Tuesday, April 22

I wanted to update parents on our Wander Indiana project.  We have been working hard on it in class, but somehow we have gotten behind the due dates.  I appreciate the hard work students are putting in to each piece of the project so here are the updated due dates:

Travel Report (p.5-6)                        Due FRIDAY, April 25, 2014.

We are working on this in class now.  Students will be given additional time in class on Wednesday and Thursday.  If it is not complete it will be homework on Friday.

Visual Plan (p. 7)                              Due FRIDAY, May 2, 2014.

This page will be handed out in class on Friday and should be completed at home with assistance from parents.

Visual/Presentation (Rubric pp. 8-9)            Projects Due MONDAY, May 19
Due to time constraints this due date can not change. Please review expectations and help your child prepare and practice for their presentation.  This is a big deal!  It is also an opportunity for students to shine in front of their peers.  Please encourage your child's success.  The SCORING RUBRIC is available to guide the presentation. 

If you would like to check on your child's progress, ask them the following questions:

What site did you choose to research? (They should not respond with a website, but an actualy place they are researching.)
Why are you interested in this site?
Are you typing your letter yet? (Their rough draft must be approved befor typing, but the majoritey of students began typing today.)

Monday, April 21

It was a great Monday!  The students were all excited to tell me about their weekend adventures.  Many of them told me about a Bunny who left way too much sugar!  

Today we worked on data and Book Beat.  Our Feedback and Data binders are coming home tonight with Literacy and Math information.  Please take time to review your child's progress with them and fill out a reflection page together.  You can also do a grade check.  All Literacy grades have been updated in the grade book. 

Thursday, April 17

This week has flown by!  We have been learning about Tall Tales, including how they incorporate hyperboles, and reviewing learninging objectives from last year, such as evaluating author's purpose, analyzing figurative language, and sumarizing text.  Of course we have also been studying our Lesson 15-16 word parts for the test tomorrow. Even with all that we have managed to progess on our Wander Indiana Research project.  Most students have completed the rough draft of their letter requesting infromation adn brochures.  Tomorrow they will begin typing the final draft using Microsoft Word.

Tonight is the Needham Spring Concert featuring the Beep Boppin' Bulldodgs Choir.  Good luuck to all the 4th grade Choir members!  You will rock it!

A special birthday wish goes out to Hunter Uttley today who met his life long dream of directing a movie with the help of his friends.  You can enjoy his movie trailer at: http://youtu.be/uIBmt4fAIUo

Tuesday, April 8

I am so glad everyone is back from break safe and sound.  After reading our Spring Break: Fact or Fiction blog, I am going to guess everyone had a really good time..or did they?  Read for yourself to find out.  You can even get in on the fun by replying to any comment.

Today the Literacy Link came home.  Be sure to review it to keep up on what is going in the classroom.  I also sent home a new Learning 2B Continued form inviting all students to continue their education after school on Thursday's until 3:30.  If your child would like to participate, please just return the form to me before Thursday.

Thursday, March 27

Wow! Your children should sleep well tonight!  Dr. Seuss Day with the Head Start students was a BLAST!  But the students also realized that the responsibility of watching over a preschooler can be exhausting.  Please talk to your child about their experience with community service today.  I think you will get an ear full.

Today we also finished The Magician's Nephew.  For those of you that don't already know, this book is the prequel to The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.  It is an amazing the fairy tale filled with adventure and it explains how the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe came to be. After finishing the book we watched a short amount of the YouTube movie series.  Of course we didn't expect it to be anywhere near as good as the book, but the kids really didn't care for it.  We did find out that the Disney version of the movie comes out in 2016.  We have higher hopes for it, but still don't expect it to be near as good as the movie.

Well, now Spring Break begins!  Everyone is excited and deserves the break!  I hope everyone gets well rested and enjoys their time off.  If you have a few minutes here and there, Miss Shoultz sent home a Math Bonus Packet to keep your skills fresh.  Spring break is also a great time for reading a good book.  While in the car, on a plane or even on a train READING IS THE ROAD TO A BETTER LIFE!

Tuesday, March 25

We had loads of fun "Wandering Indiana" today!  The students seem very excited about our new project.  If you have not yet read and signed the project explanation, please do that tonight and return it tomorrow. Over break, students should continue researching and decide the site they would like to present on.  Several resources can be found on the Wander Indiana Page of our Team33 Website.


Tomorrow is the Needham Spelling Bee.  We are excited to have the following students representing our class:
Kayla Heiny 

Emma Walthour

Lauren Holcroft

Cole Feyerabend - Alt

We will also be having our Compass Learning Olympic Celebration tomorrow. Stay tuned to Facebook and Twitter to see who wins the gold! A big thanks to Mrs. Roeser and Paitlyn for providing the olympic snacks for all the participants!

Wednesday, March 19

Today's learning was brought to us by Miss Black.  We all agree she did a great job reinforcing how to make inferences or draw conclusions.  We also started our study of Dr. Seuss books to get ready for Dr. Seuss day with the Head Start visitors next Thursday.  The books may not be in our lexile, but they sure are a lot of fun to read!

Grades have been updated, and many students have been doing grade checks today.  If you see something that does not look accurate, please contact me immediately.  Otherwise these will be the grades on the report card that comes home on Friday.