Hello,
No blog tonight. Happy Halloween. No homework tonight, although they are still responsible for their reading logs (5 of 7 nights of the week).
Thanks,
Mr. Shea
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Really short one
Hello,
I am going to make this really short. Topics of discussion: Intro to rocks and minerals, lava and magma, earth's plates, the forming of the islands of Hawaii, compound words, factors, products, taking responsibility, not pretending that you know something you don't, (Twice in math today I got the "OOHHHHHHHHH!" that you would expect to hear when someone just realized something that they didn't know before. Each time I heard it, the person was 100% pretending that they knew something, just so I wouldn't ask them. I called on each person that said it. Neither had a clue what they were doing, but were doing their best to mask it. Sad that it is this late in the year and they don't feel safe. Also sad that they don't think I'll sniff it out. I must admit though that they must get away with it more than I know.)
Alright. Here's hoping I have power at home.
Have a good night.
Mr. Shea
I am going to make this really short. Topics of discussion: Intro to rocks and minerals, lava and magma, earth's plates, the forming of the islands of Hawaii, compound words, factors, products, taking responsibility, not pretending that you know something you don't, (Twice in math today I got the "OOHHHHHHHHH!" that you would expect to hear when someone just realized something that they didn't know before. Each time I heard it, the person was 100% pretending that they knew something, just so I wouldn't ask them. I called on each person that said it. Neither had a clue what they were doing, but were doing their best to mask it. Sad that it is this late in the year and they don't feel safe. Also sad that they don't think I'll sniff it out. I must admit though that they must get away with it more than I know.)
Alright. Here's hoping I have power at home.
Have a good night.
Mr. Shea
Monday, October 29, 2012
Good luck
Hello,
Our field trip for tomorrow is cancelled. I just realized that I never put it on the calendar in the first place. With high winds, lots of rain, and many power outages expected, we decided to reschedule for early November. More details to follow.
I'm sure you have heard, but there is quite a storm blowing in. Make sure you have some water stocked up. Charge your phone. Keep flashlights on hand. I lost power for six days just two years ago. At least now I work in a school that has showers in the locker room.
We extended our Friday talk about atoms and molecules today. Friday's discussion wasn't planned, but came out of questions from the class. I decided to build off of that discussion to jumpstart our rocks and minerals unit. I started from the solid/liquid/gas perspective. We talked about vibrating molecules, temperature, temperature scales, etc. The kids bounced around the room as nine and ten year old molecules. When some our fourth grade molecules didn't follow the laws of physics, (like retaliatory bumping) they found themselves sitting on the sidelines. This is one of my favorite units with a lot of hands on learning. We will be alternating between geology and geography since they are so closely related.
Our government unit is by no means over, because we will run our class government all year long, but I don't give them a big test or anything until later in the year. I will wait until we implement the executive and judicial branches into our class government before I will expect them to understand it too deeply.
I've been trying very hard to make sure kids that are pulled for GT, special education, RTI, etc don't miss too much. That is going to be near impossible as we start overlapping units. I need to cover social studies and science content within our writing and reading times. I can't guarantee that some things won't be missed. I'll do my best to keep the most important content area activities at times when we have most everyone. (We have no time of more than 20 minutes during the day when we do have everyone.) Pull-outs are a reality of today's education. With each pull out, there are positives and negatives. Missing stuff is also a reality.
Gotta run. We will have homework club tomorrow. I figure if you don't have power, you probably would rather have your kids at school.
Lego club is going to start on Thursday nights. I'll write more on that tomorrow.
Have a good night. Stay warm, safe and dry.
Mr. Shea
Our field trip for tomorrow is cancelled. I just realized that I never put it on the calendar in the first place. With high winds, lots of rain, and many power outages expected, we decided to reschedule for early November. More details to follow.
I'm sure you have heard, but there is quite a storm blowing in. Make sure you have some water stocked up. Charge your phone. Keep flashlights on hand. I lost power for six days just two years ago. At least now I work in a school that has showers in the locker room.
We extended our Friday talk about atoms and molecules today. Friday's discussion wasn't planned, but came out of questions from the class. I decided to build off of that discussion to jumpstart our rocks and minerals unit. I started from the solid/liquid/gas perspective. We talked about vibrating molecules, temperature, temperature scales, etc. The kids bounced around the room as nine and ten year old molecules. When some our fourth grade molecules didn't follow the laws of physics, (like retaliatory bumping) they found themselves sitting on the sidelines. This is one of my favorite units with a lot of hands on learning. We will be alternating between geology and geography since they are so closely related.
Our government unit is by no means over, because we will run our class government all year long, but I don't give them a big test or anything until later in the year. I will wait until we implement the executive and judicial branches into our class government before I will expect them to understand it too deeply.
I've been trying very hard to make sure kids that are pulled for GT, special education, RTI, etc don't miss too much. That is going to be near impossible as we start overlapping units. I need to cover social studies and science content within our writing and reading times. I can't guarantee that some things won't be missed. I'll do my best to keep the most important content area activities at times when we have most everyone. (We have no time of more than 20 minutes during the day when we do have everyone.) Pull-outs are a reality of today's education. With each pull out, there are positives and negatives. Missing stuff is also a reality.
Gotta run. We will have homework club tomorrow. I figure if you don't have power, you probably would rather have your kids at school.
Lego club is going to start on Thursday nights. I'll write more on that tomorrow.
Have a good night. Stay warm, safe and dry.
Mr. Shea
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Interesting logic
Hello,
I read The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens to the class this morning. We had a very interesting, but quite shocking discussion afterwards. The book is about a bunch of prairie dogs who discover a tennis ball that has fallen into their burrow. They have a great time peeling off the fuzz and dancing around until they realize that all of the fuzz is off the tennis ball. Then it becomes a free-for-all as they fight one another to get more fuzz for themselves. At some point, they become exhausted and fall asleep. The big bully of the group goes around and steals all the fuzz. In the morning, while the bully is gloating over his new found fuzzy riches, he is scooped up by an eagle. The prairie dogs first celebrate the loss of the bully, but then come to the realization that he is one of their own, and help save him.
It is a very entertaining story with great illustrations. The kids definitely enjoyed it. So my first question afterwards was about the prairie dog that took the fuzz. There wasn't the negative response that I expected, so I broadened the question to put themselves in the dog's position. I said, "Let's pretend it is Christmas day. All the gifts have been opened. If you had a button that would make all of the gifts that everyone in this class received, immediately disappear, but appear in your house, would you press it?" The answer was yes, by about a two to one margin! Some wanted to know if the others in the class would know where the presents went. When I said "no," more hands went up to say they would press the button. A boy said they wouldn't do it because they wouldn't want the "girl gifts." Someone pointed out that they could sell the girly stuff. Two more hands went up. I was in shock.
I explored deeper with this... "Are you telling me that if you found a five dollar bill under your foot, right now, (they were sitting on the floor/rug) that you would quietly slip it into your pocket? Yes by a 3-1 margin! The greater the value of the bill the greater the number of kids who would discreetly pocket the bill. One child said proudly, to show that he was honorable, "If it was a dime, I'd ask who lost it."
I explained that "it could be lost lunch money, a classmate could end up getting in deep trouble for losing it, your own friend might be sulking all day, all because of you," but to no avail. The kids were adamant about one thing: If the other kids knew they took it, they would think differently. As long as it was anonymous, they had no problem with it.
