Hi,
I hope you had a fun holiday with lots of family time. I had a relaxing, yet productive week, but am happy to be back in school with your children. We had a great week!
Scholastic Book Orders
I will submit a Scholastic Book Order for our class on Sunday. The items will be delivered before our holiday break. Have fun doing some holiday shopping! Go to https://clubs2.scholastic.com. Our classroom code is GYTDB.
Passport to Adventure Literacy Night
Forest Creek will be having its annual “Passport to Adventure” Literacy Night on
Thursday, December 11, 2014 from 5-7pm. Mark your calendar to come and enjoy
stories from around the world and fun activities, including a multicultural fair in the gym.
Promise Pizza will be available to purchase for $1 per slice. Round Rock’s Ballet
Folklorico will close the Literacy Night activities with a performance at 6:30pm.
Parents: Can you share something about your family’s country of origin for Literacy
Night? Maybe there is a game from your country, or special clothes, dancing, or type of artwork. If you would like to reserve a table at the multicultural fair to share
this rich culture, please call or email Mrs. Mariah Smith at 464-5359 or
Mariah_Smith@roundrockisd.org. Thanks so much.
Talented and Gifted Referrals
TAG Referral Packets will be available for downloading from the RRISD Gifted and Advanced Academic Services website. Referral forms are due in the Forest Creek office no later than Tuesday, December 9th at 2:45 pm. A TAG referral informational Powerpoint is available on the Forest Creek Parent Resources page. Only hard copies of the referral form will be accepted. Contact our TAG teachers with questions: Julie_Washburn@roundrockisd.org or Katharine_Riedlinger@roundrockisd.org.
Winter Party
Our classroom’s winter party will be on Thursday, December 18th from 9:30-10:30 am. You can RSVP on the Forest Creek Website and your badge will be printed in advance. More information will come soon about donations needed.
Music Class Performance
Students who would like to may share their musical talents in music class on the last days of music for the semester. Anyone may sing a song, accompanied by a CD, MP3 or A capella (unaccompanied). Students who wish to play piano must bring their book or sheet music, even if the song is memorized, and instrumentalists who play anything other than piano should bring their instrument. Our class will perform on Tuesday, December 16.
Curriculum Based Assessments
We had a Reading CBA on Thursday and will be taking a Science CBA on Monday and a Math CBA on Tuesday.
Reading
In reading, we read several expository articles and books about the Titanic. We used them to work on using context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words and to make inferences. We then read a biography of Molly Brown, a Titanic survivor, and compared the genre of biography with the articles and discussed how the background knowledge gained from the articles helped us have a deeper understanding the biography. We also read biographies of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins and watched video of the first moon landing. We then read a poem about the moon and our background knowledge of the moon landing helped us understand the references in the poem. We will continue to read and respond to some more expository books about the moon next week.
Writing
Personal Narratives have been our focus this week and we are drafting leads and writing drafts. We will work on publishing our personal narratives by the end of next week and beginning writing an expository essay to finish before the winter break.
Social Studies
We researched Native Tribes of Texas and made webs or charts to organize information about each tribe. We discussed the ways each tribe used natural resources to survive and how they bartered or traded with other tribes to meet their needs. We will finish up learning about the tribes and begin learning about explorers in Texas next week.
Spelling
We have been working on words with silent letters. We’ve practiced words with silent k (knock, knowledge), silent b (climb, lamb), silent w (write, wrap), silent b (debt, doubt), silent g (sign, design), and silent g (gnat, gnaw). Next week, we will work on suffixes like ment (government, agreement), less (thoughtless, hopeless), and ful (hopeful, beautiful). Thank you for encouraging your child to study spelling words.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary words this week are homophones, which are words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. The words are definitions are on Quizlet.com and the children will make cards on Monday.
Dates to Remember:
Sunday, December 7, 2014-Book Orders Due
Monday, December 8, 2014-Science CBA-Tutorials from 2:45-3:45, Reading Logs Due
Tuesday, December 9, 2014-Math CBA-Tutorials from 2:45-3:45
Wednesday, December 10, 2014-Summary and Response Due
Thursday, December 11, 2014-Senior Choir Tour, Writing Club 2:45-3:45, Passport to Literacy Night 5-7pm
Friday, December 12, 2014-Gingerbread House Making with 1st Grade Reading Buddies, Ridgeview Concert from 9-9:45, Summary and Response Due, Spelling Test and Vocabulary Test
Sunday, December 14, 2014-PTA FCE Day at Barnes and Noble-9am-9pm
Monday, December 15, 2014- Reading Log Due, NO Tutorials today, Special Service Club Meeting
Tuesday, December 16, 2014-Pen Pal Visit from 9:15-10:30 in library, Tutorials from 2:45-3:45pm
Wednesday, December 17, 2014-Summary and Responses Due
Thursday, December 18, 2014-Reading log due for this week, Marking Period Ends-All assignments are due. Holiday Party from 9:30-10:30
Friday, December 19-January 5, 2015-Holiday Break-Reading Challenge at least 200 minutes required
January 6, 2015-Back to School! Holiday Reading Log due. (200 minutes required)
Thank you for sharing your child with me! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Friday, December 5, 2014
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hello, November 27, 2014
Happy Thanksgiving!
I am thankful for all of the wonderful fourth graders this year. They are all creative, hard-working, and very kind students. I enjoy going to work each day. Thank you all for all you do.
Reading logs are due on Monday, December 1. Write it on paper if you didn't get one. Read at least 100 minutes.
Happy Reading and enjoy time with family and friends!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Happy Thanksgiving!
I am thankful for all of the wonderful fourth graders this year. They are all creative, hard-working, and very kind students. I enjoy going to work each day. Thank you all for all you do.
Reading logs are due on Monday, December 1. Write it on paper if you didn't get one. Read at least 100 minutes.
Happy Reading and enjoy time with family and friends!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Newsletter
Hi, November 15, 2014
Reflections Gallery Night
Congratulations to all the students who entered the Reflections Program! We had lots of creative responses to the theme: The World would be a Better Place if… We also had many students from our class receive medals and their work will move onto the next level. Congratulations to Madi for her photography work and Erin, Joshua, and Parker for their poetry. Great job!
Food Drive for the Round Rock Serving Center
We are collecting food to fill the pantry at the Serving Center. Canned food and non-perishable items can be placed in the barrels by the office. Donate food by Thursday, Nov. 20. Thank you for your help.
OMS Toy Drive
We passed our goal of 150 toys! As of Friday, our school donated 175 new toys to bring awareness to OMS or Opsocionus Myoclonus Syndrome. The toys will be delivered to patients at Dell Children’s Hospital over Thanksgiving break. Thank you so much for your donations!
Thanksgiving Day Meal
On Thursday, Nov. 20, FCE will celebrate Thanksgiving during lunch. Families are invited to join your child for lunch. Our lunchtime is at 11:00-11:30. If you are planning on coming for lunch, go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QajBlS4z4RcltejLzkAoT7RkHuRWCBwVHUILGR540s8/viewform to RSVP. The office will have a badge printed for you.
Totally O-Rama
We will be celebrating the 1980’s on Friday! Your child is encouraged to dress in 80’s style and be ready to sing and dance. Our performance for 4th grade will be at 12:00 in the cafeteria. It will be totally awesome!!!!!
Thanksgiving Break
RRISD will be closed from Monday, Nov. 24-28 for Thanksgiving Break. Enjoy time with family and friends.
Thanksgiving Break Reading Challenge
Your child will have a reading log to complete over the November Break. At least 20 minutes should be read each day or at least 100 minutes. I encourage your children to challenge themselves and read as much as possible. Everyone is expected to read at least 100 minutes and a homework grade will be earned. All children who read at least 100 minutes will get to choose a prize. The children with the highest totals of reading time will have first choice of the prizes! Don’t forget that reading using I-Station counts as reading time. Read as a family and enjoy time with books together!
Reading
This week we read and discussed poetry. We learned about different types of poems and practiced finding the theme or message in the poem as well as elements of poetry such as stanzas, line breaks, metaphors, similes, adjectives, sensory words, etc… We will continue to examine and make inferences about poetry and will start comparing and contrasting nonfiction and fiction books with the same topic.
Writing
We enjoyed learning about poetry in reading then using that knowledge and our creativity to write poems. We each wrote and published a poem about weather as well as other poems of our choice. The poems will be displayed in the hallway. We will work on improving our writing of personal narratives next and will publish another personal narrative the week after the November break.
Spelling and Vocabulary-This week we will be spelling words with silent b and silent w. (example-thumb and wrist). In vocabulary, we will learn about types of questions and words with the roots-auto and port)
Social Studies
We researched the Caddo and Karankawa tribes. We also reviewed characteristics of all the Texas Regions. We talked about the resources that these tribes used in the Coastal Plains Region where they lived. We will continue studying tribes of Texas this week. We will also revise and edit our Texas Regions projects and will present them to the other homeroom on Friday morning.
Dates to Remember
Monday, November 17-Reading Logs due, Tutorials from 2:45-3:45
Tuesday, November 18-Tutorials from 2:45-3:45, Bring in food for the food drive.
Wednesday, November 19-Summary and Responses due
Thursday, November 20-Thanksgiving Lunch at 11:00, Service Club from 2:45-3:45
Friday, November 21-Summary and Responses due, Spelling test and vocabulary test, Totally O-Rama at 12:00
Monday, November 24-Friday, November 28-No School-Happy Thanksgiving!-Be sure to read at least 100 minutes!
Monday, December 1-Reading Logs due-How many minutes did you read? AT least 100 minutes for a prize!
Have a wonderful weekend! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam
Reflections Gallery Night
Congratulations to all the students who entered the Reflections Program! We had lots of creative responses to the theme: The World would be a Better Place if… We also had many students from our class receive medals and their work will move onto the next level. Congratulations to Madi for her photography work and Erin, Joshua, and Parker for their poetry. Great job!
Food Drive for the Round Rock Serving Center
We are collecting food to fill the pantry at the Serving Center. Canned food and non-perishable items can be placed in the barrels by the office. Donate food by Thursday, Nov. 20. Thank you for your help.
OMS Toy Drive
We passed our goal of 150 toys! As of Friday, our school donated 175 new toys to bring awareness to OMS or Opsocionus Myoclonus Syndrome. The toys will be delivered to patients at Dell Children’s Hospital over Thanksgiving break. Thank you so much for your donations!
Thanksgiving Day Meal
On Thursday, Nov. 20, FCE will celebrate Thanksgiving during lunch. Families are invited to join your child for lunch. Our lunchtime is at 11:00-11:30. If you are planning on coming for lunch, go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QajBlS4z4RcltejLzkAoT7RkHuRWCBwVHUILGR540s8/viewform to RSVP. The office will have a badge printed for you.
Totally O-Rama
We will be celebrating the 1980’s on Friday! Your child is encouraged to dress in 80’s style and be ready to sing and dance. Our performance for 4th grade will be at 12:00 in the cafeteria. It will be totally awesome!!!!!
Thanksgiving Break
RRISD will be closed from Monday, Nov. 24-28 for Thanksgiving Break. Enjoy time with family and friends.
Thanksgiving Break Reading Challenge
Your child will have a reading log to complete over the November Break. At least 20 minutes should be read each day or at least 100 minutes. I encourage your children to challenge themselves and read as much as possible. Everyone is expected to read at least 100 minutes and a homework grade will be earned. All children who read at least 100 minutes will get to choose a prize. The children with the highest totals of reading time will have first choice of the prizes! Don’t forget that reading using I-Station counts as reading time. Read as a family and enjoy time with books together!
Reading
This week we read and discussed poetry. We learned about different types of poems and practiced finding the theme or message in the poem as well as elements of poetry such as stanzas, line breaks, metaphors, similes, adjectives, sensory words, etc… We will continue to examine and make inferences about poetry and will start comparing and contrasting nonfiction and fiction books with the same topic.
Writing
We enjoyed learning about poetry in reading then using that knowledge and our creativity to write poems. We each wrote and published a poem about weather as well as other poems of our choice. The poems will be displayed in the hallway. We will work on improving our writing of personal narratives next and will publish another personal narrative the week after the November break.
Spelling and Vocabulary-This week we will be spelling words with silent b and silent w. (example-thumb and wrist). In vocabulary, we will learn about types of questions and words with the roots-auto and port)
Social Studies
We researched the Caddo and Karankawa tribes. We also reviewed characteristics of all the Texas Regions. We talked about the resources that these tribes used in the Coastal Plains Region where they lived. We will continue studying tribes of Texas this week. We will also revise and edit our Texas Regions projects and will present them to the other homeroom on Friday morning.
Dates to Remember
Monday, November 17-Reading Logs due, Tutorials from 2:45-3:45
Tuesday, November 18-Tutorials from 2:45-3:45, Bring in food for the food drive.
Wednesday, November 19-Summary and Responses due
Thursday, November 20-Thanksgiving Lunch at 11:00, Service Club from 2:45-3:45
Friday, November 21-Summary and Responses due, Spelling test and vocabulary test, Totally O-Rama at 12:00
Monday, November 24-Friday, November 28-No School-Happy Thanksgiving!-Be sure to read at least 100 minutes!
Monday, December 1-Reading Logs due-How many minutes did you read? AT least 100 minutes for a prize!
Have a wonderful weekend! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Newsletter
Hi, Nov. 8, 2014
We had a great week! Congratulations to Lily P. and Celine for coming in 1st and 2nd place in the Healthy Plate Poster Contest!
Texas Regions Projects
We began presenting our Texas Regions Projects! We presented to our homeroom and the children wrote two compliments and a suggestion or question for each group. I compiled all the information and each group will have an opportunity to revise and make adjustments to their presentation and/or project based on the feedback. We will present to the other homeroom class later this week.
Atomic Learning
Round Rock ISD has purchased Atomic Learning for student, parent, and staff use. This learning tool contains a wealth of information on how to use software and hardware that benefits users. The use does not have to be related to school or children’s programs. For example, Atomic Learning has tutorials on Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc), Outlook, Blackboard Learning, Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, GarageBand, Gmail, Chrome, iMovie, Internet Explorer, iPad, iPod, iTunes, Photoshop, Prezi, Safari, Skype, Windows, and Media Player to name a few. If you’re looking for a tutorial on how to do something on the computer, this is the place! Take advantage of this free resource!
URL: http://www.atomiclearning.com/login/roundrockisd
Username: roundrockparent
Password: learning
Veteran’s Day
Forest Creek will celebrate and honor Veterans this Tuesday. All Veterans are invited to come to school for breakfast then we will have two assemblies (one for K-2 at 8:15 and 3-5 at 9:00). The assemblies will include songs from our choir.
I-Station Reading online-Your child brought home a paper on Tuesday with information about downloading I-Station to work on reading at home. This is a wonderful program that adjusts to match your child’s reading level and works on many aspects in reading and writing. I am encouraging all students to work on I-Station for at least 20 minutes a week. This can be recorded in your child’s reading log and count for one day’s at-home reading homework. I can log into I-Station and check your child’s progress and the amount of time spent on the program. Thank you for working on I-Station at home and let me know if you have difficulty logging on or downloading.
TAG Information Night
There will be a TAG (Talented and Gifted) Information Night on Tuesday from 6:30-7:15. Come and learn about the TAG program and the procedures to request testing.
Reflections Gallery Night
Thursday evening will be the Reflections Gallery Night from 5-6:30. Come and see the projects!
