Almost there

Hello,

Well, we have a morning spelling test and math class, but then the afternoon should get much more relaxed.  Our WWF adoption competition is down to the final eight.  The blue whale and the red panda look like the two to beat at this point. 

We won't finish Gregor the Overlander by break time.  That's okay.  I'll leave it at a cliffhanger to keep them guessing.

We did a little topic sentence writing for paragraphs this morning.  That will be a big focus as we prepare to write animal reports in the new year. 

Any library books that aren't needed should be brought and returned tomorrow. 

I'm getting home while the roads are still wet and not icy.

I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday break.  I'll see you in the new year refreshed and raring to go.

Mr. Shea

Two more days until vacation

Hello,

We got into quite a discussion today.  We talked about molecules, (I brought in an old time molecule set), evolution, the first human beings, religion, extinction, why we have hair, what a milkshake is made from, why wind is cold, why we sweat... and on and on.  It was varied.  Ask your child about any or all of these things.  You have some very curious children.  Maybe not as interested in verbs, adjectives and multiplication as I would like, but we can meet somewhere in the middle on these things. 

Some parents have asked if we are having a party.  Not really.  Some parents have asked if they could bring in a treat.  Sure.  We'll do some fun stuff in the afternoon on Thursday.  We'll have some organized activities.  We may play some musical chairs because I love how that game teaches good sportsmanship and how to win and lose. 

I ask that if you feel the urge to get me a gift, please feel free to give to a local charity.  A parent last year donated to Curtis Memorial Library and I thought that was great.  It isn't that I will turn down gifts, it is just that I know that there are others that have more needs than I. 

Thanks,

Mr. Shea

Monday

Hello,

If you hadn't heard yet, we had quite an episode outside our door on Friday.  Please ask your child about it and if you have any further questions, I am available.

Our class has been voting on animals to see which one we will "adopt" through the WWF's adoption program.  Today the dugong, emerald hummingbird and the jaguar won over the cheetah, emporer penguin and koala.  Tomorrow we will vote on the macaw vs. Mexican gray wolf, polar bear vs. pygmy elephant, and the red panda vs. the snowy owl.  Any child that does some research is allowed to get up and speak on behalf of the animal that they researched.  Researched animals are undefeated thus far.  It pays to speak up.

We will have a short spelling test on Thursday.  I didn't want to kill the routine that it took so long to get into.  Students have a limited word list this week.  Homework will also be limited.  I'm trying to listen to the parents telling me how busy a season this is.  Take some time to enjoy it.

I believe the math classes decided to not give homework this week as well.  Since I am a rule breaker, I gave out a weekly challenge.  It is a repeat of a puzzle that we have done before, and it reinforces our study of arrays, multiplication and area.  I couldn't resist.

Have a good night.  I'm off to see the fifth grade band concert.  I don't get to see my students from last year very often, so I'm going to take advantage.

Thanks for reading,

Mr. Shea

sleepy

Hello,

I had a math curriculum meeting and a scheduling meeting tonight.  I chose the math curriculum.  We are trying to find a new math program for K-5.  I'll be doing a site visit in Scarborough sometime in January to check out a school that uses the Singapore Math program.  We are also looking into Investigations and Everyday Math.

I am still fighting off a cold.  My energy level is waning.  Real quick: Spelling test tomorrow.  Rock cycle review today.  Shea math: polygons.  Roald Dahl reading.  Mini-dioramas should get finished tomorrow.  Harry Potter tomorrow night.

Need a nap.  Have  a good night.

Mr. Shea

Sorting Day

Hello,

The sorting of the new class of Harry Potter Book club members went really well.  We had some over-excited kids, but on the whole I was pleased. 

Some of the lists that students came up with last night were fantastic.  Elements, army ranks, materials needed to build a house... I was impressed.  I also liked some of the suggestions that they made to make school a better place.  Many of them have already been suggested to management.  I appreciate the thought that went into these assignments.

After 2 days, we have read twenty Roald Dahl books as a class.  Is your child on the board yet?  The Enormous Crocodile is only thirty-two mostly illustrated pages.  No excuse to end the week with nothing checked off after your name. 

