Revision and Editing

REvision... We know that the prefix re- means "again". Piero suggested that revision must mean, "to see again". He is exactly right! When writers revise their pieces, they look at them through different lenses. Some questions we may ask ourselves during revision are:

• What parts will my reader enjoy? Where does the writing sound good and give a clear picture of what was happening?
• Are there any places where the reader may get confused? Where do I lose focus?
• Have I left out actions, details, and dialogue the reader needs in order to follow my story?
• Where might I include more thoughts and feelings to make my intentions clear to the reader?

We revise our drafts so that our audience gets the best read possible! One way we learned to revise was by looking closely at the arc of our story. We ask ourselves, "What am I really trying to say?"

Here, two writers help each other make revisions. Notice that she isn't just listening to what her peer is suggesting, she is actually making changes to her piece! 

The difference between revising and editing, is that editing focuses on our conventions. As writers, we rely on editing checklists. It could be a checklist on paper, or a checklist in our minds! Each item on the checklist reminds us of a "lens" we could use as we reread our drafts. We should reread our drafts at least SIX times! Some lenses we use when rereading our drafts could be:

• clarity: "Would my story make sense to a stranger?"
• punctuation: "Do I have complete sentences? Did I end my sentences with punctuation? Did I punctuate all my dialogue correctly?"
• spelling: "Have I tried to correct the words I circled because I felt they were misspelled?"
• paragraphs: "Is there a new paragraph for each big event in my story? Did I change paragraphs when a new person is speaking?"

Editing checklists are like self-help books! They serve as our personalized coaches, giving us a to-do list for our draft before it goes to be published. Editing is important because it is your last chance to make your writing perfect! 

Writers, what changes have you made to your narratives during the revision process? What do you notice as you edit your narrative? Has your partner given you any great advice during writing peer conferences that you could share with us?

Fractions- What 4th Graders Need to Know

In Math Workshop, we have been been studying area models of fractions. Through homework, we have also been reviewing fraction concept using linear models (number lines) and set models (groups of objects). All of these models are important in helping to develop conceptual understanding of fractions.
The links below are helpful in reviewing some of the "big ideas" we have been studying in class. Use them to review and clarify your understanding of fractions. :-)

What are fractions?
Fractions

How can you make and identify equivalent fractions?
Equivalent Fractions

How do you find the "Greatest Common Factor" to put a fraction in lowest terms?
Greatest Common Factor

:-) Enjoy.
Students, leave a comment to share your thoughts on these Study Jams links.

Read, Think, Explain

When good writers answer questions about a text, they know they need to be thorough!  Since this is a form of responding to literature, the purpose is to demonstrate our understanding of a text (a.k.a. prove we're an expert) by informing our readers about our thinking.  We know these responses must be text-based, supported by evidence, and include lots of our own words to explain our thinking.  

Good writers also know that our responses should always include an answer statement.  Answer statements work like main idea statements, or topic sentences.  The easiest way to do this is to turn the question around into a statement.  For instance, if they question asks:

What is the theme of The Polar Express?

A good writer might begin their response like this:

The theme of The Polar Express is ____.

All of the other sentences in their response would be explaining how they know this is the theme, referring to details from the story and occasionally quoting specific sentences or phrases from the text.  

Reader-writers, could the RUPR help us respond to these questions?  If so, how?  

Reading Chris Van Allsburg Closely

This week, Culinary Court readers are revisiting some of the key concepts and important stories in our Chris Van Allsburg author study before we conclude our unit of study.

One of the ways our readers are revisiting a favorite story, The Stranger, is through a "close reading" activity.  In a close reading, readers revisit a text they've already read.  This time, readers are focused on looking deeper into the text to deepen their understanding in a predetermined way.  For instance, this week our readers focused on the effects of the setting in The Stranger.

In partners, students reread the story, looking for evidence in the text and illustrations to help them answer a list of guiding questions.  This time was also spent discussing with their partners the importance of the evidence they located.

After this guided conversation, readers took time to independently write a concluding paragraph explaining their thoughts and new understandings about this story and its setting. Was the setting of The Stranger critical to the plot?

Readers, what did you find challenging about this activity?  What did you find was the easiest part?

The Super RUPR

Chefs at the Culinary Court are experts at using the Super RUPR strategy!

In addition to helping writers plan and respond to a prompt, the RUPR strategy can be useful on a variety of short and extended response test questions.

R = Read the prompt (or question) TWICE
U = Underline the FAT-P (or important information)
P = Plan your writing (or answer)
R = Reread your plan (or answer).  Ask yourself, "Did I accurately respond to all the parts of the prompt (or question)?  Does my writing (or work) meet the specific purpose?  Is my response on topic?"

Students, when we're using the Super RUPR to help us in an on-demand writing assessment, we think about the "FAT-P"?  What do the letters in this acronym stand for?  What do these words mean?  How can the Super RUPR help you on other tests?

Every Day Counts!

Every Day Counts is grounded in a series of “elements” that serve to make up our weekly math skills block. Here is an overview of the elements we have discussed in November.

