HAVE A WONDERFUL, FABULOUS HOLIDAY….
SEE YOU ON JANUARY 9TH
*Just a note – you should start researching for your AMAZING PERSON as Milestone 1 will be due at a date to be determined (sometime in the first week of February)
Friday, December 23, 2011
DELICIOUS! YUMMY! FABULOUS!
Thank you to all for our successful Ice Cream PartyJ. We had everything we could want to celebrate the accomplishment of learning our math facts. Every student that participated in the party made a huge effort to reach their personal goals. See the video below of the party – happy faces, full tummies, dancing, singing, and lots of fun!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
It's finally here! Our long awaited ICE CREAM CELEBRATION! The kids have worked hard on their multiplication fact families and are adding ice cream scoops to their cones. It's really exciting to see all the colors building on our wall, and the speed with which they are reciting and writing their facts.
Thank you to all who are bringing in our fudge, toppings, ice cream, spoons, bowls, and juices. What a great way to end our first semester!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
EXHIBITION WEEK IS HERE....
Exhibitions begin Monday, December 12th. Here is our schedule for the week:
Monday, December 12th Thursday, December 15th
Dylan K'myiah
Jaiden Kayla
Emetrionna Joshua
Cameron Khalila
Tuesday, December 13th Friday, December 16th
Lauryn Devin
Morgan Madison
Brianna Micah
Wednesday, December 14th
Kiera
Moses
Darnishia
Monday, December 12th Thursday, December 15th
Dylan K'myiah
Jaiden Kayla
Emetrionna Joshua
Cameron Khalila
Tuesday, December 13th Friday, December 16th
Lauryn Devin
Morgan Madison
Brianna Micah
Wednesday, December 14th
Kiera
Moses
Darnishia
Saturday, December 3, 2011
In math we are learning how to multiply larger numbers (example: 156 x 7 and 27 x 45 ). The students will be learning a new method called Partial Products. This involves breaking down the numbers into expanded form and multiplying those parts. Then you add the parts together to get the final answer.
Since this is a method that you probably didn't learn when you were a kid, here are two videos (courtesy of Mr. Curran) that demonstrate the steps of the process.
HERE ARE SOME MORE EXAMPLES OF STATE EXHIBITIONS....
The power point of Michigan was done by Mrs. Martin, and the other 2 power points were exhibitions by former students of Mrs. Martin. I know these will give you more ideas! REMEMBER-Early turn in is welcomed and appreciated!!
Michigan example
View more presentations from sgwagner.
Wyoming
View more presentations from sgwagner.
Pennsylvania good 1
View more presentations from sgwagner
Friday, December 2, 2011
CANNED FOOD DRIVE
In the spirit of giving this holiday season, our school will be collecting non-perishable food items for a school-wide food drive. During the weeks of November 30th-December 16th, each class will be collecting dried and canned food items to be donated to local area food banks and families in need.
At the end of the food drive, the class that has collected the most food items will be awarded the UPA Gives Generosity Award and receive a special treat! PLUS-the 3rd floor village is competing to see which class brings in the most cans. Whoever wins will have our Village trophy in their room! Of course I know we will be the winner – especially since we are already overflowing with donations!
WAY TO GO for brining in donations:
Dylan Edgar and family
Cameron Norris and Family
K’myiah Nelson and Family
Brianna and Family
Darnishia and family
Some items you may donate include:
· Canned fruits and vegetables, canned soups
· Dried fruit, fruit juice boxes, bottled water
· Cereals, dry snacks
· Dry pasta, macaroni and cheese, pasta sauce, rice
· Peanut butter, jelly
NEW AMPT SCHEDULE!
Please check the schedule at the right to see our new AMPT schedule. We will have this schedule through January 20th.
OUR SUPER MATH ICE CREAM CHALLENGE!
