Greetings, and countdown to April Break?  The year is flying by for sure now, and I’m positive the Earth spins faster after March....maybe the Ides have something to do with that?  So here are a few things we have been working on in the classroom. 
    The 4/5B Tall Tales cd’s are almost ready to send home.  The kids are working on the covers now, and I will set up the list of what tall tales are on it to go inside.  They are very cool, and fun to listen to.  Enjoy!
     Our Literature and Social Studies are combined as the class listens to a book titled Green Mountain Hero, somewhat based on the life of a real family called the Story’s from Connecticut who came to Vermont in the 1700’s.  We have started mapping the journey of the father and son, delved into fairness issues about settlers and Native peoples, and are hopefully getting a fair picture of what life was like back then.  The class is keeping a work journal involving each chapter as I read it aloud, and they have various thinking questions and activities to do along the way.  We will be working on this after the break. 
    This week we are going to work on constructed responses in our writing, and are learning about what they are, how we understand them, and of course......how to answer them.  The kids did a research project with Ms. Deb on NYC and getting to special places using the subway. 
    We have continued our work in Spellography, and my group took the lesson outside (it was pretty nice on Thursday) with the Ipads last week.  Using the Blackboard app, the students looked for things and generated words on the iPads according to cluster beginnings and endings.  Saved a lot of paper that day!
    Our unit in Math on Fractions and Decimals is moving right along.  We will work in the decimal part of the unit this week, and may be finished either before break or the week after break.  So far, the unit has presented the students with concepts about fraction values, equivalents, determining fractions of a whole or whole number, and adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator. 
    Practice of many of these concepts, as well as others in our math this year, can be attained using the free math sites:
a.   Math Is Fun  (http://www.mathsisfun.com/) or  the
b.  National Library of Virtual Mathematics (http://nlvm.usu.edu/)
c.   Illuminations  (http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivitySearch.aspx)

    Our Science unit on Simple Machines is moving right along.  We have been using an online site named Edhead (http://edheads.org/activities/simple-machines/index.shtml) to investigate simple machines around the home.  It has been fun to use with the Interactive Whiteboard in class! 
    That seems to be most of what we have done over the last week or so. Until the next time!

    Thanks for all your help so far at home this year!   Mr. B and Ms. Deb

Conferences Anyone?

Lauren creates a simple machine!

    Greetings!  Seems like another week or two has flown by, a snow day here or there, and now conferences are upon us yet again!  Today, Friday is a half day for conferences, and Monday as well, which is a full conference day.   I sent conference times home last week with your children.  I have received a few responses or emails back, and hope that your conference time actually made it out of a backpack.  You may want to check that.   Emails are the best way to let me know if the time works or not, or returning the actual slip with other times as needed.  Hope to see you all soon.

    Our current studies are focused on Vermont’s early years, and why people chose to migrate and live here from afar.  We are merging a few subjects as we do literature readings, social studies concepts, and even work on simple machines and their role in helping people during that age.  Our science work with simple machines is evolving as part reading about simple machines and part investigation/experimenting with the machines. 

Emily and Maggie:  successful scientists!

We will also do some exploratory sessions in which we take apart various machines to see how they incorporate simple machines into their workings.
    Writing sessions have been around creating a persuasive piece.   The topic was school uniforms for PCS.  Students had to write about whether or not it was a good idea or not, and then document why in order.
    The social studies component is focusing on individual people we have found in history that were early settlers, reading about their lives, and using maps to record when and where they traveled in New England as they migrated to the Vermont area. 

Max works on his creation using wheels and axles!

    Our math studies are focused on fractions and decimals for the next few weeks.  Students are working with rectangles and combinations of fractions, some adding and subtraction of fractions, and concepts of decimals as they relate to the fractions we are using.


Thanks,   Mr. B and Ms. Deb
   

So, Here We Are!

Pecos Bill riding a tornado?

         Greetings!  Here are some things we have done this past week in 4/5 B.    Our Literature Circles are going full force as we study settings and conflicts using a  “middle ages” theme.  Students are reading assigned pages both in or out of the book groups they are in.  They are also recording information about the various settings in the book as described by the author, and writing down their own ideas of what the setting looks like.  At the end of the Lit Circle each group will present a chart showing cause and effect possibilities as they relate to the settings.   Our Writing these last two weeks have been focused on the study of  Tall Tales.  We have explored them prior to last week, and now the students are writing their own original tall tale.  They will record these either in audio or video mode. Then we will place them on our newsletter site for you to hear.  At least that is the plan....  We are also working in our Spellography groups twice a week looking at basic spelling patterns, sounds, syllables, and irregular rules for spelling.

