A word about the progress reports....

Homework was a bit of a mess this time. As in, students are not as diligent as they have been in earlier quarters with getting it handed in. Frankly, I was a bit stunned too. I have a high school student check and chart the homework. I am going to have to keep a closer eye on it. They were all doing so well, I just figured....well, I was wrong. 

The good news is: we begin again tomorrow. I give two homework grades per quarter and I just begin again after the first one goes out. So students can earn a 100% for the next round and normally, when I see an effort to turn it around, I will bump up the first grade or allow them to do some makeup. Also, I will drop the lowest non-test grade before report cards come home in March. Also, homework counts for substantially less when there are more grades. So, basically, it's not the end the world, but students need to correct the downward slide and get homework completed and handed in. And I will monitor it a little closer from now on, too. 

Another note: If your child is missing work, it was NOT calculated on the progress report, meaning, it did not count against them. But on student's report cards it will be counted as a "0" and therefore, count against students average. Please, please, please make sure they get late work handed in or made up.

 

Book Report: A word about the upcoming book report and project due on March 12: The format for the auto/biography review is posted under "Pages" in the blog. Please follow these instructions, add vocabulary from the year and make sure students add some type of critical analysis of their person and what they learned. And always check spelling and punctuation. 

 

Project: the "Epic" poem that is due should follow the same basic format as the narrative poem students wrote in class over the last couple weeks. It should include facts from the life of the person's autobiography and give a basic walk through of their life's journey. It should be at least 5 stanzas, but no more than 10 with between 5-8 lines each stanza, again, effort and creativity, spelling and punctuation and vocabulary are what I really look for. The portrait can be any type of artistic of the person student's read about.

Week of 2/25

Hello Everyone! I thought I had escaped the dreaded flu of 2013 until last week.  Yuck! I am sorry I was out all week, although I certainly did catch up on sleep! It was a rough week for me but I think I’m ready to roar back and have some wonderful learning take place in 4^th grade Language Arts!

NEWS FLASH! Please check out the crazy 4B and their wonderful Moustache Valentine's party pictures under "Pages"! That is one nutty crew, love them!

We have fallen behind on Black History Month and therefore, as with most years, we will run into March. In fact, we will without a doubt run into mid to late March J I have many areas of the curriculum I cover using Black artists, poets, musicians, history and narratives, so even though we are not technically in Black history past next week, we will be exploring more in class. We will look at voice in writing, we will work some with figurative language, we will write persuasive essays and letters, and research more about the history and experience of African Americans.  Our culminating event will be a wax museum the week of March  18^th (I will firm up the date as we get a little closer, but students will dress up as a famous Black American and give a short biography of themselves, including a famous quote. There will be no makeup, just clothing and props, as a way of representing one’s character.) This event will be in class during your student’s regular Language Arts class.

Classes will not have vocabulary this week, although we will learn new words and phrases, such as Emancipation Proclamation, abolitionist, Jim Crow laws, the Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, civil rights, etc… I will test on these phrases and words at the end of the unit.  I will make sure students have a list of what I expect them to know. Students will take notes in their composition books.

The third Book Report is Due March 12. It is a auto/biography. I have posted the format on a blog page, please look at it and follow. The project is an epic poem about your person's life and a portrait. The epic poem is just a poem that follows the famous person's journey through life. It should incorporate at least 7-12 facts about their life. Please use vocabulary from this year!

This is the last week I will collect money for EOG test prep books. They are $16.00 and I very strenuously recommend students buy one. I would also like to thank all of the generous parents who donated extra money to students who cannot cover this right now. Thanks very much.

Talent Show is going to be awesome this year! Keep this date for your calendar: March 15. Tickets go on sale this week!$5 for adults, $3 for students! Dinner will be available. Don’t miss this yearly extravaganza. 

International Festival was rescheduled for tomorrow. This is another wonderful event for students.

4^th grade Social Club meets this Wednesday, until 4:00. I require a note each time,  be sure and send a note soon. I can really only handle around 30 students and I know everyone wants to come, but I must maintain a safe environment.

