Super Bowl Friday

Steelers or Cardinals was the question of the day!

Language Arts
Today we took our skills tests over this week's story. Look for the results to come home Tuesday. We have some absent students so they will have to do some make up work. We also went to the computer lab and started typing our poetry.

Math
We took our unit assessment. Look for the graded version to come home next Tuesday. We have some absent students who need to make it up.

Science
We discussed light pollution. We talked about good lighting and bad lighting. We also discussed sky glow, glare, light trespass, and clutter. Look for examples as you are out and about!

Go Steelers!

Science Expo is due tomorrow!

I hope everyone is admiring all of their hard work on their projects tonight. They need to be turned in tomorrow!

Language Arts
Today we practiced grammar. We learned about pli/plic in vocabulary vine. It means fold or braid. We also learned about per. Per means through or thoroughly. We worked more on our poetry. We wrote more acrostic and cinquains today. We went to music and gym.
Fluency and Flow is due tomorrow.

Math
Today we reviewed for the test tomorrow and worked on our packets. No homework tonight. Some students may need to finish up some work.

Science
Welcome back, Mrs. Woods class. Today we watched a video call "Let There Be Night." It talked alot about space and the problems of light pollution. We will be studying this topic for the next few weeks.

Snowy Wednesday

Language Arts
We reviewed grammar and looked for pronouns this morning. We also sorted our spelling words by patterns. We read "Dear Mrs. LaRue and drew conclusions about what kind of character Ike is. We learned that good writers show us about their characters. We also learned that good readers take what they know and what the author tells them to create information. The author of our story never told us that Ike was a liar. But if we look carefully at the text and at the pictures and put it together with what we know we can draw the conclusion that Ike doesn't always (all right never) tells the truth. We worked hard in writing this morning. We finished revising our hero letters. (That's homework if you didn't get it done) We practiced writing accrostic and cinquain poetry. We using the author's craft strategies of similes and alliteration today. Oh yes, we also visited with our reading buddies.

Math
We reviewed for our math test on Friday. The review focuses on the use of data and on adding/subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. We will go over our review tomorrow and the test will be on Friday. We also worked on our fraction packets.

Art Smart
Today our awesome, talented Art Smart Moms taught us about perspective and drawing in 3D. We based our drawings on the Edward Hopper painting "Nighthawks." By the way, this painting is currently hanging at the Art Institute in Chicago. Check it out!

Totally Tremendous Tuesday

There is a skate night tonight from 6:00-8:00 at the USA skating rink! Have fun!

Language Arts
Today we worked on combining sentences. we took 3 short choppy sentences and made them into one long sentence. We worked on vocabulary vine. Today's words were vers (or vert) which means turn and dis (also di-, dif- de) which means apart, away, un- and down. We also worked on revising our hero writing from yesterday. We added one example and one simile to our writing and then we took markers to highlight specific things. We used blue to circle spelling errors. We used red to check for capital letters at the beginning of sentences and ending punctuation. The red also helped us to analyze the words we used to begin sentences and how long our sentences were. This helped us keep an eye on our sentence fluency. We went to gym and to music.

Math
We continued working on our fraction packet. Tomorrow and Thursday we will review for our test. The test will be on Friday.

Science
We wrapped up our "Let There Be Night" unit. Tomorrow we have Art Smart. Thursday we begin our next rotation. My homeroom goes to Social Studies.

Don't forget that Science Expo is due on Friday!

Marvelous Monday

We had a normal day!

Tonight there is a skating party at the USA skating rink from 3:30-5:30.

Language Arts
Today we practiced our grammar skills. Our new skill for the week is pronouns. We also took a spelling pretest. Our words this week focus on spelling the -ing and -ed ending. In reading, we are reading about a story called "Dear Mrs. LaRue." It is about a dog that has trouble telling the truth. It lands him in a lot of trouble. Our skill for the week is drawing conclusions. Our vocabulary skill is the prefix mis. It means badly or wrongly. Our vocabulary words are on this week's fluency and flow.

Speaking of fluency and flow. Here are the expectations.
1. Read the story to an adult. Have the adult sign.
2. Answer question at the end of the story. Use complete sentences.
3. Signature only for Word Workout.
4. Write a funny caption for each picture on the skill page.

Math
We are working on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. We are working on a packet in order to have lots of practice. Home work is to make sure the first page of the packet is done.

Science
We played a game about wildlife and light pollution. Tomorrow each student will write an essay describing what they have learned about light pollution and it's effect on wildlife. They will be allowed to use all of their resources in order to help them. I will expect that they use some of the vocabulary they have learned: light pollution, glare, sky glow, clutter, light trespass, nocturnal, fixation, habitat, environment, disorientation, etc.

Fabulous Friday

We had a great day!!!

Homeroom
This morning we worked on writing for ISTEP, did an art project (for Galaxy Gallery) and went to see Mikey, the lego man. Mikey taught us how to build a race car from legos and then what we needed to do to make the car go faster. We had a great time learning about areodynamics, gear ratios and all the other factors that go into making a car go faster. NASCAR, here we come! This afternoon we did our Original Works of Art. There are some amazing pieces! We can't wait for you to see our magnets!

