. We started the day with continuing to research our historical time periods/event for our "I Survived..." stories. Then, after special, Mr. Buss continued reading Chasing the Falconers. It looks like this book is coming to an end...is this s series that your kiddo will continue with? In Reader's Workshop, Mr. Buss and I met with groups to discuss the drama and the influence Mrs. Parks had on our society. We also read and blogged and worked on writing our thoughts to some critical thinking questions. Recess was OUTSIDE today! Yay! In Math Workshop, we worked with decimals and instead of giving them an exit slip, I asked them to rate themselves. Do they fell like: "I completely understand and am ready to move on." "I need more practice." or "I need some help understanding." Those that felt that they were ready to move on, as long as I agreed with this statement, will be taking their assessment tomorrow and trying out an enrichment project until the rest of us get to that point. Ask your kiddo where they felt they were and how they feel about being truly in charge of their learning. We concluded our day with a fossil game. Ask what the point of this game was and if they were ever "Fossilized."

Wow!

So our day started off so strong! We began our research on an Ohio topic where we will be writing an "I Survive..." story as our finished project. Some of the topics are: French and Indian War, Ohio's role in the Civil War, War of 1812, Underground Railroad, Great Depression. (1 potato head piece) In Music, they were absolutely amazing and Mrs. Root gave them all kinds of accolades! (1 more potato head piece) Mr. Buss read two chapters in Chasing the Falconers and they didn't want him to stop. Ask your kiddo what is so exciting. In Reader's Workshop, we practiced our fluency and continued World Read Aloud Day from yesterday, by reading the drama in StoryWorks about Rosa Parks. We also worked with cause and effect, read independently and blogged. In Math Workshop, we continued our understanding of decimals and their relationship to fractions and equivalencies between tenths and hundredths. Finally, our day ended with more research!

FINALLY!

I'm going to share what we did TODAY, today!

Our day began just like yesterday, but this time with our LAST PARCC! It's a good thing, too, because they are done with these tests. At least we have a few weeks until the next round and they now know what to expect so we won't need to do any preparation-it will be just like taking any assessment on any other day. After the tests were turned in, we moved our tables back and got re-organized as a community. Then, we were able to celebrate World Read Aloud day! First, Mr. Buss read Chasing the Falconers and then I read The Book With No Pictures (another one from our March Book Madness bracket). While I read aloud, they created a mural of words and illustrations that came to mind while I was reading this silly book. They also took turns reading it. We also watched some book trailers and voted for Round 1 of March Book Madness. (marchbookmadness.weebly.com to check out voting and brackets; http://padlet.com/raayres1/2015mbm to view the book trailers) After recess, we finished voting for Round 1 and participated in a few more World Read Aloud day activities like creating a new book cover for one of our favorite read alouds/books. Art was our special for today and afterward, we continued our work with fossils by sequencing the events for how an animal becomes a fossil.

Well, I'm not doing much better...

Here's what we did YESTERDAY, Tuesday, March 3:

We started our day with the first of two Math PARCC tests. It proved to be a little more challenging for them as I saw stress for the first time but after a quick pep talk, they were good. Afterwards, we read Chasing the Falconers (I got to read!) and I shared some of the books for March Book Madness that I picked up at the public library with them. I read Pigeon Needs a Bath to them not just because it is one of the picture books on the brackets but also because some of them needed some reminders about hygiene... stinky! :) (We'll blame it on the power outage-showering by candlelight was not fun!) After lunch and recess, we learned how to use a protractor! They loved this so much-learning to use a new tool but also because it was different than the fractions and decimals we've been doing for months-that I think we might take about 30 minutes of math instruction each week to learn something new/different/future or a tool. After "playing" around with angles and protractors, we continued our work with decimals and placing decimals on a number line. After special, we drew dinosaurs. Yes, it was fun but it was also our introduction to fossils!

Monday (completed on Tuesday...sorry!)

