Happy December! It feels like the school year just got started, and we are already almost half way through it.  Wow!

This week has been a busy one academically.  We are hunkering down and trying to get a lot of learning done in the next 3 weeks.  In math, third graders are learning how to add and subtract up and down a number line using a story context.  They are learning how to represent story problems with equations and how to move up or down the number line to the next landmark number in order to be efficient.  This is hard work, but they are all able to do it!  4th graders and working with numbers in the ten thousands -- adding and subtracting using the US algorithm across multiple zeroes!  Learning to regroup and what it means is conceptually challenging, but I am pleased with the progress I see.  This class is a math thinking machine!

During reading we are focusing on main idea  and supporting details. From my years of experience, I know this is a tough thing to grasp. To understand that the main idea is NOT the same thing as the topic is tricky. We are looking at topic sentences and trying to figure out how the text is structured (problem/solution, chronology, compare and contrast. etc.) to help us figure out what they author is trying to teach us. 

In writing, we are finally drafting our expert books! We are learning all about how non-fiction writers elaborate, and we are figuring out how the chapters of our books should go -- in order, of equal importance, not repetitive.  Once that work is done, the expert book almost writes itself! I particularly love how this unit helps students think about organizing their thoughts. I always see huge progress in paragraphing and organizing as a result of the expert book completion!

Our science  unit on natural resources is winding down. This week we thought about how each of us could be a "Lorax" and do our part to save energy. Now the students are researching one renewable and one non-renewable natural resource to do a quick comparison.  They are becoming experts in energy -- learning about geothermal, propane, wind, coal, solar, oil,  and even nuclear.  They are learning what is meant by a fossil fuel and how they can be informed consumers.  I can't wait to see how they all present their research.

I am hoping we can use the outdoor wood-fired oven to bake something the day before the holiday vacation.  I have been thinking about what would be easy and fun and different to bake. One idea I have is to make challah dough in bread machines and then let each student make their own mini challah loaf.  We can either make them and bake them on the same day, or make them ahead of time and freeze them until Friday 12/20 when we can use the oven.  I am looking for some volunteers to help with this. If you are free on Thursday 12/19 or Friday 12/20, please let me know so I can figure out how to fit this in.  I am also open to other suggestions for things to bake. I like the idea of challah because I have a wonderful recipe for making the dough in the bread machine, and it would be satisfying to make dough, then bake it outdoors for a change rather than in the machine itself.  And who doesn't love braiding bread dough?

Finally, many of the students have been asking to go out to recess without their snow gear or boots.  Mrs. Graf sent out an email recently asking teachers to inform students that they need to wear their winter gear outside.  This means boots, coats, snow pants, hats, and gloves or mittens.  Of course I will be reasonable and not enforce this if the weather changes drastically, but my general policy is that students should wear what you send in their backpacks.  If you have questions about this, please contact me.  I know it feels "cool" to not care about the cold, but it's not so great to be in wet clothes and shoes for the afternoon!

That is all for this week. I hope you all have a relaxing weekend!

Hello All,
We have made it to the end of our first trimester! Despite the ice day and the excitement over vacation, we have continued working in math, reading, writing and science.  4th graders have started their 10,000 chart and 3rd graders are learning to use number lines to subtract.  Everyone is planning chapter headings for their upcoming expert books. In reading we have discussed how non-fiction books are structured and how to stop and jot our thoughts about main ideas and supporting details after each chunk of text. And in science, we went on a fun website called Energy Hog today and learned all about what appliances in our homes use the most energy and how to be wise consumers.  Much of this will need to be reviewed after vacation, but we certainly haven't been idle!

It was lovely to see so many of you at our Scholastic Book Fair and our Thanksgiving Lunch. I'm sorry I didn't get to chat with more of you -- a half hour lunch for that many people goes by fast!  I know some of you bought books for the classroom library.  Thank you so much for your generosity!

Thank you also for your continued support of our bread baking project. To date we have earned $115 to donate to 350.org. We are doing our small part to save the planet, and learning to bake and eating yummy bread at the same time!  I can always use more bread flour, butter, eggs, and yeast if you would like to help, but please don't feel pressured! 

Report cards will be coming home the Monday after vacation. Please remember that these are just a snapshot of what skills and concepts your child has mastered at this time of the year.  We are all continuing to grow, mature, learn, and change as the year progresses.  I hope you will be in touch if anything about the report card confuses you, but there shouldn't be any surprises! This is a wonderful class of students who love to learn.

I hope you all have a restful holiday and get to spend time with the people you love.  I will miss the class and look forward to seeing them in December.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday comes so quickly!
This week we continued to work on adding and subtracting in math. Third graders are learning how to combine hundreds and how to combine tens to make hundreds.  The strategies they are learning will prepare them well for regrouping when they learn the algorithms next year. Today we made a chart of various addition strategies including a number line, adding by place value, and keeping one number whole and adding on. They rocked at their math work today!  Fourth graders have mastered the addition algorithm but aren't fluent with the subtraction one quite yet, particularly across a middle zero. They will all get it with a little more practice next week!

