A huge thank you to Miss. Amanda and her family for the thankful gift. I LOVE that you think I am NUTS! It takes a lot of planning and effort for a teacher to get people to think that and BELIEVE it. What an amazing compliment. I enjoyed every last one of them, especially the chocolate covered almonds! Yum!!! Thanks for filling my bucket! :0)
As you know, Mrs. Gleason and I made a little football bet on the GRIZ/cat game last weekend. The bet was whomever's team lost had to make cupcakes for the other class. We were greeted the other morning with these. Silly girl! She still hasn't learned. :0) Thanks Mrs. Gleason!!!!
We will be in full swing upon our return.
Academically:
Reading:
Lead 21: Unit 3, The NorthEast Region of the United States. we just learned about this in S.S., so now we will go a little bit deeper. We will focus on generalizations, sequencing, clarifying, inferential vs literal questioning, and figurative language. We will also review using synonyms and antonyms to help us clarify the meaning of words in our text. Kids will be reviewed and releveled if I saw the need. Some moved up, some moved down. It is important that kids are always showing me their true colors. I know them, but I need them to show me. If they are showing me they need more of a challenge or less of a challenge then that is what I have to go on. They need to be true to themselves each and every time.
Read Aloud: We will continue on with There's An Owl in the Shower. We will practice all of the above skills that this novel as well when we pair share along with predictions.
Math:
Measurement and Long Division. Daily we will learn a new lesson on how to convert different types of measurement (liters, kiloliters, meters, kilometers, centimeters, inches, feet, yards, grams, kilograms, milligrams, and so on). Students will also show mastery on which measurement type to use when. Long division will come in stages. I will introduce it by modeling it and teaching a fun story about a royal family first. Then, we will just take it slow with a few practice problems each day. This is a tough concept, especially to those that haven't mastered their basic multiplication facts yet.
S.S.:
Montana History. We will get back in the swing of this and finish up our basic fact unit. Yes, there will be a test. Yes, there will be a study guide. We will then be going into the native tribes and how their lives changed with colonization. I graded their interactive notebooks this weekend. We will be having a very serious talk about effort, paying attention, and following the model that I make up on the screen for them. It is not acceptable for them to put things wherever they want and on whatever page they want. Part of their grade for this notebook is building it correctly and neatly. There are way to many that are so sloppy and skipping pages! Serious talk on Monday!
Language: We will work on articles, adjectives, and adverbs this week. Kids will be able to show mastery in all three areas of the English language by the week's end. We will do this through our daily DOL studies. (Daily Oral Language)
Spelling: Compound words. These words are a little different in the 4th grade. Compound words here are two words put together to make one word, two words put together with a hyphen in between them, and two words put together with a space in between them. All words are said as one word, making them all compound words. Kids will need to add spaces, no spaces, or hyphens to words for them to be spelled correctly. Alternative words will be offered to those that qualify. Those that have not been passing with an 80% or higher on the alternative list will be asked to return to the book words until they get back up to that level again. Study, study kids!
Writing: Oh NO!!! What happened to Rudolph's nose???? Kids will write a funny narrative story about Rudolph's nose changing colors. It will no longer be red. These are always funny to hear. Kids will make a reindeer craft to go along with it. I am hoping they are done and ready in time to share at the Barnes and Noble night. Make sure you look for them.
CC Meeting: to be determined.
There are a few events coming up this month that I wanted to remind you about.
1. Barnes and Noble family night. For each person, we get an attendance point. The class with the most points wins a free yogurt party from Spinners!!! If you work an hour, we get two! Mrs. Kimball has stated that she is still in need of more parent volunteers. Please consider helping for an hour. Write me a note in the planner if you can do this. Those that said yes before, I am guessing that you have already been contacted. What a great way to support Arrowhead Elementary! Plus...you get to see teacher's read! It is this Thursday, December 5th from 4-8. I will be working an hour for sure! If you can't work, please make time to stop in and say hello and have some holiday fun!
