Long day

Hello,

It was a long day with no specials and a spelling test.  For whatever reason, many kids came in without their homework.  A couple told me up front, and then little by little as the day passed, more and more were exposed.  When I caught someone blatantly cheating, I thought my head was going to explode.  I ripped up the paper and threw it away.  You could hear a pin drop for the rest of the spelling test.  Poor choices that hurt themselves are really disappointing. 

I set up our Animal Bracket last night.  We have eighteen contenders vying for the title of 2012-2013 class adoptee.  Every year I tell the kids that my Christmas gift to them is to do an animal adoption through the World Wildlife Federation.  WWF offers symbolic adoptions where they will send you an adoption certificate, stuffed animal and info card on the animal that you select.  I have many of the past winners above the tall bookshelf.  This year the class has nominated eighteen different animals from big cats to small birds and every day we will have a mini showdown election to eliminate one of the choices.  The kids are encouraged to stand up and speak on behalf of the animal they wish to win.  I only ask that the speeches contain factual information.  I don't want to hear any, "Vote for the __________ because it is soooooo cute!"  On the last day of school before vacation we will be down to our final two and the class adoption animal will be decided.  Ask your child what animal they chose.  Every student got the chance to choose a nominee.  Some wanted animals already nominated and declined to pick a second choice.

Lego club was a success, although I need to set aside more time for cleanup.  Those pesky small pieces have a way of getting lost.  We need to be very careful not to bust up some of these educational sets.  They aren't much good with even a piece or two missing.

Okay, I've got to get to correcting.  Have a great night.

Mr. Shea

Lego club tomorrow

Hello,

Okay, I admit it.  I didn't get the Lego Club permission slip out in time.  We are definitely going to start tomorrow.  It will run until 5:00.  We'll get homework done first.  You just need to write a quick note letting me know that they have your permission.  In my defense, there was no time to run out and make copies today because of my recess duty and lunchtime team meeting.  Okay, that just made me sound like a kid trying to explain why they don't have their homework.  I'm guilty.

We tried a little descriptive writing this afternoon.  Students were supposed to describe a character in their book.  Most finished the assignment, and now have to draw the character as best they can.  It was funny how half the class cheered this assignment and the other half moaned.  In general, the half that liked doing the writing portion is less enthused about the drawing.  I told them not to worry.  I'm not expecting them to be Michaelangelo. 

We filled in a blank map of the world this afternoon with the correct oceans and continents.  The class definitely knows the continent song.  I'm sure your child will sing you a version if you request it.  You may not want to.  I'm going to have that song in my head until Christmas.  Students are responsible for knowing the continents, oceans, equator, and the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.  They will need to place them on a blank map.  I'm currently blending geography with our geology unit.  We've been talking about plate tectonics and about how the surface of the planet moves.  Most tectonic plates move at about the same speed that our fingernails grow.  Unfortunately they move in jerks, which we feel as earthquakes. We also talked more about the tilt of the Earth today.  These subjects really lead into one another.  It was hard to discuss the Tropics without getting into the seasons and our relation to the sun.  Good stuff really.

I've got to run to dinner.  I'm going out to eat with my wife, which is a bit of an occasion on a school night.  I can't be late, so good night.

Mr. Shea

Lego Club is coming.

Hello,

Here is the deal for Lego club.  It will be just like homework club except instead of playing games for the last forty five minutes, we'll build with Legos.  If you are interested in having your child stay after school to do home work for forty-five minutes and then play with Legos for an hour, just send in a note. 

I was a little dismayed with the amount of math homework that I needed to help on tonight.  I always hope to have a little one on one time for reading or writing with some of the kids, but tonight it was all math.  I'll speak to my colleagues about our forty minute guideline.  I had the kids stop after forty minutes of math, with my help, and we hadn't even got to the reading.  I know I give too much from time to time, but I want the kids to understand that if they put in a solid forty minute effort, they have my permission to close the book and let me know the next day that they didn't finish because it took too long.  I'll find out from there, whether it was my mistake or just a misunderstanding. 

