Week of Jan. 22

My property in Boone on a snowy day.

 IMPORTANT NOTICE: Neuse Charter will release students at 12:00 on Friday, Jan. 25, due to inclement weather concerns. Please be sure to pick up your student on time!!



I hope everyone had a wonderful little mini-vacation. My family and I were in Boone, enjoying the beautiful snowy mountains! I took some really nice pictures, and since we didn't get much snow here, I thought I'd share!

This week we continue learning about the 1930's in the United States. I plan to play a little of the music from the time and show some artwork. Students really seemed to enjoy tying history to their reading and writing. I know I always did, I guess that's why I studied both English and History! Most students will begin writing a narrative historical poem using a mixture of fact and imagination in the next week. We will begin reading 'Out of the Dust" (finally:) this week as well.

I was pleased with our first foray into research and writing an informative essay. Most students understood the format and what we were doing. It was a decent start :) There is much work to be done, however, and we will continue to fine-tune our skills throughout the next few months. I expect everyone to be able to write a short informational essay with no problem before they graduate to 5th grade.

Talent Show auditions are Feb 11-14 after school. Please be advised, this is a quality show, and we want to show the world how much talent we have at Neuse Charter. It is not a time to be silly or unprepared. If you want to be on stage, come prepared with about 2 minutes of the act you want to share. Creativity counts! Talent Show is on March 15, tickets will go on sale in February.

The new quarter begins tomorrow, the 3rd quarter already!!! 4th grade will have some changes to our schedule. The order of classes will change for some, not homerooms. 4B will now have Math 2nd period (from 10:15-11:30) and Language Arts at the end of the day (1:55-3:10). This means 4B will have less time in Language Arts daily. I will probably utilize homeroom and our study hall for additional instructional time.

 Many students in 4A (and some in the other classes too) are not completing homework. It is essential to read everyday. The EOG tests will be more strenuous this year and students will need to be much more fluent readers than many currently are. The only way to become a good reader is to read. It is really that simple. In 4A, I will be focusing much more on reading fluency and using the textbook in class.

Report cards go home this week. Please remember, report cards are based on more than vocab tests and homework. I try very hard to make sure report cards are a reflection of all the language arts, including group work, participation, writing and completing and handing in work. This quarter, I decided to drop the lowest classroom grade for each student. This did not include any tests or assessments, nor did I drop a homework grade. I think we did some very difficult work this quarter and students earned a bit of a break, so kudos to the hard-workers in 4th grade!. :) I was unable to post all my grades until Friday, which means I was unable to send home notice if your student earned a "D" or "F" in class. I will tomorrow, so look for agendas if you are concerned. Awards are Feb.1.

Mrs. Harris (Delaney) has created a wonderful sight for 4th (and 5th )grade classroom needs. Here is the link:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/4090849A8A92FA13-4thgrade
Thank you very much, Mrs. Harris!

Also, I could use some help grading Words Their Way assessments and filling out cards for all of 4th grade students fro MAPP binders. I must assess each student twice a year and fill out a progress chart for them. It is tedious and boring. I figure if several parents and I break it up, thus spreading out the work, it will go quicker and less painfully. If you can lend a hand, please e-mail me. This can be done at home, and obviously, counts towards volunteer hours!

Week of Jan. 14

I hope everyone got outside on Sunday and enjoyed the wonderful weather. My husband and I took a long walk around the lake near our house. Gotta love North Carolina in January!

This week we begin reading "Out of the Dust" by Karen Hesse. I will teach the history of the Stock Market crash of 1929, the Great Depression, the dust-bowl and the migration west of many farmers during the 1930"s. We are in full swing of the weather unit and studying literature and informational texts. "Out of the Dust" is a historical novel with many of the events in the book based on facts. It is a sad book that takes place in hard times, although it does have a hopeful ending. The book is written in poetic form and we will read it aloud in class.

As it is a 4 day week, we will not have vocab this week.The quarter ends on Thursday. Make sure you check with your student and their agenda for any missing work. Many students have been telling me they do not have their agenda with them lately. I will post absent work in agendas, but I will not send home a class grade before report cards unless your student has either a "D" or "F". Makeup work loses at least 5 points, more if it is later than 2 weeks overdue.