At this point, we had to break for lunch. Wow. I was flabbergasted. These are good kids. Great kids. I cannot believe the "if you don't get caught, what's wrong with it?" philosophy. It certainly explains why so many students (from other classes, of course) still run in the halls.
We will be talking a lot about perspective in writing this year. It will be an easy tie-in to try to get them to see other people's perspectives on some of these behavioral issues as well. Fourth grade is a big year for many kids to come to appreciate things from a perspective other than their own. Until then, I hope they keep their valuables locked up tight.
Have a good night.
Mr. Shea
PS. Please return CREA field trip slips before our trip on Tuesday. You may check off if you want to chaperone, but we don't really need any. CREA has their own staff of adults. I can have one or two, but we will have greater need during later field trips.
I read The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens to the class this morning. We had a very interesting, but quite shocking discussion afterwards. The book is about a bunch of prairie dogs who discover a tennis ball that has fallen into their burrow. They have a great time peeling off the fuzz and dancing around until they realize that all of the fuzz is off the tennis ball. Then it becomes a free-for-all as they fight one another to get more fuzz for themselves. At some point, they become exhausted and fall asleep. The big bully of the group goes around and steals all the fuzz. In the morning, while the bully is gloating over his new found fuzzy riches, he is scooped up by an eagle. The prairie dogs first celebrate the loss of the bully, but then come to the realization that he is one of their own, and help save him.
It is a very entertaining story with great illustrations. The kids definitely enjoyed it. So my first question afterwards was about the prairie dog that took the fuzz. There wasn't the negative response that I expected, so I broadened the question to put themselves in the dog's position. I said, "Let's pretend it is Christmas day. All the gifts have been opened. If you had a button that would make all of the gifts that everyone in this class received, immediately disappear, but appear in your house, would you press it?" The answer was yes, by about a two to one margin! Some wanted to know if the others in the class would know where the presents went. When I said "no," more hands went up to say they would press the button. A boy said they wouldn't do it because they wouldn't want the "girl gifts." Someone pointed out that they could sell the girly stuff. Two more hands went up. I was in shock.
I explored deeper with this... "Are you telling me that if you found a five dollar bill under your foot, right now, (they were sitting on the floor/rug) that you would quietly slip it into your pocket? Yes by a 3-1 margin! The greater the value of the bill the greater the number of kids who would discreetly pocket the bill. One child said proudly, to show that he was honorable, "If it was a dime, I'd ask who lost it."
I explained that "it could be lost lunch money, a classmate could end up getting in deep trouble for losing it, your own friend might be sulking all day, all because of you," but to no avail. The kids were adamant about one thing: If the other kids knew they took it, they would think differently. As long as it was anonymous, they had no problem with it.
At this point, we had to break for lunch. Wow. I was flabbergasted. These are good kids. Great kids. I cannot believe the "if you don't get caught, what's wrong with it?" philosophy. It certainly explains why so many students (from other classes, of course) still run in the halls.
We will be talking a lot about perspective in writing this year. It will be an easy tie-in to try to get them to see other people's perspectives on some of these behavioral issues as well. Fourth grade is a big year for many kids to come to appreciate things from a perspective other than their own. Until then, I hope they keep their valuables locked up tight.
Have a good night.
Mr. Shea
PS. Please return CREA field trip slips before our trip on Tuesday. You may check off if you want to chaperone, but we don't really need any. CREA has their own staff of adults. I can have one or two, but we will have greater need during later field trips.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Favorite books
Hello,
The fourth grade was put in charge of putting together a school wide election in conjunction with this year's national presidential election. We decided to make it about books instead of Obama vs. Romney. We decided that we would have the school vote on favorite picture books, since many of the younger students aren't into chapter books yet. We split non-fiction and fiction books into their own political parties (the Chickadees and the Pinecones). Each class had up until today to make a nomination for favorite picture book in each category. Our class nominees were: The Giving Tree, If I Built a Car, Dooby Dooby Moo, Bad Day at Riverbend, Calvin and Hobbes, The Gardener, The Dumb Bunnies, The Polar Express, Gleam and Glow, Betty Doll, and Tsunami! The Dumb Bunnies won the Chickadee nomination from our class. Tsunami! won the Pinecone nomination. We will find out the candidates from the other classes, and then later next week have primary elections. Once we have narrowed it down to two candidates, we will have our school-wide elections. Ask your child which "candidates" they supported today.
This blog is going to be very short tonight. I just finished a fourth grade team meeting, and now I am overdue for a retirement party.
Our class will be putting together a class newspaper. Either your child is on the newspaper staff or they were elected to our new congress. Either way, they have new important jobs.
I've really got to run. Drop me a line if you have a question.
Mr. Shea
The fourth grade was put in charge of putting together a school wide election in conjunction with this year's national presidential election. We decided to make it about books instead of Obama vs. Romney. We decided that we would have the school vote on favorite picture books, since many of the younger students aren't into chapter books yet. We split non-fiction and fiction books into their own political parties (the Chickadees and the Pinecones). Each class had up until today to make a nomination for favorite picture book in each category. Our class nominees were: The Giving Tree, If I Built a Car, Dooby Dooby Moo, Bad Day at Riverbend, Calvin and Hobbes, The Gardener, The Dumb Bunnies, The Polar Express, Gleam and Glow, Betty Doll, and Tsunami! The Dumb Bunnies won the Chickadee nomination from our class. Tsunami! won the Pinecone nomination. We will find out the candidates from the other classes, and then later next week have primary elections. Once we have narrowed it down to two candidates, we will have our school-wide elections. Ask your child which "candidates" they supported today.
This blog is going to be very short tonight. I just finished a fourth grade team meeting, and now I am overdue for a retirement party.
Our class will be putting together a class newspaper. Either your child is on the newspaper staff or they were elected to our new congress. Either way, they have new important jobs.
I've really got to run. Drop me a line if you have a question.
Mr. Shea
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Hello again
Hello,
We had homework club tonight. I could see that the math took much longer than I expected. They were supposed to find out the cost of a page of books from the book order. I wanted them to do seven pages. I showed them quick ways to handle adding up multiple .99s, but seeing the students in the homework club constantly writing 99 over and over again was tough to bear. It illustrates the need for more problem solving education. The effort was there, but the efficiency was not good. I repeated what I have said earlier in the year: If math homework is taking you more than 20 minutes, you have my permission to stop. You are either doing the wrong assignment, doing something the wrong way, or you need more instruction. Stop and live to fight another day.
I did appreciate the effort.
Thank you for ordering books. I have already seen some online book orders go through. I have also been seeing when your child has gotten online to do IXL math. I plan on setting some class goals. I like IXL for practice, but there are some limitations to it. I saw today that one boy spent a half an hour on odd and even problems. They give sample math problems and then ask if the answer is odd or even. The boy had got half of them right. That is an example of one of the limitations.
Our read aloud is going to lead to some serious discussion. We will surely get into some talks on racism in the next few days. Philip, the narrator and main character in The Cay, makes some pretty brutal assumptions about his fellow castaway. Timothy is a big, old man with dark skin. Philip is a twelve year old boy. I'll keep you posted. You might want to inquire about the story up until now. Yesterday, well over half the class said that they thought Timothy was "mean."
It's late. I'm going home.
