Thursday - Remember tomorrow Spirit Day & Show and Tell

Students finished their fluency tests today. We will do that every couple of weeks so we can see how they are progressing. We worked on drawing conclusions, I think the students were upset when I told them it had nothing to do with art. In math we finished up chapter three with a review and test. They will be able to finish that tomorrow with the substitute. Students went to music today. Remember to wear white or maroon tomorrow. The shirt needs to mostly white or mostly maroon. Have a good week-end.

Wednesday (and Tuesday)

Yesterday we headed out from the class and went to the high school to watch the students run the track to earn money for the school. What great troopers they were - around and around that track until one would think they would drop and they kept going! Today we had our pre-spelling test. 1/3 of the students got 100%. We had our fluency tests and then we read our story about two slaves escaping. We are still working on multiplication, and we will until everyone is very good. We also finished up the chapter on how to solve problems. Then we began working on nouns and pronouns. In Social Studies the students reviewed the symbols of the State of Idaho. I will be gone on Friday this week and in a couple of weeks to attend a math class required for all of the teachers.

Monday

Students are making their own spelling glossary to help them remember how to spell their problem words. I read the story, "Two Tickets to Freedom" to the students today. They will read it on their own this week too. We graded the math tests. Students are struggling on subtraction so we will be working on that with our multiplication facts. We started estimating products, which basically means rounding the number to be multiplied to the largest place and putting in zero and then multiply. It is useful when you don't need to know the exact number, or even better, to check and see if your answer in multiplication, makes sense. In Social Studies we are learning about geology while reviewing the symbols and song of Idaho. Please practice multiplication facts. It is vital that students not only understand why 7x9=63, but the actual fact matters too.

Friday

I have to tell you about something that happened today. Mrs. Sears, one of the students' music teachers, lost her husband on Monday. We explained to the children what had happened, and today they made cards for her. These children sat quietly for 30 minutes and created works of art for Mrs. Sears. The boys and girls all made some of the most touching cards I have ever seen. I know Mrs. Sears will truly be cheered and touched by the effort of these caring children. We had a spelling test, a reading test, and a math test today. The children are doing better on sentence writing. We still need more progress, but I saw some good changes today. Please remember to do the pledges for the Walk-a-thon on the 25th of September.

Thursday

Book orders went home yesterday. Please look through those and see if they can be ordered by Sept. 24th. We are working on our writing skills. Students tend to write, "bare bones," and we are working to put the meat back into the story. We are also working on our multiplication tables and making sure the students know their basic addition and subtraction facts. Until we have those down, higher math is nearly impossible. Please work on these at home, or when you are traveling. One example would be to do the fact family for 8 + 7 If the students will learn these fact families they will feel less frustrated. Also, we have the opportunity to allow students who might be struggling with a specific math concept to go to a class the day before which will help them be prepared for the next day's work. We need your written permission, so if you want to email me here at the school, we will know what you want. Also, it is time to start bug collections for Ms Lu's class. Lastly,the walk-a-thon paper also went home yesterday. Thanks for all you do!

Wednesday - Book Orders

The book orders went out today. If you want to order online, the number is L8J7V. We are really working hard on multiplication while staying on top of the other things we need to be learning. Today was a review day in math. We are reviewing all of the information we covered from the beginning of the year. Please review the multiplication tables with your students so they are fast. In Language Arts we took our spelling test. We had quite a number that got 20/20 and more that just missed it by one or two points. Now we must encourage the students to write the words correctly when they are not on a test. In reading, we re-read the selection about Mae Jamison. We read these aloud together in teams to encourage all students to participate. At first it is quite noisy, but after a short time, you just hear the voices in your group. In Miss Lu's class students are getting ready for their bug collection. A letter went home about that and a walk-a-thon.

Tuesday

We are working to learn all of our multiplication tables. There was much forgotten over the summer. If you have flash cards at home, please use them and know what the products of all the factors are as fast as you can. Tomorrow is our pre-spelling test. You can go to spell city and practice the words. You might also go there to do your multiplication fact families also. There are games there too that you can play. Enjoy!

