Hello, everyone! It's going to be a wonderful week!

- Writing: We are taking the PASS Writing Test this Tuesday and Wednesday, March 19 and 20. I am so proud of the progress my students have made this year, and I know they are ready to knock the socks off of this thing! You can help your child feel prepared on the day of the test by making sure he/she gets a good night's rest and a solid breakfast. Be sure to arrive at school in plenty of time and to avoid absences and early dismissals. Thank you for your support!
- Word Study: Taking a break this week. :) Next week, we'll be back in action with a study of Greek and Latin roots!
- Reading: We'll use a variety of Social Studies texts to practice questioning, using text structure to understand an author's message, and locating specific facts and details.
- Social Studies: We are charging full-speed ahead with our study of how America grew and developed as a nation! We will focus particularly on the conflicts and agreements that led to our acquisition of new land, as well as the reasons why so many Americans wanted to move west.

I hope everyone's week has gotten off to a great start! For the next few days, we will be extra-focused on Language Arts, particularly writing and language. However, Ms. Gibson and I are busy developing an awesome study of Westward Expansion for Social Studies that will allow us to put our non-fiction text-reading skills to work soon! In the meantime, here's what we're working on:

Reading - We are wrapping up our study of inferences and The Keeping Room. I have REALLY enjoyed the discussions we've had and am proud of my students for growing mature in their thinking about how to handle conflict.

Hello, families! We had a fantastic, jam-packed 5 days of learning last week. I am especially proud of how much my students have grown in their understanding of the American Revolution. I invite you to visit the "Slices of Life" blog on this website to get a peek at what they created to show what they learned!

Our goals for this week:
Reading - Use context clues and Greek/Latin roots to determine the meanings of unknown words.
Word Study - Students will either study contractions or Greek/Latin roots depending on their performance on a brief contractions pre-assessment.
Language - We will briefly survey adjectives and pronouns, but our focus will be centering on PASS-style Language questions, since that test is rapidly approaching. (See the "Important Info" page for more details.)
Writing - Again, we are practicing for PASS Writing by planning responses to a variety of different prompts. Every few days, students will select one of the plans they've created and write a full essay based on that. The goal is to help students get comfortable creating an organized piece about any topic.
Social Studies - We will quickly review the development and components of the U.S. Constitution. We spent a good deal of time on this subject at the beginning of the year, before elections, so this will just be a reminder of what we already know.

Is it weird that I love normal, 5-day weeks? I mean, I love holidays and workdays just as much as the next teacher, as well, but there is something so refreshing about having a nice, clean swath of instructional time lying before you. And we sure need it this week, because we have a LOT to do! Here's our docket for the week ...

Reading: We are continuing to enjoy The Keeping Room-- it is leading to some lively debates! This week, we're using our newly-developed inference skills to figure out the meanings of unknown words using context clues.

Word Study: We're back in our regular groups now; each group will be studying its own pattern.

Language: We are FINALLY reviewing what we know about verbs and demonstrating our knowledge on a test. 

Writing: We will take one day to finalize our SPLENDID personal narratives, then move into some focused PASS Writing Preparation. Students will have time to transform their narratives into an electronic Big Universe book as time permits in the morning and during Reading Workshop over the next couple of weeks.

Social Studies: We will be working in small groups to create videos about key events of the American Revolution, then showing what we've learned through a test on Friday.

As you can see, we are trying to pack in a gargantuan amount of learning. Thank you for helping your child come to school fully prepared to learn and work each day!

Thanks SO much to those of you who helped make our Friendship Celebration a success! The kids enjoyed spending time with each other and sharing kind notes. Oh, who am I kidding? The part they were MOST excited about was all that candy!

This week is my favorite kind of school week-- calm, straight-forward, no major disruptions-- just time to work and learn! Let's make it a great one!

Reading: The kids are getting into our novel, The Keeping Room, and making some GREAT observations about the conflicts between Patriots, Loyalists, and the British army. The book is leaving many of us wondering what we would do if we were in Joey's shoes. As we read, we are continuing to practice our inferring skills.

Word Study: The majority of the class will be reviewing words that have double letters, since this was a tricky area on our mid-year Developmental Spelling Assessment. The blue group is comfortable with this category of words already and will be continuing their small-group study of derivational patterns.

Language and Writing: We will be revising and editing our personal narratives, paying careful attention to our story structure, word choice, and use of verbs.

Social Studies: The American Revolution is in full swing now! We will begin with a brief study of the Declaration of Independence, then overview the major battles that brought the war to its finale.

It's another full week of learning for the H5 family! We are very much building on our goals from last week.

- Reading: We will be developing our inferring skills as we continue reading and reflecting on The Keeping Room. The students started this novel with our substitute teacher last week, and, I'm not gonna lie-- I'm a little jealous. I am SO ready to share the book with them myself!
- Language: We're continuing to practice applying our editing skills in real contexts, particularly in our own writing and particularly with regard to verbs, nouns, and sentence conventions.
- Writing: Hoping to finish drafting our personal narratives by the end of the week. We will be working especially hard on keeping our stories organized and making them shine with specific details and interesting word choice.
- Social Studies: The first shots of the American Revolution will be fired this week, and the war will be in full swing! How will it end?! ... Okay, actually, we know how it will end. But this should be an intriguing study anyway!

Colonial Day was a hit! I personally enjoyed dressing up and channeling my inner school-marm ... and I supposed the kids had fun, too!  You can read more about it by choosing "Slices of Life" from the blog list at the top of the page. Your child knows the password to access it.