Our day began with a review of Primary and Secondary sources. Then, we discussed our research project that we are beginning this week. We are going to write "I Survived ____" stories. We read about the books by Lauren Tarshis as well as the scholastic website with a lot of resources about the I Survived series.  http://laurentarshis.com/i-survived and http://www.scholastic.com/isurvived/
Instead of using world tragedies, however, they will be using times from Ohio's history for their historical event to research and write about. What topic did your kiddo choose? After special, Mr. Buss read more about Meg and Aiden with us and their journey, 'on the run.' Then, in honor of World Read Aloud day this week, we read the drama in our StoryWorks. We also read independently, blogged and finished up looking for topics for our research. In Math Workshop, we continued our work with decimals by looking at the equivalence between 7/10 and 70/100 and what that means, truly. Finally, we completed our day by looking at the Math PARCC practice to see what we would be encountering for this test. We practiced bubbling in our answers and looking at the other types of questions that we might need to solve.

A Full(ish) week COMPLETE

Our day started just like it did yesterday and the day before that. Students took the Narrative part of the PARCC today and of course, did awesome. Afterwards, Mr. Buss continued with Chasing the Falconers where Meg and Aidan are "on the run!" Then, we had a wonderful time playing Apples to Apples, Jr. We first played in 3 smaller groups but then played a couple rounds as one giant group. I was a little disturbed to see that someone thought of 'teachers' when the word 'smelly' came up... :( I hope I don't smell... This afternoon, we completed more decimal and fraction practice by writing our name using 100 grids. Students will find the decimal and fraction of each letter in their name. Art was our special and afterward, we had some free computer time where some wrote stories using Google Apps, others played fraction and decimal games in MangaHigh, some used our LEGO StoryVisualizer software and others chose to check out our online classroom in Canvas. TGIF!!

2 down, 1 to go (this week)

I saw a ton more effort today on the research simulation unit of the PARCC. Kudos to the kiddos! After working super hard, Mr. Buss, our Ohio State FEEP student, began his read aloud. He began, Chasing the Falconers by Gordon Korman. It is the first book in the "On the Run" series and so far, they seem engaged. I dislike relinquishing control of my favorite thing to do each day though! I can't wait to read it myself to them on days he's not here--shhhh! :) We also set up our brackets for March Book Madness. Will The Very Hungry Caterpillar beat Scaredy Squirrel?! Will Diary of a Wimpy Kid win against The Watson's Go To Birmingham-1963?! We only completed the Pre-2014 bracket and I've encouraged them to read up on some of the 2014 books so that we can complete that bracket as voting begins next Wednesday. Then, we can cast our votes and see how we do. We looked at the map of classrooms/schools participating and almost all of the continents are playing along! I've posted the site on my Canvas page (ask the kiddos about this) but here is the link if you'd like to check it out yourself. marchbookmadness.weebly.com/ After lunch and recess, we continued with better understanding of decimals by modeling and representing decimals using base-10 blocks, stamps of the blocks and money. We also counted on by tenths or hundredths using calculators. Students showed a much more secure understanding today. We had gym and then came back and completed one more English/Language Arts PARCC practice example of what to expect tomorrow--there was a different rubric so I wanted to be sure and show them what is expected of them.

Testing #1--DONE!

We did it! We survived the first of many, PARCC tests! The students didn't feel it was that bad, so cool! The test took about an hour for everyone to finish. Then, we read, wrote and blogged until lunchtime. After lunch and recess, we started our learning with decimals! They did awesome! Then, we had special and guidance.

Spoke too soon...

