Last Day of September

Hello. Happy last day of September. Fall is definitely here. It must be getting cold when our class begs to not go outside but silent read instead! How can a teacher refuse?

Tomorrow is the official Student Council signing ceremony. It will take place at 9:15 in the morning. We will just push our NWEA testing schedule to a later start after the assembly. Everyone will have more than enough time to finish, so don't worry.

We started THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND today. We have ordered a classroom set of books so the students can follow along while I am reading aloud.

We are all working hard on final copies of our humorous persuasive stories. Up next: persuasive business letter writing.

We are compiling spelling words in class for our first list next week. We are reviewing words from last year, and using misspelled words from our writing. Everyone will have a different list. A few times a week we will be doing spelling activities in class. We will have tests on Fridays--students will partner up and test each other.

Book clubs will start tomorrow. I have been busy organizing some discussion questions and activity choices for each group. There are three books that the students chose from: MY BROTHER SAM IS DEAD, GEORGE WASHINGTON'S SOCKS, and JOHNNY TREMAIN. Many kids have been begging their teacher to start reading these books RIGHT AWAY. I definitely know how hard it is to wait to read a brand new book! I think we will have fun in our book clubs. I am planning on book clubs meeting 2-3 times a week. If there are any parents who would like to volunteer to lead a book club for the month of October, let me know. Our literacy time is from 1-2:15 each day. Book clubs will run about 30 minutes. Let me know your schedules, and I can work around you! Any help would be appreciated:-) Start thinking about how you want to present your historical fiction (book club) book at the end of October. We will work on brainstorming ideas towards the end of this week.

Many of us are interested in working and contributing to the new FPA school newspaper. Four students will work on the paper in October. Each month, we will rotate so everyone who wants to can be a part of this exciting project. Students from all grades will be participating. If you have any questions about the newspaper and how it will be run, let me know and I will pass them on to Marselienna's mom.

Homework for tonight: Read for 20, Spanish homework sheet due tomorrow, music journal due tomorrow, work on Basil and finish mystery book (both due October 3).

GO TWINS! BIG GAME TONIGHT:-)

Another week:-)

Hello and happy Monday. Welcome back after two days off. I hope everyone found time to relax and unwind from a busy week at school. First and foremost, here are the results of the Student Council election.

President: Haven J.
Vice President: Mady R.
Parliamentarian: Samantha R.
Historian: Sami C.
Secretary: Carly B.
Treasurer: Emma S.

To those of you who ran for an office--I am SO SO SO SO proud of you. I am proud of the campaigns you ran, the beautiful signs you made, the fun handouts you gave away, and the speeches you presented. Most of all, I am so proud of our gracious winners and our gracious runners up. When the results were announced today, you were respectful and kind and you clapped for everyone. Win, lose or draw, I am so lucky to be able to call myself your teacher. I hope everyone who ran and didn't win will still be a part of our Student Council committees. We need people like YOU to represent our school. Congratulations to everyone.

We chose new book club books today--our October genre is historical fiction. Book clubs will start later this week. Our books are focusing on the end of the Revolutionary War and the early 1800's. We will be studying the same time periods in Social Studies. There are four different books that students selected from. We also finished our mystery read aloud, FROM THE MIXED UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER. We really enjoyed this book. Our new read aloud will be THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND--not CADDIE WOODLAWN as originally planned.

Math is going really well this week. We listened to student comments and suggestions and made several adjustments. So far things are running quite smoothly. Everyone is working extremely well, and taking initiative to ask for help when needed. We are still working on multiplication and division skills--some students are working in textbooks, some are working on the computer and some are using various skill builder sheets from Everyday Math. Most of us will be taking a final assessment early next week.

A couple reminders: Reading calendars for September are due Friday, October 3. Students will earn reading points for a completed calendar. New October calendars will come home in Wednesday's folder. We are working on reading 140 minutes per week. For an extra challenge, see if you can add 5 extra minutes of reading a day to bring your total to 175 minutes.

The Basil expense sheet project is due Friday. Excel spreadsheets, typed up charts, or hand written tables are perfect. If you have any last minute questions, come and see me. If you would like me to look over what you have, I will be happy to. Don't wait until the last minute!

Please finish and return all mystery books by Friday, October 3! Those who are ready for their new book club books can have them tomorrow. Be thinking about a book project proposal that you would like to do to present your book. Final projects are due October 31. We will talk more about this in class tomorrow.

Homework tonight: Read for 20, finish Basil and mystery book by Friday.
Music homework from Mrs. H.: In your music journal, please write a paragraph that explains what music is to you. This is due Wednesday.

Have a great night. PS: Do you think the Twins will win the Division title tonight?

A Fall Friday

Good morning and happy Friday. The sun is out, the kids are smiling and lots of learning is in the air. YEA Minnesota Twins! I don't know if there are any Twins fans in our room, but what a great series with Chicago! I think three teachers wore our Twins shirts today. Student Council voting took place this morning and will be finishing up this afternoon. We had a great turn out--I believe each class had 100 percent turn out :-) Results will be announced early next week. I will post them here as soon as I find out.

We had a great math session today. We did a lot of organization, turning homework, and listening to comments and suggestions from the kids on how to improve for next week. We will be adjusting levels, and work as needed. Students get 5 points a day for use of class time, and 5 points a day for completed work (whether that is a lesson, or work that was done in small groups with a teacher). Look for their contracts and homework from this week coming home soon.

I am excited to busy myself this weekend with final copies of memoirs, finalizing scores on political party projects and catching up on reading response journals.

Get ready for our NWEA tests next week. You should have received a testing schedule yesterday. If not, please let me know and I will get you a new one. Make sure students come to school having eaten a healthy breakfast, and a good night's sleep.

Remember that we have the Student Council Signing Ceremony Wednesday at 9:15 and an all school assembly on Thursday at 9:10. You are welcome to join us for any and all.