Reading homework is due this week. Also, keep in mind the 3rd book report is either a biography or autobiography. Correction: The project is an epic or narrative poem about the person featured in the auto/biography and a portrait.. This can be a lot of fun! Costumes encouraged! This project can either be live or on video.

Report cards go home next week, Jan 25, awards is the following week on Friday, Feb. 1.

Talent Show auditions will be in about 2 weeks (I will post the date asap), this year, for the first time, 4th graders are allowed to audition! If you child wants to show off their skills, make sure they start rehearsing now. The show is competitive and we don't have space for everyone who auditions, so make sure your child has a polished act to share!

New Info: Talent Show Auditions are Feb.11-14. Sign up sheets will be posted soon!

Link for the American Experience video we watched in class today about the Dust Bowl:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/dustbowl/

Week of Jan. 7

I will be short and to the point this week, because I am posting a little later than I usually do (it's football's fault, really:) I hope everyone had a great weekend. I was finally able to meet my friends' baby water buffalo, my goodness they are cute when they're little, well, relatively little at 500 pounds!Here's a picture of Otis giving me some sugar.

This week we will continue to fine tune our haiku, learn some background for the novel "Out of the Dust" about the great depression and the 1930's. We will have vocabulary this week and a test on Friday. Reading homework resumes and is due daily for all students. Thursday evening students are expected to practice for the test on Friday and therefore, no reading summary is due on Friday.

In addition, we will begin writing our research paper about the weather or earth system we have chosen. I have reserved the Ipads for Wednesday and Thursday so we can complete all research. There will be no other time given for research in class. Students will be expected to have 3 topic questions on their subject prepared before Wed. to begin researching.

Last week, students turned in a final draft of their Florence stories, their book reports and projects and a couple Haiku. I will be grading and returning these things this week. If your student did not turn in a draft to be edited of their Florence story before the Christmas break, they will be docked a minimum of 2 points (out of 32). 

Vocabulary/Spelling

Week of Jan. 7

From “Out of the Dust” by Karen Hesse

4A

wager
ignite
riled
grime
distracted
knoll
drought
duster
maggoty
fester
hoard
spindly
gaunt
wince
mottled
chaos

Vocabulary/Spelling

Week of Jan 7

From “Out of the Dust” by Karen Hesse

4C

excavating
ignite
riled
distracted
knoll
drought
maggoty
festered
hoarding
spindly
gaunt
wince
mash
mottled
sorghum
chaos

Vocabulary/Spelling

Week of Jan. 7

From “Out of the Dust” by Karen Hesse

4B

wagering
excavate
ignite
riled
grime
divining
distracted
drought
maggoty
fester
hoarding
spindly
gaunt
wince
mottled
chaos

The New Year is Here! Week of Jan.2!!!

Happy New Year! Well, that went by fast, didn't it? I trust you all had a wonderful and restful break and are ready and prepared for the next phase of 4th grade Language Arts! I enjoyed my time off tremendously. My family and I spent Christmas in Boone where it was cold and blustery, just like the mountains are supposed to be in winter! (no snow, though, which was a little disappointing). We also traveled to Washington, DC and visited museums, ate too much wonderful food and did a (very little) shopping. It was cold and blustery in DC too, but we had a great time. I love the city...in short doses:)

Our next unit will begin this week, next week in earnest. This unit is "Literature Settings: Weather or Not" and it asks the guided question " How does the author's setting affect the plot of a story?". We will explore poetry, setting, art an d geography with this unit. Students will be completing a research paper in class based on a weather related idea, for example: hurricanes, earthquakes, clouds, etc...  We will read poetry that relates to weather and focuses on setting, comparing and contrasting different ways of viewing the weather.We will continue sharing weather in the form of  news in class daily. Students share the local weather and the weather from a place in the world of their choosing, finding it on the map for their fellow students. We also share a news story from the Scholastic News. We will be reading a vast array of different genres this unit. We will read the novel "Out of the Dust" aloud in class later in the month. The book is written in poetic form and tells the tale of a young girls struggles with life and death during the dust bowl in the Midwest. It is a very touching story, I think students will enjoy it. We will focus on learning similes and metaphors during the reading, as well as writing our own poems based on our research project. We will examine great works of art to determine how artists tell stories using setting in their paintings. This should be a great month of growth and learning!

