Friday, October 30, 2015

Happy Halloween to everyone.

October Reading Minutes are due Monday.  If you misplaced your calendar you can find one of my webpage or simply write a note in your child's agenda that they read at least 400 minutes in October. November Reading Minute calendars were sent home today.

Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Math - study flashcards
Fluency Check 5 - students were given time beyond breakfast to work on this homework sheet.

Writing - Celebration Story due Monday.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Tomorrow is the School Wide Costume Parade, followed by our Classroom Snack and Electronics Party for our 100 Cougar Paws.  Please have your child bring their costume to school in a bag.  They will be given time to change into their costume after lunch.

Wednesday is a Late Start

Thursday will be Parent/Teacher conferences for the blue slip families.

Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Spelling - study for test

Math - Study flashcards
5 Question Worksheet

Writing - Realistic Story for Celebration due Monday

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Friday is the School Wide Halloween Parade and our Class Snack/Electronics Party for our Cougar Paw Acknowledgement.

Thursday, Nov. 5 will be Parent/Teacher Conferences for the blue slip families.

Tomorrow your child will be writing an assessment paper for our Narrative Unit.  They will have only 30 minutes to show Mr. Ray and I what they have learned about Narrative Writing.  They should come to school with a Small Moment Idea so they do not spend their precious writing minutes brainstorming an idea.

Tomorrow we will be starting 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication.  We will start by using the rectangle area model and then move onto the traditional method.

Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Spelling - study for test
Illustrate 7 words or define 7 words

Math - study flashcards
Homework/Remembering 2-11

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

I look forward to meeting with the pink slip parents tonight at Parent/Teacher Conferences.

Remember that Saturday is the last day of October - log in your "Read Like A Rock Star" minutes if you are participating in the program.

Tomorrow is a Late Start Wednesday.

Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Spelling - Study for test
Repeat Sort or 5 word comic strip

Math - study flashcards
Mystery Picture - I will only accept assignments that have the work attached to the finished puzzle. 

Monday, October 26, 2015

If you have a Parent/Teacher Conference tomorrow a reminder note went home in your child's agenda.  Conferences for tomorrow are for the pink slips.

A note went home today for our Cougar Paw Acknowledgement Party that we will have Friday afternoon after the Halloween Parade.

Wednesday will be a Later Start.

Now that it is getting cooler, please have your child dress for the weather.  In addition to going outside for recess, they also go outside for physical education on certain days.

Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Spelling - study for test
Describe Sort

Math - Study flashcards
Homework/Remembering 2-10

Wednesday, October 21, 2105

There is No School on Thursday or Friday.

Remember that the first Parent/Teacher Conferences will be on Tuesday, October 27.  You would have received the pink sheet, if you are scheduled for that evening.

Mrs. Ironside came and talked to the class about Battle of the Books.  I handed out information sheets to students who were interested.  If your child changes their mind and would like to join the competition, I have extra information sheets.  There will be a final sign-up meeting next Wednesday during lunch where students will form their teams.

Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Math - study flashcards
Mad Monster Grid

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

The class has 120 Cougar Paws.  We voted to have a snack party/electronics day on Friday, October 30 for part of the afternoon.  More information will come next week. 

Please remember to return your Parent/Teacher Conference slip, if you have already done so.

Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Math - study flashcards
Homework/Remembering 2-9

Monday, October 19, 2015

Invitations for Parent/Teacher Conferences went home today.  Please check your calendars and mark the date. Because of the number of students I have I only have one available spot if switching needs to take place.

Remember, there is no spelling this week.  We do not have school on Thursday or Friday, so due to the shortened week there would not be enough time to prepare for a spelling test.

Today I introduced the short-cut method for multi-digit multiplication.  This is the way that you probably learned when you were in elementary school.  We will be using graph paper for at least a few assignments so that students line up everything correctly.  Students may choose to use either the area model method or short-cut method for any assignments their 4th grade year, unless stated otherwise.

Homework:

Reading - Read 20 minutes

Math - study flashcards
Jack-o-lantern

Friday, October 16, 2015

The field trip was wonderful.  I hope your child had many exciting things to tell you about.

There is no school on Thursday and Friday.

Because of the three day week, there will NOT be spelling next week.  That doesn't leave enough time to prepare for the test.

Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Math  - study flashcards
Homework/Remembering 2-8.  There are two changes I had students make to their homework. On the Remembering side for problems 5 and 6, they need to use an area model, not Algebraic Notation Method, to solve these problems.  Also, they do not need to do Stretch Your Thinking.

Social Studies - Finish Field Trip Article for Monday

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

A reminder note went home regarding tomorrow's field trip.  Please check it over if you have any questions.

We had a Lock Down Intruder Drill today.  An informational note went home.

Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Spelling - study for test
Illustrate 7 words or define 7 words

Math - study flashcards
Ghost Subtraction

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Please remember to have your child at school before 6:20 on Thursday.  The bus will leave at 6:30 and we can not wait for anyone, regardless of circumstance, because leaving late would cause us to miss part of our Capitol tour.  Also, if your child did not order a school lunch, they must bring their lunch.  There will NOT be a place to purchase lunch items.

Tomorrow is a Late Start.

Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Spelling - practice for test
Repeated Sort or 5 word comic strip

Math - study flashcards
Homework/Remembering 2-6.  I had students make a couple of changes to the homework sheet.  #2 on the homework side is now a challenge problem - they can choose to try it or not do it.  Also for the Stretch Your Thinking on the Remembering Side, they need to change Expanded Notation Method to Place Value Sections Method when answering the question.  I will not be teaching the Expanded Notation Method.  If I teach too many methods some students begin to combine them, which makes learning multi-digit multiplication all the more confusing.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Today we began our official spelling groups.  I will be teaching the Unicorns, Gerbils and Turtles.  Mr. Ray will be teaching the Packers and Jokers.  (The groups thought of these names themselves.)  Each student was given a list of words and an answer key to keep at school and another copy of each to keep at home.

Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Spelling - practice test
Describe Sort

Math - study flashcards
H/R 2-5

Friday, October 9, 2015

We learned a new working memory game today called "All Mixed Up."  For this activity we used playing cards.  Student A picks 5 cards from the stack and asks Student B to memorize them.  Student A will now turn the cards facedown, mix them up, and then turn the cards face up again leaving one card facedown.  Student B needs to tell which card is facedown.  As this version of the game becomes easy for your child, variations of this game can include leaving more than one card facedown , or using more than 5 cards.  Try this game at home.

Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Math - study flashcards
Homework/Remembering 2-4.  We are learning to use the area model for multiplication.  The area model is not meant to be the final step in learning multiplication, it's an initial, developmental step to move kids in the right direction.  As tempting as it may be, please do not teach your child the standard algorithm yet - this is the way most of us learned to multiply larger numbers.  We will get to that in this unit and it becomes confusing when children are learning two ways at once.  Here is a link to a video that demonstrates the area model, if you are interested in learning more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdYV6i-kXcA

Thursday, October 8, 2015

A mistake was made in the Clovis Communicator that went home yesterday.  The date of the Madison Field Trip was wrong.  The trip is next Thursday, October 15.  A correction note on orange paper went home today.

Field trip forms and money are due tomorrow.  We will hold the chaperone drawing tomorrow and the lunch program needs to know the final count for sack lunches to order.

Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Spelling -  study for test

Math - study flash cards
Mad Scientist Math

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

It was so nice to learn new things regarding Math but it is even nicer to be back.  I missed my class while I was gone.

Tomorrow your child will receive their VIP Pass for Reading Like A Rock Star.  If your child filled in their reading hours for September, they already have a stamp on their card.  If they missed this opportunity there is an opportunity on Saturday at the Menasha Fire Station to receive a stamp.  Information about this opportunity is stapled to the pass.

Anyone who turned in their Reading Minutes Calendar for September will receive a No Homework Pass.  Your child may use this pass for ONE side of a math homework assignment.  I spoke about saving the pass until there was a time that they really needed it because they won't receive many of these passes throughout the year.  If your child does not use this pass they may trade it in for $500 Cougar Cash at the end of the school year for our auction.


Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Spelling - Study for test
Illustrate 7 words or define 7 words

Math - study flashcards
Homework/Remembering 2-3.  We worked on a few of the homework problems in class and then I gave them as additional 15 minutes to work on the assignment, in case there were further questions.

Cougar Paws Acknoweldgement Day

This is just a reminder that Wednesday is our Cougar Paws Acknowledgement.  Your child may wear their pajamas and slippers - we will be going out for recess, so please make sure they have appropriate shoes to wear outside.  They may also bring a blanket and pillow for the day.

Madison Field Trip

This is just a reminder that Madison Field Trip Forms, Chaperone Forms, Lunch Forms and money for the Madison Field Trip are due by Friday, October 9, if you have not already turned them in.

A chaperone drawing will be held on Friday and if you would like to be part of that drawing you must have your form turned in and the school office must have a Criminal Background Check on file for you.

The Lunch Program also needs to have your lunch form turned in by Friday, if you are purchasing a sack lunch through the school.  They need to plan, order and make these meals ahead of time.

Also remember that your child will need to be at school by 6:20 on Thursday, October 15.  We will not wait for anyone because a time delay will cause us to miss our tour of the Capitol Building.

Friday, October 2, 2015

It is nice to be back in the classroom after 2 days of workshops/trainings.  Unfortunately I will be gone to a Math Conferences on Monday and Tuesday.  Hopefully after that I won't have anymore workshops until after Thanksgiving.  Mr. Ray, in addition to a substitute teacher will be here, so I am leaving the class in good hands.  There will not be a blog on Monday or Tuesday

Next week's spelling words will still be below your child's level.  Mr. Ray and I discovered that another week of routines will be helpful before they begin working with words at their level.

Unit 1 Math tests went home today.  On the second day of school we took a pre-test for the Unit.  This helped Mr. Ray and I assess what skills your child may have already known, thus needing enrichment, and those skills still needed to be taught.  Since this unit is primarily on adding and subtracting, just with larger numbers, typically there is little to no growth.  We took a pre-test on Thursday for Unit 2 which is multiplication with 3 x 1 digit numbers and 2 x 2 digit numbers.  Since this is usually a new concept for most students there is typically growth in this unit.

We have earned 62 Class Cougar Paws.  We voted to have a Pajama, Slipper, Pillow and Blanket Day on Wednesday - when I return.

Remember to log your September Reading time into the "Read Like a Rock Star" site.  It can be found under the Parent Student tab on the District Web Site.

Homework:

Reading - read 20 minutes

Math - Study flashcards
Fluency Check 4