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.