Interim Reports

Happy Monday Parents!
   As you all know, last Wednesday-Friday, I was away at a technology conference.  Due to my absence, I will send interim reports home tomorrow, Tuesday.  An update of class happenings are forthcoming.  

Have a great week!

Helping Those in Need during the Holiday Season

 Harvest Hope Food Drive

With the holiday season quickly approaching, what a great time to display the LIFESKILL of Caring!  The second grade is collecting canned goods for the Harvest Hope Food Bank.  If your family is able, please send in a few to assist with such a worthy cause.  Your family can decide if you’d like your donated canned good to go toward the Clemson or Carolina side…. 

Meteorologists in Training...

We may just have the next local meteorologist in our class...  

During our Weather unit, we kept track of the weather with various weather tools.  We worked with an anemometer, rain gauge, thermometer, and wind vane to help us predict the weather.  Below you will find a few pictures of our class using the tools to determine the wind speed, wind direction, the amount of precipitation, and the temperature.  

What's Going On?!?

   In reading, we are near the end of a novel that our entire class has been thoroughly enjoying, Night of the Twisters, by Ivy Ruckman.  This book went along with out Weather unit of study and is about the experience twelve year old Dan Hatch and his family has when a series of tornadoes hit his hometown of Grand Island, Nebraska.  In addition to going with our science unit, reading this novel also provided us with the opportunity to apply many of the strategies that we've learned that good readers use.  We will wrap up with this great piece of literature on next Monday.  

   In Writer's Workshop, the students are working with a partner or within a small group to create a Severe Weather Public Service Announcement or a Weather Forecast.  They had the chance to choose between the two and we will start to record them tomorrow.  I hope to either post the final products to this blog or e-mail them out.  

   In math, we are finishing up with unit 4, Decimals and Their Uses.  Students will take the unit test on Thursday.  Our mathematicians did a wonderful job with this unit. The concepts presented in this unit were brand new and everyone worked hard and has become proficient with the basics of decimals.  We will continue to revisit these skills throughout the year and they will expand upon them in fifth grade.  Our next unit will be Big Numbers, Estimation, & Computation; we will be revisiting multiplication and addition (with large numbers) during this unit.  

   We have wrapped up with our Weather unit, but are still putting the finishing touches on our PSAs or Forecast.  We also started with our study of life in Colonial America in Social Studies.  At this point, we've only discussed the countries that started settlements in the New World and their motivations for doing so.  We will go on to learn about the first permanent English settlement, the 13 Colonies, everyday life in the colonies, the economy activities in the colonies, and their government.  Next Tuesday, our students will get a chance to experience a bit of colonial life with our Colonial Day Celebration.  Each fourth grade teacher will lead a different colonial activity and each class will have an chance to rotate to each classroom to better understand life in Colonial America.  
   

My Absence...

Hello all!

  I'm sure you have noticed my absence from our class blog.  I've been experiencing technical issues that have not allowed be to update.  The issue is currently being addressed, so I should be able to post and update the blog again, hopefully, next week. 

It's Cloudy with a Chance Of....

     We are currently working on our first official science unit, Weather.  During this unit our students will take on the role of a scientist to learn about all about weather.  We have already learned about the water cycle and employed our LIFESKILL of creativity to create a large water cycle on our immersion wall.  We will also learn about various types of severe weather, collect data using real weather instruments, and research the different types of clouds, just to name a few.  This unit will be very interactive and provides lots of exciting, hands-on experiences for your children.  We are looking to forward to a visit from meteorologist Von Gaskin, from WIS, on next Tuesday.  Ask your child to share with you the four parts of the water cycle and ask him or her what type(s) of clouds are out next time you all are outside.     

Decimals are in the Air...

   On Monday, we started unit 4, Decimal and Their Uses.  We have jumped right and are making our way.  This unit will present brand new concepts and will likely be more challenging than previous units.  Please make sure that your child is completing his or her homework nightly as that is key for students to get a good grasp on material presented in class.  I will continue to remind students to bring home their SRBs (Student Reference Books), so that they can refer to them as needed, while doing their homework. 
    This week, students do not have a timed multiplication test, but we will resume with them next Wednesday.  Please make sure your child is studying the facts he or she will be tested on for a short time nightly and are completing the packet for additional practice.  Multiplication is the foundation for many of the more difficult skills and concepts we will be learning this year, consequently, mastery of the facts are imperative.  Below is a link to great place value game that will provide your child with additional practice.  I also posted the link on Edmodo, so they can access the game from there as well.

