Calliope Weekly Update
November 16-20, 2009
Week Twelve
Dear Parents,
Literacy: Both third and fourth grade readers have been working on gaining stamina during independent reading. We are also working on writing thoughtful responses to our reading, and journaling back and forth with our teachers. Students working with both Mr. B. and Ms. S for reading learned a comprehension strategy called “Read-Write-Think,” which prompts readers to interact with the text (underline, write in the margins—or use stickies if it’s not your copy!) when asked to read to find out, and answer questions about the text.
Math: Third graders continue their work with place value and worked with reading, writing, and ordering numbers to the ten-thousands place. Third graders created books, showing 8 ways to represent a large number. Next week we’ll wrap-up our study of place value and number sense. Fourth grade mathematicians explored algebra through in/out boxes. Clare Earley, a master teacher Mr. B is working with as part of a professional development experience, taught a lesson to fourth graders on Tuesday. Computational fluency continues to be a focus for fourth graders, as they set and reach for weekly goals on timed multiplication tests.
Writing: With Ms. Schoolcraft, students worked to develop their seed stories this week, revising to add “lively leads.” They shared “first sentences” of many of their favorite books, and compared action, question, thoughts & feelings, sound effects, and dialogue leads. Language arts this week focused on editing practice, as well as analogies and commonly misspelled words. Students in Mr. Bolger’s class did several “seven-minute writes” this week to build their bank of “seed stories.”
Word Study: Mr. B’s spelling groups ran the gamut of vowel teams, /dge/ vs. /ge/, and vocabulary word work, as well as, cursive handwriting! Fundations spellers worked with v-e syllable types, specifically in multisyllabic words, and reviewed closed, v-e, and closed syllable exception syllable types.
Social Studies: In Mr. B’s class, students learned that land maps are proportional pictures on paper of land and important things on that land (like cities or mountains or natural resources). They used the book Zoom and a Youtube video (check it out) called “The Powers of Ten” to learn how you can map everything from a square inch of soil to our town to our state to the continents --- all the way to a map of our known universe!
Four Winds: Students explored cones & conifers as part of the November 4-Winds lesson. We learned about designs in nature. We especially learned about how the Fibonacci sequence is all over the place in nature! We looked closely at how it appears even on a pinecone! Look it up on Google!
Ask me about:
• Male & Female cones
• Soda Pop, Don’t throw your junk in my backyard, Fish & Chips…Round Singing!
. The Youtube movie "The Powers of Ten."
. The nesting dolls.
. My reading chain.
Other: There will be no weekly update next week due to the Thanksgiving break. Please encourage your child to read over the long weekend. Have a peaceful, relaxing, and joyous holiday! Watch out…here comes December!
Take Care, Everyone!
David and Sarah
Parent/Guardian Signature & Comments: ___________________________________________________________
Friday, November 20, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Nov. 7 2009
Calliope Weekly Update
November 2-6, 2009
Week Ten
Literacy: Reading groups are underway! Students are establishing solid routines for reading in groups and responding to text in their reading response journals (rrj). Students are able to practice new strategies for reading in small guided groups, as well as, independently with self-selected “just right” texts. In Journey to the Center of the Earth, our explorers continue their trek beneath the Atlantic Ocean.
Math: Fourth graders are working hard on multiplication math facts, and students have set personal goals as to where they’d like to be for next Wednesday’s fact check. They also completed an end-of-the-unit test that will be coming home on Monday. Third graders used part-part-total and start-change-end diagrams to aid in solving addition and subtraction problems. These models especially help students to understand how to solve problems that have missing addends or subtrahends.
Writing: Students have completed some “quick writes” this week, practicing responding to prompts. Students also have been completing daily language review as morning work, which provides opportunities for students to practice editing skills, as well as basic grammar and language work. We made a list of things we Know About (like being a sister or having a pet run away) to build a pool of possibilities for our upcoming narratives.
Word Study: Students in Ms. S’s Fundations group did a third week in unit 2, reviewing the rules for adding vowel and consonant suffixes, as well as how to mark these words. Students did a “retake” of the Unit 2 assessment on Friday, with much better outcomes! Mr. B’s spelling groups are working hard (and having a lot of fun) writing “silly stories” with their spelling words each week. This is a great opportunity for students to apply spelling rules in the context of a written piece.
Science: On Friday, we wrapped up our rocks & minerals study with a collaborative lesson between both classes modeled after the “alphabet guessing game” book: Q is for Duck by Mary Elting & Michael Folsom. Students worked in pairs to make pages for a class book, Q is for Rocks & Minerals. It should be ready for publication next week . We are looking forward to our next social sciences theme: maps and globes.
Responsive Classroom: Ms. Schoolcraft was out half-day on Wednesday and all day Thursday. Mrs. Wissel was our substitute. We were able to earn 2 stickers on our “stickers for substitute” team chart for expected behavior during Ms. S’s absence. Ask your child what we will earn when all nine boxes on the grid are complete!
Ask me about:
• My reading group book
• My Friday spelling assessment
• Mr.Isham’s visit on Thursday
Other: Thank you for supporting your child’s homework routines. We have had better and better participation in Team Choice Time (TCT) each Friday because student work is complete.
We hope you have a nice weekend.
Sarah and David
November 2-6, 2009
Week Ten
Literacy: Reading groups are underway! Students are establishing solid routines for reading in groups and responding to text in their reading response journals (rrj). Students are able to practice new strategies for reading in small guided groups, as well as, independently with self-selected “just right” texts. In Journey to the Center of the Earth, our explorers continue their trek beneath the Atlantic Ocean.
Math: Fourth graders are working hard on multiplication math facts, and students have set personal goals as to where they’d like to be for next Wednesday’s fact check. They also completed an end-of-the-unit test that will be coming home on Monday. Third graders used part-part-total and start-change-end diagrams to aid in solving addition and subtraction problems. These models especially help students to understand how to solve problems that have missing addends or subtrahends.
Writing: Students have completed some “quick writes” this week, practicing responding to prompts. Students also have been completing daily language review as morning work, which provides opportunities for students to practice editing skills, as well as basic grammar and language work. We made a list of things we Know About (like being a sister or having a pet run away) to build a pool of possibilities for our upcoming narratives.
Word Study: Students in Ms. S’s Fundations group did a third week in unit 2, reviewing the rules for adding vowel and consonant suffixes, as well as how to mark these words. Students did a “retake” of the Unit 2 assessment on Friday, with much better outcomes! Mr. B’s spelling groups are working hard (and having a lot of fun) writing “silly stories” with their spelling words each week. This is a great opportunity for students to apply spelling rules in the context of a written piece.
Science: On Friday, we wrapped up our rocks & minerals study with a collaborative lesson between both classes modeled after the “alphabet guessing game” book: Q is for Duck by Mary Elting & Michael Folsom. Students worked in pairs to make pages for a class book, Q is for Rocks & Minerals. It should be ready for publication next week . We are looking forward to our next social sciences theme: maps and globes.
Responsive Classroom: Ms. Schoolcraft was out half-day on Wednesday and all day Thursday. Mrs. Wissel was our substitute. We were able to earn 2 stickers on our “stickers for substitute” team chart for expected behavior during Ms. S’s absence. Ask your child what we will earn when all nine boxes on the grid are complete!
Ask me about:
• My reading group book
• My Friday spelling assessment
• Mr.Isham’s visit on Thursday
Other: Thank you for supporting your child’s homework routines. We have had better and better participation in Team Choice Time (TCT) each Friday because student work is complete.
We hope you have a nice weekend.
Sarah and David
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