I'm now writing the homework for my math class in the homework calendar, but be aware that that may not apply to your child if they do not have me for math anymore.  I will know label it Shea Math to remind you of that. 

Our new class read aloud is The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau.  I think it contains one of the best story starters ever.  The two page prologue, which is all I read to the class today, really makes the reader curious and ask all sorts of questions.  I picked it for several other reasons as well, a major one being that the main character is a girl and I was well aware of my current streak of two boys in a row.  Let me know if you would like a copy to read with us.  It also hits on some major themes that I love to get fourth graders engaged in: geography, geology, energy, government, and CURIOUSITY.

The class put on some little skits today for reading class.  The principal, Mrs. Skorapa, happened to drop by to give us a special audience.  The class did very well performing some very humorous skits that I got from an old drama book.  Ask your child if they played the role of rock star, teacher, waiter, little child, manager or diner.  I was happy with their performance on stage and as an audience.

All for now.  Have a great night.

Mr. Shea

Back on Track

Hello,

I hope you all had a nice mini break.  It was great getting to touch base with all of you during conference times.  The more we talk, the better I'm able to do my job.  So please, make your questions and comments known to me.  We've got a solid four weeks before our next break and I was anxious to regain traction today. 

The majority of our class switched for math for the first time today.  We have a large number of students going to Mrs. Viola or Mrs. Smith.  I hope you will ask them how it went.  I think switching for math is a good stepping stone for all the switches that they will be doing in Jr. high.  These first few days are going to be a bit of a get to know you period.  We've never grouped this late in the year, where different classes are on somewhat different pages. 

We finished The Cay by Theodore Taylor this afternoon.  What a great book.  I kept it together in the end and didn't choke up.  I'm getting tougher in my old age.  Please ask your child why they think I chose that book to read to the class.  I asked and heard some good and varied answers.

Anyone interested in ordering the Andre the Seal picture book by visiting author Fran Hodgkins should look to see if your child brought home an order form.  Fran is offering to sign all of the books that we order, and she'll write whatever you want.  It could make for a good gift.  I'm going to have mine signed, "To the best teacher I ever met..."  I figure if I'm shelling out fifteen bucks I may as well go for it.  I'm going to place the order on Friday for anyone interested. 

Speaking of book orders, the Scholastic Book Club order is in.  I haven't given them out, because most parents had mentioned that part of the order may be a gift.  Come on in or let me know if I can trust your child not to peek if I wrap them in a bag and send them home in their backpack.

Our latest sing along in class was the Continent Song.  I am offering up as optional homework to all my musically talented kids to come up with a better one.  They also could try to write a new rock song or even an oceans song.  I still have some bad ones stuck in my head from years past.  They may be able to sing a little of the current continent or rock songs to you, although we haven't spent too much time with either. 

I have a lot to write about tonight, but we had another late meeting.  I've got to put together a note for the parents of my new math students and a note for the introduction of Lego Club.  I'll write more tomorrow after Homework Club.

Have a great night,

Mr. Shea

Conference night

Hello,

Tonight was the first night for conferences.  I really enjoy sitting down and getting to talk to all of you about your sons and daughters.  I'm sure you understand, but I won't be posting anymore blogs until after Thanksgiving. 

I wish you all a happy Turkey break. 

Thanks,

Mr. Shea

PS. Ask about the rock slide.

I'm coming down with something

Hello,

Sorry no blog post last night.  I got out of Bowdoin a lot later than I expected. 

I had a runny nose this afternoon.  I don't get sick very often and will try to do everything I can to nip this in the bud.  The timing is tough with all the extra work surrounding report cards, but what can I do?  Conference time confirmations went home today.  If you don't like the time, let me know a better one.  I gave everyone a time during their first choice time slot.  Some didn't specify a priority time, so I just fit them in at a time that they liked. 