With the snow day and the delayed opening, we didn't have much time to explore our new writing unit yet, but we will dig into it more next week. So far all we have done is "rehearse" by telling about something we feel we are experts in.  We will start planning and writing next week. Our non-fiction reading unit is under way, and the things students are noticing about non-fiction books as they read will help them when they write.  So far, we have discussed text features and the difference between narrative and expository non-fiction.  They are loving the books I have borrowed from BRMS by Peter Menzel -- Hungry Planet and Material World. Ask them to tell you about those. To go along with the topics in those books, I showed them the website Dollar Street today, and they were fascinated by the images comparing homes, toilets, beds, toothbrushes, etc. around the world. Check it out!

Finally, we are starting to learn about renewable versus nonrenewable energy sources. So far we have learned what the terms mean, but we will get further into which energy sources are fossil fuels and which are renewable next week. I love this unit because it really helps the students understand how they can be activists in their own way! 

Two new vocabulary words this week: sullen and contemplating. I hope you can slip these into your everyday conversations!

We have decided not to go the Essex Hydro Dam after all. Between the upcoming holiday, getting a bus, arranging the field trip with Green Mountain Power, and finding dates that work for all 4 classes, it seems like an impossible task. By the time we make it happen, the unit will be over!  We will take a virtual tour of a hydro dam instead, and I think it will be far less disruptive.

That's the week. I hope you all enjoy the weekend!

Happy Snowy Friday!
Last week's storm threw us all for a loop! I hope you all managed to stay dry.

We've had another busy few weeks.  We have been finishing up units and starting new ones. We finished our Vermont Geography unit -- and celebrated  by making candy maps. Most of the kids have done a really wonderful job learning where many of Vermont's geographic features are located. They also learned about how Vermont's geography has made it possible for various industries/businesses to flourish here.  They learned about the difference between human, natural and capital resources, paying attention mostly to the natural resources we have here in our beautiful state. This week, we moved on to learning about how humans use natural resources for energy. We will be learning about coal, wind, solar, hydro, and others. The main concepts in this unit are that some natural resources are renewable and others are not, and that no matter which we use, there are consequences for our plant.  Not a cheery topic, but one kids can learn about and then use to make good choices.

Our new math units focus on addition and subtraction. Third graders are learning to conceptualize what 1,000 looks like and they are understanding magnitude of large numbers and place value. They are learning new strategies to put tens together to make hundreds, and ones together to make tens. This work sets them up well for 4th grade units next year, when they will need to learn regrouping so they can add and subtract more efficiently.  Fourth graders are learning similar skills, but they are conceptualizing 10,000! They are learning how to use regrouping ("carrying and borrowing") when they add and subtract using the algorithm that we all used when we were in school (MANY years ago for me....)  They love the efficiency of the algorithm now that they can understand what it means when they put those little marks in each place value column!

We also finished up our narrative reading and narrative writing units! The students should have brought home their writing pieces -- and yesterday they completed an "on-demand" assessment piece to show me all they have learned.  I will be scoring these soon, and the scores will appear on report cards.  Next we launch our informational writing unit. The kids will be writing "expert" books, and learning to organize their information in a variety of ways. This is the unit I love the most -- huge growth happens as they begin to use paragraphs and think of other ways to separate the parts of their books.  We will also read informational books at the same time, giving us lots of mentor texts to use as examples in our own writing. 

Today I learned about a wonderful website that I want to share with you.  Here is the link: https://www.ryanandcraig.com/read-alouds  This is a website where Randy and Craig, two funny and engaging men, read books out loud. Like teachers, they stop and think out loud during the read aloud, engaging listeners and making them think.  This is a wonderful way to get your reluctant readers to be involved with stories!  I highly recommend checking it out. There are MANY books on the website, all read aloud by these 2 funny guys. Who wouldn't love that?

Okay, that is all for this week. I hope you all have a wonderful and restful weekend -- the crazy holiday season is almost upon us!

So many highlights this week!  One of the best parts of the past 2 weeks has been meeting with all of you. I always feel I get the know the students a little better when I meet their parents! Thank you all for taking the time to meet with me -- we make a good team!

One of our big highlights this week was having VEEP (Vermont Energy Education Program) come into the classroom. The students were able to see how solar and wind can work to make electricity, and they got to experiment with variables such as turbine blade angle, solar panel angle, distance from the source, etc.  They were all very involved and it was a fun and engaging way to start thinking about how we use natural resources to make electricity. Today we are having a celebration with the other 4th grade and watching The Lorax. As we learn about electricity, we will focus on how each of us can be a Lorax in our own lives.  Next week, we will be finishing up our Vermont Geography unit and start learning about electricity.

Another highlight this week was using our brand new pizza oven to make pizza!  The class got to work with Mr. Brezic's class to stretch pizza dough and spread sauce and cheese on it. Then we fired up the oven and baked the pizzas, and they were yummy!  The students were proud of their creations and definitely enjoyed eating!  This is a group that loves to eat.

A final highlight has been making bread. Many of the students have had an opportunity to make it, and I haven't had to help them at all! The bread has looked and smelled edible, and I'm assuming it's being enjoyed at home!  I am already getting a little low on bread flour and eggs. Donations are always appreciated!

