Finally... a New Post!

I recently had a discussion with some other teachers in the district about how to incorporate current events into the classroom.  Another teacher suggested a website: www.cnn.com/studentnews.  I now use this as our opening every morning.  It is a 10 minute newscast geared for kids about national and global news.  The kids love it!!  We then follow with Rocket Math before Math class.


Math- We continue to give a pre-test before every new math unit and group kids according to their needs for that unit.  The math is progressively getting more difficult for those students that do not know their basic facts.  PLEASE make sure your child is learning them at home!  Ex: 8x9=72 and 72 / 9 = 8. 
Upcoming units:

• Dividing by 1-Digit Divisors
• Lines, Angles, and Shapes
• Understanding Fractions
• Adding and Subtracting Fractions

Guided Reading- I continue to meet small groups of kids to work on specific reading strategies.  While I do this, the rest of the kids are working independently.  Based on a graduate class I recently took, I have implemented The Daily 5.  Students:

• Read to Self
• Read to Someone
• Listen to Reading
• Work on Writing
• Word Work

Research shows the best way to improve in reading and writing is to read and write! :)  The students are also to be using their Lexile ranges to read books that are at their level. 

Anthology- We have finished Theme 2 on American Stories.  The students have learned and reviewed many reading strategies including:

• Evaluate
• Sequence of Events
• Making Inferences
• Making Generalizations
• Categorize and Classify
• Contractions
• Antonyms
• Word roots sign and spect
• Suffixes -er, -or, and-ist
• Using Context
• Possessives

Stories we've read in this theme:

Writing- We have been practicing how to takes notes and pull information out of a text.  We have been using the information to write descriptive paragraphs.  Parents were to have signed a paragraph we wrote about Squanto.

Science/ Social Studies: We finished the units on Earth Materials and Earth, Sun, and Moon.  Students got to participate in the Star Lab.  You should ask them more about that!  They explored and got to see different constellation and how the rotation and revolvment of the Earth affects what we see in the sky.  We are currently in a unit on the Northeast.  We have discussed lots of vocabulary and how to use text features. 

Other:
For our November assembly, the 4th graders presented the ABC's of Thanksgiving.  Students recited a fact about Thanksgiving.  They did a great job!!
Students have been receiving the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program with Deputy Hungerford every Tuesday for about 40 minutes.  They have a workbook they have been filling out and will receive a t-shirt upon completion of the program.  We will finish before Winter Break.

I recently purchased an ipad and am trying to find uses for it in the classroom.  I think it is very important to use technology in the classroom.  The 21st century will require our young minds to know how to use it!  One way in which I have been using the ipad is to take photos and video of students and show them how they look as learners.  I also have used it to record students reading and then play it back for them.  These are great learning opportunities!
Another new piece of technology we have received are "ladibug" cameras.  These cameras allow us to place anything under it and show it on the board.  It's kind of like an overhead projector only with way more capabilities!!  The kids think it's cool. :)

Thank you all for your support of what we are doing in the classroom!  Please feel free to contact me anytime you have a question.  afreiberg@marshalltown.k12.ia.us    or 641-751-1060