I have read and edited the "Florence" stories and will be returning them (the ones I received anyways...) for students to correct this week. In fact, homework this week will be to edit and resubmit your completed and polished final draft. Please do not be alarmed by the amount of ink on some of the papers! Just work through corrections from the beginning to the end. Most of them are pretty simple and straightforward, most ask for more details and explanation. I will give students time to go to the computer lab before school daily. If I did not receive a paper, or it was incomplete, I will not edit them this week. I was very clear I needed those papers before break, it is extremely time consuming to edit those stories, I will be grading  book reports this week, not Florence stories. Students who failed to get me a draft of their story, and there were many, will need to make corrections and hand in the story by Friday. Papers submitted without an edited version will be docked 5 points. Learning to hand things in on time is a very important skill to develop. Mrs. Jenkins did send me some over the break but several did not have names on them. I expect to read stories that have a clear character and setting in the beginning with all characters introduced from the start, a clearly developed rising action with a brief bit of dialog (some of these stories are entirely made up of dialog!), a clear climax or action scene and then falling action with, again, a brief amount of dialog and a sentence of denouement ("they lived happily, or not, ever after").  Vocabulary, properly used, is also a requirement. Most students are traveling in the right direction, they just took a wrong turn and need to get back on track during one of the above areas. Some of them were awesome!

The Book Report and project are due tomorrow! The 2nd book and project were student choice. There is a link on this blog called "Book Report Info" that has all the necessary info.

Report cards go home soon! Make sure you keep an eye on your students agenda. I will put any missing work in their agenda. Students may make up work but I will deduct points if work isn't made up in a timely fashion.

Thank you

I cannot fully express my appreciation for all the generosity you have all shown me for Christmas and throughout the year. Thank you so much. Not just for the wonderful gifts but for your graciousness, your help, your beautiful children and last but certainly not least, your patience. I love my job. The events last week in Connecticut reminded me of how precious my task is and I want you all to know, I appreciate the responsibility and the trust you have shown in me by allowing me to teach and mentor your children.I don't take the job lightly and it brings me great joy. Thank you all again and Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Week of Dec. 10

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope everyone enjoys the season and stays as stress-free as possible. My family and I decorated our tree this weekend and listening and sang along to some Christmas songs. It was a wonderful evening. Now, if I can just avoid the mall, all will be good! I also enjoyed the Booster Bazaar on Saturday at NCS, saw some old friends, talked to some terrific people, sold some mustache t-shirts for Costa Rica. All in all, a great weekend.

This week, students in 4B will make up their spelling test on Monday, as 4th grade was scheduled to attend the Booster Bazaar during 4B's Language Arts time on Friday. Make sure your student is prepared. I will offer makeup tests for students who have missed school recently throughout the week. There have been a lot of absences due to illness lately. 

All classes will focus on completing, and typing in the tech lab, their Florence story this week. This writing assignment has been a blast and I expect the stories to be well done and structured wonderfully! Students really seem to be working their hardest and doing a great job. I will work with them this week on editing and adding pizzazz.

We will also work on finishing up the books we have been working on for Lit Circles. I may have students carry the books home to read and write a summary on them, so we can move along more quickly. The reading would count as their homework. These books should be finished up by the end of the week.

On Friday, we have our holiday party! Students will enjoy crafts in the morning and a party last period (from 1:50-3:10). We will rotate students through the classes and offer some fun activities. I would love to have a dreidel station. If anyone has some extra dreidels for the students to learn the festive Hanukkah game, please e-mail me or send them in with students. On Monday, students will enjoy a movie. They may bring pillows and blankets and wear their pajamas to enjoy it! Tuesday is a half day, with dismissal at 11:45.

No vocab this week!!!!!

Week of December 3

December already! This year is flying by and I am nowhere near ready for the holidays. I hope you all better prepared than I am.I try and be mindful of the true meaning of the season, it keeps me a little less stressed out. (a little:)

Last Friday, we had a visitor come to 4th grade, perhaps your student told you about Florence the Elf on a shelf? If not, be sure and ask about her, we will be writing a narrative this week and next about her adventures. I will ask children with computer access to type the story at home for homework next week one day. It will probably be one of the last big stories we write for a few months. Common Core curriculum is heavily focused on informational writing, so we will turn our attention more towards research, biography, editorial and letter writing in the coming months. This writing will go in the MAPP binder, so if you would like a copy, (I still get a kick out of reading my children's narrative stories from when they were younger), be sure to either print one out at home or ask me to print you one at school. I will post the rubric later this week, so be on the lookout for it. This week we also continue Lit Circles and centers. Students will have a vocabulary test on Friday.

