4C Classroom News

Final Days of School

2010-05-31T11:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some sweet pictures of our last days of school. We made pizza and cookies.

Thank you for a wonderful year!

Summer Reading Books

2010-05-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

If you have not purchased the summer reading books for you child, here are the titles for the English books:

Ribsy
Cool Zone with the Pain the Great One
Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The English books can be purchased at Metro Media. Remember to read 2 English books and one Spanish book. The Spanish book can be purchased at the school bookstore.

May 24-28

2010-05-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Parents and Students,

We made it! It is our last week together in 4th grade. What a great year it's been. Thank you to our room mothers, Jackie Genie and Beatriz Stefan, who helped provide our class with so many wonderful class parties and celebrations. Also, a thank you to each family who helped our class in some, way, shape or form throughout the year. It has been a memorable year and I am thankful and blessed for the opportunity to know your daughter or son.

Field Day is this Tuesday from 10:30 to 12:30. Blue t-shirts will be provided for each child to wear with their P.E. shorts.
Last day of school is Friday. The year end assembly will be on this day and it is a free colors day. The students will be released at 11:15. Report cards will go home on this day.
Be sure that all library books are returned as soon as possible.
I will not be collecting the Weekly Reading Log this Tuesday.

During one of the afternoon rain storm last week, we had a waterfall

outside our classroom coming off the window awnings!
It was raining so hard, we could hardly hear each other talking!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Lofchie

May 17-21

2010-05-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

Dear Parents and Students,

Here are some dates to keep in mind:

The ITBS test will begin this Tuesday. Please be sure you child arrives to school on time and has a nutritious breakfast. The students will be tested in the areas of language arts, math, social studies and science. The test will continue until Thursday.
There will be a Solar System quiz on Tuesday, May 18. Your child should use the Science Notebook to review for the quiz.
Reading logs are due on Tuesday. This excludes any students who were in the musical as performers or ushers.
All library books are now due. Please return any overdue book to ensure you can receive your child's report card.
There will be a math test on Chapter 10 on Friday, May 21
This Friday is a colors day for 5 Lps.
Field Day will be May 25. Your child can wear a blue t-shirt on that day.

Literacy - Because of the ITBS, out literacy time will be interrupted this week. We will, however, start a read aloud on Monday titled The Story of Ruby Bridges. It is a story about a young African-American girl who is selected to attend a mostly white school in New Orleans in the 1960's.

Math - This week we will complete chapter 10. We will be talking about customary unites of measurement like weight (ounce, pound and ton), and capacity (cup, pint, quart and gallon). To help your child study for the chapter 10 teat, you can review pages 442, 454, and 466 from the text book.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Lofchie

Science Homework Assignment Due This Friday, May 14

2010-05-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

Hello Students,

Here is link to an article about the seasonal changes on Earth. Read the article, then answer the questions about it. You may cut and paste the questions onto a word document, but you MAY NOT cut and paste the answers. The answers need to be in your own words. Good luck and have fun!!

For the majority of students, this assignment is due this Friday, May 14. If you are in the musical or an usher for the musical, you have until Monday, May 17 to turn in the assignment.

click on this link to find the article:

www.christiananswers.net/kids/edn-seasons.html

What Causes the Seasons?

1. How does the tilt of the earth affect the seasons?

2. Does the length of the day influence the seasons?

3. How does the atmosphere affect the seasons?

4. Name 2 facts that you learned from reading this article.

May 10-14

2010-05-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day! Thank you to the mothers who helped create a

beautiful Mother's Day celebration in our classroom.

Dates to remember:

DRA assessments will begin on Monday and we will continue through Friday. There will not be pledge at the covered court all week. Students, please go directly to class when the 7:30 bell rings.
The standardized test "ITBS" will be given next week from Tuesday - Thursday, May 18-20. Please be sure your child arrives to school on time. We will not have pledge these days either.
Congratulations to all the students who participated in the Science Fair: Cecilia, Sofia, Ana Lucia, Annette, Nicolas, Ricardo, Carlos Andres, Sergio, Arianne, Raquel, and Ana Socorro. We had three students from 4C place in the top three for all of 4th grade. Congratulations to Ana Socorro, Nicolas and Ricardo!
"Best of Broadway" Musical is this Thursday and Friday night at 7:00. Tickets can be purchased at the bookstore for L 100 each. Please come to see the performance one of these nights. Many students, parents and teachers have worked to create a wonderful performance and acting/dancing/singing experience for our elementary students!
I will collect the Reading Logs this Tuesday. For the students involved in the musical, they will not need to read for their weekly reading log for this upcoming week (the reading log due on May 18). This also includes the 3 students from our class who will be serving as ushers.
The lunch and afterschool clubs run by our own staff (Game Club, Etiquette Club, Math Club, Science Club and Spanish Club) are now over. The rest will run until May 14, except French (cancelled May 10-14, resumes May 17-21).

Literacy - We will continue reading Follow the Drinking Gourd. The students have been analyzing the words and hidden meaning of the lyrics and we have also created a quilt with common hidden codes by drawing "quilt squares" and creating a paper quilt. The students will continue to translate the meaning of the song this week. We will also practice using correct subject/verb agreement. For example, it is correct to say "He walks", not "He walk", or "They walk", not "They walks".

Math - We will be adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.

Science - The students will be learning about the stars in our galaxy and beyond. I will be posting a homework assignment in the next day or two. This assignment will be due this Friday. The students involved in the musical will have until Monday to turn in the assignment.

Warmly,

Mrs. Lofchie

May 3-7

2010-05-02T11:49:00.000-07:00

Dear Parents and Students.

Important dates and reminders:

Chapter 9 math test will be given on Tuesday, May 4th. To help your child review, you can look over the problems on pages 396, 412, and 422.
The social studies test on the Southeast United States will be on Wednesday, May 5th. The students started a study guide last Friday. Topics on the test will include the geography of this region, slavery, and Harriet Tubman.
All mothers are invited to our class on Friday, May 7th to celebrate Mother's Day. Please join us from 9:00 to 9:50. I hope each mother can make it!!
On Friday, May 7th the books for the summer reading will be on sale at school (both English and Spanish). Students must choose 1 Spanish and 2 English books.
All clubs (lunch and after school) will continue until Friday, May 7th. This only includes clubs run by our own staff (Game Club, Etiquette Club, Math Club, Science Club and Spanish Club.) The rest will run until May 14, except French (cancelled May 10-14, resumes May 17-21).
An online blog assignment about the Solar System will be due on Thursday, May 6th. Please see instructions for this assignment in the "Science" section of this blog.
Family Literacy Workshop is this Tuesday at 1:15 in the MPR. See blog post from April 28th to see the flyer. If you plan on attending, please rsvp to this event by sending a note to school with your child.
This week during computer class the students will be taking the final PLATO Test. Please encourage your child to take their time and read the questions carefully. It is a language-heavy test and their patience is necessary to carefully read the questions.
Science projects are to be turned in Monday, May 3rd. They will be on display in the elementary on Friday, May 7th.
Weekly Reading Log is due Tuesday, May 4th. Please add up you minutes to be sure they total 120 minutes! Don't forget to have your parent sign your reading log.
Each Friday, from now until the end of school, the students can wear the Seleccion jersey with their uniform pants or shorts (if it is a P.E. day).

Literacy - We are reading An Apple for Harriet, a story that tells about the childhood of Harriet Tubman. The students have really enjoyed learning about this African-American heroine who risked her own life to usher hundreds of slaves to freedom during the time of slavery in the U.S. We will be reviewing irregular past tense verbs. Our interactive editing and interactive writing will also focus on irregular verbs.

Math - After taking the chapter 9 test on Tuesday, we will begin the next chapter where we will be using the skills from ch. 9 to add and subtract like and unlike fractions.

Social Studies - Test on Wednesday.

Science - We will start studying the Solar System. This assignment will be due on Thursday, but you can turn it in at any time. For many years, we thought there were 9 planets, but since 2006, the farthest planet, Pluto, is no longer considered a planet. However, many people still refer to Pluto as a planet.

Go to this website: http://kids.nineplanets.org/intro.htm

You can print out these questions and answer the questions. However, answer these questions in your own words (do not "cut" and "paste" the answers):

1. What do the planets of our solar system travel around? (1 point)

2. What separates the inner planets from the outer planets? (2 points)

Now scroll down where you see a pink rocket. Click on the rocket to continue.

3. The planets can be grouped in different ways. The most common ways for the planets to be classified is by ___________________________ and ___________________________. (2 points)

4. Name the 5 rocky planets. (5 points)

5. Why are the rocky planets called this? (3 points)

6. Name the 4 gas planets. (4 points)

7. Why are they called this? (3 points)

Sincerely,

Mrs. Lofchie

Friday Colors Day

2010-04-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 30 is a colors day. Please bring 2 books in Spanish if you want to wear colors clothes.

Also, every Friday from now until the end of school, the students can wear the Seleccion jersey with the uniform pants. This is considered a "free colors day" as long at the uniform pants are worn also.

Family Literacy Workshop Time Correction

2010-04-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

The flyer that was posted on yesterday's blog had the incorrect time for the workshop. Please see the updated flyer for the correct time. The workshop starts at 1:15.

Important Dates

2010-04-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

Here are a few important dates for upcoming events:

Thursday, April 29 at 11:30 a Bullying talk will be given at 11:30 by the elementary counselors, Ms. Leon Gomez and Ms. Kafati. This will take place in the Multi Purpose Room.
Tuesday, May 4 there will be a Family Literacy Workshop at 1:45 in the Multi Purpose Room. The topic will be "Reading Aloud with Children". Please rsvp to this event by this Friday.
Friday, May 7, all mothers are invited to our class from 9:00 to 9:50 to participate in a writing activity to celebrate Mother's Day. We hope you can make it!

April 26-30

2010-04-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Parents and Students,

Important dates to remember:

Congratulations to the students of 4C! Last Thursday, the students brought their lunches in reusable containers to reduce the amount of trash we throw away every day. After lunch, our trash can was nearly empty! We are continuing our celebration of the Earth this week by packing "trash-free" lunches all week long. The entire elementary will be participating in a friendly competition and each day, the trash from each class will be weighed. At the end of the week, the class with the lightest trash will win. We can do it 4C!
Weekly Reading Log is due tomorrow, Tuesday, April 27. Please add up you minutes to be sure they total 120 minutes! Don't forget to have your parent sign your reading log.
An online social studies assignment is due on Wednesday, April 28. Scroll down to the Social Studies section of this posting to find the instructions for this assignment.
Final draft of the book report is due this Thursday, April 29. Please check with your child to be sure he or she is working on this 5 paragraph report. The final draft can be written in cursive or typed using the computer. The report will be graded on (1) ideas and organization, (2) correct grammar, (3) neatness and presentation, and (4) spelling.
Math Chapter 9 test will be next Tuesday, May 4.
This week during computer class the students will be taking the final PLATO Test. Please encourage your child to take their time and read the questions carefully. It is a language-heavy test and their patience is necessary to carefully read the questions.
Any students who are participating in the Science Fair should be working on their projects. Projects are due the first week of May. Refer to earlier blog posts for help with the scientific method or websites to help with project ideas. Parents - also read the blog post specifically for parents that I posted two weeks ago.
We are coming to the end of the school year and this IS the time for students to continue doing their best. 4th quarter grades are very important and turning in class assignments and homework assignments is crucial. Don't let your grades fall because you think your work is not necessary at the end of the school year! Parents, please remember to check with your child to ensure that their homework and unfinished classwork is completed daily before returning to school the next day.

Literacy - We finished reading Henry's Freedom Box last week. This book was a great introduction to our social studies unit on the southern states and slavery. This book led to questions and many lively conversations about slavery. We are continuing with a read aloud called The Patchwork Path - A Quilt Map to Freedom. This book show how the slaves used hidden codes in quilts to communicate on the Underground Railroad. Our Shared Reading and Interactive Editing will also be related to slavery and Harriet Tubman.

Math - Students will be comparing and ordering fractions, finding a fraction of a set, using customary units of measurements and measuring to a fraction of an inch.

Social Studies - We will continue our study of the southern states. We will be looking at the life of Harriet Tubman, one of the most famous people of the Underground Railroad. We will also be looking into farming on the Coastal Plain.

Online Social Studies Homework - Go to this website:

www.gardenofpraise.com/ibdtub.htm

Read the biography of Harriet Tubman. Answer the following questions and turn in on Wednesday, April 28.