PTA Family Fun Night at Austin Pizza on Thursday, November 13 from 5-8pm.
Reading
This week in reading we are reading and learning about poetry. We are comparing types of poems and elements of poetry such as stanzas, rhyme, meter, line breaks, similes, metaphors, etc… We are also writing responses to poetry and discussing the mood and feelings in poems.
Writing
We took a writing Curriculum Based Assessment this week. Overall, the students did very well on the multiple choice section. The fourth grade team will grade the compositions later this month. We are writing charts of sensory words and phrases for poems. We are experimenting with different types of poems. We are also examining our narratives and experimenting with revising them into poems. We will revise, edit, and publish at least one poem by the end of the week.
Social Studies
Revisions of our projects will take place this week. We will also begin learning about Native Americans in Texas. We will research tribes and the way they used the resources of their region to survive.
Dates to Remember
Monday, November 10, 2014-Reading logs due, tutorials from 2:45-3:45
Tuesday, November 11, 2014-Veteran’s Day Assembly, tutorials from 2:45-3:45, TAG information night at 6:00 pm
Wednesday, November 12, 2014-Reading Summary and Response Due
Thursday, November 13, 2014-Writing Club in library from 2:45-3:45, Reflections Gallery Night from 5-6:30, PTA Family Fun Night at Austin Pizza from 5-8 pm
Friday, November 14, 2014-Reading Summary and Response Due, Spelling and Vocabulary Test
Thursday, November 20, 2014-Thanksgiving Meal during lunch at 11:00
Friday, November 21, 2014- Totally O-Rama at 12:00 for 4th grade
Have a great rest of the weekend and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam
We had a great week! Congratulations to Lily P. and Celine for coming in 1st and 2nd place in the Healthy Plate Poster Contest!
Texas Regions Projects
We began presenting our Texas Regions Projects! We presented to our homeroom and the children wrote two compliments and a suggestion or question for each group. I compiled all the information and each group will have an opportunity to revise and make adjustments to their presentation and/or project based on the feedback. We will present to the other homeroom class later this week.
Atomic Learning
Round Rock ISD has purchased Atomic Learning for student, parent, and staff use. This learning tool contains a wealth of information on how to use software and hardware that benefits users. The use does not have to be related to school or children’s programs. For example, Atomic Learning has tutorials on Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc), Outlook, Blackboard Learning, Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, GarageBand, Gmail, Chrome, iMovie, Internet Explorer, iPad, iPod, iTunes, Photoshop, Prezi, Safari, Skype, Windows, and Media Player to name a few. If you’re looking for a tutorial on how to do something on the computer, this is the place! Take advantage of this free resource!
URL: http://www.atomiclearning.com/login/roundrockisd
Username: roundrockparent
Password: learning
Veteran’s Day
Forest Creek will celebrate and honor Veterans this Tuesday. All Veterans are invited to come to school for breakfast then we will have two assemblies (one for K-2 at 8:15 and 3-5 at 9:00). The assemblies will include songs from our choir.
I-Station Reading online-Your child brought home a paper on Tuesday with information about downloading I-Station to work on reading at home. This is a wonderful program that adjusts to match your child’s reading level and works on many aspects in reading and writing. I am encouraging all students to work on I-Station for at least 20 minutes a week. This can be recorded in your child’s reading log and count for one day’s at-home reading homework. I can log into I-Station and check your child’s progress and the amount of time spent on the program. Thank you for working on I-Station at home and let me know if you have difficulty logging on or downloading.
TAG Information Night
There will be a TAG (Talented and Gifted) Information Night on Tuesday from 6:30-7:15. Come and learn about the TAG program and the procedures to request testing.
Reflections Gallery Night
Thursday evening will be the Reflections Gallery Night from 5-6:30. Come and see the projects!
PTA Family Fun Night at Austin Pizza on Thursday, November 13 from 5-8pm.
Reading
This week in reading we are reading and learning about poetry. We are comparing types of poems and elements of poetry such as stanzas, rhyme, meter, line breaks, similes, metaphors, etc… We are also writing responses to poetry and discussing the mood and feelings in poems.
Writing
We took a writing Curriculum Based Assessment this week. Overall, the students did very well on the multiple choice section. The fourth grade team will grade the compositions later this month. We are writing charts of sensory words and phrases for poems. We are experimenting with different types of poems. We are also examining our narratives and experimenting with revising them into poems. We will revise, edit, and publish at least one poem by the end of the week.
Social Studies
Revisions of our projects will take place this week. We will also begin learning about Native Americans in Texas. We will research tribes and the way they used the resources of their region to survive.
Dates to Remember
Monday, November 10, 2014-Reading logs due, tutorials from 2:45-3:45
Tuesday, November 11, 2014-Veteran’s Day Assembly, tutorials from 2:45-3:45, TAG information night at 6:00 pm
Wednesday, November 12, 2014-Reading Summary and Response Due
Thursday, November 13, 2014-Writing Club in library from 2:45-3:45, Reflections Gallery Night from 5-6:30, PTA Family Fun Night at Austin Pizza from 5-8 pm
Friday, November 14, 2014-Reading Summary and Response Due, Spelling and Vocabulary Test
Thursday, November 20, 2014-Thanksgiving Meal during lunch at 11:00
Friday, November 21, 2014- Totally O-Rama at 12:00 for 4th grade
Have a great rest of the weekend and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Newsletter
Hi, November 1, 2014
We had a very busy, but fun week!
Red Ribbon Week
Red Ribbon Week was exciting with visitors each day and fun ways to dress up. Our school had an essay contest for Red Ribbon Week and students from our class won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place! Congratulations to Celine, Jordan, and Sebastien! Great job!
Pen Pals
Our pen pals came to visit on Tuesday and it was wonderful! The kids shared their personal narratives and their reflections pieces about making the world a better place. They talked to their pen pals about their thoughts on ways to make the world a better place and some of their favorite places. Then they all painted, played with play dough, drew, wrote poems, and played games together. We will see them again in December.
Expository Writing!
We completed our expository writing pieces on Friday! Expository writing explains and gives examples. We wrote lots of entries about things that we noticed around the school and pushed our thinking to make realizations about the observations. We also thought about some of our favorite things, places, people, sports, time of year, etc…. and chose one to write a central idea with supporting details and a strong conclusion. Very nice job, writers!
Reading
We are reading expository writing and worked on some poetry this week as well. Shel Silverstein wrote many poems and books of poetry. We read and examined one of his poems-Enter this Deserted House. We read it, noticed the stanzas and the rhyming pattern, and discussed the meaning for us. Then we watched two videos with different images interpreting this poem. One had beautiful images of nature then some spookier images and the reader changed the pace and intensity in his voice to make it suspenseful. The other video was very spooky and had some images from the old movie Psycho. It was interesting to see how different people can interpret the same words in very different ways. We will be discussing more poetry this week.
Writing
We will also be writing lots of poems in the next few weeks. We will be taking a writing CBA , which will give us some data and information about the progress of our students so far in writing.
Social Studies
We are finishing up our region projects! We will be presenting them to each other this week and will let you know about a time that you will be invited to come and see our projects as well. We will now start learning about Native people in Texas.
Dates to Remember
Monday, Nov. 3-Reading Logs due, Tutorials from 2:45-3:45, Running Club 2:45-3:15pm
Tuesday, Nov. 4-Walk/Bike to School Day, Tutorials from 2:45-3:45, Choir practice 2:50, Sr. Choir Concert-6:30 pm
Wednesday, Nov. 5-Reading summary and response due
Thursday, Nov. 6-Service Club Meeting from 2:45-3:45, Report cards go home
Friday, Nov. 7-Reading summary and response due, Spirit Day-Wear green, purple, or school shirt
Monday, Nov. 10-Reading Logs due, tutorials from 2:45-3:45
Tuesday, Nov. 11-Veteran’s Day Program at 9:00 am for 3-5, Veterans eat breakfast for free, Tutorials from 2:45-3:45, TAG Parent Information Night-6:30-7:15 pm
Wednesday, Nov. 12-Reading summary and response due
Thursday, Nov. 13-Writing Club Meeting from 2:45-3:45, PTA Family Night at Austin Pizza 5:00 pm, Reflections Gallery Night at 5:00 pm
Friday, Nov. 14-Reading summary and response due, Spirit Day-Wear green, purple, or school shirt
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Have a wonderful weekend. Stay warm!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
We had a very busy, but fun week!
Red Ribbon Week
Red Ribbon Week was exciting with visitors each day and fun ways to dress up. Our school had an essay contest for Red Ribbon Week and students from our class won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place! Congratulations to Celine, Jordan, and Sebastien! Great job!
Pen Pals
Our pen pals came to visit on Tuesday and it was wonderful! The kids shared their personal narratives and their reflections pieces about making the world a better place. They talked to their pen pals about their thoughts on ways to make the world a better place and some of their favorite places. Then they all painted, played with play dough, drew, wrote poems, and played games together. We will see them again in December.
Expository Writing!
We completed our expository writing pieces on Friday! Expository writing explains and gives examples. We wrote lots of entries about things that we noticed around the school and pushed our thinking to make realizations about the observations. We also thought about some of our favorite things, places, people, sports, time of year, etc…. and chose one to write a central idea with supporting details and a strong conclusion. Very nice job, writers!
Reading
We are reading expository writing and worked on some poetry this week as well. Shel Silverstein wrote many poems and books of poetry. We read and examined one of his poems-Enter this Deserted House. We read it, noticed the stanzas and the rhyming pattern, and discussed the meaning for us. Then we watched two videos with different images interpreting this poem. One had beautiful images of nature then some spookier images and the reader changed the pace and intensity in his voice to make it suspenseful. The other video was very spooky and had some images from the old movie Psycho. It was interesting to see how different people can interpret the same words in very different ways. We will be discussing more poetry this week.
Writing
We will also be writing lots of poems in the next few weeks. We will be taking a writing CBA , which will give us some data and information about the progress of our students so far in writing.
Social Studies
We are finishing up our region projects! We will be presenting them to each other this week and will let you know about a time that you will be invited to come and see our projects as well. We will now start learning about Native people in Texas.
Dates to Remember
Monday, Nov. 3-Reading Logs due, Tutorials from 2:45-3:45, Running Club 2:45-3:15pm
Tuesday, Nov. 4-Walk/Bike to School Day, Tutorials from 2:45-3:45, Choir practice 2:50, Sr. Choir Concert-6:30 pm
Wednesday, Nov. 5-Reading summary and response due
Thursday, Nov. 6-Service Club Meeting from 2:45-3:45, Report cards go home
Friday, Nov. 7-Reading summary and response due, Spirit Day-Wear green, purple, or school shirt
Monday, Nov. 10-Reading Logs due, tutorials from 2:45-3:45
Tuesday, Nov. 11-Veteran’s Day Program at 9:00 am for 3-5, Veterans eat breakfast for free, Tutorials from 2:45-3:45, TAG Parent Information Night-6:30-7:15 pm
Wednesday, Nov. 12-Reading summary and response due
Thursday, Nov. 13-Writing Club Meeting from 2:45-3:45, PTA Family Night at Austin Pizza 5:00 pm, Reflections Gallery Night at 5:00 pm
Friday, Nov. 14-Reading summary and response due, Spirit Day-Wear green, purple, or school shirt
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Have a wonderful weekend. Stay warm!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Newsletter
Hi, October 26, 2014
We have a busy week ahead!
This is Red Ribbon Week. The theme is: Be Yourself * Be Healthy * Be Happy * Be DRUG FREE
Monday – “Say Peace Out to Drugs” - wear tie dye
The Cedar Ridge Football Players will sign autographs at lunch – Bring a pen or pencil to lunch.
Tuesday – “Too Cool to do Drugs” – wear sunglasses
The Cedar Ridge Cheerleaders will hand out goodies at each entrance.
Wednesday – “Say Yes to a Healthy Heart and Body” – wear anything and everything RED
The Round Rock Fire Department will present assemblies: K-2
at 8:15 a.m. & 3-5 at 9:00 a.m.
Thursday – “I Picture Myself Without Drugs” – wear your school picture clothes
The Cedar Ridge Cheerleaders will hand out goodies at each entrance.
Friday – “Sock It To Drugs” – wear crazy socks
The Cedar Ridge Football Players will hand out goodies at each entrance.
Wednesday is an Early Release day. Students will be released at 12:45 p.m. We will also have a fire safety assembly during the day.
Kona Ice will be in front of school right after dismissal on Wednesday.
______________________________________________________________
Our next PTA Family Fun Night will be from 5-8 at Austin’s Pizza on Monday night, November 3rd.
Pen Pals will be coming on Tuesday, October 28! We are so excited to see them and will be interviewing them as well as exploring some watercolors, crayons, and play dough. We will create masterpieces together while we share time talking and enjoying each other’s company. We will also share our writing-personal narratives and Reflections writing. You are welcome to come and join us from about 9:15-10:30 in the library.
Reading-We began reading and taking notes on book club books for literacy circles. We are using post-it notes to take notes of our thinking, questions, comments, and/or tricky words. Then we meet with others reading the same book and discuss. These books are being read independently in class, however, if the children aren’t able to complete their assignment for that day, they can read this book for homework and it can count on the at home reading log. They can also use this book for their summary and response homework on Wednesdays and Fridays. We are also continuing our study of expository text and compared stated or explicit headings (An article about Mayans had a stated heading. The section was called Clothes and the section was about the clothing of the ancient and modern Mayan people.) and inferential or implicit headings (An article about electricity had inferential or implicit headings. These headings required the reader to make an inference or use background knowledge and text clues to figure it out. One head was Blow Wind, Blow and was about wind power being used for electricity.) We will continue to examine expository text and begin some poetry this week.
Writing-We researched information about healthy choices regarding food, exercise, drugs (over the counter and illegal drugs), alcohol, and smoking in our health book. We used some of the information to create Healthy Choice Plate Posters for a PE contest. We also wrote for the essay contest for Red Ribbon Week. We learned about outlining a bit to help organize our expository writing with a central idea then supporting statements with examples and a strong conclusion. We will be revising, editing, and publishing our expository writing this week.
Spelling-Plurals have been our focus. We learned a letter s is added to many words to change them from singular to plural. Words ending in s, ch, tch, z, sh, x, need an es added to make them plural. Some words are irregular and change completely like foot-feet, child-children. If the word ends with a consonant then a y, the y is changed to an i and es is added. That will be on our list this week.
Vocabulary-This week’s vocabulary is on figurative language. It includes simile, metaphor, imagery, sensory words, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, idiom, and hyperbole. These words and definitions will be in their agendas on Monday and are already on quizlet.com to practice.
Social Studies-We will work hard to finish our projects by Friday. Many are getting close and some have a lot to still work on. When our region projects are complete, we will begin studying the Native people in Texas.
Dates to Remember-
Monday, October 27-Reading logs due, tutorials from 2:45-3:45- wear tie dye
Tuesday, October 28-Pen Pals from 9:15-10:30, tutorials from 2:45-3:45, wear sunglasses
Wednesday, October 29-Early Release Day at 12:45, Fire Safety Assembly, Lunch from 10:45-11:15, Kona Ice after school, Summary and Response Due- wear anything and everything RED
Thursday, October 30-Writing Club from 2:45-3:45 in library, Picture Day during the day- wear your school picture clothes
Friday, October 31- Summary and Response Due, Spelling Test, Vocabulary Test - wear crazy socks
Have a wonderful weekend! If you have any questions or concerns, let me know.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
We have a busy week ahead!
