Back to School! 2015-2016

As we always say, "where does the time go!?" It is time to start another school year with hope and excitement! I can't believe this will be the start of my 10th year of teaching at the elementary level and my 9th in 4th grade! I recently read from the book 4th Grade Readers by Martha Heller-Winokur and Marcia Uretsky a wonderful description of what "makes" a 4th grader:

"Fourth graders are eager to please their teachers yet reluctant to reveal what they don't know. They are tentative yet fiercely competitive, particularly when it comes to academic endeavors. They are sensitive yet resilient." (p.xv)

4th Graders are at such a unique point in their education journey. I look forward to starting this new, important year of learning. Let me know what I can do to help!

Revising-Cooperative Sentence

My afternoon class did some great work today. We wrote facts about leaders of the Texas Revolution in groups. Then we combined our sentences to make a paragraph. Finally we revised to make our work clear and concise. Check it out!

Argument Essays

We are buzzing with excitement over our argument essay unit. This week students were charged with building a for or against argument for water bottles, and, goodness, was the discussion heated! One of the best conversations we had though was evaluating which sources of information we could trust. A skill that is becoming increasingly important. Looking forward to arguing next week!

A New Year!

I still can't believe it is 2015! What a fast year! 

I'm really enjoying our unit on Narrative Nonfiction! So much so, that I spent much of this past rainiy Saturday at the bookshop picking out new books for our classroom. I love the faces of my class today when I shared with them the new titles.

Our Changing World!

I can't believe we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I remember the event. My parents made sure we watched the news feed coming in from Berlin that day. Later my dad traveled to Germany for work, and secured a tiny chunk of the rubble as a reminder of the barrier between sides. On occassions such as this, I try to be mindful of the changing world we live and and to be aware of our actions and decisions. I hope to foster a classroom where all students are mindful of their families, community and the world they live in.

Which brings me to another note! Our classes have joined a great website called Newsela. It is a website that takes current events and rewrites it on a level appropriate for children. Feel free to check it out with your child, and discuss world and local events!