#Blessed

Here's to another successful week of learning and friendships-

4th Grade:
 The fourth graders have been busy with Reading, Writing and Interventions.

 

The children help one another out as they finish up with Dear Mr. Henshaw.  I love to see the collaboration that goes on while they are completing the task.  Conversations among them are focused and related to making connections with characters or situations in the book.

 During our intervention period we are going over how to respond to questions using the RACE strategy and practicing with the RICAS released
items.  The children spend 20 minutes during this time to work together, have discussions and watch videos to help us with this task.

 

 

 Recess, whether indoors or outside, is always a fun time.  On the colder days, we stay in and the children have the choice of going on chrome books, playing board games or drawing. It is pretty much up to what they feel like doing.  On the beautiful days, you will find them out in the playground, either on the jungle gym, on the basketball court or having a friendly game of soccer.  The children really seem to enjoy themselves and have lots of interaction with each other. 

 

Students love to help each other out whether it is to help me give a words their way test, cleaning up the materials, or organizing a book shelf.  It is great to see such respectful students.  They have shown some great respect, not only to the adults in the building, but to their classmates.  We have also begun writing down goals for ourselves.  Some want to finish up assignments, while others strive to be a better friend.  I love to watch their enthusiasm as they reach their goals.

Fifth Graders:
 

 
   

Our fifth graders have been presenting their projects.  There were so many wonderful presentations that we were able to enjoy.  I can see the hard work that many of the students put into it.  Great effort and use of time was part of these wonderful results.  The audience was captivated by what they saw.

 

The students were attentive and focused in on the presenter.  They really did a wonderful job for their first English Summit Project. 



I would like to wish each and everyone of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Enjoy the time with family and friends.  I am blessed to work with such an amazing group of people and have such wonderful students. 

Goals of an ELA Classroom

Fourth Graders:

The fourth graders have been hard at work with Words Their Way and reading Dear Mr. Henshaw.  Many of the students like to work in small groups while others prefer to work on their own.
 
 
 It is wonderful to watch the children interact with one another, and if someone is "stuck" on something, they will help them in any way possible.

 
Many of the students are always willing to assist other classmates.  They find an area either in the classroom or in the learning commons, and get right to it.  They have valid conversations that contribute to the work at hand.  It is so nice to see them becoming life long learners and problem solvers.

This month we have been focusing on Respect.  We have read books about it, done some writing assignments about it and even incorporated it into our circle time activities.  

S.O.S. bucks are being handed out in hallways, classrooms, the lunchrooms, actually everywhere.  It is wonderful to see that our students are showing and receiving respect towards each other.

The final phase of our trimester is winding down.  We have been busy writing personal narratives, collecting canned goods for our food pantry, and working on various projects, both in and out of school.

Fifth Graders:

 
 

 Our fifth graders have been busy finalizing their English
Summit Project.  The students will be presenting them tomorrow.  Many have worked on slide shows, while others are creating posters to compare and contrast the two stories they have read.  I am really looking forward to see how well their hard work has paid off.

Watching them work independently is really paying off for them.  As I walk around and visit with the students they are able to explain what they have worked on and have amazed me with the products that they are finalizing.  Some of these slide shows are so well done.  You can see the pride they take and owning up to what has to get done.  

Our Book a Day display is filling up nicely.  We are having some great conversations centered around the books that are read.  Many valued lessons are being discussed and we are touching upon various story elements that are also displayed.  

Great Things are Happening!!

We have been busy planning, organizing and performing for our PBIS School-wide program.

Our 5th graders led our assembly on Respect for the month of November.  They put together skits, a slide show and posters to present to all the students at SOS.

 

They worked together in order to show our SOS community a wonderful presentation.  We are on the look out for students showing acts of respect.  The slide show revealed our new SOS Bucks, which have replaced the Pride Bucks.  The fifth graders also made wonderful posters, which are displayed throughout the school.
We are so proud of their hard work and dedication.

 

 

Our fifth graders are also working on their Summit Projects in all their core subjects.  They are working diligently on finalizing checkpoints, requesting feedback and starting their final project.  Many of them work independently, while others may work in partners or a small group with me.

 

Fourth Grade

 

Our fourth graders have begun reading Dear Mr. Henshaw.  Some enjoying reading together in pairs, while others choose to read independently.  They find spots that are comfortable to them and get to reading. It's great to see such self directed choices that they make and take ownership for their work.
We are also doing more work with Words Their Way.  They have been grouped and they do various activities with their words throughout the week. 

 We watched a Kid President video and discussed what respect means to them.  There are many planned lessons that will revolve around respect for this month. 

I am already seeing many acts of respect, not only in the classroom, but out in the learning commons, as well.

Our quote for the month is hanging up in the classroom.
We will be watching more videos on respect, reading books about it and even circling up activities to spread more respect around our school community.

These are some of the books that I have read to the class.  We have some great topics of discussion with each one.  The children are very attentive and listen for the lesson that the book is presenting.

 

Our Book a Day display is growing with each day!