Spelling Word Work Stories

Today I changed up the word work rotation.  We are working with short u and long u vowel sounds this week.   We've done similar word work activities for about 5 weeks so today I challenged the class to use ALL their words in a story.  The story could be a little silly but had to make sense.  Check out some of their writing pieces and feel free to leave a comment or 2!

    One day I was stuck in the brush.  Then a bunch of monkeys started chasing me!  Who would rescue me?  I got a clue about why they were chasing me when I realized that I had bananas and some other fruit.  I even had a crumb of bread.  The crew of monkeys was amused.  Why?  They seemed to be arguing in between their laughs.  Suddenly I heard a tune.  It was coming from a juice stand.  I refused to stop moving because the monkeys were still behind me.  I tried to call 911 but they thought I wasn't telling the truth.  I saw a car trunk open at the junk yard as I ran past.  I also passed a store that sold suits.  Finally I got away but I slipped on the morning dew and I also said something rude to the monkeys.  Trust me, it happened!
                                                                                 Story by Brady

    I have a bunch of toys in my room but in the kitchen all you will find is fruit or juice.  I argue with my brother sometimes when I have been eating cookies or donuts because I normally leave a crumb or two.  I refuse to clean up the mess my brother leaves from eating.  My class at school is often called a crew.  During our time in music we have been known to make a beautiful tune.  I must tell you the truth.  I need a clue to solved the riddle of the car trunk.  It may not seem too difficult but it seems to amuse my brother.  I've told you quite a bit about my brother and you need to know that once he wore a suit to school.  It's important that you know about my family.  I trust my mom with all of my secrets.  My  dad drinks Mountain Dew.  I am stuck in the middle between my older brother and my younger brother.  It is common for me to rescue my little brother especially after I brush my teeth at night.
                                                                                  Story by Brooklyn

     There were a bunch of people at the football game including quite a crew of fans.  I heard a familiar tune so I turned around.  The man behind me offered me some juice.  I refused to move from that seat in the stands because it was the best seat.  Along with the man who offered me juice there was a bunch of fruit.  The referees called a holding flag but the truth was an offsides so the other team was upset.  I brushed the crumbs from the chips I'd eaten from my lap.  I drank some Mountain Dew.  As I watched I thought that the referee had no clue who won.  There was a man who began to argue with the ref about the game.  A young kid was amused as he watched but I thought it was rude.  I trust the referees and I knew he would be okay when I watched him put his gear into the trunk of his car and drive away.
                                                                                Story by Aidan

We are working toward our 5 "wins" in a row on our Arrow scoreboard and today we got win #1.  Here's to all the great work that keeps happening as we are Running Through 4th Grade!

All the BEST things

Today was full of all the best things.  It helped that I got a great night's sleep and had planned out my clothes last night.  

When I got to school this morning, I could feel all the fabulous.  The excitement of the first day is just so hard to explain.  You really just have to feel it!  Since you might not have been there with us, please enjoy some of our pictures:

The morning message told the students to create something using their play doh that could tell about a summer memory.  WOW ---I've got some creative thinkers.  I saw a baseball bat and a real bat along with a baseball, a dolphin, and a hot dog from just one student!  There were some amazing creations.

Then we moved to the carpet to share class rules.  We also did a little corner activity to write about expectations.

We read Miss Mingo and the 1st Day of School, too.  It was time for lunch before we knew it.  By the time lunch was over, we had specials and a PBIS assembly.  By 3:15 when all the kids were heading out the door, I was still in awe of all the amazingness that I get to spend this year with!  Keep checking in on us to find out more about what's happening as we continue to go Running Through 4th Grade!

Writing with Different Purposes

This week I shared a couple of lessons on Author's Purpose with the class.  I'm really happy with the end results even though our time was cut short due to a snow day on Wednesday.   Below you will find examples of what students wrote to show persuade, inform, or entertain.   Enjoy!   Feel free to leave us a comment here or on our facebook page!

Persuade
     Everyone should have a cat.  If you had a cat you would be healthier and happier.  Cats provide an instant feeling of calm that you would enjoy.  Take it from someone like me, everyone should have a cat.

     When was the last time that you went for a walk with a dog?   If you were outside in the cool air holding on to the leather leash of a fine, divine dog, you would know just how wonderful taking a walk with a dog can be.