1. What incident happened to Harriet when she was 12 years old? What was the consequence?

2. What did the slaves use as a guide when escaping?

3. Why was Harriet known as "Moses"?

4. Name three jobs that she had during the Civil War.

5. When you finish the article, scroll down a little and click on "View a Slideshow". Look through all the pictures and chose one to comment on. In a complete paragraph, describe the picture then tell why that picture was interesting to you.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Lofchie

April 20-23

2010-04-19T19:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Students and Parents,

Here are some important dates to remember for the upcoming week:

Any students who are participating in the Science Fair should be working on their projects. Projects are due the first week of May. Refer to earlier blog posts for help with the scientific method or websites to help with project ideas. Parents - also read the blog post specifically for parents that I posted last week.
Weekly Reading Log is due tomorrow (Tuesday, April 20). Please add up you minutes to be sure they total 120 minutes! Don't forget to have your parent sign your reading log.
We are coming to the end of the school year and this IS the time for students to continue doing their best. 4th quarter grades are very important and turning in class assignments and homework assignments is crucial. Don't let your grades fall because you think your work is not necessary at the end of the school year! Parents, please remember to check with your child to ensure that their homework and unfinished classwork is completed daily before returning to school the next day.

This is the story map the students used to take notes during the reading of their book. We discussed in class how each red box could be its own paragraph. Event 1, 2, and 3 can be combined into one paragraph, if the student wants to, or each event can be a paragraph if the student can write an complete, detailed paragraph about each event. When writing the book report, students can keep in mind to practice using adverbs to describe the verb and make their writing more detailed and interesting. Also, the use of transition words also creates a good "flow" in the writing.

Here's how our decomposing banana experiment turned out, after 9 days in the bags. The students recorded their observations of the bananas and were challenged to find "scientific" words to use to describe the bananas rather than opinions, like "Yuck, that looks gross!" and "That smells disgusting!"

Literacy - We have started a read aloud called Henry's Freedom Box. It is a true story about a young slave boy who finds a very creative way to free himself from slavery. The students will be participating in interactive writing projects about the Under Ground Railroad and independent writing assignments reflecting on the story and Henry's life. The students will also be starting to write their book report in paragraph form. Some of this will be done during class and other parts will be for homework.

Math - Continuing with the fraction chapter, the students will be exploring equivalent fractions, naming and writing equivalent fractions, and writing fractions in simplest form.

Social Studies - We started our final social studies unit last week. We are studying the southern states of the U.S. in the context of the years of slavery. We will be examining which southern states allowed slavery and which states (mainly north eastern states) outlawed slavery. We will be looking at the natural resources of these states. By the end of next week we will be following the routes of the Under Ground Railroad and how these were important in helping African-American escape to freedom.

Warmly,

Mrs. Lofchie

Science Fair Information for Parents

2010-04-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

2010 American School

Science Fair

This year’s science fair is sure to be a success with 1^st – 5^th grade all being able to participate. The same requirements will be expected for school wide but the depth will change depending on grade level. Students are learning about the scientific method in class and during a special workshop. The following is some important information concerning your child and the science fair.

Mark your Calendars for these Important Dates:

• Participants in the Science Fair must inform their teacher by Friday, March 26^th

• Depending on grade level and section students will be working on projects in class or at home; please check with your individual classroom teacher.

• Science Fair projects are due to classroom teacher Monday, May 3^rd

• Teachers turn in projects to official judges Tuesday, May 4^th (incomplete projects or adult created** projects will not be able to participate)

• Science Fair Judging will take place May 5th – 6th

• Science Fair May 7th (open to students and parents), times TBA

Science Fair Project

Requirements

Projects CANNOT involve unnecessary

pain or discomfort to any vertebrate

animals (e.g. mammals, birds, fish).

These projects are prohibited!

ALL projects must solve a scientific

problem via the scientific method, as

described in the student packet and in-class

workshops. Demonstrations,

collections, and models are NOT

science fair projects.

In general, the display of anything that

could be hazardous to the public is

prohibited in your child’s Science Fair

display. Prohibited items are listed to

the right. If a project uses prohibited

display materials in its execution, the

student should consider photographs,

drawings, or other methods for

describing the project in the display.

Prohibited items for display include:

• WATER (or ANY LIQUID, even in a sealed container)

• Living creatures, including plants and microbes

• Dried plant material

• Taxidermy specimens or parts

• Preserved vertebrate or invertebrate animals

• Soil or waste samples

• Human or animal food

• Sharp items

• Flames or highly flammable materials

• Tanks with any substances under pressure

• Batteries with open-top cells

• Organisms, fungi, cultured growths, spoiled food, or mold

• Containers filled with water or any other liquid

• Poisons, drugs, or controlled substances

• Dry ice or other sublimating solids

• Moving parts with unprotected belts and/or pulleys

• Class III and IV lasers

• Human or animal parts (exceptions: hair, teeth, nails, bones, sections, and wet-mount

tissue slides)

**Remember that this project is a reflection of the work the student has done. This should not be a project that was created by a parent, tutor, older sibling or any other adult but the students themselves. Displays should represent the knowledge of the student and his or her understanding. Projects that do not follow this guideline will be disqualified from participating in the Science Fair!

April 12-16

2010-04-11T14:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Students and Parents,

Here are some important dates for this week:

Science unit test for rain forests will be on Tuesday, April 13. The students started working on a study guide last Friday. Your child will be responsible to know the information on the study guide and the information that is in his or her science notebook. The Magic Tree House Rain Forest Research Guide will also be a helpful study tool.
Weekly Reading Log is due Tuesday. Please make sure your child had read for at least 120 minutes and that you sign his or her reading log.
On Tuesday, April 13, Ms. Angelita and Mr. Pavon will be taking all 4th grade students for a pre-adolescence/puberty talk. The students will be separated by gender. This is done every year. However, if you don't want your child to participate, please let me know before Tuesday so that I can make other arrangements for your child.
On Wednesday, April 14 there will be an internet awareness presentation for parents in the Multi Purpose Room from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. At this presentation you will learn how to keep your child safe while they use the internet.
We only have 7 weeks left of school! This is the time where students need to work their hardest to show what they have learned throughout the year. They also must keep up with all school work and assignments so that they can be well prepared for 5th grade. Please be checking with your child each night to ensure they are completing all homework assignments.
There will not be school on Monday, April 19 in honor of Day of Americas.
Any students who are participating in the Science Fair should be working on their projects. Projects are due the first week of May. Refer to earlier blog posts for help with the scientific method or websites to help with project ideas.

Last week we started an experiment using the 5 step scientific method to learn about decomposition. Thank you to each family who was able to send in packets of yeast and a banana. Each student wrote a hypothesis and then recorded data daily on the changes we observed. Here are some pictures to show you what we've been doing.

First Day:

Bag A - Only banana

Bag B - Banana and yeast

Bag C - Banana and water

Bag D - Banana, yeast and water

Second Day:

Literacy - We will continue reading Yeh-Shen for our read-aloud. We are still focusing on analyzing character and plot. In addition, we are making predictions and confirming or revising them. We will be doing a interactive writing activity about China and the history of the dynasties. Our shared reading will be a poem written by Shel Silverstein. The students will continue to work on their independent writing projects about their semana santa. In this writing activity, the students are concentrating on the organization of their story. They are choosing powerful words and word phrases that show, NOT tell. Also, they are using transition words to help organize their writing and help it flow smoothly.

Math - We are continuing our geometry review. By mid-week, we will start chapter 9. We will review what they have learned in previous grades about fractions. We will estimate fractional amounts and explore mixed numbers. The times multiplication/division test will be on Thursday.

Science - The unit test for rain forests will be on Tuesday. We will continue observing and recording data from our decomposition experiment with bananas.

Warmly,
Mrs. Lofchie

April 6-9

2010-04-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

Dear Parents and Students,

I hope you had a relaxing and restful Semana Santa! Here are some things to look forward to this week:

Please sign and return report cards this week.
Story Map for the book report is due Tuesday, April 6. This is just the one page story map that was to be used while reading the book.
The Weekly Reading Log will not be collected on Tuesday. You got a free week off of keeping track of your reading! You will get a fresh Reading Log tomorrow which will be due next Tuesday.
Weekly papers will go home next Tuesday, April 13.
The multiplication/Division timed test will be this Thursday.
For a science experiment about decomposition, we will need: one banana and two packages of dry yeast. If you have any of these materials around your house, please send them in by Wednesday.

Literacy - We will be starting a read aloud called Yeh-Shen. It is a Cinderella tale from China. We will be comparing and contrasting story elements from different "Cinderella Tales" from different cultures. We will also be analyzing character and plot and discovering how a character's thoughts, feelings and actions influence the plot of a story. Like many other Cinderella-type stories, the plot in Yeh-Shen is driven by the desires and actions of the good and sweet Yeh-Shen, and by those of her evil stepmother. We will discuss new vocabulary and review adverbs. I will be passing back the story maps so that the students can use their notes to start writing the book report.

Math - We will review how to find the "average" and the students will learn what "mean" means. We will also be exploring tricks to knowing divisibility rules. By the end of the week, we will be reviewing geometry before starting the fraction chapter next week.

Science - We will continue reading our Magic Tree House Research book. We have been learning about many facts about the rain forests from this book. We will be conducting a couple of experiments this week to learn about decomposition and good soil versus bad soil. Our study of rain forests will conclude next week and a test will be given by the end of next week. I will post the specific date for the test in next weeks blog.

Best Regards,

Mrs. Lofchie

Sebastian is Heading for Maputo!

2010-03-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

Farewell to Sebastian and his family as they leave for Maputo on Monday. Here is the link to Sebastian's bolg to you can keep in touch with him:

http://www.sebascreatingcorner.blogspot.com/

Sebastian~ We will all miss you very much. We can't wait to hear all about your adventures and discoveries in the magical country of Africa!

Science Fair Information

2010-03-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

Here are some important dates for the Science Fair:

March 26 - I will give a list of names and project ideas to Ms. Bayes
May 3 - All projects due to the homeroom teacher
May 7 - Science Fair!

Here is a link to a power point presentation that was done for our class in the science lab that will assist your child in following the scientific method:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/28756764/2010-Science-Fair-Workshop[1]

Helpful places for ideas and research:
⇒ Your school library

⇒ Your teachers and other adults (parents, grandparents, and guardians)

⇒ Interview people from a field you are researching

⇒ Newspapers and magazine articles

⇒ There are many other good places to search for ideas and get research, be creative and have fun!

Internet sites:

• Discovery Education: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/

• PBS Kids: http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/scifair/

• Internet Public Library Kidspace: http://www.ipl.org/div/projectguide/

• Science Hound: http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/category0.html

• Science News for Kids: http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/pages/sciencefairzone/topics.asp

• Science Bob.com: http://www.sciencebob.com/lab/sciencefair/sciencefair.html

• Science Buddies: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_ideas.shtml http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_guide_index.shtml

• Energy Quest: http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/projects/index.html

• Bilingual Science Fair Assistant: http://www.iteachilearn.com/teach/tech/science.htm

• Science Fair Adventure: http://www.sciencefairadventure.com/

There are many more sites on the internet with good ideas for science fair projects just make sure you have an adult’s permission to search the internet!

Remember that demonstrations, collections, and models are NOT science fair projects! Beware of ideas that state

“demonstrate _____!” You must be able to test your

question with a hypothesis not just demonstrate a cool project!

March 22-26 and Father's Day!

2010-03-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Parents and Students,

A very warm-hearted thank you to the parents who were able to help create a wonderful Father's Day celebration for our class last Thursday. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Here are a few dates to remember for the upcoming week:

There will be a school wide presentation for Parents next Tuesday, March 23 at 5:00-6:30 in the High School Conference Room given by Mr. Roger Martinez. The title of the presentation is "Preparing Ourselves For Our Childrens' Adolescent Years".

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be this Friday. School ends at 11:15 and the conferences will begin at 11:25. Please see the sign up sheet outside the classroom to sign up for a time slot. If you are unable to come on Friday, send a note or email and we can arrange another time. Please return any overdue library books before the day of the conference.
Chapter 7 math test will be this Thursday. To help your child study, you can review the following pages with him or her: pages 298, 318, and 334.

This is the last week we will have Sebastian with us in class before he and his family move to their new home in Africa. We will all miss him dearly and wish him and his family safe travels. We look forward to keeping in touch with him and hearing about his adventure in his new home.

Colors day is this Friday, 5 lempiras.