Homework for the weekend: Read for 60 minutes, ENJOY THE WEATHER, remember that the Basil project and mystery book are due a week from today.

Thank you for another tremendous week. All of your hard work and support truly make my job incredible. What a great group of kids.

School newspaper and boxtops!

Hello once again,

Just out of curiosity (and I will be talking about this in class tomorrow), do we have any people interested in being a part of our new school newspaper? Marselienna's mom is going to help us out with that--we are so lucky and grateful to have her expertise and guidance. If you like to write and you are interested in learning about how a newspaper gets put together, let me know. Many of you would be excellent at this! The newspaper will be entirely school run. Details on meeting times and dates will be announced soon.

PS. Keep bringing in those box tops! At the end of every month they are collected and counted. Each class will be competing against the others, so let's go 4-6th graders:-)

A Wonderful Thursday.

The best part of the day was watching the kids hard at work on social studies stations today. They are working on learning about colonial America during the early 1800's. They get to move between four stations that focus on food, clothing, music and recreation. The kids had a blast decoding recipes, playing marbles checkers and ring toss, learning about the relationship between style of dress and social status, and enjoying some "tunes" that George Washington probably listened to. I have created an album in the classroom photos link so you can see the kids hard at work. Tomorrow we will finish rotating between the stations.

Our persuasive silly stories are coming along. We read a story called CAN I HAVE A STEGOSAURUS MOM? The kids are writing similar stories trying to convince YOU why they should be owners of humpback whales, sharks, and rare endangered animals. They are trying to replicate the author's style and word choice. When we were sharing our favorite paragraphs from our writing this afternoon, we were in hysterics. The creativity is amazing! I can't wait to post examples soon.

Homework tonight: Read for 20 minutes, work on your mystery reading and the Basil project. Finish math if necessary. Tomorrow is Free Dress Day AND--Student Council voting. Come check out our "voting booth" upstairs:-)

Happy Birthday Craig!

Happy Birthday Craig! Thank you so much for the delicious cheese pizza from Papa John's. How very thoughtful of you. Today was a busy day--Student Council speeches, cooking, gym, music...the list continues. The kids had tons of fun making Stoplight Tops out of pretzels, low fat cream cheese and low-sugar Fruit Loops. I have posted some pictures--feel free to check them out (The pictures are of us cooking and enjoying Craig's birthday treat). The kids were so creative and were able to come up with several other variations on the original recipe--including using peanut butter, different cereals, frosting/sprinkles, melted chocolate, etc. We are discovering that food truly comes alive and even tastes better when we use our own hands to create a meal.

We started a new theme in writing today...persuasive writing. We talked about all the ways we can persuade someone to do something, and we are using that list to help us write silly stories (from the perspective of us as 4 year olds) trying to persuade Mom and Dad to let us own a pet. These are no ordinary pets--today we had stories about wanting elephants, giraffes, dinosaurs, horses and humpback whales. I will try and post a few tomorrow as examples. They are absolutely hilarious. We seem to be pros at the art of persuasion:-) We will be working on drafting persuasive business letters to local businesses to help us with our Empty Bowls project.

Student Council voting is Friday. A reminder to all candidates to please have posters removed from school no later than Friday at 3:30. Good luck to everyone. I am so proud of how well you did with your speeches. I took video of all the 4-6th grade speeches. I am working on getting them posted to the blog for you to see. They just take a bit to upload:-)

NWEA student testing schedules will be sent home tomorrow. Students will be taking three tests spread out over four days--Math, Reading and Language Arts. If your student has any special testing needs, please don't hesitate to let me know so I can make sure to accomodate your student.

Wednesday is officially no homework night. Remember, memoirs are due tomorrow! Enjoy your night:-)

Student Council Speeches

I have posted links to the wonderful Student Council speeches that were given today by several people in our class. They are just so fabulous I couldn't help but share them with you all. Enjoy! Look for videos of speeches to come later.

Marselienna's Speech
Emma's Speech
Laura's Speech
Mady's Speech
Carly's Speech
Haven's Speech

It's Tuesday!

As I am writing this I am noticing the skies are getting blacker and blacker. Where did our sun go? Fall is definitely coming quickly around the corner. I don't know if I am ready for it yet.

I returned all of the writer's notebooks that I took home last night to check over memoir rough drafts. I cannot wait to see final copies and to have the students share with each other. The memoirs are wonderful--so many touching memories. Final copies are due on Thursday. Many students are bringing them home to type on the computer tonight and tomorrow.

We finished our political party presentations. It was really interesting to see the issues that our class focused on---space travel, global warming, protecting endangered animals, etc. Next on our social studies agenda will be Colonial America after the Revolutionary War. We will zoom in on the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, as well as the Constitution. We will take a look at colonial foods, dress, school, and even music before heading into life in the early 1800's. The kids really seem to enjoy social studies, so I am looking forward to starting this new unit with them.

We also had our first official art class today. We reviewed the seven elements of art: color, shape, form, value, line, texture and space. We are working on artistic creations using many of these elements and the initials of our names. Ask your student to tell you about what they are creating.

I also have a message that I would like to relay to you from Mr. Scott. In the hopes of clearing up what questions there might be about the JCC room, please read the following:

The Junior Camp Counselor room is open only at all Trailblazers times. This means your child will be able to utilize the lounge: before school, after school, or on school release days. We ask that you sign a permission slip in recognition that you would like your child to be able to participate in the leadership program with all of its privileges (if participating in Trailblazer Activities: clubs, mad science, etc.)and that you are aware that they will be under limited supervision at those times. You MUST have a signed permission slip to be able to take advantage of this opportunity. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact Scott by phone (651) 731 - 2608 or email: spettersen@footprintsacademy.com.