Have a great weekend! Next week will be back to normal.

Homeroom and I spent the day together!

My homeroom class and I spent the day together. Part of the day was spent in analyzing writing samples. We used different color markers to look at spelling, capitalization, punctuation, word choice, and sentence fluency in writing samples. This really helped us figure out what works in writing and what doesn't work in writing. We went to music and gym. We practiced answering questions for our upcoming social studies ISTEP and we worked on our "Let There Be Night" unit. We don't have any homework tonight.

A couple of things about tomorrow:
* Tomorrow is crazy head day. We are raising money for Riley's. Students should donate a minimum of one dollar to participate.
*Tomorrow we will be meeting with Mikey, the lego person. We can't wait to see what we will be doing with him.
*Tomorrow is original works of Art. It promises to be a messy day so wear appropriate clothing.

Wild Wednesday

Good Afternoon,
I asked one of my 4th graders today if he was done with the snow yet. He said no. I sure am though!

Homeroom: Homeroom stays with me for Thursday and Friday. We have several things going on and will be using this time for Spring ISTEP prep as well as seeing a special presentation and working with original works of art on Friday Afternoon. Homeroom students will have music and PE tomorrow due to the change in schedule. Wear your gym shoes.

Language Arts: Tomorrow is the final call for book orders. Today we took the unit 3 test in reading. We worked on our poetry unit. Today we worked on the following poetic devices: cliches, rhythm, similes, and accrostic poems. We also went to see our reading buddies.

Math: We practiced math facts and then worked on addition and subtraction of fractions with unlike denominators. This is a multi-step process. We will continue to work on this next week. No homework tonight.

Science: We discussed how light pollution affects wildlife. We played a game about this subject.

Don't forget that science expo projects are due on Friday, January 30th.

All PM Activites are canceled

Be careful out there it is a slick mess.

Language Arts
Today we learned about the intro/intra root it means inside or within. We also learned mot, mo which means move. Be on the lookout for these roots in your reading. In grammar we reviewed irregular verbs. We learned that if a verb has a helping verb, must likely it will have an n in the past tense. For example. I have gone to the store before. We also worked on our snow haiku and read our story again. We then visited with our reading buddies.

Book orders went home today. It is due next Wednesday.

Math
We worked on math facts and then took a quiz over data and graphing. No homework tonight.

Science
We went to the planetarium and learned about light pollution and Orion. No science homework either.

Wow, It's Cold Out There

What a cold snowy day! You would think that it's winter out.

The Snowball Dance has been postponed because of the weather. We will let you know when that is rescheduled.

Language Arts
Today we reviewed grammar and spelling skills for the week. We also practiced summarizing. When we summarize something we have read, we decide what is the most important and include only that information in our summary. Summaries are short! We went to music and PE

Math
We continued to work on data today. Today we graphed survey questions. This is going to come in handy when we are finishing our Science Expo projects. We have a quick quiz tomorrow over what we have practiced so far this unit.

Science
We had a catch up day today. Tomorrow we are going to the planetarium!

Stay inside and stay warm tonight!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Good Afternoon,
I hope that everyone had a pleasant weekend. It looks like it is going to be a cold and snowy week. Please make sure that you child comes to school dressed appropriately.

Language Arts:
We had a busy day introducing new concepts for the week. This week we will be working on multiple meaning words as well as these words for our vocabulary: technique, foolishness, inspire, evaporate, microscope, magnify, negatives, and blizzard. Our story this week is "Snowflake Bentley." This story is a biography about a man who took pictures of snowflakes. It seems very appropriate for the weather we are having. In writing today we talked about figurative language and tried our had at writing haiku. We will be hanging our best efforts up in the hallway.

Fluency and Flow is due on Friday. Here are the expectations.
1. Read the story (this includes sidebars and captions) and have a parent sign the form.
2. Answer the questions at the end of the story.
3. Do the word workout. Parent signature only.
4. Complete the find-a-word and quote on the skill page.

Math
Today we talked about sample data when collecting large amounts of information. We discovered that the larger the sample size the more accurate the sample is going to be. There is no homework today.

Science
Today we researched how light pollution affects wildlife. We will be doing an activity on Thursday regarding this subject. It would be helpful to have some parent volunteers come in and help with this. If you can come in and help, please send me an email so I know how many people to expect. Oh yes, could you please bring in a flashlight, too. Students will not need a flashlight. Parents might.

On Wednesday we will be going to the planetarium.

All science expo projects are due on Friday, January 30th.

Snowball dance is tomorrow evening at the school.

Be careful out there

Have a safe weekend. It's supposed to be snowy all weekend long

Language Arts.
Today was assessment Friday. We tested all of our skills. We also worked on planning and writing a paragraph about the tepees we made in centers on Wednesday. We typed up the paragraphs during learning lab.