Out 4th grade math unit is coming to an end, probably this current week.  We have been working on geometrical concepts involving angles, shapes, and many concepts about polygons.  There are over 30 vocabulary words for this unit!

Over the next few weeks in Science we will be working on experimental procedure and using the tools of science.  Last week I introduced the class to the scientific method, and we watched a video which went over the procedures for an experiment.  On Friday we did a series of investigations using some of the tools.  The students measured temperatures in Celsius and Fahrenheit degrees with thermometers, liquid volume in cubic centimeters/milliliter using graduated cylinders, mesuring time using stopwatches, and metric rulers to measure linear distance to get more comfortable to using the metric system.   They also worked with triple beam balances to measure objects in grams or tenths of a gram. 

    Our last Social Studies unit, which was taught by Ms. Deb, ended as well.  The focus on the unit was the life of Martin Luther King, his work on fairness and justice for all people, and what segregation really is about.  The students were engaged and were able to really get into the concepts she presented.

    That is about it for now!   Oh yes, one last thing.  Ms Deb will be doing her solo teaching starting next week, February 4th until Friday the 15th.  I will be nearby, but she will run the classroom all by herself.  I’m sure all will go well for both the class and Ms. Deb! 


Thanks,  Mr. B and Ms. Deb

   

And the New Year Begins!

   Since we have returned from the break, we have been involved in a multitude of studies and events.  We have bid a fare adieu to our Thai intern Kru Beau.  We have started the Winter Sports Program.  And the first Progress Reports for 3-4-5 will be coming home this Wednesday.  Last but not least.....we had a Putney Paws Card ice cream sundae party celebrating our classroom’s success at getting over 1,000 PAWS cards since the beginning of school!  Read on for more classroom content!

    Our Language Arts/Literature block for the next 3 weeks is focused on setting and how it may change a character’s actions and their conflicts.  We are working with Karen Saunders’ Grade 5 class reading various books based in the past.  The students are responsibe for reading a set amount of pages each evening and then collecting information for the group discussions. 
    We have also been doing a mini-unit on Tall Tales.  We watched a few animated Tall Tales, read a few, and have practiced using exaggerations, similes and metaphors.  We are now working on creating original tall tales that we will record digitally to share with others within the school.  Some of the students will illustrate their tall tales as well.
    Much of the writing since the break has focused on completing the Taino report for Social Studies.  We continue to work on paragraphing, proofreading, and focusing on the topic at hand.

    Ms. Deb’s 4th grade mathematics unit is currently about 2D Geometry.  We are working to finish the unit up over the next week or two.   The students are learning about angles, shapes, making connections about what polygons are, what quadrilaterals are, and using Power Polygons to help in this endeavor.  There is also some review of computation along the way.

    Ms. Deb is conducting a Social Studies mini-unit about celebrating Martin Luther King’s legacy and the rights of all people.  The students’ are  learning about and bringing up many good ideas about fairness and people’s rights. 

    We will start a new Science unit soon, and very soon Ms. Deb will do her solo teaching.  She will complete two full weeks on her own, and I will be “around” but more out of the picture working on other things.  However, I will be in touch by email if necessary. 

    Enjoy the new snow and the weekend.


    Mr. B and Ms. Deb

   

 

So, Time to have a Happy Holiday!

     Murray, our family dog, begged and pleaded to wish you all a happy holidays.  Well, as you might have expected, I gave in to his constant whining and barking, but told him he would have to type the message himself and smile for the camera.  He did well, don't you think? 
        So on the eve of our holiday break, Ms. Deb and I wanted to wish you all a happy holidays.  When we return after the break, we have many things to do and lots more to learn.  Ms. Deb will be doing a two week "solo" performance in the classroom sometime in the near future.  She is very excited for that and for being able to work with our classroom this year.  I'm sure you are hearing great things about her teaching and lessons so far.  She truly has a way with the kids!  In fact, maybe you would like to hear about a few of the things we all have been doing lately.  Well, read on!

    We have started a new 4th grade unit on geometry which will continue after the break.  The students were able to solve a Christmas lights problem about perimeter and symmetry, and actually used the lights for real.  They have been measuring perimeters, looking at symmetry, and reviewing measurement in general.

