Week of Oct 29.12

Hello! I hope everyone had a terrific weekend and is ready for Sandy! Looks like a terrible system and I know we all pray for our friends up north and along the coast as they weather the storm.  As many of you know, I was supposed to be in New York over the weekend. However, I got that nasty bug that was going around on Thursday, left school early and, with the storm coming and feeling like I’d been run over by a semi, decided to postpone my trip. I was very disappointed, but think it was best. The last thing I wanted was to be stranded in Washington, DC Sunday afternoon, where I was scheduled for a 2 hour layover, sick and in the middle of a major storm system!

Report cards went home on Friday, please make sure you ask your student for theirs and discuss the progress they are making.  If they are doing well, and I consider an “A” and a “B” doing well, praise them. The Common Core curriculum has added a layer of difficulty for students this year. Grades should be tied, at least in part, to EOG test scores. This is Neuse Charter School policy. If your child struggled with end of grade testing last year, they will need extra support this year. I am following closely the new curriculum in an effort to stave off any surprises and make sure students will emerge successful, but this is uncharted water; the curriculum is much more challenging and the tests are new.  So far, I have been very impressed by how hard students in 4^th grade work (for the most partJ) and how much progress has been made.  Bravo! (Awards ceremony Friday at 10:00 a.m.)

Halloween in Wednesday and we have our chip reward celebration in the cafeteria! Students may wear costumes (remember, no gore or masks) Sadly, I pulled the short straw this time and will miss the party! Students who failed to earn the requisite number of chips will come to my room and work and I will supervise them.  Congrats to all who earned the party and for those who didn’t, you’ll earn it next time!

We will finish up Harriet the Spy this week and begin a new unit about animals next week. Unit 2: Animals as Characters. There is a voluminous amount of writing for young readers focusing on animals as characters. We will examine how animals are portrayed in writing. Why are wolves big and bad? Why are dogs always in sad stories? What does our portrayal of animals say about us? We will focus on personification, character development, elements of a narrative, and comparing and contrasting. We will work in Literature Circles reading a variety of fiction and non-fiction books. The guiding question for this unit is: “How do we portray animals in writing?” This unit will last about 4 weeks.  The unit test for Harriet the Spy will be on Thursday.

Vocabulary will take a new turn this week. We will begin Greek and Latin roots and affixes. This week we will focus on the Latin roots: sens or sent: meaning to feel, to think, and grad, gress: meaning steps, to go or to walk. Also this week we will learn about the suffixes: tion and sion meaning: act of, state of or result of.  

 

Vocabulary Week of Oct. 28

4A

 This week we will focus on the Latin roots: sens or sent: meaning to feel, to think, and grad, gress: meaning steps, to go or to walk. Also this week we will learn about the suffixes: tion and sion meaning: act of, state of or result of.  Students must know the Latin or suffix meanings in addition to definitions. Students will write 14 compound sentences that indicate they understand the word’s definition.

sens, sent: meaning to feel, to think

sentiment

consent

sensory

resent

sensible

grad, gress: meaning steps, to go or to walk

gradual

graduate

progress

tion: meaning: act of, state of or result of

limitation

formation

reflection

separation

sion: meaning: act of, state of or result of

suspension

expression

discussion

decision

conclusion

Vocabulary Week of Oct. 28

4B

 This week we will focus on the Latin roots: sens or sent: meaning to feel, to think, and grad, gress: meaning steps, to go or to walk. Also this week we will learn about the suffixes: tion and sion meaning: act of, state of or result of.  Students must know the Latin or suffix meanings in addition to definitions. Students will write 15 compound sentences that indicate they understand the word’s definition.

sens, sent: meaning to feel, to think

sentiment

consent

sensory

resent

sensible

grad, gress: meaning steps, to go or to walk

gradual

graduated

progress

tion: meaning: act of, state of or result of

limitation

formation

reflection

separation

sion: meaning: act of, state of or result of

suspension

expression

discussion

decision

conclusion

Vocabulary Week of Oct. 28

4C

 This week we will focus on the Latin roots: sens or sent: meaning to feel, to think, and grad, gress: meaning steps, to go or to walk. Also this week we will learn about the suffixes: tion and sion meaning: act of, state of or result of.  Students must know the Latin or suffix meanings in addition to definitions. Students will write compound sentences that indicate they understand the word’s definition. All words

sens, sent: meaning to feel, to think

sensational

dissension

consent

sensory

resent

grad, gress: meaning steps, to go or to walk

gradual

graduated

progress

egress

tion: meaning: act of, state of or result of

limitation

formation

reflection

separation

sion: meaning: act of, state of or result of

suspension

expression

discussion

decision

Oct. 24, 2012

Quick update: Chip Celebration had to be changed to Oct. 31st, as most of you know, because we couldn't get the cafeteria on the 26th. Students who have not earned enough chips to attend will be in my room, working. Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Adams will coordinate the celebration, with parents helping to decorate the hour preceding the soiree. Please contact them to help!