Literacy - Last week, we spent a lot of time in our literacy block preparing for and revising our Father's Day poem, so this week we will be covering many of the things we didn't get to last week. We started a read aloud titled Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. We are analyzing the characters and will be writing about their similarities and differences. We will also be reviewing adverbs that compare. In our shared reading, we will be reading about John Steptoe and a poem titles "Ancestry".

Math - We will be dividing with money and reviewing for the chapter 7 test, which will be on Thursday.

Science - After learning more about some of the amazing animals of the rain forest last week (army ants, Goliath spider, Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Butterfly, the Red-eyed Tree Frog, Poison Arrow Frog, Sloth, Toucan, Jaguar, and Pangolin) we are moving into the food chain and how these animals depend on each other for food.

I look forward to seeing many parents at the conference this Friday.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Lofchie

March 15-19

2010-03-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Parents and Students,

Here are several reminders for the coming week:

This Thursday, to celebrate Father's Day, Dads are invited to come to 4C from 9:00 to 9:50. Dads will be joining their child in a writing activity. Please come!
Empty Bowls and the Spring Concert will take place this Thursday, March 18th from 5:00-8:00. Come and enjoy the Bowls exhibition, the delicious Tortilla Soup and the School Band's performance with your entire family family. March 18th is a free colors day for all students who bought an "Empty Bowls" t-shirt.
There will be a presentation for parents Tuesday, March 16th in the Elementary Multipurpose Room from 2:00-2:45. The title of this presentation is "Online Safety". This presentation will help you to teach your child to use technology in a responsible way.
There will be a school wide presentation for Parents next Tuesday, March 23 at 5:00-6:30 in the High School Conference Room given by Mr. Roger Martinez. The title of the presentation is "Preparing Ourselves For Our Childrens' Adolescent Years".
Weekly papers will come home this Tuesday.
Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming up... a week from Friday, March 26. This is an early release day where the students will go home at 11:00.
The book report "Story Map" is due the Tuesday we return from Semana Santa, April 6. Please ask your child how he or she is doing on this assignment.

Thank you to all the students and parents who helped surprise me last Friday on my birthday. The students made beautiful cards and decorations with the help of Ms. Colindres, Ms. Thornberry and several parents. Thank you for making my first birthday in Honduras very memorable!

Literacy - This week we will be wrapping up an in-class writing assignment that was related to our read aloud titles Henry Climbs a Mountain. The students will be peer editing each other's writing before turning it in to me. We will be starting a new read aloud titled Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. We will be analyzing character and plot and also reviewing adverb use. To help the pre-school celebrate "Book Week", our class will be going to one of the pre-K classes to read aloud to the students on Tuesday. Each students from 4C will spend about 20 minutes with a "reading buddy" from pre-K.

Math - We will continue dividing, and this week I will be introducing division with zero's in the quotient. By the end of the week we will be using division with money.

Science - We will be visited by Ms. Bayes on Monday. She is a 5th grade teacher that is organizing the Science Fair. Your child's participation in the science fair is optional.

In our Rain Forest Unit, we will be looking deeper into why the rain forest is so important to life on earth. We will also be learning more about specific insects, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds of the rain forest.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Lofchie

March 8-12

2010-03-07T08:46:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

Here is an Interactive Writing mural we made recently when we were reading Juan Verdades, the Man Who Could Not Tell a Lie. We were recognizing descriptive language that shows rather than tells.

The students have been revising their writing to make it more descriptive so that they SHOW what's happening, not just telling.

Here are some important dates to remember:

On March the 23^rd, a school wide values presentation by Mr. Roger Martinez has been scheduled at 5:00-6:30p.m., in the High School conference room. The presentation is entitled “Preparándonos para la Adolescencia de Nuestros Hijos”.
The Weekly Reading Log is due of Tuesday. Please check your child's minutes to be sure it totals 120 minutes and you sign the note.
The 3rd quarter ends this Friday, March 12. Please be sure any overdue library books have been returned.
Parent/Teacher Conferences will be March 26. This is an early release day where the students will go home at 11:00.
PLATO test scores were sent home last Friday with your child. We can discuss any questions you may have about the scores at the Parent/Teacher conference on March 26.
Science Quiz will be on Friday, March 12. It will cover all the topics we have studied so far about the rain forest.
A book report story map will be due the day the students return from Semana Santa, April 6. The story map will be used to help the students write a 4 or 5 paragraph book report that will be due in mid-April. The students were given the story map last week and I have seen many students working on them during independent reading. If your child is done with his or her book and the story map is complete, it can be turned in before Semana Santa.

Literacy - Last week, we started a book called Henry Climbs a Mountain by D.B. Johnson. It is about Henry David Thoreau. We learned about how Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther Kind Jr. were inspired by Thoreau's ideas of peaceful protest. The students have really been enjoying this thought provoking book. In interactive writing and independent writing, we will be looking at commonly used words that students use often in their writing and we will be creating posters that offer alternatives to these common words that will make the students' writing more interesting.

Math - We will be delving deeper into division and we will be dividing with larger 2-digit dividends. Last week, we made an interactive writing poster of the important vocabulary related to division. The words are quotient ( the answer to a division problem), dividend (the number to be divided in a division problem) and divisor (the number by which a dividend is divided). Later in the week we will be finding 3-digit quotients.

Science - The students will be working on an assignment where they will need to draw the 4 layers of the rain forest with the appropriate trees, plants and animals for each layer.

Best Regards,

Mrs. Lofchie

PLATO Test Cover Letter

2010-03-05T12:57:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents,

Here is the cover letter from Ms. Anahi Paredes, our Curriculum Coordinator, that accompanies your child's PLATO test results.

Please click on this link to read the letter about PLATO results.

Sincerely,
Mrs.Lofchie

March 1 - 5

2010-02-28T07:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

Thank you to all parents and students who attended our first Family Literacy Workshop last Thursday. I hope the power point presentation was informative and helpful in giving you ideas to encourage your child with his or her writing. If you were unable to attend the workshop, you can visit the CELL/ExLL website:

www.cell-exll.com

You can also see specifically what the CELL/ExLL professionals have helped us create at AST:

www.stanswartz.com/honduras.html

Some dates to remember:

This Saturday, March 6 is Family Day. Visit the AST home page and click on the link at the bottom of the page for all the information.
On March the 23^rd, a school wide values presentation by Mr. Roger Martinez has been scheduled at 5:00-6:30p.m., in the High School conference room. The presentation is entitled “Preparándonos para la Adolescencia de Nuestros Hijos”.
This Tuesday will be our Social Studies test on the Southwest. Last Friday, the students started a study guide, which will be completed on Monday.
The Weekly Reading Log is due of Tuesday. Please check your child's minutes to be sure it totals 120 minutes and you sign the note.
Weekly papers will be sent home on Tuesday. After viewing the papers with your child, please return them the next day, signed.

Literacy - We will continue reading Martin's Big Words, by Doreen Rappaport. It tells the story of Martin Luther King, Jr. and it uses his famous quotations to tell the story of his life. Here are some of the quotations that we have read and written about:

"Everyone can be great."

"Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that."

"Sooner or later, all the people of the world will need to learn to live together."

We are continuing to practice using quotation marks correctly.

Last week, we completed a "Story Map" for a read aloud. A story map helps the reader keep the important events of the book in sequence. I have assigned a book report to the students. As your child reads his or her chapter book for the report, a story map organizer will be used. After Semana Santa, I will collect the story maps. I will read them, return them and then the students will need to write a 4 or 5 paragraph book report.

Math - We will be starting Chapter 7. We will be exploring division patterns, estimating quotients and doing division with remainders.

Social Studies/Science - The students will take a test on Tuesday about Southwest. We will then switch to science for the remainder of the quarter. We will study rain forests.

Warmly,

Mrs. Lofchie

February 22-26

2010-02-21T12:07:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

Here are a few highlights for the week:

Picture Day is this Wednesday at 11:30
Progress Reports will be sent home on Monday. Please sign and return on Tuesday.
Ms. Colindres is collecting children's size shoes to donate to a school where many of the children don't have adequate shoes. Please send in any shoes that no longer fit your child or that your child doesn't wear any more.
Family Literacy day will be this Thursday after school from 2:45 to 4:00. You and your child are encouraged to attend. Our Literacy coaches (Mrs. Leary, Mrs. Flores and Mrs. Paredes) will be giving parents advice on how to encourage your child's writing skills. Meet in the High School Conference room at 2:45. Please let us know if you are coming to this event by printing the r.s.v.p. form found at this link:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?attid=0.1&pid=gmail&thid=126dd9e482603c7e&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%2F%3Fui%3D2%26ik%3D9991252036%26view%3Datt%26th%3D126dd9e482603c7e%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dattd%26zw&docid=ced956f4c148c120cd7aa4fa274cabad%7Cd10fba23145b564620218fc5c96cde64&chan=EgAAAH4TDviTUqgAeqfkWvUnCSAIWHy4nIqda3XuklN9TFDH&a=gp&filename=Literacy-16-2-10.pdf

I know this looks like a mess. If you are unable to find the r.s.v.p. form here, an email was sent from the school to each family on February 17. Please check your emails and print the from from that email.

Empty Bowls - The 4th grade classes will be making ceramic bowls for the Empty Bowls fund raiser to benefit Nueva Suyapa Day Care Center. A t-shirt benefitting the day care center can also be purchased by March 1. This t-shirt can be worn on March 18 on a special colors day.

Literacy - We will continue our Read aloud Juan Verdades The Man Who Could Not Tell a Lie. We will be studying the use of quotation marks and commas. Our writing exercises will be related to the read aloud. We have been using peer editing and revising to help the students become more aware of their own spelling and grammatical errors. When the students know that another student will be reading their writing, they seem to take more care in revising their writing.

Math - We will continue multiplying bigger numbers, starting with a 3 digit number multiplied by a 2 digit number on Monday. We will then be multiplying money, then taking the Chapter 6 test on Friday. To help your child study for the test, you can review the following pages from the textbook with him or her - pages 258, 272, 282.

Social Studies - We will continue our study of the southwest U.S. The students will be doing an interactive writing about deserts. By mid-week, they will be learning about the minerals and fuels found in this region. By the end of the week, we will be working on a study guide to help the students prepare for a test next week, most likely on Tuesday, March 2.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Lofchie

February 15 - 19

2010-02-14T17:48:00.000-08:00

Our Valentine's Day Lunch

Thank you to the parents who helped out with bringing the delicious lunch and drinks for our class Valentine's Day lunch!

Some reminders for the week:

This Thursday, February 18th, the whole school is having a Lps.10 Colors Day as a fund raiser for "Relevo por la Vida".
Our class pictures will be taken Wednesday, February 24 at 11:30
Reading Log is due this Tuesday
Weekly papers will be sent home Tuesday
Remember to be checking the blogs of your child's special classes. Links for the specials is located at the right.

Literacy - We will be starting a read aloud called A Spoon for Every Bite by Joe Hayes. The story combines elements of Latino story telling traditions of the Southwest United States. We will use this book to examine the use of descriptive language and the students will practice using more imagery and descriptive language in their writing. We will also practice using more descriptive verbs to better describe actions. We will continue working on an Interactive Editing piece about deserts. The students will be writing independently about the desert topic also.

Math - We will continue multiplying with 2 digit factors. This process involves several steps and the steps sometimes get mixed up, so we will be practicing, practicing, practicing the order of the steps. The multiplication and division test will be on Thursday.

Social Studies - We continue our study of the Southwest region of the United States. We will be learning about the different land forms and resources of the area.

Warmly,

Mrs. Lofchie

February 8-11

2010-02-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

Last Thursday and Friday, the Cell/Exll trainers from California came to visit our school. I spent 1/2 of each of those days in the library with the entire staff as we received training and support in our school's literacy program. I am very grateful to Ms. Colindres for teaching the class during those two days.

Here are some highlights for the week:

Winter Break - Friday, February 12 - No school
This Thursday is a free colors day. Our class will also be having a Valentine's Day celebration in our classroom during lunch
Weekly Reading Log is due on Tuesday. Please make sure your child has read for 120 minutes and that the note is signed
Multiplication and Division timed test on Thursday

Literacy - We will continue reading Alejandro's Gift by Richard Albert. I am using the story to lead the students into our social studies unit about the Southwestern United States. The story highlights the habitat of a desert with rich vocabulary and vibrant pictures. Interactive editing and writing will focus on the desert.
Last week the students finished the 3 paragraph essay where the characters of two stories were compared and contrasted. I am in the process of reading the essays and they will be returned to the students this week.

