Ms. Culver's Group
Ms. Huntley's Group
Mrs. Bertelson's Group
Friday, October 28, 2016
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Weekly Update (Week 8)
Happy Friday! I am getting the news out a little early. What a busy week we've had! We are right in the thick of our Expo project preparation and things are sure coming together.
Math: This week we finished up our math unit by taking our Unit 2 math assessment. The plan was to take the test on Friday, but after some dialogue and debate, we moved it to Friday. The students did not think they could do their best on Halloween. :) Please look for the new study links coming home today.
Math: This week we finished up our math unit by taking our Unit 2 math assessment. The plan was to take the test on Friday, but after some dialogue and debate, we moved it to Friday. The students did not think they could do their best on Halloween. :) Please look for the new study links coming home today.
Reading: We got back into the swing of guided reading and read an article about the different sensory organs of the body. The students focused on their specific sensory organ and taught the other members of the group the ins and outs of that sense.
Writing: We began planning, creating, and publishing an informational paragraph that will go on our Sensory Models (more about this below).
PBL: We continued our learning this week by diving deep into one of the sensory organs. Students were placed into their Expo groups and are working on researching about, planning, and creating models that represent their sensory organ. You will get a chance to see these beautiful creations at Expo on November 17th.
Forms to Return: DTE Energy Forms - We need ALL 24 back to get our 100 grant for classroom supplies and fun! We are getting so close!
Upcoming: Conferences are coming up this week or next. On Sunday, I will send a reminder to parents who will be meeting with me this week. Then two days before the conferences, I will send another reminder. :)
Morning Meeting: We are stretching a little beyond Mindup to focus on Growth Mindset! We learned the difference between fixed and growth mindset and created a wordle to help us remember those growth mindset terms.
I can't believe we are already heading into November! Please continue to ask your child what they are learning about the brain this week.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
PBL: We continued our learning this week by diving deep into one of the sensory organs. Students were placed into their Expo groups and are working on researching about, planning, and creating models that represent their sensory organ. You will get a chance to see these beautiful creations at Expo on November 17th.
Forms to Return: DTE Energy Forms - We need ALL 24 back to get our 100 grant for classroom supplies and fun! We are getting so close!
Upcoming: Conferences are coming up this week or next. On Sunday, I will send a reminder to parents who will be meeting with me this week. Then two days before the conferences, I will send another reminder. :)
Morning Meeting: We are stretching a little beyond Mindup to focus on Growth Mindset! We learned the difference between fixed and growth mindset and created a wordle to help us remember those growth mindset terms.
I can't believe we are already heading into November! Please continue to ask your child what they are learning about the brain this week.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Monday, October 24, 2016
From Ms. Huckabone...
Dear 4th Graders and Families,
Next week we will start playing the recorder in music class! Every student has been assigned a school recorder. They may take their school recorder home with the understanding that it will return undamaged to school for the next music class. If students purchased a recorder or are bringing one from home they may leave it at home and use their school recorder at school or bring the home recorder back and forth to school. Students also have the option is bring their home recorder back and forth to school and home. Students are responsible for having a recorder in music class. I will hand out purchased recorders and school recorder assignments next week. If you are bringing in a recorder from home, please do so next week.
We will use the Recorder Karate curriculum, which is a sequential program that introduces new recorder notes and songs to students. After students have practiced and perfected playing the correct notes and rhythms for each “belt song,” they can play the song for me to “test” for that belt. (Students will be allowed to test multiple times for one belt, as long as they take time to practice in-between tests.) When a student has earned a belt they will receive a piece of colored yarn to go on their case. I am requesting that the yarn is attached to the recorder case and not the recorder itself.
The fourth graders will attend the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra concert in March at Hill Auditorium. They are invited to play their recorders and sing with the orchestra from their seats! To prepare for the concert we will also be working on another curriculum alongside Recorder Karate called “Link-Up” from Carnegie Hall. The theme for this year’s concert is “The Orchestra Sings”. We have already started exploring some of the concert repertoire through singing and listening. I am looking forward to exploring it with recorders! Each student has been provided with a book containing all the repertoire for the concert. They will get to take the book home and keep it after the concert.
Students are encouraged to practice at home or outside of music in order to earn their belts. All our
recorder repertoire from Recorder Karate and the Link-Up Curriculum will be available on the vocal music website in the “fourth grade” section (a2steamvocalmusic.weebly.com) and hard copy.
Here are the three ways students can “test” for their Recorder Karate Belts:
1. Designated times at lunch recess. (Days to be announced)
2. During testing days during music class (students will know dates prior to testing day)
3. Students may e-mail me a video (with parent permission) of themselves playing the song/belt in
which they would like to test. I will watch the video, and if they earn their belt, I will give them the belt at their next music class. Students can record themselves playing on any video device you have at home.
