Wednesday Happy Halloween

We had our pre-test in spelling today. We worked on writing a good sentence. This concentrated on making sure there is a subject and a predicate. Then we used our vocabulary words to do some dictionary work. Next, students came up with sentences with adverbs and adjectives to dress the sentences up. It was fun. In math, we attacked the multiplication algorithm. The biggest problem that I am seeing right now is carrying. The students want to write the entire number in the answer instead of carrying the tens over. We will continue to work on this until they are all more comfortable with it.. I do need to share a nice thing. I am fasting from chocolate till next week, so when the children encouraged me to get the dessert at lunch, I told them it was chocolate so I could't. They told me that the cake always had a marshmallow candy pumpkin on it. I said it would be too tempting to eat the chocolate so I better not. So, your sweet children gave me five pumpkin marshmallows so I could have a treat. What very nice children we have in our class. We went to the play at the auditorium. I have to tell you, our class was very well behaved. Finally, thanks to Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Reeder for their treats today. The children so enjoyed them.

Tuesday

We finished reading our story today. Students made a chart showing the different things that happened in the story. Next we reviewed our spelling words and practiced commas. Finally students worked on their five paragraph essay on transportation. In math we worked, again, or arrays and multiplication. Today I gave the students a problem and had them draw the array that went with the problem. Then we did it in long multiplication fashion. Tomorrow we will begin work on the algorithm that we all recognize when doing two digit multiplication. In Idaho History students wrote all the things they thought Lewis and Clark would be taking with them on their journey. Then we played the game, Go West Across America With Lewis and Clark, an online game on National Geographic. Students had to do some re-thinking on their list. Today was P.E., afterwards we cleaned the room and read our book. We also talked about AR points. If your child wants to take the test online just go to the school website and then to Renaissance Place. Right now 4B is nearly in last place. I know students have been reading.

Monday

We started a new story today, students read it in teams. The studied their spelling words and then started on a new essay about cars. In math we are still trying to master arrays and multiplication. I think they are getting closer. During Idaho History we learned about the Lewis and Clark expedition. We will do a little more tomorrow.

Friday Halloween Party

Thanks so much to Mrs. Ballif, Mrs. Cahoon and Mrs. Parrish who came in to help with our Halloween party. Mrs. Ballif had some great games for the children to play. We all had a really fun time. This morning we did our spelling and reading tests. Then for math we did our arrays again. I think they are getting them a little better. Don't forget the carnival tonight from 6 - 8 at the elementary school. See you there!

Thursday pumpkins tomorrow!

We will have our spelling and reading test tomorrow morning. And then, instead of a math test, we are going to work on our arrays again. We will be doing it with dice and disks. I hope that they find this more enjoyable while still getting the idea. Here is a link that demonstrates the basic idea of arrays. But we are doing it using graph paper to show the actual sizes of each section. We put the numbers inside of each rectangular box. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMLf6sQLa40&feature=related Our Halloween party is tomorrow afternoon. Please make sure your child has a pumpkin to decorate. We will decorate the pumpkins after lunch recess at 12:35 and then there will be the parade at 1 and then we will have our treats. Here are the dioramas from our Idaho Native American presentation:

Wednesday - wear red tomorrow for drug week

Thanks to all of you who were able to make it to parent-teacher conferences. I know it is a hard thing with work and time schedules. Tomorrow is wear red day - it is part of our anti-drug week. Also we are having our Halloween party on Friday. Make sure your child has a pumpkin there.

Tuesday Parent Teacher conferences tomorrow

We are enjoying Red Ribbon Week. Students are wearing their red ribbons and learning how to stay away from drugs. Today we worked on writing a Halloween poem and did our second paragraph in our five paragraph essay. We had a great time with the snow today. In math we re-taught some concepts. In Social Studies students are working on their Native American projects. They are making dioramas and planning reports. Please make sure your child brings their supplies. Parent teacher conferences are tomorrow. The book fair is also going on this week so come and buy some Christmas gifts for your family.

Monday

There is a lot going on this week. It is Parent Teacher Conferences on Wednesday, Thursday students are to wear red for anti-drug week, Friday we can wear costumes and decorate pumpkins. Please make sure your child has a pumpkin to school by Friday morning. We started on a new story today. It was about an entrepreneur and how he stared his business. It was quite interesting. We worked on spelling and then started our new five paragraph essay, What I like (or dislike) about Halloween. Students got off to a great start on these. I know that the more we do them, the easier they will become. In math we learned that if you do doubles of the two multiplication facts, you get the answers to the four multiplication facts. It is a new strategy to help you be able to multiply. We also worked on multiplying by multiples of tens. We traced leaves and hung them around the room. Then the students finalized the plans for their Native American dioramas and projects. They will do their reports on Thursday (we hope.)

Friday

Students should have had spelling, reading and math tests today. They also were supposed to finish their five paragraph essay and draw a Halloween poem with a picture to go with it. Our little grand-daughter was born yesterday afternoon weighing in at 8 lbs 14 ounces. She is just cute

For Wednesday

On Wednesday we took our spelling test, more and more students are passing it. I hope we can reach 100% on that. We are still working on our five paragraph essay. This is really a struggle for the students, but it is something they can do. There is a writing test in December administered by the state and our 4th graders have to know how to do this. Our goal is that by December our students can write a five paragraph essay without a second thought. Currently we are doing one paragraph each day. Our new math program is finally starting to move forward. As teachers we are trying to find out how to meet the state requirements - it is a new experience for all of us, but I believe the students are moving along fine. One of the new parts of the new program is how we grade students. A one in any area means the student has not understood how to do the requirement. A two means the students are beginning to understand and able to do the requirement. A three means they have it. A four is rare, it means, not only do students get the concept, but they are a few steps even beyond understanding. This trimester students will be graded normally, we think. But we are striving to find ways to correct to meet this new goal. If you have any questions about this, we hope to have a flier out to you soon. I will be gone on Thursday and Friday, and that should be the end of my missing school days.