Math - We will be starting Chapter 6 this week. We will be exploring multiplication patterns, for example

80 x 4 = n

80 x 40 = n

80 x 400 = n

80 x 4,000 = n

Then we will be reviewing the concept of estimating products, but this time we will be rounding two 2-digit numbers to the nearest multiple of 10. By mid-week, we will be multiplying by multiples of 10.

Social Studies - We begin our study of the southwest United States. We will start by mapping the land forms of that region and discovering that a desert can have great variety.

Science Wrap-up - During our study of weather, the students got very good at identifying the three main types of clouds; cumulus, stratus and cirrus. Next time you are outside, look up in the sky and ask your child to identify clouds!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Lofchie

February 1-5

2010-01-31T06:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

Congratulations to the students of 4C!

They collected more than 8,000 lempiras to help the people of Haiti. Mrs. Jenkins will be attending a conference in the coming weeks and she will personally deliver 42,000 lempiras (the amount collected by the entire elementary!) to the superintendent of Union School,

the American School in Haiti.

This week is Friendship Week. Mrs. Alvarado will be making friendship bracelets with the students during VOG and will be talking about what makes a good friend.
Last week's Virtual Day was a success. Most students completed the work and turned it in on Thursday. However, some students did not turn in some of the work. A reminder: When a student doesn't turn in an assignment, I note in my gradebook that the assignment is missing and this is the same as receiving a "B".
Reminder about absences: When your child is absent, in order to make up the work, the absence must be due to illness. A note must be sent in with your child and given to me to excuse the absence. Then I will give your child the school work that was missed. If I don't receive a note, then the assignments are considered "missed" and your child will receive a "B" for that assignment.
Please sign and return your child's report card.
The weekly papers were send home last Thursday. If the papers have not been returned, please ask your child about the papers and sign and return them.
"Weather" science test will be on Thursday. Your child can review the notes in his or her Science Notebook to study for the test.
Math chapter 5 test will be on Friday. You can go over pages 208, 222, and 240 to review the concepts from this chapter.
Weekly Reading Log is due on Tuesday.

Language Arts - We will continue to read City Green, a story about a girl who creates a community garden from an empty, trashy lot. We are using the story to look at cause and effect. We are continuing out 3 paragraph essay about character changes. We are comparing the characters Jack and Walter and how they changed their beliefs about something.

We will start a book called Alejandro's Gift and we will make comparisons to City Green and use the setting of Alejandro's Gift to discuss how geographic features, climate conditions, and natural resources influence how people live.

Math - We will be completing chapter 5 by using mental math to solve multiplication problems, multiplying three factors, and doing word problems. The math test will be Friday.

Science - We will be reviewing for the test, to be taken on Thursday.

Here's to a great week!

Mrs. Lofchie

January 27 - Virtual Day

2010-01-27T05:09:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

I ran out of time yesterday and was unable to return the weekly papers to the students. I will sent them home on Thursday, Jan. 28
The science test that was originally scheduled for this Friday will be moved to next week.
Report cards will go home this Friday
Several students didn't bring their Weekly Reading Logs yesterday. Remember to bring them tomorrow.
If you have questions for me today about any of the blog assignments, I will be checking my school e-mail throughout the day. Send me and e-mail and I will answer your question as soon as possible. I will not check my e-mail after 2:30. Here is the address:

jlofchie@amschool.org

Here are the assignments for our Virtual day for January 27:

Language Arts - We started reading a story called City Green. Here are some vocabulary words from the story:

1. herbs
2. property
3. schedule
4. sprouting
5. rubble
6. petition

Look up these words in a dictionary. Write the definitions by hand (do not cut and paste the definitions from a website on the internet and then print). Then write a story using the words. All 6 words must be in your story. Remember how we talked about how all stories have a problem and a solution? Before you write your story, think of a problem and a solution. Then write your story and remember to underline the vocabulary words. I will be grading this story for your ideas and organization (I & O), correct grammar and paragraph form (C), nice handwriting (H & P), and correct spelling (S). Your story can be typed on the computer if you want, but your definitions cannot.

Here is a poem by Eve Merriam. It's called "Landscape":

Landscape

What will you find at the edge of the world?

A foot print,

a feather,

desert sand swirled?

A tree of ice,

a rain of stars,

or a junkyard of cars?

What will there be at the rim of the earth?

A mollusk,

a mammal,

a new creature's birth?

Eternal sunrise,

immortal sleep,

or cars piled up in a rusty heap?

Do you know what a mollusk is? Do you know what eternal, rim or immortal mean? If you don't know what they mean, look them up in the dictionary so you can understand the poem better. DON'T SKIP THIS PART because you think I won't know if you did it or not... I will be giving you a quiz in class tomorrow about this poem. :)

First, read the poem silently in your head THREE times. Put on your "imagination hat" and really try to picture in your mind the images that the poet is writing about.

Now, read the poem aloud to your parent. Think about how that poem is different when you read it aloud.

Last, get a piece of paper and draw a tree of ice and a rain of stars. You can do this as one picture or as two separate pictures. I want you to REALLY imagine what the author is trying to show. When I think about a tree of ice or a rain of stars, I think it would be very beautiful. Take some time on your drawing and make it the best you can. You will turn in this drawing tomorrow.

Science - A Venn Diagram is a graphic organizer that you can use to compare and contrast two (or more) items. When you compare, you are looking for how things are the same. When you contrast, you are looking for how things are different.
Overlapping circles are used in a Venn Diagram. Each circle represents one item. The area in the middle is what the two items have in common.

Read the articles below. After reading them, we will pull information out to place on a Venn Diagram. As you read each article, think about the characteristics of tornadoes and hurricanes. Think about how they are the same (compare) and different (contrast). Pay special attention to the highlighted sentences and phrases.

Note: I checked the blog to see how these science paragraphs turned out. There are messages that say the information cannot be displayed. This does not impact the content of the article and you can complete the assignment even though these messages appear on our blog.

Tornadoes

Tornadoes are nature’s most violent storms. Tornadoes must always be taken seriously. Tornadoes can be very dangerous -- sometimes even deadly.

Tornadoes form over land. They come from powerful thunderstorms. They look like funnel-shaped clouds. Their strong rotating winds can reach 300 miles per hour. They cause damage when they touch down on the ground. They can damage an area one mile wide and 50 miles long. Every state is at some risk, but states in "Tornado Alley" have the highest risk. Tornadoes can form any time of the year, but the season runs from March to August.
The ability to predict tornadoes is limited. Usually a community will have at least a few minutes warning. The most important thing to do is TAKE SHELTER when a tornado is nearby.

Hurricanes

Hurricanes are severe tropical storms that form over water. They form in the southern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Hurricanes gather heat and energy through contact with warm ocean waters. Hurricanes can be tracked and predicted.

Hurricanes rotate in a counter-clockwise direction around an "eye." Hurricanes have winds from 74 to over 155 miles per hour. When they come onto land, the heavy rain, strong winds and heavy waves can damage buildings, trees and cars. The heavy waves are called a storm surge. Storm surges are very dangerous and a major reason why you MUST stay away from the ocean during a hurricane warning or hurricane. Sometimes tornadoes can form as a result of the thunderstorms in a hurricane.

Did you notice the blue highlighted areas in both articles? These are how hurricanes and tornadoes are similar. These things are listed in the overlapping area of a Venn Diagram.
Did you notice the pink highlights in the first article? These items are qualities found in a tornado. The green highlights are those found in a hurricane.
Now, you are going to place these lists on the Venn Diagram. Draw a venn diagram on a separate piece of paper. Be prepared to turn in a complete venn diagram on Thursday.

V.O.G - Check Ms. Alvarado's blog website. Did you notice that I put links to all your specials to the right? Hopefully this will make it easier for you to check your specials.

Math - From your orange math workbook, do page 81 "Review and Practice". Do all 23 problems.

Literacy Block - We have been reading some funny limericks. Now it is your turn to write one. Remember that a limerick has 5 lines. The 1st, 2nd and 5th line rhyme. The 3rd and 4th lines also rhyme. Here is a limerick that we read in class:

There was an old man with a beard,

who said, "It is just as I feared!

two owls and a hen,

four larks and a wren,

have all built their nests in my beard!"

Also, there is a rhythmical pattern where the 1st, 2nd, and 5th lines have more syllables (about 8 or 9 syllables each) and the 3rd and 4th lines are shorter (about 5 or 6 syllables).

Most limericks that I have read start with the words "There was an __________" or "There is a ___________". This may help you get started on your limerick. Have fun with it! I can't wait to read your poem. If you are having fun with it, you don't need to stop at just one limerick. Write several and short your favorite one with the class tomorrow.

Here is a list of what you need to turn in tomorrow:
1. City Green definitions and story
2. "Landscape" poem drawings of tree of ice and rain of stars. Remember also that there will be a quiz about this poem.
3. Venn Diagram of tornadoes and hurricanes
4. Math workbook page 81
5. Limerick
6. Any work from Ms. Alvarado from VOG

7. This is only for students who didn't turn in the Weekly Reading Log - bring it tomorrow.

Good Luck!
See you tomorrow!
Best wishes,
Mrs. Lofchie

January 25-29

2010-01-24T07:06:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

A few reminders:

The after school practice for the musical will now end at 4:00PM, instead of the original end time of 4:15PM. Please make sure to pick up your child on time.
Some students in our class took the initiative to create a donation box to collect money for those in Haiti who lost their homes and are in dire need of water, food and medical help. There is an American School in Haiti and we are working with them to send donations so that the money can be put to direct use. If you have already donated, Thank You! If you would like to donate, you can send it to school with your child. Any amount of money you can donate will make a difference and would be greatly appreciated.
Report cards will go home this Friday. If your child has any overdue books from the library, please have them returned and pay any fines before Friday to receive the report card.
I am making a change in our class discipline policy. Before, when a child had to turn their card to red, he or she would write a friendly letter. I would hold on to the letter until the student had 3 friendly letters. Then an infraction was given and the letters were sent home for parents to see. Now, with each friendly letter I will have the student bring home a paper describing the behaviors or actions. The parents will need to sign the paper and it must be returned the next day. If it is not returned, an infraction will be given. My hope is that if you are aware of each friendly letter, you can talk to your child about their behaviors or actions and hopefully we will have less class disruptions.
Weekly papers will be sent home on Tuesday. Please review your child's work with him or her. Sign the note and send the papers back on Wednesday.
There will be a weather test this Friday.

Language Arts - We finished Just a Dream last Friday and will use the story to talk about making inferences and how making inferences can increase the readers understanding of the story. In the story, the main character Walter makes some dramatic changes in his beliefs by the end of the book. We also just finished another book called Love That Dog where the character, Jack, also make some changes in his beliefs. Love That Dog used poetry to show us the changes in Jack. We will be creating a Venn Diagram to compare the changes in each of these characters and then the students will be writing a 3 paragraph essay comparing and contrasting them. We will start a new read aloud called City Green. We will be reviewing main verbs, helping verbs and discussing new vocabulary like rubble, petition, property, schedule, sprouting and herbs. I will continue reading and writing with small leveled reading groups during centers time.

Math - We will continue multiplying this week. We will end the week by multiplying money.
The multiplication and division times test will be on Thursday.

Science - The students started "weather" posters last week. They will finish these in the beginning of the week and they will present their posters to the class. These posters were based on the topics we studied in class during our weather unit: "What is Weather?", barometric pressure, clouds, what makes a thundercloud, weather vocabulary, the atmosphere, and what makes wind. There will be a weather test this Friday.

Best Regards,
Mrs. Lofchie

Virtual Day - January 21

2010-01-21T04:45:00.000-08:00

Dear Students,

This is our virtual school day. In case school is canceled in the future for any reason, we will have a virtual day and you will go to our class blog to get your assignments. You are responsible for completing this work and turning it in tomorrow, January 22. If the work is not turned in, you will receive a B.

Today you are missing the following classes:

Estudios Sociales: Check the blog or wiki from Mr. Mendoza

Art: Check the blog or wiki from Ms. Thornberry

Math:
For # 1-10, find each product. Estimate to check.

1. 42 x 3
2. 18 x 5
3. 57 x 6
4. 96 x 8
5. 51 x 4
6. 306 x 4
7. 235 x 3
8. 510 x 8
9. 627 x 5
10. 809 x 9

For # 11-20, solve each word problem.

11. Peter and Juan were sharing an ipod with new batteries. The batteries ran out after 12 hours of use. If Peter used the ipod 2 more hours that Juan, how long did each use the ipod?

