McFarland-Mayberry-Begley Bulletin
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Reading Workshop
We’ve finished up our first read aloud, Marvin Redpost: Why Pick on Me? It has some very funny parts (apologies if your child has been talking a lot about nose-picking!), and I’ve used this text to point out a number of writing moves by the author and to review a story mountain structure. We also used part of this story for a great discussion on inferring. I’m feeling out the groups to see what they recall and actively use from previous years, and this is one way I’m working on that.
In addition, this week we talked about how we use reading partnerships, and we just scratched the surface about being in charge of our own reading engagement (focus). For some kids, it’s a novel idea (no pun intended) to accept responsibility for their own focus. To start this, we are studying our reading logs and are calculating pages read per minute. There are recommended reading rates for different reading levels (and of course there are all kinds of variables for the kind of text, etc.), but in general ¾ of a page per minute is reasonable to allow for fluent reading and thinking as we read. We studied an anonymous reader’s log and found that in the exact same book, she was reading ¾ of a page per minute in one session and 1 ½ pages per minute the next time. We’ll explore possible reasons for this, and we’ll then move toward readers having an awareness of their own pace and engagement: thinking about our own reading process and taking charge of it. Next week, I’ll teach some strategies to recognize a slip in engagement and ways to fix it.
Writing Workshop
We are straddling two main goals in writing workshop right now. The first is very general: focusing on writing well, of course. We’ve worked through the 4th grade narrative checklist, which we will use throughout this unit to discuss specifically what makes a high quality narrative. I’ll come back to this checklist again and again to help kids understand how to use it to revise parts of their own work, and more importantly to help them become stronger writers no matter what the genre.
The second big goal right now is establishing good writing habits. For some kids, it’s reinforcing what they’ve learned in past years and to bump it up a bit for 4th grade. For others right now, that just means, “When Mrs. McFarland says to write, I write!” I am setting small, reachable targets for all and then extending them for some. For example, today, I showed them four different ways to write a good lead for a story. We practiced out loud with partners on my story first, and then I told them to write two leads on their own in their notebooks, using two of the strategies. For some kids, setting this concrete goal of getting two done is necessary; others just do it. I’m looking out for those who are hoping to fly under the radar, so that they understand that I expect them to write everyday, to try out new moves, and to show them I believe they can! Calling those two leads their “ticket to lunch” helped, too. The fourth kind of lead we studied was very advanced, and I hemmed and hawed aloud about whether they were ready to learn it today, so early in the school year... But they begged for it (which is the way it should be!), and several kids jumped out of their comfort zones and went for it! I couldn’t ask for much more than that (today, at least)!
Math
This week students continued to work on rounding large numbers. We also worked on multiple strategies for estimating sums. While practicing the different strategies I have encouraged students to think about which one works well for them. Here are the three strategies we explored:
- round all numbers to the same place value - ex: 500 + 200 + 300 = 1,000
- highest number stays the same - ex: 463 + 200 + 300 = 963
- use friendly numbers - ex: 450 + 225 + 300 = 975
Please note that I now have a link for homework tutorials on my web page. These tutorials are meant to provide support for your child when they are having difficulty at home. I hope they are helpful.
Spelling
This week students explored patterns for long I and learned about homographs. We also talked about how breaking words into syllables can help us to spell more accurately. Please encourage your child to proofread their homework carefully (there were a lot of folks who did not read the directions) and to complete both sides - there will always be two sides!
At open house I mentioned the website, Spelling City. I have posted all the weekly core words, along with other frequently missed 4th grade words. To access the lists and play the games for practice at home, follow the link above. Click on the “Search” bar and pull down to Teachers/Parents. Search “Carrie Begley”. It will bring you to all our lists.
Theme
This week students studied minerals, the building blocks of rocks. We watched a video on Monday to learn about minerals. Then, we completed a mineral investigation, drawing, observing, and researching information about a mineral that they picked. We even piloted a new app on www.mineralology4kids.org, where kids answer a series of questions to help identify their mineral. I also shared a fun music parody I found, Mineral Rock Anthem. On Friday we also started to learn about how rocks are grouped or classified. We will work more with this next week.
Did you hear we’re putting on a play? Students did a table read for “Geology Rocks!” on Thursday and Friday. Next week your child will bring home a script and they will need to begin learning their lines at home. The goal is to have all the lines learned by Friday, October 16th. We are looking at putting on the play sometime at the end of October. I need to study the district calendar before nailing down the date. Stay tuned! I will be looking for some crafty parents who could start pulling together some costumes.
Adventure-Based Learning
We had our first of ten sessions of Adventure-Based Learning on Thursday! Mrs. Donna Murray of Sweetsir School leads the kids in games and challenges in which they practice working together using specific processes. It’s fascinating to watch kids in these varied scenarios and to support them in finding how to be helpful and productive in a group!
Due Dates / Upcoming Events:
Monday, September 28th - Reading logs due/sneakers for P.E.
Tuesday, September 29th - Home link due / Newspaper and Chorus after school / Box Tops will be collected
Wednesday, September 30th
Thursday, October 1st - Spelling due / Color Guard begins 3:00-4:00pm
Friday, October 2nd - Home link due
Tuesday, October 6th - School Picture Day
Don’t miss these science opportunities! L.L. Bean will be hosting a star party and eclipse viewing this weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 7pm-11pm. Telescopes will be set up and experts will be on hand to talk about what’s happening in the night sky. Also, next Wednesday, September 30th at 6:30pm the Freeport Public Library will be hosting a talk called, “Comets, Meteorites, and Asteroids.” The expert speaking is a former science teacher and a limited amount of people will get an asteroid to take home.
Volunteer Opportunities:
The McFarlands are looking for a Room Parent representative to the PTO for this year. If you are interested, please email me directly. This job is generally very light.
Do you have any random fabric tucked away in the house? Can you sew a straight line? Do you have a sewing machine? I am looking for 1) donations of fabric, and 2) people to sew book bags for our two reading classes (40 in all). Let me know if you can help!
Have a great weekend!
Dena
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