Only Seven Days Til Thanksgiving Break?

We have seven days before Thanksgiving Break.  Where has the month gone?   It was just Halloween ... wasn't it?

What a great win Friday night for the 12-0 Knights.  I watched the game from my warm couch.  Kudos to those of you that attended in the cold.  Next up Trotwood Madison...  I hope it is on tv :)  

Our Veteran's Day parade was fantastic.  The students really enjoyed waving flags for all the past and current members of our Armed Forces.  I thought the assembly was a wonderful way to end the parade.  If you haven't heard, my mother-in-law was in attendance.  She was very impressed with the students and the tribute.

Over the next week, our goal is to wrap up the realistic fiction writing unit.  Most of the students are almost finished writing their rough drafts.  My goal is to conference with each of them early in the week and then they will be ready to take the piece to publication.  Hopefully, they will finish their published work before we leave for break.

A science test is scheduled for Thursday.  The test will cover the layers of the earth, tectonic plates, earthquakes, physical and chemical weathering, erosion and deposition.  Students should use their Science Binders to help them study for the test.

I think I have turned the students on to a new author: Gordon Korman.  One reading group read the first book in the series Island.  They loved it and now they are fighting over who gets to borrow my ONE copy of the second book.  Another group read the first book in the Titanic series.  They have decided to share the ONE copy of the second book.  I love when I can turn them on to a new author.  If you are looking for Christmas ideas, Gordon Korman also has a few other series sets that I am sure many of the kids would love.

I will introduce division on Monday.  This can be tricky if the students are still struggling with their math facts.  Don't forget to practice these if your child is still struggling.  It really does help.

We are focusing on homophones in word study.   Last week we added quite a few to our word study list.  This week we will play a few games and illustrate the meanings of the words.  The students and I discussed that it is important to know the difference in meaning for these words as well as how to spell them.

Government is our next focus in Social Studies.  This is a quick unit on the three branches of government and their duties.  Remember the Social Studies binder comes home on Tuesday and Thursday.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.  I'm planning on grading the Social Studies test and watching the Bengals on the television tomorrow.  Let's hope for a Bengal win !!

Wonderful Weekend

What a wonderful fall day. I hope everyone was able to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.

This week is busy. We have conferences on Tuesday and Thursday and our Fall Party on Friday afternoon. Also the Book Fsir is going on this week. Our day official day is Thursday, but we have two evening nights to shop on Tuesday and Thursday.

Social Studies: We will have a test on Wednesday. The test is over the regions of Ohio. Students need to locate and name the major cities and rivers in Ohio. As well as, label each of the four regions.

Readers Workshop: Each group began reading a new novel this week. We will continue with this reading and focus on the questioning strategy. They are really enjoying their books.

Writers Workshop: We are learning about the elements of realistic fiction. This week we will begin writing our own. I know the students will enjoy working with this genre.

Science: We will continue to look at earthquakes and volcanoes and how they effect the earth.

Enjoy the rest of this perfect weekend. I have heard from my weather guru that we could see some snow before Halloween.

Rice Krispie Maps and Tie Dye ...Oh My!!

What a crazy week!

On Monday, we used clay to make the geographical features in the United States. Then on Thursday, we used Rice Krispies to do the same thing. The kids really enjoyed both activities (I think the edible one was their favorite). Hopefully, the hands on approach helped them perform well on their Social Studies test. The tests will be in next weeks Friday Folders.

I am sure you also heard about our tie dyeing on Friday. The shirts looked fantastic. Mrs Royce was an excellent twister. A big thanks to her for helping those that needed shirt twisting help. I will wash the shirts today and the students will bring them home on Monday. The are so proud of their shirts and every one of them turn out great.

We will have a science test on Thursday this week. Students should be studying their binders. The test will be over both qualitative and quantitative observations, making inferences, communicating, and predicting.

Keep studying the multiplication facts.

Have a great weekend. See you on Monday.

Settling In

I hope everyone is settling into a new school year routine, I know I am. Things at school are going great.