Thanks for reading,
Mr. Shea
We had homework club tonight. I could see that the math took much longer than I expected. They were supposed to find out the cost of a page of books from the book order. I wanted them to do seven pages. I showed them quick ways to handle adding up multiple .99s, but seeing the students in the homework club constantly writing 99 over and over again was tough to bear. It illustrates the need for more problem solving education. The effort was there, but the efficiency was not good. I repeated what I have said earlier in the year: If math homework is taking you more than 20 minutes, you have my permission to stop. You are either doing the wrong assignment, doing something the wrong way, or you need more instruction. Stop and live to fight another day.
I did appreciate the effort.
Thank you for ordering books. I have already seen some online book orders go through. I have also been seeing when your child has gotten online to do IXL math. I plan on setting some class goals. I like IXL for practice, but there are some limitations to it. I saw today that one boy spent a half an hour on odd and even problems. They give sample math problems and then ask if the answer is odd or even. The boy had got half of them right. That is an example of one of the limitations.
Our read aloud is going to lead to some serious discussion. We will surely get into some talks on racism in the next few days. Philip, the narrator and main character in The Cay, makes some pretty brutal assumptions about his fellow castaway. Timothy is a big, old man with dark skin. Philip is a twelve year old boy. I'll keep you posted. You might want to inquire about the story up until now. Yesterday, well over half the class said that they thought Timothy was "mean."
It's late. I'm going home.
Thanks for reading,
Mr. Shea
Monday, October 22, 2012
Rough math class
Hello,
Math was rough today. I had many heads nodding up and down that they understood, but when I would give them the dry-erase marker to come to the board, I saw immediate panic in many eyes. Auugghhh! I implored them to STOP PRETENDING! It is impossible to teach someone when they think that they already know. I am really thankful that we had a Bowdoin College volunteer who was able to take some of the kids who are already comfortable with regrouping.
Okay, a bit about the new math program... I like it. It was my top choice out of all the programs we looked at. It is conceptual. It emphasizes thinking and problem solving. Another great thing that I like about it is the pace. It is supposed to be slow. It is supposed to go deep. We are not supposed to move on to the next topic unless the kids understand the prior one. That is how I've always tried to teach math. At each grade level, more is expected of our children than we have expected in the past. These first couple years are going to be tougher because we need to allow ourselves to go at a pace that allows time for understanding of steps 1, 2 and 3, before rushing to step 4. The old program was criticized for going a mile wide and an inch deep. This program is about conceptual understanding. You can't rush that.
New topic: descriptive writing. Ask your child how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Some key details were left out of the descriptions today and left me smearing jelly all over my table, putting a whole jar between two slices of bread, and a bunch of other things you wouldn't want to see done with your sandwich supplies. The major lessons were: reread your work carefully before passing it in, and pay attention to details.
The first book orders of the year went home tonight. Don't worry about due dates. I'll order every two weeks. If you order online, scholastic will give you a five dollar credit for your next order. The online ordering has many more options than the flyers. Let me know if you want access to older or younger grade level books. The books usually take about a week to arrive, once I put in the order. I pass out the books to the kids when they arrive. I can hold back any books and give them to you personally if you want them to be a surprise.
Homework club tomorrow until 5:00. I'm hoping they can wrap up the big Risk game so I can introduce them to some new games.
Have a good night.
Mr. Shea
Math was rough today. I had many heads nodding up and down that they understood, but when I would give them the dry-erase marker to come to the board, I saw immediate panic in many eyes. Auugghhh! I implored them to STOP PRETENDING! It is impossible to teach someone when they think that they already know. I am really thankful that we had a Bowdoin College volunteer who was able to take some of the kids who are already comfortable with regrouping.
Okay, a bit about the new math program... I like it. It was my top choice out of all the programs we looked at. It is conceptual. It emphasizes thinking and problem solving. Another great thing that I like about it is the pace. It is supposed to be slow. It is supposed to go deep. We are not supposed to move on to the next topic unless the kids understand the prior one. That is how I've always tried to teach math. At each grade level, more is expected of our children than we have expected in the past. These first couple years are going to be tougher because we need to allow ourselves to go at a pace that allows time for understanding of steps 1, 2 and 3, before rushing to step 4. The old program was criticized for going a mile wide and an inch deep. This program is about conceptual understanding. You can't rush that.
New topic: descriptive writing. Ask your child how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Some key details were left out of the descriptions today and left me smearing jelly all over my table, putting a whole jar between two slices of bread, and a bunch of other things you wouldn't want to see done with your sandwich supplies. The major lessons were: reread your work carefully before passing it in, and pay attention to details.
The first book orders of the year went home tonight. Don't worry about due dates. I'll order every two weeks. If you order online, scholastic will give you a five dollar credit for your next order. The online ordering has many more options than the flyers. Let me know if you want access to older or younger grade level books. The books usually take about a week to arrive, once I put in the order. I pass out the books to the kids when they arrive. I can hold back any books and give them to you personally if you want them to be a surprise.
Homework club tomorrow until 5:00. I'm hoping they can wrap up the big Risk game so I can introduce them to some new games.
Have a good night.
Mr. Shea
Thursday, October 18, 2012
No lectures today
Hello,
It's 6:00 and time for our fourth grade potluck dinner, so this is going to be very quick. We worked more on descriptive writing this afternoon using Chris Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. We will use that book later in the year to write creative stories.
We discussed the electoral college system and figured out that a candidate could win 39 states and the District of Columbia and still lose the election for president.
We made yellow hats at the end of the day so we have something to wear that is yellow tomorrow. It is a school spirit day and fourth grade has been deemed the yellow grade. Twelve students in the class said that they don't own any yellow clothing. I don't either. Problem solved.
In math today, I was very impressed with all the different ways that students in the class could write or draw 3x4. We had arrays, number lines, repeated addition, commutative property representations, 3-D drawings. It was great. I attempted to show the relationship between multiplication and division tonight. The homework deals with fact families. (3x4 = 12, 4x3 = 12, 12 / 4 = 3, and 12 / 3 = 4) Look familiar.
Alright. I hope to see some of you right now at the dinner.
Thanks,
Mr. Shea
It's 6:00 and time for our fourth grade potluck dinner, so this is going to be very quick. We worked more on descriptive writing this afternoon using Chris Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. We will use that book later in the year to write creative stories.
We discussed the electoral college system and figured out that a candidate could win 39 states and the District of Columbia and still lose the election for president.
We made yellow hats at the end of the day so we have something to wear that is yellow tomorrow. It is a school spirit day and fourth grade has been deemed the yellow grade. Twelve students in the class said that they don't own any yellow clothing. I don't either. Problem solved.
In math today, I was very impressed with all the different ways that students in the class could write or draw 3x4. We had arrays, number lines, repeated addition, commutative property representations, 3-D drawings. It was great. I attempted to show the relationship between multiplication and division tonight. The homework deals with fact families. (3x4 = 12, 4x3 = 12, 12 / 4 = 3, and 12 / 3 = 4) Look familiar.
Alright. I hope to see some of you right now at the dinner.
Thanks,
Mr. Shea
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
an earthquake free day
Hello,
The kids were very excited to give their "I was there" account of the great earthquake of 2012. I was driving home and didn't feel it. We talked quite a bit about earthquakes and their causes. I'll show them a short video clip tomorrow to give them some better visual information. I hope everyone made it through the excitement okay.
I was excited about the presidential debate last night. It was quite a showdown. They stood toe to toe for quite awhile. I thought the moderator did a much better job of keeping control. Although that proved an impossible task, I felt that, at the very least, she made them look bad for disobeying her directions. I told the kids that it can't be easy to tell the President of the United States to sit down.