Well, we won't be having a FULL week but hopefully will be here all 5 days at least. I almost think late start days are harder than a full day--the kids are off, I'm off, our schedule is off and we are trying to cram an entire day's worth of information and learning into a 2-hour shorter day. Oh well~we made it work!
This morning, we completed the research portion of the practice PARCC and they scored well below the score they received yesterday on the written portion. We discussed that I had been able to predict this outcome because of the work ethic I noticed between the two days. I also shared about a movie I saw over the weekend, When the Game Stands Tall. It's a true story about a football team and has a REALLY good message about confidence, teamwork and believing in yourself no matter what. I shared this with them and that even though the team was the underdog going into the game, they played with heart and confidence and it showed. While we were on the sentimental talk, I also mentioned about an acceptance speech I read about from the Oscars. I didn't see the speech but I read some quotes from the screenwriter that reminded me of the message I give the kiddos, "Stay weird. Stay different..." They love that I love being weird and different than everybody else and I hope they continue to feel this way. Anyway, I said that there has been a lot of talk about the PARCC and these tests and that they've probably heard their parents talking but that this was their time to shine. To show the state of Ohio that we "got mad skills!" and that we can take whatever they give us and do awesome! :) (I should totally be a motivational speaker, right?!)
After lunch/recess, we took our math fractions test. I know, really? But, Dr. Marschhausen mentioned something at my Professional Development last week that really stuck with me. He said that if we truly KNOW and understand the information, we shouldn't really need to study. Huh. So, we took the fraction test and so far, so good with what I've graded. After this test and because we didn't have special today, the 4th grade decided to take a brain break. In my room, we had free art. There was some kooky dancing with a video in Miss Cross' room and students worked on making blankets for the silent auction in Mrs. Williams' room. Finally, our day ended with some reading, writing and blogging.

Finally!

We had a day of school~woohoo! However, our schedule was a little crazy and will continue to be for most of the week. Our morning was spent talking about the PARCC and doing a little more practice. Today, we practiced completing a writing question within a time limit as well as scoring the writing using the rubric. This part of the PARCC is completely new to them so it was good to practice completing and scoring it. I think it's always good to know what is expected. This afternoon, we had an introduction to research and HOW to efficiently use sources to research, with Mrs. Richardson in the Media Center. Then, we used our LEGO StoryVisualizer software to complete our stories with our buddies. It seems short but our day was packed!

Valentines + sugar = crazy day!

OMG-today was crazy! They were loud and chatty and just plain crazy! We started with M4T and then after going over the answers and watching the news, we passed out valentines. The goal was for this to take about 15 minutes and then for students to enjoy 1 treat while they wrote in Writer's Workshop. However, at the end of Writer's Workshop, most students barely had their name on their paper. So, after special and after finishing Love That Dog, we finished our writing prompt. I let them know that as I've been grading their Checkpoint Writing Assessments, most of them have fallen in the mid-3rd grade level band. This didn't make them very happy. I also explained that the only way to become a better writer is to write more. This got them working (but only for a short time.) After turning in their prompt, they read, wrote poetry and blogged. It was inside recess thanks to the mini-snow storm we had this morning and frigid temperatures and when I returned, I found out that students snuck candy and put on tattoos from their valentines that were supposed to be in their bookbags until they got home. So, Math Workshop wasn't as fun as we thought because I wasn't Miss Happy... We finished up our Exemplar from yesterday about planting crops and then moved on to a little game-ish thing where we had to multiply fractions times whole numbers and model it with an area model, number line and equation. Math was cut a little short and we finished out the day sharing our Pitches for inventions. Good job inventors!

Conference night-sorry so late!

We had a good day-sorry this is being written so late. Hopefully, your kiddo has filled you in on our day but here's my interpretation of how things went. We began with M4T and then continued with our writing prompt from yesterday. However, the technology wasn't as readily available so I'm not sure it is their best work. They will have another chance tomorrow to work on their writing with a pretty interesting prompt. After gym, we continued reading Love That Dog and discussing poetry. Jack's poems are getting longer and showing more emotion. Has your child added to our POETree?? We also went over the PARCC poem and questions that we had answered this week. Students agree that they did not do as well as they could have done. Don't forget that they can practice online if they want by going to parcconline.com and parcc.pearson.com. The format is similar to StoryWorks but way different than they are used to. The rest of Reader's Workshop was spent blogging, writing poetry, reading and/or visiting the library. After OUTDOOR recess, we worked with multiplying fractions by whole numbers with some real life examples as well as some basic procedural practice. Finally, our day concluded learning about careers, passions and inventions in Guidance with Mrs. Vidic.