2. Hour of Code. This is a child/parent event put on by the district. It is total technology for the whole family. You don't need to know anything, but you will leave knowing a TON! The instructors are great friends of mine, and are fun, fun, fun and funny! It is Saturday, December 14th from 10-1pm. It is in at the Lincoln Center downtown in the board room. It is for students in grades 4-6 and there is a maximum of 50 students. Parents are encouraged to stay, but are not required. Pizza will be served and kids can win great prizes. You MUST register online at http://www.bpstis.org. You can find more information at http://csedweek.org. Questions? email bps tis@billingsschools.org. What a great opportunity, and it is FREE!!!!
3. Honor Choir Concert: This Tuesday, Dec. 3rd at 7:00. It is at the Lincoln Center. I personally can't wait for this one!!! My Emma is in it!
4. Geography Bee: This Tuesday, Dec. 3rd at 9:00. None of my students made it into the bee, but they gave it their best shot! We will go watch the 10 students that did make it in!!! Wowzers!
5. PTA Meeting: Dec. 5th, 8:30 am.
6. Surprise Order Forms are due THIS Tuesday, Dec. 3rd. No exceptions can be made. Please see Tuesday folders for details. Shhhhhhhh!!!! :0)
7. Lead 21 Endangered Animal Inquiry Presentations Due on Wednesday, Dec. 4th. Kids need to bring back their research form, their grade sheet, and their presentations. Late projects will lose 10 points for each day late.
Lot's going on for sure!
Tis the season for giving. Arrowhead has two ways you can help others. Please consider making a donation of an unwrapped toy for Toys 4 Tots. The donation bin is in front of the gym. Also, please consider donating a new book for kids for the Riverstone Health waiting room. Also, new gloves, hats, and scarves are needed to share in the Billings Community. The Kindness and Compassion Club here at Arrowhead are running this project. What a great message from future adult citizens of this community. Way to go 5th graders! Donations will be accepted up front in marked bins until Dec. 18th.
Thanks for all you do!
Are your kiddos missing items? Please stop in this week and go through the lost and found in the hallway by the gym. There are MANY lost items just waiting to be collected.
As for a code word this post, how about we all write one thing we are grateful for in the planner. Ask your child too. Those that share will earn $10 on Monday. I know that I have a TON to be grateful for this year!
I read a book over the break. It had nothing to do with school (yes, teacher's do read other stuff!), yet it had a beautiful story in it. It was about a young boy in the 3rd grade. He had lost his parents at a young age, and lived with a not so warm cousin and his wife. He was forced to go to school by the courts and that is where he met Mrs. Ruth. He was a handful and fought her every step of the way. She began to form a relationship with the student and challenge him on his level. Turned out he was pretty smart. After the summer, he did not return. His cousin lost his farm and they ended up moving from here to there. Mrs. Ruth never found the boy again. However, 10 years after the boy died at a young age, his widow found Mrs. Ruth and gave her a painting that Daniel had done when he was young and in a group home. On the back of it, there was a picture that was taken of the two of them. Behind the picture were these words: Mrs. Ruth. 3rd Grade Teacher. Believed in me. Taught me I could do anything. Even though this is a fictional story, I just knew that it rang true. Kids can do anything, absolutely anything if someone shows them how to BELIEVE. I hope that I am that person for some of your children. That is the greatest gift I could ever bestow upon them as their teacher. What a wonderful way to think about the world!
I would like to send a shout out to Liam and his family. I am so sorry about what happened over the break. I hope that you were able to have some family time and just go down memory lane for your grandma. Hugs to you and hope to see you soon.
Lastly, I went to Red Lodge over the break to have lunch with a friend. While there, I noticed something funny on the menu. So, I took a picture of it for the kids. What do these all have in common and why would they be called Montana Rolls??? We will talk about it in class on Monday! Think Montana History kids!
Enjoy your weekend! Rumor has it we have a birthday in the house on Monday. Someone here is getting old!!!! :0) Can you guess who Haylee?????