This is Red Ribbon Week. The theme is: Be Yourself * Be Healthy * Be Happy * Be DRUG FREE
Monday – “Say Peace Out to Drugs” - wear tie dye
The Cedar Ridge Football Players will sign autographs at lunch – Bring a pen or pencil to lunch.
Tuesday – “Too Cool to do Drugs” – wear sunglasses
The Cedar Ridge Cheerleaders will hand out goodies at each entrance.
Wednesday – “Say Yes to a Healthy Heart and Body” – wear anything and everything RED
The Round Rock Fire Department will present assemblies: K-2
at 8:15 a.m. & 3-5 at 9:00 a.m.
Thursday – “I Picture Myself Without Drugs” – wear your school picture clothes
The Cedar Ridge Cheerleaders will hand out goodies at each entrance.
Friday – “Sock It To Drugs” – wear crazy socks
The Cedar Ridge Football Players will hand out goodies at each entrance.
Wednesday is an Early Release day. Students will be released at 12:45 p.m. We will also have a fire safety assembly during the day.
Kona Ice will be in front of school right after dismissal on Wednesday.
______________________________________________________________
Our next PTA Family Fun Night will be from 5-8 at Austin’s Pizza on Monday night, November 3rd.
Pen Pals will be coming on Tuesday, October 28! We are so excited to see them and will be interviewing them as well as exploring some watercolors, crayons, and play dough. We will create masterpieces together while we share time talking and enjoying each other’s company. We will also share our writing-personal narratives and Reflections writing. You are welcome to come and join us from about 9:15-10:30 in the library.
Reading-We began reading and taking notes on book club books for literacy circles. We are using post-it notes to take notes of our thinking, questions, comments, and/or tricky words. Then we meet with others reading the same book and discuss. These books are being read independently in class, however, if the children aren’t able to complete their assignment for that day, they can read this book for homework and it can count on the at home reading log. They can also use this book for their summary and response homework on Wednesdays and Fridays. We are also continuing our study of expository text and compared stated or explicit headings (An article about Mayans had a stated heading. The section was called Clothes and the section was about the clothing of the ancient and modern Mayan people.) and inferential or implicit headings (An article about electricity had inferential or implicit headings. These headings required the reader to make an inference or use background knowledge and text clues to figure it out. One head was Blow Wind, Blow and was about wind power being used for electricity.) We will continue to examine expository text and begin some poetry this week.
Writing-We researched information about healthy choices regarding food, exercise, drugs (over the counter and illegal drugs), alcohol, and smoking in our health book. We used some of the information to create Healthy Choice Plate Posters for a PE contest. We also wrote for the essay contest for Red Ribbon Week. We learned about outlining a bit to help organize our expository writing with a central idea then supporting statements with examples and a strong conclusion. We will be revising, editing, and publishing our expository writing this week.
Spelling-Plurals have been our focus. We learned a letter s is added to many words to change them from singular to plural. Words ending in s, ch, tch, z, sh, x, need an es added to make them plural. Some words are irregular and change completely like foot-feet, child-children. If the word ends with a consonant then a y, the y is changed to an i and es is added. That will be on our list this week.
Vocabulary-This week’s vocabulary is on figurative language. It includes simile, metaphor, imagery, sensory words, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, idiom, and hyperbole. These words and definitions will be in their agendas on Monday and are already on quizlet.com to practice.
Social Studies-We will work hard to finish our projects by Friday. Many are getting close and some have a lot to still work on. When our region projects are complete, we will begin studying the Native people in Texas.
Dates to Remember-
Monday, October 27-Reading logs due, tutorials from 2:45-3:45- wear tie dye
Tuesday, October 28-Pen Pals from 9:15-10:30, tutorials from 2:45-3:45, wear sunglasses
Wednesday, October 29-Early Release Day at 12:45, Fire Safety Assembly, Lunch from 10:45-11:15, Kona Ice after school, Summary and Response Due- wear anything and everything RED
Thursday, October 30-Writing Club from 2:45-3:45 in library, Picture Day during the day- wear your school picture clothes
Friday, October 31- Summary and Response Due, Spelling Test, Vocabulary Test - wear crazy socks
Have a wonderful weekend! If you have any questions or concerns, let me know.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Newsletter
Hi,
It was nice to see so many of you at conferences and to get to talk about your child and his/her progress. If you were unable to attend a conference and would still like to schedule one, please email and let us know. Thank you so much!
Dad’s Day
All dads are invited to come to school with their student(s) on October 24 from 7:30 to 9:00am. Go to class with your child and then report to the cafeteria for juice, coffee, and donuts at 8:15. Dads will get a firsthand experience of life in the classroom. Make plans to attend! You may want to consider signing up to be a part of our Watch D.O.G.S. program.
TAG Information Night
Save this date if you’re interested in the gifted and talented program at Forest Creek Elementary! The TAG parent information night for testing is going to take place on November 11, 2014 in the library. The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 7:15pm.
OMS Toy Drive for Dell Children’s Hospital
The FCE Service Club is still accepting donations for NEW toys to bring awareness of OMS. We have 74 toys so far and our goal is 150. We will collect toys until Nov. 14.
FCE Service Club
Our Service Club will meet on Thursday, October 23 from 2:45-3:45. All 4th and 5th graders are welcome to attend. We will count the new toy donations and begin writing notes and drawing pictures for children in an orphanage in Honduras. We will also talk about upcoming service projects. Bring some ideas.
Tutorials
Tutorials will be offered on Monday and Tuesday afternoons from 2:45-3:45. All students in Fry and Bartholomew’s classes are welcome to come to tutorials. Some come and work on homework and others work in small groups on specific assignments. Ms. Fry also does tutorials in the cafeteria on Tuesday mornings from 7:15-7:30.
Grading Period Ends on Friday
All missing or late assignments need to be completed and turned in by Friday. Any papers or tests that had correct and return for 70%, need to be turned in by Friday. Report cards will be sent home on November 6.
Pen Pals
Our pen pals are scheduled to come to FCE on Oct. 28 at 9:15. We missed seeing them this week and look forward to seeing them again. All are welcome to come and meet these wonderful friends.
Reflections Poems and Stories-Forms due ASAP
Your child brought home a poem or story with the theme-The World Would be a Better Place if… Stapled to their writing is a form to fill out to participate in the PTA Reflections Program. Please fill out the form with your child and return as soon as possible. It would be wonderful for everyone to participate in Reflections.
Our Week
In reading-we read non-fiction articles and determined the structure of the text. An article about the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park was organized in a compare and contrast format and the students compared and contrasted the opinions and actions of the ranchers and the wolf activists. Another article called “Hanging by a Thread” was organized in a problem/solution and was about the introduction of a non-native plant in Hawaii and the effects of that. We learned about making inferences (background knowledge + text clues=inference) by reading a book called Encounter, which is about Christopher Columbus but from a native boy’s point of view. We will continue working with non-fiction text and will begin literature circles or book clubs this week.
In writing-we published our poems and/or stories for Reflections and wrote more expository entries. We also worked on mentor sentences (to practice grammar, spelling, capitalization and punctuation. We took some writing time to work on our expository essays for social studies. We worked on plurals in spelling (adding es) and will continue with irregular plurals this week (foot, feet, etc…)
In social studies, we worked on our expository essays about our regions and began planning our projects with our groups.
Dates to Remember:
Monday, October 20-Reading Log due, Tutorials afterschool 2:45-3:45
Tuesday, October 21-Tutorials afterschool 2:45-3:45
Wednesday, October 22-Reading Response and Summary due
Thursday, October 23-Service Club Meeting-2:45-3:45
Friday, October 24-Dad’s Day from 7:30-9:00-Reflections forms due, Reading Response and Summary due, Grading Period Ends
Red Ribbon Week-October 27-31
Early Release Day-Wednesday, October 29 at 12:45
Have a great rest of the weekend and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
It was nice to see so many of you at conferences and to get to talk about your child and his/her progress. If you were unable to attend a conference and would still like to schedule one, please email and let us know. Thank you so much!
Dad’s Day
All dads are invited to come to school with their student(s) on October 24 from 7:30 to 9:00am. Go to class with your child and then report to the cafeteria for juice, coffee, and donuts at 8:15. Dads will get a firsthand experience of life in the classroom. Make plans to attend! You may want to consider signing up to be a part of our Watch D.O.G.S. program.
TAG Information Night
Save this date if you’re interested in the gifted and talented program at Forest Creek Elementary! The TAG parent information night for testing is going to take place on November 11, 2014 in the library. The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 7:15pm.
OMS Toy Drive for Dell Children’s Hospital
The FCE Service Club is still accepting donations for NEW toys to bring awareness of OMS. We have 74 toys so far and our goal is 150. We will collect toys until Nov. 14.
FCE Service Club
Our Service Club will meet on Thursday, October 23 from 2:45-3:45. All 4th and 5th graders are welcome to attend. We will count the new toy donations and begin writing notes and drawing pictures for children in an orphanage in Honduras. We will also talk about upcoming service projects. Bring some ideas.
Tutorials
Tutorials will be offered on Monday and Tuesday afternoons from 2:45-3:45. All students in Fry and Bartholomew’s classes are welcome to come to tutorials. Some come and work on homework and others work in small groups on specific assignments. Ms. Fry also does tutorials in the cafeteria on Tuesday mornings from 7:15-7:30.
Grading Period Ends on Friday
All missing or late assignments need to be completed and turned in by Friday. Any papers or tests that had correct and return for 70%, need to be turned in by Friday. Report cards will be sent home on November 6.
Pen Pals
Our pen pals are scheduled to come to FCE on Oct. 28 at 9:15. We missed seeing them this week and look forward to seeing them again. All are welcome to come and meet these wonderful friends.
Reflections Poems and Stories-Forms due ASAP
Your child brought home a poem or story with the theme-The World Would be a Better Place if… Stapled to their writing is a form to fill out to participate in the PTA Reflections Program. Please fill out the form with your child and return as soon as possible. It would be wonderful for everyone to participate in Reflections.
Our Week
In reading-we read non-fiction articles and determined the structure of the text. An article about the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park was organized in a compare and contrast format and the students compared and contrasted the opinions and actions of the ranchers and the wolf activists. Another article called “Hanging by a Thread” was organized in a problem/solution and was about the introduction of a non-native plant in Hawaii and the effects of that. We learned about making inferences (background knowledge + text clues=inference) by reading a book called Encounter, which is about Christopher Columbus but from a native boy’s point of view. We will continue working with non-fiction text and will begin literature circles or book clubs this week.
In writing-we published our poems and/or stories for Reflections and wrote more expository entries. We also worked on mentor sentences (to practice grammar, spelling, capitalization and punctuation. We took some writing time to work on our expository essays for social studies. We worked on plurals in spelling (adding es) and will continue with irregular plurals this week (foot, feet, etc…)
In social studies, we worked on our expository essays about our regions and began planning our projects with our groups.
Dates to Remember:
Monday, October 20-Reading Log due, Tutorials afterschool 2:45-3:45
Tuesday, October 21-Tutorials afterschool 2:45-3:45
Wednesday, October 22-Reading Response and Summary due
Thursday, October 23-Service Club Meeting-2:45-3:45
Friday, October 24-Dad’s Day from 7:30-9:00-Reflections forms due, Reading Response and Summary due, Grading Period Ends
Red Ribbon Week-October 27-31
Early Release Day-Wednesday, October 29 at 12:45
Have a great rest of the weekend and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Newsletter-No school for students on Monday, October 13
Hi, October 12, 2014
Mad Science did an assembly for us on Friday afternoon and it was so much fun. The presenter used lots of volunteers performed demonstrations about the effects and power of air. It was very comical and educational. Ask your child about it.
Don’t forget that the students don’t have school on Monday, October 13. The teachers have staff development then we will begin our conferences on Monday afternoon. We look forward to seeing you this week. The conference is student led, so be sure to bring your child with you and we will all talk about goals and plans to reach those goals.
Writing Club will meet on Thursday, October 16. All 2nd-5th graders are welcome and we meet in the library from 2:45-3:45. If students need to make up homework or assignments, they are welcome to use this time in the library to do so.
Tutorials will be on Tuesday from 2:45-3:45.
Service Club continues to collect new toys for Dell Children’s Hospital. We have collected 55 toys so far and our goal is 150 toys by November 14. This toy drive is bringing awareness to OMS, which is a disease in which the child’s immune system tries to fight a tumor and ends up attacking the brain. Thank you so much for your donations.
In social studies, we continued to research our region and writing an expository essay to explain and teach about the region. We are working with our Texas group to help each other with continued research and writing about each region. We are in the process of peer editing and conferencing about the essays, then will type the essays and work on planning our projects this week.
In writing, we are collecting entries for expository writing. We walked around the school and in the gardens and made observations. Then pushed our thinking and wrote about what was interesting or important about our observations to try to lead us to big ideas. We also thought about special people and places and reasons and examples of their importance to us. Expository writing will include a central idea and supporting details and its purpose is to explain or teach information. When we think of expository, we think of explain and examples. Personal Narratives tell a small moment story.
In reading, we continued reading lots of expository or informational books. We looked for text features and their purposes and text structures. Text features include table of contents, index, glossary, photos, charts, captions, and subheading or subtitles. Text structures refer to the different structures of the text or how the information is organized. These include description, compare/contrast, problem/solution, question/answer, and sequential. We will also be making inferences (background knowledge +information from text=inference).
Vocabulary words are posted on Quizlet. These words are nonfiction text features. The children will have their notecards with the words and definitions written on them and the vocabulary words and definitions are also stapled to their agenda. Email me if your child is not able to access quizlet.com. Thank you for studying vocabulary words at home.
In spelling, we worked on words with changing words from singular to plural by adding an s. This week, we will look at plurals and ways that words change by adding es. Words that end in ch, sh, ss, x, and z become plural by adding an es. 12 of the words will be singular and plural (add es) and the other three words are from the student’s writing or words to work on from previous spelling tests. Thank you for studying spelling words with your child at home.
Nichole Allison, our student teacher, has been doing more of the planning and instruction for our class and is doing a wonderful job. We are so lucky to have her with us.
Dates to remember:
Monday, Oct. 13-no school for students, conferences begin
Tuesday, Oct. 14- Pen Pal Visit at 9:20. All are welcome to attend and meet our pen pals, Reading log due, Tutorials after school 2:45-3:45, Computer Lab open 2:45-3:45
Wednesday, Oct. 15-Summary and Response due, conferences continue
Thursday, Oct. 16-Writing Club after school 2:45-3:45 in library, Computer lab open 2:45-3:45
Friday, Oct. 17-Summary and Response Due, Spelling Test, Vocabulary test
Saturday, Oct. 18-Conferences continue-come to the back car rider door and call 512-464-5388
Have a great rest of the weekend! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Mad Science did an assembly for us on Friday afternoon and it was so much fun. The presenter used lots of volunteers performed demonstrations about the effects and power of air. It was very comical and educational. Ask your child about it.
Don’t forget that the students don’t have school on Monday, October 13. The teachers have staff development then we will begin our conferences on Monday afternoon. We look forward to seeing you this week. The conference is student led, so be sure to bring your child with you and we will all talk about goals and plans to reach those goals.
Writing Club will meet on Thursday, October 16. All 2nd-5th graders are welcome and we meet in the library from 2:45-3:45. If students need to make up homework or assignments, they are welcome to use this time in the library to do so.