1/2 day

This time, it was Ella home sick with a sinus infection and ear infection so I took my shift-the afternoon. We had a familiar substitute so hopefully, things were great. Here's what we did this morning and what was supposed to happen in the afternoon:

We completed our Math 4 Today and within today's problems, we were able to make a connection to what we began in math workshop yesterday. They had to shade 2/6 of the sets. I helped them to see that they were really just multiplying a fraction (2/6) times a whole number (the total number in the set.) It was a big a-ha! for some of them. Then, we practiced homophones and learned some new vocabulary too-troupe (troop), hostile and hostel, compliments vs. complements... Afterwards, I gave them another prompt for a short writing experience. I needed to reiterate that short refers to the amount of time, not the amount of writing, however. They got started but we had a fire drill and weren't able to complete today so we'll be finishing with the same prompt tomorrow. In music, they learned a new note or two on the recorder! Students are starting to connect more to Love That Dog and to poetry more too. They are noticing how Jack, the main character is changing throughout the story and how he's growing as a writer by being inspired by other great authors/poets. Afterward, we completed some practice PARCC questions that accompanied a poem. Students blogged, read, visited the library and wrote poetry to add to our class POETree. (Ha! I kill myself!) This afternoon, in math workshop, they were to read a book, The Doorbell Rang to jumpstart their work with multiplying fractions with whole numbers. Then, they worked with beans to complete riddles. In Social Studies, they completed an Ohio Studies Weekly about the Frontier Wars. Ohio is getting close to becoming a state...!

Manic Monday

I don't know what it is about Mondays...

We started off with completed our M4T and realizing that students need to practice their multiplication! Some forgot how to multiply--uh-oh! Then, in Word Study, we focused on homophones. We watched a cool little video :) and then used what we recognized and learned to write a short opinion piece. Which would you rather have: the ability to never need sleep or the ability to read people's minds? Most students picked to read people's minds but clearly, as an adult, I say that there is never enough time in the day and would love to not need sleep! In reading Love That Dog, we found that poetry is full of emotion and feelings, which is what makes is awesome. Some were even eager to begin writing their own. We also learned about onomatopoeia-ask your kiddo what that is. After lunch and recess, I handed back our math assessments and overall, they did better. Then, for today, we looked at multiplying fractions by whole numbers. This was a great connection to multiplication being repeated addition and knowing how to add fractions. We read a book, Full House and completed a couple of realistic problems based off the book. We also used a new problem solving model to help us understand the problem better. Does your child like number lines or models better? Addition equations or multiplication equations? Finally, we listened to a few more pitches for our Science inventions.

5 days!

We made it! Today, they were crazy! However, we completed our Math 4 Today assessment and had 6 students score 9/10--which is one of the best weeks we've had with our M4T. Then, we worked on our Winter Progress Presentations or Portfolios to share their part for conferences next week. (I will either share these with you as a pdf or have them log in and share with you at home.) Since we finished The Beaded Moccasins yesterday, (I hope they shared this with you.) we began a new book today. We are going to read Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, which is a quick poetry novel and then Mr. Buss will be reading our next book. After beginning our new book, students read, worked on their "portfolios" and some worked with me on making inferences. After indoor recess, we took our math assessment. I worked closely with about 5-6 kiddos and some others asked some clarifying questions but other than that, I'm hopeful that they did well as they didn't need my assistance. I'll grade them over the weekend and return them on Monday. Finally, we ended our day with some "Pitches" about inventions. So far, so good!

Shhh!

Oh my goodness they were chatty today!! Our M4T went well this morning and then we started our portfolios on Google Slides/Presentations to share our progress with you. After gym, in The Beaded Moccasins, Mary made it to see Mrs. Stewart-now Mrs. Sequin-and she is doing well. She's going to have a baby and name him/her after Sammy. Seeing Mrs. Stewart "move on" has made Mary question a lot of her feelings right now. Then, in Reader's Workshop, we finished reading the paired texts about hamburgers and tacos and compared and contrasted them. Can your kiddo tell you what group of people started eating hamburgers and why they are called hamburgers? We also spent time just reading. It was indoor recess again but students seem to not mind much. Then, we USED our knowledge of fractions to complete line plots. The first one was about our shoe size and the second was about our head circumference. We will have our assessment on Friday so practice, practice! Finally, we ended our day working on our inventions and pitches. We will be pitching our ideas to the "investors" beginning on Friday.