I did a poor job of clock management this afternoon. The class senate and house of representatives were working on passing laws on the consequences for breaking their class laws, and I let the time get away from me. It is my fault if they didn't get their homework written down. I didn't even get to hand out the math. Sorry. I will do better.
Our first chapter book theme of the year is animal books. Students got to choose from five books: Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Stuart Little by E. B. White, Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamilla, Ace, The Very Important Pig by Dick King-Smith, or Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe. Students were also given little booklets to write chapter summaries. We'll talk more tomorrow about how long and detailed those need to be. We will be building off of our one sentence summaries that we made with picture books. I also gave them post-it notes for bookmarks so that they can jot down questions or difficult words.
Our fourth grade potluck dinner is tomorrow night. Come join the camaraderie from 6:00 to 7:00 in the dining hall. As of tonight's team meeting, at least half of the fourth grade teachers plan on attending.
Harry Potter book club met today. We decided to hold a sorting ceremony next week, and then allow members of the other classes to join the following week. We also decided to keep our numbers around twenty. We have quite of few classmates who are now scrambling to read the first Harry Potter book now that they got a glimpse of the fun. Sorting quizzes were taken today, but if members of our class don't like the results they can take their chances with my sorting hat app. I've got a real looking sorting hat for them to wear this year too. We thought about putting a walkie-talkee in it for the "first-years" from other classes in a couple weeks. We'll have to iron that out. I have many copies of the HP books and most of them on audio as well, if any parents are interested in reading along. The same can be said for the animal books that we started today. If you want to read any of the same books as your child, I will be sure to get another copy in your hands. It makes for some very enriching conversation.
On that note, I just realized that I haven't given you my reading lecture this year. Here's a bit of it:
Reading is the most important thing that your child can do to help themselves be successful in school. One of my jobs is to try to get kids to see the importance of reading and to get them to learn to love to read. I can see that I have some of those kids already this year. (Thank you.) A big part of getting them to see that reading is a lifelong endeavor, is for them to have role models. Parents who read have kids who read. Some of you may not realize the effect that you have on your child, but just carrying a book around, and reading it from time to time, has a tremendous effect. Kids want to be like grown ups. They like to do grown up things. Seeing a parent read for pleasure, sends a message loud and clear: Reading is not something you do because you have to. Reading is something that I will do when I grow up. Please, please, please, show your children that reading is important to you. The added step of reading the books with them, or reading the same books that they are reading at school, shows children that their reading is also important to you. I'd love to see a request or two for Shiloh or Stuart Little tonight. You might not have read these books in years. You may have never read those books. You couldn't pick a better time to acquaint yourself with one.
This is the end of this part of the lecture. To hear the rest of this lecture...
All for now. Thanks for "reading."
Mr. Shea
The kids were very excited to give their "I was there" account of the great earthquake of 2012. I was driving home and didn't feel it. We talked quite a bit about earthquakes and their causes. I'll show them a short video clip tomorrow to give them some better visual information. I hope everyone made it through the excitement okay.
I was excited about the presidential debate last night. It was quite a showdown. They stood toe to toe for quite awhile. I thought the moderator did a much better job of keeping control. Although that proved an impossible task, I felt that, at the very least, she made them look bad for disobeying her directions. I told the kids that it can't be easy to tell the President of the United States to sit down.
I did a poor job of clock management this afternoon. The class senate and house of representatives were working on passing laws on the consequences for breaking their class laws, and I let the time get away from me. It is my fault if they didn't get their homework written down. I didn't even get to hand out the math. Sorry. I will do better.
Our first chapter book theme of the year is animal books. Students got to choose from five books: Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Stuart Little by E. B. White, Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamilla, Ace, The Very Important Pig by Dick King-Smith, or Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe. Students were also given little booklets to write chapter summaries. We'll talk more tomorrow about how long and detailed those need to be. We will be building off of our one sentence summaries that we made with picture books. I also gave them post-it notes for bookmarks so that they can jot down questions or difficult words.
Our fourth grade potluck dinner is tomorrow night. Come join the camaraderie from 6:00 to 7:00 in the dining hall. As of tonight's team meeting, at least half of the fourth grade teachers plan on attending.
Harry Potter book club met today. We decided to hold a sorting ceremony next week, and then allow members of the other classes to join the following week. We also decided to keep our numbers around twenty. We have quite of few classmates who are now scrambling to read the first Harry Potter book now that they got a glimpse of the fun. Sorting quizzes were taken today, but if members of our class don't like the results they can take their chances with my sorting hat app. I've got a real looking sorting hat for them to wear this year too. We thought about putting a walkie-talkee in it for the "first-years" from other classes in a couple weeks. We'll have to iron that out. I have many copies of the HP books and most of them on audio as well, if any parents are interested in reading along. The same can be said for the animal books that we started today. If you want to read any of the same books as your child, I will be sure to get another copy in your hands. It makes for some very enriching conversation.
On that note, I just realized that I haven't given you my reading lecture this year. Here's a bit of it:
Reading is the most important thing that your child can do to help themselves be successful in school. One of my jobs is to try to get kids to see the importance of reading and to get them to learn to love to read. I can see that I have some of those kids already this year. (Thank you.) A big part of getting them to see that reading is a lifelong endeavor, is for them to have role models. Parents who read have kids who read. Some of you may not realize the effect that you have on your child, but just carrying a book around, and reading it from time to time, has a tremendous effect. Kids want to be like grown ups. They like to do grown up things. Seeing a parent read for pleasure, sends a message loud and clear: Reading is not something you do because you have to. Reading is something that I will do when I grow up. Please, please, please, show your children that reading is important to you. The added step of reading the books with them, or reading the same books that they are reading at school, shows children that their reading is also important to you. I'd love to see a request or two for Shiloh or Stuart Little tonight. You might not have read these books in years. You may have never read those books. You couldn't pick a better time to acquaint yourself with one.
This is the end of this part of the lecture. To hear the rest of this lecture...
All for now. Thanks for "reading."
Mr. Shea
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Good Evening
Hello,
And so it begins. The sun is going down earlier and my drives home will be in the dark for the next few months. I shouldn't complain on such a gorgeous day. This is definitely my favorite time of year. Cool nights, brisk days, lots of color.
The author of the book that I'm reading and mentioned the other night is coming to Portland to speak. Tickets are free, but you do need to reserve them. Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed will speak at USM on November 7th. Go to portlandschools.org for more info.
We talked about the electoral college voting system today. Kind of a strange system for them to wrap their heads around. I gave a little math homework that involved state's electoral votes. Tomorrow we'll talk more about how few states a presidential candidate actually has to win, to win an election. I don't think it sat well with too many kids that a candidate could get more votes in the country and yet still lose. Feel free to tell your child your point of view on this.
We worked on some descriptive writing today. We went out and gathered leaves. Each child picked up three similar looking leaves and taped them to their paper. We went inside and everyone had to choose just one of their leaves to describe in detail. I saw some great descriptive word choices. We later projected the leaves onto the IWB board and the kids read their descriptions. The class tried to choose which leaf was being described. We have some natural writers. I surely need to do more of this type of thing, rather than so much narrative writing.
Children interested in Harry Potter club will meet tomorrow at lunch. We will discuss how we want to go about inviting children from other classes. Demand for the club is low in our class, but high in others. Unfortunately, we can't take them all.