Classes will finish Harriet the Spy this week and have a unit test next Tuesday or Wednesday. We will begin the 2nd unit, the literature of animals, next week. Students will read in Lit Circles, work on centers and learn about animals in literature, music and art. Vocab starts up again next week, watch for new words on Sunday.

New policy: I am experiencing some disruptive behavior that is becoming bothersome. I have instituted a new policy: When a student disrupts class 3 times by calling out, talking to his or her friends or any other disturbance, I will write that student up and her or she will explain what they are doing to Mr. Gahagan. It costs 10 chips each time a student is written up.

Week of Oct. 15

I really enjoyed the presentations last week! A lot of effort went into many of them and I was very impressed. Thanks to all my wonderful students and their families and friends for taking the time to create such terrific productions! The next book and project is "student choice", make sure your student chooses his or her own book. I have many ideas for projects on the blog.

The chip reward celebration this time will be a "Fall Festival" on Oct. 26, in the afternoon. We will have music, games and dancing. The date just happens to correspond to the day students may wear costumes (for $1) to school. Parents are asked to supply snacks and drinks. The 4th grade team will get a sign-up list out this week. In order to participate, students must have at least 80 chips per teacher (having not lost more than 20 in any class) and no suspensions or excessive office referrals. This is a reward for behavior, not grades. Let's Monster Mash!

Last week, I sent home a blind reading comprehension assessment. Many of you are concerned about your child's grade on this. Please do not be. If I am concerned, I will speak to you and we'll work out an intervention program. Comprehension is the most difficult skill to master in Language Arts and it is the most difficult skill to measure. Scores for this will usually be lower than other assessments, but it is important for me to see where a student falls in an unannounced, unpracticed assessment. After all, students will not have the questions in advance to the EOG. In fact, because this year it is completely new, none of us have an idea of what the reading EOG will look like. I am working diligently to prepare students for this more rigorous test.

This week in class; we continue with Harriet The Spy. The goal is to complete the book next week and begin the Unit 2, which is focused on animals in writing and reading. This book is really heating up this week and I imagine you will hear quite a bit about the next series of events in our young spy's life.

We will also learn to write dialog  this week. I have observed that this is a skill no-one in 4th grade has mastered, so we will practice this all week.

We will also, in lieu of a vocabulary test this week ( do I hear shouts of joy, again?), students will begin to learn about Greek and Latin Root words. We will also learn some new words from Harriet the Spy. Reading homework continues Mon-Thurs. Please make sure your student reads for the entire 30 minute period. Independent reading is extremely important to student success this year.

From poetry recommended by the 4th grade Common Core:

 They Were My People                                                 by Grace Nichols

 They were those who cut cane

 to the rhythm of the sunbeat

 They were those who carried cane

 to the rhythm of the sunbeat

 They were those who crushed cane

 to the rhythm of the sunbeat

 They were women weeding, carrying babies

 to the rhythm of the sunbeat

They were my people, working so hard

 to the rhythm of the sunbeat - - long ago

 to the rhythm of the sunbeat.

Week of 10. 8.12

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I am still fighting off this silly cold. I did manage to get a little caught up with grading though, so lying around hasn't been a total waste! I have also gotten a renewed sense of how important it is to be healthy. I know I just take it for granted that I will have energy and enjoy life. Feeling bad is no fun, and good health is a major blessing.

This week: Look at your child's agenda this week! I will list any missing assignments. The grading period will end soon and I don't want anyone to have incomplete work. I will give each child a list of what, if anything, they are missing. I will expect all makeup work to be done this week, including any spelling/vocab tests that need to be made up. I will try and get an updated homework grade sent home this week too.

No vocab again this week! Actually, we will have words, but there won't be a test. Students will focus on using words in class and we will begin looking more at Greek and Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes and basic word patterns. I plan to give the Words Their Way assessment that I have long been neglecting:)

We will focus on presenting our many (and from what I have seen, fabulous) puppet shows, movies, Powerpoints and skits this week and delving deeper into Harriet the Spy. Students seem to be enjoying the book and all the preliminary work we did on vocab has helped greatly with understanding it.

Last week, we read some fables in class in the form of  plays. Many of your students have a future on the stage! I asked the students if they would be interested in performing them for the younger classes. The answer was a resounding "Yes!". We will work on that project this week, as well. I will cast the plays based on who I think would be reliable and do a good job. Please keep in mind, if your student doesn't get the part they want, I have two more books of plays and there will be many more opportunities to shine. It is important to be a team player and support our friends, even if they have the role we want.