Monday, really?

I didn't like this Monday thing. Ugh. :)

We started with our M4T and a really good review of multiplication. Then, we visited Wonderopolis to find out about Groundhog's Day. We also watched the video of Punxsutawney Phil. We took inspiration from these and created shadow images and then wrote about our shadow figures. We ended up with a lot of bunnies. After a lovely recorder session in Music, we learned about marriage with Mary in The Beaded Moccasins. Mary also discussed the daughter she is replacing with Hepte. She wanted to know more but the Delaware no longer talk about them once they are stars leading to heaven. In Reader's Workshop, we read the paired texts about Hamburgers and Tacos, after we learned some pretty cool new vocabulary. Ask your kiddo what ecstasy means or what cumin is. Some of us also started blogging with our Columbus State students about books we're reading. Recess was indoor but then we practiced our Math problem solving and application of fractions by completing real world problems involving fractions--one about cutting a board and another about using string. Then, we sat down together and just talked about how we solved these problems. Man, these guys are good at explaining their thinking IF THEY WOULD JUST TRANSFER THAT TO WRITING IT DOWN!! Please help them to write more at home to make this easier. They need to share their thinking in writing on the PARCC assessments and will be much better prepared if they have more practice. Finally, we worked on our inventions and pitches.

Thank goodness

Our day started with our Math 4 Today assessment. Only 3 students earned 10/10...that's more than last time but these problems aren't very challenging... Hopefully, we'll have better news to report next week. In Writer's Workshop, we wrote freely and/or blogged. After Art, we read from The Beaded Moccasins. Not much is happening right now. Mary is acclimating to her new "life" and Mrs. Stewart is going to be traded to Sequin for muskets! In Reader's Workshop, we completed our critical thinking questions about the poem we read the other day. We had indoor recess once again but the teachers on duty tell me that our class is the most well behaved! In Math Workshop, we looked at fractions in a different way. Instead of fractions of a whole (like a pan of brownies), we worked with fractions of a set (1/2 of the class are girls, how many girls?) We also completed some review problems with ordering fractions and fractions on a number line. Finally, we worked on our inventions and pitches for our inventions to conclude our day.

Slippery!

Well, we made it to school in that treacherous weather this morning! I hope you all made it safely where you were headed. Geesh! We began our day with our M4T as well as some more tidying up-this time, it was our hermit crabs that benefitted! We changed their sand and cleaned out their cages. Then, we went on to complete our Checkpoint Writing Assessment. The state of Ohio says that all 4th graders need to take a district wide writing assessment and so we had 45 minutes to complete the writing process from start to finish--I know, only 45 minutes! Anyway, they did great and came up with some amazing topics to write their opinion essay. So, we've completed 2 rounds of SRI and SMI (Scholastic Reading/Math Inventory), 2 rounds of our Fountas and Pinnell reading assessments (where I pull students independently and listen to them read and discuss what they read--this is where we get a "level" for them) and completed our writing assessment. Now, all we have left is 10 days of state testing... :) I know it seems and feels daunting and not what is best for kids but it is what it is. We'll be doing some things to prepare for these new assessments over the next few weeks but don't worry--we'll make it work! I'm confident that these kiddos will shine! Now, off my soapbox.
After a very smelly gym (I had a mini-chat with them about proper hygiene because they STUNK today!), we took what we thought was going to be a virtual field trip to Mt. Rushmore! However, we ended up going to Texas A&M where we heard a Q & A with Barbara Bush. At the tail end, we did learn about a new thing called Augmented Reality which we thought was pretty cool and I'm going to be looking into some apps to see if we can work with this cool new technology. In Math Workshop today, after some independent math time, students worked on an Exemplar, or a real world math problem, and did a pretty good job explaining their thinking in writing about how they found their answer. They are pretty much on point for where they should be with fractions--woohoo! Finally, we completed our day with Science where they are becoming inventors and to share their work, they will be creating a "pitch" like on Shark Tank!

