Book groups

Hello,

Students chose one of four books today and will be part of a book group for the next couple of weeks.  The choices were Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Ace A Very Important Pig by Dick King-Smith, Stuart Little by E.B. White, and Bunnicula by James Howe and Deborah Howe.  I tried to pick different books of interest, and books of varying reading abilities.  I felt like each student chose a book that they could handle. 

Students also received new reading logs and they will now be responsible for reading a chapter a day from their books.  Each chapter will require a three sentence summary in their logs, along with an opinion about that chapter.  Silent reading time at school can be utilized at school to help with the reading load.  You may read ahead, but the summaries must keep pace with the reading.

We read some more editorials over the last few days and had some dynamic discussions.  One article regarding a new U.S. Navy base being built off the coast of South Korea sparked some real debate.  A letter to the editor regarding an unarmed young man being shot in a gated community down south drew even more reaction.  These varied discussions are exactly why the Opinion/Editorial section of the paper is my favorite.  I learn and am introduced to multiple points of view on a ridiculously wide variety of topics. 

I got really mad today.  Some students were putting on a mini-skit to teach a lesson and others were talking to and at them during the performance.  I told them how rude and inappropriate it was for an audience to distract or try to become part of a play.  As I was wondering if I was a little too harsh on them, another performance started and I witnessed the same behavior.  I was irate.  I stopped the show.  I ranted.  Loudly. 

At the end of the day I apologized for the yelling.  I explained to them that I don't like to get that mad and that it is never my intention.  My intention is always to teach.  I also explained what I was thinking during the whole event.  I was just thinking that I had come down too hard on the first offenses and that I should have been able to teach that lesson in a calmer manner.  That is when more offenses started occurring.  AUUUGH!  I think I sounded like that.

Getting late.  Thanks for reading.

Mr. Shea 

Hello

We've been working on summaries.  Tonight's homework is to write an easy one sentence summary of their reading.  They just need to write the title and pages of the book that they are reading.  We've been practicing by summarizing fairy tales that I've been reading from a 100+ year old book.  Today they tried summarizing The Elves and the Shoemaker.  Yesterday we tried Rumpelstiltskin and The Musicians of Bremen.  Ask your kid for a summary of one of those.

The Hunger Games movie was pretty good.  They changed a bit of the plot and left out some characters, but they got most of the major stuff right.  I wrote a bit about the book yesterday, and I wanted to give an added warning that while the first book is violent, the second book has some heavier relationship stuff.  I'm not saying that it is a "hands off" book, but it is one that you may want to talk about with your child if you are going to have them read it.  That said, they are well written and entertaining.  My wife read the whole trilogy over the past two days. 

Students arriving early are going outside in the morning.  Please make sure that they are prepared for the weather.  It amazes me how many don't wear raincoats, and then say, "Well, we never go out when it rains."  It is true.  It is one of the reasons why I started a rainy day club at Jordan Acres with the sole purpose of traipsing about in the woods and in puddles on rainy days.  I like to teach that rain will not make you sick.  Being unprepared and getting wet and cold, that tends to lead to sickness.

Thanks for reading,

Mr. Shea   

Odd day

Hello,

I missed the first hour of the day due to a meeting that ran way over.  A reading specialist came in and played some word games with them.  This afternoon we went to the gym for a forty minute presentation on Harriet Beecher Stowe put on by Mrs. Smith's class.  It was well done and taught me a few things about HBS that I didn't know.  That happened at the very end of the day so I didn't get to talk to the kids about it. 

It is because of these unexpected events that we didn't get to spelling or research today.  We will tomorrow. 

I'm running off to see Hunger Games, the movie,  with my wife.  While not fourth grade appropriate, I will say that it is well written and if your children are playing violent video games, they probably wouldn't bat an eye at the violence in the books.  I would say that they are sixth grade appropriate, although if I were teaching fifth grade, I would make them available to kids with parent approval.

I know some of your kids are clamoring for the books, and I like to see that kind of energy regarding literature.  Drop me a line if you want to get my take on whether your child, specifically, is ready for it.

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea 

I'm out of here.

Hello,

We're not going to see these temperatures for another three months.  I'm leaving.  I've got a stack of animal rough drafts to read, but that will happen tonight. 

Thanks,

Mr. Shea

No big news today

Hello,

We discussed four different editorials that students brought in on four very different subjects.  I didn't read a Rush Limbaugh one because that was way too hot to touch.  We also read the obituary of one of our classmate's grandmother.  It is another example of a summary.  I told them that they may think summarizing a story is difficult, but summarizing a life in just a few sentences is heartbreakingly difficult. 

We played a little verb charades.  Some of the words that were acted out: skateboarding, booing, boxing, flapping and quiver.  Tomorrow we will try our hand at acting out adjectives. 

Research continued. 

My math class is making fraction strips for the hall way out of streamers. 

It was hot.

That's all the news that I have.

Thanks for reading,

Mr. Shea

Research is coming to an end.

Hello,

The research portion of the animal research project should be mercifully coming to an end tomorrow.  I think we only have a couple people still hitting the books, encyclopedias and online sources.  Rough drafts, for the most part have started.  I realize everyone works at different rates, but I can't have some working on final copies while others are still researching.  Ask your child where they are in the process.