Please remember that the video must be recorded outside of school and can then be e-mailed to me, Ms. Huckabone, at: huckabone@aaps.k12.mi.us
The fourth graders will be performing (without recorders) in the Thanksgiving Assembly on November 22.
There will be two performances, 1:15pm and 2:00pm. Parents are welcome to attend, but space will be limited.
Thank you! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to a great year in fourth
grade.
Fondly,
Ms. Huckabone
huckabone@aaps.k12.mi.us / a2steamvocalmusic.weebly.com
Next week we will start playing the recorder in music class! Every student has been assigned a school recorder. They may take their school recorder home with the understanding that it will return undamaged to school for the next music class. If students purchased a recorder or are bringing one from home they may leave it at home and use their school recorder at school or bring the home recorder back and forth to school. Students also have the option is bring their home recorder back and forth to school and home. Students are responsible for having a recorder in music class. I will hand out purchased recorders and school recorder assignments next week. If you are bringing in a recorder from home, please do so next week.
We will use the Recorder Karate curriculum, which is a sequential program that introduces new recorder notes and songs to students. After students have practiced and perfected playing the correct notes and rhythms for each “belt song,” they can play the song for me to “test” for that belt. (Students will be allowed to test multiple times for one belt, as long as they take time to practice in-between tests.) When a student has earned a belt they will receive a piece of colored yarn to go on their case. I am requesting that the yarn is attached to the recorder case and not the recorder itself.
The fourth graders will attend the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra concert in March at Hill Auditorium. They are invited to play their recorders and sing with the orchestra from their seats! To prepare for the concert we will also be working on another curriculum alongside Recorder Karate called “Link-Up” from Carnegie Hall. The theme for this year’s concert is “The Orchestra Sings”. We have already started exploring some of the concert repertoire through singing and listening. I am looking forward to exploring it with recorders! Each student has been provided with a book containing all the repertoire for the concert. They will get to take the book home and keep it after the concert.
Students are encouraged to practice at home or outside of music in order to earn their belts. All our
recorder repertoire from Recorder Karate and the Link-Up Curriculum will be available on the vocal music website in the “fourth grade” section (a2steamvocalmusic.weebly.com) and hard copy.
Here are the three ways students can “test” for their Recorder Karate Belts:
1. Designated times at lunch recess. (Days to be announced)
2. During testing days during music class (students will know dates prior to testing day)
3. Students may e-mail me a video (with parent permission) of themselves playing the song/belt in
which they would like to test. I will watch the video, and if they earn their belt, I will give them the belt at their next music class. Students can record themselves playing on any video device you have at home.
Please remember that the video must be recorded outside of school and can then be e-mailed to me, Ms. Huckabone, at: huckabone@aaps.k12.mi.us
The fourth graders will be performing (without recorders) in the Thanksgiving Assembly on November 22.
There will be two performances, 1:15pm and 2:00pm. Parents are welcome to attend, but space will be limited.
Thank you! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to a great year in fourth
grade.
Fondly,
Ms. Huckabone
huckabone@aaps.k12.mi.us / a2steamvocalmusic.weebly.com
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Weekly Update (Week 7)
Happy Sunday! What a fantastically pretty day. As I begin my Sunday routine, I am pleasantly anticipating another great week! Because of my absence on Friday, homework folders, logs, and fact fluency tests will come home tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.
Math: This week we continued multiplication. We spent most of the week on a new term: multiplicative comparison. We now know that this means how two or more things compare using a multiplication equation. Its pretty complicated, but students worked hard to understand. We now have 5 students totally finished with fact fluency skill practice!
Math: This week we continued multiplication. We spent most of the week on a new term: multiplicative comparison. We now know that this means how two or more things compare using a multiplication equation. Its pretty complicated, but students worked hard to understand. We now have 5 students totally finished with fact fluency skill practice!
Reading: We took a break from guided reading this week to do data conferences to get ready for conferences. During these data conferences, we looked at our previous data and then our goal for this year. The students looked at their scores to make some decisions on things they could do to help make that growth possible. You will get a chance to hear all about this at conferences in a few weeks.
Writing: We finally finished our letters to Governor Snyder. We are now turning our attention to another opinion writing piece for Expo. We can't wait to share those with you.
PBL: Wow! We have learned a lot about the brain. We started the week with guest presenters giving us new and important information about the brain. As the week continued, we focused on how brain processing information and we began to think about how that processing can be interrupted for a variety of reasons. This will lead to this week where we begin really thinking about concussions.