CALENDAR

This month we recognized patterns of 4 and 8. We also compared and analyzed attributes of quadrilaterals (shapes with four sides). Our calendar contained squares, rectangles, rhombi and trapezoids (right and isosceles trapezoids). We also discussed 90 degree rotations (turns) of the quadrilaterals on the calendar, and whether or not each contained symmetry. 

DAILY DEPOSITOR

While deepening our understanding of place value and our Base-10 number system, we multiplied numbers by 100 (such as 17 x 100) and added money amounts up to five-digit numbers. 

MEASUREMENT

With this element, we converted cups to quarts and examined mixed numbers. For example, we renamed 5/4 cups as being equivalent to 1 ¼ cups.

COUNTING TAPE

On the upper counting tape, we focused on adding one-hundredth each day (such as in placing 0.45 on the counting tape on the 45th day of school). This element continues to enable us to think about patterns and place value with decimal numbers.
Our focus on the lower counting involved exploring multiples and factors (whole numbers). We also looked at patterns in the multiples. Our counting tape shows us, for example, that 2 (heart), 4 (square), and 5 (five pointed star) are factors of 40 (and 40 is a common multiple of these numbers).

COIN COUNTER

With this element, we continue to add one penny ($0.01) each day. While keeping track of our growing balance, we perform mental math problems as we solve hypothetical addition and subtraction problems. We also discuss proper notation of decimal amounts as well as fraction and percent equivalents.

As each new month begins, the mathematical emphases change and the elements are adjusted to accommodate our new focuses. Now that December has begun, we have started a new round of discussions. EVERY day counts!

Students, what is your favorite element in our math skills block and WHY? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Writing About Our Reading

If you walked into one of the Culinary Court ELA Kitchens during the past few weeks, you may have had a hard time figuring out if you stepped into a reading workshop or a writing workshop.  That's because these reader-writer chefs have been busily writing about their reading, otherwise known as responding to literature.

As readers, we might write about our reading in a variety of different ways and for a variety of reasons.

Book Blurbs

Sometimes, readers write short, positive "blurbs" about books.  The most common place you might find a book blurb is on the back of your chapter book or the inside flap of a picture book.  These brief writings tell a very basic, incomplete summary of the book.  Since the purpose of this text is to persuade readers to read the book, blurb writers try to make the book sound interesting without revealing too much information.  Sometimes these book blurbs offer opinions and commentary on the writer's style of writing.  

Book Recommendations

Since book recommendations are not found on the actual book, a little more information is needed.  In addition to a general, incomplete summary (similar to the kind you find in a blurb), recommendation writers need to also include the book's genre, title and author.  They usually also include other information about the book that readers might need to or want to know, such as whether or not it's part of a series or if it has won any awards.  Book recommendations also always include positive opinions about the book.  (Because if you didn't like the book, you wouldn't be recommending it, right?)  Rather than just saying the book is good, though, good recommendation writers will also tell why it's good.  Perhaps this book made them laugh out loud or cry when they finished reading it, wishing there was a sequel.  Maybe there was a character inside that readers will really relate to, or look forward to seeing their defeat!  Many popular books are filled with action and suspense, keeping the readers turning pages late into the night.  Including these descriptions helps potential readers decide whether or not this book will be a good fit for them.

Book Reviews

A formal book review is much more detailed than a book recommendation.  The main purpose of a book review is to explain someone's opinions about a book to people who have not yet read the book. Reviewers still do not include the entire book in their summary, but they will often go into more detail about certain parts of the book, like important relationships between characters or how the main character arrives in the major situation of the story.  Because it's about expressing honest opinions, book reviewers do not always have only positive things to say about a book.  In fact, many published authors have love-hate relationships with professional book reviewers; they know these reviews can make or break the success of their new books!  A reviewer might find a book boring, predictable, unimaginative.  They often have some positive and some negative comments about the books they review.  Book reviews also offer much more commentary about the style of writing and message of the book.  They also always include quotations (evidence) from the text to support their opinions and statements about the book.  

Responses to Literature

Responses to literature are an academic piece of writing.  That means the purpose of these pieces of writing is to demonstrate a deep understanding of a book to an audience that has also read the book.  These writers include a complete summary, since they're no longer worrying about "spoiling it" for potential readers.  Additionally, they go deep into the meaning of the book by discussing their interpretations of theme, their evaluations of characters, and the writers' craft and style.  Quite often in responses to literature, writers will make comparisons and connections between books they've read, showing how their themes are connected or how two different authors (or the same author) can write about a topic in different ways.  

Students, what do you like about writing about your reading?  What do you find to be the hardest part?  To which of these responses could you most closely compare Book Talks?

Science Spotlight: Matter

What are properties of matter? What do you know about mass, volume, and density? Check out this Study Jams video, which highlights some of the content we have been discussing in Chapter 4, Lesson 1.
Click Here: Properties of Matter


Matter exists in three states (phases) on Earth- solid, liquid, and gas. How does matter change from one state to another, such as from a solid to a liquid? Check out this Study Jams video, which highlights some of the content we have been discussing in Chapter 4, Lesson 2.
Click Here: States of Matter

What a fun way to review. Enjoy!
Leave a comment to share something new you learned about "matter" by watching these videos.