I have been asked how far do we go in the series. Most years, the club only gets through the first three books. We did start the fourth book one year, but I am highly sensitive to the more mature material in the books as Harry gets older. The fourth through seventh movies are also PG-13, mainly due to violence. I don't intend to go further than the third this year, but when trying to decide who gets in from other classes, how many books read goes a long way to getting selected. I am also going to show bias toward kids excited to join, those who are reading solely to join, and those whose older siblings were in the club so they will be more disappointed if they don't get in. Again, I can't take everyone from the other classes, but anyone in our class is welcome to join.
I hope that helps clear things up.
Have a good night.
Mr. Shea
And so it begins. The sun is going down earlier and my drives home will be in the dark for the next few months. I shouldn't complain on such a gorgeous day. This is definitely my favorite time of year. Cool nights, brisk days, lots of color.
The author of the book that I'm reading and mentioned the other night is coming to Portland to speak. Tickets are free, but you do need to reserve them. Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed will speak at USM on November 7th. Go to portlandschools.org for more info.
We talked about the electoral college voting system today. Kind of a strange system for them to wrap their heads around. I gave a little math homework that involved state's electoral votes. Tomorrow we'll talk more about how few states a presidential candidate actually has to win, to win an election. I don't think it sat well with too many kids that a candidate could get more votes in the country and yet still lose. Feel free to tell your child your point of view on this.
We worked on some descriptive writing today. We went out and gathered leaves. Each child picked up three similar looking leaves and taped them to their paper. We went inside and everyone had to choose just one of their leaves to describe in detail. I saw some great descriptive word choices. We later projected the leaves onto the IWB board and the kids read their descriptions. The class tried to choose which leaf was being described. We have some natural writers. I surely need to do more of this type of thing, rather than so much narrative writing.
Children interested in Harry Potter club will meet tomorrow at lunch. We will discuss how we want to go about inviting children from other classes. Demand for the club is low in our class, but high in others. Unfortunately, we can't take them all.
I have been asked how far do we go in the series. Most years, the club only gets through the first three books. We did start the fourth book one year, but I am highly sensitive to the more mature material in the books as Harry gets older. The fourth through seventh movies are also PG-13, mainly due to violence. I don't intend to go further than the third this year, but when trying to decide who gets in from other classes, how many books read goes a long way to getting selected. I am also going to show bias toward kids excited to join, those who are reading solely to join, and those whose older siblings were in the club so they will be more disappointed if they don't get in. Again, I can't take everyone from the other classes, but anyone in our class is welcome to join.
I hope that helps clear things up.
Have a good night.
Mr. Shea
Monday, October 15, 2012
Finally, no testing
Hello,
It was an odd day. I was looking forward to getting back into our routines, but I was called out for a conference call right after lunch. A few fourth and fifth grade teachers attended a conference call with one of the higher ups at Math in Focus. The main topic was grouping. Unfortunately, I was out of the classroom for over an hour. I left some reading and writing work for the kids to do. Apparently, the class saw a revolving door of teachers coming in to cover for me. I am thankful that so many chipped in with their time to make it possible for me to attend the meeting.
Homework is unusually light tonight. I apologize. I didn't get to what I had planned, so I scrapped it for another day. They need a day to get back into the swing of things anyway. Heh heh.
We did get to talk about our "tribes" that we formed on Friday. Each tribe was given their own series of gestures and sounds to use for their language. They were also given a goal. For example, in one tribe clicking their tongue meant "no", holding their nose meant "yes", and shaking their butt at someone was a sign of great respect. Their goal was to try to make as many friends as possible. In their culture, friendship was symbolized by visiting each other's homes, so they needed get as many people as they could to come into their "home" (a marked area on the rug).
Some tribes had more devious goals like trying to see how many people would touch their shoe, which was an obvious sign of their superiority. (Meaning that those who would bend and touch the shoe were inferior.) Each tribe was also given different trinkets. Each was given a different instruction on what their specific trinkets meant.
In the end, the lesson was all about assumptions. The tribes with innocent goals tended to do what other tribes asked. The tribes with more devious goals played it much closer to the vest, being very suspicious of other tribes' goals. Two tribes tried to get a lot of trinkets, thinking that they were all some sort of cash.
Overall, it went well. I think most grasped the point. Some just thought it was fun. We had a good discussion afterwards about how it is very natural to make assumptions, but we need to be careful of them just the same. Ask your child about their tribe's goals and what they thought during and after the activity.
We started multiplication math facts today. I have been going back and forth on this. Many don't have the addition skills down, but it is generally accepted that multiplication should be learned by the end of fourth grade. Some may take three or four months to get a firm grasp of the concept and the facts. The new math program expects that they are already learned, so we need to get going on them. We'll be using a program called Rocket Math. I will spend a lot of time in class getting them to understand the concept, but the memorization (automaticity) will have to come from some time at home as well as in school. Old fashioned flash cards and some online learning websites are great ways to practice.
We went to the computer lab on Friday to get the kids reacquainted with IXL Math. All kids should now have their IXL math login and password for work at home. The website is www.IXL.com/signin/hbse and your child's username is their first initial and last name @hbse. For example my username would be sshea@hbse. Your child's password is their first and last initial. (Mine would be ss.) I get an email every week telling me how much time is spent by your child on the site and what questions they worked on. We had two student put some time in this weekend. Very nice. Pay it a visit. It's a pretty good site for math practice.
All for now. Hopefully, we'll get back to normal tomorrow.
Thanks for reading,
Mr. Shea
It was an odd day. I was looking forward to getting back into our routines, but I was called out for a conference call right after lunch. A few fourth and fifth grade teachers attended a conference call with one of the higher ups at Math in Focus. The main topic was grouping. Unfortunately, I was out of the classroom for over an hour. I left some reading and writing work for the kids to do. Apparently, the class saw a revolving door of teachers coming in to cover for me. I am thankful that so many chipped in with their time to make it possible for me to attend the meeting.
Homework is unusually light tonight. I apologize. I didn't get to what I had planned, so I scrapped it for another day. They need a day to get back into the swing of things anyway. Heh heh.
We did get to talk about our "tribes" that we formed on Friday. Each tribe was given their own series of gestures and sounds to use for their language. They were also given a goal. For example, in one tribe clicking their tongue meant "no", holding their nose meant "yes", and shaking their butt at someone was a sign of great respect. Their goal was to try to make as many friends as possible. In their culture, friendship was symbolized by visiting each other's homes, so they needed get as many people as they could to come into their "home" (a marked area on the rug).
Some tribes had more devious goals like trying to see how many people would touch their shoe, which was an obvious sign of their superiority. (Meaning that those who would bend and touch the shoe were inferior.) Each tribe was also given different trinkets. Each was given a different instruction on what their specific trinkets meant.
In the end, the lesson was all about assumptions. The tribes with innocent goals tended to do what other tribes asked. The tribes with more devious goals played it much closer to the vest, being very suspicious of other tribes' goals. Two tribes tried to get a lot of trinkets, thinking that they were all some sort of cash.
Overall, it went well. I think most grasped the point. Some just thought it was fun. We had a good discussion afterwards about how it is very natural to make assumptions, but we need to be careful of them just the same. Ask your child about their tribe's goals and what they thought during and after the activity.
We started multiplication math facts today. I have been going back and forth on this. Many don't have the addition skills down, but it is generally accepted that multiplication should be learned by the end of fourth grade. Some may take three or four months to get a firm grasp of the concept and the facts. The new math program expects that they are already learned, so we need to get going on them. We'll be using a program called Rocket Math. I will spend a lot of time in class getting them to understand the concept, but the memorization (automaticity) will have to come from some time at home as well as in school. Old fashioned flash cards and some online learning websites are great ways to practice.