Tutorials will be on Tuesday from 2:45-3:45.
Service Club continues to collect new toys for Dell Children’s Hospital. We have collected 55 toys so far and our goal is 150 toys by November 14. This toy drive is bringing awareness to OMS, which is a disease in which the child’s immune system tries to fight a tumor and ends up attacking the brain. Thank you so much for your donations.
In social studies, we continued to research our region and writing an expository essay to explain and teach about the region. We are working with our Texas group to help each other with continued research and writing about each region. We are in the process of peer editing and conferencing about the essays, then will type the essays and work on planning our projects this week.
In writing, we are collecting entries for expository writing. We walked around the school and in the gardens and made observations. Then pushed our thinking and wrote about what was interesting or important about our observations to try to lead us to big ideas. We also thought about special people and places and reasons and examples of their importance to us. Expository writing will include a central idea and supporting details and its purpose is to explain or teach information. When we think of expository, we think of explain and examples. Personal Narratives tell a small moment story.
In reading, we continued reading lots of expository or informational books. We looked for text features and their purposes and text structures. Text features include table of contents, index, glossary, photos, charts, captions, and subheading or subtitles. Text structures refer to the different structures of the text or how the information is organized. These include description, compare/contrast, problem/solution, question/answer, and sequential. We will also be making inferences (background knowledge +information from text=inference).
Vocabulary words are posted on Quizlet. These words are nonfiction text features. The children will have their notecards with the words and definitions written on them and the vocabulary words and definitions are also stapled to their agenda. Email me if your child is not able to access quizlet.com. Thank you for studying vocabulary words at home.
In spelling, we worked on words with changing words from singular to plural by adding an s. This week, we will look at plurals and ways that words change by adding es. Words that end in ch, sh, ss, x, and z become plural by adding an es. 12 of the words will be singular and plural (add es) and the other three words are from the student’s writing or words to work on from previous spelling tests. Thank you for studying spelling words with your child at home.
Nichole Allison, our student teacher, has been doing more of the planning and instruction for our class and is doing a wonderful job. We are so lucky to have her with us.
Dates to remember:
Monday, Oct. 13-no school for students, conferences begin
Tuesday, Oct. 14- Pen Pal Visit at 9:20. All are welcome to attend and meet our pen pals, Reading log due, Tutorials after school 2:45-3:45, Computer Lab open 2:45-3:45
Wednesday, Oct. 15-Summary and Response due, conferences continue
Thursday, Oct. 16-Writing Club after school 2:45-3:45 in library, Computer lab open 2:45-3:45
Friday, Oct. 17-Summary and Response Due, Spelling Test, Vocabulary test
Saturday, Oct. 18-Conferences continue-come to the back car rider door and call 512-464-5388
Have a great rest of the weekend! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Newsletter-Book Club orders due today, Bring in toys for OMS Toy Drive, Reading Log due on Monday, Summary and Response due on Wednesday and Friday, Spelling and Vocabulary test on Friday, Mad Science Assembly on Friday
Hi, October 5, 2014
We had another busy, but productive week. Many of our classmates went to other classrooms to give a presentation for Service Club. They spoke to other students about our Toy Drive for Dell Children’s Hospital. The drive will give toys to sick children at the hospital, but the drive is to also raise awareness for OMS, which is a disease in which the child’s immune system tries to fight a tumor and ends up attacking the brain. Please send in NEW toys for our toy drive and put them in the box by the office. Baby toys, stuffed animals, board games, matchbox cars, crayons, etc… are all needed. Our goal is to collect 150 toys by November 14. Thank you for your donation.
Service Club meets this week in our room on Thursday from 2:45-3:45. All 4th and 5th graders are welcome to join. This week, we will be continuing to promote our OMS Toy Drive by making more posters and hanging them in the hallways and making a thermometer to keep track of our donations. We will count the donated toys so far and learn more about OMS and Dell Children’s Hospital. We will also talk about possible projects for the future.
Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences are coming up! Ms. Fry and I will be conducting the conferences together with your child leading the 15 minute discussion. We will send out a Sign-Up Genius link for you to schedule your conference. We will have some afterschool times as well as during the day on Saturday, October 18. We will let you know specifics early this week.
Writing Club met on Thursday. We had a great turn out, but would always love to have more writers. All 2nd-5th graders are welcome. We talked about writing in general, then talked about graphic novels or comic book-like novels. Many of the kids made their own comic strips and others worked on their own writing. They all worked hard and were creative. Our next Writing Club meeting is on Thursday, October 16 from 2:45-3:45 in the library.
We met with our reading buddies on Friday and had a Cedar Ridge Football player come to our room to work with us. We shared our personal narratives with our buddies and with Noah, our football player.
Our counselor, Miranda Owens, came to do a lesson for us on Thursday. We played a game using information about her role and duties as a counselor at school and ways that she can help us.
In social studies, we continued to research our region and began writing an expository essay to explain and teach about the region. We are in the process of peer editing and conferencing about the essays, then will work on our projects this week.
In writing, we celebrated finishing our Personal Narratives and began planning our writing for Reflections. We will finish those this week and begin writing entries for expository writing. This writing will include a central idea and supporting details and its purpose is to explain or teach information.
In reading, we began reading lots of expository or informational books. We looked for text features and their purposes. Text features include table of contents, index, glossary, photos, charts, captions, and subheading or subtitles. We will continue to read expository books and examine the different structures of the text or how the information is organized. We will also be making inferences (background knowledge +information from text=inference) and examining fact and opinions in the text.
Vocabulary words are posted on Quizlet. These words come from our small books that we read and discuss during guided reading groups. The children will have their notecards with the words and definitions written on them and the vocabulary words and defintions are also stapled to their agenda. Email me if your child is not able to access quizlet.com.
In spelling, we worked on words with double consonants like address and difficult. This week, we will look at plurals and ways that words change from singular to plural.
Thank you for helping your child study vocabulary and spelling at home.
Book Club orders will be submitted tonight. Go to www.scholastic.com then parents then order from a reading club flyer. Our class activation code is GYTDB.
Nichole Allison, our student teacher, has been doing more of the planning and instruction for our class and is doing a wonderful job. We are so lucky to have her with us.
Dates to remember:
Monday, Oct. 6-Reading log due, Tutorials after school 2:45-3:45
Tuesday, Oct. 7-Tutorials after school 2:45-3:45, Computer Lab open 2:45-3:45
Wednesday, Oct. 8-Summary and Response due
Thursday, Oct. 9-Service Club after school 2:45-3:45 in room 512, Computer lab open 2:45-3:45
Friday, Oct. 10-Summary and Response Due, Spelling Test, Vocabulary test, Mad Science Assembly
Tuesday, Oct. 14-Pen Pal Visit! 9:30-10:30 am in the library
Have a great rest of the weekend! Enjoy the beautiful weather! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
We had another busy, but productive week. Many of our classmates went to other classrooms to give a presentation for Service Club. They spoke to other students about our Toy Drive for Dell Children’s Hospital. The drive will give toys to sick children at the hospital, but the drive is to also raise awareness for OMS, which is a disease in which the child’s immune system tries to fight a tumor and ends up attacking the brain. Please send in NEW toys for our toy drive and put them in the box by the office. Baby toys, stuffed animals, board games, matchbox cars, crayons, etc… are all needed. Our goal is to collect 150 toys by November 14. Thank you for your donation.
Service Club meets this week in our room on Thursday from 2:45-3:45. All 4th and 5th graders are welcome to join. This week, we will be continuing to promote our OMS Toy Drive by making more posters and hanging them in the hallways and making a thermometer to keep track of our donations. We will count the donated toys so far and learn more about OMS and Dell Children’s Hospital. We will also talk about possible projects for the future.
Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences are coming up! Ms. Fry and I will be conducting the conferences together with your child leading the 15 minute discussion. We will send out a Sign-Up Genius link for you to schedule your conference. We will have some afterschool times as well as during the day on Saturday, October 18. We will let you know specifics early this week.
Writing Club met on Thursday. We had a great turn out, but would always love to have more writers. All 2nd-5th graders are welcome. We talked about writing in general, then talked about graphic novels or comic book-like novels. Many of the kids made their own comic strips and others worked on their own writing. They all worked hard and were creative. Our next Writing Club meeting is on Thursday, October 16 from 2:45-3:45 in the library.
We met with our reading buddies on Friday and had a Cedar Ridge Football player come to our room to work with us. We shared our personal narratives with our buddies and with Noah, our football player.
Our counselor, Miranda Owens, came to do a lesson for us on Thursday. We played a game using information about her role and duties as a counselor at school and ways that she can help us.
In social studies, we continued to research our region and began writing an expository essay to explain and teach about the region. We are in the process of peer editing and conferencing about the essays, then will work on our projects this week.
In writing, we celebrated finishing our Personal Narratives and began planning our writing for Reflections. We will finish those this week and begin writing entries for expository writing. This writing will include a central idea and supporting details and its purpose is to explain or teach information.
In reading, we began reading lots of expository or informational books. We looked for text features and their purposes. Text features include table of contents, index, glossary, photos, charts, captions, and subheading or subtitles. We will continue to read expository books and examine the different structures of the text or how the information is organized. We will also be making inferences (background knowledge +information from text=inference) and examining fact and opinions in the text.
Vocabulary words are posted on Quizlet. These words come from our small books that we read and discuss during guided reading groups. The children will have their notecards with the words and definitions written on them and the vocabulary words and defintions are also stapled to their agenda. Email me if your child is not able to access quizlet.com.
In spelling, we worked on words with double consonants like address and difficult. This week, we will look at plurals and ways that words change from singular to plural.
Thank you for helping your child study vocabulary and spelling at home.
Book Club orders will be submitted tonight. Go to www.scholastic.com then parents then order from a reading club flyer. Our class activation code is GYTDB.
Nichole Allison, our student teacher, has been doing more of the planning and instruction for our class and is doing a wonderful job. We are so lucky to have her with us.
Dates to remember:
Monday, Oct. 6-Reading log due, Tutorials after school 2:45-3:45
Tuesday, Oct. 7-Tutorials after school 2:45-3:45, Computer Lab open 2:45-3:45
Wednesday, Oct. 8-Summary and Response due
Thursday, Oct. 9-Service Club after school 2:45-3:45 in room 512, Computer lab open 2:45-3:45
Friday, Oct. 10-Summary and Response Due, Spelling Test, Vocabulary test, Mad Science Assembly
Tuesday, Oct. 14-Pen Pal Visit! 9:30-10:30 am in the library
Have a great rest of the weekend! Enjoy the beautiful weather! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Newsletter-Writing Club on Thursday, Reading Log due Monday, Summary and Response due on Wednesdays and Fridays, Vocabulary and Spelling Test on Friday
Hi, Sept. 27, 2014
We had another great week! Education Go Get It week was fun! We enjoyed wearing our favorite college hats and shirts, dressing up in clothes for our future jobs, and talking about colleges and careers.
In social studies, we began researching our PBL or Project Based Learning activities. Our driving question is: How can we teach others about the regions of Texas? The children chose projects that they would like to do and regions that they would like to research and teach to others. We began using textbooks and a computer site to gather information about our region while working with other students who are studying the same region. This week we will share our information and each child will decide whether he or she needs to continue researching. The children will give each other feedback and work together to be sure that there is enough information for each region in their group. Then we will begin planning our projects. We will share our plans and give feedback to help each group improve their projects. As you can see, the PBL projects involve a lot of working together cooperatively in groups and offering and accepting feedback, as well as researching the regions of Texas. I am excited to see the children learning from each other. These projects incorporate many different skills such as reading, writing, social studies, and cooperating as a member of a team. All these skills are needed for children to be successful in their future in school and beyond.
In writing, we published our personal narratives! We worked hard to plan, draft, revise, and edit these small moment stories from our lives. We will share these stories with each other on Tuesday and then will begin working on some writing for the Reflections program based on the theme-The World would be a better place if… The children can choose to write a poem, fantasy, realistic fiction, personal narrative, expository, or song about this topic. We will go through the writing process of planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. The students will decide if they want to enter their literary work in the PTA Reflections Program. We will then work on expository writing. In expository writing, we will explain and give reasons to support a central idea.
In reading, we worked on finding cause and effect relationships in our books and determining a possible theme for the book with examples and support from the text. We modeled using our read aloud, How to Steal a Dog, we then practiced using individual books. We are continuing to write detailed summaries of our reading and responses that include lots of our deep thinking. Thank you for encouraging your child to read at home each day and to work hard on their summaries and responses. We will begin reading expository text and working on skills to improve comprehension skills. Be sure that your child is studying the vocabulary words each week. This week’s words are a literary terms. They can be a little tricky, so be sure to go on Quizlet.com to study and use the cards that your child made to practice. We will have a test on Friday on the meanings of the words.
In spelling, we worked on some common homophones. We will continue to address the correct spelling and use of homophones (like their, there, they’re) all year. Next week we will work on the spelling of words with double consonants like address and success. Be sure that your child is practicing his/her individual spelling lists and reviewing words previously used on spelling tests because these words may appear in dictation sentences. Thank you for your continued support at home.
Writing Club begins this week on Thursday, October 2 from 2:45-3:45. Come and join us in the library as we free write and share our writing with others. This week we will celebrate National Comic Book Day and talk about graphic novels. The kids can experiment with this form of writing or write in any format they choose. They may choose to work on writing for the Reflections Program during writing club as well and respond to the topic: The world would be a better place if… Anyone in grades 2nd-5th can be part of writing club. We will meet every other Thursday in the library. Come and join the writing fun!
Service Club met last Thursday and will meet again on Thursday, October 9 from 2:45-3:45. We are organizing a toy drive to bring awareness to OMS, a childhood disease that affects a family from our school. We will donate toys to give to the patients at Dell’s Children’s Hospital. Please send in NEW toys and put them in the box by the office. Come to Service Club and help us help others!
Dates to remember:
Monday, Sept. 29-Reading log due, Tutorials after school 2:45-3:45
Tuesday, Sept. 30-Tutorials after school 2:45-3:45, Computer Lab open 2:45-3:45
Wednesday, Oct. 1-Summary and Response due
Thursday, Oct. 2-Writing Club after school 2:45-3:45 in the library, Computer lab open 2:45-3:45
Friday, Oct. 3-Summary and Response Due, Spelling Test, Vocabulary test
Have a wonderful weekend! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
We had another great week! Education Go Get It week was fun! We enjoyed wearing our favorite college hats and shirts, dressing up in clothes for our future jobs, and talking about colleges and careers.
In social studies, we began researching our PBL or Project Based Learning activities. Our driving question is: How can we teach others about the regions of Texas? The children chose projects that they would like to do and regions that they would like to research and teach to others. We began using textbooks and a computer site to gather information about our region while working with other students who are studying the same region. This week we will share our information and each child will decide whether he or she needs to continue researching. The children will give each other feedback and work together to be sure that there is enough information for each region in their group. Then we will begin planning our projects. We will share our plans and give feedback to help each group improve their projects. As you can see, the PBL projects involve a lot of working together cooperatively in groups and offering and accepting feedback, as well as researching the regions of Texas. I am excited to see the children learning from each other. These projects incorporate many different skills such as reading, writing, social studies, and cooperating as a member of a team. All these skills are needed for children to be successful in their future in school and beyond.