Forms to Return: DTE Energy Forms - We need ALL 24 back to get our 100 grant for classroom supplies and fun!
Upcoming: Please let me know if you are a coach or an athlete that would be willing to make a short video. If you are interested, please contact me at bertelson@aaps.k12.mi.us
Morning Meeting: We are stretching a little beyond Mindup to focus on Growth Mindset! Ask your student to talk about what it means to be gritty. :)
I’m looking forward to another great week! Please ask your child what they are learning about the brain this week.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
PBL: Wow! We have learned a lot about the brain. We started the week with guest presenters giving us new and important information about the brain. As the week continued, we focused on how brain processing information and we began to think about how that processing can be interrupted for a variety of reasons. This will lead to this week where we begin really thinking about concussions.
Forms to Return: DTE Energy Forms - We need ALL 24 back to get our 100 grant for classroom supplies and fun!
Upcoming: Please let me know if you are a coach or an athlete that would be willing to make a short video. If you are interested, please contact me at bertelson@aaps.k12.mi.us
Morning Meeting: We are stretching a little beyond Mindup to focus on Growth Mindset! Ask your student to talk about what it means to be gritty. :)
I’m looking forward to another great week! Please ask your child what they are learning about the brain this week.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Let's Use Our Fantastic Resource!
Please use these IXL practice/extension logs to help focus your IXL work for the next few weeks.
Unit 2 IXL Extension Links
Unit 2 IXL Practice Links
Unit 2 IXL Extension Links
Math Concept
|
IXL Focus:
|
Score (Must be Above 90%)
|
Area of complex figures
| ||
Greatest common factor
|
F6 (5th)
| |
Find multiples of fractions
|
M3 (5th)
| |
Prime and Composite Numbers
|
F1 (5th)
| |
Converting units of time
| ||
Properties of triangles and quadrilaterals
| ||
Rotational symmetry
| ||
Inequalities with multiplication
|
Friday, October 14, 2016
Week 6 Update
As the weather turns colder, our focus and workload is increasing. We are going to really work the next few weeks on timely and efficient work and study habits!
Math: This week was a full week of multiplication. We began the week with factors and multiples and then ended with prime and composite numbers. There are SO many vocabulary words in this unit and it is so important for students to be able to manage those. We spent much of Friday catching up on unfinished pages. If this habit continues, we may begin bringing our math books home. We have so much work to do and we have to make sure we are keeping up. We now have 5 students totally finished with fact fluency skill practice!
Math: This week was a full week of multiplication. We began the week with factors and multiples and then ended with prime and composite numbers. There are SO many vocabulary words in this unit and it is so important for students to be able to manage those. We spent much of Friday catching up on unfinished pages. If this habit continues, we may begin bringing our math books home. We have so much work to do and we have to make sure we are keeping up. We now have 5 students totally finished with fact fluency skill practice!
Reading: Our guided groups continued this week and we really focused on our reading response letters. Every week students will write a reading response letter to me about a book they are reading. At some point, we may share these letters with you.
Writing: We are almost finished with our first drafts of our letter to Governor Snyder. Next week, we will offer a rebuttal to a counterargument and then wrap up those letters. The next step will be to publish those and get them sent off. It was sad for many of us to know that our persuasive letters had turned to opinion letters, but we talked about how relevant PBL topics sometime don't work out in the perfect way. :)
PBL: We left our government unit behind (mostly) and began a new and exciting unit on the brain. We began with a fun entry event where students attempted to save Mr. Egghead from a wild ride. We then spent the next three days rotating between the 4th grade teachers who expertly shared some new information with us on the brain.
Forms to Return: DTE Energy Forms - We need ALL 24 back to get our 100 grant for classroom supplies and fun!
Upcoming: Please let me know if you are a coach or an athlete that would be willing to make a short video. If you are interested, please contact me at bertelson@aaps.k12.mi.us
I’m looking forward to another great week! Please ask your child what they are learning about the brain this week.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
PBL: We left our government unit behind (mostly) and began a new and exciting unit on the brain. We began with a fun entry event where students attempted to save Mr. Egghead from a wild ride. We then spent the next three days rotating between the 4th grade teachers who expertly shared some new information with us on the brain.
Forms to Return: DTE Energy Forms - We need ALL 24 back to get our 100 grant for classroom supplies and fun!
Upcoming: Please let me know if you are a coach or an athlete that would be willing to make a short video. If you are interested, please contact me at bertelson@aaps.k12.mi.us
I’m looking forward to another great week! Please ask your child what they are learning about the brain this week.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
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