We went to the computer lab on Friday to get the kids reacquainted with IXL Math. All kids should now have their IXL math login and password for work at home. The website is www.IXL.com/signin/hbse and your child's username is their first initial and last name @hbse. For example my username would be sshea@hbse. Your child's password is their first and last initial. (Mine would be ss.) I get an email every week telling me how much time is spent by your child on the site and what questions they worked on. We had two student put some time in this weekend. Very nice. Pay it a visit. It's a pretty good site for math practice.
All for now. Hopefully, we'll get back to normal tomorrow.
Thanks for reading,
Mr. Shea
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Testing is over (for now)
Hello,
We finished our NECAP testing today. We have a couple of people who need to do a make-up or three, but most of us can breathe a sigh of relief. I think all of the kids learned something about taking a test these past few days. I learned a lot about them. They all have it in them to strive to do their best. We're not going to settle for "okay" or "kinda good." I know we will be building off these lessons.
I just got a book this weekend called How Children Succeed by Paul Tough. In a nutshell, it argues that the qualities that matter most have more to do with character than intelligence: skills like perseverance, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism and self-control. Here are some reviews that I copied from Amazon:
"Drop the flashcards - grit, character, and curiosity matter even more than cognitive skills. A persuasive wake-up call."
—People Magazine
"In this absorbing and important book, Tough explains why American children from both ends of the socioeconomic spectrum are missing out on these essential experiences. … The book illuminates the extremes of American childhood: for rich kids, a safety net drawn so tight it’s a harness; for poor kids, almost nothing to break their fall."
—Annie Murphy Paul, The New York Times Book Review
"Mr. Tough’s new book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character, combines compelling findings in brain research with his own first-hand observations on the front lines of school reform. He argues that the qualities that matter most to children’s success have more to do with character – and that parents and schools can play a powerful role in nurturing the character traits that foster success. His book is an inspiration. It has made me less of a determinist, and more of an optimist."
—Margaret Wente, The Globe and Mail
"How Children Succeed is a must-read for all educators. It’s a fascinating book that makes it very clear that the conventional wisdom about child development is flat-out wrong."
—School Leadership Briefing
I'm thoroughly enjoying the book. I just finished the "data" part of the book and now I'm getting into the how-tos. I'll be sure to let you know if I find any great nuggets of info that I need to incorporate into my classroom or need to share with you.
The class continued our Columbus discussion today. Like a historian, I read from quite a few sources, including two different translations of Columbus's diary. It might be worth a question to your child. I tried to present the history from many different sides. I'd be anxious to hear their take away. Tomorrow, we'll do an activity where the class will get split up into different tribes. The tribes won't be allowed to speak, but I will give each tribe their own set of gestures with unique meanings for them to learn. Tribes will also show respect and be dishonored in different ways. I have done this in the past and it is fascinating to see how their interactions will be totally biased, based solely on their assumptions.
Thanks for reading,
Back to teaching tomorrow! YEE-HAW!
Mr. Shea
We finished our NECAP testing today. We have a couple of people who need to do a make-up or three, but most of us can breathe a sigh of relief. I think all of the kids learned something about taking a test these past few days. I learned a lot about them. They all have it in them to strive to do their best. We're not going to settle for "okay" or "kinda good." I know we will be building off these lessons.
I just got a book this weekend called How Children Succeed by Paul Tough. In a nutshell, it argues that the qualities that matter most have more to do with character than intelligence: skills like perseverance, curiosity, conscientiousness, optimism and self-control. Here are some reviews that I copied from Amazon:
"Drop the flashcards - grit, character, and curiosity matter even more than cognitive skills. A persuasive wake-up call."
—People Magazine
"In this absorbing and important book, Tough explains why American children from both ends of the socioeconomic spectrum are missing out on these essential experiences. … The book illuminates the extremes of American childhood: for rich kids, a safety net drawn so tight it’s a harness; for poor kids, almost nothing to break their fall."
—Annie Murphy Paul, The New York Times Book Review
"Mr. Tough’s new book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character, combines compelling findings in brain research with his own first-hand observations on the front lines of school reform. He argues that the qualities that matter most to children’s success have more to do with character – and that parents and schools can play a powerful role in nurturing the character traits that foster success. His book is an inspiration. It has made me less of a determinist, and more of an optimist."
—Margaret Wente, The Globe and Mail
"How Children Succeed is a must-read for all educators. It’s a fascinating book that makes it very clear that the conventional wisdom about child development is flat-out wrong."
—School Leadership Briefing
I'm thoroughly enjoying the book. I just finished the "data" part of the book and now I'm getting into the how-tos. I'll be sure to let you know if I find any great nuggets of info that I need to incorporate into my classroom or need to share with you.
The class continued our Columbus discussion today. Like a historian, I read from quite a few sources, including two different translations of Columbus's diary. It might be worth a question to your child. I tried to present the history from many different sides. I'd be anxious to hear their take away. Tomorrow, we'll do an activity where the class will get split up into different tribes. The tribes won't be allowed to speak, but I will give each tribe their own set of gestures with unique meanings for them to learn. Tribes will also show respect and be dishonored in different ways. I have done this in the past and it is fascinating to see how their interactions will be totally biased, based solely on their assumptions.
Thanks for reading,
Back to teaching tomorrow! YEE-HAW!
Mr. Shea
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
One more day of testing
Hello,
I just got out of our staff meeting and need to run home. Real quick:
We talked a little bit about the assumptions that the Taino made upon seeing Columbus and the Europeans arrive in 1492. More on this to come.
The kids did really well on the reading portion of the test this morning. I saw some very solid essays. Fantastic job attacking the test and doing their best.
The math test in the afternoon was definitely tougher. They have to learn to read the questions carefully. I don't mind when they miss one that they don't know, but to miss because of misreading or careless error is another story. I'd give them a B on their math effort.
Our read aloud, The Cay by Theodore Taylor, has been on hold these past few days. I hope we get a spare moment tomorrow.
Thanks for reading.
Testing Proctor,
Mr. Shea
I just got out of our staff meeting and need to run home. Real quick:
We talked a little bit about the assumptions that the Taino made upon seeing Columbus and the Europeans arrive in 1492. More on this to come.
The kids did really well on the reading portion of the test this morning. I saw some very solid essays. Fantastic job attacking the test and doing their best.
The math test in the afternoon was definitely tougher. They have to learn to read the questions carefully. I don't mind when they miss one that they don't know, but to miss because of misreading or careless error is another story. I'd give them a B on their math effort.
Our read aloud, The Cay by Theodore Taylor, has been on hold these past few days. I hope we get a spare moment tomorrow.
Thanks for reading.
Testing Proctor,
Mr. Shea
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
NECAP Testing
Hello,
We are one third through our NECAP testing. Tomorrow will be reading test number three in the morning and math test one in the afternoon. The kids are learning how to take a test. I was able talk to all of them individually today about how to do a better job at checking their work. Most of the reading questions on this test aren't so much measuring comprehension, but whether or not the student has the will and patience to go back into the reading to find the correct answer. In my opinion, a child cannot say they did their best, if they finish with a lot of time on the clock yet they haven't gone back into the texts to check their answers.