Only students who attend Trailblazers may make use of this room. During school hours we will be in our classroom:-) Please don't hesitate to contact Scott if you have any additional questions.

Tomorrow is our Student Council speech day (9:15 a.m. in the cafeteria)!! Good luck to everyone running.

Homework: Read for 20 minutes, final copy of memoirs due Thursday, Basil project due 10/3, finish math if needed. If you took home your cooking notebook, bring it back tomorrow--we will be cooking!

It's Fall!

Hello!

Welcome back from a warm and wonderful weekend. I hope you were able to find some time to spend outside. I was lucky enough to fit in a run on Saturday, and even have a bonfire with some friends. Today is the first day of Fall. I already miss summer:-)

Thank you to everyone who spent time working on their memoir rough drafts this weekend. We spent time today going through the editing process. Some students made it all the way through (the student, peer and teacher edit) and have brought home their writer's notebooks to work on their final copies. The rest of the students will get theirs tomorrow--I have a big bag full of writer's notebooks to go through. Final copies of the memoir are due on Thursday. They can be handwritten or typed. These will be fun to share and display. I am thinking about making a writing bulletin board to display all of our hard work.

We also started our new math format today. We went through the weekly contracts in detail with the kids. Each student has their own contract to work through with lessons that we marked for him/her to complete. We chose the lessons based on pretest results. The kids worked really well planning out their "plan of attack" and what work they need to do each day to finish by Friday. This also includes math vocabulary work. The kids enjoyed working independently, and in small groups (some were even on the computers using the book CD's) while Mrs. Chang and I circulated around the room. At this point our math format is purely experimental, and the kids are helping us with any "kinks" in the system. At the end of the week, we will see what adjustments need to be made and if we want to continue along this route. See what your student has to say. Everyone worked extremely hard today in math. I am so proud of you.

Student Council speeches are happening this Wednesday morning at 9:15. Anyone is welcome to attend. Tomorrow, the students will be able to practice their speeches in front of their peers. The students who practiced today had many tremendous ideas! Our Student Council is going to be absolutely amazing this year.

Students who need help on the Basil project may stay after school any day. I helped a few students today and we figured out some good hints and strategies that we will share with you tomorrow. So don't panic if you are not getting the full picture yet...I promise we will get there together.

Homework tonight: Read for 20 minutes, focus on your mystery book due October 3rd. You are not responsible for doing a book project on your mystery book because I wanted to model a fun new book project idea with Basil Frankweiler. What you are doing for Basil will count as your September book project. Come October, you will be in charge of coming up with a book project proposal with an idea for the October genre.

Some students may have math tonight. Since they are working at their own pace, they may or may not have homework each night.

Have a great night. See you Tuesday:-)

Friday!

Happy Friday and congratulations on another successful week together. The kids are in music, so I will take the time to get this updated before heading out into this wonderful sunny weather we are supposed to be having this weekend.

Today was a catch up day. We spent the day working on finishing up several projects we have been working on over the course of several days. We spent a good deal of the morning with our writer's hats on working on a second draft of our memoirs. I think the kids felt very successful today. I am so proud of everyone for trying their best at their writing--especially paying attention to using details, similes, metaphors, and focusing in on their five senses. I can hardly wait to post examples of their final copies.

This afternoon was eye opening for us. We had another great discussion about the issue of global hunger. We learned about several countries where hunger is a huge issue. We also talked about the differences between feeling "stuffed," "starving" and "sated." We talked about what each word feels like. Many students couldn't believe that there are people in the world who have never come close to feeling sated. Our class is now on a mission to help. So---we spent some time brainstorming how we want to approach our Empty Bowls project. For more information on how schools in the past have run this project you may visit their website. I am so proud of everyone for their willingness to make a difference, and for embracing the idea that even one person can change the world. Ask the kids to talk about what we have in our minds for our Empty Bowls Project.

We also put the final touches on our politcal party projects. The big presentation is Monday afternoon. It will be neat to hear the kids "sell" their party to the rest of us. I am definitely seeing some future American presidents and vice presidents in our room.

This weekend there are two things to work on: Read for 20 minutes each day (focus on your mystery book), and complete your rough draft for your memoirs. The kids should be bringing home a sheet about their memoirs in their homework folders. If you have time, think about your Basil project. Don't let it sit until the weekend before! Last but not least--please enjoy your weekend. Play in the yard, kick the leaves, go for one last summer swim. Be proud of all the hard work you put in each day at school because I certainly am.

And---ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER? is on tonight!!

Congrats Laura!

Our very own Laura D. has been selected as a semi finalist for her original poem called "Dreams." Laura entered her poem into a contest sponsored by a literary magazine for young adults. She will learn very soon if she has been chosen as a finalist. If Laura is selected, her work will be published in a full page magazine spread. Way to go, Laura!

The Dream
The dream began on opening night
I'm backstage thinking about all the years and months of hard work
Dreaming about this night.

The opening song begins
As it comes toward the end I get more and more nervous
I will appear on stage any moment.

Suddenly there is your cue
You are on stage
Everyone is staring at you.

The lines start pouring out of your mouth
I start singing
I suddenly lose all of my nerves
I put all my personality into the star I'm playing.

It turned out perfect
People laughed when they were supposed to laugh
People's eyes teared up with tears when they were supposed to
It was perfect.

Then I take the final bow
I am done
Opening night was a dream.

Plenty of Projects

Today was a day of projects! We are just about finished with our political party projects. Today the students worked hard to get their final posters and presentations ready for Monday. I am really impressed at the extra research many of the students did about their causes and beliefs--particularly related to the environment, endangered animals, space exploration and technology. The kids are also really good about using the many resources around them to help them gather the information they need--i.e., computers/Internet, encyclopedias, family members, atlases and almanacs.