Everyone seems to understand the homework routine and is turning in the correct pages on the correct day. Yippee!! Science binders should be coming home on Monday and Wednesday. The social studies binder should be coming home on Tuesday and Thursday.

Our daily schedules seem to be working out terrific as well.

We had our first social studies test last week, it will be coming home in the Friday Folder. Remember, your child can do test corrections. They need to correct the questions they missed and then turn both the test and the corrections back in on Monday.

The PTO has asked that I remind everyone about the Entertainment Books. The sale is ending on Friday. If you still have money or books, please return them by Friday. This is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year, please help out if you are able.

Finally, I still have a few students who need to turn in tie dye t-shirt money. Please send that in ASAP as I need to get the shirts ordered for next weeks big day.

Thanks for all you do.
KME is the place to be!

Off to a Great Start !!

Welcome to my classroom blog.  I am trying this out with the hopes of eliminating a weekly newsletter.  I will be updating the blog as necessary when importan information arises. Please sign up to receive email alerts so that you are sure not to miss anything important. 

I hope all of your children have been enjoying the school year so far. We are getting into a routine and everyone seems to be adjusting well. 

Hopefully, you have seen your child studying the Social Studies and Science binders.  The Science binder should come home on Monday and Wednesday and  the Social Studies binder on Tuesday and Thursday.  Your child should spend about 10 to 15 minutes each night studying thier binder.  This will make life so much easier as we get closer to test days. 

Homework is handed out on Fridays and is due the following Wednesday or Thursday depending on the assignment. 

Finally, the planbook  is our most importnat means of communication.  Your child should be filling out their planbook each afternnon.  I ask that you sign it each night so that you are aware of what is going on in the classroom. 

Happy Friday !!!

Well, there are only 5 days of school left, but there is still so much on the calendar!

Today we have two talent shows one at 9:30 and the second at 1:30

Monday No school
Tuesday - Talent show 9:30 and PTO program at 2:00
Wednesday - Social Studies test
Thursday - Reward Trip to Run, Jump and Play all day
Friday - Field Day all day
Monday - Award Celebration and Picnic at 11:00

Also I want to mention that we are selling $1 epilepsy ribbons to help support the Epilepsy Foundation.  The grade level that purchases the most ribbons wins a Popsicle  party.  Please help support this wonderful cause. 

Music Concert Tonight

Just a reminder the 4th grade music concert is tonight at 6:45 pm.  Students should wear their tie dye t-shirts and jeans.  Chours memebers need to report to the music room at 6:00 and all other students should report to the math/science lab between 6:15 and 6:30.  Can't wait to see eveyone there !!


Also, I know your schedules are getting busy so here are some important dates to remember.

May 27th - KME Talent Show 9:30 am and 1:30 pm
May 31st - KME Talent Show 9:30 am
June 2nd - 4th Grade Reward Trip to Run, Jump and Play
June 3rd - 4th Grade Field Day 10:30 -12:00 and 1:30 - 3:00
June 6th - 4th Grade Celebration and Picnic 11:00 am

Happy Friday

I handout out Review Sheets this week minus Math. 

Reading, Sensational 6 and Grow are due on Wednesday

Fab 5 is due on Thursday

** We will have a social studies test on Wednesday instead of the scheduled Monday date.

Happy Wednesday !!

Life is good here at KME.  We finally have some dry weather with only a few spotty showers this afternoon. 

Chours memberes are heading to Columbus tomorrow, therefore it is really important that they remember to bring home theiir science binder tonight.  We have a test on Friday. 

Reminder

Just a reminder, we have a science test on Friday 5/13/2011
Study hard !!

Poerty Books

The students poetry books are coming along nicely.  Today we worked on the "Meet the Author and Illustrator Page".  I know you will be very impressed when the studetnts bring them home in a few weeks.

Also just a reminder, Reading Review, Sensational 6 and Grow are due tomorrow. 

I will be out tomorrow afternoon due to my son's doctor appointment. 

Welcome to Our Classroom!

Today I attended a Google Apps conference in Columbus.  Blogger was just one of the many apps I learned how to integrate into my classroom.   I decided it would be a fantastic way to keep the students and parents up to date on the day to day happening in my classroom.