Reminder: Homework is to read 30 minutes a night, and write a summary about the reading, including the title of the book, and pages the student reads. The next book report will be on a book and project of choice. I have ideas on my blog for projects, but please allow your student to pick a book they are interested in reading. Self-selecting books is a very important skill. ( The only rule: it must be on or slightly above grade level)

Words we will work with this week are:

vacant

squirmed

expression

realism

allotted

barrage

intercept

wilted

dreary

flustered

petulant

disgruntled

pandemonium

frantically

din

radiant

evidently

Looking forward to a terrific week!

Week of 9.31.12

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Once again, my family and I enjoyed a weekend in the mountains. The leaves are already beginning to change in Boone. Looks like it will be a spectacular leaf season, if you can get there, I recommend it.

As we all know :), our project and book reports are due this coming Friday. Mrs. Jenkins has been working with students in Technology to type the book report. That should be a big help to most. Remember, this is the students project. I don't expect an extravaganza. The performance aspect of this (the fable) should take no more than 3-5 minutes. I do require students follow a script, so it should be rehearsed before they perform in front of class. I will have a puppet theater for student puppeteers to use in class.

As an added bonus for parents and students, I will not collect homework this week, although I strongly urge students to read everyday. As an even more fabulous bonus, we will not have a vocab test this week! I want students to work on bringing the best product they can on Friday, so work diligently, my friends.

We will focus on reading Harriet the Spy in class this week. We will also cover fables, and discuss what the differences and similarities are between fables, folk tales, fairy tales, tall tales and legends. We will also begin learning how to properly write dialog in stories.

See you all tomorrow!

Week of 9.24

Another lovely weekend in paradise! I could get used to this! 

This week, we will have spelling/vocab again as we continue to read Harriet the Spy in class. We will also look at fables, and what makes them different from fairy-tales, tall tales and legends. Students will continue to engage in discussion about our novel, and perhaps, have a quiz.

Mrs. Jenkins would like all students to bring their flashdrive and project/book report to class to work on typing it. Even if they have completed it, students should bring a copy to Technology. They can work on editing and ramping up the vocabulary.

A parent asked about using the website Prezi (http://prezi.com/) for the fable presentation. I looked it up and it is an awesome sight. I highly recommend everyone check it out. I was informed that I will not be able to use Youtube in class this year, which is a major disappointment for me, as there is a wealth of useful videos available for free to teachers.

Vocabulary/Spelling

Week of 9/24/2012 from Harriet the Spy

4A (13 sentences) and 4B (14 sentences)

nervous

approached

loathe

crossly

continued

peculiar

restrain

triumph

consoled

unconcerned

pompously

arrogantly

spewed

discreetly

distributed

annoying

dilapidated

 

Vocabulary/Spelling

Week of 9/24/2012 from Harriet the Spy

(15 sentences)

4C

simultaneously

decisively

loathe

crossly

careened

restrain

triumph

consoled

pompously

arrogantly

spewed

discreetly

distributed

iniquity

unmitigated

exceedingly

dilapidated

 Dates to remember:

*Emergency Evacuation practice during carpool: 9/25, beginning at 3:05. We will practice the emergency evacuation plan, please be patient and remember, safety first!

*1st Book Report and Fable Project (2 different assignments) : due 10/05 (see blog or handout for more information on this or any other book report assignments)

*Picture Day: 9/27

*Scholastic Bookfare: 10/8-10/12

*Report Cards/Awards Day: 10/26

This was e-mailed to everyone who's e-mail address I have:

A note about he progress report that went home on Friday: they are somewhat deceptive. I spent the first two weeks of school getting to know and assessing students. There are fewer grades on the progress report than there usually are and, therefore, they count for more than they normally would. That said, I do tend to have longer term assignments and fewer assessments than students and parents are accustomed to. I believe this approach benefits students ability to truly understand and absorb information. Grades will fluctuate throughout the year.

Dear Parents,

Regarding Grades and grading for the 2012-2013 school year: This year, North Carolina has begun implementing the Common Core Standards for all grades. The EOG testing this year will be reflective of the changed curriculum. What does this mean for you? Standards have been raised and grading will reflect this. This does mean students  aren’t working or trying as hard as they are able. It is just a reflection of the higher standards that the state is now requiring from all students and from their teachers. Grades should be tied to EOG results, at least to a degree. There are always students who do magnificent work in class and who just don’t test well, but that is the exception.  Please understand, a “B” is a good grade, it is not reason to panic or think you suddenly have a lazy child J, you do not.  I am being asked to insist that children develop critical thinking skills to tackle the increasingly difficult nature of the world.  Students must tie their thoughts to the reading or their writing. They must read more informational text with a critical eye. Offering up personal stories about the reading, instead of connections between the world and the reading, is no longer the accepted approach to communicating understanding.  The fairness of throwing this at students and parents is a moot point. This is the curriculum we are given and the guidelines to which we must adhere. I understand this is somewhat tough, but ultimately, it will lead to better students and a stronger country. We must begin to make sure our students will be prepared for college and to compete in a changing world market.  The new standards attempt to address this issue. Here is some very good and helpful information:

