McFarland-Mayberry-Begley Bulletin

for the week of December 14th

Due Dates / Upcoming Events:

Monday, December 21st- Reading logs due / 4th Grade Holiday Swap

Tuesday, December 22nd - Celebration of Reading Day

On Tuesday, December 22nd, our team will hold the Annual Celebration of Reading Day.  Students are encouraged to wear pjs or comfy clothes and bring a pillow, blanket, and favorite books for a cozy day of reading.  That includes activity books, Mad Libs, picture books, magazines, etc.  Students will also have access to classroom libraries as well.  WE also have some snacks planned.  If you signed up to send food or supplies for our reading day, please drop them off or send them in with your child on Tuesday morning.  We will have snacks around 9:30.  We told the kids that any items s/he brings (pillows, sleeping bag, etc), will need to go home with them that day, so please plan accordingly.  We will defer to parents on all the, “Can I bring this?  Can I bring that?” questions.

Academic Updates:

Reading

We focused on main idea this week, using a pieces about Amelia Earhart and panda bears to match supporting details with main ideas.  We also studied the lyrics to The Grinch song to identify the topic and the main idea (what the author wants us the learn about the topic), and to practice highlighting text evidence, circling key words, and underlining important details.

    As the 4th grade literacy mentor, I went to a children’s literature workshop on Thursday, presented by Judy Freeman, a former children’s librarian who reads over 300 of the newest books per year!  She also served on the Board of the Caldecott Award a few years ago!  She gives a dynamic performance, to say the least (she sings, she leads us in readers theater, she demonstrates with character-related puppets...much of which is out of my comfort zone, let’s just say).  She compiles her favorite books of the year and creates a handbook of those titles, complete with summaries, curriculum ideas, similar books, related titles, etc.   Then, Rebecca Gervais (the 5th grade lit mentor) and I met afterward to plan a Wednesday afternoon afternoon professional development session for January to introduce lots of the new books to our staff.  We will purchase some of the titles for classrooms, our Book Nook, and special ed programs.  It’s a highly motivating day, and teachers are already asking about what we learned!

    From Monday, December 21 through Monday, January 4, students need to read and log a minimum of eight times.  Logs are due Monday, January 4th.

Writing

We got a lot accomplished this week in our informational texts: writing the introduction paragraph using a surprising fact and/or telling why the topics matters; drawing and labeling a diagram; making a chart of pros and cons; and creating a way to compare and contrast our topic with another.  The kids chose to use Venn diagrams, T-charts, and/or sentences and paragraphs.  Please be on the lookout for an orange research sheet that may come home from time to time.  This sheet is for students to keep track of questions they have about their topics that they need to research at home.  This is self-assigned work, and students will use it as needed.  The research will most likely need some adult supervision if it’s internet-related.

Math

This week students started to work with decimals to the tenths and hundredths place. They used base-10 blocks and learned to read and write decimal and fraction equivalents. In addition, they played a game that helped to cement these concepts. At home you can support your child by showing them how you use decimals in daily life and giving them opportunities to read decimals in the real world.

Spelling

This week students participated in a word building activity.  We also reviewed patterns for the /k/ sound (c, k, ck, ch, and qu) and learned four more prefixes (anti, non, dis, and sub).

Theme

This week it was all about waves!  After building some background knowledge, students observed slinky waves to notice patterns.  We dropped objects into buckets of water to learn what happens when you disturb the surface and we studied the difference between how objects move in deep water vs. shallow water.  We also did a little Christmas chemistry - ask your child about it!

    Students also shared their projects with their classmates and completed a reflection about their work.  A paper copy of each child’s keynote is stapled to the rubric.  Students worked diligently on this project and I was quite impressed with the results.  Everyone got a M or M+ on the requirements and everyone got an M, M+, or E on their writing & research.  We went over the rubric as a class at the beginning of the project and midway through.  Groups also printed a paper copy and received direct feedback from me both in writing and grammar/mechanics.

Have a wonderful vacation with friends and families!  See you in the New Year!
Dena