I felt like most of them tried hard on the first test, but learned how to try even harder (and smarter) on the afternoon test. Even though I played the role of proctor instead of teacher today, I was proud of their efforts.
I have a meeting right after homework club tonight, so I'm getting this down while the kids are silent reading (at Homework Club). There will be no homework (besides regular reading) tomorrow night either due to the testing. Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest tonight and a breakfast in the morning.
Thanks and good night.
Mr. Shea
We are one third through our NECAP testing. Tomorrow will be reading test number three in the morning and math test one in the afternoon. The kids are learning how to take a test. I was able talk to all of them individually today about how to do a better job at checking their work. Most of the reading questions on this test aren't so much measuring comprehension, but whether or not the student has the will and patience to go back into the reading to find the correct answer. In my opinion, a child cannot say they did their best, if they finish with a lot of time on the clock yet they haven't gone back into the texts to check their answers.
I felt like most of them tried hard on the first test, but learned how to try even harder (and smarter) on the afternoon test. Even though I played the role of proctor instead of teacher today, I was proud of their efforts.
I have a meeting right after homework club tonight, so I'm getting this down while the kids are silent reading (at Homework Club). There will be no homework (besides regular reading) tomorrow night either due to the testing. Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest tonight and a breakfast in the morning.
Thanks and good night.
Mr. Shea
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Short blog, long weekend.
Hello,
We had an interactive white board meeting tonight after school and the Math in Focus informational meeting starts in half an hour so this will be brief.
We started the whats, hows and whys of multiplication today. We made groups of chips and learned about arrays. Please ask your child what shape an array always takes. You may even ask them to draw you a four by five array if you want to really see if they understand it. Math in Focus assumes understanding of multiplication and a knowledge of multiplication facts by the end of third grade. We have some back tracking to do before getting too far into chapter two. This could be a very slow chapter.
We discussed the Bill of Rights this afternoon, but it was a shorter discussion than I had planned. It is always tough on an indoor recess day. They need more frequent energy breaks. Homework tonight is to write about the right that they think is most important in the Bill of Rights.
I hope to see some of you at the math meeting tonight.
Remember that tomorrow is a 1:00 early release.
Enjoy the long weekend.
Mr. Shea
We had an interactive white board meeting tonight after school and the Math in Focus informational meeting starts in half an hour so this will be brief.
We started the whats, hows and whys of multiplication today. We made groups of chips and learned about arrays. Please ask your child what shape an array always takes. You may even ask them to draw you a four by five array if you want to really see if they understand it. Math in Focus assumes understanding of multiplication and a knowledge of multiplication facts by the end of third grade. We have some back tracking to do before getting too far into chapter two. This could be a very slow chapter.
We discussed the Bill of Rights this afternoon, but it was a shorter discussion than I had planned. It is always tough on an indoor recess day. They need more frequent energy breaks. Homework tonight is to write about the right that they think is most important in the Bill of Rights.
I hope to see some of you at the math meeting tonight.
Remember that tomorrow is a 1:00 early release.
Enjoy the long weekend.
Mr. Shea
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Team meeting
Hello,
We just had a team meeting in my room. Sometimes I feel like there isn't a whole lot of common sense in education, but I must say, we have a very good fourth grade team. I know that I'm biased, but it sure is nice to hear other adults in the building share the same thoughts that I have. We were able to discuss a lot of the issues of the day in a very relaxed and professional manner. We meet every Wednesday after school and it usually goes until five or so. This year, we also have smaller PLCs (Professional Learning Committees), that meet after school every Monday. Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Viola and I make up our PLC.
I can see with my schedule this year that this blog won't often get done until sixish at best. I promise to have it done by seven or I won't bother. I appreciate the number of parents reading it. I was happy to see eight students at the homework club yesterday, and I know that the blog was the major reason.
The next club to begin will be the Harry Potter Club. You must have read the first book to join. As the year goes on, you must read successive books to continue to be a part of the club. We generally don't go further than the fourth book. The club will meet once a week at lunch time, I'm currently thinking Wednesdays. We will occasionally meet after school, but that will be for special events like making wands, making house banners, playing quidditch, or watching movies. We will only watch the first three movies, however. Those are the only PG movies in the series. Number four is PG-13. I think we will start with 12-15 members and then hold sorting ceremonies during the year to add new members. My goal is to end the year near 20-25 so that we can have proper quidditch teams. We currently only have five students from our class signed up. I am going to open it up to students from other classes, but only after our class has first choice. Kids from other classes will be invited to join, but it will be invitation only. I will be getting names from the other teachers of kids either highly interested in HP, or ones who would be motivated to read because of the club.
Our government unit continued today with an interesting talk about the flexibility of rules at different houses. Most kids had rules that will change as they get older and can handle more responsibility. I compared those rules to the rules set forth in our constitution, and how they have changed over the years. The Bill of Rights is on deck.
Our class Senate and House of Representatives discussed which class jobs were underpaid and which were overpaid. As president, I let them know that I think we may need to hire an extra librarian and an extra postmaster. This will be the last week of the full class legislature. We will be electing a three person senate and a five person house of representatives shortly. Those will be paid positions, but will be more of a part-time job, kind of like our state senators and representatives. Maybe we'll have a class governor this year instead of a president. Just thinking out loud.
Quick reminders: Friday is an early 1:00 release and then there is no school on Monday due to Columbus day. Tomorrow night at 6:30 is the informational meeting for the new math program. October 30 will be our first field trip. The class will be going to CREA as part of our study of geology.
Have a good night,
Mr. Shea
We just had a team meeting in my room. Sometimes I feel like there isn't a whole lot of common sense in education, but I must say, we have a very good fourth grade team. I know that I'm biased, but it sure is nice to hear other adults in the building share the same thoughts that I have. We were able to discuss a lot of the issues of the day in a very relaxed and professional manner. We meet every Wednesday after school and it usually goes until five or so. This year, we also have smaller PLCs (Professional Learning Committees), that meet after school every Monday. Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Viola and I make up our PLC.
I can see with my schedule this year that this blog won't often get done until sixish at best. I promise to have it done by seven or I won't bother. I appreciate the number of parents reading it. I was happy to see eight students at the homework club yesterday, and I know that the blog was the major reason.
The next club to begin will be the Harry Potter Club. You must have read the first book to join. As the year goes on, you must read successive books to continue to be a part of the club. We generally don't go further than the fourth book. The club will meet once a week at lunch time, I'm currently thinking Wednesdays. We will occasionally meet after school, but that will be for special events like making wands, making house banners, playing quidditch, or watching movies. We will only watch the first three movies, however. Those are the only PG movies in the series. Number four is PG-13. I think we will start with 12-15 members and then hold sorting ceremonies during the year to add new members. My goal is to end the year near 20-25 so that we can have proper quidditch teams. We currently only have five students from our class signed up. I am going to open it up to students from other classes, but only after our class has first choice. Kids from other classes will be invited to join, but it will be invitation only. I will be getting names from the other teachers of kids either highly interested in HP, or ones who would be motivated to read because of the club.
Our government unit continued today with an interesting talk about the flexibility of rules at different houses. Most kids had rules that will change as they get older and can handle more responsibility. I compared those rules to the rules set forth in our constitution, and how they have changed over the years. The Bill of Rights is on deck.