Tuesday and Wednesday

So I just realized that I forgot to blog yesterday-oops! Anyway, here's what we have been up to!

This week, we are back to working with our Math 4 Today as our brain warm-up to begin our day. Then, in Writer's Workshop, we blogged and wrote freely. Have you checked out your kiddo's Google Apps folder? Some have a pretty extensive portfolio of writing already! After Art, we got our new StoryWorks magazine, read from The Beaded Moccasins and read independently and/or blogged. We also worked with personification--giving human characteristics to inanimate objects. Students had a little trouble with this so we worked together to understand. In Math Workshop, we learned to compose mixed numbers from improper fractions as well as improper fractions as mixed numbers. Finally, our day concluded with a video by Bill Nye about inventions.

We continued our free writing and blogging in Writer's Workshop. We will be taking our district writing assessment tomorrow and some students used this free writing time to gather materials or research in preparation of this. In Reader's Workshop, we read the poem from our new StoryWorks, "Words Free As Confetti" and studied the describing and colorful words the author used to describe the power of words. The poem also used personification so they now have a better understanding of this figurative language concept. We went outside for recess today and I was surprised when the class groaned about it. Too cold I guess! After recess, we went to the Media Center for a presentation from someone from the Hopewell National Park about the Hopewell Indians. We saw lots of artifacts and materials from the time these Native Americans were in Ohio. (I posted some pics on Twitter @ADE4thGrade) When we returned to the room, we worked more with adding mixed numbers and I introduced them to subtracting mixed numbers. Finally, Mrs. Vidic, came in for Guidance.

TGIF

We had a typical day today and it was great! We began by playing word games like Scrabble, Boggle, Spill and Spell, etc. Then, we discussed how to hook our readers by writing a good lead in informational text. In The Beaded Moccasins, Mary tried to escape and run away because things finally, were just too much for her but changed her mind when she realized she would die trying to get back to Pennsylvania. We finished our work with the TFK about cool inventions of 2014 as well as read and blogged during Reader's Workshop. Thankfully, quite a few kiddos got caught up with blogging this week! Thank you for your help! After a much needed OUTSIDE recess, we warmed up with fractions in Math Workshop. We composed and decomposed and even wrote story problems involving pizza. (I hear that it's pizza night at many houses tonight!) Finally, we completed our dwellings in Minecraft. The technology worked but only with 7 computers running at one time. Bummer but at least we completed the project. I'm not sure about the fate of MinecraftEDU though...

Ugh...technology...

Well, we had big plans for a day of MinecraftEDU, however, technology was not on our side. We were able to complete some work and create dwellings for our Native American and settler selves and although we have a subscription for 26 users, it only worked with about 7 users at a time. BUMMER! :( Needless to say, I'll be in contact with the company. :)
Other than that, we completed Boggle and came up with some good words today. We also finished our research today and learned how to use an encyclopedia. Finally, we read, blogged and worked with the TFK about Antarctica and cool inventions.

Assessing

Well, today, I was out in the hall assessing students in their reading. Overall, this class shows above average reading ability. However, they can still improve on the depth of their understanding and what/how they write about their reading. Their blogs should be getting longer and more in depth as their 30-book challenge continues. 

In the classroom, they worked with Mrs. Kline on Boggle, researching in Writing, Reading, decomposing fractions in Math and planning out their creations for Minecraft in Social Studies. They will have better stories for you about specifics but I did walk in on some gross "Would you rather" questions at the end of the day they might share with you. 

Totally awesome Tuesday!