12. Ned has 4 bags of apples. Maggie has 5 bags. There are 10 apples to a bag. How many apples to Ned and Maggie have?

13. It is 3:30 p.m. Does Helena have time to practice the drums for half an hour and do homework for 20 minutes before soccer practice at 4:45 p.m.? Explain.

14. Mark has a $10 bill. Can he buy 4 tickets that cost $2.25 each? Explain.

15. Jared borrows a computer for 2 hours. So far he has spent 30 minutes on the internet and 45 minutes writing. How much more computer time does he have left?

16. Doug bakes cupcakes. His pan holds 12 cupcakes. How many cupcakes can he make in 6 batches? (A batch is the number of cupcakes he can make at one time using his pan that holds 12 cupcakes).

17. A pizza recipe takes 20 minutes to prepare, 45 minutes for the dough to rise, and 15 minutes to bake. Melissa's guests will arrive in an hour. Can she make the pizza and have it ready for the guests when they arrive? Explain.

18. Jonah and Robin scored 26 runs together during the baseball season. Jonah scored 4 runs fewer that Robin. How many runs did Robyn score?

19. Jerry has to read a book that has 157 pages. If he reads 15 pages a night, will he finish the book in a week? Explain.

20. The world's tallest mountain peak, Mt. Everest, is on the border of China and Nepal. It is almost 9,000 ft. taller that Mt. McKinley. At 20,320 ft., Mt. McKinley is that tallest U.S. mountain. About how tall is Mt. Everest?

Centers and Guided Reading:  During this time you are either reading in a small group with me or doing centers. Today, you will read stories from a web page and answer the comprehension questions. Answer the questions on a piece of paper. Go to this website:

http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/sweber/lsmith/bookmarks/READING%20WEB%20QUEST.html

It's called "Mrs. Smith's Reading Web Quest". Read question #1 and click the question. You will read a story, then answer the question on a separate piece of paper. Use the back arrow to return to return to the web page that has the questions.  Answer all 10 questions.

Weekly Reading Log:  Read for at least 20 minutes. The reading you did for the "Centers and Guided Reading" does not count toward your reading log.

Bonus Question:  You might be asking yourself what the bonus question is? Well... look at these 4 pictures and remember as much as you can about them. I will ask you a question about them tomorrow.

Good luck! See you tomorrow.

Your Teacher,
Mrs. Lofchie

January 18-22

2010-01-17T08:57:00.000-08:00

Barometer to measure air pressure

Dear Parents and Students,

Here is an example of the barometers that we made in class last week. Barometric pressure is a measurement of how hard air presses down on a location. We use high or low air pressure to help us predict if we will have dry, sunny days (high pressure) or wet, inclement weather (low pressure). Last week, we mostly observed the toothpick glued to the top of the balloon pointing up, which indicated dry, sunny days.

Some reminders for this week:

Thursday, January 21 is the 4th grade Charla. This is also an early release day, so remember to make arrangements for your child. Students will be released at 11:00. I will post school work for the students on our class blog that needs to be completed and turned in on Friday.
Eagle League Basketball will start for 3rd and 4th grade children this Wednesday. 2:45 to 4:00 and Saturday from 9:00 to 10:30.
There will be a science quiz on Wednesday. The quiz will cover the topics we have studied so far in our weather unit: wind, air pressure, clouds and atmosphere (troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere).
Our second quarter ended last Friday. All infractions and red cards will be wiped clean and everyone can begin the third quarter with a fresh start! Report cards will go home Friday, January 29. Please return any overdue library books before this date.
Please be remembering to check the blogs of your child's special classes.
I have added a link to the BBC website for kids about weather. It's located on the right side of this page. Check it out when you can!

Language Arts - Our new read aloud will be Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsberg. We will discuss the author's purpose and also review the parts of speech we have been studying - noun, verb, adjective, and adverb. Students will continue to read in their leveled guided reading groups throughout the week during our Centers time. They will also be responding to the read aloud by writing in their Writing Notebook and Reading Notebook.

Math - We will be multiplying by 2-digit numbers (example 28 x 3) and 3-digit numbers (example 562 x 6).

The timed multiplication or division test will be on Thursday.

Science - Last week in science, we discussed the three main types of clouds: cirrus, cumulus and stratus. In actuality, there are over a dozen types of clouds, but they all contain elements of the three I mentioned above. There are several Latin words that are used to classify the clouds and the students learned these. They were alto (high), cumulus (piled high or heaps), stratus (sheet), nimbo or nimbus (rain), and cirrus (threadlike or feathery). This week in class, we will attempt to make a cloud in a bottle to demonstrate how clouds are formed. Remember also that there will be a weather quiz on Wednesday.

Best Regards,

Mrs. Lofchie

January 11-15

2010-01-10T06:46:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

This Friday will be the last day of the second quarter. Please return any over due books to the library to ensure that your child can receive his or her report card in a couple of weeks.
I will be sending home the students' weekly papers this Tuesday. Please sign and return the papers on Wednesday.
If you have not sent in a empty glass jar with your child, please send one in as soon as possible. We will be making barometers. Also, if you have uninflated balloons, toothpicks and rubber bands, please send those in too. Each students will need one of each.
Remember to be checking the blogs updated by the specials teachers. They are keeping current blogs to let you know what is happening in Art, Computers, Spanish, Estudios Sociales, Music, P.E., etc.

Language Arts - Our read aloud this week will be Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett. We will use this book to discuss the following vocabulary words: abandon, consisted, frequently, incident, prediction, and temporary. We will be making connections between the invented weather conditions in the story to real life weather conditions that we are learning about in science. During our shared reading time, we will read a poem by Jack Prelutsky called "The Pancake Collector".

We completed our study of verbs - action verbs, linking verbs and helping verbs. Of course, we will continue to review these, but now we will begin to study adverbs and how and when they are used.

Math - We will begin chapter 5. This week, we will multiply by multiples of ten, look for patterns in multiplication, and estimate products. The timed test will be on Thursday.

Science - This week we will be setting up our class weather station. We will be recording temperature, wind speed, and barometric pressure each day. We will make our own barometers to understand high and low pressure. As the week continues, we will begin to observe and discuss clouds. Last week, we discussed how hot air rises and cold air "sinks" and how the movement of hot and cold air creates wind. Coincidentally, we have had very windy weather while we learn about how wind is created!

My parents have been visiting in Honduras over the last few weeks. They have been able to travel to Pico Bonito, Roatan, Copan, and of course, Tegucigalpa. They have been amazed by the beauty and geographic diversity of this country. They have also been touched by the kindness of the people who live here. They visited our classroom last Friday afternoon to meet my students. The students were polite and energetically asked questions. My parents were happy to meet them.

Warmly,
Mrs. Lofchie

January 4-8

2010-01-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Wishing each family an abundant and joyful year!

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome back! I hope that your holiday season was filled with relaxing time with family.

Please note the following schedule for special classes:

Monday, January 4: Estudios Sociales and Art

Tuesday, January 5: Estudios Sociales and Art

Wednesday, January 6: P.E. and Computer

Our second quarter will end Friday, January 15.

Language Arts - Our read aloud will be Feel the Wind. From this book, we will discuss vocabulary related to weather and use this new vocabulary in our writing. Our interactive writing and independent writing will also be related to weather, as this is the science unit we will be starting.

Math - During the last couple of weeks in December, we were studying the basic multiplication and division facts. We will be continuing this topic by incorporating our knowledge of even and odd numbers and how they relate to prime and composite numbers. We will be reviewing the material from chapter 4 and having a test on Friday, January 8. You can help your child prepare for the test by reviewing pages 164, 174, and 190 of the text book.

The multiplication timed test will be on Thursday.

Science - We are starting our science unit on weather. We will focus on elements of weather and how weather is forecasted. This week, I will start by finding out what the students already know about weather. We will discuss how to read a thermometer and we will begin tracking the daily temperature at different times of the day. Next, we will learn about barometric pressure and how it is useful for us to predict weather. We will be building our own barometers. To do this, each student will need to bring in a glass jar and a rubber band. Please bring this by Wednesday. The glass jar can be as small as a baby food jar or as large as a pickle jar. If any family has extra tooth picks or balloons, we will also be using them to construct our barometers.

Best Regards,

Mrs. Lofchie

December 14-18

2009-12-13T15:43:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

Thank you to the parents who participated in this years Posadas. The multi-purpose room was decorated beautifully and the foods looked delicious. Unfortunately, I was coming down with the flu, and left Las Posadas early, so I was unable to enjoy the food! I also was absent on Friday, but this weekend I was able to rest up and I feel ready for the week.

Thank you to all families who were able to donate tomato paste for the service employees. Many people will be very happy because of your generosity. We are also trying to show our appreciation to them by keeping our room tidy at the end of the day. We are picking up pencils, rulers, etc. and also paper scraps under the desks that were dropped during the day.

This Friday, school will end at 11:00. Please remember to make arrangements for your child for this early dismissal. Friday is also a free colors day.

The students have been working on an essay about their names. The final draft of this paper will be due on Thursday, December 17.

A Social Studies test will be on Thursday, December 17. The students will have a study guide to help them study.

Language Arts - We will be reading aloud the story Apples to Oregon. The story is about a family that moves from Iowa to Oregon in a covered wagon. As if this isn't challenging enough, he wants to bring fruit trees as well; apples, plums, cherries and peaches. So he constructs a dirt-filled wagon to transport his fruit saplings, while his family travels in a smaller cart. Along the way, they encounter the Oregon Trail hardships. The story used colorful language and we will use this book to learn about some literary elements like simile (His hands are like leather.), metaphor (The thief was a fox. She is a doll.) and personification (The angry sky thundered overhead.). We will also be continuing our work on an Interactive Writing piece about how sheep wool is processed. The students will be writing independently about this as well.

Math - We will continue with our chapter about division and characteristics of odd and even numbers.
The multiplication times test will be on Thursday.

Social Studies - Our simulation has ended after 14 rounds and the colonists will be tabulating their "wealth units" to see who played the game most effectively and made the best decisions. We will be using our experience with the simulation to connect to the real experiences of the colonists and any group of people that chooses to venture out into uninhabited territories. The students will be working on a study guide to help prepare them for the test on Thursday.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Joyful New Year!

Warmly,
Mrs. Lofchie

December 7-11

2009-12-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

Here are some geometry posters that were created to help us remember important geometry definitions.

Here are a few important dates to remember:

Thursday, December 10 - 4th grade Posadas 11:10-12:30 in the Multi-Purpose Room

Friday, December 11 - Last day to bring in tomato paste for gift baskets for service employees at AST.

Friday, December 18 - Early Release Day, students leave at 11:00

Thank you to all the families that were able to donate warm clothes and blankets for Navidad Sin Frio. Our class was able to fill the entire bag! Congratulations 4C!

Language Arts - We will be talking about verbs this week. We will be focussing on subject/verb agreement (for example Jill skips on the sidewalk [this is correct], or Jill skip on the sidewalk [this is incorrect]. We will be reading a story called "Apple Butter Time". We are also working on an Interactive Writing assignment about how sheep's wool is processed to become cloth or yarn.

Math - We are finishing Chapter 8. The test will be on Tuesday. To help your child study, you can review the following pages in the math book with him or her: page 356, 366, 376, and 378. We are also creating geometric pictures with a winter or Christmas theme. The entire drawing must only be made of shapes from our chapter. We are using grid paper to help the students keep their lines straight. Be looking for the pictures hung on the bulletin board outside our classroom.

On Wednesday, we will be starting Chapter 4, with out initial focus being on multiplication and division fact families.

The multiplication timed test will be on Thursday.

Social Studies - Our colonists are continuing to survive and struggle through live in the New World. After 11 rounds of play, many colonies have experienced a lot of tragedy and death. Last Thursday, the students completed their second diary entry. I am trying to help the students to not just tell what happens, but to really describe what happened and use vivid details. Here are some excerpts from some students' diaries from last week:

"One day a terrible thing happened. My poor and fragile mother died of sickness. I cried all day long."

"Once we were sailing to the New World... and a tragedy happened. The waves were roaring so badly it looked like a hurricane. The Olimpia ship was having trouble. It had a terrible hole at the bottom of it. All men worked hard to repair it, but it was too late!"

"One day, everything changed. We told our men that if they went fishing and came back with a lot of fish, we would give them a lot of food. So they were very happy. While they were fishing, they were concentrating so hard that they didn't see the storm coming and so our boats sank in the storm and 12 of our men died. We lost many things and many friends."

