Mayberry-McFarland Weekly Newsletter for the week of September 10-14, 2018

Due Dates / Upcoming Events:

• Monday, September 17: reading logs are due for Mayberry & McFarland readers 
• Tuesday, September 18: Home Link is due / McFarlands have P.E. (sneakers, please)
• Wednesday, September 19: early release
• Thursday, September 20: math journal pages should be caught up
• Friday, September 21: Home Link is due
• Monday, September 24: reading logs are due

Special Announcements:

Parent Info Night: Thank you to those of who were able to take time out of your busy schedules to join us for Parent Information Night Thursday night! It was a great crowd; thank you for the warm reception! McFarland parents, please keep an eye out for two Google docs coming your way: one for a student contact list to share with all families in the class and the second for volunteer opportunities. Hoping to have that out by the end of next week. Here is a link to the slideshow we presented last night: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/121Jl9mS2MoSZHclm-m3ayvFSGw5F5k6I8a-WqyKqoLQ/edit#slide=id.gc850946e1_0_0

Reading logs (a repeat from last week’s newsletter -- worth repeating!):

• All students who participate in the regular classroom setting with Mrs. McFarland for Reading Workshop have a weekly reading log. If your child receives instruction through a special education IEP in the resource room, they will follow the expectations for their own reading class. You can contact the resource room reading teachers via email with your questions (tneiter@msad51.org; dhobbins@msad51.org; jsmithbrock@msad51.org) .
• I’ll hand out reading logs on Mondays, and they are due the following Monday. Your child has the second log this week, and it is due on Monday, September 17th.
• Many students already have established the habit of reading for pleasure (or just because they know they should...nothing wrong with that!). Well done! Others haven’t reached it quite yet, but that’s part of my master plan as their reading teacher this year! And, your child will need your help.
• My expectation is that students log at least four of the days that they read at home throughout the week. They are welcome and encouraged to do more, especially if they already do. Also, I expect students to read for at least 25 minutes in one shot on those four days. Through these expectations, we are working toward establishing a regular routine, and we are working on increasing stamina. I talked to the kids about it like training to become a stronger runner: runners don’t run once a week for 2 hours; they run on a regular basis throughout the week. They don’t run for seven minutes in the morning and then 16 minutes in the afternoon and 12 minutes in the evening; in order to build their stamina, they run for a sustained period of time, gradually increasing it. I know that students in first, second, and third grades here in MSAD51 have been expected to read at home to contribute to their strength as readers, and we will continue that throughout the fourth grade year.
• Your child has four more days to complete this assignment: today (Friday), Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning before school. Trust me, I’m giving lots of reminders about this in class every day.

Academic Updates

Team Culture
A focus for our team, in order to continue to build a respectful, kind learning community (and world!), is to help students gain patience and self-control so they avoid interrupting. You know what we mean: You’re talking to another parent on the sideline of a soccer game, and your child rushes up to you and blurts out, “Mom, can I have some money for the snack shack?” Or, you’re thinking hard, typing away on your Hannaford to Go order, and, while your eyes are on the screen, your child hollers from the doorway, “Dad, where are the Band-Aids?” Innocent enough, for sure. Imagine multiplying that by 23. Problem-solving, patience, and self-control are life skills, as are good manners.

First, we often use body language to let the child know s/he is interrupting unnecessarily, such as pausing our conversation with the other person for a couple of beats, yet not making eye contact with the interrupter; raising our eyebrows and making “meaningful” eye contact with the interrupter and then returning to the original conversation; giving the interrupter a quick shake of the head.

After sending a nonverbal message and finishing up the conversation or work at hand, we often use some key phrases with our children to help them break the habit of interrupting:

“That’s a problem you can solve on your own.”
“Ask someone else; there are others in the room who know the answer.”
“It makes me feel overwhelmed when people shout random questions at me.”
“When you interrupt my conversation/work, it tells me that you don’t care about what I’m saying/doing.”
“You can wait.”
“Please use self-control to wait.”
“Be patient. That’s not something that needs to interrupt the whole class right now.”
“Use your manners.”
“I’m busy with XYZ right now. Please wait until _______, so I can give you all of my attention.”

We will continue to have conversations during our morning meetings about interrupting (and as needed), and we will give positive feedback as kids demonstrate problem-solving, self-control, and patience.

Writing Workshop
This week, we have focused on the kinds of details writers use (see chart below) to create a storytelling voice. We read a beautiful book, Salt Hands (https://www.amazon.com/Hands-Picture-Puffins-Chelsea-Aragon/dp/0140503218/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536937616&sr=8-1&keywords=salt+hands), which is a lovely example of a small moment story. Kids had their own copies of the story, and we identified and color-coded those kinds of details, noticing the balance that the author uses to help us see the story. We ended the week by reviewing sensory details, which is one way to bring a story to life.

Reading Workshop
This week, our reading workshop activities were varied! Students completed the i-Ready reading test, and I’m using that data to help create some small groups for some focused instruction this fall. In addition, I’m meeting with each reader one-on-one to get to know their reading habits, likes, dislikes, strengths, and areas to strengthen. Students also took a pre-assessment, answering some sophisticated questions about the characters, story elements, and themes of a story called “Papa’s Parrot.” Next week, we will really be getting into our regular reading routine!

Math
In math this week students worked on reading and writing large numbers, comparing large numbers and rounding. We learned how to play a math game called Spin and Round, students enjoyed playing with partners while practicing this difficult skill. Students also started using IXL in class. For each unit students will have a list of skills to practice when their work is done during math class. Students can also use IXL at home. Each student has their login and password taped to the inside of their planner. They can work on any skills they feel comfortable with in level F at home. IXL does not count toward fact practice. IXL is a skill building tool for a lot of math concepts, but not fact practice.

One way you can help your mathematician at home is to share reading large numbers when you see them in real life situations.


Theme
Science was exciting this week. Students explored the answer to this question: Why do some volcanoes explode? The experiment involved looking at the differences between thin and thick lava and how each type reacted to the bubbles they blew into the mixture with a straw. This experience led them to conclude why some volcanoes explode and others don’t. Ask your young scientist to explain what he/she learned this week.

Next week: Do mountains last forever?