Writer's Block

Emylie, from Mrs. Koster's homeroom, must have been struggling with writer's block in her writing last night. So, she wrote about it! Emylie's piece was so creative, that our class wanted to share it with the CCE Culinary Court bloggers.

Here is her piece:

Writer's block is like a land of blank walls. You never know what's behind it, what's next, or even where to start! It's a dark and evil spell cast on many writers all over the world. Just don't let yourself in without an exit.

Avoiding it:

• finish an unfinished piece
• always have ideas somewhere to fall back on
• pick a story and write a sequel

Exits:

• Take a break!
• Read a book for inspiration.
• Draw a picture, then write about it.

Great advice from fellow writer, Emylie!

Writers, how do you avoid writer's block? Give your best advice to stumped writers out there!

St. Augustine Highlights

St. Augustine 2012 on PhotoPeach


Our trip to St. Augustine was a memorable one. The weather was perfect and our tours were very informative. Here are a few FUN FACTS that we learned while there:

1) The Castillo cannons could shoot a cannon ball a distance of about 3 1/2 miles.

2) The Catholic Cross where Pedro Menendez first arrived in St. Augustine is 208 feet tall. If it were any taller, it would need a red light to be visible to airplanes!

 3) The oldest resident of St. Augustine is "Old Senator"- very large oak tree (in our slide show)

4) The Lightner Museum used to be one of Henry Flagler's hotels- there used to be a large indoor pool in there that measured 150 feet by 60 feet. (What was the area of this pool?)

 5) St. Augustine marks the beginning of the Trail of Tears (which we will learn more about later this year)

Students, what other FUN FACTS can you remember? Leave a comment to tell us something interesting that you learned and you will earn $5 behavior bucks!

What's the "Matter"?

Our 4th grade scientists are SO excited to be starting our new unit in Physical Science. Our initial essential questions are as follows:

*What are properties of matter?
*What are states of matter?

Our first investigation in this unit consisted of reviewing properties that can be used to classify matter through a classification-based investigation.

During our second investigation, we took a closer look at seven common objects (paper clip, clay cube, marble, pair of scissors, etc) and identified the color, shape, luster, texture, and mass of each. We also tested each object to see if it contained any magnetic properties.

Our next task will be to explore the states of matter through a virtual lab experience (Gizmos). We will also read in our textbooks (Lessons 1-2, pages 152-161) as a way of reviewing and connecting all of the pieces of our learning together. Stay tuned for our next Science Lab update. :-)

Students, find an interesting object in your home. Leave a comment to share at least 4 physical properties of this object. Be sure to also identify the object you are describing. :-)

Book of the Month

Here is our Book of the Month!

Today during Daily 5 in Mrs. Koster's class, two readers were spotted reading our book of the month for "Read to Someone". They were using the check mark to remind them to check for understanding after each partner read aloud. This month, our school is exploring Bon Apetit: The Delicious Life of Julia Child. We expect to learn a lot about Julia Child because no one in our class even knew who she was until we heard about this book! We are glad Mrs. Phillips chose this book and readers have enjoyed exploring it's many illustrations and interesting style of writing.

These readers chose the Book of the Month to read during "Read to Someone"! Mrs. Koster overheard them stopping to check for understanding and notice interesting facts about Julia Child.

This week in reading and writing workshop, we are discussing book recommendations, book blurbs, and book reviews. Readers and writers, look at the book review below written about our Book of the Month!

In a starred review, Publishers Weekly raves, "Chef and TV personality Julia Child likely would have delighted in and hooted over this wide-ranging picture-book biography.... Readers young and old will devour this fete pour les yeux."

Follow Julia Child—chef, author, and television personality—from her childhood in Pasadena, California, to her life as a spy in WWII, to the cooking classes she took in Paris, to the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, to the funny moments of being a chef on TV. This is a comprehensive and enchanting picture book biography, told in many panels and jam-packed with lively, humorous, and child-friendly details. Young chefs and Julia Child fans will exclaim, "ooooh la la," about this book, which is as energetic and eccentric as the chef herself.

Here is a photo of Julia Child on her television show! 

Readers and Writers, Use what you are learning in class about good book recommendations to comment about this book review. What makes this a great book review? Have you read the book yet? If so, what are some things you learned about Julia Child? What were your favorite features of this book? Why do you think Mrs. Phillips chose this book as our school's Book of the Month? If you have not read the book yet, what do you expect to learn from the book? 

Veterans Day

Woohoo!!! We get a long weekend this weekend!

But why?

"The Great War", World War I, may not have officially ended until June 28, 1919, but fighting stopped seven months before that date.  In 1918, the Allied Nations (which included the United States and many more countries) and Germany agreed that an armistice, or a temporary stop to fighting and violence, would begin on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

In 1919, President Wilson proclaimed that November 11th, the first anniversary of "Armistice Day", should include parades and celebrations, beginning at eleven o'clock, to show our gratitude for the heroes that fought and died in WWI.

The tradition of celebrating Armistice Day and remembering WWI heroes continued for many years.  Congress declared it a national holiday, stating that it should be a day of "thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate* peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations."