Inform
    Dairy cows are very interesting animals.  They are raised for producing milk.  Cows have 4 stomachs to digest many things that we can't. The four stomachs are the Rumen, Reticulum, Abomasom, and Omasom.  You may think the only way to milk a cow is by hand but there are many ways to milk cows.  You can milk by hand, by machine, or with a robot.  Calves are young cows.  Calves drink milk.

     I'd like to tell you all about dogs.  Let's get started.  Sometimes dogs can get a fever and to tell that a dog has a fever your dog might be vomiting, have a dry nose, not eat, and so on.  The way to get rid of a dog's fever is to put wet towels over their ears and paws.  Rest is also important.  After awhile try to give them some food and water but don't push them to eat it.  Give them time and space.  After a little while they should be feeling better.  If the dogs ears are hot, they might have a fever.  These are excellent ways to tell if your dog has a fever.

Entertain
   I have a husky named Lexie.  Would you believe that she cleans my room and does my homework?  She is very happy.   She even looks like a leopard.   She is so cute to watch especially when we are having Nerf Gun wars.  We have so much fun together.  While I am at school Lexie usually sleeps in a tin can.  She's a tiny husky.  One time she got stuck in the tin can.  We got her out with a silver spoon.  This little husky named Lexie weighs just one pound.

   Have you met Zoey the Zebra?  You haven't?  Well I will tell you her story.  Get comfy.  This might take a while.  Zoey is one of a kind.  She was a rap star like no other:  funny, nice, and rich.  She had one problem.  Her problem was that she was the sassy kind.  One day she was bragging on and on telling everyone that she had so much money.  A witch came along with some words to warn her.  The witch let Zoey know that if she didn't stop bragging, Scarlet the pup would disappear.  The witch was very specific with her expectations. She said that at noon the next day Zoey would lose Scarlet.  Everyone knows to trust a warning from a witch but Zoey didn't think it could be real.  She really thought the witch had been part of a dream.  Well sure enough when 12:00 came, Scarlet the pup shrunk away.  Some people say that she still runs around Zoey's house late at night or early in the morning.  There are even reports that the witch and Scarlet check out Zoey's house every day at noon.      

Persuading Santa

Our class has created Santa Disguise ideas and we wrote letters to send along to Santa.  Check out this one:

December 7, 2016

Dear Santa,

My disguise is a Vacation Dude with a white beard. I have 3 suggestions on where you can go with an awesome outfit.  You could go to the mall, an amusement park,and a beach.I hope you choose this outfit because it would be great for you!!

First, I think you should choose this outfit because you can lounge on the beach without crowds chasing you asking,”Have I been naughty or nice?” and ”What are you giving me this year?” Besides you’re not wearing a sweating hot suit!

Second with this rockin’ outfit you can ride roller coasters without people chasing up the tracks. You can also eat lunch without people bothering you and you can go to the gift shop

without people asking, ”Is that for me?”or “Hmmmm who’s that for santa?”  One amusement park I suggest is the Wisconsin Dells.  I’ve never been there but if I went I’d go to the Kalahari.

Last, you would be able to go to the mall without crowds of people chasing you everywhere asking ”hmmm santa who’s that for?” or ”where are you taking that santa?” You can go shopping  for your fabulous wife and those hard working elves. You could also go to a pretzel stand or maybe take your dogs to the dog park.  

I really think you should choose this outfit because it’s really comfortable, good looking, and nobody knows it is you! Well I’m gonna wrap this up, but before I go I have a few questions:1,how do you get into people’s homes? 2,what kind of  cookies should I leave out? 3,what food do you feed the reindeer?  Anyway Bye-bye!!!!     

Love,

Leah

Beginnings are everything!

Today was our first day.  I can honestly say that I never sleep well the night before the first day.  NEVER.   It doesn't matter how prepared I am or how "ready" I feel.  Last night I was up 3 different times to check on different things that crossed my mind.  

Thank goodness for that Jitter Glitter that I had sprinkled under my pillow.  Without that I might have slept even less than 3 hours!

Once the day got going, all was good...maybe I could even say GREAT!

 

We talked about all the different feelings we might be having before the day.  Then to help us make our "graph", everyone put there post it up to show what feeling they had before school started.

I had play doh waiting on the desks as the students came in.  They had to create something to tell me about their summer.  This was a floating raft to represent time spent swimming and tubing.   You can see more of the creations on our facebook page. 

You should see all the great thoughts:  microphone for all the singing, cow for the cattle that I showed at the fair....Oh so many great creations with just a little jar of play-doh!

We talked about things that take a long time and things that happen quickly.  I told the class how I had been waiting for them to get here followed by You're Finally Here! by Melanie Watt.

