Week #9 Update!

Wow! We had so much fun and learned a lot at Innovation Day on Thursday. A big shout out to Mrs. Sterling, Mr. Tullner, Laura Horn, and many others who worked hard to put together a great day with the company Sportable. Hopefully, your daughters have already shared with you all the fun things they did. They used adaptive sports equipment to go cycling and play basketball, and they participated in a simulation where they were blindfolded while playing goalball. We also had a very informative Q & A with Hannah and Taylor, who are athletes at Sportable. It was definitely a day to remember. Click here to see additional pictures from this event.

In Language Arts, the girls practiced completing a "Close Read" of an informational article about vampire bats. In a close read, students read a text several times (each time has a separate purpose) in order to uncover deeper meaning within the text. In the coming weeks, the girls will be asked to look closely at both fiction and non-fiction text, gather evidence from the text to support their ideas, and determine the author's intent. Also, I decided to have all of the girls take the WW Cloze test today. Your daughter only needs to complete note cards for the words she missed. If your daughter did not receive at least a 13/15, the grade will not go in the grade book. However, you will still see the score in Quia.

During writing lab, the girls worked on their narrative stories where a witch cast a spell on them. They edited their own papers and met with a classmate to get feedback on their writing. Our week turned out to be crazier than expected, so I will meet with the girls next week to help them put together some writing goals.

In math, we wrapped up multiplication by a 2-digit number. The girls completed a formative assessment on Friday, which included all of the concepts we have covered so far this year. I will send home the assessments on Monday. These will not go in the grade book. I will use this information to help me plan the next week or so, since we only have one concept to cover before the next chapter test. Also, we completed an Edpuzzle (see below) using a video about the company Sportable. It became very clear that we need to do more work on problem solving!

 

Wordly Wise Dress-Up Day is this Wednesday! HALLOWEEN! 

Read the details here! Since we are trying to guess the word, it would be helpful if the girls picked a word we have already studied (lists #1-5). 

Reminders and General Information

                                Information needing a parent response is highlighted.

*Parent How-To Videos for accessing Quia, Newsela, and That Quiz!

* Homework- Posted for family planning.

*Our class will need to start bringing their recorders beginning on Monday, October 29th

Special Week: Mary

* Carpool Helpers- Harper and Annabelle will represent our class.

Class Leadership Week of 10/29

Ambassadors/Flag Raisers- Paige and Elizabeth

Girls: Your blog question is...What instrument do you need to bring on Monday? Post your answer here.

Week #8 Update!

It's time to celebrate!! The class finally filled the warm fuzzy jar! We brainstormed ideas for class rewards and the majority voted to make the mindful jars. We will also enjoy extra recess as well.

The girls enjoyed creating a large collaborative Halloween poster for our classroom door. They colored different squares and drew pictures of themselves dressed up in their Halloween costumes. I'm looking forward to seeing the girls get creative with their Wordly Wise Word costumes on October 31st. Please have your daughter keep it a secret, which word she has chosen, so we can have fun guessing on Halloween.

This week we started doing Daily Oral Language each morning, which covers many different grammar and writing skills. This will not be a graded assignment. The girls will check their own papers in class and bring it home on Fridays. Also, we discussed regular and irregular plural nouns and how to correctly spell these words. The girls will be using these types of nouns and their Wordly Wise words in a collaborative writing assignment this coming week.

Last Wednesday, the girls started Writing Lab #3. This is a Narrative writing assignment, and the girls will continue to focus on using descriptive adjectives, vivid verbs, and editing their work. I am seeing a high level of engagement with this activity and can't wait to read their stories. In addition, I will be meeting with each girl individually this week to look over samples of her writing, and then we will discuss some appropriate writing goals.

To wrap up Hispanic Heritage month, we read "A Day's Work" by Eve Bunting. The girls really enjoyed this book. I incorporated a discussion about character traits, and then we shared ideas about how we would describe the grandfather in the story. Next, we read a Scholastic News article about migrant workers. We had a rich discussion about the difficulties these families face as they try to earn a living in The United States. 

In math, we continued to discuss multiplication of larger numbers and long division with three and four-digit dividends. To extend their thinking, I introduced remainders as decimals and fractions, which intrigued many of the girls. Also, I helped the girls make a connection between multiplication as repeated addition and division as repeated subtraction. We explored partial quotients as well. Finally, we started a fun factor tree activity using candy corns. Of course the girls love any activity which involves candy!

In History, we read about the Judicial Branch, and this week we will do a simulation activity where the girls will analyze and interpret a fictional law that has been passed. To wrap up our government unit, the girls will be placed in groups, and they will complete a review activity. 

Please note...I have switched around some things on the homework calendar. It seemed easier to read if the days went across the top and the subjects along the side. Also, I will hand out a paper copy of the homework calendar each Monday, so the girls can glue them into their agendas (if they would like to do so). Therefore, the only homework that needs to be written down in the mornings would be any additional math homework that might be added for that particular night. I think this will help make the mornings go more quickly for some of the girls. If you would prefer your daughter still write down all of her homework in her agenda, that is fine. I will continue to write it up on the board. Just be sure to talk with your her and she can communicate this to me in class. I believe each girl should do what works best for her.

**Wordly Wise Dress-Up Day is Coming! Read about all the details here!**

**SWIMMING CONTINUES ON TUESDAY**

Reminders and General Information

                                Information needing a parent response is highlighted.