A couple months ago I invited parents to come in and join their kids for lunch in our new dining hall.  Now I'd like anyone interested to come in and enjoy a lunchtime recess.  We have a really nice new playground and a large amount of energetic children.  Any day from 11:15 to 11:40, the fourth grade is hard at play.  No appointment necessary.

We played a little Grammar Ninja this afternoon.  We are a lot better picking out nouns, verbs, and adjectives in isolation than in the context of real sentences.  It reminded me of a lot of math instruction.  We often teach things in isolation and then wonder why they don't recognize it in real world situations.  It is a good lesson to remind ourselves.

Library tomorrow.  Remember your books.

Have a good night,

Mr. Shea

Going home early

Hello,

I don't think that I have any meeting and I'm not going to search for any.  I'm going home early.  My nose ran a bit this afternoon, so I'm fighting off something.  Going to go get some vitamins and some soup and get some rest.

A quick rundown of the day: We worked on finding the properties of more minerals: streak, light, color, hardness, luster, etc.  We worked on the difference between it's and its the when to use then or than.  Our Roald Dahl readathon continued with a very public reading chart up on the board.  Students also worked on their mini dioramas. 

Students picked animal choices for my holiday gift to the class.  We will "adopt" an animal through the World Wildlife Fund.  We will get sent a stuffed animal version of the species that we choose.  We have seventeen choices from our twenty two students.  I will announce first round match ups tomorrow.  Students can speak in support of their animal and then we will vote on each match up.  Our final two will be voted on during the last day before vacation.

Reminder: P.E class tomorrow.  Don't forget sneakers.

Harry Potter Club members should wear their house colors.  New "first years" will be sorted over the lunch period.  A note went home regarding Friday night's wand making session.

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

Have a good night.

 

Pretty good

Hello,

We had a pretty good day.  Our Roald Dahl readathon begins tonight.  Three teams have been selected.  The idea is to read as many books as possible from the scrumdillyicious author.  The top team will get to choose a movie that has been made based on one of his books and we'll watch it during my available lunch times.  It is a two week competition, ending on our last day of school before the winter break, Thursday the 22nd. 

Our extended day numbers doubled this week.  Every Monday, class members are invited to stay after and get some extra help on homework and then do some fun science.  We continued our crystal growing this afternoon, but had some time for some other experiments which included dropping things down the stairwell.  I don't think we got all of the answers, but learned a bit about gravity and aerodynamics. 

Students are creating summaries to accompany mini paper dioramas of the beginning, middle, and end of their individual reading stories.  This should only take a couple of days and you should see them come home soon, due to a lack of display space in my room.  (Okay, I've already taken up that space with my stuff.) 

Half the library got reorganized as I am trying to prepare for the new classroom workforce.  Were going to review some of the rocks and minerals stuff that didn't quite get stuck in their heads the first time through, before moving on to jobs and government. 

Ask your child to use a word as a noun and then the same word as a verb.  We have spent a couple of sessions on it.  Let's see if they can come up with some on their own.

Have a good night,

Mr. Shea

Hello again.

Hello,

I'm sorry that I didn't blog last night.  Meetings kept me from my classroom until past eight.  I could barely remember the rest of the day by then. 

One of our stellar Bowdoin volunteers finished up for the semester today.  The class read stories that included Coral in them (along with sound effects) and then she treated them with a pipe cleaner craft session and cookies from Holland.  We will miss Coral and would love it if she can find time in her busy schedule to make it in sometime next semester.  I think she would make a great teacher one day.  She's intelligent and she cares, exactly the type of person that we need to go into this profession.  (She may be 80 before she pays off her Bowdoin loans, but...)

Our individual reading books are supposed to be finished by tomorrow.  I know some finished a week ago, but many are behind the eight ball on this.  Expect some calls home for the dreaded weekend homework, unless I see some big gains tonight. 

Our alum crystals that we started after school on Monday have bloomed incredibly well.  Some look like beautiful emerald cut diamonds.  The idea is to keep repeating the process and let them grow bigger and bigger.  Unfortunately, a couple of our big thumbnail sized gems were stolen today.  It is ridiculously sad.  We had another class talk about it.  A classroom is supposed to be a safe and welcoming environment.  I know that many of the kids are as frustrated as I am. 

