Wow! What an awesome start to the school year! I am very pumped to be working with such awesome students. We had a great day getting to know each other, unpack supplies, and discussing RESPECT and class/school expectations. There is a little HW tonight. Please sign and return the following:
*Assignment Spiral letter (gold) * Fifth Grade Information letter (pink) * Snack letter (blue) * R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Contract (white) If you have any questions or concerns, please do email me. I do tend to check my email regularly throughout the evening.
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It was so great getting to meet so many of you and the students on Meet the Teacher night! I am SO excited to get started, I hope everyone is ready to get the ball rolling Tuesday (8/20) morning!
Thank you all that were able to attend, I really appreciate it! It was great talking to you and having some great conversations about our classes. Please remember, that if you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at [email protected]. Thank you again and I hope you all have a great weekend!
The following are the chapter(s) and/pages groups chose to read through:
Orenstein's Homeroom: Al Capone Does My Shirts -- Chapter 8 Esperanza Rising -- Chapter 4 The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe -- Chapter 5 I Can't Believe this is Happening in Macdonald Hall -- Chapter 2 Hetrick's Homeroom The Borrowers -- Chapter 4 Escape Under the Forever Sky -- Chapter 8 Pickle -- Chapter 20 Chasing Vermeer -- Chaper 7 The One and Only Ivan -- Page 70 I hope everyone had a restful and enjoyable Winter Break! I am so excited to start the 2nd semester of the 4th grade! We have lots to do this semester (projects, STAAR, getting ready for 5th grade), so I hope everyone is ready! Thank you all again for such an amazing start to the school year!
Brainstorm ideas
Select top 3 ideas and write 3 reasons for each idea (person/figure) Select top idea/reasons Write idea/reasons as a topic sentence Notecard and stickies Notecard has topic sentence and 3 sticky notes (next to each other in a row) Each sticky note has one of the reasons (Main Reasons) Each Main Reason should then have 3 sticky notes (forming columns) that have a different Supporting Detail on it Write first draft Write a lead for essay Elaborate supporting details and write second draft Write conclusion Revise 2nd draft (add details and check that essay makes sense) Edit 2nd draft (CUPS) Capitalization, Use of Words, Punctuation, Spelling Publish final copy In writing we discussed "seed stories" versus "watermelon stories." Since we will be beginning the year with a personal narrative in writing (an essay about a personal experience), it is important that students write a story that is focused on one moment and with specific details (a seed story), not overly broad and consisting of too many moments (a watermelon story). Seed stories tell the most important part of a story, and writers are able to reach a conclusion, or learn something, from the experience. Watermelon stories often ramble and seem like a list of events, or multiple seed stories.
Here's what we are working on this week:
Spelling - We will be spending the rest of this week and all of next week going over the spelling program, spelling groups, nightly homework, and in class spelling work. Reading - Reading is Thinking through the use of Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. We will use this novel to teach the foundational comprehension skills of what good readers do (thinking) while they read. We have already read the first two chapters and the kids are HOOKED! The skills we've practiced so far are visualization (creating mental pictures and drawing them from what we've read) and connections (making a connection to the book: text-to-text, text-to-self, or text-to-world). Writing- Personal Narratives using a Heart Map. We are using a graphic organizer called a Heart Map to come up with ideas to write, then will expand on those ideas gradually adding details to complete an essay. Wow! That was an amazing Meet the Teacher! I don't think I can ever remember seeing SO many smiling faces excited to start the 4th grade! Thank you all so much for making it out to see our classroom and it was awesome meeting every one of you! I am SO excited to start the year!
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Mr. Orenstein5th Grade Teacher Archives
August 2019
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