McFarland-Mayberry-Begley Bulletin

for the week of November 17, 2014

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Reading Workshop

Students put to work their knowledge of identifying signposts on a reading assessment with a short familiar-to-most text, Those Shoes.  The objective is to see how well each reader can independently identify and do some deep thinking about certain aspects of a text.  After the Thanksgiving break, we will be reading LOTS of nonfiction!  Don’t be surprised if your child’s book baggie looks a lot different over the next few weeks!  

     Begley-Mayberry-McFarland readers are encouraged to read like crazy for the Read-a-thon next week!  In fact, students who participate and log on the Read-a-thon paperwork do NOT have to log their reading on class reading logs at all next week!

Writing Workshop

We are winding down our essay unit.  Students are working on final drafts of one of the flash-drafts they wrote independently in class, and I’ll asses those over the next week or so.  Next up is an informational unit focused on personal expertise.  This is a new unit to fourth grade!  Students have, however, quite a bit of experience with this kind of writing in earlier grades at MIW.

Math

This week we explored equations to determine whether they were true, false or incomplete. Students also learned about prime and composite numbers and how to determine if a number is a prime or composite. Since this concept is new to the majority of students we will continue to work on it. With the upcoming Thanksgiving break just around the corner I want to encourage students to continue to practice their basic facts. We often see a dip in their fact fluency after a vacation. Thanks!

Spelling

This week we learned the /oy/ sound can be spelled oy and oi.  We also reviewed the difference between nouns and verbs.  Finally, we studied some Latin roots (voc, ped, struct, and rupt) and talked about how knowing these roots can help unlock the meaning of unknown words.

Theme

This week in our Pilgrim simulation, students built houses, searched for food, and made a peace treaty with the local Native American tribe (aka Mrs. Begley).  Now she can no longer steal tools from the colonists!  Students are doing a great job writing their Pilgrim journals.  I’ve noticed that many students are pushing themselves to add more detail and create a storyline for their character.  

In homework home folders you may notice a rubric or two for some of this week’s journal entries.  Please know that this represents one of the many entries they are writing.  I am only selecting 8 from each class to read and grade each day.

Due Dates / Upcoming Events:

No homework during the short week!

Monday, November 24th - Reading logs due / swimming / Read-a-Thon starts

Tuesday, November 25th - 

November 26th-30th - Thanksgiving break

There is a packet about the GMS 4/5  Read-a-Thon, which will take place from November 24th-December 1st.  This is an annual community event for our school, and the money collected goes to support local families with groceries, clothes, and gift assistance for the holidays.  Mrs. Waterhouse has already gone through the information with the kids, but the packet should answer any additional questions.  Please encourage your child to give back by being a part of this special event.  And remember, no class log for those that participate!

Happy Thanksgiving!

McFarland-Mayberry-Begley Bulletin

for the week of November 10, 2014

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Reading Workshop

High praise to readers rising to the occasion of increased at-home reading time!  The more we read, the stronger readers we become!

     We’re putting our reading of The Fourteenth Goldfish into high gear!  More and more children are finding signposts in their independent reading, noting and thinking about Memory Moments, Aha! Moments, and things that are mentioned Again and Again.  I’m thrilled with that growth!  Not all students are there yet (“My character doesn’t realize anything,” “There are no memories in my story.”). We’re all making progress at different paces.

Writing Workshop

Two flash-drafts are almost complete!  This week we focused on introductions and conclusions for both drafts, along with writing supporting idea paragraphs for an independent essay.  Any students who wish to have more support are sharing my thesis statement, “We should have more recess time in school.”  Next week, we’ll finish up both drafts, and students will choose one to revise and edit for a final draft before Thanksgiving (fingers crossed!).

Math

This week we spent more time understanding the difference between the term multiples and factors, as these two concepts seem to be confuse many students. We also applied multiplication to real life problem solving when we calculated distances between major cities of the world using a globe and the scale of 1” = 660 miles. I heard many students comment that this was a fun project. 

     Students are beginning to notice some real gains in their multiplication fact check-ins. This is the second week that students have been tracking their own scores using a line graph and the excitement and satisfaction of seeing their own progress is truly rewarding. Keep up the good work of practicing at home as it is paying off big here at school!

Spelling

This week we focused on when apostrophes are used in spelling - for contractions (our major focus) and for showing possession (something we just touched on and will continue to explore later).  We also had a chance to look at some “olde English” contractions in conjunction with our theme study, such as ‘twas and ‘twill.