On a brighter note, ask your child about their weavings that they have been working on in art class.  They are very impressive.  Ms. Moll has done a great job with them on these.  Most pieces stayed back at the art room to be displayed around the school.

Our fourth grade pot luck supper is tomorrow.  I plan on making it, but I don't think that my wife will get out of work in time.  I hope to see some of you there.  Otherwise, maybe I'll get to know one of the other 140+ fourth graders that I don't know so well.  That was one of the things that I noticed at the winter chorus concert.  Not only do I not know all of the fourth graders, I looked at some of them and thought, "I don't think I've ever seen them in my life."  It is very strange. 

Study those spelling words.  I should post the number of words missed as a class, then we can shoot for improvement together.  Less words missed also means an easier time for me correcting: double win! 

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

Great curiosity!

Hello,

Maybe I've found their niche.  The class had me scrambling to answer questions about atoms, molecules, carbon dioxide, oxygen, splitting atoms, etc.  It wasn't that I didn't know the answers, but many of the answers are hard to give at a ten year old's comprehension level.  I know I was happy to see all of the hands.  We got to these topics via our solid, liquid, gas discussion.  Great questions, great interest.  I told them that I'll have to add extra science to our schedule whenever a special is cancelled.

Last night we had three students take part in the extended school day.  It went pretty well.  My plan is to have them do their homework, have a little one on one time with me, and then we'll do some fun science related to what we are studying in class.  Last night we tried to make crystals.  Nothing has sprouted yet, but two of them claim to need to days before any results will show.

Nice job to all of the chorus members.  They put on a great show last night.

Early release tomorrow.  School ends at 1:00.

I'm sorry to say that I have to run.  Sorry so short.

Mr. Shea

Chorus concert

Hello,

It was the first extended school day in the classroom.  Three students took advantage of getting their homework done, having some one-on-one time with me to discuss their writing, and getting to help start three different crystal experiments.  We started some alum crystals, some salt and bluing crystals, and a salt, ammonia, distilled water and bluing concoction.  We will see.

It is chorus concert night and I am due to help with crowd control in just ten minutes, so this will be brief.  I gave limited homework due to the concert.  Most math teachers didn't give any, which will also help.

Ask your child how they did with their margins today.  Just another ingredient added to their mixing pot of writing skills.  We'll brew up something nice before too long.

A quick reminder: please go to the HBS home page to fill out a report card survey.  I'm going to do mine right now.

Thanks for reading,

Mr. Shea

I'll write more tomorrow.  Have a great night.

Spelling test tomorrow

Hello,

I have had two confirmations from students that they plan to take advantage of the after school extra session that I will be offering on Mondays.  I mention it now as a reminder because I generally do not blog on Friday after school.  (I slink out to my car like a zombie and try not to fall asleep on the way home.)  No one needs to sign up ahead of time, and I am not requiring consistent attendance.  Come one, come all, whenever you want, as long as it is on Monday after school and pick up is by 5:30. 

I'm hearing from a lot of people about last night's school board workshop.  Some of my fellow teachers and I got up and spoke on the merits of grouping math classes according to skill levels.  I felt like my colleagues did well.  I was glad to be at the podium when the question came up about whether or not the entire grade should be taught all of the skills on the new report card.  I was able to express my concern that we shouldn't try to push it on all students at all skill levels.  Some students just aren't ready for it.  We wouldn't give Shakespeare to someone just starting chapter books.

My classroom is currently a mess.  I had things pretty organized a few weeks ago, but now I'm back to stacks of stuff everywhere.  I need to clean house a bit before our government unit.

Students have one more week to complete their free choice reading book.  Tonight's homework is to explain how the author used description in a passage to help the readers visualize a scene or character.  I'm only giving the one question, so that students will have some extra time to study spelling words or work on their sound effects story (many have finished).

We tried another reader's theater today.  Natural acting ability abounds in the classroom.  Now to get the reading skills up to that level. 

We played Androscoggin this morning.  The object is to get as many words as possible using the letters of another word.  Today's word was metamorphic.  We got a class record 97 words.  I think we got three six letter words, including hammer. 

Have a good weekend.

Mr. Shea