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Spelling: None today.

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 29-31 are available and due Friday.

Reading: We used Esperanza Rising to practice visualizing by drawing illustrations.

Writing: We talked today about focusing on a theme (such as my sister’s silly questions, or my first hockey game). Narrowing the topic by choosing one theme is a way to focus on just the best parts.

Students also continued to work on first piece of writing. A personal narrative about one of their own memories is due into portfolios Friday, September 25. Students should be revising their writing piece by now.

Math: We reviewed angles and parallel lines. Homework is to finish Journal p. 8-9.

Students have had math homework every day this week. We’ve been quite slow working through math so far. Much of the time has been taken up in correcting poor choices and waiting for talking to finish. Since the class hasn’t been careful with using our math time wisely, we’ve been running out of time at school, and students are having to finish at home. Hopefully the class will make better choices in the future so that we can be more careful with the time we have. You might want to ask your student what kind of choices they made during math today.

Science: None today due to library.

Social Studies: We listened to a song about the Underground Railroad and started to learn about hidden messages in quilt squares.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 3
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week: 8

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at SnapGrades to see if your student moved their magnet. Need help with SnapGrades?

Notes:

• Do you happen to have any spare garbage bag twist ties? We would use them in math if happen to have any you could spare! Thanks!
• Would you like to volunteer for a class event? Download and print a volunteer information form (PDF).
  
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at SnapGrades.

Our Mission:
Every student in Room 130 leaves improved and prepared for 5th grade.

Spelling: We reviewed the idea that some words have silent letters (become, whistle, less, knot, write).

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 29-31 are available and due Friday.

Reading: We used Esperanza Rising to practice making connections.

Writing: We learned today to find a focus in writing and to try to narrow down the idea to just the best parts.

Students also continued to work on their draft of their first piece of writing, or started to revise. A personal narrative about one of their own memories is due into portfolios Friday, September 25. Students should have their rough draft complete and be ready to begin revising by now.

Math: We used straws and twist ties to make angles and quandrangles today. Homework is to finish Journal p. 6.

Science: Students worked on group questions about random samples. Homework is to finish the Are Random Samples Okay? worksheet if not done in class.

Social Studies: None today due to art.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 1
• Orange magnets: 1
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week: 4

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at SnapGrades to see if your student moved their magnet. Need help with SnapGrades?

Notes:

• Do you happen to have any spare garbage bag twist ties? We would use them in math if happen to have any you could spare! Thanks!
• Grand Blanc has a new Wellness Policy (PDF).
  
• Would you like to volunteer for a class event? Download and print a volunteer information form (PDF).
  
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at SnapGrades.

Our Mission:
Every student in Room 130 leaves improved and prepared for 5th grade.

Spelling: Students completed a preview of upcoming spelling words.

Cursive: New cursive worksheets will be available tomorrow.

Reading: We used Esperanza Rising to practice thinking of open-ended questions.

Writing: We talked today about using a freewrite as a way to come up with details to use in a story. In a freewrite, students write for 3-5 minutes without stopping. They write down as many details and senses they can think of about their topic. Some of these details can be used in their writing piece.

Students also continued to work on the rough draft of their first piece of writing, a personal narrative about one of their own memories, due into portfolios Friday, September 25. Student should be nearing the end of their rough draft and be ready to begin revising.

Any leftover writing portfolios not turned in are due tomorrow!

Math: Students completed a MiniQuiz about rays, lines and line segments today. We also reviewed symmetry and transformations (flips, turns, slides) and started to practice making and naming angles. Homework is to finish Math Boxes 1.3.

Science: We did an experiment today about how large a sample size should be for a survey. Students noticed that the larger the sample, the more accurate the data.

Social Studies: We listened to and sang some songs that slaves sang while escaping on the Underground Railroad. The songs often had a secret message to help slaves, such as walking in the water to prevent bloodhounds from picking up scents.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 2
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week: 2

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at SnapGrades to see if your student moved their magnet. Need help with SnapGrades?