Monday - Constitution Day

We started out the day with a new song, America the Beautiful, and new desk places. We learned about the Constitution of the United States, about the three branches of government and how a bill becomes a law. In math we started working on discovering rules when I discovered that a lot of our students have forgotten their multiplication tables. We will be working on a massive review. Those students that remember them will be working to understand the concepts behind them and then they will be given other learning opportunities. Homework went home today. You might notice that it had a lot of multiplication. These need to be turned in everyday. We are working on learning to read in teams, some of the teams mastered it, others need more time to practice. We are reading a story about Mae Jemison, an astronaut.

Saturday

I just added a new link, Mars Rover Landing. The landing part is computer generated, but the reaction in the lab and what actually happened is real. I hope you enjoy this.

Friday tests, tests, tests!

We took a spelling test, reading test and math test this morning. We were grateful for Mrs. Aston who came in and helped us learn a little Spanish. Then we went to an assembly to encourage our students to read more and study hard. We have a new school song and sang that today. Just a word about the math test. This test was to give us a starting point, something to let us know what the students know and don't know. Although I continued to emphasize this, some students were really upset. Please assure your child that this test is not a test to add to their grade, it is a test to find out what they need to learn in 4th grade.

Thursday Spelling test tomorrow!

We had an exciting math class today. Students were asked to write numerical expressions. This will take some time to help them understand, we will go over it regularly until everyone is more comfortable. School pictures were taken today, we read an excerpt from Charlotte's Web and are getting ready for our test on that tomorrow. Tomorrow, Mrs. Aston is coming in the afternoon to help teach the children a little Spanish. We will have fun doing that. Once a month, on Friday, I am looking for different parents who can come in and teach them what skills they needed to learn in school to prepare them for their jobs. Does anyone know a mechanic, engineer (train), or beautician that could come? That will take care of the first few months. Thanks for all you do.

Wednesday - Pictures tomorrow

Today students learned how to make tables to solve math problems. We also worked through our multiplication facts. Julie Nash came and taught the students how to do, "Step Up to Writing." This is a writing system that uses colors to help students learn how to write better. We also took the spelling pre-test. Students should have them at home with them and should study the words they missed, as well as review those they got right. In science our students learned about what vinegar would do to an egg. It is really interesting. Then students went to P.E. It is picture day tomorrow, please dress appropriately.

Tuesday

It is September 11th, so we took the students outside and had a flag ceremony today. Then 4B watched a short video called Brain Pop 911. It, in a child's way, teaches about the tragedy on 9-11. We talked about some stories, and then stressed the heroes, that we can all be heroes by helping others. In math we practiced subtraction and multiplication. In reading we practiced cursive writing of our spelling words, then the students did a couple of worksheets on how to spell the words. We are studying the sound long e. Please make sure you are studying your spelling words at home and do the rest of your homework. Mrs. Aston is coming on Friday to teach us a little bit of Spanish. That will be fun for all of us. Picture day is Thursday.

Thursday

Tomorrow is our spelling test. Students took a pretest today and we studied the words again. In math we are working on our 10, 11, and 12 multiplication tables and tomorrow we will review subtraction. In reading we are continuing to talk about risks and consequences. We watched a video on Idaho geography today. The students are cutting and putting together a map of Idaho.

Wednesday

Today students received a green paper for those who would like to be in the After School Program. It will be held Monday - Thursday from 3-5 p.m. Make sure we get the papers back signed. Also, we need the rest of the student information sheets back. Today is the last day I will send in book orders. If you want to send one from home, you need the code L8J7V. We talked more today about settings, character, plot, conflict and resolution. We just read a story about Toto an elephant and we discussed how we would fit the story into those literary devices. We studied spelling and did more with rounding numbers. The students are starting to get that. Picture day is the 13th of September. There will be no spring pictures this year, so this is it.

Tuesday

I hope you all had a good Labor Day. Our little grand-daughter was born early Friday morning and all is well. Today we read a new story about an elephant and a little boy. Students got their new spelling words, all use the long "a" sound. In math we talked about when to use calculators, mental math, or use a pen and pencil Most finished their assignment in class. In Idaho History we learned about primary and secondary sources to tell us about a specific time period. Picture day is coming up on the 13th of September. Also, because I was gone for Friday, I have extended the book orders until tomorrow. The class code is L8J7V.