We also spent quite of bit of time outside this afternoon. We put on our writer's hats, grabbed our favorite pen and pencil and found that magical spot outside in the sun where we could be alone with our thoughts and memories. The students focused on zooming in on a particular memory and using their five senses, metaphors and similies to help them draft their memoirs. Their own teacher even spent time doing the same writing exercise. Look for a copy of her memory on the web soon! Tonight the students have a challenging task of drawing out their memory in detail. Sometimes drawing and visualizing what we want to say helps us find just the right word!

I am also excited to share a new math idea that we are working on for next week. Mrs. Chang has been really helpful and supportive to our classroom during math time. We are going to be offering the opportunity for more independent/self-teaching for those who are interested. We will be drafting weekly math contracts for each student. Each week, the kids will be in charge of completing the lessons we (the teachers) have specified (based upon their math pre-test), learning new math vocabulary and completing a game or an Investigation sheet to reinforce specific skills. We will also be offering the opportunity for small group guided learning with a teacher as an option for those who are interested. It is so exciting to be able to target each student individually and to have each person work at his/her learning level. I will be explaining this more to the kids tomorrow. If you would like to lead an extended learning math group once a week, let me know.

P.S. Good luck to Mrs. Chang. She will be doing the Twin Cities 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk for the Cure. Over the course of three days, she will be walking 60 miles to raise money and awareness about breast cancer. We will miss her at school tomorrow. Let's all keep our fingers crossed for warm, sunny weather:-)

Homework tonight: Read for 20 minutes, do your drawing of your memory, keep your Basil book project and mystery book assignments in the back of your mind:-)

Attention!

Kiddos:

I made a mistake and posted the incorrect website for your Basil book project. Here is the correct one. (I also changed my first link to it in last Tuesday's post.)

Correct Basil Website

So Many Chefs in the Kitchen!

The days are flying by at warp speed in our room. We are up to so many fun and exciting activities! The highlight of today was definitely our first cooking activity. Some of my many goals for this experience are the following:

• Expose the kids to foods and food combinations that they might not have experienced before.
• Create recipes with a minimal amount of ingredients, that are budget friendly.
• Create recipes that do not use the stove or oven, that the kids can make completely on their own.
  
• Create recipes that can be easily varied and changed to fit different tastes.
  

The kids had a great time making the recipe. Today we used tortillas, bananas, and grape/strawberry jelly. The kids recorded the recipe in their cooking journals, and we talked about how we could adjust the recipe to make it for more people. (Doubling, tripling, etc.) The best part was watching the students give the recipe a title based upon what they did with the jelly and banana covered tortilla. Some folded it in half and called it a taco. Some rolled it up into a log shape. Some ate it flat and called it pizza. Some cut the tortilla in half and made a sandwich. Others rolled the tortilla into a log and then cut it in small pieces like sushi. I was proud of the kids for trying everything...I think food tastes magically better when you make it yourself. We finished up the activity creating a variations on the original recipe. You had to use a tortilla, some kind of a spread and a topping. At your own risk, try some of our creations:-) YUM YUM!

• tortilla with vanilla pudding and banana slices rolled up
• tortilla pizza with peanut butter and apple slices
• a sweet dessert tortilla treat with a tortilla, whipped cream and chocolate chips
• breakfast tortilla with cream cheese and strawberries
• lunch tortilla with mayo or mustard and lunch meat

I posted some pictures of our "chefs" hard at work. Take a look. If you want to see cooking notebooks, the kids are always welcome to bring them home.

Homework for tonight: Today is Wednesday so nothing is assigned. However, if you find yourself with extra time, then I would suggest the following: Read for 20 minutes (I would focus on getting your mystery book done ASAP. Don't leave it all until the weekend before you need to be done), finish writing your mystery story if you didn't finish in class, work on your social studies task for your political party project if your group needs you to.

Happy Wednesday.

Memory Map Pictures Posted

I posted a few pictures of our finished memory maps. I also included a few close ups on some amazing memories. Enjoy.

Tuesday Tidbits

I wanted to let all of you know that everyone did extremely well on their math test today! You really did well with our review unit, and getting used to our new textbook and math routines. Look for scores to come home in this week's Wednesday Folders.

Your memory maps were A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!! I thoroughly enjoyed looking at the incredible details that you included on your maps. My favorite part by far was listening to you retell the special memories of your childhood. I think we all learned several new things about each other, which is really cool. I can't wait to figure out where we can display them. I will try and take some pictures of them with my camera and post them later tonight, but I don't think that will do the maps any justice. You will have to come in and see them for yourselves:-)

Our work on forming new political parties is going very well. We had a productive afternoon of team work and collaboration. The teams worked well dividing tasks and staying focused. The majority of work will be done in class, but if you need more time it might be smart to take home the part you are working on. The due date is September 22.

Homework tonight: NO MATH:-), read for 20 minutes, work on your Basil expenditure sheet if you want to. If you forgot to bring home the paper that had a helpful website for you to use for this project, here it is again: Basil E. Frankweiler Book Report Resources

Thanks for all your hard work today! I am so proud of every single one of you:-)

Student Council Campaigns

Marselienna asked me to post this as a part of her Student Council campaign. Check it out. If you have other campaign stuff that you want posted on our website, write up a little blurb/paragraph and I will post it for you. Maybe you might want me to post part or all of your campaign speech...just an idea:-)

Marselienna's Student Council Page

On another exciting note: Congratulations to Haley O. She was chosen as our classroom representative for Student Council. Alexandra H. was chosen as our alternate. We put any interested students' names in a hat and chose them at random. We decided as a class that this would be the fairest thing to do. Everyone was extremely gracious to our winners, even if they themselves did not get selected.

Student Council campaigning is in full swing. If you are running for any of the six officer positions, you may bring in posters, buttons, etc. to hang up and pass out in school. Good luck to all of our extremely deserving candidates.

Update on Upcoming Assignments and Projects

I have several updates for you on upcoming assignments and projects that have been assigned. These should also be in your student's planner.