Healthy Snack Policy Reminder

Dear Bookman Family,

                  With Halloween fast approaching, we wanted to take this opportunity to review our policies and procedures regarding this day.  We will not be celebrating this holiday in school; this includes any "party" type of celebrations, costume attire, or treat bags.  Classroom snack choices, for those teachers who allow them, will continue to follow our healthy snack guidelines which are found in your child's agenda book and on our website.  Teachers are asked to ensure adherence to these guidelines during the day. We appreciate your understanding, acceptance and support of these policies.

                                                                                                 Sincerely,

                                                                                   Your Bookman Road Health Advisory Committee

Blinky's Buddy!

Hunter

This week's Blinky's Buddy is Hunter.  Hunter celebrated his birthday on October 15th by playing Laser Tag with family and friends.  In his free time, he enjoys playing baseball; he currently plays for the Recreation League on the Lightning.  Hunter's favorite food is Crab legs and he'd like to be a professional baseball player when he grows up, playing for the Atlanta Braves.  

The 4th Grade Wax Museum

And the process begins....  If you have been at Bookman Road for any number of years, you have likely seen or at least heard of the Wax Museum that the 4th Grade class puts on every year.  If you are new to Bookman Road, then you are in for a treat!  The 4th Grade class will bring many of the historical figures we learn about throughout the school year to life in this breathe taking presentation.  Yesterday, I sent home paperwork regarding the Wax Museum that is very important.  Please time some time over the weekend, if you haven't already, to review this paperwork with your child.  The actual event doesn't take place until January, but there is a lots of work do before it all comes to fruition.  Help your child to select his/her top three choices of a person from history that they'd like to represent in the Wax Museum and return the form to me no later than next Thursday, October 18th.  I will then send a letter of notification home on Thursday, October 25th informing you and your child what choice he/she received.  There are a lot of options to choose from, so finding a person that he/she is interested in shouldn't be a problem at all.  We will try our best to honor your child's first choice, however, we often have some groups that are very popular (which we have to limit), so we may to have go with your child's  second, or in some instances, third choice.  The sooner your child turns in his/her form, the higher priority he/she receives.  Please send me an e-mail if you have any questions about the Wax Museum or this process and please keep the golden information sheet in a safe place!

Below are a few pictures of previous Wax Museums.

Reader's Are Thinkers!

Over the past couple weeks, we have learned various reading strategies that will help us to better understand and comprehend reading texts and ensure that we are not just "word calling."  We've discussed that reading is thinking and requires intentional skills to be employed in order to comprehend what we are reading.  Our focus this week is on non-fiction text features.  Below you will see our class reading and working with non-fiction texts and determining what visual and text features are present and their purpose. 

Making it Happen Monday!

    It's wet and rainy outside, but our week is off to a great start!  We are well on our way with Unit 3, Multiplication and Division; Number Sentences and Algebra, in math.  Please make sure that your child is practicing his/her multiplication facts nightly.  The best way to quiz them is with flashcards (which can be homemade) and they can also use the link I posted on Edmodo for additional practice.  Starting next week, the timed multiplication tests, or Mountain Math, will be given every Wednesday.  The key to achieving 100% accuracy on each test is nightly practice.  Also, make sure that your child is completing a math Study Link nightly for homework. 
   We will take the Explorers unit test on Friday and start our first major Science unit next week, which is (Weather) Cloudy with a Chance of....  Explorers study guides will be sent home on Wednesday.  
  Please make sure that your child is reading at least 20 minutes every week night and completing his/her reading log with their personal best effort.  Each student should have a book that is "just-right" for them, which was checked out from our Media Center.  Also, encourage your child to read across genres.  We are currently learning various strategies that good readers use to better understand and comprehend what they are reading.  Ask your child to share one of the strategies they've learned with you. 
  On Thursday, I will send home graded papers and progress reports.  Please review these with your child and discuss/device a plan for making improvements or maintaining their current grades.  You can also see individual grades on Parent Portal.  After reviewing the progress report and graded papers, please sign and return them all to me. 

