Welcome May.

Chloe, Ari and Sean playing a song on iPads.

Our ERB testing began without a hitch this morning. The students were troopers and worked diligently all morning. We will continue this routine all week, testing first thing each morning. Because of our testing schedule, we will not have homework all week. Of course, I imagine students will still read each night, but they are not required to complete their reading logs. Until the weekend, of course!

As we enter the month of May, things get pretty busy in fourth grade. Once we finish ERBs, there is no stopping us!

• On Friday, May 11, fourth graders will spend some time visiting the Middle Division. We will deliver the students to Mr. Davis around 9:30 that morning, and then leave them in their good hands! It is a great first, official step toward next year, and the students always enjoy themselves tremendously.

• During the week of May 14th, students will be inviting you to hear and see their Colonial America projects. Because of the number and time involved in sharing, we will likely spread these shares over two or three sessions. Once the projects are complete next week, I will have a better idea of how much time we will need, and let you know. I will work to accommodate your busy schedules and have  students present when family members are available to watch.

• Friday, May 18th is Splash Day. Students who choose to participate should wear their swimsuits under their uniforms that day and can bring clothes to change into after the p.e. period. Don't forget towels, sunscreen and hats! Please see the previous blog post for more information about Splash Day.

• On Monday, May 21, we take our annual trip to the Lowry Park Zoo. We begin our study of animal classification this week, and tie this trip into this study. We leave right at 8:15 that morning. I already have a chaperone to join us, but anyone is welcome to meet us at the zoo.

• Friday, May 25 is the big day--our Moving Up ceremony! That event is scheduled to begin at 8:45 in the Janet Root Theater. The ceremony will not last longer than an hour and is a wonderful Lower Division tradition.  After the ceremony we will invite families back to the classrooms for photos, and then we are off to bowl!

• At 2:00 p.m. that day, we will have our ice cream (now Italian ice) party in the lunch area. You are invited! This is a fantastic end to a fabulous day for the fourth graders--and their teachers.

• Tuesday, May 29 we will have our portfolio share. During this period, students will share with you the digital portfolios on which they have been working throughout the entire year, chronicling work and growth through all of their years at Shorecrest. This session will either be first thing in the morning or at the end of the day. As soon as I have that time confirmed, I will post it. Morning or afternoon, what is certain is that you will need tissue. Let the waterworks begin!

• Wednesday, May 30 is a half day of school. We spend that time celebrating, tying up loose ends, gathering materials, and sharing our fourth grade memories. I do hope everyone will be in attendance on that last day!

Thanks to everyone who was able to attend our author celebration on Friday. Fictional narratives are always longer than are personal narratives at the beginning of the year, and we truly appreciate the good chunk of time you spent with us Friday morning. The students worked very hard on their pieces and were thrilled to share them with a new and eager audience.

Until next week!

Splash Day

We will be hosting the Lower Division Splash Day on Friday, May 18, 2012.  The event is scheduled during each grade’s normal PE period and will last approximately 30 minutes. Splash Day consists of a variety of safe and fun water games and toys. Activities are designed to soak, spray, and splash. Students will not be swimming or submerging themselves in water. Participants are sure to enjoy the large inflatable water slide again this year. A dry area, “The Beach,” will be available to any students not wishing to get wet or participate in Splash Day. Equipment, games, activities and supervision will be present for those students playing on The Beach.

What to bring/wear:

·    Wear appropriate swimwear to school under the school uniform or bring swimwear to change into.  Please keep in mind each child must wear their regular school uniform at all times except during their PE period.

·    Sunscreen and/or hat

·    Towel

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

LD PE Team

Busy!

I am thrilled to get back to school in our routine after a long two weeks. It was difficult being away last week for sure. I look forward to returning to room a smiling and eager faces--what a treat.

This week we will spend some time going through a practice ERB assessment. The purpose of the practice is to help the students feel more comfortable with the format of the test. We talk about filling out bubbles to understanding directions to working within a timed format. Mostly, though, we talk about how while students should take the tests seriously and do their best work, they need to work to avoid becoming over focused on the test. They should understand that because of the nature of the ERB, students should expect to encounter some questions for which they do not know the answers! While the test gives us important feedback on how we are doing as a school, we work diligently to keep the test--as one tool of many--in perspective.