NC DPI information regarding Common Core Standards:

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/standards/common-core-tools/#goela

 from Wake County Schools regarding Common Core: http://www.wcpss.net/common-core/   

Week of Sept. 17

4th grade is rolling right along and I must say, I was a little apprehensive about teaching students so young, but I am really enjoying these kids. Most are so interested in learning, work really diligently and have a great sense of humor! My kind of people! Time is just flying by and I cannot believe we are almost ready to send home the first progress reports.

Speaking of progress reports...Last week, on Friday, I sent home your students current homework grade in their agenda. I asked for it to come back signed tomorrow. It is vitally important students do their homework daily. I just don't have time for them to reads in class for 30 minutes everyday and to be successful in school students must read daily. This homework is due everyday, unless we have a vocabulary test the next day (most Thursdays). Reading homework should absolutely NOT be done all on one day. The point is to get students into the habit of reading daily and writing about it. This helps create lifelong readers. It also aids in getting students to think about what they read, as they read it. Reading and writing the summaries all at one time belies the point of the assignment. It is also important that students read for 30 minutes. I am very suspicious when a student reads 4 pages in a grade level chapter book and tells me it took them 30 minutes to finish. Beginning this week, homework of that nature will not be accepted for credit.

I also sent home a note if your student didn't turn in their metaphor poem. Most students turned it in the next day, but I still have a few who haven't given it to me. That grade will show up as a "0" on the progress report and report card, until the assignment is handed in.

Speaking of that assignment, students did and awesome job on them and many line the wall outside the classroom. They are beautiful! I will hang many more in the classroom this week,as there isn't enough space to hold them all outside! I will try and get a picture of some of them to post here, so if you can't get to school to read them, you can still see them!

Looming in the horizon: Remember, our book reports and projects are due  Oct. 5th. Make sure your student understands the assignment and is working on it.

Here's a poem for you to read and discuss with your student. (Ask about them rhyme scheme, imagery and whether or not it has onomatopoeia or simile?)

Humanity                                          by Elma Stuckey

If I am blind and need someone

To keep me safe from harm,

It matters not the race to me

Of the one who takes my arm.

If I am saved from drowning

 As I grasp and grope,

I will not stop to see the face

Of the one who throws the rope.

Or if out on some battlefield

I’m falling faint and weak,

The one who gently lifts me up

May any language speak.

We sip the water clear and cool,

No matter the hand that gives it.

A life that’s lived worthwhile and fine,

What matters the one who lives it?

This week's vocabulary/spelling. Try and use these words in your homework summaries for extra practice! From Harriet the Spy, Chapter 2. Test on Friday!

Vocab for the Week:

Vocabulary/Spelling   Week of Sept. 17, 2012

From  Harriet the Spy

4A and 4B

4a will write 12 sentences, 4b will write 13 sentences

bounded

obnoxious

embracing

grimaced

enraged

horribly

thundered

dreadful

sneer

despised

stammer

scowled

startled

apprehensive

meekly

dignified

collapsed

Vocabulary/Spelling   Week of Sept. 17, 2012

From  Harriet the Spy

4C

4C will write sentences with 14 words

bounded

obnoxious

quizzically

grimaced

enraged

disapprovingly

thundered

dreadful

sneer

despised

stammer

scowled

startled

apprehensive

meekly

dignified

absentmindedly

Here is a poem., written by a 4th grader this week, using her spelling words. Enjoy!

Wolves in the Street  By Carlee Wilson

Walking down the

Street, nighttime. Hear a

Yowl, hear a yowl.

I’m petrified, but on

The other hand, this

Is way cool.

Wolves in the street,

Coyotes in the chimneys,

Foxes in the fence, filled

With anxiety, wait, is

That a dead deer at the door?

Canines in the sky

Canines in your hair

Canines, over here, Canines,

Everywhere, I feel a twinge

Of hope, a twinge of fear,

A twinge of curiosity and coolness

I mean, will I be spared?

Exasperated pets,

Exasperation everywhere,

My books interspersed,

I abruptly

Run!

Coyotes on

The roof, wolves in the wall,

I looked, dubiously

Everywhere, wait is

That a dog, afraid of

A fly?

Stare intently over here.

Intently over there, running.

I discarded all thought that

I won’t be spared, with

 Wolves acting sedately

Wolves behaving relentlessly.