We DID manage to continue academics this week! We finished up our math units in both grades. We learned all about the different physiographic regions in Vermont. We continued reading our fiction books and looked at how we find evidence to back up our ideas. And we continue our writing pieces, working on ways to elaborate and make the details come to life.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Another week coming to an end!  This will be a short post since it feels like a short week, and I will be seeing all of you at conferences in the next 2 weeks.  We had a lovely time at our school hike on Tuesday, and it was incredibly helpful to have some parent volunteers!  Wednesdays's delay made for a short day, but wearing pajamas and having stuffed animals was special and reminded me, once again, how little the students really are!  Today's tree study trip was wonderfully instructive (thank you Josh!) and we had a beautiful day for it. Again, thanks to the parents who make this kind of trip possible. 

On to academics -- Math in 4th grade has switched to data and measurement, a short and fun unit all about making line plots and noticing the "shape of the data." 3rd graders are continuing to work on multiplication and division, using what they know to figure out what they don't know. I'll give more details of these units and concepts during conferences.

We are busily writing either small moment stories (3rd grade) or fiction stories (4th grade) and learning how to paint images with our words, how to think about beginning, middle and end, and how to make sure our characters seem real. This class loves to write, and I am enjoying reading their work and conferring with them individually. 

They also love to read! Be sure to ask them about Rob and Sistine, the characters in our read-aloud, Tiger Rising. They are doing some heavy thinking about who they are more like. They are also learning that characters in books, like real humans, are complicated and don't just have one character trait. 

Finally, we are learning a lot about Vermont and its geography. Today we examined population maps, precipitation maps, relief maps, and elevation maps.  Next week we will get into the various "physiographic" regions of Vermont and think about what Vermont is famous for and why.  We will end this unit by making fun candy maps of Vermont right around Halloween.

We start our bread making on Monday.  A word of warning -- this bread is made by kids so it sometimes doesn't come out perfectly.... Please don't count on it as your main dinner!  Most days it is perfect. but there are those times....

Next week's sharing theme is "something from another country."

Enjoy your weekend, and I will see you all soon!

It was so lovely to see EVERY family here last night for Open House! The students were on fire, and so proud to show you around our classroom. I didn't even need to be here! Thank you all for coming out (and getting stuck in traffic!) to see our space.

Thank you also for sending in your conference sign-up sheets. Your confirmation will come home in Tuesday's homework folder. Keep your eye out!

Fourth grade mathematicians have finished their first multiplication unit. They reviewed what it means to multiply and they practiced using what they know to figure out what they don't know. Their final assessment was all about factors and multiples, and they all showed that they have a solid understanding of how we use these. The last few days, they have been involved in some "3-Act Problems," trying to figure out how many doughnuts were in a huge box, how long it took to fill a number of jars with water, etc. They have enjoyed the challenge!  Finally, we have talked a lot about using multiples of ten, and what it means to "add a zero" when you are multiplying by 10. They now understand that they aren't actually adding a zero, but instead MOVING the number over in place value and placing a ten in the ones place!  Monday we will start a short unit on measurement and data.

Third graders are still working on their multiplication unit and are busy making arrays to learn about dimensions and area. They are still working on understanding that multiplying means EQUAL GROUPS, and that skip counting is another way of getting at multiplication. We still have a few weeks to go in their unit, and then they will also move on to a measurement and data unit. We are taking our time to build this important foundation!

Literacy continues daily. Students are reading books at their levels and paying attention to character traits. We are tying to move away from retelling and into the realm of having thoughts and ideas about who are characters are, what they care about, etc.  In writing, we have done a lot of work to come up with story ideas (true stories for 3rd graders and fiction stories for 4th) and have planned using a variety of strategies. Some have drawn pictures, others have used graphic organizers, and others have made story arcs. Today we started drafting, writing for as long as we could to get as much of our stories down as possible. Next week we will finish drafting and start the hard work of revising!  We've also started our spelling program, which is a phonics based program this year. So far we are looking at beginning and ending consonant clusters and parts of words. Soon we will get into different kinds of syllabication.

We finished our first energy unit and have moved into Vermont Geography. This week we learned what a map is and what features it has. Then we examined a map of Vermont and added its most important features like the Green Mountains and Lake Champlain. We will move into more details about Vermont's regions next week.

Next week is a crazy one! We have our field trip on Tuesday (please let me know if you plan to join us and make sure you have completed all necessary paperwork.) Then we have a delay on Wednesday. Weather permitting, we will walk to the park for our tree study again on Friday from 9:00 until 11:00. I'd love to have volunteers to help with that trip! Please let me know if you can join us.

Finally, on to bread. We have eaten 3 kinds of bread this week, and the students are excited to start making it themselves and selling it to you!  I will make a Sign-Up Genius this weekend and get the link to you soon so that you can pre-order either French, Cinnamon, or Dill bread.  I'd love some help with ingredients!  I need bread flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. If you can help, that would be great. Send the ingredients in any time!

Next week's sharing theme: Something purple!

Enjoy the weekend!