We test each morning next week, finishing about 10:00 a.m. each day. During the week, we will not assign homework, so students should be able to easily get to be on time each night! We will also not have any other assessments over the course of the week. Hopefully that will help make the week less worrisome for the students.

We look forward to entertaining you all at our author celebration on Friday at 8:30 in our room. Each student is thrilled to be sharing one of the fictional narratives on which s/he has been working during this genre study. Listen for engaging leads, endings that make sense and tie back to beginnings, as well as characters who give evidence of change throughout the story. We hope to see you Friday morning!

Upcoming important events:
April 27: Author Celebration, 8:30 a.m.
April 30 - May 4: ERB testing
May 11: MD visit, 8:45 a.m. (students only)
May 16: Battle of the Books (attend in MD)
May 21: Lowry Park Zoo field trip (I am looking for one volunteer for this trip!)
May 25: Moving Up ceremony, 8:45 a.m.; Italian ice party, 2:00 p.m.
May 28: no school
May 30: last day of school (noon dismissal)

Celebrate the arts!

It is a great time to be a fourth grader in the Lower Division! Our trip last week to the Ringling Museum was tremendous. Students enjoyed a tour of the galleries at Ringling, seeing many Baroque and Renaissance paintings and sculptures. Our docent talked about the symbolism in the religious paintings, engaging students to share their interpretations and describe what they were seeing. The grounds of the museum are beautiful, and the architecture of the main museum is grand. Students were enthralled. We were also able to spend some time in the circus exhibit; it holds a train car fully staged with the props of circus travel. Also in the exhibit are other items, such as a trapese, an elephant headdress, and a unicycle on a high wire! As always, however, students were most captivated by the miniature circus replica in the Tibbals Museum. This scale replica depicts circus life, from the mess tent, the animal tents, living quarters and, of course, the three ring circus under the big top. The model is not only animated, but it is fully equipped with lights, so when the room lights are dimmed, the lights in the model turn on, and viewers see the circus as it would have looked at night. The model truly is a thing of beauty, so much so that it (almost) makes one forget about harsher circus realities. It was a tremendous day.

This week will be a busy one with a number of activities to celebrate the visual and performing arts. Storytellers, bluegrass singer, photographers, opera singers--students will be exposed to all! And as dictated by tradition, the week culminates with a musical performance and picnic lunch on Friday at 11:00. Each grade level will perform a song, and then we will eat together outside on the grass. Please be sure to send a sack lunch with your child that day, unless you opted her her/him to receive a sack lunch from Sage. Stay tuned for pictures next week of all of the festivities.

In math, we have begun working on a short unit on geometry. Students will be learning about pre-images and images, lines of reflection and symmetry, and congruent figures. Figures that are congruent can, of course, be flipped, rotated and slip on a plane; students will take this understanding and create frieze patterns. This is a fun unit with an emphasis on strengthening spacial understanding. Students can expect to take the assessment on Friday, April 27.

In social students, project work is well underway. Students have spent a number of class sessions conducting research in topics of choice from both books as well as online sources. As expected, many students have refined or broadened their topics after doing some investigations. Most students chose to work with a partner, although a few are working independently. Topics include the following:

• women's roles in Colonial America
• slavery
• Ben Franklin
• farming
• children's games
• clothing
• the Battle of Bunker Hill
• weapons of battle
• Salem Witch Trials
• the Boston Tea party
• pets in Colonial America
• George Washington

On Wednesday of this week, we will begin a round in technology, so students will continue to conduct research as well as confer with Mrs. Baralt about what type of technology they will use to create their presentations. Once a format has been determined, students will make a plan and, after research is complete, begin creating the presentation component of their projects. Once the project work is complete, we will invite you to a sharing. That should happen in early May.

With our Author Celebration approaching in two weeks, students are eager to begin working again on their fictional narratives, after some hiatus. We have focused intently on crafting engaging leads, as well as developing characters who change through the course of a story. Because characters are expected to change in a way that is familiar to the writers--their problems must resonate. This helps writers create stronger stories, writing about what they know. Students will select their favorite works to share on April 27th for our Celebration.

In reading, we began reading The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo. It has been a Kate DiCamillo year! We are currently working together to model and practice how readers identify broad themes in novels. These themes frame our thinking as we read--and writing about what we read--and help support conversations with our book club partners. The themes we have identified thus far include truth, love and magic--the magic of magicians as well as the magic that seems to happen in life. All the work we do while reading this book together will help support the work students are doing in their book clubs.

