Weekly Updates November 2023

Library Days

3rd Grade - Monday 10:00

4th Grade - Wednesday 9:30

Field Trip - MSI 12/7

 

This week the 4th grade students switched gears to nonfiction reading. They are learning to fund multiple main ideas and supporting details within a piece of text. They are also learning to use text features to organize the information and cite evidence from the text. They are also integrating information from a new source to add to what they read in their informational text. They are also learning to cite evidence that is stated explicitly in the text, and evidence that they use to make inferences. 

We are working on our creative writing project in class as well. Students are learning to set the mood of the story by using specific vocabulary. They are also using figurative language and descriptive words to appeal to the 5 senses and make their reading more interesting. 

 

 

We are also working with nonfiction text in 3rd grade. Students are learning to use nonfiction text features to find information. They are also using academic vocabulary and context to define unknown words. Students learned how to summarize the important information in a nonfiction article. We will continue to work on this skill in class as it is an important skill for 3rd graders to learn. 

In writing we published our final draft of our How To writing. Students wrote a paragraph with specific steps on how to make, do or be something that they knew a lot about. They learned how to edit their drafts using different colors to highlight mistakes before publishing. 

We finished reading Shouting at the Rain! I think students had mixed feelings about the book but that is to be expected. Some liked it and some didn't care for how the main character was treated by her friend. Students identified the theme of the story and used multiple pieces of evidence from the text to support their choice. We will begin a few weeks of nonfiction lessons leading up to winter break. 

In writing the 4th graders vocalized wanting to write something more creative. I think that's a good idea and so far I have loved the ideas they are coming up with during the brainstorming time. They have to write about being trapped in a snow globe. They can tell from first or third person point of view. We will have lessons about authors using word choice to create the mood of the story. We will also have a lesson on using descriptive language to appeal to the five senses. 

We finished SS lesson 3 on the Industrial Revolution where students learned that it caused a shift in where the population lived and how they worked. We also learned what industries impacted Chicago. 

 

The 3rd graders are working with nonfiction from now until spring break. Last week they focused on comparing two articles with similar topics. They learned how to compare and contrast the text and identify how they are similar and different. They also worked with context clues and vocabulary. 

In writers' workshop we have been drafting a How To writing piece. Students had a lesson where they revised their drafts to include stronger word choice. We focused in Verbs and changing our writing from a bland verb to a more exciting choice. We used 'drink' as an example and how the word choice can help the meaning and context. Sip has a different connotation than Gulp. 

 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

 

Progress Reports and IAR scores will be sent home on Friday. 

 

We are almost finished with our first novel, Shouting at the Rain. We will finish this coming week. Students should complete and submit their annotations for chapters 39-44. We will spend some time with non-fiction text before beginning a new novel after winter break. We will publish our Persuasive Writing essays this coming week. Students worked hard to have a clear point of view and counterarguments. In Social Studies we will finish lesson 3 on the Industrial Revolution. 

 

We will continue working on non-fiction text from now up to Winter Break. We focused on Technical Text and following steps this week. In writers' workshop, students completed a persuasive paragraph from the point of view of a Thanksgiving Turkey. They had to create arguments and supporting details as to why they should not be the Thanksgiving Turkey this year. The paragraphs are very funny and the students had fun making the craft that goes with the assignment. They will bring them home before the break. In Science we are close to completing the Inheritance and Traits unit. 

Library Days

3rd Grade - Monday 10:00

4th Grade - Wednesday 9:30

 

We are still working on our novel, Shouting at the Rain. This week we will read chapters 39-44. Annotations will be due Thursday but can be completed over the weekend and turned in on Monday the 13th. We have really been focusing on character and how characters react to situations. This week we will compare characters from the novel. 

During writing we are going to continue drafting, revising and editing our Persuasive Writing assignments. Our final drafts will be completed before progress reports are sent home. 

In Social Studies we are learning about the Industrial Revolution. We had a trivia review for our previous chapter which helped the students prepare for the quiz. 

Our focus behavior this week is cleaning up before leaving the classroom. It seems simple but the 4th graders need reminders to keep the space clean for the next class. 

 

We went on one of the more unique field trips in recent years. The students got to see one of the top symphonies in the world play music from composers around the world. It was magnificent. They handled the late bus so well. It was stressful for everyone and the 3rd graders were troopers. 

We finished Fantastic Mr. Fox and our final projects. We will focus on Informational Text for a few weeks before starting a new novel. We are working on persuasive writing from the point of view of a Thanksgiving turkey. The results will hopefully have all the correct writing conventions and also be funny. 

Our focus skill this week will be hallway behavior. They are doing a good job and hopefully by the end of the week we will be doing a fantastic job!