We've had an eventful two days.  In math we are going into learn multiplication fact mode.  We have been making flash cards.  Some children already have them at home.  This set can be their school cards.

We have been learning about erosion.  I have been dumping water on trays of earth and we have been watching the water carve its path down toward the "sea."  Tomorrow we will set up the trays so we have a giant water fall from one tray to the next.  This came from one of the student suggestions. 

Tomorrow will be a geology filled day as we will begin the day at the feldspar quarries of CREA and end with chorus and science.  Speaking of chorus and science, we will be learning the following song in the coming weeks.  I introduced the first two stanzas this afternoon.

Rock Cycle Song
(Sing to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat")

SEDIMENTARY rock
Has been formed in layers
Often found near water sources
With fossils from decayers

Then there's IGNEOUS rock
Here since Earth was born
Molten Lava, cooled and hardened
That's how it is formed

These two types of rocks
Can also be transformed
With pressure, heat and chemicals
METAMORPHIC they'll become.

 
The class did a great job writing today.  I gave them a writing prompt, (a story starter), and they were off and writing.  The entire class wrote for a half hour with barely a peep.  Their writing stamina has improved greatly from the beginning of the year.  You will see this writing sample at the conference.  (Maybe that was some motivation for them.)  I didn't even hear, "How many sentences do we have to do?"  I was very happy about that. 

Sorry no lego club tonight.  I didn't get a permission/info sheet made up on Wednesday, so it didn't happen.  I meant to do it during our lunch time but a grand Harry Potter Sorting Lunch got in the way.  That went very well.  We put a walkie-talkee into the hat and I yelled things like "You belong in...  Slytherin!" loudly from the special ed room next door.  Pretty funny.  It looks like a good club.  I think we have some enthusiastic members joining our crew.

Okay.  All for now.  I'm going home, having soup, and going to bed.  My eyes want to close right now. 

Thanks for reading.  I look forward to next week's conferences.

Mr. Shea

We went on a field trip

Hello,

We finally went on a scheduled field trip.  The State House was very good.  We got to visit the House of Representatives, the Hall of Flags, the Senate and Rotunda.  Although, judging by the amount of talk it generated, I think going through security might of been the highlight for many students.  My pocket knife keychain was confiscated.  I forgot to take that off my keys this morning.  It went a lot better than when I forgot about it while attempting to enter the Pentagon in D.C. 

We also went to the Maine State Museum.  Our time was too short there.  We suffered from spending too much time leaving HBS.  Part of that was our underestimation of how many can fit on a special education bus.  Thank you so much to our chaperones.  I'm sorry that most of you had to drive.  Know that I really appreciate it. 

You should have got a conference sign up sheet by now.  Those of you who sent one back will get your conference times tomorrow.  I will sign people up for half hour blocks.  Twenty minutes is too short and I tend to gab.  Please feel free to stop me at twenty minutes, if you prefer. 

I showed the class what the presidential electoral map would have looked like if we had to follow the 1789 version of the Constitution.  If only white males had the right to vote in our country, Romney would have won by a landslide.  If the voting age hadn't been lowered to 18 in the early seventies, Obama would have squeaked out a win.  I thought they were interesting graphics and good topics for discussion.

In The Cay, our read aloud, poor Timothy didn't survive the horrible tempest.  We had recess right after the death of our brave hero, so I didn't get much feedback.  It is a tough thing to read without crying though.  I barely made it through.  Timothy is a great man in that book.  His positive attitude, eye for the future and ability to teach tough lessons to Philip, make him one of my favorite book characters. 

It will be a late blog tomorrow.  I have a staff meeting and I'm attending a Bowdoin basketball practice.  Basketball is one of my passions, so if it goes late, well then so will the blog.

Have a great night.

Mr. Shea

Another field trip slip

Hello,

The Augusta State House visit is scheduled for Tuesday at 9:00am.  A slip went home tonight.  We are trying to get the CREA field trip rescheduled for later in the week.

