Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

It has been quite a while since my last post.  The end of the calendar year is a busy one for everyone.  Finishing up projects, assessments and getting ready for the holidays.  I'm sure you can forgive my tardiness.  Well, we are back in the swing of things and I'm impressed how attentive the students are upon their return. 

I'm excited to say that we've started a project on the Early Explorers.  Certainly it isn't the content that interests me, but the enthusiasm of the students.  As one of my trainers mentioned yesterday, 'put some construction paper behind it, and the kids think it's the greatest thing ever'.  

Thank you to those of you who turned out for our Coloma presentations and Grandparents Day.  Those were very fun events.

I hope you and yours had an enjoyable holiday.  

Happy 2013!

This is a video that I showed the class today, about being a child with Autism.  It is quite profound and spurred some great classroom discussions.  I'd encourage you to watch it and continue the discussion with your child, at home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_GXVzZ0Unk

I am long overdue for a post, for that I extend my apologies.  Certainly this post would be about nothing other than, Coloma!  What a trip! Literally and figuratively.  After arriving to the site, we unpacked and were debriefed about the expectations of the next two days.  The students were given a 'gold pouch' on which they wrote their Coloma name (Quick-Find Christensen, reporting!).  After the debrief the students met in learning groups and did various stations that, for lack of a better description, re-enacted the life and times of people in the Gold Rush period.  They had to work together to build a shelter, purchase items from the general store, make cornbread on a dutch oven, wash clothing by the river, keep copious notes in their logs, and of course, PAN for GOLD!

The night concluded with a hoe-down and bon-fire.  We sang songs, watched skits (involving one nameless 4th grade teacher ::eh hem::) and had just a general good time!

The next day we packed up and headed out to the State Park.  We looked at the original sites (mills, homes, general stores) and had a quick lunch before heading back.

After the long drive... and the long stay... I was pleased to be met with Thanksgiving (break).

Ask your child to tell you the chant they learned... "Gold-panning, gold-panning, drinking coffee-coffee-coffee-coffee, Gold-panning. Eureaka! Eureaka! Uh huh, uh huh".

Things have been quite busy around here.  With Halloween over, Coloma is about to begin. And we're counting down!  We also had a wonderful presentation by the Tuolumne River Foundation.  We learned about our water sources and how we can conserve them.  Our book clubs are well underway - it's so exciting for me to see the students take charge of their learning.  Even the more timid students, when in a smaller group setting, are really thriving and facilitating great discussions.

These past few weeks have been packed for me, as I'm sure you can imagine.  I've been busy writing report cards and conducting parent teacher conferences, which, admittedly, have taken up the bulk of my time.  Hence the delayed post.  Sorry.

Next Friday we'll get to start our Cultural Kaleidoscope program which exposes us to art and students from another school.   I'm excited about what is in store. 

As you have a long weekend ahead of you (no school on Monday), please take note of what needs to be packed for Coloma.

Suitcase:                                                                      Backpack (no wheels please):
1 pair of light weight pants (when hot)                         Reusable waterbottle
1 pair long pants                                                          chapstick
2 sents underwear                                                       disposable camera (optional)
1 t-shirt                                                                        hat / cap
1-2 pair socks                                                              lunch for arrival day
book                                                                             pencils
close-toed walking shoes-no skate shoes                    sunscreen
fitted single-size mattress sheet (optional)                  waterproof rain jacket / poncho
hair brush/comb
laundry bag or plastic bag
non-spray insect repellant
sleepwear
slippers (optional)
student handbook
toothbrush & paste                                                             Please DON'T bring:
warm sweater/sweatshirt                                                    candy; jewelry/watches;
washcloth, towel & soap                                                     playing cards;
long sleeve shirts                                                                recreation equipment;
warm coat (nothing too bulky)                                           open-toed shoes;
warm hat                                                                            comic books; matches;
gloves / mittens                                                                   anything valuable
waterproof boots
thermal underwear

Happy Halloween!  As you can imagine, the energy was high today.  We did a fun math / writing activity, in which we made a multiplication 'number house' and then wrote a story about it.  We had fun during our Halloween parade this morning - and certainly had fun doing some Halloween activities.  Please note that your forms for our Coloma trip are due tomorrow.  We also have a fun presentation from Tuolomne tomorrow as well. 

This week we made our salt maps.  We had fun mixing salt and flower and forming the valleys and mountains of California.  After the maps dry, we will be able to paint them and add much more detail.

We're just about finished with Unit 3 and will be taking our unit assessment on Friday.  Ms. Christensen and the 4th grade team won't be here on Monday, because they will be participating in a district wide 4th grade staff development. 

Have a fun night!

Book club anyone?

This week I've introduced a new approach to our language arts block. Traditional practices were, that students sit around the teacher and choral read in order to develop fluency. That model, at one time effective, is now viewed as passé.

What does reading, in the real world, look like? We (adults) read alone. Hardly ever to we read aloud except to our children, or to share a short interest piece with someone. Should we discuss our reading, we do so conversationally.

We go to a book store and pick up a book. Either because it was recommended, we've read the author before, or the jacket looked of interest. After reading it we may discuss it with a friend, or a book club perhaps.

Creating these authentic reading experiences is important. Practicing how to engage with each other, pose insightful questions and making relevant selections, is what helps students to develop autonomy in their reading. The idea of literature circles fosters that.

As the kids read, they assign their task / homework (how many pages they will read). They are each assigned a role and are expected to come to the discussion prepared and ready to participate.

I am slowly introducing these roles to the students. We are modeling mature and insightful book discussions. After we get comfortable with each one, I hope to allow them to work in groups to discuss and check in with one another about their reading.

I'm really excited for what's in store!

One note of classroom business: if you are willing and able to help out with our Monster Mash fundraiser please see me / read the next newsletter to find out who you can contact for more information.

Let there be food!

This week was the heritage potluck. We had fun learning the classic tune, "I'd like to teach the world to sing". We had even more fun performing it!

Many thanks to you wonderful parents for supporting us and helping put on such a wonderful event.

This week we're also creating our maps of California for our upcoming salt map creations. If you have yet to being in materials for that (salt and flour) please feel free to bring those in at anytime.

We also had fun with the Walk and Roll and filled out a survey on Schoology.

This week we've also been working on paragraph writing. Formulating a proper paragraph. Topic Sentence. ->Details->Concluding sentence.