• Each month we will be studying the elements of different book genres. September's genre is mystery books. Last week each student chose a mystery book to read. It is at their independent reading level. I am asking that they have these books completed by Friday October 3. Normally the students will also be responsible for turning in some kind of a book report to me at the end of each month. They will be in charge of proposing ideas that challenge them as a reader and writer and book reporter. This month, I have come up with a book report- model which coincides with our read-aloud mystery, BASIL E. FRANKWEILER. This will count for the September book report.

• The kids and I agreed on reading for a minimum of 140 minutes per week. However and whenever you want to accomplish this is fine with me. Just remember to record how long you read and WHAT you read on your calendar. Encourage your student to work on reading their mystery book during this time.

• I have also asked the students to complete a project that focuses on our read aloud book, FROM THE MIXED UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER (This is the project that counts as their September book report). The students should have brought home the directions for this project today in their homework folders. The students have been asked to compare the expenditures of Jamie and Claudia's runaway trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art when the book took place in 1968, with what it would cost today in 2008. I sent home a list of items that the students need to research/find the cost of. I have told them that if they cannot find any authentic information from the Internet or encyclopedias, they are to use logical reasoning to come up with a price that makes sense. For an extra credit challenge, they may explore the concept of price inflation and predict what this same trip would cost in 2029. They must fill in the information on a chart similar to the one I sent home today. This project is due October 3 and should be completed at home. If you have any questions let me know. I am here to help!
  

• We are also working in class on forming our own political parties. Students will be bringing home the project criteria tomorrow. I am impressed with what I have seen so far. Today the kids brainstormed party slogans, symbols and platforms.
  

• Student Council campaigning begins this week. We will choose our classroom representative tomorrow. If students want to make posters they should be done at home. However if you and your student would like any guidance with posters, and speeches I would certainly be willing to help before or after school. I will work with each student to accommodate his/her needs. I am here to help! I will also allow time in class to practice any speeches in front of the class. Just tell me what you need:-)

• I have had several families ask what additional math can be done at home to supplement what we are doing at school. One great activity is to look at the power up math sheet your student does at school each day. The facts at the top of the paper should take less than 2 minutes to complete (the textbook even suggests one minute). Any facts that are circled indicate problems that would be great to put on flash cards and practice. Addition and subtraction seem to be a breeze for us. It's the multiplication and division that we need more work on. I am confident we will get there:-)
  

• Remember, picture day is tomorrow. We will have our pictures taken at 11:00 a.m. Please wear your uniforms.

• Last but not least--if you would like me to attend any of your extracurricular events (swim meets, football games, dance competitions, etc) bring in your schedule. I would love to see you in action:-)

Whew---that was a lot of information. As always if you have any questions, feel free to give me an email or call. HOMEWORK TONIGHT: memory maps are due tomorrow, read for 20 minutes, finish math homework and study for math test tomorrow on our review unit

Thanks for all your hard work, kiddos. I am so happy that I am your teacher.

Kudos!

Kudos to those students who caught my typos in my last blog post. Thank you for being so observant. I hope I got them all fixed:-)

Pictures Posted!

Pictures of the kids memory mapping are FINALLY posted. Thanks for your patience:-)

Zooming in on the small things

As a short exercise to help the kids write their memoirs, I asked them to focus on small details that, on an ordinary day, they might just pass by. I asked them to pretend like they had a camera and could zoom in on the small things. I asked them to explore something with their five senses, and to use metaphors and similes. The challenging part of it all, was for the kids to do this silently. As you can see from the writing below, we nailed the exercise! When the kids humbly, and proudly sat in a circle and shared what they noticed it was one of the proudest moments of my teaching career. I hope you enjoy their writing as much as I did.
*************************************************************************
CARLY:

I see the flags rippling in the wind. They are suddenly trying to fly away, yet something is holding them back. I hear the birds chirping. They fly like the fish swimming in the sea. Where are they going? I see the swift movements of their wings. The clouds in the sky--how delicious they look, like a bowl of fluffy whipped cream. The tassles on the bike are swiftly swaying in the wind. No sound from them. They are sleak and shiny.

MADY:

All I can hear are the cars driving by. They sound like they could go on forever. They are also birds chirping along with it. It sounds like planes taking off. A butterfly flew by. It was so beautiful. It had blue lines with black dots. A plane is flying over me so loud, so high up in the sky. The sun is shining on my paper so bright I can barely write. The flags are waving in the wind. A spider is crawling on the side of me so close it almost touched my shoe, so little, not even making any noise when it walks. The wind blowing my paper over making it hard to write. Bikes on the rack--little flags on them waving like seaweed at the bottom of the ocean, not making much sound at all.

SAM:

A water bottle, quiet and still and sleak. Black and white covered with designs. Hollow and empty. It is light, and when it is full the water sloshes around. When you tap on it, it taps back.

The bees fly and land on flowers to pollinate them. They are quiet, like ghosts.

A bag caught in the garden. Silent and unmoving. Trapped.

MARSELIENNA:

The exit sign: the lights on the side of the exit sign are sitting there, still, like eyes that are watching you all the way to the end of the hallway. Then they watch someone else.

The fan: When you touch it, it feels bumpy like mountains or hills. The wire is unplugged and headed towards the big glass door. The fan's wire is curving like a dead snake. The blades are still for now but I know once it is on, they will be spinning faster than a tiger or cheatah can run.

HAVEN:

The sunlight streams through the window. So bright and beautiful it is blinding. It heats up the whole place, giving it a warm , homelike feeling. An old abandoned spider's web hangs lonely on the windowsill, swaying lightly in the breeze as though it might break any second. The sun drifts on my cheeks filling me with warmth and a smile. My friends sit nearby with their daily work.