Blinky's Buddy

Mariah

This week's Blinky's Buddy is Mariah.  Mariah celebrated her birthday over the summer break, July 16th.  In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer with her dad and she currently plays for the Lady Stars.  Mariah's favorite food is spaghetti.  When she grows up, she'd like to be a pilot.    

Blinky's Buddy

Hannah 

This week's Blinky's Buddy is Hannah.  Hannah celebrated her birthday on September 7th.  In her free time, she enjoys playing with her puppy and playing softball.  She's been playing softball since she was 4 years old.  Hannah's favorite foods are turkey and dressing.  When she grows up she'd like to be a veterinarian. 

Mathematicians at Work

Our mathematicians have been very busy this week!  They learned the Partial Sums and Column Addition methods for solving addition problems.  These methods simply present students with various ways to solve addition problems and places a big emphasis on place value.  With these methods, students receive a better understanding of how to solve addition problems and the "why" behind it all.  In addition to math, we did some work organizing and graphing data as well as finding landmarks (maximum, minimum, mode, & range) within data.  Next Wedneday, they will take the Unit 2 test.  Below, you will see pictures of our mathematicians hard at work....

Great Site for Multiplication Practice

The link below is a great resource for your child to practice his/her multiplication facts!  It allows students to select which set of facts to practice and it is timed.  Please encourage your child to use this site to practice in preparation for their weekly timed test.  I also posted this link on Edmodo, so they also access it from there too.

http://mrnussbaum.com/gamc/

Blinky's Buddy

ETHAN

This week's Blinky's Buddy is Ethan !  Ethan celebrated his birthday on August 30th.  In his spare time, he enjoys playing football.  He is currently playing for the Titans in the recreational football league.  His favorite food are apples and when he grows up he'd like to join the US Army. 

Classroom Service

             BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION

                  

             Each class at Bookman Road has a classroom service that contributes to improving or maintaining the pleasant environment and culture that we all love.  Our classroom service is Box Tops for Education.  Our class collects, sorts and counts Box Tops for the school.  How can you help?!?  Well, you can send in any Box Tops that you find on products that you buy for your family. Box Tops are usually found on all General Mills products (i.e. cereal, Pillsbury & Betty Crocker products, snack bars, fruit snacks, toilet tissue, & paper towels, just to name a few) and are found on some school supplies. Each Box Top is worth ten cents and will go toward doing great things at Bookman Road.  Please be on the look out for Box Tops and send them in if you run across any at home.

Exploring We Go!

   Our current unit of study is “Exploring the Great Unknown."  On Friday, we went and explored our school’s nature trail to help us better understand what the explorers we will be learning about, experienced on their expeditions.  During this unit, we will learn about several European explorers who went in search of a quicker route to Asia, the person who truly discovered North America, explorers of the United States and learn about some of the navigational tools explorers used long ago.  On Thursday, we will take our Continents and Oceans quiz and on Friday, we will have our Explorers Vocabulary quiz.  Below, you will find some pictures of our "explorers" on the Nature Trail.

      

Ready for a Great Week!

  I hope everyone had a restful weekend and are ready for a great week!  This week we have math MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) testing first thing Monday morning.  MAP is a computerized test that is individualized and provides me with valuable detailed information about your child's academic level.  This assessment will inform me of what areas your child are strong in and what areas they may need additional assistance.  You will receive MAP scores at your conference with me or with your child's interim report next Thursday. 
  Tuesday, we also have our Native American Unit Assessment.  Please make sure that your child spends some time reviewing the study guide in preparation for the test.  Lastly, we will have our first Mountain Math (timed multiplication) test this Thursday.  Everyone will be taking the 2's test and must have 100% accuracy before they can move on to the 3's.  They will have 90 seconds to complete the test, so studying the facts for a short time nightly will be the key to passing.

Nifty Neurons

During the first full week of school our class learned about neurons during our Brain Unit of Study.  We learned how neurons assist us in the learning process.  Below, you see several of our students creating models of a neuron using various tyes of pasta noodles.



Welcome to Our Class Blog!

     This year, I am going to try something new.  Rather than send home a newsletter every other week, I am going to maintain this class blog.  My goal is keep parents informed about the daily goings on of our class and what better way to do it than with a blog.  I will update this blog at least twice a week and I'll be able to share far more than I ever could with a newsletter.  Please check it at least once a week and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Best,

Ashley J. Harris