We took a little math test this morning to help give us a final point to look at as we gather data to group students according to their math skills.  These groups will be flexible and will be based on current skills, processing speed, and teacher recommendations.  My "grouping team" includes Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Viola.  We have been meeting and discussing possible groupings and hope to finalize our decisions next week before conferences.  Oh crap, I didn't give out the conference slips again.  Auuugghh!  My apologies.  Again.

The spelling test today was the big thirty word Sitton test which they will see two more times this year.  These are the words that the program deems the most important to learn and know during the fourth grade year.  The words, like special, until, several, thought and important, are very common  and your child will be see them over and over again this year. 

Ask your child if he/she brought home their Crayola "igneous rock."  We started learning about erosion and sediment today as we make our way toward creating Crayola "sedimentary rocks."  I showed them some of my travel slides of some of our country's most spectacular examples of erosion like the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Arches National Park, Yosemite, Death Valley, etc.  I hope I didn't put them to sleep.

Channeling last night's author talk with Paul Tough, I talked a bit with them about overcoming adversity.  Mr. Tough has found that wealthy kids often don't face enough adversity and that our poorer population faces too much.  I think the class as a whole has a good attitude about this.  It may be my way in to get them to dare to be wrong a little more.

Reminder: No school on Monday, Veteran's Day. 

It is going too fast.  Slow down this crazy ride!

Have a good night.

Mr. Shea

Picture book election day

Hello,

Great day today.  The class did very well running an election.  Thank you so much to author Fran Hodgkins for being absolutely fantastic.  She spoke to the entire school.  She shook hands at the polls.  She ate lunch with many in our class.  She donated a bunch of her books to our class.  She gave signed copies of Andre to three of her biggest supporters in the school.  I can't say enough about what she did to make this a special day.  And her book crushed If I Built a Car 432-175. 

I just got out of a team meeting and now am running to see Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed, in Portland. 

The field trip in cancelled again.  Sorry.  I'll let you know the new date when I know. 

I forgot to give out parent/teacher conference sign up slips.  Long day.  You'll get one tomorrow.

I've got to run.  The whole fourth grade team is attending!  I think that's great.

Good night,

Mr. Shea

Please Vote

Hello,

No school tomorrow.  Please vote.  Please take your child with you so they can see the process.

I'm giving another teacher a ride home, so I have to go. 

NO homework club tomorrow because there is no school.

Please sign the new field trip permission slips.  We are scheduled to go on Thursday.

thanks,

Mr. Shea

November

Hello,

I just got back from an interactive white board meeting.  I learned a couple of things that I can bring to future math classes.

The big news today was the election results.  Andre the Seal and If I Built a Car were the big winners.  Those two picture books will face off against each other in a schoolwide election next week.  I'm sure I'll be seeing Andre was a fish killer commercials later on tonight.  Ask your child whom they are going to support. 

We did some cooking in science.  We cooked up some crayons to make igneous "rocks."  We'll take a look at our hardened specimens tomorrow.  They look great. 

We talked about persuasive writing this afternoon.  Mr. Levy, the vice principal, said that he may let a couple of students speak on behalf of the picture book that they are supporting.  Students worked on writing up "radio ads" in support of their book candidate. 

I hope everyone had a great Halloween.  We got some candy brought in for the troops.  Thank you.  We will be collecting all next week as well.  UNICEF, the United Nations Children Fund did great in our class as well.  Thank you for your generosity.  We will have to have a money count. 

Spelling test tomorrow.  No homework on Halloween gave them a one day reprieve. 

The school is going to have our first lunch buddy day tomorrow.  Our class is paired up with Mrs. Collins' 2nd grade class.  Students will meet their "buddies" in the morning and have lunch with them in the afternoon.  The plan is to have one lunch buddy day a month.

Quick reminder: No school next Tuesday on election day. 

Gotta go.  Thanks for reading.

Mr. Shea