In writing, we published our personal narratives! We worked hard to plan, draft, revise, and edit these small moment stories from our lives. We will share these stories with each other on Tuesday and then will begin working on some writing for the Reflections program based on the theme-The World would be a better place if… The children can choose to write a poem, fantasy, realistic fiction, personal narrative, expository, or song about this topic. We will go through the writing process of planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. The students will decide if they want to enter their literary work in the PTA Reflections Program. We will then work on expository writing. In expository writing, we will explain and give reasons to support a central idea.
In reading, we worked on finding cause and effect relationships in our books and determining a possible theme for the book with examples and support from the text. We modeled using our read aloud, How to Steal a Dog, we then practiced using individual books. We are continuing to write detailed summaries of our reading and responses that include lots of our deep thinking. Thank you for encouraging your child to read at home each day and to work hard on their summaries and responses. We will begin reading expository text and working on skills to improve comprehension skills. Be sure that your child is studying the vocabulary words each week. This week’s words are a literary terms. They can be a little tricky, so be sure to go on Quizlet.com to study and use the cards that your child made to practice. We will have a test on Friday on the meanings of the words.
In spelling, we worked on some common homophones. We will continue to address the correct spelling and use of homophones (like their, there, they’re) all year. Next week we will work on the spelling of words with double consonants like address and success. Be sure that your child is practicing his/her individual spelling lists and reviewing words previously used on spelling tests because these words may appear in dictation sentences. Thank you for your continued support at home.
Writing Club begins this week on Thursday, October 2 from 2:45-3:45. Come and join us in the library as we free write and share our writing with others. This week we will celebrate National Comic Book Day and talk about graphic novels. The kids can experiment with this form of writing or write in any format they choose. They may choose to work on writing for the Reflections Program during writing club as well and respond to the topic: The world would be a better place if… Anyone in grades 2nd-5th can be part of writing club. We will meet every other Thursday in the library. Come and join the writing fun!
Service Club met last Thursday and will meet again on Thursday, October 9 from 2:45-3:45. We are organizing a toy drive to bring awareness to OMS, a childhood disease that affects a family from our school. We will donate toys to give to the patients at Dell’s Children’s Hospital. Please send in NEW toys and put them in the box by the office. Come to Service Club and help us help others!
Dates to remember:
Monday, Sept. 29-Reading log due, Tutorials after school 2:45-3:45
Tuesday, Sept. 30-Tutorials after school 2:45-3:45, Computer Lab open 2:45-3:45
Wednesday, Oct. 1-Summary and Response due
Thursday, Oct. 2-Writing Club after school 2:45-3:45 in the library, Computer lab open 2:45-3:45
Friday, Oct. 3-Summary and Response Due, Spelling Test, Vocabulary test
Have a wonderful weekend! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Friday, September 12, 2014
Newsletter-Jazz Concert Today, Pen Pal Visit on Tuesday, Reading Logs due Monday, Summary and Responses due Wednesday and Friday, Spelling test on Friday
Hi, September 12, 2014
We had a fun afternoon enjoying some cool jazz music from the Austin Jazz Workshop. Ask your child about it!
Our student teacher, Mrs. Allison, began teaching some of our social studies lessons. She is doing an amazing job and has been a wonderful addition to our classroom. She will gradually continue taking over the planning and teaching of the lessons.
Our pen pals will come to school on Tuesday! You are welcome to come and enjoy our visit with us. They will be here about 9:00 and stay until about 10:30. We wrote letters this week introducing ourselves. During the visit, we will interview our pen pals about their childhoods and play games together. The children are excited and can’t wait to meet their pen pals! Join us for the fun!
Friday is Spirit Day! We are all encouraged to wear Forest Creek shirts or shirts that are green or purple.
On Friday, we will begin meeting with our reading buddies in Mrs. Garcia’s class. We will read with them every other week. This helps us practice fluent reading and encourages the fourth graders to be role models for the younger kids.
Read about our week:
In reading, we read some realistic fiction books and wrote about the story elements. We took a reading assessment on a passage from the book, Piper Reed: Navy Brat, and will be reviewing the multiple- choice questions on Monday. We continued to read our choice novels independently. Please help your child to keep his/her choice novel inside the backpack when it is not being read. This way it is always available when there is some time to read.
I started assessing reading levels individually this week and will continue for the next few weeks.
Thank you for signing reading logs, encouraging your child to read daily, and complete books. A summary and response of the reading is due on Wednesdays and Fridays each week.
In writing, we continued collecting entries for personal narratives. We noticed that quality personal narratives are small moment stories, which have an interesting lead, a sequence of events, and lots of great details. They zoom in on the most important part and tell why the event was important or what was learned because of the experience. We will continue writing about our experiences next week and chose an entry to revise, edit, and publish.
We also had fun writing creatively about a Chris Van Allsburg illustration from the book, The Chronicles of Harris Burdick. We then read a story by Tabitha King (Stephen King’s wife) about the same illustration. It was interesting the totally different stories that came from the same illustration. We will write about another illustration from this book next week.
Spelling lists began this week and we had our first spelling test today. Each week, your child will receive a list of words. Five of the words are the same for the class and they include words from our TEKS such as homophones, irregular plurals, Latin/Greek roots, etc… The other five words are individual to each child based on words misspelled in their writing/reading responses and tricky word patterns determined by a Words Their Way assessment. The words will be glued into your child’s agenda each week and a test is on Friday. During that test, the children will also be asked to write a few sentences from dictation. These sentences will be graded for spelling and capitalization/punctuation.
In social studies, we completed our posters of Texas landmarks. They are hanging in the hallway and the children did a great job describing their landmarks, finding quotes about them, and telling why that landmark is important to Texas. They also made beautiful illustrations. We began our study of the regions of Texas by going on a virtual bus trip through the Mountains and Basins Region, the Coastal Plains Region, and the Central Plains Region. We will visit the Great Plains Region on Monday and continue to study maps and the geography of Texas.
Thank you for sharing your child with me. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
We had a fun afternoon enjoying some cool jazz music from the Austin Jazz Workshop. Ask your child about it!
Our student teacher, Mrs. Allison, began teaching some of our social studies lessons. She is doing an amazing job and has been a wonderful addition to our classroom. She will gradually continue taking over the planning and teaching of the lessons.
Our pen pals will come to school on Tuesday! You are welcome to come and enjoy our visit with us. They will be here about 9:00 and stay until about 10:30. We wrote letters this week introducing ourselves. During the visit, we will interview our pen pals about their childhoods and play games together. The children are excited and can’t wait to meet their pen pals! Join us for the fun!
Friday is Spirit Day! We are all encouraged to wear Forest Creek shirts or shirts that are green or purple.
On Friday, we will begin meeting with our reading buddies in Mrs. Garcia’s class. We will read with them every other week. This helps us practice fluent reading and encourages the fourth graders to be role models for the younger kids.
Read about our week:
In reading, we read some realistic fiction books and wrote about the story elements. We took a reading assessment on a passage from the book, Piper Reed: Navy Brat, and will be reviewing the multiple- choice questions on Monday. We continued to read our choice novels independently. Please help your child to keep his/her choice novel inside the backpack when it is not being read. This way it is always available when there is some time to read.
I started assessing reading levels individually this week and will continue for the next few weeks.
Thank you for signing reading logs, encouraging your child to read daily, and complete books. A summary and response of the reading is due on Wednesdays and Fridays each week.
In writing, we continued collecting entries for personal narratives. We noticed that quality personal narratives are small moment stories, which have an interesting lead, a sequence of events, and lots of great details. They zoom in on the most important part and tell why the event was important or what was learned because of the experience. We will continue writing about our experiences next week and chose an entry to revise, edit, and publish.
We also had fun writing creatively about a Chris Van Allsburg illustration from the book, The Chronicles of Harris Burdick. We then read a story by Tabitha King (Stephen King’s wife) about the same illustration. It was interesting the totally different stories that came from the same illustration. We will write about another illustration from this book next week.
Spelling lists began this week and we had our first spelling test today. Each week, your child will receive a list of words. Five of the words are the same for the class and they include words from our TEKS such as homophones, irregular plurals, Latin/Greek roots, etc… The other five words are individual to each child based on words misspelled in their writing/reading responses and tricky word patterns determined by a Words Their Way assessment. The words will be glued into your child’s agenda each week and a test is on Friday. During that test, the children will also be asked to write a few sentences from dictation. These sentences will be graded for spelling and capitalization/punctuation.
In social studies, we completed our posters of Texas landmarks. They are hanging in the hallway and the children did a great job describing their landmarks, finding quotes about them, and telling why that landmark is important to Texas. They also made beautiful illustrations. We began our study of the regions of Texas by going on a virtual bus trip through the Mountains and Basins Region, the Coastal Plains Region, and the Central Plains Region. We will visit the Great Plains Region on Monday and continue to study maps and the geography of Texas.
Thank you for sharing your child with me. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Friday, September 5, 2014
Newsletter-Tutorials Offered on Tuesdays from 2:45-3:45, Reflections Workshop on Tuesday from 6:15-7:00 in FCE Library, Reading Logs due on Monday
Hi, September 5, 2014
We had a great second week! Your children are doing very well moving between two classes and two teachers and we are definitely enjoying them all.
It was nice to see many of you at Back to School Night on Thursday. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns about homework, expectations, or anything.
We would like to invite our students to come to tutorials on Tuesday afternoons from 2:45-3:45 pm in one of our classrooms. We will be there to offer support as needed, give children time to complete assignments, or homework with some assistance. This is also a great time for re-teaching of tricky concepts and retaking of assessments, if scored below 70%. Miss Fry and I will be in the room together, so that we can both work with your children in any subject necessary. If your child is staying, let us know by email or note. We will walk the children out to the front of the school to be picked up at 3:45. If your child is walking home or riding a bike after tutorials, let us know. Be sure to encourage your child to take advantage of this extra opportunity for time together. We will begin offering tutorials this Tuesday, September 9.
In reading this week, we are continuing to develop routines and procedures for reading workshop. We have a mini-lesson during which we learn a skill or strategy, then we practice that skill or strategy during our independent reading of our choice novel. Your child should be reading the same choice novel to completion. Therefore, that book should be traveling back and forth from home to school and home again each day. It should live in his/her backpack and come out only when it is time to read, then return to the backpack. Thank you for your help with this.
We are reading How to Steal a Dog aloud and discussing elements of the story as well as comprehension strategies as we read. They are taking notes on sticky notes to leave tracks of their thinking as they are listening. They are writing their predictions, questions, connections, thoughts and feelings and using text evidence to support their thinking. They are making inferences using their background knowledge and the text clues. We are having great discussions about the moral dilemma of the main character. Should she steal a dog to try to get money for her family or is stealing something wrong, no matter what? It is wonderful to read their responses and listen to their conversations. Then we practice these skills as we read independently.
In Social Studies, we finished up our map vocabulary posters and will continue to practice reading and interpreting maps. We began learning about some Texas landmarks and making posters to explain them by researching a bit and describing the landmark. Then they are writing about why it is important and finding two quotes from the text (with page numbers) that tell about the landmark. An illustration is then created that represents it. We are practicing using a rubric to create our posters and to revise and edit to be sure that all of the components are evident. Next week, we will finish these posters and begin studying the regions of Texas.
In Writing, we are gathering entries for personal narratives. We planned, sketched, and wrote a rough draft about a time with a special person and a time at a special place. Many children shared their writing so far, and we are off to a great start. We will continue writing personal narrative entries, then will choose one to revise, edit, and publish. We watched a video of Lucy Calkins, who is a famous education researcher, talk to us about honoring our writing and the writing of our classmates by reading and listening as if the writing was precious as gold. Here is the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO29k1-RvsA I find it quite inspirational.
Don’t forget to encourage your child to read at least one day over the weekend to include in the reading log. Reading summaries and responses are due on Wednesday and Friday.
On Tuesday evening, there will be a Workshop for Kids about this year’s Reflections Program. I encourage all of the children to attend and have an opportunity to showcase their creative talents. It will be held in the FCE Library from 6:15-7:00 pm. Hope you can come!
Thank you for sharing your child with us. Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
We had a great second week! Your children are doing very well moving between two classes and two teachers and we are definitely enjoying them all.
It was nice to see many of you at Back to School Night on Thursday. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns about homework, expectations, or anything.
We would like to invite our students to come to tutorials on Tuesday afternoons from 2:45-3:45 pm in one of our classrooms. We will be there to offer support as needed, give children time to complete assignments, or homework with some assistance. This is also a great time for re-teaching of tricky concepts and retaking of assessments, if scored below 70%. Miss Fry and I will be in the room together, so that we can both work with your children in any subject necessary. If your child is staying, let us know by email or note. We will walk the children out to the front of the school to be picked up at 3:45. If your child is walking home or riding a bike after tutorials, let us know. Be sure to encourage your child to take advantage of this extra opportunity for time together. We will begin offering tutorials this Tuesday, September 9.
In reading this week, we are continuing to develop routines and procedures for reading workshop. We have a mini-lesson during which we learn a skill or strategy, then we practice that skill or strategy during our independent reading of our choice novel. Your child should be reading the same choice novel to completion. Therefore, that book should be traveling back and forth from home to school and home again each day. It should live in his/her backpack and come out only when it is time to read, then return to the backpack. Thank you for your help with this.
We are reading How to Steal a Dog aloud and discussing elements of the story as well as comprehension strategies as we read. They are taking notes on sticky notes to leave tracks of their thinking as they are listening. They are writing their predictions, questions, connections, thoughts and feelings and using text evidence to support their thinking. They are making inferences using their background knowledge and the text clues. We are having great discussions about the moral dilemma of the main character. Should she steal a dog to try to get money for her family or is stealing something wrong, no matter what? It is wonderful to read their responses and listen to their conversations. Then we practice these skills as we read independently.
In Social Studies, we finished up our map vocabulary posters and will continue to practice reading and interpreting maps. We began learning about some Texas landmarks and making posters to explain them by researching a bit and describing the landmark. Then they are writing about why it is important and finding two quotes from the text (with page numbers) that tell about the landmark. An illustration is then created that represents it. We are practicing using a rubric to create our posters and to revise and edit to be sure that all of the components are evident. Next week, we will finish these posters and begin studying the regions of Texas.
In Writing, we are gathering entries for personal narratives. We planned, sketched, and wrote a rough draft about a time with a special person and a time at a special place. Many children shared their writing so far, and we are off to a great start. We will continue writing personal narrative entries, then will choose one to revise, edit, and publish. We watched a video of Lucy Calkins, who is a famous education researcher, talk to us about honoring our writing and the writing of our classmates by reading and listening as if the writing was precious as gold. Here is the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO29k1-RvsA I find it quite inspirational.
Don’t forget to encourage your child to read at least one day over the weekend to include in the reading log. Reading summaries and responses are due on Wednesday and Friday.
On Tuesday evening, there will be a Workshop for Kids about this year’s Reflections Program. I encourage all of the children to attend and have an opportunity to showcase their creative talents. It will be held in the FCE Library from 6:15-7:00 pm. Hope you can come!
Thank you for sharing your child with us. Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Newsletter-Reading Log due Tuesday, Decorated Writer's Notebooks due Tuesday
Hello,
Our first week of fourth grade was wonderful! The children adjusted easily to having two teachers and are following expectations, learning a lot and having fun!
We are very excited to welcome Nichole Allison, our student teacher this fall, to our classroom! Ms. Allison is working toward her Masters Degree in Education at Concordia University. We are happy to have her here and are enjoying learning from each other.