A bee buzzes by quietly just like the gentle breeze passing. I am surrounded by such beauty. Someone stomps onto a harmless little grasshopper. They continue to torture the already dead grasshopper. What will its family do when it does not return? It just lies there. I wonder why not everyone can see the grasshopper's beauty, its long sleek legs, with patterns so pretty. I am sorry its life had to end this way.

RACHEL:

The clouds are as light and fluffy as a marshmallow. When you see them change into different shapes, you just want to lie down and watch them soar across the sky.

The big red flag swaying in the breeze. When you look at it, you know you are an American. Safe. The pole is so shiny and slick that it blinds you. It is vibrant and alive.

OLIVIA J.:

Outside I hear the cars go down Tamarack, zooming fast. They are noisy. The garden smells so pretty like a clean house. The crunch of the hot stones as people walk on them sound like they are walking on bubble wrap or glass. The sky looks like a blue marble just sitting there. The butterflies just fly by, not a care in the world.

NATALYA:

My planner sits alone on my desk. It's cover all colorful and fuzzy to the touch. I have never felt anything quite like this sensational feel of a planner. My name appears fuzzy and foggy. It turns squeaky when my fingernail hits it. It reminds me of my zip-up pajamas.

The sun is warm on my back. The sun on Emma, Carly, Mady, Olivia and Haley's hair make me think that I am surrounded by beautiful princesses. When I look up at the sky, it makes me feel so small, but not so small when I see an airplane flying in the sky all big and graceful. A crow caws in the distance. The crow's call makes me feel protected.

OLIVIA H.:

The sound of cars rushing by, and the beautiful colors of the flowers make me smile. It's still out. I can hear birds chirping with joy. A breeze comes. It makes the flag move like silk. The sky is light blue, with little clouds. The smell of flowers fills the air.

HALEY:

The windows are hot like the sun, bright like a light, dusty like an attic and very sturdy.

The outside is hot like a stove. The flags are flowing in the air. The garden is beautiful and colorful with sunflowers that the butterflies are flying around.

ALEXANDRA:

The purple flowers in the garden remind me of pipecleaners.

The sun on Rachel's hair makes it look like gold.

COLE:

My back is as hot as an oven. The sunflowers look like gold. I see a dead plant and it is as black as night. The American flag is waving like waves in the sea. The ground is as bright as the sun. My shoes are as bright as a neon sign. My paper is so bright I can barely see it.

EMMA:

The talking of people that can never stay quiet for long. Their mouths never want to stop talking. It is so hard not to talk. It is like trying to force someone to laugh when they are not ticklish.

The clapping from the other room is like my heartbeat going boom, boom, boom. It is so loud.

The sound of people moving and touching is like a song that is so quiet, you can barely hear it.

The flags are like a cloth that is floating on the water, but then sinks to the bottom when the wind stops.

******************************************************************************
Weekend homework:
Read for 20 minutes/day. Remember that your memory map is due on Tuesday. Finish math homework if you didn't already in class. Enjoy the weather!

PS. Bring me your after school sports and clubs schedule. I would love to attend some of your events in Woodbury.

No New Pictures--yet

I am having trouble uploading the pictures from Thursday. I will try again after school today:-)

It's Thursday!

Our day was an absolute whirlwind. I guess time flies by quickly when you are learning and having fun at the same time. I posted some new pictures in the photo album of the kids hard at work on their memory maps. They are bringing them home tonight to work more on them. The memories that they have shared have all been incredibly touching to hear about.

This afternoon we had a great discussion about our Empty Bowls project. We learned about Myanmar, an eastern, Asian country that was hit in May by a severe tropical storm. Substantial damage was caused, and one million people are still without homes, electricity, food and safe drinking water.

We also compared a typical dinner in the United States to a typical meal in several less fortunate areas of the world including Somalia, parts of Cambodia, parts of Central America, and parts of Russia. The kids' eyes were opened when we made these comparisions. Ask them what they remember, and what they think about our discussion. I am sure they can tell you a lot. We reminded each other that we DO NOT need to feel guilty about what we eat, compared with what the rest of the world eats because WE as a class are going to help spread awareness, and raise funds to help those who are hungry. We are going to take action. We are truly lucky to be where we are, and I believe that each student has that understanding.

Homework tonight: Read for 20 minutes. Work for 30 minutes on your memory map. Finish math homework. Memory maps are due Tuesday, September 16 when you walk in the door. The weather finally turned nice--spend some time outside enjoying it.

Beads on a String

Have you ever really thought about the little moments, memories, and experiences that make up your life? All those separate experiences that when put together, make up who we are. I asked the kids to think about their memoir writing in this very way--to look at their lives as a beaded necklace. Each memory, each life changing moment is like a single bead on a string. What I believe the kids were able to realize today in their writing is that all it takes is a single moment to completely change our lives forever. A single moment can make a lasting impact, and compel us to become better human beings. Today as the kids were mapping out their childhood memories on a piece of butcher paper, I experienced a moment I will remember forever. In the waning minutes of the day, 15 school children grew up before my eyes. Their insights on their childhood transformed them from children into young adults.



NO HOMEWORK TONIGHT! HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Tuesday, Tuesday

What a busy and productive Tuesday we had. One of my favorite parts of the day was math. We had our first small group instruction time. One group worked on even and odd numbers and the other worked on learning math vocabulary with addition and subtraction. The students were very involved and motivated and were so excited to get their first homework assignment in their new math books. The kids were cute--they had time to work on their homework at school, but so many of them wanted to save it so they could bring it home and truly feel like a young adult with homework. Some of the kids chose to bring home the CD version of their math book. This is a remarkable idea by the textbook company--after all these years, the kids no longer have to lug home a heavy backpack full of books. The entire textbook can be viewed on the computer using the CD. I truly think everyone had a smile on their faces during math.