    Our class has also been doing a unit on the Taino.  Part of that unit involves writing a report on these people and their culture.  The class has also been working on weaving using grass strips. 

   Conor was the "expert" in twisting and creating string out of the grass strips so he showed us the way he had learned.   Some students also created their own way connecting two or three grass strips together.  

   We have also started a writing blog on kidblog.org.  Each student has a blog in their own name that they can access from home as well as the classroom.  We started off by getting used to working in the blog by signing in and then writing about a picture I had posted.  They had to listen to a video of directions
I made as well before they started.  I plan on bringing more technology into their learning after the break.  Speaking of which, they love working with the Starboard!  We do many math activities and some language arts, especially Wacky Web Tales.
      We completed our work on Ecosystems with an assessment last week.  The students had to create an information poster or written paper about what they had learned during the unit about 3-5 of the biomes.  They did a nice job on this!
      And of course we just completed our Reading for Information study groups.  The students created posters in their small groups.  We then went around today and read the poster information to answer questions for a "scavenger hunt" of sorts.  Nice work on the posters and in the groups by all!

    Well, this seems like a good place to stop for this year....see you next year after the holiday break!  

                 Mr. B and Ms. Deb!

My Thoughts

      There are not too many ways to say how sorry we are for the tragedy in Newtown, CT.  I can't imagine the feelings of loss of the families whose children were at the school that day as we approach the holiday season.  Or the families of the staff members who went to school that day and........    While we will move on with our lives here in Putney and PCS, where do these families move on to?  How can I as a teacher ever try to explain to our class about an incident like this?  How shall we process this Monday morning.......How can we say we are "safe" at school?   We will do what we can.  I hope each of our families has tried to dicuss this to their children in some way already, and that as our class returns to our routines this week we remember how lucky we are, but also how fragile life is and that every day should be treated as special.  Everything we think is a "big" problem......is it really?  Does it even compare at all to that day? 
    So I can only say that we will try to move on as best we can, but hope we can help out in some way as well.  And that is what we shall talk about.  How can we help?

Thai Festival, and more...

Bailey and her kratong

4/5 students with kratongs and Thai apparel

Greetings, and how about some of these pictures!  We celebrated Loy Kratong, a Thai Festival the other week.  The students were able to wear traditional Thai clothing and demonstrated a Thai game during the assembly here at PCS.  They created models of kratongs to place on the "river" in the large room we met in.   Our Thai intern Kru Beau performed a dance as well.  It was a lot of fun!  In other news, the Holiday Bazaar was held this past Friday, and the Winter Concerts are this Wednesday and Thursday.  Also, this coming Friday is the Holiday Lunch.  Our 4/5B class and Ms. Saunder's G5 class will be eating at 11:15 or so......which is the earlier lunch.  This helps Kari in the kitchen get all the food put together for all the lunches.  She thanks us profusely!

Ms. Deb and the gang

The lovely Kru Beau in Traditional dress

Our own Maggie with her kratong

    Meanwhile, back in the classroom,  the 4/5 B students have been working on their new Study Groups during Lit Circle time.  We have divided up into 7 mixed groups of students from the 3-4-5 team classrooms.  For the next few weeks we are delving into the world of non-fiction text.  Each group is reading a book about the ecosystem/animal habitats theme.  We are using various strategies to collect important information.  The theme will close with an information poster scavenger hunt activity. 
      Technology and writing work have finally been connected as the 4/5B students now have Google Doc accounts to do their writing in.  We have just finished setting these up, and they should be available from home as well.   Their work is password protected and allows the students to access their writing from any computer.  
      Our Science unit on Biomes and Ecosystems is winding down now and the class is finishing up their final assessment project as I speak...oh, write....ok, type.  Theye were asked to create a poster of as much info as they could about plants and animals, climate and weather, adaptations, and overall description of 3 different biomes.  They are coming out very well. 
      Ms. Deb continues her unit on the Taino culture.  The students are learning more about the Taino lifestyle of the past and present, their language, and what life was like all these years after Columbus made his voyages to our end of the world.
      We are finishing up our third unit in 4th grade math, and will begin the next unit on 2Dimensional Geometry concepts.  Students will still need to practice their multiplication and division computation strategies and combinations as we continue through the year.
  
      Ok, I suspect that is a fair assessment of what we have been doing in the classroom.  Hope the weekend went well and see you all on Monday!
   
                                                       Mr. B and Ms. Deb