Reading Log-On the reading log, there is a spot to record reading for Friday, August 29. This reading can be done today, or sometime over the weekend. Reading logs will be collected on Mondays (Tuesday this week) and will be used for a homework grade. Reading summary and responses are due on Wednesdays and Fridays. New reading logs will be handed out on the first day of the new week.
In reading this week, we made reading goals, discussed just-right books, and shared great reading experiences and not so great reading experiences. Our goal is to have lots of wonderful reading experiences this year. We also read our choice novels and recorded the reading on our school reading logs. We practiced writing summaries and responses using One Green Apple and began a read aloud called How to Steal a Dog. The children wrote very thoughtful responses to the first chapter of our read aloud. We will use the read aloud to model fluency and to discuss reading strategies and elements using a shared experience.
In Writing, we are gathering writing ideas and learning about nouns. We wrote a personal narrative about summer and will be writing more entries for personal narratives to choose one to revise, edit, and publish. The assignment this weekend is to decorate their writer’s notebook. They may cover it with paper or not, they need to use at least 3 photos, stickers, or drawings that represent them. They may decorate the front and/or the back. Their names should be on the cover. These decorations will help them have more story ideas for writing and will help us get to know each other. It will be great to see their creations!
In Social Studies, we are learning about maps and Texas. We are using our textbooks to research some map vocabulary and are creating vocabulary posters with a partner. Next week we will do a little research on Texas landmarks and will make posters to teach others about these landmarks.
I hope to see all of you on Thursday, September 4 for our Back to School Night at 6:00. We will be in our classrooms from 6:00-6:30 then will go to the cafeteria at 6:45.
Have a wonderful long weekend! Be safe and enjoy!
Our first week of fourth grade was wonderful! The children adjusted easily to having two teachers and are following expectations, learning a lot and having fun!
We are very excited to welcome Nichole Allison, our student teacher this fall, to our classroom! Ms. Allison is working toward her Masters Degree in Education at Concordia University. We are happy to have her here and are enjoying learning from each other.
Reading Log-On the reading log, there is a spot to record reading for Friday, August 29. This reading can be done today, or sometime over the weekend. Reading logs will be collected on Mondays (Tuesday this week) and will be used for a homework grade. Reading summary and responses are due on Wednesdays and Fridays. New reading logs will be handed out on the first day of the new week.
In reading this week, we made reading goals, discussed just-right books, and shared great reading experiences and not so great reading experiences. Our goal is to have lots of wonderful reading experiences this year. We also read our choice novels and recorded the reading on our school reading logs. We practiced writing summaries and responses using One Green Apple and began a read aloud called How to Steal a Dog. The children wrote very thoughtful responses to the first chapter of our read aloud. We will use the read aloud to model fluency and to discuss reading strategies and elements using a shared experience.
In Writing, we are gathering writing ideas and learning about nouns. We wrote a personal narrative about summer and will be writing more entries for personal narratives to choose one to revise, edit, and publish. The assignment this weekend is to decorate their writer’s notebook. They may cover it with paper or not, they need to use at least 3 photos, stickers, or drawings that represent them. They may decorate the front and/or the back. Their names should be on the cover. These decorations will help them have more story ideas for writing and will help us get to know each other. It will be great to see their creations!
In Social Studies, we are learning about maps and Texas. We are using our textbooks to research some map vocabulary and are creating vocabulary posters with a partner. Next week we will do a little research on Texas landmarks and will make posters to teach others about these landmarks.
I hope to see all of you on Thursday, September 4 for our Back to School Night at 6:00. We will be in our classrooms from 6:00-6:30 then will go to the cafeteria at 6:45.
Have a wonderful long weekend! Be safe and enjoy!
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Welcome to 4th Grade!
Welcome!
Happy Summer! August, 2014
I hope you are having a wonderful summer filled with fun experiences. Be sure to look for learning opportunities in all that you do.
Be observant, ask questions, be curious, research, solve problems....live your life aware of your surroundings!
Keep a journal about interesting and/or everyday things that you observe. Write about your activities and things that you realize or discover this summer. Write letters or postcards to friends and family. Create poems about your vacation and events of the break.
Read, read, read. Read novels, nonfiction books, poems, magazines, newspapers, comic books, website articles, plays, etc.... Lose yourself in books and read everyday. Research shows that kids need to read a bit everyday just to maintain their reading level. Challenge yourself and read A LOT to increase your reading level and your enjoyment of reading.
Play math games on the computer (Think Through Math, First in Math, Cyberchase, etc...) Practice facts, count money, measure, play strategy games like Mastermind and Rummikub, etc... Keep your math mind active and have fun!
Explore outside, go for hikes, go to museums, look at bugs, and conduct your own experiments. Make mudpies, plant a garden, make your own bubbles, paint outside with water and watch it evaporate. Interact with nature and be curious.
Help others this summer. Assist your parents or siblings. Collect food for the Round Rock Serving Center. Keep a water bottle in your car to give to someone without a home that you see at an intersection. Pick up trash and recycle. Find ways to volunteer in our community. Smile at people and be a good friend.
The 2014-2015 school year will be amazing! I know that you are all excited about fourth grade, but be sure to enjoy the rest of your summer as well. I can't wait to meet my new students and I look forward to the wonderful things we will learn together this year.
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Happy Summer! August, 2014
I hope you are having a wonderful summer filled with fun experiences. Be sure to look for learning opportunities in all that you do.
Be observant, ask questions, be curious, research, solve problems....live your life aware of your surroundings!
Keep a journal about interesting and/or everyday things that you observe. Write about your activities and things that you realize or discover this summer. Write letters or postcards to friends and family. Create poems about your vacation and events of the break.
Read, read, read. Read novels, nonfiction books, poems, magazines, newspapers, comic books, website articles, plays, etc.... Lose yourself in books and read everyday. Research shows that kids need to read a bit everyday just to maintain their reading level. Challenge yourself and read A LOT to increase your reading level and your enjoyment of reading.
Play math games on the computer (Think Through Math, First in Math, Cyberchase, etc...) Practice facts, count money, measure, play strategy games like Mastermind and Rummikub, etc... Keep your math mind active and have fun!
Explore outside, go for hikes, go to museums, look at bugs, and conduct your own experiments. Make mudpies, plant a garden, make your own bubbles, paint outside with water and watch it evaporate. Interact with nature and be curious.
Help others this summer. Assist your parents or siblings. Collect food for the Round Rock Serving Center. Keep a water bottle in your car to give to someone without a home that you see at an intersection. Pick up trash and recycle. Find ways to volunteer in our community. Smile at people and be a good friend.
The 2014-2015 school year will be amazing! I know that you are all excited about fourth grade, but be sure to enjoy the rest of your summer as well. I can't wait to meet my new students and I look forward to the wonderful things we will learn together this year.
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Writing Camp was Wonderful! Author Celebration on Friday, March 28 at 2:00 in our classroom!
Hi,
Writing Camp was so much fun! The children completed a final copy of a personal narrative about a time when someone told them that they did a good job. They have rough drafts completed of expository writing explaining their favorite time of year and why it is their favorite. We sang camp songs, sat around our campfire, watched some videos about writing skills, played some games about writing, practiced some revising and editing, talked with each other and me about our writing, and wrote while in sleeping bags on the floor. We would love to have you come to our classroom for our Author's Celebration on Friday, March 28 at 2:00 pm. Hope to see you there!
Our science assessment on Weather is now going to be on Wednesday, March 26. Study guide is attached.
Pen Pals will come on Tuesday, March 25 from 10:00-11:30. We will play PE games with Coach Walker in the gym then will go to the library to perform our Voices of Texas Reader's Theater and play some games. Children are invited to bring in props or a costume for the reader's theater. It will be very fun and you are invited to come meet our pen pals and play with us!
Carnival is on Friday, March 28! Thank you for donating for our class raffle basket! Thank you also for volunteering to help at the carnival.
Service Club is working with Cedar Ridge High School's Interact Club to collect new and gently used books for the children at River Oaks Elementary School. Please drop off books in the box by the office. Our goal is to collect 100 books and we have 56 so far. Thanks for helping us spread the joy of reading!
This week in reading, we will explore books and articles that deal with World War II. We will practice inferencing, summarizing, using context clues, determining author's purpose, and determining text structure as we learn about events and people from World War II.
In writing, we will evaluate and continue to revise and edit our writing from writing camp. We will also work on writing another expository piece to refine those skills and practice doing revising and editing skills independently. Games and activities to help us practice the test format for revising and editing will also be a focus this week. We hope to see you on Friday at 2:00 pm for our Author's Celebration! It will be awesome and the children are excited to share their writing with you.
Here are some fun websites that your child can use to help with some writing/grammar skills. As always, Think Through Math, First in Math, and I-Station (reading and writing) also have great practice games.
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/vocabulary-games/homophones-games/homophones-game.html
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/vocabulary-games/homophones-games/homophone-definitions.html
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/vocabulary-games/homophones-games/homophones-word-o-rama.html
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/vocabulary-games/homophones-games/pick-the-homophones.html
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/vocabulary-games/homophones-games/homophones.html
Pick the correct sentence! Super fun!!!!!!
http://www.savethecomma.com/game/
Have fun practicing grammar and escaping a haunted castle!!!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/spelling_grammar/language_structure/play.shtml
Commas are cool!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en29punc-game-going-to-work-with-commas
Write contractions and beat the clock!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en29punc-game-beat-the-clock-apostrophes
Practice with possessives!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en29punc-game-who-owns-what
Blow away the correct punctuation and capitals!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en29punc-game-blown-away
Shoot at the correct ending punctuation!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en29punc-game-sentence-shooter
Is this a complete sentence? Play and practice!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en30stru-game-spot-the-sentence
These are also on our Bartholomew Bat Cave Blog from our class website. Have fun!
In math, we will be reviewing all of the concepts that we learned this year. We will play games and have activities that help us practice and expand our skills. We will be working hard and doing many multiple step problem solving as well as reviewing vocabulary. Using data from our CBA and other assessments, your child will practice and review ready for the next few weeks based on their individual needs. Your children will be working hard!!!!!
In Social Studies, we will continue to read and learn about the Texas Revolution. We will practice our Voices of Texas Reader's Theater on Monday and perform it on Tuesday for our Pen Pals after our PE games.
In Science, we will continue to learn about the weather and have our assessment on Wednesday. Then we will begin learning about the water cycle.
Thank you for your continued support! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Writing Camp was so much fun! The children completed a final copy of a personal narrative about a time when someone told them that they did a good job. They have rough drafts completed of expository writing explaining their favorite time of year and why it is their favorite. We sang camp songs, sat around our campfire, watched some videos about writing skills, played some games about writing, practiced some revising and editing, talked with each other and me about our writing, and wrote while in sleeping bags on the floor. We would love to have you come to our classroom for our Author's Celebration on Friday, March 28 at 2:00 pm. Hope to see you there!
Our science assessment on Weather is now going to be on Wednesday, March 26. Study guide is attached.
Pen Pals will come on Tuesday, March 25 from 10:00-11:30. We will play PE games with Coach Walker in the gym then will go to the library to perform our Voices of Texas Reader's Theater and play some games. Children are invited to bring in props or a costume for the reader's theater. It will be very fun and you are invited to come meet our pen pals and play with us!
Carnival is on Friday, March 28! Thank you for donating for our class raffle basket! Thank you also for volunteering to help at the carnival.
Service Club is working with Cedar Ridge High School's Interact Club to collect new and gently used books for the children at River Oaks Elementary School. Please drop off books in the box by the office. Our goal is to collect 100 books and we have 56 so far. Thanks for helping us spread the joy of reading!
This week in reading, we will explore books and articles that deal with World War II. We will practice inferencing, summarizing, using context clues, determining author's purpose, and determining text structure as we learn about events and people from World War II.
In writing, we will evaluate and continue to revise and edit our writing from writing camp. We will also work on writing another expository piece to refine those skills and practice doing revising and editing skills independently. Games and activities to help us practice the test format for revising and editing will also be a focus this week. We hope to see you on Friday at 2:00 pm for our Author's Celebration! It will be awesome and the children are excited to share their writing with you.
Here are some fun websites that your child can use to help with some writing/grammar skills. As always, Think Through Math, First in Math, and I-Station (reading and writing) also have great practice games.
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/vocabulary-games/homophones-games/homophones-game.html
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/vocabulary-games/homophones-games/homophone-definitions.html
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/vocabulary-games/homophones-games/homophones-word-o-rama.html
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/vocabulary-games/homophones-games/pick-the-homophones.html
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/vocabulary-games/homophones-games/homophones.html
Pick the correct sentence! Super fun!!!!!!
http://www.savethecomma.com/game/
Have fun practicing grammar and escaping a haunted castle!!!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/spelling_grammar/language_structure/play.shtml
Commas are cool!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en29punc-game-going-to-work-with-commas
Write contractions and beat the clock!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en29punc-game-beat-the-clock-apostrophes
Practice with possessives!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en29punc-game-who-owns-what
Blow away the correct punctuation and capitals!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en29punc-game-blown-away
Shoot at the correct ending punctuation!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en29punc-game-sentence-shooter
Is this a complete sentence? Play and practice!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/en30stru-game-spot-the-sentence
These are also on our Bartholomew Bat Cave Blog from our class website. Have fun!
In math, we will be reviewing all of the concepts that we learned this year. We will play games and have activities that help us practice and expand our skills. We will be working hard and doing many multiple step problem solving as well as reviewing vocabulary. Using data from our CBA and other assessments, your child will practice and review ready for the next few weeks based on their individual needs. Your children will be working hard!!!!!
In Social Studies, we will continue to read and learn about the Texas Revolution. We will practice our Voices of Texas Reader's Theater on Monday and perform it on Tuesday for our Pen Pals after our PE games.
In Science, we will continue to learn about the weather and have our assessment on Wednesday. Then we will begin learning about the water cycle.
Thank you for your continued support! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Busy Week! Writing Camp 3/18-3/21, Read, Write, and do Math over spring break!
Hi,
We had a busy, but great week! Your children showed their ability to be flexible and adjust as needed this week. Because of practice for the Hoe Down, our specials and recess schedule was different. Because of the bad weather and late start on Tuesday, our pen pal visit was rescheduled for March 25. We even saw the maturation video today and still were able to focus on our work. I am proud of them for working hard this week!
Writing Camp is coming up on 3/18! Our classroom will be transformed into a campsite! Your child is encouraged to wear clothes as if they were going camping (not pajamas), bring in a sleeping bag and pillow, and get ready for an awesome week filled with writing activities! I need a few pieces (3 or 4) of firewood, and about 8 rocks to make our campfire. Let me know if you can let us use these items.
Camp Letters: You and your family members are encouraged to write camp letters to your camper. We will have mail call in the afternoon and it is always exciting to get letters from home when you are away at camp! :) You can email me letters or send them in with your child. You can write to them as if they are really away at camp and include camping stories or adventures to model good writing. You can write a letter each day and encourage family members to write as well. Thank you for making this week educational and fun for the kids. It is one of my favorite weeks of the school year!
Reading-We finished our book club books this week! We read Bud, Not Buddy, Walking the Bus-Rider Blues, and Watson’s go to Birmingham. They all were historical fiction and had some connections with the civil rights. Many of the kids decided to borrow one of the books from a different group to read over spring break! As we read these award winners, we wrote summaries and responses then met to discuss and answer each others’ questions. We talked about character changes and historical events that were in the books. They did an amazing job!