I GAVE THE STUDENTS A CHALLENGE FOR LEARNING THEIR MATH FACTS. THEY NEED TO HAVE ALL FACTS LEARNED AND BE ABLE TO TAKE A 2 MINUTE MATH FACT TEST BEFORE THE WINTER BREAK. WHEN THEY DO THIS, WE WILL HAVE AN ICE CREAM PARTY! EACH FACT FAMILY THAT THEY PASS, THEY RECEIVE AN ICE SCREAM SCOOP THAT IS PUT ON TOP OF AN ICE CREAM CONE. BELOW YOU CAN SEE THE PICTURES AND THE GROWING CONES! WE’RE GOING FOR MORE THAN A TRIPLE SCOPE OF ICE SCREAM! **PLEASE WORK WITH YOUR CHILD ON THEIR FACTS EVERYDAY SO THAT WE CAN ALL CELEBRATE THIS ACHIEVEMENT!***
OUR CELEBRATION WILL BE ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22ND. I WILL BE BRINGING A SPECIAL SURPRISE!
THE STUDENTS AND I HAVE GENERATED A LIST OF ITEMS THAT WOULD BE FABULOUS ON OUR ICE CREAM. PLEASE CHOOSE AN ITEM TO HAVE YOUR CHILD BRING IN, SIGN THE FORM, AND RETURN BY Friday, DECEMBER 16th.
THANK YOU for all your support this year:)
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Multiplication Wrestling Lightsaber Lecture
The kids are learning to use the partial products method to multiply a two-digit by a two-digit number (example: 27 x 45 ). This involves breaking down the numbers into expanded form and multiplying those parts. Then you add the parts together to get the final answer.
Below is a video showing how to "wrestle" multiplication done by another teacher. The kids saw this video today and should now be able to teach you how to play multiplication wrestling!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
EXHIBITION POWER POINT EXAMPLE
Below you will find a power point of a former student's (Mrs. Drain's student) State Exhibition Project. The kids and I went over the reasons that this power point is so well done: very little text, bullet points for the important points, graphics that relate to the bullet points, creativity, and all requirements on the outline. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions/concerns at swagner@uprep.com.
Social Studies-Assembly Line Photos
During our last week of social studies, the kids learned how the Ford assembly line worked. Students worked in different groups with different roles for adding different parts to a drawing of a Model-T. Please view pictures below.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
SIGN UP FOR YOUR CHILD’S EXHIBITION!
EXHIBITIONS WILL TAKE PLACE DECEMBER 12TH-16TH.
There are 2 ways that you may sign up for the exhibition:
1. Sign up on the blog: mrswagner310.blogspot.com
Click on the “Permission slips and forms” tab at the top of the blog
2. The sign-up sheet which was sent home on Tuesday, November 29, 2011
I will try to honor all first choices, but it is first come/first serve!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
MILESTONE 3
is due December 8th. This 3rd milestone requires all visual aids to be turned in. Pieces of paper are not acceptable. Please review the requirements below.
AS ALWAYS A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL FAMILIES WHO HAVE BEEN SO GENEROUS WITH SNACKS! WE HAVE RUN OUT – AGAIN! WE ARE DIVIDING THE SNACKS INTO STUDENTS’ OWN BAGGIE AND THAT WAY THEY ARE SHARING, AND ABLE TO GO RIGHT TO READING GROUPS WITH A SNACK.
ANIMAL CRACKERS, PRETZELS, GRAHAM CRACKERS, CHEESE CRACKERS, ALL WORK GREAT & ARE APPRECIATED!
WHAT WE LEARNED THIS WEEK:
WRITING: We have been learning about adventure stories this week. All four 4th grade classes are working in the village, collaborating in groups of 4 on the features of adventure stories. We learned how the main character (hero/heroine) has certain qualities, such as bravery, being courageous, intelligent, able to solve a problem, and are risk takers. Sometimes they may have a flaw, but they always go on some type of journey. Adventure stories are realistic, which means that the setting and the action need to be something that can really happen. Ask your student about what their character looks like, what they like, what traits they have, and other features of their story.
MATH: We formed math groups this week and the students went to other 4th grade teachers. We are working on building concepts that were on the first interim math assessments the students took. Each teacher took a specific concept and taught that to 3 different groups this week. For example, groups that came to my class worked on how to figure out missing numbers in particular patterns (15, 429, 13, 429,
11, 429, what are the next 3 numbers?).