Next week the students will be taking a Social Studies test. I will give the specific date next week.

Best Regards,
Mrs. Lofchie

November 30 - December 4

2009-12-01T15:45:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

Please excuse this very last blog post, but I promise I had a really good reason! I couldn't cross the Nicaraguan border. Last Thursday I drove with my family to Nicaragua, and we planned to return on Saturday. But when we got to the border, it was closed and we were told that it wouldn't open until Monday. So we stayed in Nicaragua for two more nights, and we returned safely on Monday afternoon.

Thank you to Jackie Genie and Beatriz Stefan for the lovely Thanksgiving lunch we shared together last Wednesday. Also, there were several parents who helped out on that day and others who worked behind the scenes. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Since I wasn't able to post anything until today, there will not be a blog homework assignment for the week.

This Friday, December 4 will be the last day for collecting clothes and blankets for Navidad Sin Frio. Please take the time to look through your closets for any clothes you can donate. Our bag is nearly full, but this shouldn't stop us from continuing to collect items to give to others!

All fourth grade classes are collecting tomato paste for the gift baskets to give to the employees of our school. These are the employees who clean our classrooms, maintain the school and work in the offices. Let's show our appreciation to them by giving what we can. I am very proud of the students of 4C for all that they have donated already.

I will be sending the weekly papers home tomorrow. Please look over the papers with your child and see how he or she is progressing in our class.

Language Arts - We are studying subject pronouns and their proper use. We are using a book called "A New Coat for Anna". The book tells about the process of making a coat out of wool, starting with the wool being sheared from the sheep, to a coat maker sewing the coat, to Anna's mother sewing special buttons on it. This book has a connection to our Social Studies unit about colonial times, where all clothes needed to be made by hand.

Math - We are learning about perimeter and area and when and why they are used. Talk with your child about the differences between them and ask your child to give examples of when you would use perimeter or area. For example, if you were a carpenter and you needed to put the wooden trim around a window, you would need to find the perimeter of the window. If you needed to make a curtain for the window, you would need to know the area to decide how much fabric to buy to cover the window.   We will also be learning about how to find the volume of a cube. We will be having our Chapter 8 test on Tuesday, December 8.

The timed Multiplication Test will be on Thursday.

Social Studies - We are continuing our rounds in Discovery 3. In the upcoming week, we will be connecting the experiential learning we have experienced by playing the simulation with the social studies standards. Students should be able to talk about the regional geography in the game. For example, how mountains, rivers, and ocean differ in terms of living, food, travel, etc. They will also be connecting the ideas of the rights and responsibilities of the native indians and the colonists. For wxample who owns the land, what are daily jobs, etc.   Finally, students should also know how colonists can use the goods and services that they have. For example, trading these goods and services with Indians to build wealth in the form of land, etc.

Last week, the students completed the first of three "diary" entries where they had to write about their experiences thus far, as a colonist.   I tried to impress upon the students to use as much detail as possible to make their writing seem realistic.   The students will be writing another diary entry at the end of this week or the beginning of next week. A test will be given to the students about what we have studied in social studies during the week of December 14.

November 23-25

2009-11-22T15:52:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

We all survived Saturday school! There were 24 out of 27 students present, and it felt a lot like a regular school day. We did take some time to decorate our Thanksgiving place mats that we will use on Wednesday for our Thanksgiving lunch. Thank you to the room mothers who are organizing our lunch. Room mothers, please check your email regularly for messages and updates from Mrs. Martinez regarding our celebration on Wednesday.

Thank you to Ricardo Zelaya and his dad for donating crayons to our class. The students enjoyed the new variety of colors as they decorated their place mats.

We have been collecting warm clothes and blankets for Navidad sin Frio. Our bag is getting quite full! Please send in any warm clothing or blankets that you can donate.

In addition to reading our class bog, please remember also to be checking the blogs of your child's specials.

The Weekly Reading Log is due on Tuesday. Please check to be sure your child's total reading time is at least 120 minutes and that you sign your child's log. Congratulations to the students who have been reading more than 120 minutes each week!

Progress Reports will go home on Monday. If your child receives one, please sign it and return it with him or her the next day. If you would like to schedule a meeting with me regarding your child's progress, you may send me a note with your child or an email.

Blog Homework Assignment - Due on Wednesday
Figure out the elapsed time :

1. 4:55 pm to 6:25 pm
2. 12:30 am to 6:45 am
3. 9:50 am to 10:10 am (this is the length of your morning recess)
4. 7:30 am to 2:30 pm (this is the length of our school day)
5. 5:20 pm to 2:30 am

Language Arts - Last week we finished reading Willy and Max, a story about two young boys who became friends during World War II. The students continue to be very interested in this time in history and I am trying to gently tell them about this difficult time. Some students are voluntarily doing research on the internet about Anne Frank and are finding pictures of her, her family, and the secret apartment where they hid for two years. We learned about Miep Gies, the woman who helped bring them food and other comforts as well as news about the war when they were hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam. I am using the Willy and Max story to teach the students about subject pronouns (I, you, him, her, it, we, they). This week we will continue our study of pronouns by using poetry. We will also be doing writing assignments about the stories and poetry we read.

Math - We will be learning about perimeter and how and why it is important. The multiplication timed test will be this Wednesday since we don't have school on Thursday.

Social Studies - We will continue to play our game about colonists in the New World. Last week the students got their first opportunity to trade with other colonists and the Native Americans that live near them. Some colonists found good fortune and had successful hunting expeditions and bountiful farming days. Other colonists experienced the sadness and disappointment of losing colonists to fishing accidents due to rough seas and hunters who got lost and died as they were out on hunting trips. The students are learning how much weather influenced the lives of the colonists. We will see what this week holds for the colonists!

I hope that you all enjoy our vacation this Thursday and Friday. I know that I am thankful for the opportunity to be teaching your child and the experience of living in Honduras.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Lofchie

November 16-21

2009-11-15T08:29:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

We have been collecting warm clothes and blankets for Navidad sin Frio. Please send in any warm clothing or blankets that you can donate.
In addition to reading our class bog, please remember also to be checking the blogs of your child's specials.
The Weekly Reading Log is due on Tuesday. Please check to be sure your child's total reading time is at least 120 minutes and that you sign your child's log. Congratulations to the students who have been reading more than 120 minutes each week!
I will be sending home the students' weekly papers this Tuesday. Please sign and return the following day.
If you haven't already done so, please return your child's report card.
This Saturday we will be having school! It is a free colors day.
Blog Homework Assignment - Use the following possessive nouns in sentences. This assignment is due on Thursday, November 19.

1. class
2. class's
3. classes
4. classes'
5. horse
6. horse's
7. horses
8. horses'

Language Arts - We are continuing our study of possessive singular and plural nouns. Next, we will be be learning about subject and object pronouns. We are finishing up our story about the life of Anne Frank. The students are very interested in her life and have many questions and comments about the time period of World War II. Next, we will read a story called "Willy and Max, A Holocaust Story". We will use this story as inspiration for writing assignments. With a lot of discussion and practice, the students are making great improvements in the area of paragraph writing. We have been working together on this topic as a whole class and also I have been working with small groups of students in our guided reading groups. Each time I work with a small reading group, I have them respond to the reading in their notebook using correct paragraph style, and their descriptions and details are getting better and better!

Math - I have been enjoying the change of pace in our study of geometry. I think the students have also enjoyed the shift in using their brains in a different mathematical way! This week we will be studying similar figures, lines and line segments, quadrilaterals, and lines of symmetry. Ms. Colindres and I have created several centers to help reinforce the geometry skills that the students are learning. I hope they enjoy them!

The multiplication timed test will be this Thursday.

Social Studies - Last week the students' ships set sail. Only one colony group lost a ship due to stormy seas. I have to compliment Colony 5 for taking the bad news gracefully. The next step is for all colony groups to begin daily life. At the beginning of each "round" of play, the colony groups will hold strategy meetings to see what jobs need to be done during the round (hunting, fishing, farming, etc.), plan any trading sessions with other colonies or with the local Indians, and record all additions or subtractions to their supply list.

Warmly,
Mrs. Lofchie

November 9-13

2009-11-08T08:37:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

It was so nice to meet with so many parents last Friday and the Parent/Teacher Conferences.

As I was preparing my blog to post for this coming week, I realized that when I made my blog for last week, I only saved it as a draft, I didn't actually post it. Sorry! I am posting it this week anyway, even though some of the information is outdated. I did want to make some Thank You's to our room mothers for their contributions from the Halloween party.

The pictures at the left show some of the interactive writing activities we have done lately. You can click on the picture to have it enlarged. The first is related to irregular verbs that we read in a story called "Pilgrim Cat". The map of the "New World" represents the journey that our colonists are about to embark on in Social Studies. "The English Arrive" was from the book "The River Ran Wild".

Language Arts - We will continue reading "Sarah Morton's Day". This book has led to much discussion about life in colonial times. Many of the students are surprised by how much work the children and adults had to do on a day to day basis. We are using this story as a jumping off place for writing activities related to the book. This week, we are again focusing on complete paragraph form. We will be starting a book called "Early American Villages".

Social Studies - The colony groups completed their cargo lists last week and all are anxious to set sail. The colony groups also selected their reasons to leave England for the New World. Their choices were a) to be sponsored by the government; b) sponsored by a private company; or c) sponsored by private individuals who were supportive of the colonists wish to leave because of political or religious reasons. Once the colonists set sail, they will be using "Fate Cards" to determine how quickly (or slowly) they sail to the New World. Some examples of Fate Cards are:

"A week-long storm drove your ships off course. You lose 100 miles."

"Good weather and winds allow your ships to cover 800 miles."

"A fierce storm battered your ships. They are scattered about and must spend a great deal of time searching for each other. None of the ships make any progress this round."

Or...

"A fierce storm battered your ships. One ship sunk with all aboard and all cargo was lost."

Math - We started chapter 8 last Thursday. This week we will learn about polygons, triangles, and congruent figures. I am posting a new link for a math game to help students learn the multiplication facts. Your child can select the fact that he or she is working on. Remember that we take the multiplication test every Thursday. The address for the game can be found at the right side of the blog. Here is the address also http://www.mathplayground.com/balloon_invaders.html

To continue to practice the concept of elapsed time, I am posting an online math assignment that will be due on Thursday, November 12.

1. 2:00 pm - 5:45 pm
2. 10:45 am - 12:30 pm
3. 6:45 pm - 6:45 am
4. 12:00 pm (Sunday) - 12:00 pm (Monday)
5. 9:20 am - 4:45 pm

November 2-6

2009-11-01T13:28:00.000-08:00

Dear Parents and Students,

Thank you to our 4C room mothers, Beatriz Stefan and Jackie Genie for organizing our Halloween party last Friday. It was nice to see so many parents at the costume parade and afterward in our classroom for snacks. Thank you also to the parents who brought candies and treats to share with the class.

Parent/Teacher Conferences will take place this Friday, November 6. I will be posting a sign-up sheet outside of 4-C. Please choose the time that works best for you. I may not be able to meet with everyone on Friday, so I will have times available at the beginning of next week also. The conferences are very short, so please be punctual. If you cannot meet during any of the times, please send me a note or an email and we can try to schedule another time.

I will be sending home your child's weekly work this Tuesday. Please sign the top note and return the papers on Wednesday. Also, the Weekly Reading Log is due on Tuesday. Last week, all the students but one turned in the Reading Log on Tuesday! Bravo!

Math - We are finishing up chapter 3 and will be taking the chapter test on Wednesday. Topics covered on the test will be adding and subtracting whole numbers and money. Next, we will be jumping to chapter 8, which focuses on geometry (exploring solids, triangles, and other polygons; exploring quadrilaterals; exploring perimeter, area and volume). At a recent grade level meeting, the other 4th grade teachers and I discussed our student's lack of knowledge in the area of geometry. We decided to teach chapter 8 now rather than waiting until the end of the school year so that we can continue to build upon geometric concepts throughout the year. Then after completing chapter 8, we will move on to chapter 4.

The multiplication timed test will be on Thursday. When your child receives a score of 95 or higher on the timed test, he or she will continue on to the next number.

Literacy - We will start a new read aloud book called "Sarah Morton's Day - A Day in the life of a Pilgrim Girl". We will be talking about verb tense agreement. Often students will use present tense and past tense verbs together. For example: "We went to the pool and go swimming". "Went" is in the past tense and "go" is a present tense verb. I have noticed this mistake a lot in the students' writing, so we will be focusing on this. We will also continue to work on paragraph elements such as topic sentence, supporting details and concluding sentence. With the story "Sarah Morton's Story" we will also be discussing the connections between this story and our social studies topic.