CREA will be coming in to visit our classroom to discuss foodwebs and the predator / prey relationship.  They are devoting one hour to each fourth grade classroom.  This presentation fits well into our Maine studies and biome studies. 

The main character of our latest read aloud, Cara Landry of The Landry News by Andrew Clements, loves newspapers.  Her favorite section is the editorials.  She also loves to write scathing but truthful editorials in her own school newspaper.  We'll find out how well her method works as she runs up against freedom of speech issues, freedom of the press issues, and a disagreeable school administration. 

Our work on summarizing will continue for the next couple of weeks.  It is a skill that they already use, but will need to get better at year after year. 

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea 

Spring fever?

Hello,

It is late enough to be dark outside so I'm going to make this quick.  Homework is to summarize a story in exactly five sentences.  We discussed one, three and five sentence summaries. 

We put our dinosaur plant in water this afternoon.  A dinosaur plant can be kept out of water for 50 years and then spring to life.  I couldn't believe it, but it did in just a few hours.

Students were put in groups and began reading some giant books on different biomes.  It is obvious that the rainforest is the biome of choice at the moment. 

The weather outside has made teaching a little more difficult.  Spring fever is in the air.  The temps on the horizon are just ridiculous.  Thank you for reminding your little one that we still have a good three months to focus on. 

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

No School Tomorrow

Hello,

Just a reminder.  Professional development day for the teachers tomorrow.  No school for the kids.

I thought they did a good job in the chorus concert. 

You can ask them about the dinosaur plant, chapparal, and Maine's birthday.

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

NO Math tomorrow

Hello,

We have a chorus concert tomorrow at 2:30.  Our class will be performing with three other fourth grade classes.  The other four classes will be performing during our regularly scheduled math classes.  Therefore math class will be cancelled tomorrow.  I am proud to say that that is the first time that we have cancelled math class that I can remember.  In year's past, I have had to constantly fight battles to get things scheduled around our math classes.  We have done a good job this year of keeping that time slot consistently available. 

We did more research on our animal reports today.  We have seven children starting their rough drafts.  The majority of kids are only a day or two behind.  We discussed opening paragraphs today and grabbing the reader's attention.  No one wants to read a boring fact to start off a paper.  They may not continue reading.

We have discussed figurative vs. literal language quite a bit lately.  I was pleased when someone shouted out, "Figurative!" in the middle of read aloud today.  Well, as pleased as I could be by someone shouting out.  We are starting The Landry News by Andrew Clements.  We'll get into some good discussion about freedom of speech and freedom of the press.  The girl in the story writes an editorial about how lousy her teacher is.  Let me know if you want an extra copy to read along at home.

We'll be starting our biome unit tomorrow.  I'll introduce a biome or two a day, and then they will get to choose one to focus on to make an interactive display and diorama for.  I am encouraged by our biography unit that they will be able to take this challenge and run with it.  We will use our research skills to help us gather the information for our mini biome museum. 

Thanks for reading,

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

NWEA testing today

Hello,

I felt like they took the test seriously and did their best.  I was able to point out to a few of them how the test had "tricked" them into giving a wrong answer.  We saw lots of poetry questions and questions about different genres like myths, legends, folklore, fairy tales, fables etc. (Not so different, huh?)  Overall, I was pleased.  We have a few more left to finish, but everyone has shown progress so far. 

Harry Potter club will hold quidditch tryouts tomorrow for seekers and bludgers.  Bludgers will throw big nerf balls at the quidditch contestants as they play.  A good arm and throwing accuracy preferred.  Seekers are responsible for finding and catching the golden snitch.  Speed, stamina and an attention to detail are a must. 

We finished our read aloud, Swindle, by Gordon Korman.  It is a great caper where a group of kids try to pull off a huge heist.  It is well written and kept the entire class guessing what would happen next.  There are two more books in the series.  Ask your child their thoughts about the book. 

I need some sleep.  Good night.

Mr. Shea

Daylight savings

Hello,

I'm blaming the time change on all of the quick tempers and the more emotional outbursts today.  Many were quick to accuse and quick to cry.  I hope everyone can get a good sleep in tonight.  We have NWEA testing in the afternoon tomorrow.  This is usually the rougher of the two tests.  I hope they know their onomatopoeia from their assonance.  Actually we haven't covered assonance yet.  Please do your best to get them to bed at a decent hour and to feed them some breakfast.

The tea party on Friday was a great success.  Thank you so much to the parents who helped out with videotaping, serving, applying make up, cutting up octopus, opening coconuts, etc.  I wouldn't have been able to pull it off nearly as well without you all.  I just got the imovie app for my ipad to put the video clips together.  I'll let you know when it is ready for viewing. 

The weather is supposed to be in the 50's for the next ten days.  Maybe some snowpants can get taken home. 

I met with my old boss, Mr. Snedden, this afternoon.  He was in to observe a student teacher.  It was great to see him and see how he is doing.  I was struck by how positive he was.  I'm glad that he has landed on his feet.  It looks like more budget cuts are on the horizon.  Please pay attention to the upcoming debates. 