                        *Parent How-To Videos for accessing Quia, Newsela, and That Quiz!

                        *Please purchase a couple of packages of 4" x 6" notecards for

 Wordly Wise homework beginning Thursday
* Homework- Posted for family planning.

Special Week: Maeve

* Carpool Helpers- Ruthie and Paige will represent our class.

Class Leadership Week of 10/22

Ambassadors/Flag Raisers- Sirena and Ava Jane- We are keeping the same Ambassadors this week since the girls had only one chance to raise the flag because of swimming.

Girls: Your blog question is...Which class reward received the most votes? Post your answer here.

Week #7 Update!

The girls finally finished painting and cutting out their dresses, and they look amazing! Click here to see pictures of all the girls with their dresses.

It is fall conference time and the girls did such a great job reflecting on their learning and work habits. They wrote letters summarizing their reflections, and these will be handed out at parent/teacher conferences. I was really impressed with the accuracy of the girls' reflections!

In math, we continued our discussion of addition, subtraction, and multiplication of larger numbers. We will be exploring division this coming week. As the girls completed workbook pages, I walked around and told the girls if I saw any errors and how many per page. The girls practiced finding which problems were incorrect and made the necessary corrections. Then we discussed common mistakes.

On Thursday, we wrapped up Writing Lab #2, which focused on writing descriptive paragraphs. For this particular lab, the girls were given more responsibility for revising and editing their own work. We looked at an example of a descriptive paragraph and graded it with a rubric. They used the same rubric to check their own paragraphs. Then they read it to a partner and traded papers and edited each others' work. I will put a final grade on these and put them in the plastic folders on Friday.

The girls are really enjoying Personalized Learning time. We have girls doing a coding project, painting and researching turtles, interviewing teachers and surveying students, and working on projects using Buncee and Storybird. I'm excited to see the finished products!

In History, we wrapped up the Legislative Branch by reading about how more members of Congress are speaking Spanish and why. We will read and discuss a picture book by Eve Bunting this week, which touches on the topic of Hispanic migrant workers in California. Then we will dive into current events that took place in the 21st century. The girls will work in groups using something called the Jigsaw method. Later in the week, ask your daughter to tell you all about this activity.

**Wordly Wise Dress-Up Day is Coming! Read about all the details here!**

**SWIMMING STARTS ON TUESDAY! CLICK HERE FOR ANOTHER COPY OF THE LETTER THAT WAS SENT VIA E-MAIL THIS PAST TUESDAY**

Reminders and General Information

                                Information needing a parent response is highlighted.

*Parent How-To Videos for accessing Quia, Newsela, and That Quiz!

* Homework- Posted for family planning.

Special Week: Annabelle

* Carpool Helpers- Serpell will represent our class.

Class Leadership Week of 10/15

Ambassadors/Flag Raisers- Sirena and Ava Jane

Girls: Your blog question is...Who is the author of the picture book we are going to read this week, which talks about migrant workers in California? Post your answer here.

Week #6 Update!

We had a fun start to the week with the Blessing of the Animals on The Green. Although it was rather muddy, the weather was perfect! Here are a few more pictures from that event.

In math, the girls did a great job reflecting on how they did on their first math assessment. They analyzed different aspects of their performance such as how well they prepared for the test, possibilities for why they missed certain problems, and what they can do to avoid the same mistakes in the future. They should be so proud of their efforts! Then, we jumped right into the next chapter where we explored the many different ways to add and subtract larger numbers. We discussed subtracting across zeros and named each method (including one called the "Mary Michael Method").  Ultimately, we came up with at least five different ways to solve these types of problems. To wrap up the lesson, the girls chose their favorite method and wrote in their math journals about why they like that particular method the best. We also looked at word problems and how to show our work pictorially using bar models.

In writing, we continued our second lab where the girls chose an image and worked on writing a descriptive paragraph. After the girls finish their first draft this week, they will use a rubric to assess their own writing and then have a peer edit their writing. I will not be giving as much feedback this time compared to the Mystery Fourthie Writing Lab. The girls are working on finding their own errors and editing and revising their work.

We have been really enjoying our class read aloud Fish in a Tree as we try to finish up painting our dresses. I am so excited to announce that we have 3 dresses displayed in the hall with more to come! In addition, we discussed another reading comprehension strategy called Making Connections. We talked about how good readers connect what they are reading to events in their own lives. We discussed three types of connections: Text to Self (T-S), Text to Text (T-T); and Text to World (T-W). As I read Chapter 3, the girls anonymously typed their connections into a fun online message board called Padlet. See below for a picture of the Padlet we created:

In History, we read about and discussed the duties of the Legislative Branch and talked about how a bill becomes a law. Once again, the girls had a lot of really thoughtful questions. Our Wonder Wall continues to grow! This week we will read about the growing numbers of Spanish speaking members in Congress as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

Reminders and General Information

                                Information needing a parent response is highlighted.

*Atom project is due Friday, October 12th (The girls have a copy of the guidelines in their binders and another copy was sent home).
*Parent How-To Videos: This week's feature- accessing That Quiz.

* Homework- Posted for family planning.

Special Week: No Special Week girl since it's a short week 

* Carpool Helpers- Mary will represent our class.

Class Leadership Week of 10/9

Ambassadors/Flag Raisers- Ruthie and Mary Michael

Girls: No blog question this week. I hope you enjoyed your long holiday weekend!