Progress Reports go home this Wednesday. Once again, be sure and take the number with a grain of salt, especially this round. Normally, I am in class to make sure students get all their work in before progress reports and report cards. Since I was out last week, this safety net has fallen by the wayside. Many students having missing work. I will continue to take the work and adjust the grades as work come in, with the exception of homework, which I do not accept late. Do keep in mind; I dock student’s points for late assignments, so it is always best to get work in on time. Also, as more and more grades are added to the book, low (and high) numbers become less and less meaningful.  I usually drop the lowest classroom or participation grade per quarter before report cards come out.

Week of Feb. 11

Hello and happy Sunday to one and all!

This week we will wrap up Out of the Dust, complete our narrative poem and research paper on the the 1930's. Plus we will enjoy our Valentine Party on Thursday afternoon. Big week! If you haven't already, please go to this website and sign up to bring in a treat for the party.
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/60B054DADAC2FA64-valentine/7566098

Also this week after school are Talent Show auditions. If you have a student trying out, please know what day they are auditioning and be at school to pick them up by 3:45. These auditions are closed, meaning no one may come and watch. We will have a CD player, a mic and an amp and a keyboard available for our talent! This is an awesome and amazing experience for everyone involved. mark your calendar and save the date: March 15. Talent Show tickets go on sale soon! We will have concessions, dinner will be available for purchase.

Students in 4B and 4C will  have an opportunity to make up to 15 additional points on the Out of the Dust quiz we took last week. Even though we had a period of time students were able to use the book to find answers, some students grades were not reflective of their understanding of the text. Therefore, I will allow students who scored low to take the test home (or in class) and correct answers for an improved grade.

Please check with your student about their homework grade. Many students have been slacking off a bit :)

Our theme for the PTO basket auction is :Sports! Please send in an item for the basket asap! Anything from tickets, to sports paraphernalia, to gift cards to bats and balls are terrific! Support your favorite teams, college and pro, by sending in an item with their logo!

The first meeting of the 4th grade Social Club was awesome! The next meeting will be on Feb. 27th.

Week of Feb. 4

Announcing the Fourth Grade Social Club!

In an effort to allow the children more time to get to know each other, I will host a game day once a month after school. This will be the last Wednesday of the month. Students may bring board games, hand-held and electronic devices (students must be responsible for these, although I will keep them in the closet in my classroom during the day). Or other small gaming devices.  I have chess, checkers, connect-four, play-doh, scrabble flash and puzzles, as well as other educational games.

The club is open to all students who have not had discipline referrals to the office this quarter, although I must limit the number to 30 students at this time. The club will run from 3:15-3:55. I will walk students to the carpool lane at 3:55 for pickup. Please do not be late getting your student. It may affect whether or not they are allowed to participate in the future. Students must bring a note from their parent that they are able to stay after school each time. 

I look forward to spending a little free time with the students.  And a special thanks to Mrs. Jenkins for taking my carpool duty on these days!                                                   

                                 Mrs. Berner

Superbowl Sunday is here! Go Forty-Niners! I hope it's a good game and the best team wins.

We will continue to work on "Out of the Dust", our 1930's research project and for 4B and C, our narrative poem this week. Due to the awards ceremony on Friday, 4B and 4C were not able to take their vocab tests. We will take it tomorrow and all students who need to take this test should be ready on Monday. This includes students who were absent last week and I told they could take the test on Tuesday during study hall. No vocab this week, so we can get caught up.

We will make applesauce on Monday and/or Tuesday, depending on how the vocab test goes.

This week I will give all students a pre-EOG test that is based on the Common Core standards. No one knows exactly how this test will look, as it is brand new for this year. I will score them as soon as I can and get the results  to you all. It will probably be a week or so. I will also begin collecting money for the EOG test booklet I plan to order. The cost is $16. I strongly urge all parents to buy this book.   The test is new this year, and more challenging, and extra practice will benefit everyone.

Talent Show auditions are next week!

Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Adams have decided to go another way with discipline and will no longer be using the "chips" system. Please check with them for more details about their classroom expectations. I will continue to use this system and reward students at the end of the quarter with something special.