Writing-We worked on our pen pal books and will finish them up after spring break. We also worked on revising and editing our work as well as practicing the format of the STAAR test's multiple choice writing. We will do lots of writing practice after spring break during writing camp.
Math- This week we talked a lot about problem solving strategies while going over the curriculum based assessment. We also worked on division and multiplication of larger numbers.
Science- Weather is our focus and we will work more with weather after the break. We will have a test on Weather on Monday, March 24.
Social Studies- March 2 was the anniversary of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence and March was the anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo. We read about these events in a historical fiction novel, watched some videos about them and practiced for a reader's theater based on the book, Voices of the Alamo. We will talk more about the revolution in the upcoming weeks. We will act out the reader's theater on Tuesday, March 25. The kids are welcome to dress up for the performance. We will discuss this more after the break.
STAAR testing for writing is coming up on April 1 and 2. Go to the TEA website and you can view released STAAR tests and scored writing samples. Feel free to use this material to review with your child. There is a lot of information that could be helpful to you and your child. If you have any questions about the test, please let me know. Go to http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/staar/testquestions/ and http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/parents/
Dates to remember:
Monday, March 10-Friday, March 14-Spring Break-Have fun, Be safe, Read!
Monday, March 17-Spring Break Reading Logs due, any homework packets or logs not turned in yet, are due
Monday, March 17-Service Club-2:45-3:45
Tuesday, March 18-Friday, March 21-Writing Camp-Send letters
Wednesday, March 19-Early Release Day 12:45
Monday, March 24-Science test on Weather, Rising Star Writing and Art due
Tuesday, March 25-Pen Pal Visit, Reader's Theater-Voices of Alamo
Thursday, March 27-Writing Club 2:45-3:45
Friday, March 28-Spring Carnival
Tuesday, April 1 and Wednesday, April 2-STAAR Writing Test
Thank you for sharing your child with me. Have a great spring break! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam
We had a busy, but great week! Your children showed their ability to be flexible and adjust as needed this week. Because of practice for the Hoe Down, our specials and recess schedule was different. Because of the bad weather and late start on Tuesday, our pen pal visit was rescheduled for March 25. We even saw the maturation video today and still were able to focus on our work. I am proud of them for working hard this week!
Writing Camp is coming up on 3/18! Our classroom will be transformed into a campsite! Your child is encouraged to wear clothes as if they were going camping (not pajamas), bring in a sleeping bag and pillow, and get ready for an awesome week filled with writing activities! I need a few pieces (3 or 4) of firewood, and about 8 rocks to make our campfire. Let me know if you can let us use these items.
Camp Letters: You and your family members are encouraged to write camp letters to your camper. We will have mail call in the afternoon and it is always exciting to get letters from home when you are away at camp! :) You can email me letters or send them in with your child. You can write to them as if they are really away at camp and include camping stories or adventures to model good writing. You can write a letter each day and encourage family members to write as well. Thank you for making this week educational and fun for the kids. It is one of my favorite weeks of the school year!
Reading-We finished our book club books this week! We read Bud, Not Buddy, Walking the Bus-Rider Blues, and Watson’s go to Birmingham. They all were historical fiction and had some connections with the civil rights. Many of the kids decided to borrow one of the books from a different group to read over spring break! As we read these award winners, we wrote summaries and responses then met to discuss and answer each others’ questions. We talked about character changes and historical events that were in the books. They did an amazing job!
Writing-We worked on our pen pal books and will finish them up after spring break. We also worked on revising and editing our work as well as practicing the format of the STAAR test's multiple choice writing. We will do lots of writing practice after spring break during writing camp.
Math- This week we talked a lot about problem solving strategies while going over the curriculum based assessment. We also worked on division and multiplication of larger numbers.
Science- Weather is our focus and we will work more with weather after the break. We will have a test on Weather on Monday, March 24.
Social Studies- March 2 was the anniversary of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence and March was the anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo. We read about these events in a historical fiction novel, watched some videos about them and practiced for a reader's theater based on the book, Voices of the Alamo. We will talk more about the revolution in the upcoming weeks. We will act out the reader's theater on Tuesday, March 25. The kids are welcome to dress up for the performance. We will discuss this more after the break.
STAAR testing for writing is coming up on April 1 and 2. Go to the TEA website and you can view released STAAR tests and scored writing samples. Feel free to use this material to review with your child. There is a lot of information that could be helpful to you and your child. If you have any questions about the test, please let me know. Go to http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/staar/testquestions/ and http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/parents/
Dates to remember:
Monday, March 10-Friday, March 14-Spring Break-Have fun, Be safe, Read!
Monday, March 17-Spring Break Reading Logs due, any homework packets or logs not turned in yet, are due
Monday, March 17-Service Club-2:45-3:45
Tuesday, March 18-Friday, March 21-Writing Camp-Send letters
Wednesday, March 19-Early Release Day 12:45
Monday, March 24-Science test on Weather, Rising Star Writing and Art due
Tuesday, March 25-Pen Pal Visit, Reader's Theater-Voices of Alamo
Thursday, March 27-Writing Club 2:45-3:45
Friday, March 28-Spring Carnival
Tuesday, April 1 and Wednesday, April 2-STAAR Writing Test
Thank you for sharing your child with me. Have a great spring break! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam
Friday, February 28, 2014
Exciting Week!
Hi, February 28, 2014
It is hard to believe that February is over and tomorrow will be March! This year is flying by!
We had another exciting week! The Longhorn Network was here on Thursday and filmed us playing active academic games, working at our seats, and playing on the playground. They will be using the footage of your children during an interview segment with my husband, John Bartholomew, who is a professor at UT. His line of research deals with health promotion and integrating learning and fitness in schools. The segment will be aired multiple times during the first week of April. I will let you know more details as it gets closer. They will also give us a DVD, so everyone in class can see it even if they don't have The Longhorn Network at home. The kids were thrilled to have the cameras around them and can't wait to see themselves on TV!
The Empty Bowl Project is tomorrow at Cedar Ridge High School from 11-2 pm. The Fun Run is at the same location at 10 am. Hope you can make it there to see all of our beautiful bowls and possibly even buy one! Thank you for supporting the Round Rock Serving Center!
UT Explore is also on Saturday, March 1 from 11-5pm. There will be over 400 activities for kids and adults to explore on campus. Here is the link for more information. http://www.utexas.edu/news/2014/02/20/explore-ut-welcomes-visitors/
Activities at Explore UT are organized into six realms of discovery:
Arts Adventures – Embrace a culture of innovation found in the arts, architecture and communication.
Cultural Crossroads – Harness the creativity and critical thinking found in business, information, education and the liberal arts.
Engineering Expeditions – Embark on a journey to solve global problems and improve lives through engineering.
Public Service Passageway – Learn how your world is enriched through the law, social work and public service.
Science Safari – Experience the sciences and see the innovative fun in pharmacy, nursing and geosciences.
Longhorn Trail – Discover our Longhorn community and see firsthand the many ways we are changing the world.Some of the activities will give students an opportunity to design and create paper flying machines, learn about robotics and automation, create a magazine cover, and learn how tiny worms are helping to solve mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome.
While the students are exploring activities on campus, dozens of their teachers will participate in free continuing education courses, which will count toward their required professional development credit hours.
For a complete schedule of activities, visit the Explore UT website at http://www.utexas.edu/events/exploreut/.
The Kite Festival is at Zilker Park on Sunday and the Heart of Texas Regatta is also downtown on Ladybird Lake. The Austin Rodeo begins this weekend as well! So many options!!!!!! Have a wonderful weekend!
Our Pen Pals are coming to Forest Creek on Tuesday, March 4 and will be participating in PE activities with us. We will be in the gym from about 10:00 until 11:00 then we may go to the library for a little bit more fun before they head home. It will be a lot of fun and you are welcome to join us!
Read about our week:
Reading-We are reading away with our book club books. We read independently, summarize the chapter, and write our responses to that chapter. Then we discuss each chapter as a group. The kids ask questions and answer each others questions by looking back in the book and rereading. They talk about the character changes, tricky words, themes, and the events in the story. We are hoping to finish the book club books before spring break but we will see how that goes. Drama has also been a focus this week and we got into groups to do some historical fiction readers theaters.
Writing-Revising and editing is a focus and will continue to be something we work on often. We will be playing games to practice and applying the strategies to our own writing. We will finish up the photograph pages and the writing of our pen pal expository pieces and work on some poetry next week.
Math-We took a very challenging, multistep Curriculum Based Assessment this week. We will be going over these problems and strategies a lot next week. We had fun with measurement, fraction, and decimal games and activities. Using rulers as foot long fence pieces to practice area and perimeter of dog runs has been fun this week and has helped us understand the concepts a little better. Keep working on multiplication and division facts at home. Going on First in Math daily at home is a great way to practice.
Science-We finished up our study of Natural Resources this week with our reading buddies. Sunday is Dr. Seuss' birthday so we celebrated with our buddies by exploring The Lorax Project with them. It is website that has information and games about forest and animals from around the world and ways to conserve to help our planet. We will begin learning about weather next week.
Social Studies-Sunday, March 2 is Texas Independence Day! It was the day of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836. We talked about that a bit today and began reading a historical fiction novel about the events leading up to the Battle of the Alamo (which is on March 6).
Next week our daily schedule will change due to Hoe Down practice. Our specials will be from 10:05-10:55 from Mon-Thurs. and 9:10-10:00 on Friday. Our recess will be 12:25-12:45 from Mon-Thurs. and 1:15-1:35 on Friday.
Be sure to sign up to volunteer at the Spring Carnival on March 28.
Dates to Remember:
Monday, March 3-Reading/Math Log and Homework packets due
Tuesday, March 4-Pen Pal Visit from 10-11 am, PTA mtg at 6:30 pm
Wednesday, March 5-Kindergarten Round up
Thursday, March 6-Writing Club from 2:45-3:45, Family Fun Night at Scholotsky's
Friday, March 7-Word Study test, Hoe Down for K-2
Saturday, March 8-Sunday, March 16-Spring Break-
Monday, March 17-Spring Break Reading Log due
Tuesday, March 18-Friday, March 21-Writing Camp!!!!!
Wednesday, March 19-Early Release Day at 12:45, Kona Ice will be here.
Friday, March 28-Spring Carnival at 5 pm. Sign up to Volunteer!
Tuesday, April 1-4th grade STAAR Writing test/5th Grade STAAR Math
Wednesday, April 2-4th grade STAAR Writing test/5th Grade STAAR Reading
Have a wonderful weekend! Contact me with any questions or concerns!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
It is hard to believe that February is over and tomorrow will be March! This year is flying by!
We had another exciting week! The Longhorn Network was here on Thursday and filmed us playing active academic games, working at our seats, and playing on the playground. They will be using the footage of your children during an interview segment with my husband, John Bartholomew, who is a professor at UT. His line of research deals with health promotion and integrating learning and fitness in schools. The segment will be aired multiple times during the first week of April. I will let you know more details as it gets closer. They will also give us a DVD, so everyone in class can see it even if they don't have The Longhorn Network at home. The kids were thrilled to have the cameras around them and can't wait to see themselves on TV!
The Empty Bowl Project is tomorrow at Cedar Ridge High School from 11-2 pm. The Fun Run is at the same location at 10 am. Hope you can make it there to see all of our beautiful bowls and possibly even buy one! Thank you for supporting the Round Rock Serving Center!
UT Explore is also on Saturday, March 1 from 11-5pm. There will be over 400 activities for kids and adults to explore on campus. Here is the link for more information. http://www.utexas.edu/news/2014/02/20/explore-ut-welcomes-visitors/
Activities at Explore UT are organized into six realms of discovery:
Arts Adventures – Embrace a culture of innovation found in the arts, architecture and communication.
Cultural Crossroads – Harness the creativity and critical thinking found in business, information, education and the liberal arts.
Engineering Expeditions – Embark on a journey to solve global problems and improve lives through engineering.
Public Service Passageway – Learn how your world is enriched through the law, social work and public service.
Science Safari – Experience the sciences and see the innovative fun in pharmacy, nursing and geosciences.
Longhorn Trail – Discover our Longhorn community and see firsthand the many ways we are changing the world.Some of the activities will give students an opportunity to design and create paper flying machines, learn about robotics and automation, create a magazine cover, and learn how tiny worms are helping to solve mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome.
While the students are exploring activities on campus, dozens of their teachers will participate in free continuing education courses, which will count toward their required professional development credit hours.
For a complete schedule of activities, visit the Explore UT website at http://www.utexas.edu/events/exploreut/.
The Kite Festival is at Zilker Park on Sunday and the Heart of Texas Regatta is also downtown on Ladybird Lake. The Austin Rodeo begins this weekend as well! So many options!!!!!! Have a wonderful weekend!
Our Pen Pals are coming to Forest Creek on Tuesday, March 4 and will be participating in PE activities with us. We will be in the gym from about 10:00 until 11:00 then we may go to the library for a little bit more fun before they head home. It will be a lot of fun and you are welcome to join us!
Read about our week:
Reading-We are reading away with our book club books. We read independently, summarize the chapter, and write our responses to that chapter. Then we discuss each chapter as a group. The kids ask questions and answer each others questions by looking back in the book and rereading. They talk about the character changes, tricky words, themes, and the events in the story. We are hoping to finish the book club books before spring break but we will see how that goes. Drama has also been a focus this week and we got into groups to do some historical fiction readers theaters.
Writing-Revising and editing is a focus and will continue to be something we work on often. We will be playing games to practice and applying the strategies to our own writing. We will finish up the photograph pages and the writing of our pen pal expository pieces and work on some poetry next week.
Math-We took a very challenging, multistep Curriculum Based Assessment this week. We will be going over these problems and strategies a lot next week. We had fun with measurement, fraction, and decimal games and activities. Using rulers as foot long fence pieces to practice area and perimeter of dog runs has been fun this week and has helped us understand the concepts a little better. Keep working on multiplication and division facts at home. Going on First in Math daily at home is a great way to practice.
Science-We finished up our study of Natural Resources this week with our reading buddies. Sunday is Dr. Seuss' birthday so we celebrated with our buddies by exploring The Lorax Project with them. It is website that has information and games about forest and animals from around the world and ways to conserve to help our planet. We will begin learning about weather next week.
Social Studies-Sunday, March 2 is Texas Independence Day! It was the day of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836. We talked about that a bit today and began reading a historical fiction novel about the events leading up to the Battle of the Alamo (which is on March 6).
Next week our daily schedule will change due to Hoe Down practice. Our specials will be from 10:05-10:55 from Mon-Thurs. and 9:10-10:00 on Friday. Our recess will be 12:25-12:45 from Mon-Thurs. and 1:15-1:35 on Friday.
Be sure to sign up to volunteer at the Spring Carnival on March 28.
Dates to Remember:
Monday, March 3-Reading/Math Log and Homework packets due
Tuesday, March 4-Pen Pal Visit from 10-11 am, PTA mtg at 6:30 pm
Wednesday, March 5-Kindergarten Round up
Thursday, March 6-Writing Club from 2:45-3:45, Family Fun Night at Scholotsky's
Friday, March 7-Word Study test, Hoe Down for K-2
Saturday, March 8-Sunday, March 16-Spring Break-
Monday, March 17-Spring Break Reading Log due
Tuesday, March 18-Friday, March 21-Writing Camp!!!!!
Wednesday, March 19-Early Release Day at 12:45, Kona Ice will be here.