But by 1954, our country had fought in another World War and done battle in Korea.  It seemed wrong for a holiday to remember only the veterans of one war, especially since World War II required the largest number of soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen than any other war in our history.  So, Congress changed the name of the holiday to "Veterans Day", recognizing and remembering the heroes of all wars.

We continue to observe Veterans Day on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, in the tradition of the first Armistice Day in 1918.

This photo was taken on November 11, 1918 at 10:58 AM.  These soldiers in France were waiting for the armistice to begin in 2 minutes.

*perpetuate - to make something continue forever

Readers, do you know any veterans?  If so, in what war did they fight?  Remember, the holiday recognizes veterans of ALL wars, including modern and current wars.  Do you have any neighbors, friends, or family members who serve or have served in the military today?  What can we do to honor their sacrifices?  How can you show your gratitude?

BONUS:  What do you think the word "mutual" means?

Want to know more?  Check out this short video!

Celebrating Readers to Leaders

Have you heard what our principal, Mrs. Susan Phillips, did to celebrate our students for meeting their 1st 9 Weeks reading goals and motivate them to work to meet their new 2nd 9 week goals? Well take a look!!- She turned herself into a banana slip, with the help of Mrs. Nash and some other ELA lead teachers in our school.

Here is what a few of our Culinary Court students said in response to this expression of support:

Lainey said, "I know our principal loves us and cares about us and wants to motivate us, even if it's crazy."

Zach said, "You know there's a theme in books. It's like a lesson. I think they had one in there- Reading is sweet!"

Jordan said, "She wants us to keep reading to get smarter and wants us to have fun....celebrate reading."

Natalie said, "Mrs. Phillips wants us to be more encouraged to read. Not everyone thinks they can read good, so I think that's why she did that. It was riskful for you to read, and it was riskful for her to do that."

Keep reading, Culinary Court Kiddos!! Make your principal, teachers and parents proud!!

Math Homework

Math homework is a critical tool for reviewing previously learned skills and practicing new strategies.  We, at Chets Creek, see homework as an important component of our math curriculum.  How can homework be best supported at home?  Here are our suggestions:

1)        Set a specified time and place for your child to complete homework.

2)       Let your child work independently, then check the work when completed.

3)       Expect your child to use these strategies when completing math homework:

a.       Read the entire problem, but underline the REAL question.  In the real world, we are constantly given a multitude of information, but must decide what information is important in making decisions based on the question at hand.  Children should begin practicing this skill with story problems.

b.      Circle the information needed to find the answer to the REAL question.  This requires children to think about what information is needed to answer a question and isn’t our goal to teach children to be great thinkers?

c.       Show thinking through the use of pictures or strategies.  (For more information on strategies, refer to your child’s Math Journal.)  If your child is approaching a problem in a way different way than you might approach the problem, allow them to explain how they are thinking.  Research shows that when students develop their own way of thinking about math, they become confident mathematicians with a better understanding of mathematical processes.

At Chets Creek, math homework is never graded on accuracy, but on effort.  Helping your child to put forth their best effort on homework will result in improved performance on assessments and greater confidence in math!

This Week in ELA Workshops

In our Reader's Workshop this week, we are continuing our study of Chris Van Allsburg. So far, readers have been enthralled with his wonderful books! All of the fourth grade readers are loving this author study!

Today, we read The Wretched Stone, a story of a crew of sailors who discover an abandoned island. As with all of Van Allsburg's books, we see elements of magic and impossibilities. In this story, the sailors find a glowing stone that is gray and smooth. It gives off an attractive and enticing light. The sailors who once loved to read, play music, and tell stories, are now drawn into the stone's magical glow. Pretty soon, they turn into apes! When we ask ourselves about the theme of this story, we try to answer the questions: What is the author trying to teach us? What is he trying to make us think about? What is he trying to say?Readers... What do you believe the theme of this story was? Using evidence from the text, tell your friends what the stone represents. What do you think of this particular story? Share your thoughts for others to respond to?

In Writer's Workshop this week, we are raising the quality of our narrative writing. Today, we read with a writer's eye. The quote in Mrs. Koster's room reminds us that, "To write like a writer, we must learn to read like a writer." Instead of reading like we normally do, we studied "mentor texts" to uncover what real writers do. We ask ourselves, "What did this author do that I could try in my own writing?" Then, we do the hardest but most important part... we try it out in our own writing!

Later this week, we will study the leads and engaging beginnings of writers. We will also learn how to use commas correctly in our writing. As we revise this week, we will learn that yesterday's revisions become today's standards of practice! If I learn how to fix something, next time I should know not to make the same mistakes!

Writers... By investigating your own current chapter books, what do the authors you love do that you could try in your own writing? What kinds of things do you notice? For Mrs. Koster's class- What did the authors of the personal narratives we explored do in their writing that you enjoyed? 

Second Nine Weeks Reading Expectations

This week, readers will learn all about their second nine weeks reading expectations.  Mrs. Koster and Mrs. Nash are excited to share this quarter's goals with you all, and we know you will be excited to hear all about them!