Notes:

• Grand Blanc has a new Wellness Policy (PDF).
  
• Would you like to volunteer for a class event? Download and print a volunteer information form (PDF).
  
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at SnapGrades.

Our Mission:
Every student in Room 130 leaves improved and prepared for 5th grade.

Spelling: Students completed an achievement spelling test today. This will be used as a starting point to gauge student growth in spelling over the year.

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 12-14 were due today.

Reading: We started reading Esperanza Rising as a class today. Next week, we’ll use this book to introduce Literature Circles.

Writing: Students continued to work on the rough draft of their first piece of writing, a personal narrative about one of their own memories, due into portfolios Friday, September 25.

Math: None today due to Constitution Day activities.

Science: None today.

Social Studies: This week celebrated Constitution Day. To learn about the freedoms our Constitution gives to us, we watched some SchoolHouse Rock video clips about why are country doesn’t have kings, how we started the Revolution, and the Preamble to the Constitution.

We learned and sang the Preamble to the Constitution:

We the people
In order to form a more perfect union,
Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity
Do ordain and establish this Constitution
For the United States of America.

Here’s the song:

[audio:https://mrhowd.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/the-preamble.mp3]

We also watched a movie that showed what America would be like without the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Click here to watch the movie.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 2
• Orange magnets: 2
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week: 17

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at SnapGrades to see if your student moved their magnet. Need help with SnapGrades?

Notes:

• Writing Portfolios were due today? Students were to decorate them with drawings, pictures, newspaper or magazine clippings, stickers, or anything else that can be attached to the folder and laminated. If it’s not turned in yet, get it in by Tuesday in order to be laminated.
• Grand Blanc has a new Wellness Policy (PDF).
  
• Would you like to volunteer for a class event? Download and print a volunteer information form (PDF).
  
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date.
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at SnapGrades.

Our Mission:
Every student in Room 130 leaves improved and prepared for 5th grade.

Spelling: We reviewed long and short vowel sounds by changing words with short vowel sounds into words with long sounds (sat > seat, got > goat). We also noticed that short vowel sounds are made by one vowel, but long vowel sounds are made by two vowels.

Cursive: Cursive worksheet pp. 12-14 are available in class and due on Friday.

Reading: Students performed skits today to remind the class how to handle class and library books carefully. We also practiced the 5-Finger Rule, which is a strategy to select books. Students read a full page (about 100 words) and hold up a finger for each word they don’t understand (names don’t count). If a student gets to five fingers, the book is too difficult. If there are no fingers held up, the book may be too easy. All other books may be just right.

Writing: Students made a treasure map of buried stories today. They drew a map of a special, familiar place and placed an x at each spot where they had an interesting memory. Each memory could be a possible story. The first piece of writing, a personal narrative story about one of their own memories, will be due into portfolios Friday, September 25. Decorated portfolios are due this Friday!

Math: We continued to review rays, lines and line segments.

Science: None today due to library.

Social Studies: We finished exploring an Underground Railroad website and wrote some notes in our minibooks.

Behavior Update:

• Yellow magnets: 4
• Orange magnets: 0
• Red magnets: 0
• STAR Awards: 0
• Magnets moved this week: 8

Check your student’s Personal and Social Growth grade at SnapGrades to see if your student moved their magnet. Need help with SnapGrades?

Notes:

• Writing Portfolios are due on Friday! Students can decorate them with drawings, pictures, newspaper or magazine clippings, stickers, or anything else that can be attached to the folder and laminated.
• View the school supply list.
• Grand Blanc has a new Wellness Policy (PDF).
  
• Would you like to volunteer for a class event? Download and print a volunteer information form (PDF).
  
• Check out our class calendar to stay up-to-date. View
• View grades, assignments, and attendance at SnapGrades.

Our Mission:
Every student in Room 130 leaves improved and prepared for 5th grade.