In science, students will be wrapping up a unit on land and water. As a culminating activity, students will be charged with taking all that they have learned to design cities that can survive exceptionally heavy rains. We will then transition into a unit focused on animal classification.

Have a fantastic week!

Upcoming important events:
April 16 - 20: Celebrate the Arts
April 20: Celebrate the Arts performance and lunch, 11:00 a.m.
April 27: Author Celebration, 8:30 a.m.
April 30 - May 4: ERB testing
May 11: 4th grade Middle Division visit
May 21: Lowry Park Zoo trip
May 25: Moving Up Ceremony, 8:45 a.m.
May 28: no school
May 30: last day of school (half day)

Wear Your Hat Day!

Monday, April 9th the LD's official Wear Your Hat Day! If all of the Lower Division students wear a hat to school on Monday--and then wear it to  Town Meeting, lunch, recess and PE--they will be treated to icees at the end of the day!

Thanks for helping promote sun safety for our students.

Welcome April

This trimester, to support their learning about the history of Colonial America, students will engage in projects—alone or with a partner—intended to research topics of interest connected to Colonial America.

Through the completion of this project, students will:

1. Gain understanding of a particular person, group, event, or cultural practice or artifact from Colonial times;
2. Conduct research to adequately learn and teach about a topic;
3. Gain an understanding of how life in Colonial America is similar to and different from their lives today;
4. Contribute to a broader collection of research that will paint a picture of life in Colonial America;
5. Utilize technology to communicate their research to their audience; and
6. Create a product that sufficiently communicates the research in an engaging and thoughtful way.

Students will first identify a topic about which they would like to learn. The topic must reveal something about life in Colonial America that can be compared to life today. Students may choose to work alone or with a partner. Once the topic is identified, students will begin the first phase of the project: conducting research. Materials used to support this research will include books as well as web sites. Students will be expected to conduct their research at school (using Shorecrest library resources collected by the teachers, working in the computer lab and classroom) and occasionally at home (visiting the public library). Students will be aided through this process by their classroom teacher as well as the instructional technologist, the librarian and other specialist teachers who may be of assistance.

Sammy and Sean geocaching.

Once the research has been completed, students will decide upon a means to present their research. Again, the choices are open, but the medium should sufficiently allow the project to meet the learning objectives. Students are strongly encouraged to choose media that support their interests and learning styles.

While the choices for media are open, each project must incorporate the use of technology in some way. The technological vehicle may be the foundation of the project, or it may be used to capture and present the project for the purposes of a final presentation.

Today, I conferred with each of the students about her/his choices for a topic for the colonial projects. At this stage, topics are as varied as the students, including clothing, gender roles, Salem witch trials, games, George Washington, the Battle at Bunker Hill, and animals. By the end of the week students will all have a research plan in place and be in the early stages of research.

This week, as you know, fourth grade students are taking the WrAP writing assessment. This year, students have engaged in prompt writing a number of times, setting goals for their future work. Students considered six foundations of quality writing about which we have talked and learned all year: voice, organization, use of details, word choice, sentence fluency and mechanics.  Over the next two days, students will spend two hours planning, drafting, revising, and editing their pieces. All that we have been learning about in writing--both when crafting personal narratives as well as when composing expository pieces--supports their work in prompt writing. This timed, prompt-driven experience is relatively new for students, but great practice for their future work in school.

A book club discussing a well-loved text.

In math, students continue to learn about percentages, as well as how to rewrite fractions and decimals as percents. Today students read and synthesized population data, applying what they have been learning about percentages. Over the next few days we will continue our study, and the unit 9 assessment will take place next Wednesday, April 11.

In reading, students are working on composing the letters from the point of view of two different characters from Tuck Everlasting. The objective of the task is to communicate their deep understanding of the identity of two different characters.

Importantly, for each letter to be successful, it must:

1. Accurately speak from the perspective of a character;
2. Use evidence from the story to support the author's opinions;
3. Include enough details to give the reader the sense that the author truly understands the character;
4. Be organized properly and in an effective way;
5. Correctly spell ALL names as included in the text; and
6. Use conventions properly.

Busy, busy, busy!

Michael helping Manny publish his book.

Upcoming important events:
April 10: Ringling trip
April 16 - 20: Celebrate the Arts
April 19: Author Celebration
April 23: no school