Classroom Update

We had fun celebrating career week! A special thanks to Tammi Davis for coming and presenting to the class. We also explored other careers as a class and did an interest inventory. It will be interesting to see what they all choose later in life.

In the classroom...
Reader's workshop - We have been comparing literature with visual and oral presentations of the texts. This week we compared clips and excerpts from Charlotte's Web as well as Because of Winn Dixie.

Writer's Workshop - The last several weeks having been busy as the kids have pulled together everything we have done in reading and writing in one writing task. They have been troopers and next week we will begin the work of revising and editing.

Math - We have been exploring geometry focusing on finding the area and perimeter of rectangles, triangles, and parallelograms using formulas.

Social Studies - We are on the Oregon Trail! Students are creating a journal along the trail as we work through a simulation.

Next Week!
Wednesday, April 1 - We will leave at 11:00 and return to school at 1:00. We have been asked to visit the community center and sing songs from their program. We will have lunch at at the park. Permission slips are due back by Tuesday afternoon.

Looking Ahead...
March 31 - Kindergarten Enrollment
April 10 - Muffins with Mom 7:45-8:15 am
April 21 - Grandparent's Day and Art Fair 5:00-6:30 pm

Multiplication Math Whiz Kids

We have three friends who have passed all of their multiplication timed tests up through their 12's! That is 60 problems in 2 minutes! Several more are very close! Keep up the great work!

McTeacher Night... Coming Soon!

Classroom Update

I really can not tell you where the month of January and February have gone. I am in complete shock that it is already March. I guess the ol' saying, "Time flies when you are having fun" really does ring true! I apologize for not making a classroom update in several weeks. Please read on for an update on the classroom happenings within room 114. 

Reading -
We just wrapped up comparing traditional literature which included some deep studying of how different cultures have told the same fairy tales and folk tales in their own unique way. We also did some exploration into the world of mythology. The students were able to find some good similarities and differences between the types of literature. We are now working to identify the theme of a story, poem, or drama and summarize the text.

Writing -
All of the work we have done in reading and writing this year are coming together as students analyze texts and prepare literary essays. They are rising to the occasion and it is so fun to see their work come together in one written piece!

Math -
Fractions! Fractions! Fractions! We have been adding, subtracting, comparing, and now ordering fractions. This is proving to be a difficult skill for many students to conquer and we have slowed down our pace to help students build confidence in their skills. Homework has not been as much as a routine as we have been working in class more and stretching lessons across multiple days to allow time for games to strengthen skills.

Science -
We did a quick unit over living things and wrapped this up yesterday with a very quick and interactive game to review the content and prepare to move on.
Social Studies - At the end of the year in fourth grade, students complete a Famous Missourian project. We will now begin the work in preparation for this project which will include studying the first Missourians, the Western Expansion and more.

One more thing...
We have started new writing journals in class and a new daily writing activity. Everyday, we read and respond so some sort of inspirational piece. So far, we have used quotes, a poem, and a video clip. We take only 4 minutes to respond in writing, then work to improve our pieces for 4 more minutes before we share out with others. The purpose of this task is to help inspire kids to develop a love of writing that is not connected to a classroom task and to also encourage the work of revising and improving writing.

Many of the kids have been bringing in their journals after decorating them at home with quotes and notes of inspiration. They are fired up and excited about writing. This has definitely become one of our favorite times of the day.

One of this week's inspiration was brought by Kid President. Enjoy!

Tom Sawyer!

They were fantastic! If you have more pictures, please share!