**You should expect the kids to have no more than 15-20 minutes of math work each night.**

We were also able to choose our mystery books to read. Each student chose a book of interest to them that should give them a bit of a push and a challenge. Most of them brought them home tonight to read. They always know if they want to switch to a new book, they are more than welcome. We will be doing a mini unit in class on mysteries, which should be interesting.

We are working so hard in social studies learning about the U.S. Government. Our discussion today reviewing the three branches was great. I think every student volunteered a bit of information at least twice. We talked briefly about the democratic and republican party platforms, because the kids will be creating their own parties and party platforms in class over the next few days. I am eager to see where the kids will take this idea. They never cease to amaze me with their high levels of thinking and creativity!

I added some new pictures to the picture album from outside today. I promise I will try and take some pictures of the kids at work, because they definitely do a lot of it each day:-) Take a look and enjoy!

Homework for tonight:

Read for 20 minutes. Don't forget to record your reading on your reading calendar that came home today. Finish math homework. Complete your Spanish sheet for Seniorita Kim. If you are interested in purchasing books from Scholastic, book orders are due Friday, September 12.

Alright kids--here is the Decision Dollar question I promised.

Mrs. Chang's math group: How can you tell if a number is even or odd?
Mrs. E.'s math group: In your own words, write a definition for the Commutative Property of Addition. Can you give me two number sentences as an example?

Write your answers on a piece of paper and have them on your desk tomorrow morning!

Thanks for all your hard work 4th, 5th and 6th grade learners!

Happy Monday.

Good evening Footprints Families:

Thanks for your patience. Sorry for such a late post tonight. First of all, I am curious to know how many Vikings fans we have, and how many Packers fans we have. I know our house was disappointed with how the big game went tonight. :-) Better luck next week.

Today was another great day at Footprints. We are definitely getting more into our schedule, and things are falling into place. We have jumped head first into our reading response journals, writer's workshop (we are currently working on memoirs), our book genre of the month (September is mystery books), Daily Oral Language (grammar practice), read aloud (FROM THE MIXED UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER) and choosing just the "right" game to get us going in our morning meetings.

Today we introduced two new things to the kids. We did a mini lesson on our new math textbooks (Saxon Math curriculum--a great curriculum specialized in targeting instruction to individual needs) and took a pre-test on a review unit of adding and subtracting whole numbers, decimals and money. Tomorrow we will start small group instruction in this unit. We are really excited about watching the kids grow in math.

I also introduced the kids to a new social studies project. To coincide with Student Council elections, we are doing a study on the American government system. Today we had a great research/note taking/small group discussion session on the three branches of the government. We did some review, and learned a lot of new information. It is safe to say we may have some budding politicians in our room! We will be using this new information to help us form 3 new political parties in our room. Each group of five students will be choosing a party name, slogan, symbol, and party platform. We will work on campaigning and speech writing--two great skills which our Student Council candidates will find useful. The kids were really excited about this project. I can't wait to see where they will take it.

I will try and remember my camera to take some pictures of the kids hard at work tomorrow, so you can see more of what we do. Feel free to stop in and visit with us anytime. Look for monthly reading calendars to come home this week to help you keep track of how much your student is reading.

And yes---you measure a rattlesnake's rattle with decibels because decibels measure sound. Congrats to all of our classroom winners. We had a lot!

Happy Monday, and go Vikings:-)

More later...

Hello Families--

I have a meeting tonight, so I will post more when I return around 9pm. Homework tonight is: read for 20 minutes, bring in a music notebook if you haven't already, and go through and sign the math pre-assessment. Check back later tonight for an update on our day:-)

Saturday Morning Trivia

Happy Saturday Smarties!

Last night's ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER was great! It was fun to see the lady from Georgia win the million. She was the first person to ever win that amount of money on the show. Do you know what she is going to do with her money? She is going to give it to schools in Georgia so they can buy new books, supplies, and computers for their students. How cool is that? Here is the question I chose from last night's show.

Which of the following can be measured in decibels?
A. A snail's speed
B. A whale's blubber content
C. A rattlesnake's rattle

Good luck with your answer:-) Remember even if you didn't watch the show you can always use the internet or another resource to help you find the answer. See you Monday. I will have one decision dollar waiting for each student with the correct answer. Be ready to tell me what a decibel measures. :-)

It's Friday!

It's been a great and productive first week. We got through lots of activities and projects and worked really hard--and the kids still left school with a smile on their faces. It really says so much about their maturity, interest in school and their willingness to learn new things. I have also been amazed at how welcoming the kids have been to those of us who are new. After only the first week, it is hard to imagine ever being anywhere else. We are all definitely a family.

Student Council nomination week starts on Monday. We have had several in depth discussions about student council, positive leadership, and American government during our social studies time. Several of our students have expressed interest in running for an office, serving on a committee, or hoping to be chosen as our classroom representative. We had a fun conversation/brainstorming session today about "platforms" and the new changes the students would like to bring to Footprints. I have promised the kids that we will work on speech writing, and how to run a successful campaign during our social studies time over the next couple weeks. I know that our Student Council is going to be an absolute success. On Monday, those who want to run for the six executive offices, as well as those interested in being on the welcoming/service committees, or becoming our classroom representative will officially nominate themselves by signing their name on a nomination sheet. Today, those who expressed interest in running should have brought home a sheet that explains who they are, and what their interest is in student government. This sheet is due NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12.

Students--please tell your families about your reading response journals that we started this week. Tell them how hard you have worked to make excellent connections to the book you are reading, what great summaries you are learning to write, and what insightful questions you have been asking me. You are always welcome to bring them home to share them with your families.

I hope you all have a great weekend. You deserve it! Your homework is this:

**Read for 20 minutes each day. (Reading calendars will come home next week)
**Decorate your composition notebook that will be your daily journal for the year.
**Sign and fill out your Student Council sheet if you are interested in running for an office, committee or representative.
**Bring in a notebook of your choice to use in music class this year.