Our class Senate and House of Representatives discussed which class jobs were underpaid and which were overpaid. As president, I let them know that I think we may need to hire an extra librarian and an extra postmaster. This will be the last week of the full class legislature. We will be electing a three person senate and a five person house of representatives shortly. Those will be paid positions, but will be more of a part-time job, kind of like our state senators and representatives. Maybe we'll have a class governor this year instead of a president. Just thinking out loud.
Quick reminders: Friday is an early 1:00 release and then there is no school on Monday due to Columbus day. Tomorrow night at 6:30 is the informational meeting for the new math program. October 30 will be our first field trip. The class will be going to CREA as part of our study of geology.
Have a good night,
Mr. Shea
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Homework club is a success
Hello,
It was the first night for the homework club. Despite not passing out an information sheet, I was pleased with the turnout of eight kids. They spent the first ten minutes getting out some of their energy. Some ate their extra snack. From 3:30 to 4:15, we hit the books. With our homework complete we played a little nerf dodgeball outside. At 4:30, the indoor game of the day became Risk. We didn't get far, but I took a picture of the board and we'll have to reconvene at an indoor recess or later homework club. It went very well. Great kids. I heard a lot more questions during the homework time than I usually do. I hope these meetings get them to be a little braver and ask more questions during the day as well.
We talked quite a bit about our constitution today. We will be spending some time on the preamble over the next few days. This first paragraph really outlines the goals of our federal government. We will be getting to the Bill of Rights very soon.
The math test didn't go as well as I had hoped. Many questions were missed due to not reading directions or rushing through something. I told them that teachers learn what we did well and not so well from tests. This test showed me that I've got to teach them how to take a test. It is about being patient. I learned that they don't know what it means to check their work. I learned that if they don't know the answer instantly, they tended to guess and move on. We'll be working on all of those things.
Lots of great picture books read today. I loved seeing Madeleine, Ping, The Lorax, Blueberries For Sal, Where the Wild Things Grow... It was fantastic! Some great discoveries were going on. Their plot summaries will get better as I have more one on one conversations with them. Good stuff.
I've got to run. My wife is under the weather. Lots of sickness going around. Please remember that we don't have a sink. Individual hand sanitizers are allowed if you have a child who doesn't want to be bothered with going all the way to the bathroom before lunch or snack.
Have a great night. P.E. tomorrow.
Mr. Shea
It was the first night for the homework club. Despite not passing out an information sheet, I was pleased with the turnout of eight kids. They spent the first ten minutes getting out some of their energy. Some ate their extra snack. From 3:30 to 4:15, we hit the books. With our homework complete we played a little nerf dodgeball outside. At 4:30, the indoor game of the day became Risk. We didn't get far, but I took a picture of the board and we'll have to reconvene at an indoor recess or later homework club. It went very well. Great kids. I heard a lot more questions during the homework time than I usually do. I hope these meetings get them to be a little braver and ask more questions during the day as well.
We talked quite a bit about our constitution today. We will be spending some time on the preamble over the next few days. This first paragraph really outlines the goals of our federal government. We will be getting to the Bill of Rights very soon.
The math test didn't go as well as I had hoped. Many questions were missed due to not reading directions or rushing through something. I told them that teachers learn what we did well and not so well from tests. This test showed me that I've got to teach them how to take a test. It is about being patient. I learned that they don't know what it means to check their work. I learned that if they don't know the answer instantly, they tended to guess and move on. We'll be working on all of those things.
Lots of great picture books read today. I loved seeing Madeleine, Ping, The Lorax, Blueberries For Sal, Where the Wild Things Grow... It was fantastic! Some great discoveries were going on. Their plot summaries will get better as I have more one on one conversations with them. Good stuff.
I've got to run. My wife is under the weather. Lots of sickness going around. Please remember that we don't have a sink. Individual hand sanitizers are allowed if you have a child who doesn't want to be bothered with going all the way to the bathroom before lunch or snack.
Have a great night. P.E. tomorrow.
Mr. Shea
Monday, October 1, 2012
Jam packed day
Hello,
Before I forget. I meant to send a note home tonight about homework club. It starts tomorrow night. Here is a copy of the note:
Hello Parents,
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Before I forget. I meant to send a note home tonight about homework club. It starts tomorrow night. Here is a copy of the note:
Hello Parents,
Homework Club begins tomorrow! Every Tuesday, from now until the end of the
school year, we will be staying after school and doing our homework. Homework time will be from 3:30 to 4:15. From 4:15 until 5:00 we will be playing a
variety of games.
The purpose of this is for your child to get their homework
done in a timely manner, for me to get some more one on one time with students,
and for us to have some fun as a reward for getting our jobs done. I think you would be surprised to know how
little instructional time that there is in an average day. The homework club gives me a little more time
with your kids to make sure they get everything that they need.
This club is completely optional. If your child doesn’t want to attend, that is
his/her right. They are welcome to come
some Tuesdays and skip others. I had as
little as five last year and as many as fifteen. Last year I did fun science, but because of the
amount of set up time and clean up time, I’m going to go with games this
year.
Games help kids with their social skills, sportsmanship, rule
following, and logical thinking. We will
play board games, card games, outdoor games and make our own games.
Any Tuesday that your child has
permission to stay after school, please jot it down on a note. You can give a blanket permission slip if you
think your child might want to come every Tuesday. Again, this starts tomorrow, Oct. 2, and will
continue on the 9th, 16th, etc. Any questions, just let me know.
I almost forgot, but you may want to
send in an extra snack. For them, not
me.
Thanks,
Mr. Shea
So please send a note in with your child if you would like them to stay after tomorrow with the homework club. Don't worry if you can't pick them up at five. I'm here until at least six if you need the extra time.
We watched "Caine's Arcade" this afternoon because I thought it might inspire some of the kids to do some building on these rainy days. (Check it out on youtube.) I also thought our homework club might be interested in doing some building games instead of just playing games. I could get all the cardboard we need from my wife's store.
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Ask your child about the 1858 wall map that they got to see first hand today. I found some old maps in my attic. This is a little picture I took of part of it. It is huge, but very fragile.
It is picture book week. Everyone is going to keep track of all of the picture books that they read. Maybe I'll make a chain across the room with each link representing one book read. The message I want to send is "YOU NEVER OUTGROW PICTURE BOOKS!" I don't want them to make it through fourth grade without reading most of the classic picture books, so dig out your oldies or make your suggestions. If I don't have a particular title, I'll get it here.
We took the chapter one test in math this morning. A preliminary perusal tells me that they did pretty well, but #7 Write 100 hundreds in standard form, threw them. It isn't that they don't know it mathematically, it is that they don't know it instantly, so they give an answer and move on. They need more strategies for what to do when they don't know. If they stopped long enough to think about what 1 hundred looks like, and 2 hundreds, and 3 hundreds, that would have led them to 10 hundreds and an obvious pattern. We'll go over a couple more strategies on this tomorrow. It is a common NECAP test question to add something like 22 tens and 14 hundreds. With answers like 1422 or 162 staring them in the face, they need to slow down and figure it out and not choose the first one that looks good.
I had planned on more homework tonight, but the time flew by and we didn't have any time to get our assignment books out, let alone write anything in. My fault. I'll do better tomorrow.
We finished our read aloud, Among the Hidden. Luke is venturing out on his own away from the safety of his parents and his attic. In this next book, Among the Imposters, his life gets pretty exciting. I'm wondering how many takers I'll have on this sequel.
I feel like I have a lot of news for you, but it is almost 7:00 and if it is important enough, I'll remember it tomorrow night.
Thank for reading,
Mr. Shea
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