Theme

This week we started the Pilgrim simulation.  On Monday, students formed colonies, selected a name, and created their ship’s roster.  After learning how to craft quality journal entries from the perspective of a Pilgrim, we were off on our adventure!  Thursday, students sat in 6ft X 3ft “boats” for the long journey across the sea, using their knowledge of the Mayflower to speed up their trip.  Friday, students elected leaders and created a “Mayflower Compact” of their own which outlines everyone’s responsibilities.  Next week we will build houses, plant food, and try to make a peace treaty with the local tribes.

     In take home folders you will see the practice journal entry students completed on Wednesday.  Students self graded their first attempt using the rubric, so that they would be clear about the criteria for an exceeds, meets, etc. 

Welcome, Winter!

The tarred part of the playground will be plowed.  If students wish to play in any non-plowed areas on the playground (ball field, grass, playground equipment), they must wear boots and snow pants when there is snow on the ground.  Boots, snow pants, gloves…  It’s all going into the lockers.  My recommendation is that kids bring in a hand towel to line the bottom of the locker to absorb moisture from wet boots (did someone say, “Type A”?).  Boots are not welcome in the classroom, since we do so much moving around and working on the floor during various parts of the day — and who wants to sit in a puddle?  So please make sure your child brings a pair of indoor shoes every day.  In fact, your child is welcome to leave a pair in the locker for the season.

Due Dates / Upcoming Events:

Monday, November 17th - Reading logs due / Swimming

 Tuesday, November 18th - Study link due / Box tops collected

Wednesday, November 19th - Early Release / Math box catch up

Thursday, November 20th - Spelling due 

Friday, November 21st - Study link due 

Box tops will be collected on Tuesday.  Please send in any that you have saved at home.

The GMS “Fill a Bus, Fill a Belly” Food Drive is happening all next week.  There will be a bus (with the seats removed!) parked along the MIW ballfield accepting donations at arrival & dismissal for both grade spans.  On Friday night, there is an ice cream social in the GMS Cafe to celebrate the community effort.  On Saturday morning, the bus will be driven to the Food Pantry to fill their shelves!  A flyer is in take home folders today that outlines some of the nonperishable items they are looking for.  

Have a great weekend!

Dena

McFarland-Mayberry-Begley Bulletin

for the week of November 3, 2014

If you would like to be notified whenever I post to our class blog, please click on the space to the right, “Follow by Email.”

Reading Workshop

We are continuing with identifying signposts in The Fourteenth Goldfish, and this week more and more students showed an increased confidence level with identifying those signposts in their own reading — which is the whole point, to deepen their thinking about what they read.  I’m happy to see this development!

     Please note that the reading expectation is at least 25 minutes per day (still a minimum of four different days per week).  This change should be reflected on students’ logs to be handed in on Monday.  

Writing Workshop

Writers finished their supporting idea paragraphs for the first flash-draft.  Now, we are moving on to another essay.  Kids have decided on their own thesis statements, though if they’re not yet ready to branch out on their own, any child can share my thesis statement, “Everybody should have more recess time at school.”  I’ll use this claim as the basis for the mini-lessons, and writers will be applying those concepts to their own work.  There is a great variety out there, from having pet days at school (no way!) to kids being able to use the soccer nets at recess.

Math

This week we continued to work on basic multiplication facts and explored the concepts around factors and multiples. In addition we worked on fact families for both multiplication and division. 

Please continue to work with your child on basic multiplication facts through 10. Students should be focusing on multiplication and some students still need frequent practice with subtraction facts at home. The standard is to complete 50 facts in three minutes with a score of 90% or higher. 

Spelling

This week we focused on blends again.  We also participated in a word building activity.  Finally, we learned about irregular past tense verbs.

Theme

This week students learned about Popham Colony, which existed at the same time as Jamestown.  We used a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the two colonies.  Then, we spent two days studying the voyage of the Mayflower to the New World.  After reading several books and watching a virtual tour of the Mayflower II, students are quite the experts!  Lastly, we read several books including Sarah Morton’s Day, Sam Eaton’s Day, and If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620, to learn about what life was like as a Pilgrim.

     Next week we will start the Pilgrim simulation.  In this activity (which will last about 2 weeks), students will form their own colony and be guided through several activities meant to mimic things that the Pilgrims experienced.  Students will keep journals from the perspective of a Pilgrim.  This is a favorite of students year in and year out.  I expect you’ll hear lots about it in the weeks to come.

Due Dates / Upcoming Events:

Monday, November 10th - Reading logs due / Swimming

Tuesday, November 11th - Veterans’ Day - No School

Wednesday, November 12th - Full Day

Thursday, November 13th - Spelling due 

Friday, November 14th - Study link due / Picture retakes

Due to the holiday, spelling will be assigned on Monday, which will give kids an extra night to get it done.  It will still be due on Thursday.

School Photos are in homework folders today.  Retakes are Friday, November 14th.

Have a great weekend!

Dena