In addition to choosing one book from one of our featured authors this quarter (Judy Blume, Andrew Clements, and Ralph Fletcher), students will be reading one fantasy chapter book of their choice.  There are lots of great fantasy books on the current best sellers lists, and tons of great fantasy books that have been around for years.  The remaining 4 books are free choice chapter books!

Students will be allowed to choose from a variety of response options outlined on the reading expectations information sheet.  However, if you have a great idea for a response that you'd like to try, talk with Mrs. Koster or Mrs. Nash about your idea!  We're want to hear your ideas!

Look for more informationi on the Second Nine Weeks Reading Expectations to come home this week, and remember to get your parents to review and sign the information page by Friday, November 2nd!  All responses will be due by January 11th.

Happy reading!

The Garden of Abdul Gasazi

This week in our Readers Workshop, we read The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. In the story, Alan falls asleep on a couch and then wakes up and goes on a frightening adventure into a magician's garden. The book's words sound as if the adventure is real, but the pictures give tiny hints that maybe the whole adventure is a dream. One hint is that the framed picture hanging on the wall over Alan's head while he's napping looks quite a bit like two of the scenes in Abdul Gasazi's garden. Since things in your dreams sometimes look a little like things you have seen when you're awake, perhaps Alan's memory of the framed picture makes its way into a dream. The flower pattern on the rug near the couch is also repeated several times in the Gasazi adventure - can you find them?





Readers, Alan's adventure may not be a dream after all. What hints did you find in the story that maybe his adventure was not a dream, but actually happened? Do you believe that Fritz really was turned into a duck by Gasazi? Or, do you believe it was all a trick? Leave a comment to share your thoughts. Be sure to back up your ideas with evidence from the story!

ELA Kitchen Update

Chris Van Allsburg is also an illustrator! We have noticed how intricate and detailed his drawings are. We have also noticed that he chooses to use black and white frequently.

This week in Reading Workshop, we have kicked off our author study on Chris Van Allsburg. Today, we explored his website, learning about his writing life. We discussed that Chets Creek students study authors to study author's craft, apply our knowledge of their craft to our own writing, understand how life experiences affect writing, and gain a deeper understanding of process and content through shared experiences. When we read the same books as our classmates and engage in discussions about them, we become a community of readers!



Chris Van Allsburg writes modern fantasy. Later this week, we will explore the features of modern fantasy and discuss how features of a text can help us figure out which genre the story is. We will also be exploring theme. Theme is the central idea of the story. When trying to find a theme, we ask ourselves, "What is the author trying to say or teach?", or, "What is the author trying to get the reader to think about?"

Readers, we encourage you to explore www.chrisvanallsburg.com to learn more about the books we are reading and Van Allsburg's writing life! Tell us some interesting facts you have learned about Chris Van Allsburg.

In Writing Workshop this week, we are learning a strategy to help us when we write to a prompt.This will help us prepare for our writing test this spring! Remember that the writing test is no different from the things we have learned in writing workshop! The strategy is called R-U-P-R.

R- Read the prompt.
U- Underline the topic, audience, purpose, and format.
P- Plan your writing.
R- Reread, edit, and revise your writing.

We are also discussing how to elaborate on an idea. When we write to a prompt, we need to make sure we stay on topic and choose one particular part of our story to elaborate on.

Writers... How do you feel about the RUPR strategy? How is it helping you? Do you think that using the RUPR strategy will help you when writing to a prompt on the test?

Science Totally ROCKS (and Minerals) !!

ROCKS in Review

Although rocks are nonliving, we know they are constantly changing both above and below Earth's surface. We also know that one important way for scientists to classify rocks is based on HOW they are formed.

Igneous rocks form from molten (melted) rock.
Sedimentary rocks form when layers of sediments settle on top of one another and harden. They are made up of soil, shells, bits of rock, and dead plant and animal matter.
Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have formed as a result of heat and pressure.

Visit the following interactive website in order to review these main topics from Chapter 3, Lesson 1 (How are rocks classified?):

Rock Cycle Website


Minerals: Our Newest Focus

Our focus will now turn to Minerals, the natural, nonliving solid crystals that make up the rocks we have been studying! Did you know that scientisits have identified almost 4,000 kinds of minerals?

In our initial mineral explorations, we will use our powers of observation (and hand lenses) to study the color, luster, hardness, and streak of various "mystery" minerals. We will then use scientific mineral charts to identify the names of the minerals by comparing our data to the charts. In a “virtual” science lab (Gizmos), we will repeat this process and also conduct density and acid tests as well! 

Following these labs, our focus will turn to Chapter 3, Lesson 2 (What are minerals?) in our textbooks.

Students, what is your favorite physical property (color, size, shape, texture, luster, streak, hardness, mass, volume, density) to explore and WHY?

For those students who would love to earn even more Behavior Bucks, visit Gizmos at home and identify mystery mineral “W” in the Mineral Identification Lab. Secretly tell your science teacher (Mrs. Phillips or Mr. Pinchot) the name of this mystery mineral, and you will earn $10 extra bucks to spend at our next auction! (Shhhh-don’t tell your friends and classmates. They need to read this blogpost and visit Gizmos all on their own in order to earn these special, extra bucks!) Happy science sleuthing!

