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.