Social Studies - The students completed their colony flags last week and this week they will be selecting a reason why their group decided to leave England. We will also be going over the general rules of the game, and hopefully we can start soon! I know that the students are getting anxious to start!

Thank you for checking in with the news of our class!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Lofchie

October 26-30

2009-10-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Parents and Students,

This coming week, I am going to try something new - I will be posting a homework assignment on the blog. This week's assignment will be related to a book we are reading called "Number the Stars". There are 11 words that we have recently come across, or will be seeing this week. I would like the students to look up the word in the dictionary, write the definition, then write a sentence using the word in context. For example, if the word is "lanky":

lanky - tall and thin and having slender limbs.

The lanky girl was a skilled basketball player.

Here are the words:

1. plod

2. prod

3. sneer

4. scowl

5. intricate

6. occupation (as in having control over another person or country)

7. ration

8. submerge

9. relocate

10. current (as in a river's current)

11. fiance

This assignment will be due on Friday, October 30. I would suggest that this assignment is worked on a little each day (for example, do about 4 definitions and sentences each night), rather than saved until Wednesday night. On the sentences, I will be grading on quality of the sentence, spelling and also capital letters and correct punctuation.

Literacy - We will be finishing the book "A River Ran Wild" and as we write about the story, I will have the students focussing on writing paragraphs with a main idea, 3 supporting details and a conclusion.

Math - We will be adding and subtracting money and making change by "counting on". Last week, our class participated in the Math Buddies day on the covered court. I hope you enjoy some of the pictures that are posted at the top of this blog. We are continuing with the multiplication test on Thursday. All students are progressing with the multiplication fact test, needing to get 95 right out of 100 before passing to the next number. If your child is struggling, I will send home flash cards to help.

Social Studies - The students completed all of the mapping assignments last week and they will be tabulating their scores to determine how much "money" they will be able to spend before they set sail to the New World. This week, the colony groups will design a flag for their group, using colors, symbols and pictures that are symbolic to them. Each colony will also be choosing a reason for colonization (based on actual reasons why people wanted to leave England in the 1600's).

VOG - VOG will be changing places with Library day on the Rotating Schedule. This will be in effect starting Tuesday and will continue until Mrs. Alvarado returns.

Other information - In effort to save paper, the school will no longer be sending home notes. All information will be posted electronically on the AST home page. Please check this regularly to be informed of any events or important information.

Halloween and Thanksgiving - This Friday, there will be a Halloween parade at 1:10. If your child chooses to dress up, please make sure the costume is appropriate for school - no gore or guns, please. For parents who are signed up to help with Halloween, administration has requested that the snacks be simple: one cookie or cupcake per student and a drink. Also, the Thanksgiving celebration has been scaled back. Each student will bring their own lunch to eat in the classroom and we will be doing a Thanksgiving activity in class together. There will not be a whole school meal. Any parents who signed up to help with Thanksgiving are encouraged to help with the Posadas Festival in December.

Our quarter ended on Friday and we will be meeting soon for parent/teacher conferences. I look forward to talking with you about your child's progress.

Warmly,

Mrs. Lofchie

October 19-23

2009-10-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Parents and Students,

This week, the students will be presenting their demonstration speeches. Most of the demonstration speeches will be presented in the morning, during our literacy block. An exception is on Friday, when the speeches will be presented in the afternoon because Friday morning will be spent with our first grade math buddies. Each student selected a date for the speech. Here is the schedule:

Tuesday, Oct. 20

From 8:30 to 9:50

1. Sergio

2. Raquel

3. Lucia

4. Cecelia

5. Rafael

6. Andrea

Wednesday, Oct. 21

From 8:30 to 9:50

1. Sebastian

2. Fernando

3. Carlos Andres

4. Pedro Jose

5. Ricardo

6. Joseph

Thursday, Oct. 22

From 8:30 to 9:50

1. Alexa

2. Arianne

3. Gerhard

4. Nicolas

5. Sofia

6. Adrian

Friday, Oct. 23

From 1:10 to 2:30

1. Eduardo

2. John Henry

3. Annette

4. Beatriz

5. Ana Lucia

6. Ana Socorro

Here is the grading Rubric that I will be using:

Demonstration Speech Rubric

Topic:

	A+ (3)	A (2)	A- (1)	B (0)
Body Language	Movements seemed fluid and helped the audience visualize.	Made movements or gestures that enhanced articulation.	Very little movement or descriptive gestures.	No movement or descriptive gestures.	____
Eye Contact	Holds attention of entire audience with the use of direct eye contact.	Consistent use of direct eye contact with audience.	Displayed minimal eye contact with audience.	No eye contact with audience.	____
Introduction and Closure	Student delivers open and closing remarks that capture the attention of the audience and set the mood.	Student displays clear introductory or closing remarks.	Student clearly uses either an introductory or closing remark, but not both.	Student does not display clear introductory or closing remarks.	____
Pacing	Good use of drama and student meets apportioned time interval.	Delivery is patterned, but does not meet apportioned time interval.	Delivery is in bursts and does not meet apportioned time interval.	Delivery is either too quick or too slow to meet apportioned time interval.	____
Poise	Student displays relaxed, self-confident nature about self, with no mistakes.	Makes minor mistakes, but quickly recovers from them; displays little or no tension.	Displays mild tension; has trouble recovering from mistakes.	Tension and nervousness is obvious; has trouble recovering from mistakes.	____
Voice	Use of fluid speech and inflection maintains the interest of the audience.	Satisfactory use of inflection, but does not consistently use fluid speech.	Displays some level of inflection throughout delivery.	Consistently uses a monotone voice.	____

Literacy - We will continue reading "The River Ran Wild" and will be discussing comma use. The book I have been reading aloud has created a lot of great discussions about the lifestyle of the native people compared to that of the English settlers. We have been talking about which group had a more sustainable way of life and which group was treating the land in a respectful way. The book has beautiful illustrations and a rich vocabulary and we are all enjoying the book and its connections to our topic of study in Social Studies.

Math - We will be using mental math to solve addition and subtraction problems. We are continuing to learn the multiples of all the numbers and a timed multiplication test will be given on Thursday. On Friday, we will have a math buddy day with first graders.

Social Studies - We are continuing with our Discovery mapping assignments.

Reading Log - The reading log will be due Tuesday. Please remember to check to see if your child's reading minutes add up to 120 minutes and also sign the reading note.

Returning Student work - On Tuesday, I will send home your child's work from the last two weeks. Please look over the work, then return the it the next day.

Looking forward to another week!!

Mrs. Lofchie

Demonstration Speeches

2009-10-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

The students are all working on their demonstration speeches. On Tuesday, I gave them a blank outline where they can organize their ideas for their own demonstration speech. Some students completed their outline and turned it in on Tuesday. Others took it home for homework. I have included an example outline to help you help your child develop a clear and organized speech:

Topic: To demonstrate how to properly groom your dog.

Introduction: “How much money do you spend on getting your dog groomed? $30, $40, $50 or more? Today I will demonstrate how to properly groom your dog and help you save money as well as bond more strongly with man's best friend.”

Body: (Use at least 3 main points)

1. Gather Materials

a. Brushes (explain different types of brushes for different dogs) 

b. Towels 

c. Nail Clippers (explain how to clip nails without cutting the quick) 

d. Cotton

 e. Special Ear Wash for Dogs 

f. Shampoo

2. Grooming steps

a. Brush dog to get rid of excess and matted hair 

b. Clean ears with Cotton and Ear Wash 

c. Wash/dry dog 

d. Clip nails

3. After Grooming

a. Praise Fido for being such a good dog 

b. Give Fido a treat 

c. Pet Fido for awhile and do the bonding thing

Summary:

“Grooming your dog is pretty simple. Simply gather all the materials you need, then brush out the excess or matted hair, clean the ears, wash/dry Fido then clip his nails. After the grooming is the most important step so don't forget to praise and pet your dog!”

Conclusion:

“Although grooming your own dog may take a bit more time than just leaving him at the groomer's, doing it yourself is a great way to save money and for the two of you to connect more deeply. What could be better than that!”

I hope this helps you give your child clear guidance in writing the speech. I suggested to the students that they write brief notes on index, or "cue cards" that they can use during the speech. Also, students should practice the speech several times at home to practice.

Most importantly, this exercise is meant to give the students an opportunity to practice their public speaking skills and also have fun by sharing their talent or knowledge with the rest of the class.

October 12-16

2009-10-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

Dear Parents and Students,
The picture at the left shows our homophone word wall. It has grown tremendously over the last two weeks. We are always to it daily as the students notice homophones in the books we read.

Here is a preview of what we will be doing this week:
Literacy - We will be finishing up the read aloud "Pilgrim Cat". We have been using this book to discuss past tense verbs. Next, we will begin reading "A River Ran Wild" by Lynne Cherry. It is a story about the native people who settled in a part of the US that is now Massachusetts. The native people were good stewards of the land and used it responsibly. But as the European colonists began to settle in the area, the river became polluted. I will use this book to teach the class about comma use.

I am continuing to work with small, leveled reading groups using the Exll framework. Using a leveled reader, the students and I read together, independently, write and proofread our writing together. This is a great time for me to work with kids in a small group to individualize my teaching to meet the specific needs of the students. While I read with a small group, the rest of the class is engaged in center activities, mostly related to reading, writing and math.

Math - We will be reviewing the rules of addition and subtraction this week. This may seem tedious or a concept that 4th graders don't need to go over, but it is an important review as we move in to the chapters where we will be multiplying and dividing. Last week, I gave all students a timed test for x2. There are 100 multiplication equations on the test and they have to get 95 correct out of 100 before moving on to x3. For those students who are having trouble memorizing the facts, I can provide index cards to make flash cards so that the times tables can be practiced at home.

Social Studies - Last week we spent quite a bit of time going over background knowledge for the "Discovery" simulation. The students are now in colony groups and jobs were assigned to each member. The jobs are: Govenor, Vice-Govenor, Banker, Recorder, Trader, and Mapper. Talk to your child about his/her job and the responsibilities that accompany that particular job. This week we will start the mapping assignments, where the students will become familiar with the following terms: locating geographic features by using latitude and longitude, scale, and using a map legend. There are three mapping assignments in all, and each assignment builds on the skills learned in the previous assignment. In the third assignment, the students will design their own map using all their new knowledge.

Bahavior - As a reminder, after three friendly letters, a student will receive an infraction. Several students received their first infraction last week; most of the behavior problems stem from talking in class. Please talk to your child and remind him or her about the importance of following class rules and saving social conversations for recess and lunch.

Sewing - We have several pillows in our reading corner/library that are losing their stuffing because they need to be sewn. If you have sewing skills and wouldn't mind repairing a few pillows, we would all be so grateful!

Thank you for checking in with the blog!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Lofchie

October 5-9

2009-10-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

Hello families and students. We successfully made it through a full 5-day school seek last week. Hooray! It is good to be back in school with out interruptions. Hopefully things will remain stable.

Math - Last Friday, the students took a math test on chapter 2. Now we will be beginning chapter 3, where we will be reviewing the rules of subtraction and addition. I have begun working with the students on the multiplication times tables and see that for many students, there needs to be more work. We will be taking weekly multiplication tests and learning/practicing the multiples. (Remember, multiples are "counting" by a certain number, for example the multiples of 3 are 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, .....) In the past, I have found that this is a very successful way for students to begin memorizing the multiplication facts. The chapter 2 test will be coming home tomorrow with many other papers from class.

Science/Social Studies- We finished our Water Unit last Tuesday by taking a test. I will also be sending home this test tomorrow. We will now be shifting to Social Studies for the remainder of the quarter. We will be studying early American Colonization of the northeastern United States. Divided into separate "colonies," teams of students will face problems typical of life in 17th-century America and try to ensure the success of their settlements. After deciding on cargo and using map skills to cross the sea and select their sites, students—playing such roles as colony leaders, bankers, mappers, traders, and recorders—are pressed to make decisions concerning the division of labor, the role of government, and defense against possible Indian attack. Interaction among the colonies results in trading, alliances, and sometimes conflict, while Fate Cards affect each colony's success or failure. The wealthiest colony after 15 rounds of play wins.