These fabulous fourth graders were able to breakout of 8 locks by solving different tasks: 

T - E - A - M - W - O - R - K!

We did cheers to all the possibility of the new year and then we had a little Jitter Juice to celebrate finally feeling less nervous.

By 3:12 when we walked out I think everyone was feeling like the day had been a success.   I am excited for the possibility of the year ahead.   Follow along with us as we go Running Through 4th Grade!

News for the Week

Check out what's happening HERE!

What Have We Been Doing

These exit slips are such a great way for me to learn about my students.  The above one might be someone who wants a few bonus points  ;-)

It makes my heart happy to see that some of the favorite things from the days at school have to do with friends.  I really believe that those connections are what will make or break a school year.  This group of kids are really good about showing kindness to their peers.  It's evident in the exit slips.

Another really big thing we did today was to "vote" for a golden ticket celebration.  It's really fun to see the RANGE of possibilities that these 4th graders have in mind.

Math time today included First to 0.   It's a great game and I wish we were able to play it more often.

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The days are going quickly and we are continuing to work hard.  This week's cooler weather has made it easier to focus!  Thanks for checking in on what we have been doing!

AHHH! Tomorrow is the 1st Day of School

Can you believe that the summer is over?  If you are like me, you are probably feeling like it went faster than last year.  I am already making a list of things I thought I would have finished over the summer that will now become winter weekend projects.  Despite the sadness we may feel because we will have to start going to bed a little earlier, this year ahead is very exciting!  As 4th graders, your children have many responsibilities.  They will have a special responsibility to their class, their grade level, school, and the Lancaster Community.  Students will have the opportunity to be in class with old friends and maybe some new faces.  There is something so special about the beginning of a new school year for EVERYONE---for the kindergartners who say goodbye and are apart from their families for the greatest number of hours ever, for the parents who have an even harder time saying goodbye, for the school staff who have been preparing for the arrival of all these fabulous students, and for me because I have been anxiously awaiting and preparing for the the arrival of YOUR children.  Whatever our age or how we fit in the equation, we will all go to bed tonight with a wonderful sense of excitement.  A new beginning---and beginnings are everything!

I have many wonderful ideas for the year ahead.  In my planning and teaching, I hope to create fun and excitement about the learning that will take place.  I encourage you to share this experience of school with us by following our blog and faccebook page but even more importantly by talking with your 4th grader.

4th grade is a big deal!   I am looking forward to assisting your child through all of their successes this year.   During the year I invite you to stop in and see what is happening in our classroom.  Feel free to visit or call often so that we are able to work together in shaping your child's future.  I am so glad to have your child and am looking forward to being fabulous and fearless in fourth grade!

We are so LUCKY!

Today was a day to do some fun word work and reading activities centered around St. Patrick's Day.  Our word for the board today was LEPRECHAUN.  We talked about all the words that have some of these same patterns.  I was so impressed with the words that the students came up with.  Some of them were because, beautiful, and causeway.   Impressive.

The second "word work" activity was to make as many words as we could from the letters in St. Patrick's Day.  In the picture above, you can see just a sampling of some of our great word possibilities.

With all the day centered around luck, we had to break out the lucky wheel.  Garrett is a PRO at knowing the lucky numbers!  

We also rehearsed and performed some fun reader's theaters about this holiday.

And every holiday needs treats so today we had some AMAZING cookies made by Brianna. They were the perfect treat for this day of green!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!  

Friday Fun

When I was growing up I was definitely a rule follower.  I was very quiet and never questioned anything.  If my younger sister gave me directions or an order I followed even what she told me to do.  

This week we introduced some new things.  Limericks were just one of those new things.  I am so thankful for those students that questioned a little bit of the new that I was trying to introduce.  Some of them didn't question it but they were willing to break the mild ever so slightly to be an original.

Friday afternoon we spent time reviewing math skills with some games.  In our room we did Number Top-It.  It's a great way to review place value.   This time we played with hundreds, tens, and ones.  Later we will play it with decimal places (tenths, hundredths, and thousandths).

I am proud of my 4th graders for their anxiousness to try new things this week as well as to question the rules.  They were willing to take risks and because of that they achieved far more than I had imagined.

They are  a fabulous crew.

It was also a super mail day!   A new Scholastic Book Order arrived.  I'll be reading all that I can from these new books over the weekend so that the 4th graders can start reading them on Monday.

It's going to be a great week! How will you plan for your success?