Reminder: No school on Friday.  We have a professional day.  We will be focusing on how and what we are teaching for writing. 

Thanks for reading. 

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

Tea party tomorrow

Hello,

Our annual historic tea party will take place tomorrow afternoon.  Currently scheduled to attend will be Wayne Gretzky, J.K. Rowling, and Barack Obama.  Coming back from the dead to attend the party will be Laura Ingalls Wilder, King Tut, Louis Armstrong, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Anne Frank, Jesse Owens, Joshua Chamberlain, Jackie Robinson, Sacajawea, Paul Revere, Emmy Nother, Walt Disney, Daniel Boone, Abe Lincoln, Elvis Presley and Queen Elizabeth I.  All invitations may be revoked if homework is not done up to par.  Regretfully, it is already known that John F. Kennedy and Johnny Appleseed will be unable to attend. 

Biography poster work and Maine animal report research dominated the day.  Some minds were definitely on the nice warm weather. 

Our math class focused on knowing what the whole was, before figuring out a fraction.  We will attack fractions from many different angles.  Division will play a major role in this unit because that's what a fraction is: one number being divided. 

Thanks for reading.

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

One test down...

Hello,

I felt like the NWEA math test went alright.  I wanted to pull my hair out when a student answered that 1+3+5 was equal to 2+4+6, but that wouldn't help anything.  I think on the whole, they tried to do well.  A few couldn't overcome their desire to get it over with, but again, most gave a solid effort.  I can't fault them for missing the fraction, decimal, and probability questions because we haven't covered that yet.  We'll get there.

We continued biography work and animal research today.  We are in the tedious stages of the research report.  They are itching to start writing, but they don't have all of the info that they need. Spelling words went out.  Test on Friday.  We had a discussion about the difference between all ready and already.  We had the discussion already, but I don't think that they were all ready to learn it then. 

We are reading Swindle by Gordon Korman as the class read aloud on the recommendation of Mrs. Dorr.  It is a bit of a mystery.  Two boys get swindled out of a million dollar baseball card by a disreputable dealer and they plan on stealing it back.  I introduced the term "red herring" this afternoon.  Ask your son or daughter about it.  I plan on doing a little mystery unit later, so it is nice to introduce some of the terms. 

I forgot to tell you, but our penny count for Pennies for Peace came to $33.09.  I hope no pennies have disappeared from my desk since we counted.  I'll write a check out in the amount and take the pennies to a machine.  It isn't worth my time to roll them all.  I tried to roll a bunch with last year's class, but ended up with a bunch of uneven rolls.  I'll let coinstar do the work.

Thank you for reading,

Mr. Shea

NWEA MAP Math Test tomorrow

Hello,

Here is the basic calendar for our next couple of weeks.  Students in my math class will take the NWEA MAP math test tomorrow.  Our entire homeroom takes the reading portion next Tuesday.  Animal report research should be done by this Thursday.  We will begin our rough drafts on Friday.  I know I'm going to hear a lot of "I couldn't find..." and "There was no information on..." but that isn't going to cut it.  Two weeks with books, three days with encyclopedias and two days in the computer lab, with me continually encouraging, helping, and trying to keep them focused, should be more than enough.  We now have a few days to fill in the holes.  Our weaknesses are really going to show on this one.  Students had to be able to do some research without me looking over their shoulder.  We'll see, but I fear many are in trouble on this one. 

Biographies should be read by now.  We will do a couple of activities over the next few days and we'll see how many are ready for a tea party.  I'm currently planning on Friday afternoon to be the big day to dress as your character.  I could use a parent or two to come in and help on this one.  I plan on bringing in some exotic food and drinks for an afternoon of exploration and discovery.  I have a few worries on everyone being ready on this one as well. 

I didn't get the spelling out today, but will tomorrow.  Tonight's homework deals with syllables.  They seem to get it pretty well.  Locating the breaking points is a bit more of a struggle. 

Okay, I've got to say it.  I witnessed some pretty brutal parenting around the state this weekend.  Thank you to all of you who understand that we are in the position of setting up these children for their brightest possible future.  That doesn't mean that they should get everything that they want.  Making your child's childhood easier than yours, doesn't necessarily make it better.  They don't need adult friends.  They need adult guidance.  They need to hear no.  They need to learn responsibility and consequences for their actions.  I realize that they are kids, but ten years old is plenty old enough to learn that life isn't all fun and games.  It is old enough to learn that the world doesn't revolve around them.  I have heard from some that teaching is the most important job in the world.  I would say parenting is.  So thank you to all of you who give your children chores to do, give them bedtimes, and make them responsible to get their homework done.  Some of my least favorite things to do as a youngster, helped form who I am today, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  A heard a child brag to a bunch of kids last week that he doesn't brush his teeth.  If that doesn't illustrate that they are not ready to take the reigns then I don't know what does.  So thank you.

I wonder if I just offended anyone.  I guess I'll find out. 

Now I wonder how many of you just asked your child if they really brush their teeth.

Good luck with that one.

Mr. Shea