Literacy - I have been reading a book called "The Three Questions" by Jon Muth. It is an excellent book that addresses the issue of "the right thing to do". We have also been reading a poem called "The Voice" by Shel Silverstien, which also describes listening to the voice inside to decide what is right and wrong. We have been able to bring these issues into our own classroom and have discussions about how to treat each other kindly. Our next read aloud book will be a historical fiction book called "Pilgrim Cat" about a cat on the Mayflower. This book ties in nicely with our Social Studies content, and I will also be creating lessons where we look closely at regular and irregular verbs and the spelling rules that are important to follow. The students are in leveled reading groups and are each reading historical fiction related to the time period that we are beginning to study in Social Studies.

Reading Log - The students reading logs are due tomorrow (Oct. 6). Please double check your child's daily recorded minutes to be sure your child has read for at least 120 minutes and sign the reading log.

Returned Papers - On Tuesday (oct. 6), I will be returning students papers. This time, I will be asking you to return the packet of papers. After talking to another 4th grade teacher, I learned that the papers are sent home, then returned! I'm glad I learned this rule early in the year! Please send the papers back with your child on Wednesday.

On that note, I want to thank all the parents for their patience with me as a new teacher to the school. I strive to be the best teacher I can be for your child. But I also realize that as a new teacher to the school, there are so many things to learn! If I seem to be omitting an important element to your child's education, please let me know.

Best Regards,

Mrs. Lofchie

September 28 to October 2

2009-09-27T08:03:00.000-07:00

Blog - Last Friday, I showed the students how to access our class blog from the AST home page. Most students probably already knew how to do this, but I wanted to be sure that all students could do this in case school is cancelled again for any reason. I instructed them to go to our blog to learn about any assignments they may have. Also, in case of a power outage (and no internet access), I had the students think of a classmate that they can call on the phone who lives in a different part of the city who can be called to get the assignment. Ask your child who he or she will call in the event that we are in this situation again. Also, I sent home an orange math workbook that will stay at home. If school is cancelled, I can give assignments from the work book. Then when the students return to school, the assigned pages can be ripped out and turned in. From time to time, I may also give an assignment from that workbook when school is regularly in session - not just when school is cancelled.

Math - We have been continuing our study of place value and time. The students can accurately tell time, but last week I noticed that many students were struggling with elapsed time. For example: How much time has passed between 11:15 am to 4:05 pm? You can ask your child to figure out elapsed time by asking him or her to figure out how long until dinner, or how many hours of sleep he or she got last night. We will continue to work on this this week. Also, we are coming to the end of chapter 2 and will have a math test this Friday (Oct. 2).

Science - We will be having a science test on Tuesday (Sept. 29). Your child will be bringing home his or her Science Notebook on Monday to study. It is important that your child understand the meaning of the following words and their significance: water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation), water molecule, hydrogen, oxygen, particle, how temperature effects the speed of a water molecule, understand the three states of water (solid, liquid, vapor), and be able to draw and explain the teakettle demonstration.

Language Arts - We will be using literature to continue our study of comparative adjectives (longer, longest, more complicated, most complicated). We will also be starting to work on demonstration speeches. I will be introducing this on Tuesday and giving an outline to the students so they know the expectations of the assignment.

Reading Log - Reading logs will be due on Tuesday. Usually, your child will have read for 120 minutes for the whole week, but because of the two days when school was cancelled last week, I am only requiring a minimum of 80 minutes. Please remember to sign your child's reading log.

Mrs. Lofchie

Thursday, Sept. 24

2009-09-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

Hello parents and students,

I have decided to postpone the science test until next Tuesday. Your child will be bringing home his or her Science Notebook next Monday to use as a study guide. Today I gave the students the Reading Homework Contract. They will need to sign it and also have a parent sign it. Please send it back to school tomorrow with your child.

Thank You...

This thank you is a bit overdue, but with all of the missed school days and getting out of a routine, I have forgotten to thank some families who have sent in things for our classroom. First, I want to thank Pedro Enqrique's family for sending in a big box of crayons that we will be able to use for our center time. Raquel's family donated two beautiful plants that are bringing life to our classroom. Lastly, Alexa brought in a plastic can that be used as a recycling container. Several weeks ago, the students decided that we should be recycling plastic containers, so Alexa brought in the can from home.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Lofchie

Assignments for September 22 and 23

2009-09-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

Hello Parents and Students of 4C,

We have just missed our second day of cancelled school because of the curfew and I am posting some assignments so that we can do our best to keep up with the studies of our class. On Tuesday, I was going to introduce a new reading HW assignment to the class and I was going to send home information about it in the form of a letter. Instead, I will post the letter on this blog to let you know about it. Also, we will be having a science test on Friday that covers the Water Unit we have been studying since school started.

Science Test: Your child should be familiar with the following concepts and vocabulary words - water molecule, hydrogen, oxygen, evaporation, condensation, accumulation, precipitation, how water molecule's behavior is dependent on temperature, percentages of salt water and fresh water on earth. Students should also be able to recall and describe the experiment we did in the science lab with a teakettle and a pie pan full of ice. Many students had to take their Science Notebooks home on Monday because of an assignment. Review the information the the Science Notebook with your child to help him or her review the concepts.

Weekly Reading Homework (Note: this is a copy of the letter I was going to send home yesterday. Your child does not have a "Reading Log". He or she can keep track of reading minutes on a piece of paper. I will give him or her a "Reading Log" when we return to school.)

Reading Homework Contract

Reading at home is an important part of improving your reading skills. You probably already read at home silently to yourself, with your parents or with a sibling. For you “Reading” homework you can choose the books you read and also the times and days that you will read. You can use this time to read silently to yourself, or aloud to a parent or sibling.

You will be responsible for keeping track of your own reading time. I will provide a “Weekly Reading Log” form for you to use to record your reading time. I will collect your Weekly Reading Log each Tuesday. Each student is expected to read for a total of 120 minutes each week. This breaks down to 20 minutes a day for 6 days. Of course, you can read more than this if you want.

You can decide when and for how long you will read. Reading a little each day may work well for you. Or maybe you like to read for longer periods of time, a few days a week.

Please read the following carefully:

I read and understand the expectations for the Weekly Reading Log. I will keep track of my minutes each week and have my parent sign my reading log. The reading log is due each Tuesday. I understand that if I don’t bring in my reading log on Tuesday, it will be counted as a missed assignment and I will stay in at recess to read. When my note is brought in, then I can return to recess.

Student Signature

Parent Signature

Note to parents: If you have any questions about this homework contract, please feel free to contact me at jlofchie@amschool.org or you can see me about it before or after school.

I hope that we can safely return to school soon. If you have any questions about the assignments listed, please contact me at my school email. Hopefully all students and families have weathered this disruption without much difficulty.

Hope to see you soon,

Mrs. Lofchie

Back to School!

2009-09-17T18:18:00.000-07:00

Today we returned after being away for 2 weeks. The students and I were feeling the effects of getting back into our routine. Many students turned in their work that was completed. However, the number of book reports was rather low (only about 10 turned in). Please talk to your child about his or her book report.

I will be sending home some student work tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 18). It includes work that was done before the 2 week break. It does not include the majority of the math, science and language arts work that the students have done because those assignments are a part of their notebooks that only go home when there is work to finish in them.

In class, we had recently finished a book called "A Bad Case of Stripes". It is written by David Shannon, the author who wrote the "David" books. After reading the book, the students decided that they would like to write a letter to Mr. Shannon asking him questions about the story and also questions about where he got he inspiration to write the book. The letter was written by the whole class during several Interactive Writing activities. The letter is currently hanging in the classroom... it will be rewritten by a student soon and we will be sending it to Mr. Shannon!

In science, we are continuing our study of water. At this time, we are discussing water molecules and the transformation from ice to water to vapor. Ask your child about the teapot experiment that we did recently in the Science Lab!

Next Tuesday (Sept. 22) I will be sending home a "Weekly Reading" assignment with your child. It will be a part of their homework where each child will read at home, totaling 120 minutes each week. On Tuesday, your child will be asking you to read and sign the weekly reading contract.

Mrs. Lofchie

Homework for September 7-11

2009-09-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Students,

Here is a list of the work that I want you to complete over the week that school is closed.

Math

Place value through the millions (handout given in class on Thursday)

Multiplication "cross-word" puzzle (handout given in class on Thursday)

Sept. 7 Page 64 #1-16

Sept. 8 Read page 66, understand vocabulary (compare), then do page 67 # 1-22, 24-28

Sept. 9 Read page 68, understand vocabulary (order), then do pages 68-69 # 1-17

Sept. 10 Read page 70, understand vocabulary (estimate, rounding), then do page 71 # 1-20

Sept. 11 Page 72 #24

Please remember to put the date and assignment at the top of each page.

Go to www.surfnetkids.com/games/multiplication-fc.htm to practice the multiplication times tables. Do this every day to improve your memory and speed.

Writing

You have selected a book to read and do a book report on. I addition, I want you to respond to your book in your writing notebook five times. In your notebook, please write the question and your response. Your response should be at least a paragraph (3 to 5 sentences). Here are the questions you will need to respond to:

Sept. 7 Draw a picture in your writing notebook of the main event of what you read today. Make your drawing neat, colorful and detailed. Also, write a caption explaining the picture.

Sept. 8 How are you different from one of the characters in the book? Explain

Sept. 9 If you could trade places with one of the characters, which one would it be and why?

Sept. 10 Would you like to read something else by this author? Why or why not?

Sept. 11 What do you think was the best part of the story? Why?

Grammar

Think of five pairs of homophones that we can add to the homophone board in our classroom. Remember, homophones are words that sound alike, but have different meaning and spelling. For example: sew / so, knight / night, and they're / their / there

Good luck and I look forward to seeing all the students when we return on September 17. Hope everyone stays healthy!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Lofchie

School Closed until September 17

2009-09-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

As you can probably imagine, there were many cheers heard in the classroom when the announcement was made today that the school will be closed until September 17 as a precaution to prevent the spread of H1N1. I had the students take home the following materials so assignments could be completed between now and September 17:

math book

math notebook

writing notebook

book report outline

2 math assignments (place value to the millions and a multiplication "cross-word" puzzle)

I will be posting assignments on our blog for the students to work on at home that will be due when we return to school. Please be checking the blog from time to time. Your child will need to read a chapter book and write a book report. Please ask your child about this and help them find an appropriate book to read. This can also be a book that he or she is currently reading. I gave each student an outline for the book report today.

As far as I understand, Day of the Catracho has been postponed. Therefore, the students' Copan research project is put on hold. Some students were asking about their Copan project today and if they needed to work on it while school is closed and I wasn't able to give them a clear answer. But after school, all teachers attended a meeting and we were informed that Day of the Catracho will not be held at the end of the month.

Hopefully all students and families will stay healthy as this illness passes through our community. If you have any specific questions for me, please contact me through the blog or at jlofchie@amschool.org

Best regards,

Jennie Lofchie

Starting Week 3! August 24-28

2009-08-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

After our first two weeks of school, our class is getting the hang of class procedures and expectations. The students put a lot of thought into our class rules and we will all make a great effort to uphold them.

This coming week in science we will continue our study of water molecules and different forms of water. We will be visiting the science lab to get hands-on experience with the concept of water changing forms through the process of evaporation and condensation. We will also be using interactive writing activities to help the students develop confidence with the vocabulary related to water and its changing forms.

We are nearing the end of chapter 1 in math where we were familiarizing ourselves with different types of graphs and how they are used. We went over pictographs (the students' favorite!), bar graphs, line graphs, and stem-and-leaf plots. The students made several graphs of their own (a class birthday pictograph and a favorite rollercoaster bar graph). We also discussed how different graphs can convey different information. For example, some graphs are used to compare data while others are used to show change over time. We will be reviewing chapter 1 together in class, then taking the chapter test on Friday.

We will be starting centers on Monday and the students are looking forward to this. While the majority of the students will be working in centers, I will be reading or writing with a small group of students using the SLS (Strategic Literacy Support) cycle. You can get more information about this teaching methodology, you can go to www.cell-exll.com.

It was great to see so many parents at Open House. If you were unable to attend, I will send home the information that was given. Just a reminder to please send back the information sheet that was attached to our class procedures letter. Thank you to Jackie Genie and Beatriz Stefan for providing the delicious refreshments and volunteering to be our room mothers.

I will be updating our blog weekly or as needed to let you know what is happening in our class. You can comment here at the blog or you can email me at jlofchie@amschool.org.

Jennie Lofchie and Carolina Colindres