Weekly Updates Aug/Sept 2023

We had a busy week in Room 106!

 

Next week I am changing the schedule for 3rd grade just a bit. The 3rd graders will have Language Arts in the morning. Then after recess they will have writing, Science, SEL and social studies. 

 

the only incentive we will be using in class is a whole group incentive. The 3rd graders are over halfway to earning an extra recess!

 

The 4th graders started a preview of their Novel Study. They made predictions, annotated text, took notes on their annotations and completed a character study independently and with a partner. They used the short story All Summer in a Day. They also continued drafting their narrative by adding a dynamic opening sentence and including dialogue. They sectioned their writing into a beginning, middle and an end. They will start Shouting at the Rain on Monday. They will also publish their narratives next week. We will be moving to Social Studies through Google Classroom on Monday as well. 

 

3rd graders are also preparing to start their novel next week. We did a Fiction text review, an author exploration of Roald Dahl and annotated a non-fiction article. We will read and annotate chapter 1 of Fantastic Mr. Fox on Monday as a whole group. The class also began their Narrative writing. They narrowed their topics and came up with a good lead sentence. 

In Science they are continuing to learn traits and variations. They will answer the unit question - 'why does wolf 44 look different from the rest of the pack?'

 

SEL - This week 3rd grade students did some show and tell. They used the time to listen to classmates and ask questions. We also did a talking circle on being kind. We discussed what it does to another person when you say something mean to them. We also discussed classroom jobs and responsibilities, and quiet in the hallway. 

 

On Monday, Ziya and Manny can bring a show and tell.

 

Tuesday - James and Chloe

Wednesday - Gwyn and Jaxson

Thursday - Cat and Fletcher. 

 

 

 

This week in Literacy...4th grade students reviewed annotating text. We will annotate novels and answer comprehension questions using graphic organizer. 3rd grade students learned annotating text using SNOTS: Small Notes on the Side. We had fun annotating articles about nose hair and bug bites. 4th grade started their Personal Narrative pre-writing. We had a lesson about hooking readers with a strong lead sentence. 3rd grade is finishing their launch of Writers' Workshop and will begin Personal Narratives. 

 

In Social Studies....4th grade is learning about early North America. The skill I want them to practice is finding the most important information in each section and take notes. They used their notes to respond to questions.

 

In Science...3rd grade continued learning about organisms and traits. They learned that organisms have similarities and differences, The more similar organisms are the more closely related. 

 

 

This week in Literacy....4th grade students learned the RACES reading response strategy. They will use this strategy throughout the school year when responding to text. The 3rd grade students practiced thinking about their reading and responding to questions. 

 

In writing...both groups launched  our Writers' Workshop program. The focus was on process not product. We will use the stages of Writers' Workshop this year. The steps are pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing and peer conference. The final step is to publish. We will begin our personal narratives next week. 

 

In Social Studies....4th grade is learning about how people of different backgrounds shaped early US history. We will use our time in Social Studies to learn effective notetaking strategies. 

 

In Science....3rd grade began their unit on Inheritance and Traits. We discussed what traits are and how different organisms can have similar traits. 

 

 

 

 

A few notes for this week. Please remind your child to bring home their graded work. I have noticed some students throwing away graded assignments. I reminded them to bring them home, but it would help if they heard it from you too! If a student has not turned in an assignment it will be marked at 50% with a note that says 'missing' in parent portal. 

 

In 4th grade we read and annotated chapters 7-12 of Shouting at the Rain. We reviewed Figurative Language - hyperbole, simile, metaphor, idioms, personification and Onomatopoeia. We met with small groups and discussed making inferences to determine character motivation. We began our next writing project, Opinion Writing. Narratives that were turned in were sent home with the rubric. I posted feedback in Parent Portal. 

 

In Social Studies we worked through different packets each day. We read about Westward Expansion, The Civil War and Juneteenth and Chinese Immigration. We will have a test next week. Students will be able to use their packets and notes. 

 

Students have continued reading and annotating Fantastic Mr. Fox. They annotated on their own and then shared out what they wrote in their books. They have really done a great job. Our focus this week was Cause and Effect. Students turned in their narratives which I will grade this weekend. They will receive feedback in Parent Portal. We began our Opinion writing unit this week. 

 

Students are continuing to learn scientific language and variations in species. We will have a quiz next week. 

 

This week we focused a lot of time on lunchroom behavior and being role models for the younger students in the lunchroom. Students earned their incentive of an extra recess yesterday (YAY!). 

 

Next week a few 3rd grade students will read about a Hispanic American who has made an impact during morning announcements!

This week in Room 106. Please see the post section for information about Battle of the Books (4th grade). 

 

Students began their novel Shouting at the Rain, We annotated the first chapter together as a class. We also completed a mini-lesson where we visualized the setting of the story. The setting (Cape Cod - Summer) plays a big part in this novel. The students also completed their Narrative writing project. Students who did not finish were able to take their rough draft home to complete it over the weekend. 

 

Social Studies 

There were technical issues but we were able to discuss the colonization of North America and the transatlantic slave trade. Next week students will have print outs of the slides with the questions printed on them. We are taking technology out of the equation until it is seamless. 

 

We began our novel study of Fantastic Mr. Fox. The students have really jumped into annotating their text. They amaze me with some of the connections they have made. We talked about character traits and emotions and summarizing a chapter. They also had a quiz on the first three chapters. Students will publish their narrative writing next week after we edit and conference. 

 

We are about to finish chapter 1 of Inheritance and Traits. We are using scientific vocabulary to describe traits, variations, species and organisms. We talked about how species can have variations in their traits, much like we do!

 

This week we continued with Show and Tell. They are doing a nice job listening to each other and focusing attention on their classmate. We also talked about knowing when you need a quiet space and where you can go when needed. During our Talking Circle we discussed the very important topic of keeping our hands to ourselves. This has been an ongoing issue and the students had incredible thoughtful ideas about why it's important to keep your hands to yourself. Even in a playful way, we should not be physical with each other.  Among the thoughts shared:

 

1. You may make people upset and they won't want to be friends with you. 

2. Someone may say it's ok because they are afraid to say they don't like physical contact. 

3. You may be hurting someone on the inside more than the outside. 

4. If someone if bothering you, use your words not your hands/feet. Or walk away. 

5. It can escalate from play to being angry.