Chris Van Allsburg

This week is the official launch of our largest author study of the year!

Every year, fourth graders fall in love with the work of Chris Van Allsburg.  Many fourth graders might already know a few of his more popular books (Jumanji, The Polar Express, Zathura), but they haven't seen anything yet!  It's inevitable that, after reading more of his memorable stories, he will quickly become a new favorite author.

We'll begin our author study by getting to know a little bit about his life.  Readers will visit his website, but they can also find out more about him right here!  Check this out:

Meet Chris Van Allsburg

Has anyone ever told you to turn off the TV and do something more productive?  You might think about it more seriously next time.  Chris Van Allsburg hatched his incredibly successful career as an illustrator and author of children's books when he didn't want to sit at home in the evening and watch TV.  He began to sketch pictures instead, and in those sketches he discovered stories waiting to be told.

His wife Lisa thought the sketches would make great books for children.  One evening, she brought home author and friend David Macauley to look at them.  David was so impressed that he recommended Chris to his own editor.  Chris Van Allsburg's very first book, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, was chosen as a Caldecott Honor Book in 1979.

Chris Van Allsburg was born and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  He lived in a neighborhood where he could find tadpoles, play baseball, and ride his go-cart down the street.  He liked to draw, but after sixth grade his interest moved to sports and other "more socially useful" activities.  He thought he might become a lawyer, but a drawing class during his first year of college rekindled his love of art.  He graduated from the University of Michigan with an art degree and also studied sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design.  he began his professional artist's life as a sculptor.  Many of his pieces (like a flying saucer colliding with an observatory) suggest qualities of humor, mystery, and storytelling similar to his later illustrations.

Chris Van Allsburg has published a new book almost every year since 1979.  Two of his books have been awarded the Caldecott Medal:  Jumanji in 1981 and The Polar Express in 1985.  He has more ideas for pictures, stories, and sculptures in his head than he has time to create.  It takes him seven months of hard work to take a book from its beginning ideas through its delivery to the printer.

His ideas most often begin as random pictures in his mind.  Those pictures are like clues to the story that is waiting to be told.  The story evolves as he asks himself, "What if?" and "What then?"  Once the whole story is in his mind, he works like the director of a movie and carefully chooses the point of view, lighting, and perspective for each picture.

Chris Van Allsburg's sense of action and illusion unique to his illustrations is a result of the variety of his choices, his technical expertise with different media, and, of course, his talent and persistence.  He said of his second Caldecott Medal, "This award...suggests that the success of art is not dependent on its nearness to perfection but to its power to communicate."

Readers, want to learn more?  Check out this Reading Rockets video interview with Chris Van Allsburg!  (Click here!)

ELA Kitchen Update

Skills Block October 15-19

Possessives

Last week, we talked about possessive nouns.  The word "possessive" means showing ownership.  We learned that we add apostrophe +s to the end of singular nouns to make the noun possessive.  When a noun is plural and already ends in an "s", we just add an apostrophe.  However, if the plural noun doesn't end in an s, we use an apostrophe +s to show ownership.  For a little extra practice before your snapshot, check out the practice items at this link.

Adverbs

This week, we'll practice identifying adverbs.  Adverbs tell more about the action (verb) in the sentence.  They can describe how, where, when, or to what extent something happens.  Adverbs can be used alone or as part of a longer adverb phrase.  Many adverbs end in the suffixes -ly or -er, especially when they're used alone.  Check out the tutorial here, and be sure to play a few rounds of the game before you leave it behind. 

Vocabulary

Don't forget to brush up on your the latest vocabulary words!  Review last week's words here, and check out the new set below.    

Sentences with Style

This week, we're studying the fourth and final type of our "Sentences with Style"!!

* So far, we've learned that we can combine two complete sentences using a comma and a FANBOYS word, otherwise known as conjunctions.  FANBOYS, remember, is an acronym that stands for:  for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.  This type of sentence is called a "compound sentence".

* We also learned that we can add a phrase (not a complete sentence) to the beginning of a sentence, using a comma to join the two parts.  These phrases are called "openers".

* Then, we learned that we can add those same types of phrases onto the end of a sentence, using a comma to join the two parts.  When the phrase is on the end of the sentence, we call it a "closer".  

* This week, we will learn about "interrupters".  Instead of adding a descriptive phrase at the beginning or end of a sentence, we will insert the sentence into the middle of the sentence!  We will use commas before AND after the phrase to set it apart.  

This week, Language Researchers, as you're reading, look for sentences with style.  When you find a sentence that has an opener, closer, interrupter, or is a compound sentence, share it with us all by leaving a comment on this post!  Bonus Bucks for great sentence shares!  

Oh, the choices on the CAFE menu!