What a great start to the week! First of all, we have a FEEP (First Education Experience Program) student from The Ohio State University that will be observing for the next few months. This is his first official time in a classroom as he is studying to be a 4th-9th grade English Language Arts and Social Studies teacher. Mr. Buss will be visiting with us about 2-3 times each week, for the morning only, until the end of April.
Our morning began with Boggle. Students created words by connecting letters. Then, we reviewed/learned about collecting research and informational writing. Students kept with our invention/inventor theme and wrote a question that they want to find information about. What is your kiddo researching? After a sweaty gym class, we read The Beaded Moccasins. After reading today, we discussed how characters change throughout the course of a book and talked about how Mary has changed. We also talked about why the author uses so many similes... In Reader's Workshop, we discussed their blogging and 30 book challenge. Some have read and blogged about very few books and are not looking too successful thus far, so, I gave them time to read and blog today. They also had a TFK about the Cool Inventions of 2014 to peruse. In Math Workshop, we began with a gallery walk and students are finding that some kiddos are focusing too much on the artistic side of their posters instead of the mathematical thinking. Then, we worked with composing candy bar fractions and ended with decomposing pounds of chocolate! However, the big, wondrous part of the day that I'm sure you'll hear about is that we got onto MinecraftEDU to create Ohio as it was in the 1700's with the settlers and Native Americans.

It's amazing

It is amazing how much can be accomplished when you have four consecutive days of learning! We began with our M4T and other than some small mistakes, students have done well this week. Then, we got a prompt for our LEGO StoryStarters to create a story about holding the winter olympics in our backyard. Students created today and some began taking pictures of their scenes to upload to the StoryVisualizer software where they'll "publish" their short stories about their scenes. Mary and the rest of her 'family' reached their destination--the Cuyahoga River. The kids were amazed that this is a real place and even more amazed that I had been to Mary Campbell's Cave and showed them pictures. The majority of the story will take place here and after looking at my photos, they can visualize what is happening when Mary describes it. In Reader's Workshop, they continued work on their Year-In-Pictures, read and found similes. I finally saw some lightbulbs above heads during Math Workshop today! We used our fraction strips to compose, or add, fractions. Fractions are so hard for some of them to understand but I think they are making progress. I think, too, that some are now better understanding equivalent fractions. Finally, we completed our day with researching about Famous Ohio Inventors.

Glorious

I love when the day goes as planned and everything falls into place with no hiccups along the way--glorious! We began our day with Math 4 Today and reviewing basic math skills. Then, we continued with Free Creation (they said free play) time on the computers with our new LEGO StoryVisualizer software. Students had such a great time! In The Beaded Moccasins, Mary got her very own moccasins, deerskin dress and leggings--she is looking more and more like the tribe. In Reader's Workshop, we continued making our Year-in-Pictures from 2014 and read poetry to find similes. We composed fractions in Math Workshop after reading Picture Pie by Ed Emberley. Our creations are remarkable! Our glorious day concluded with Guidance with Mrs. Vidic and discussion surrounding Martin Luther King, Jr.

Yawn

We are all so very tired and dragging a little as the day continues. I think it will be an early night for quite a few tonight! We began our day with M4T and then worked on the computers with our new LEGO StoryVisualizer software. SO COOL! After special, Mary made it to the Allegheny in The Beaded Moccasins! Mary also met her new mother, Hepte, and new father, Coquetakeghton... We continued our work with similes and focused on the meaning of some like, busy as a bee. In Reader's Workshop, we continued working on our Year In Pictures, read/blogged/visited the library. Math Workshop began with finishing up our posters from our activity yesterday or on independent math activities. Then, we used pattern blocks to add fractions. We also looked at adding fractions using a number line but not too many were ready for this yet. Our day concluded with researching about Ohio Inventors to learn more about these few amazing people from Ohio as well as to hopefully gain some inspiration for our own inventions.

O-H...