Friday, March 28-Spring Carnival at 5 pm. Sign up to Volunteer!
Tuesday, April 1-4th grade STAAR Writing test/5th Grade STAAR Math
Wednesday, April 2-4th grade STAAR Writing test/5th Grade STAAR Reading
Have a wonderful weekend! Contact me with any questions or concerns!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Newsletter-Great Visit with Pen Pals on Tuesday, Wonder Author comes to Round Rock ISD on Monday, Science Test on Wednesday, Service Club on Monday, Reading/Math Logs due on Monday, Homework packets due on Monday
Hi,
We had a wonderful visit with our pen pals on Tuesday. We made bowls for the Empty Bowl Project and they look beautiful! Come and see them on March 1 at Cedar Ridge High School for the Empty Bowl Festival.
We will also make Valentines this week to give to the children at the Emergency Shelter at Starry.
Be sure to sign up to help with our Valentine's Day Party on Friday. Every child who chooses to share Valentines needs to bring one for each child in class. Your child can bring in a decorated box or bag to hold their valentines on Friday for the party.
Read about our week:
Reading-We are continuing reading our book club books. We read a chapter, write a summary and response to the chapter and we meet with our book club to discuss the chapter. We will also read expository articles next week and work on context clues, summarizing, and making inferences.
Writing-We are finishing revising and editing our personal narratives and will begin planning expository pieces about our pen pals.
Math-Decimals and fractions will continue to be a focus. We will also work with measurement vocabulary and playing games to practice all math concepts. Continue to work on multiplication and division at home.
Science-Weathering,erosion, and deposition and the ways that these forces change the land is our topic.We will continue learning about these concepts with vocabulary practice and some cool videos as well as a relay game and will have an assessment on Wednesday, February 12. Go to Stemscopes to practice.
Dates to Remember:
Monday, February 10-Reading/Math logs and homework packets due, Word Study test, Multiplication quiz, Service Club from 2:45-3:45 pm
Wednesday, February 12-Science Assessment
Friday, February 14-Word Study test, Multiplication quiz, Valentine's Day Party
Saturday, February 15-Volunteer at the Round Rock Serving Center
Have a great rest of the weekend and enjoy the beautiful weather!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
We had a wonderful visit with our pen pals on Tuesday. We made bowls for the Empty Bowl Project and they look beautiful! Come and see them on March 1 at Cedar Ridge High School for the Empty Bowl Festival.
We will also make Valentines this week to give to the children at the Emergency Shelter at Starry.
Be sure to sign up to help with our Valentine's Day Party on Friday. Every child who chooses to share Valentines needs to bring one for each child in class. Your child can bring in a decorated box or bag to hold their valentines on Friday for the party.
Read about our week:
Reading-We are continuing reading our book club books. We read a chapter, write a summary and response to the chapter and we meet with our book club to discuss the chapter. We will also read expository articles next week and work on context clues, summarizing, and making inferences.
Writing-We are finishing revising and editing our personal narratives and will begin planning expository pieces about our pen pals.
Math-Decimals and fractions will continue to be a focus. We will also work with measurement vocabulary and playing games to practice all math concepts. Continue to work on multiplication and division at home.
Science-Weathering,erosion, and deposition and the ways that these forces change the land is our topic.We will continue learning about these concepts with vocabulary practice and some cool videos as well as a relay game and will have an assessment on Wednesday, February 12. Go to Stemscopes to practice.
Dates to Remember:
Monday, February 10-Reading/Math logs and homework packets due, Word Study test, Multiplication quiz, Service Club from 2:45-3:45 pm
Wednesday, February 12-Science Assessment
Friday, February 14-Word Study test, Multiplication quiz, Valentine's Day Party
Saturday, February 15-Volunteer at the Round Rock Serving Center
Have a great rest of the weekend and enjoy the beautiful weather!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Crazy Weather Week, Enjoy the Long Weekend!
Hi,
I hope everyone stayed warm and enjoyed the long weekend!
We will have our geometry test that we had planned for Friday on Monday. Don't forget to use the online games to help practice these vocabulary words and geometry concepts.
Reading: We discussed the Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka case and the desegregation of public schools this week. We read and discussed Ruby Bridges and wrote about her character traits as well as our thoughts about civil rights.
Writing: We are writing personal narratives about small moment events in our lives. While we revise we are using map pencils to show places in our draft in which we wrote about things we saw, heard, said, thought, and did. This will help us include specific details and descriptions in our writing. We are also working hard on making our conclusions strong using truisms, lessons learned, reflections, and memories. We will continue revising and editing and hope to have final copies by Friday.
Math: We are finishing up our work with geometry but will continue to review geometry concepts and vocabulary throughout the year. We will begin learning about decimals and fractional concepts.
Science: We are beginning to learn about weathering and erosion and the effects on the land.
SS: We will begin talking about missions in Texas.
Remember these dates:
Monday, Jan. 27-Reading/math logs are due, homework packet due, Service Club from 2:45-3:45pm
Tuesday, Jan. 28-Writing CBA
Wednesday, Jan. 29-Reading CBA, Group and Individual Photos
Thursday, Jan. 30-Math/Science Night from 5-7, Interviews for those entering the science fair at 2:00pm, Book Fair sales begin during Math/Science Night
Friday, Jan. 31-Word study test
Monday, Feb. 3-Book Fair until Feb. 7, Jump Rope for Heart begins
Tuesday, Feb. 4-Pen Pal Visit at 9:55-11:00 am-making bowls in art for Empty Bowl Project
Wednesday, Feb. 5-Early Release Day 12:45-Kona Ice on Campus
Thursday, Feb. 6-Writing Club from 2:45-3:45, PTA Family Fun Night at Austin Pizza
Friday, Feb. 7-Wear Red for Jump Rope for Heart, Word Study test
Have a great weekend! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
I hope everyone stayed warm and enjoyed the long weekend!
We will have our geometry test that we had planned for Friday on Monday. Don't forget to use the online games to help practice these vocabulary words and geometry concepts.
Reading: We discussed the Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka case and the desegregation of public schools this week. We read and discussed Ruby Bridges and wrote about her character traits as well as our thoughts about civil rights.
Writing: We are writing personal narratives about small moment events in our lives. While we revise we are using map pencils to show places in our draft in which we wrote about things we saw, heard, said, thought, and did. This will help us include specific details and descriptions in our writing. We are also working hard on making our conclusions strong using truisms, lessons learned, reflections, and memories. We will continue revising and editing and hope to have final copies by Friday.
Math: We are finishing up our work with geometry but will continue to review geometry concepts and vocabulary throughout the year. We will begin learning about decimals and fractional concepts.
Science: We are beginning to learn about weathering and erosion and the effects on the land.
SS: We will begin talking about missions in Texas.
Remember these dates:
Monday, Jan. 27-Reading/math logs are due, homework packet due, Service Club from 2:45-3:45pm
Tuesday, Jan. 28-Writing CBA
Wednesday, Jan. 29-Reading CBA, Group and Individual Photos
Thursday, Jan. 30-Math/Science Night from 5-7, Interviews for those entering the science fair at 2:00pm, Book Fair sales begin during Math/Science Night
Friday, Jan. 31-Word study test
Monday, Feb. 3-Book Fair until Feb. 7, Jump Rope for Heart begins
Tuesday, Feb. 4-Pen Pal Visit at 9:55-11:00 am-making bowls in art for Empty Bowl Project
Wednesday, Feb. 5-Early Release Day 12:45-Kona Ice on Campus
Thursday, Feb. 6-Writing Club from 2:45-3:45, PTA Family Fun Night at Austin Pizza
Friday, Feb. 7-Wear Red for Jump Rope for Heart, Word Study test
Have a great weekend! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
Friday, January 17, 2014
Great Visit with Pen Pals and Awesome Week!
HI,
We had a busy and wonderful week! Our pen pals came on Tuesday and we performed some reader's theaters for them as well as interviewing and playing games. We also made geometric solids using straws and twist ties, and created geometric patterns with tangrams and pattern blocks. It was a fantastic visit!
Read about our week:
Reading-We began new book club books with a civil rights theme. We also are continuing to read traditional tales-fairy tales, myths, legends, tall tales, etc...
Writing-We finished up our expository essays on our future careers and are collecting entries for personal narratives. We are using strategies to come up with ideas by thinking about strong emotions such as worried, embarrassed, hopeful, hopeless, angry, excited, etc...We list times when we experienced those emotions and then choose one for a rough draft. We also think about turning points in our lives as possible drafts. (first times/last times that we've done something or seen someone or something) We will soon choose an entry to begin revising and editing for publication.
Math-Geometry has been our focus. We learned a lot of vocabulary that has to do with 2D shapes, parallel and perpendicular lines, right, obtuse, and acute angles, and transformations such as reflections, rotations, and translations. We will continue next week with 3D shapes and area and perimeter.
Science-The silt in our experiment retained the most water. This earth material also allowed the radish seeds to sprout the most. We completed our properties of soil test on Thursday and wrote an expository essay explaining which properties we thought would be best for growth in a garden. We will continue with weathering and erosion next week.
Social Studies-We learned some more about the explorers and will begin talking about missions in Texas next week.
Dates to remember:
Friday, Jan. 17-Talent Show 6:30pm
Sat. Jan.18-Volunteer at the Round Rock Serving Center 10-11 am
Mon. Jan. 20-No School, MLK Jr. Day (Great weekend to volunteer!)
Tues. Jan. 21-Homework packets and reading/math logs due
Wed. Jan. 22-Science Projects and Checkpoint #5 due-Presentations will begin
Thurs. Jan. 23-Writing Club 2:45-3:45 pm, Book Order due
Fri. Jan. 24-Word Study test, Geometry test
Mon. Jan. 27-Homework packets and reading/math logs due, Service Club meeting 2:45-3:45, Reading CBA
Wed. Jan. 29-Spring Pictures Day, Writing CBA
Thurs. Jan. 30-Math and Science Night, Science Fair
Fri. Jan. 31-Word Study test
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Pam
We had a busy and wonderful week! Our pen pals came on Tuesday and we performed some reader's theaters for them as well as interviewing and playing games. We also made geometric solids using straws and twist ties, and created geometric patterns with tangrams and pattern blocks. It was a fantastic visit!
Read about our week:
Reading-We began new book club books with a civil rights theme. We also are continuing to read traditional tales-fairy tales, myths, legends, tall tales, etc...
Writing-We finished up our expository essays on our future careers and are collecting entries for personal narratives. We are using strategies to come up with ideas by thinking about strong emotions such as worried, embarrassed, hopeful, hopeless, angry, excited, etc...We list times when we experienced those emotions and then choose one for a rough draft. We also think about turning points in our lives as possible drafts. (first times/last times that we've done something or seen someone or something) We will soon choose an entry to begin revising and editing for publication.
Math-Geometry has been our focus. We learned a lot of vocabulary that has to do with 2D shapes, parallel and perpendicular lines, right, obtuse, and acute angles, and transformations such as reflections, rotations, and translations. We will continue next week with 3D shapes and area and perimeter.
Science-The silt in our experiment retained the most water. This earth material also allowed the radish seeds to sprout the most. We completed our properties of soil test on Thursday and wrote an expository essay explaining which properties we thought would be best for growth in a garden. We will continue with weathering and erosion next week.
Social Studies-We learned some more about the explorers and will begin talking about missions in Texas next week.
Dates to remember:
Friday, Jan. 17-Talent Show 6:30pm
Sat. Jan.18-Volunteer at the Round Rock Serving Center 10-11 am
Mon. Jan. 20-No School, MLK Jr. Day (Great weekend to volunteer!)
Tues. Jan. 21-Homework packets and reading/math logs due
Wed. Jan. 22-Science Projects and Checkpoint #5 due-Presentations will begin
Thurs. Jan. 23-Writing Club 2:45-3:45 pm, Book Order due
Fri. Jan. 24-Word Study test, Geometry test
Mon. Jan. 27-Homework packets and reading/math logs due, Service Club meeting 2:45-3:45, Reading CBA
Wed. Jan. 29-Spring Pictures Day, Writing CBA
Thurs. Jan. 30-Math and Science Night, Science Fair
Fri. Jan. 31-Word Study test
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Pam
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
I had a wonderful winter break. We traveled to Philadelphia, PA to see our family and many friends. I am excited to be back to school and ready for a great second half of fourth grade! I can't wait to see everyone on Tuesday and hear (and read) stories about their break.
Don't forget the Holiday Reading Logs are due on Tuesday! 200 minutes are required. Anyone reading over 200 minutes will get a prize. The readers with the greatest number of reading minutes get to choose their prize first. Readers with less than 200 minutes will need to go to study hall. I look forward to hearing about all the awesome books that were read!
Science Project Checkpoint #3 will be due on Thursday. Your child will bring home another copy of Checkpoint #3 on Tuesday. We will be working on a class exploration involving water retention of different types of soil. It will be fun and interesting and we will set up our data and findings like a science project board. This model will help the kids understand the components as they work on their own projects.
Read about our week:
We will be talking about goals and New Year's Resolutions and will be setting some for ourselves. We will keep a copy of our goals at home and at school and will put a copy in an envelope that will be opened on the last day of school!
We will be finishing our presentations of our Smores Biography Projects and beginning to read and analyze various traditional literature (fairy tales, tall tales, legends, myths).
We will also be writing personal narratives about our winter break and finishing our revisions and editing of our career essays. Letters to our pen pals will also be written this week.
In math, we will finish up fractions and begin geometry. Vocabulary will be a big focus for geometry. We will also continue problem solving and work on increasing our speed with multiplication and division facts.
In science, soil and the properties of soil will be our focus. In Social Studies, we will read about explorers of Texas.
Have a great day on Monday! Put your kids to sleep early on Monday night! I can't wait to see all your children's bright smiling faces on Tuesday!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
I had a wonderful winter break. We traveled to Philadelphia, PA to see our family and many friends. I am excited to be back to school and ready for a great second half of fourth grade! I can't wait to see everyone on Tuesday and hear (and read) stories about their break.
Don't forget the Holiday Reading Logs are due on Tuesday! 200 minutes are required. Anyone reading over 200 minutes will get a prize. The readers with the greatest number of reading minutes get to choose their prize first. Readers with less than 200 minutes will need to go to study hall. I look forward to hearing about all the awesome books that were read!
Science Project Checkpoint #3 will be due on Thursday. Your child will bring home another copy of Checkpoint #3 on Tuesday. We will be working on a class exploration involving water retention of different types of soil. It will be fun and interesting and we will set up our data and findings like a science project board. This model will help the kids understand the components as they work on their own projects.
Read about our week:
We will be talking about goals and New Year's Resolutions and will be setting some for ourselves. We will keep a copy of our goals at home and at school and will put a copy in an envelope that will be opened on the last day of school!
We will be finishing our presentations of our Smores Biography Projects and beginning to read and analyze various traditional literature (fairy tales, tall tales, legends, myths).
We will also be writing personal narratives about our winter break and finishing our revisions and editing of our career essays. Letters to our pen pals will also be written this week.
In math, we will finish up fractions and begin geometry. Vocabulary will be a big focus for geometry. We will also continue problem solving and work on increasing our speed with multiplication and division facts.
In science, soil and the properties of soil will be our focus. In Social Studies, we will read about explorers of Texas.
Have a great day on Monday! Put your kids to sleep early on Monday night! I can't wait to see all your children's bright smiling faces on Tuesday!
Sincerely,
Pam Bartholomew
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