In Mrs. Nash and Mrs. Koster's ELA classrooms, you will find a CAFE menu board. CAFE is a way that students and teachers can set goals, conference, and put strategies into practice. As the year progresses, our ELA students will become more involved in the CAFE process. The C stands for Comprehension. This means that you understand what you are reading. The A stands for Accuracy, meaning you can read all the words. F stands for Fluency. Fluency means that your reading sounds smooth and you pay attention to punctuation when reading out loud. Lastly, the E represents Expand Vocabulary. This means that we tune into interesting words and read to increase our vocabulary. The four pieces together combine to become the elements of reading!

Students in both classes have selected, using sticky notes, which piece they believe they need the most help with. Now, we are beginning to conference with students individually and set goals together about what strategies will help them improve in that area! The best thing about the CAFE program is that students are held accountable for their learning. If we show them a strategy we think would be helpful while conferencing with them, we set a time to follow-up with them and see how it worked.

Underneath each piece, we will post strategies that we discuss in reading workshop or in a one-on-one conference. As the year moves on, our list of strategies will grow longer! We are excited to dive into CAFE and DAILY 5 this year in fourth grade!

Readers, which letter did you put your name under on the CAFE board? Why did you select that area? Do you know of any strategies already that could help you improve in that area of your reading?

Division Decisions

In Math Workshop, we have been working to connect division to multiplication. Many times, we even find ourselves thinking of division problems as multiplication problems so that we can use a multiplication strategy to solve them.
Consider 56 divided by 4

When looking at this division problem, we ask ourselves, “How many 4’s are in 56?”. By doing this, we recognize that we will be finding the number of groups of 4 that are in 56, or _____ x 4 = 56.

Decisions, decisions. What strategy should be used?

Many students find it simple to use an efficient form of Skip-Counting by multiples of 4 to determine the answer. Starting with the 10th multiple of 4 would be very common. The answer is 14. It takes 14 groups of 4 to equal 56.

Other students would incorporate this same strategy into a different model, such as a Multiplication Cluster. The approach uses decomposition of one of the factors to make smaller, easier probloems. In the example below, again 14 is decomposed into 10 and 4 to make the two easier problems. 10 groups of 4 is 40. Adding another 4 groups of 4 (4x4) or 16 “builds” 14 x 4 = 56. 56 divided by 4 can also be thought of as 56 divided by 2, and again divided by 2 (dividing by 2 twice is the same as dividing by 4). Some students like to refer to this strategy as the “Halfsie-Halfsie”. 56 divided by 2 is 28. 28 divided by 2 is 14. This strategy only works when 4 is the divisor.

A more advanced strategy would be to take the dividend (total) and decompose it into smaller multiples of the divisor to make smaller division problems that would “build “ (add up to) the original division problem. This method is called a Division Cluster. 56 could be decomposed into 20 + 20 + 16 and solved as three smaller division problems. 20 divided by 4 is 5. 20 divided by 4 is 5. 16 divided by 4 is 4. 56 divided by 4 is 14.

Last but not least, the Partial Quotients Method (also lovingly referred to as the “Russian Peasant” Method), is a special model we move our students toward in order to progress their thinking into a more “standard algorithmic” set-up. If you look carefully at the smaller problems that are solved in each of the examples shown below, you will see that they are the same as in the earlier examples. Even though the mathematical “models” are different, the “strategy” of using good mathematical sense to decompose the dividend into smaller numbers (landmark multiples of ten or single digit numbers) is the same, so that the reasonableness of solutions can be easily assessed (Does my answer make sense?).
Our approach is a conceptual-based approach, teaching students that there is a relationship between multiplication and division and there is a meaning as to the dividend, divisor, and quotient. One represents the total (dividend) and the other two parts represent the number of groups and the size of the groups that make up the total.

These are just a sampling of the more common strategies our students are currently using in the classroom to solve division problems. Students often find themselves creating their own unique ways of approaching division problems in addition to those shown here. :-)
Promoting this deep understanding at Grade 4 will then more easily transfer later (5th Grade) into understanding why the division algorithm works (which is very abstract in nature and cumbersome to understand conceptually).

Happy Dividing!
P.S.- Students, leave a comment sharing your favorite divison strategy (and why), and earn Behavior Bucks to spend at your next class auction!

Mrs. Nash's Homeroom- Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

Mrs. Nash's Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition on PhotoPeach

Mrs. Phillips' Homeroom- Weathering, Erosion, Deposition

Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition- Phillips HR on PhotoPeach

Election 2012

Students,
Are you interested in the upcoming Presidential Election? Election Day is Tuesday, November 6th. The Scholastic website (www.scholastic.com) is a fantastic place to visit in order to learn about each candidate, how electoral votes work, what presidential debates are, what current national issues are, and more!


Scholastic also has a student voting poll, so you can cast your vote today! The poll ends tomorrow, October 10th! Vote Here after learning about each candidate and their presidential platform.

Leave a comment to tell us if you are able to place a vote and also leave a comment to tell us something NEW you learn from perusing through this amazing website! Happy researching!