We swam in a sea of scarlet and gray today! We began our day with Math 4 Today and then finished up our SRI/SMI assessments. On the reading test, 23/25 students showed growth! However, on the math test, only 16/24 students showed growth since the last assessment taken in September. I wish that we grew in our math knowledge as we had in reading. We'll keep working... After Art, we read a gruesome part in The Beaded Moccasins but since this is historical fiction, we can't censor the text and we discussed the why? behind the act. This book is teaching us A TON about reading and author's purpose but also about Social Studies and our history. In Reader's Workshop today, we focused on similes since Lynda Durrant uses a plethora of them in The Beaded Moccasins. Ask your child to give you an example of a simile. We also started creating our Year-in-Pictures. Students will pick 6 events from 2014 to showcase. We'll be working on these all week. We started Math Workshop today with independent math and then went on to our lesson. Today, our focus was on adding fractions and what makes sense when adding fractions. Our biggest aha! was that the whole matters and the size of the piece matters when adding fractions. We ended our day with wonders and inspiration, hopefully, leading to inventions. We read lots of books to help get us wondering and inspired! Ask your kiddo about Rosie Revere, the Day-Glo brothers, dumpster diving, etc.

Have a great evening--Go BUCKS!

Day of testing...

It seemed like today was a day of testing! We began by taking the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) and/or Scholastic Math Inventory (SMI) on the computers. I'm not so much concerned about where they came out, or their score as much as I'd like to see growth. Most of us were only able to complete one of the assessments so we will finish on Monday. In The Beaded Moccasins, Mary was captured by Indians! Oh no! They are heading west from Pennsylvania and Mary is scared! In Reader's Workshop, we continued our work with the Time For Kids Year in Pictures issue. Next week, they will be creating their own Year In Pictures. After recess, we took our fraction test and some of them are still having difficulty but I think they all understand the basics so we are moving on. I encouraged them to continue to practice with equivalent fractions and comparing/ordering fractions by using MangaHigh, ST Math or LearnZillion. Finally, we finished up with our Ohio Studies Weekly on the American Revolution.

Not bad

I kind of am enjoying this 2 weeks off, 1 day on, 1 day off, 1 day on...schedule! :) We had a good day. It's hard to be super productive with lack of consistency due to our schedule but we've got heart! We completed our Math 4 Today this morning with two rows of problems. Then, we brought out the AMAZING LEGO StoryStarters and created the beginning of a story with descriptive details. Students took turns spinning the spinner and picking "details" to help create their story. We began a new read aloud today- The Beaded Moccasins by Lynda Durant. This is a historical fiction book about Mary Campbell and will help them understand Native Americans and Ohio and the conflicts between them and the settlers. (Such a good book!) In Reader's Workshop, we read the TFK "Year In Pictures" issue. They will be working with the comprehension and details of this magazine but also summarizing their very own Year in Pictures. Toward the end of Reader's Workshop, we visited the Hall of Illusions in the Media Center to see what our friends in Focus have been up to. After lunch and indoor recess, we worked on our Study Guide over fractions for our assessment on Friday. I discovered-and hopefully fixed-some misconceptions regarding comparing fractions but also realized that students seem to know more about fractions than they show on paper. They KNOW what an equivalent fraction is but have difficulty applying that concept to different instances. We'll keep working but we WILL be taking the assessment on Friday. Finally, we talked about what led up to the American Revolution in Social Studies. Most kiddos think Social Studies is boring because it's mainly reading and writing unlike Science which is mainly doing and experimenting so I was happy and a little surprised today when one student shared that she loved Social Studies because I made it more like a story than learning. :) Thanks!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2015! Today, we began our day by getting organized-moving furniture back (it was wonky for some reason), changing seats, organizing our folders, etc. We also reminded ourselves of our classroom rule, "Every student shall be safe and able to learn," our role as student and our rights and responsibilities as learners. Then, we said Goodbye to 2014 and Hello to 2015 by filling out a brainstorming sheet of our favorites from 2014 and hopes and dreams for 2015. After Art, we read Extra Yarn and then dreamt big to create our goals for the rest of the year. (I'll be posting pictures of our work on Twitter @ADE4thGrade as well as Facebook-Fourth Grade Superheroes.) Lunch and recess were fine and in Math, we worked with Tangrams and finding the fraction of each piece if the square is the whole. This proved a little troublesome with some to get back into this problem solving brain and using perseverance to keep at it. We will take our assessment on Friday over the first two concepts of fractions: equivalent fractions and comparing and ordering fractions. Our day concluded with a few technical difficulties but we learned some details about using Google Apps.