Tuesday - Spelling test tomorrow

Today students wrote their second paragraph of their five paragraph essay. It will take awhile for everyone to learn how to do this, but, considering this is fairly new, they are doing fine. Parents are concerned about math grade. The math program has changed this year, things are different. When students do a paper, if they don't understand, we have them redo the paper, or do similar problems until they understand. This takes time, but we are all working to figure out how to make this work right. If you are patient, we will get it. Please remember to get the pumpkins for your children to decorate for our Halloween party on the 26th.

Monday

There is a lot coming up in the next few weeks. Parent/Teacher conferences are coming up on October 24th. Parents should have received the information on the schedule. Then, on the 26th, the school will be celebrating Halloween. There will be a carnival that night. Our class will be decorating (drawing on) pumpkins for our art project that Friday afternoon. Students need to bring their own pumpkin and drawing materials. If they would like, they can even bring "Pumpkin clothes" to dress their pumpkin. Today we continued working on multiple factors. The biggest problem is that some students multiply the first two numbers and then add in the third one. We are also practicing the five paragraph essay. Students will write one each week, a paragraph each day. I hope this will help them be comfortable with how essays are supposed to work. Spelling and reading are also being done each day. Please make sure students are reading for twenty minutes each night. I am telling the students that it is their responsibility to make sure it is signed.

Thursday Spelling Test tomorrow

This morning we reviewed for our tests tomorrow by playing jeopardy. Students do need to study their spelling words. There will be a substitute tomorrow as I will be finishing the math class that is required for me to take. We sent home papers about Parent Teacher conferences. Please put that on your calendar.

Monday

Today we started a new section in our reading, it will be about business. The last section was about risks and consequences. I guess learning about business could still fit in that area of thought. Students were given new spelling words and were asked to do the multiplication tables again. We did have a math assignment today, pg 282 7-17. Most finished it in class. Those who did not were asked to take it home as homework and get it done. There will be no school on Wednesday as teachers have meetings. Have a good week.

Friday

I was watching the clock to make sure I could get to the preshow at the football game, and suddenly, it was 7:30! Rats! Today we took our spelling and reading test. We didn't take a math test today, just worked on arrays. That is a new math word. It is just a table (or one and ten block manipulatives) that help students understand how multiplication really works. For example, a problem of 12 x 6. We separate the 12 into 1 ten and 2 ones. Then it is easy, in your head to think, well 10 x 6 is 60 (then you color in 6 rows of ten) and then you think 2 x 6, that is easy, 12 and you put dots in the 12 squares. Then you realize, hey, that is 7 tens now and 2 ones. Then you have the answer of 72. It is an interesting way to teach. Mrs. Aston came in again and taught us spanish. We really appreciate that. Thanks also to the other parents that come and help us during the week. It is very appreciated.

Thursday

We practiced story writing today. The children seemed to really enjoy it. Tomorrow the children will practice their performance at the pregame show for the football game. Remember, they need to be at the high school by about 6:40 and line up at 6:50. They need to wear maroon or white. We are working hard on math to make it easier and the students are hard workers. Spelling test is tomorrow - study hard and remember, reading must be done at least five nights a week.

Wednesday

We did something new in math today that caused a few tears, but I think they are starting to understand. The process is to teach them how to do multiplication in their heads. An example would be 74 x 3. Instead of trying to work out the problem on paper, students are asked how to separate 74 into easier numbers, like 70 and 4. Then multiply the 70 x 3 and then the 4 x 3 and then add the answers together. So you would have 210 + 12 =222. Students need to know how to do the regular problem, but this is a different way that allows them to do it in their heads. We did a our spelling test today, and we'll do the final test on Friday. Students are practicing for the pre-game show where they will sing their Flag song. Students need to be at the Westside Football game at 6:45. They need to meet at 6:50 on the north end of the stadium on the west side of the bleachers. Students will be admitted free and should wear a maroon or white shirt and dark jeans. If you have a senior, remember that senior night begins at 6:40, so it might be kind of crazy, and a good idea to come early.

Tuesday

We did the mile run today, everyone did it and everyone finished. On our way back to the school, we walked slowly through the sprinklers, it felt really great! In reading today we used the dictionary and the thesaurus. The students really enjoyed playing with the words. In math we finished our estimating product page and then the students began to work on posters showing a math concept. During Social Studies students were on teams that are working on different Native American tribes. They need to find information on culture, religious ceremonies, responsibility of men and women, traditional clothing and foods, and traditional housing. They also need to be able to identify where the different groups lived. We will be working on this for a couple of weeks.

Monday - help with mile run 1:20 tomorrow

Tomorrow at 1:30 4B is running their mile run. Mrs. Buttars is looking for parents to help her. If you are available, please call the school office 747-3764 and tell Amy. If you just want to help 4B, tell Amy that and then just come on over to our classroom and we will show you where to go. Today was a bit of a catch up. Students got their homework pages. I bet you are just sick of the multiplication tables, but, the students are starting to recognize them. Only a few students have them all down. We also sent spelling words home and reviewed them in class. We read the myth Daedelus and Icarus. We also watched a short movie about it too. Remember, students must have their reading signed by their parent, and for the Pizza for reading, students must read five days every week for a month.