Weathering and Erosion

Have you ever wondered why rocks are so many different shapes, sizes and textures; or where sand, silt, soil, and clay come from? What about how the Grand Canyon was formed? Do you know why sidewalks are constructed with cracks in between each concrete section? Well, this week in Science we have been answering all of these questions while exploring agents of weathering (the breaking down or wearing away of rocks). We have investigated five agents of physical weathering: water, wind, temperature changes, ice, and roots of trees/plants. We also participated in two labs. Our Chalk Weathering Lab helped us better understand wind and water as agents of weathering, and our Chocolate Chip Cookie Lab led us into additional conversations about water as weathering. We have learned that rocks expand when they reach certain heated temperatures by the sun's thermal energy, and that they contract when they cool back down. This process of heating and cooling of rock causes them to weaken over time and weather (break down). In the textbook we also read about chemical weathering, which is caused by carbon dioxide forming a weak acid when it mixes with rainwater which changes the composition of rocks. There is just no way rocks in nature can escape the many agents that are constantly causing them to weather, even though most of these "changes" happen very slowly over time.

We have also explored erosion and recognize that there are four agents of erosion: wind, water, ice, and gravity. Next week we will participate in an outdoor water erosion and deposition lab, which should be a lot of fun.

To review information about weathering and erosion, watch this fun Study Jams video: http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/rocks-minerals-landforms/weathering-and-erosion.htm 

Leave a comment to share something NEW that you learned by watching this video. Happy viewing!!

Phases of the Moon

In Science, we have really been enjoying ourselves learning about the phases of the Moon. During the month of October, students will also be observing the Moon each night outside their window and recording it's changing appearance, allowing them to see and experience our Moon's 29 day cycle.

We have learned that the Moon has phases because it orbits Earth, which causes the portion we see illuminated to change. The Moon takes about 27 days to orbit Earth, but the lunar phase cycle (from new Moon to new Moon) lasts about 29 days. The Moon spends the extra 2 days "catching up" because Earth travels about 45 million miles around the Sun during the time the Moon completes one orbit around Earth.

As we study the Moon's phases,we will also make booklets to help us learn what each phase is called. In doing this, we will identify several phases as being landmark phases. These are:

1) New Moon (the first (1)and last (29) day of the cycle)
At the New Moon phase, the Moon is so close to the Sun in the sky that none of the side facing Earth is illuminated. In other words, the Moon is between Earth and Sun.

2) First Quarter Moon (Day 8)
ONE QUARTER (the RIGHT quarter that we see) is lit....here, the moon is highest in the sky at sunset, then sets about six hours later.

3) Full Moon (Day 15- the middle day in the 29 day cycle)
On this day, the Moon is behind Earth in space with respect to the Sun. As the Sun sets, the Moon rises with the side that faces Earth fully exposed to sunlight. We are able to see the entire illuminated half of the moon! (Did you know that only one half of our Moon is always illuminated by our Sun, and that we NEVER see the other half from Earth??!!).

4) Last Quarter Moon (Day 21) ONE QUARTER (the LEFT quarter that we see) is lit.... (opposite of the First Quarter Moon).

Other terms students are gaining familiarity with to explain other phases that fall between these landmark phases are Waxing, Waning, Crescent and Gibbous.
We have learned that "waxing" means "increasing" (growing) illumination and "waning" means "decreasing" (shrinking) illumination.
We also know that "gibbous" means "hump-backed" and "crescent" means "a shape resembling a segment of a ring". Understanding the meanings of these words is very important in helping us to recognize the different phases of the moon correctly.
Be sure to visit Chapter 2, Lesson 2 in your science textbook online if you need to review this information about the moon. You can also log on to GIZMOS at any time to review the virtual lab we have been working on in class!!

*Click HERE to see a simple, quick time-lapsed video of the Moon Phase Cycle.

Mr. Lee's Moon Rap video has also been a wonderful reference for us in class- check it out HERE.

Students, look out your window tonight. What phase of the moon do you see (and how do you know)? Leave a comment to let us know.

ELA Kitchen Update

Skills Block:  September 17-21

This week, students will practice identifying the four different types of sentences:  imperative, interrogatory, declarative, and exclamatory.  They will also continue to review and practice finding a subject and verb in various sentences.  Check out these two practice sites to help you with your sentence work!

Sentence Clubhouse -- 4 types of sentences

Fact Monster:  All You Need to Know About Sentences

And don't forget to study this week's vocabulary words here:

Students, what have you learned about the prefix in- so far this week?  How is it related to il-, im-, and ir-?

Thinking Over Our Stories

We have been talking about how we can record our thinking while we read our books. The post-it notes are running low, as readers begin to jot notes about their books. We call this "reading with our partner in mind". As we read, we think about parts of our book that we would love to share with our reading partner! In Miss Barron's class, one reader was ecstatic to show Miss Barron her book, Esperanza Rising. After Miss Barron gave a book talk about the book, readers couldn't wait to check it out from the classroom library! She had filled up the pages with many post-it notes to record her thinking! A few hours later, Mr. Pinchot's class came to Miss Barron for ELA. Miss Barron was excited to hear from another reader that she was also reading Esperanza Rising. It was covered with post-it notes, just like the other reader's book!

She is enjoying reading this book and has filled it with many interesting notes!

Wow! It must be a great book because another reader has also filled it up with notes to share with her partner!

Readers, can you share how you have used your sticky notes? What have you found helpful about this strategy?