READING: Benchmark reading tests are finally complete. We started back in our wonderful guided reading groups. Ask your student about the book they are reading. We all talked about how the author describes the main characters in their story, and how characters change throughout the story. Some students did some research on ancient Egypt for the book they are reading, while others are talking about Times Square and the cricket that travels there.
SOCIAL STUDIES: We finished our unit on Early Michigan history. The students participated in a simulated assembly line, “building” Model A Cars in Henry Ford’s original factory. They learned how hard the work was, how the workers (mostly immigrants) made only $5 a day, and how there many other workers ready to take their place if they made errors. Ask them about Henry Ford and “his” tough rules!
SCIENCE: We began our next science unit, which is learning how energy transfers from one source to another. This is one of my favorite and most fun units!
Friday, November 11, 2011
WHAT ARE WE LEARNING?
WRITERS WORKSHOP: Students have been learning about how authors write about memorable objects in their lives. They brought in a memorable object, wrote about why it's important to them, and now are in the process of writing deeper. This means they are rereading their writing and stopping at a part that "touches" their heart, and then adding more details about that part. Look for student work to be posted soon!
READING WORKSHOP: My reading class finished with the guidelines for reading workshop, working on how punctuation helps us understand the author's meaning. The students have also begun to write recommendations for books and are placing them in genre baskets. These recommendations help students find new books that their classmates have enjoyed.
Some students will be working on Edmodo to post research they are doing on their guided reading books.
MATH: Last week students took their first interim assessment, and this week focused on several objectives. One objective was to re-teach concepts that students are struggling with, such as place value, pictographs, and story problems. We also began Unit 4, which is working with decimals, place values in the 10ths, 100ths, and 1,000ths. We have also started 4.4, which is working with adding and subtracting decimals.
SOCIAL STUDIES: We have traveled through time as historians, learning about Michigan's Early People, the lumber and mining industry. We will continue next week on more of Michigan's early industry. The focus for this unit was how Michigan's economy was built through industry, which brought in people from Europe, built up towns around rivers, and how life changed throughout the past 100 years.
READING WORKSHOP: My reading class finished with the guidelines for reading workshop, working on how punctuation helps us understand the author's meaning. The students have also begun to write recommendations for books and are placing them in genre baskets. These recommendations help students find new books that their classmates have enjoyed.
Some students will be working on Edmodo to post research they are doing on their guided reading books.
MATH: Last week students took their first interim assessment, and this week focused on several objectives. One objective was to re-teach concepts that students are struggling with, such as place value, pictographs, and story problems. We also began Unit 4, which is working with decimals, place values in the 10ths, 100ths, and 1,000ths. We have also started 4.4, which is working with adding and subtracting decimals.
SOCIAL STUDIES: We have traveled through time as historians, learning about Michigan's Early People, the lumber and mining industry. We will continue next week on more of Michigan's early industry. The focus for this unit was how Michigan's economy was built through industry, which brought in people from Europe, built up towns around rivers, and how life changed throughout the past 100 years.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
We are in desperate need of snacks! The students come back from AMPT "starving", and have about 2 minutes to grab their reading materials and snacks, and go to their reading classes. We have found that the quickest way to do this (other than the students bringing individual snacks, which is great!) is to have large quantities of snacks, put them into baggies & have the kids grab & go! We really appreciate all the donations that you have generously sent in. We are looking for animal crackers, graham crackers, pretzels of all types, popcorn, etc. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
1st Quarter Progress Reports
Progress reports will be sent home on Monday, November 14th. Please sign the note attached indicating that you have received your child's progress report. If you should have any questions and/or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me!
WAYS TO DISCUSS BOOKS AT HOME
This list of questions gives ideas for ways to discuss books at home with your child. The questions gradually get harder and get to higher level thinking skills as you go down the sheet.
You can also look at this website for additional questions to ask and discuss during reading:http://readingtokids.org/ReadingClubs/TipBloomsTaxonomy.php
You can also look at this website for additional questions to ask and discuss during reading:http://readingtokids.org/ReadingClubs/TipBloomsTaxonomy.php
Friday, October 21, 2011
CELEBRATION!!