This week will be a bit unusual. Tuesday is a Half Day and our second annual Career Morning, and we are looking forward that. On Thursday and Friday, I will be away, traveling. My students know that their behavior with a guest teacher should be even BETTER than normal, that they should prepare to be flexible with a different adult in the room, and that they have plenty of good work to focus on while I'm gone. Please continue to reinforce those lessons at home so they'll have a smooth, enjoyable two days. (But not TOO enjoyable ... I want them to miss me a little bit!)

Here are our goals for the week:
Reading - Make inferences as we begin our novel study of The Keeping Room, which will parallel our study of the American Revolution.
Word Study - Learn patterns introduced in our small groups.
Language - Apply what we've learned about verbs in context by editing passages.
Writing - Plan vivid settings and characters for our personal narratives.
Social Studies - Explain the causes of the American Revolution.

Looking forward to a full week of learning!

WHEW! It's only Monday, and I'm already overwhelmed with busy-ness. It is going to be a jam-packed week of learning! Here's what we have going on ...

Reading: We are searching for cause and effect as we read texts with Ms. M. in our Reading Teams. Soon, we will begin our class novel study of The Keeping Room, which will go along with our Social Studies work.

Word Study: We are taking a break from spelling and bending our minds around different sorts of analogies this week!

Language: We are learning the ins and outs of verbs so we can use them effectively in our writing. (Be sure to ask your child about "Not Yo' Gramma's Gramma' Songs" ...)

Writing: We have had a wonderful time telling stories from our past in conversation-- over the next 2-3 weeks, we will carefully craft one personal narrative or realistic fiction story that can be shared with others in writing.

Social Studies: We are kicking off our study of the American Revolution to find out why the colonies broke away from England! Paul Revere dropped by my room and mentioned that a certain Queen Barth and King Gadson miiiight be stopping in to help us with that ...

Okay, on to the BIG event: Colonial Day! It's happening this Friday, February 1st, and I daresay that it shall be splendid indeed! Here's the run-down:
- Each 4th-grade room will feature a different facet of colonial life: Home, Clothing, School, and Games. Ms. Matthews is quite looking forward to transforming into an old-fashioned school-marm.
- Students will rotate with their homerooms to each class between 8:30 and 11:10 am. (We have swapped Related Arts times with 2nd grade and will visit RA in the afternoon.)
- The cost is $2, to help cover the price of supplies.
- Students are not required to dress up in colonial costumes. I mean, let's face it-- that would be cool, but all you parents would hate me for springing that on you at the last minute, and all the kids would hate me for making them wear uncomfortable clothes. The teachers, on the other hand, will be dressed to the nines. :)
- Having said that, each child will have the opportunity to make a colonial hat and dress up for photos in Lord Steedly's abode. Moreover, if you and your child WANT to come up with colonial wear, go for it! It doesn't have to be complicated-- boys can wear a button-down shirt, roll up their pants, wear long socks, and don dress shoes. Girls can wear long skirts, braid and/or cover their hair, and throw on an apron. Let's have fun with this, eh?

So, I started off by saying that I'm overwhelmed with busy-ness ... but I'm also overwhelmed with excitement that I get to do so many wonderful things with such great kids. And that's a way better kind of overwhelmed to be. :)

Last week FLEW by! I missed my students while I was away for curriculum design on Tuesday and Wednesday, but it was time well-spent. My colleagues and I created a unit targeted at developing our students' vocabulary and word-building skills. We'll be implementing this instruction next month.

I'm expecting this week to whiz by, as well-- we will be busy with a lot of learning! Here are our goals for the week:

- Reading: We will identify cause and effect in various texts.
- Word Study: We will continue working with the words we were introduced to in our small groups last week.
- Language: We will correctly use verbs in the past, present, and future tense, as well as use helping and linking verbs.
- Writing: We will revise the essays we wrote for "Tricky Tom and Sneaky Sue" so that they feature more vivid verbs.
- Social Studies: We will review what we've learned about the colonies and show our knowledge on a test. We will also share our colonial brochures and investigate some primary documents that tell what brought early colonists to South Carolina.

Speaking of the colonies, 4th grade is looking forward to hosting its first Colonial Day in two weeks, on Friday, February 1st! Each 4th-grade teacher is planning a special activity that will help students get a feel for life in the colonies. Our classes will have a chance to experience each activity and imagine what it would have been like to be a colonist.

We would welcome any help you can give us with this exciting event, either by preparing materials beforehand or lending a hand on the day itself. If you would like to assist, please complete the form below. Thank you! We are looking forward to sharing this special day with our students!

We have had wonderful, learning-packed days since we've returned from Winter Break, and this week looks like it will be the same way. I am so proud of my classes for staying focused and trying their best!

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I have the opportunity to work with the 4th- and 5th-grade Language Arts teams for 2 full days. We will be designing instruction that will help our students build and use their vocabularies more effectively. I'm looking forward to getting to work with my colleagues but will certainly miss my students! Today, we discussed the work that they will be engaged in while I'm gone and reminded each other that behavioral expectations with a guest teacher are as good or better than behavioral expectations with Ms. Matthews. I'm confident they will make me proud.

Our goals for this week:
Reading - Identify main idea and key details in leveled texts about people who contribute to their communities.
Word Study - Goals will vary by small group.
Language - Identify, define, and use verbs in the past, present, and future tenses.
Writing - Practice writing an organized, interesting essay for "Tricky Tom and Sneaky Sue" (aka the authors of the PASS Writing Test).
Social Studies - Compare and contrast the 13 colonies. Create a travel brochure that tells which colonial region would be the best to visit and why.