This Friday, Neuse Charter and the Booster Club will once again host a Holiday Bazaar. Crafters will offer their wares for sale in the gym on Friday for students and Saturday for the public. On Friday, the prices are capped at $10 so students may purchase gifts for family and friends. Travelers to Costa Rica will have a table and all proceeds will go to offsetting the cost of travel to help the sea turtles. I will be on hand selling turtle t-shirts, mustache t-shirts (and taking orders), rock necklaces, card sets, and magnets, among other things. Shop and support NCS, what a winning combination!

Date correction: Don't cook dinner on Friday the 14th! Also on Dec. 14th the Costa Rica Sea Turtle Conservation Travel Club will sponsor a Spaghetti Dinner at Elizabeth United Methodist Church on Cleveland Rd from 4:30-7:00. Dine in or Takeout! For $7.00 you get spaghetti with meat sauce, bread, salad and dessert. If you dine in free sweet tea and Santa will be making an appearance! Tickets are available through Mrs. Sheppard in the office or me. bring the whole family! Let's have dinner together!

Our Holiday Party will take place on Dec. 14. There is a volunteer and donation website set up by Mrs. Harris (Delaney's mom) that is absolutely wonderful.(Thanks!) Please go here to see if you can help:http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090849A8A92FA13-ncs4th

4th grade will enjoy crafting in the morning of the 14th, with stations set up in each of the classrooms and a holiday party the last period of the day in the cafeteria. If you have some time, please come by and assist with stations in the morning and decorating and partying in the afternoon! Or both!

This week's vocab:

Vocab from Shiloh, Because of Winn Dixie, Stuart Little and Ralph S. Mouse

Students must spell all words correctly and use all words in compound sentences (17 words)

4C

intentions          plans to act in a certain way; purposes

slogs                  to walk with a slow heavy gait

snitching           tattling or telling on someone

omission            something that is left out

jubilation           a joyful celebration

peculiar             strange, weird, odd

domestic           of or involving the home or family

permeated         occurring throughout

bungle               an embarrassing mistake

discernible         perceptible by the senses or intellect

presumes            to suppose to be true without proof

diabolical           extremely evil or cruel

saunter               to leisurely walk or stroll

helm                  the wheel or tiller for steering a ship

toxic                  POISONOUS, deadly

dread                 being VERY afraid of something

contraption        a strange or odd device

 

Vocab from Shiloh, Because of Winn Dixie, Stuart Little and Ralph S. Mouse

Students must spell 16 words correctly and use 15 in compound sentences (17 words)

4B

slogs                  to walk with a slow heavy gait

snitching            tattling or telling on someone

omission            something that is left out

jubilation           a joyful celebration

domestic            of or involving the home or family

permeated         occurring throughout

bungle               an embarrassing mistake

discernible        perceptible by the senses or intellect

presumes           to suppose to be true without proof

ferocious            marked by extreme and violent energy

diabolical           extremely evil or cruel

saunter               to leisurely walk or stroll

helm                   the wheel or tiller for steering a ship

hoisted              to raise, lift or pull up

toxic                  POISONOUS, deadly

dread                 being VERY afraid of something

contraption        a strange or odd device

  

Vocab from Shiloh, Because of Winn Dixie, Stuart Little and Ralph S. Mouse

Students must spell 15 words correctly and use 15 in compound sentences (17 words)

4A

quarrel               an angry argument

intentions          plans to act in a certain way; purposes

slogs                  to walk with a slow heavy gait

snitching            tattling or telling on someone

bargained            negotiate the terms of an exchange

omission             something that is left out

racket                 a lot of confusing noise

manufacture      to make something at a factory

sorrow                sad

domestic            of or involving the home or family

bungle               an embarrassing mistake

presumes           to suppose to be true without proof

detain                stop or halt

diabolical          extremely evil or cruel

helm                   the wheel or tiller for steering a ship

toxic                   POISONOUS, deadly

dread                 being VERY afraid of something