Math
We played games. We gathered data about the game first to 21. Many kids don't think this is a fair game. We will figure this out in math class on Monday. We practiced data landmarks by playing Landmark Sharks.

Science.
We shared what we learned yesterday about sky glow, light trespass, and glare. Next week we will focus on how light pollution effects the environment.

Thursday, Thursday

Good Afternoon,
It's hard to believe that our first week back is almost over. As one of my 4th graders said this morning, "Man, this year is going by fast."

Language Arts:
Today we reviewed grammar skills. We talked about what a linking verb is and how to punctuate dialogue in a play.
We also learned about these three Greek and Latin roots:
Port means to carry, bear or bring (transport, export, portable, import, and support)
Onym means name or word (pseudonym, antonym, synonym, anonymous)
pel means push or drive (propel, repel, compel)
We read the story, "Mystic Horse" , again before the test tomorrow.

We also talked about this quarter's reading project. Look for a sheet explaining the project to come home today. Project is due on March 6. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Math:
Today we reviewed stem and leaf plots and discussed landmarks for data again. Our study link is 6.4. Tomorrow is game day.

Science:
Today we discussed the three major forms of light pollution: sky glow, glare, and light trespass. We also researched to find the answers to these questions: What causes this kind of light pollution? Is this type of light pollution bad? What can we do to fix the problem? Homework tonight is to add to the poster we made earlier this week. We are adding they type of light pollution that the lights send out.

Wednesday, January 7

Good Afternoon Everyone,
Language Arts
Today we warmed up with a grammar review. We had DEAR time during vocabulary vine. Tomorrow we will go back to learning root words. We sorted our spelling words by the way the plural is spelled: add an s, add an es or drop the y and add an ies. We met with our reading buddies. We worked on grammar. We learned today that a colon is used to mark speakers in a play. We also learned that dialogue in a play doesn't use quotation marks and that stage directions are in parenthesis. We finished up our plot diagram about "Mystic Horse." We had centers. Today we worked with homophones, had an art project and read our leveled readers. We are going to write about the art project on Friday.

Math
We warmed up with equations, metric conversions and patterns. Then we learned more about organizing data. Today we used the stem and leaf plot. A stem and leaf plot is kind of like a t-chart. The left side of the chart (the stem) has the 100's and 10's part of the number. The right side of the chart (the leaves) lists the 1's place of numbers. It helps to put all of the ones in numerical order. This way of organization makes it easy to find data landmarks. Our study link was 6.3. It is due tomorrow.

Science
We learned all about light pollution today and talked about the light sources in our neighborhoods. Many kids could see the reflection of light off the clouds last night. Tomorrow we will look more at the way that lights cause pollution at night.

Today we.....

Science Expo Proposals are due tomorrow for my homeroom class!

Language Arts
Today we reviewed grammar skills. We chose the correct linking verb to connect the subject of a sentence to a noun or adjective in the predicate. We read the story "Mystic Horse" with partners. We listed the major events on a white board with our partners. Then we placed the major events on a plot diagram. We talked about what events were part of the introduction and what events were part of the rising action. We will finish the diagram tomorrow.

Math
Today we discussed measurements and talked about standard measuring. We figured out what our personal measurements for things like cubit, fathom, and spans. We will use this information in tomorrow's lesson. We also played the game first to 21. We have started collecting data about this game. We will use this information later in the unit. Our homework is studylink 6.2

Science
Today we learned more about light pollution. We watched a short video, Once there was a sky full of stars. We also discussed two articles. One was on the Milky Way. The other was a National Geographic article about the Vanishing Night. There is science homework tonight: Each student is supposed to go outside tonight and record all the man-made lights that they can see from the front door. The good news is that the sun sets so early that they should be able to finish this homework by 6:30 or so. :)

Welcome Back!

I hope that everyone had a nice winter break. Time went quickly and now we are all struggling to get back into the routine of school.

Language Arts.
Today we reviewed plural nouns and corrected sentences with capitalization, usage, and punctuation mistakes. We took our spelling pretest over words with plural endings. We read our new story, "Mystic Horse." Our vocabulary skill is homophones and our comprehension skill is sequencing. We set goals for the new year in writing.

Fluency and Flow Expectations:
1. Read the story to an adult and have the adult sign the paper.
2. Answer the questions at the end of the story.
3. Do the word workout orally and have an adult sign.
4. Pick one story from the 3 options on the skill page and write the middle of what happened. Use at least 5 sentences.

We also passed back many papers. One of the goals that I have set for myself is not to get buried under all of the paperwork. Now that the craziness of the holidays are over, I hope to keep up with all of the papers.

Math.
Today we looked at organizing data. We practiced making different types of graphs. This skill will continue throughout the unit. Studylink 6.1 was assigned.

We also passed back many papers. One of the goals that I have set for myself is not to get buried under all of the paperwork. Now that the craziness of the holidays are over, I hope to keep up with all of the papers.

Science
Science Expo proposals are due on Wednesday!!!!!

We started our astronomy unit today. We read about our solar system. Our focus is light pollution.