And--challenge your families and siblings to figure out the Magic Square. Here is the answer:
438
951
276

Check back tomorrow morning for a trivia question from tonight's ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER show. If you want to watch for fun it is on from 7-9pm on Fox 9. You will soon learn that this is one of my favorite shows. I will pick a question from the beginning of the show. Feel free to use the internet or any other source to figure out the answer if you missed the show. One decision dollar will be given for the correct answer on Monday. Good luck. I am so happy that I get to be your teacher:-)

Hodgepodge of "Stuff"

A few pictures from the day. Check out the album called "Guess Who?-- Self Portraits." See if you can figure out who is who without looking at the photo caption. Craig and Emma, yours will be posted tomorrow. I thought I took everyone's picture, but I guess I didn't. Thanks for being patient with me. Yours WILL be up when I get to school tomorrow. I am so sorry.



I have also started to create a general album that I will add pictures to throughout the year. You can find the link on the right hand side of the page entitled 208-2009 School Year Album. Feel free to print or download pictures as you choose!!


Homework for tonight: Read for 20 minutes. In your Writer's Notebook, choose your favorite memory that you want to turn into a memoir/personal narrative. Then on a new page in your notebook, start listing out all of the details that you can remember from that experience. The challenge is to NOT START A ROUGH DRAFT. You are just listing and informally brainstorming what you remember from that memory. I can't wait to see what you have tomorrow. Remember to start thinking about whether you have interest in running for a Student Council office: president, v.president, secretary, treasurer, historian, parliamentarian, welcome committee, service committee, and class representative.

Congratulations to Craig and Marselienna for winning our decision dollar design contest. Each design was so creative. Thank you to everyone for giving it your all. You will get your first decision dollars tomorrow!

I am off to read through your reading response journals! I can't wait to read about the connections you made to Basil E. Frankweiler:-)

PS. One decision dollar will be awarded tomorrow to anyone who can tell me how many syllables the word "temperature" has. Remember--check the dictionary since we had a split vote in class between 3 syllables and 4 syllables. Be ready to defend your answer:-)

Classroom Expectations

As promised, here is the final list of classroom expectations. Everything was written by the students. I am thoroughly impressed. Today they signed a copy of this sheet as a contract. It will be posted in our room all year, as a reminder.

2008-2009 Classroom Expectations

Teachers should:

• Help students with questions, and guide them in their work
• Have fun in your teaching.
• Trust your students—we know your trust is a privilege.
• Be there to listen to your students when they want to express themselves.
• Not embarrass your students when they make a mistake in their work or behavior. Just remind them quietly and be patient. They will learn from their mistakes.
• Give your students your undivided attention when you are teaching them, or helping them one on one.
• Teach your students new things everyday.

Students should:
• Respect each other and remember that we are unique individuals. We all learn differently, think differently and respond differently to each situation.
• Respect each other's supplies and belongings. Always ask someone if you can borrow something before taking it. That person does have the right to say no.
• Respect our classroom. Remember to keep it neat, and return supplies and books where you got them.
• Actively listen to each other—give the speaker your full attention, look at them, and sit quietly while they are talking.
• Watch out for each other and make sure everyone is safe in the classroom and on the playground.
• Have fun in our learning.
• Be ready to try new things each and every day.

Day Two: Also a Success!

The kids are really excited about several things:

• they finished decorating their book boxes, and are relieved "their books finally have a place to go."
• we made it for an outside break after lunch today. yesterday it was pouring rain.
• they had their first gym class of the year and played an old favorite, "fastest tag in the west."
• they were excited to learn that their music teacher, Mrs. H. is expecting a baby.
  
• the Empty Bowls service project, and Friday in class cooking activities--see the sheet that went home in Wednesday folders for more information
• they can spell Mrs. Etshokin without looking:-) (Their teacher is happy about that too)
• we are getting into more of a routine, and the kids are getting to know more about their new teacher
• they got to see everyone's decision dollars design. the two winners will be posted tomorrow.
  

**Homework tonight: play outside, read for 20 minutes, and remember to bring in a free choice reading book if you don't already have a book to read**

Success!

Day one was an absolute success. I am so excited about the year and spending the next nine months with this group of students. We got lots accomplished, including the following:

1. Organization: We got all of our folders and notebooks labeled, situated in proper bins, and out of the kids' drawers. Now there is quite a bit more room in them for other things:-)

2. Classroom expectations: We had a great brainstorming discussion about what the kids expect from each other, what they expect from me, and what I expect from them during the year. I was just amazed at the incredible insight and high level thinking that took place in our discussion. I will list our expectations in a later post so they can be reinforced at home.

3. Hopes and Dreams: We read APPELEMONDO'S DREAM by Patricia Polacco and discussed the importance of dreams. We also talked about the need to continue dreaming even though we may encounter people who doubt what we aspire to do. The kids each made a colorful cloud listing their hopes and dreams on it. We will hang these in the classroom, so come on in and take a look. It was great fun to get to know even more about the kids after reading their dreams. In our room we have aspiring swimmers, Olympians, car builders, web designers, vets, java script learners, broadway stars and teachers. We have students who hope to eat healthier, become better spellers, more aggressive vegetable eaters, mathematicians, readers, and better friends. I just can't get over how unique and special this group of kids is.

4. Decision Dollars: The kids should have brought home a decision dollar sheet in their homework folder today. This is one of our primary behavior management tools for our room. Take a look at the sheet and ask your student questions about decision dollars. The decision dollar design sheet is due TOMORROW!

A friendly reminder to remember to send the student survey sheet in with your student as soon as possible. This sheet was in the yellow open house folder and had several questions to answer about your student.

I hope you will all celebrate a great first day with your student. They all commented on how quickly it flew by. We will see you all tomorrow. Congrats on a VERY successful day!