We had almost 100% participation in Fun Friday today!! Congratulations to all students who passed their first milestone of 4th grade!! I'm really excited about these exhibitions since the students have already put a lot of time and effort into their beginning research. A HUGE shout out to all parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and whomever else, for all the support you have given to your student to encourage their success of this exhibition!
MILESTONE 2 OUTLINE
Milestone 2 is due on November 17th. This milestone is in an outline form. There are 7 main criteria that must be completed for the exhibition. Below you will find both the original notice that was sent home near the beginning of school stating the 7 requirements, and also, an outline template. Students should use this template to complete their outline for their state. Outlines may be written or typed, but must be neat and legible. As always, thank you for your fabulous support, and please email me with any questions/concerns.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
OUR GROWING WRITERS...
Our weekend writing assignment that was due Monday, October 18th was:
If you had to choose between being UGLY and RICH, or BEAUTIFUL and POOR, which would you choose? Give the reasons for your choice.
Several students wrote extremely well, using examples and details, and captured the idea of how we can be beautiful on the inside, how we can be poor in money, but wealthy in life around us. Please go to the “Student Work” tab at the top of the page so that you may read what they wrote (unedited!)
Our weekend writing assignment that was due Monday, October 18th was:
If you had to choose between being UGLY and RICH, or BEAUTIFUL and POOR, which would you choose? Give the reasons for your choice.
Several students wrote extremely well, using examples and details, and captured the idea of how we can be beautiful on the inside, how we can be poor in money, but wealthy in life around us. Please go to the “Student Work” tab at the top of the page so that you may read what they wrote (unedited!)
Friday, October 14, 2011
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED THIS WEEK?
MATH: We have been focused on math facts this week, using math vocabulary for multiplication and division. We learned multiples, factors, factor pairs, and products for multiplication. We also dived into division with dividends, divisors, quotients, and remainders. Ask your students about “DQ”! We had an awesome math morning today, with students learning how to take notes in their math notebooks. We decided that some students need number examples to help them with definitions in math, some need word definitions, and some need both number examples and words. It was really exciting to listen to them talk math and make the decision about how they learn, which determined how they took notes. This is something that we’ll be doing on a regular basis. It is important for them to understand note taking, and that their notes need to reflect their learning. Considering that it’s been a long week of MEAP work, I was overjoyed with their enthusiasm to do math!
READING: We have not switched reading groups this week due to the MEAP schedule. However, the students have been reading everyday as they finish the test. Again, I am constantly surprised by our kids’ self-motivation. They are reading all types of genres, from poetry to non-fiction about animals, marine life, space, to all forms of fiction. It’s a teacher’s dream to have students exploring reading, and not getting enough of it!! I hope that you are seeing this at home, too. Keep encouraging them to read at least 20 minutes a day.
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: We are finished with our first science unit, which covered the moon, sun, and the earth. In two weeks we will start our social studies unit. In our first unit we will learn how to be historians from primary and secondary sources. Our learning will focus on Michigan history.
WRITING: We are continuing our writing of narrative paragraphs. Students have learned what makes a strong topic sentence, and how to support that sentence with details and examples. They are also working on editing skills, looking for capitals, punctuation, spelling, and language errors. They have learned about the 4 types of sentences, subject, predicate, direct object, and prepositional phrases.
MILESTONE 1 REMINDER
Milestone 1:
Due Thursday, October 20th
· ALL RESOURCES for the interest project: at least 3 books AND 3 websites on the correct form with a parent signature.
· PLEASE NOTE: Each student is required to bring printed copies of the information they will be using from the websites and all three of the books that they will be using for their research. Actual websites used for their research must be listed, not “Wikepedia.com”.
**Please see below for the actual form and dates for all milestones if you have not received one from your child.
MEAP Testing will continue next week. Students will be taking the Writing Part 2, and Math tests. Please make sure that your child is in school, gets a great night's sleep, and eats a fabulous breakfast. Also, please be sure that they are on time!
Tuesday, October 18th : Mathematics
Wednesday, October 19th : Writing Day 2
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