Me and Uncle Romie Monday

Hooray for all of the kids who actually read this story on Saturday or Sunday!

This evening at home...
-complete the double sided Idioms/reading sheet
-read for 20 minutes or more
-Field Trip money and forms are due on Monday.
-Open House is this Wednesday from 6-7

Fantasticos Friday

I am so happy to be back at school with your fantastic children today!

This weekend at home....
-Read twice!
-Read Me and Uncle Romie in Journeys. This can count as one of your reading sessions, unless you read it at school today.  Mical and Heaven have already read the story, so they will have two other reading entries!
-show your parents the Field Trip form. We have two volunteers and can take two more. Send me an email if you are on the "approved" list and can join us on October 10.
-read the many notes that are in the red folder today.
-go to the "Journeys Study Guides" tab on the blog to see next week's spelling words, vocabulary  words, and reading focus skills.
-have a great weekend and get lots of rest.

Next week, we will publish our "space pug" stories. I can't wait to read the final projects!

Where's the Evidence Wednesday

Hello Team 201 and 202 Families,

Today, we are working on how to tag text evidence. It is a work in progress. We are also working on building strong topic/restate sentences.

This evening at home...

• complete the hyperbole page
• complete Readers Notebook pp.51 and 52
• read for twenty minutes or more.
• do your math homework

Travelling Tuesday

Today's post title is inspired by our Social Science activity. In a couple of hours, your children will embark on a Geography Scavenger Hunt, traveling through the atlas to learn about Global Time, World Geography, U.S. Geography, and World Populations.

Today we also...

• read our Article of the Day and went to Grammar Boot camp. If you child is arriving after 7:30 each morning, they may be having trouble getting this work done. We start right at 7:30!
• met in small groups to discuss Stormalong. We will do the same tomorrow.
• worked on Reading IXL and Vocabulary Workshop
• did lots of math with Ms. Hicks
• went to gym

This evening at home...

• read for 20 minutes or more and log it
• read the post about the Field Trip
• complete the homophones page, both sides
• complete any assigned math work

Important Stuff

Science Books are going home today. Please read the attached note and take them out of your book bag!

Parents, we need a few more parents to join us at the Garfield Park Conservatory for our field trip on 10/10. Send me an email if you can join us. mport@cps.edu

If you are talking to your child and reading this blog, you know that is is extremely uncomfortable in here. We are encouraging all parents to call the Board to voice concerns. Here are some talking points:

• 38 A.C. units need to be repaired.
• These 38 units have been expired for 15 years. This results in uneven temperatures and poor air quality for your kids and their teachers.
• Disney's roof also needs repair. These two projects are connected, and the estimated cost is 4- 5 million dollars.
• Temperatures in classrooms are exceeding 84 degrees most days. Our windows don't open and the conditions are stifling.
• Please call the Board at this number and select Option Number 3(parent) 553-1000

The Disney administration, engineering staff, and L.S.C. work hard to ensure that the building is well maintained, clean and a great place to learn.  These repairs are beyond our scope and we need help from C.P.S.. Please make the call!

Field Trip Volunteers Needed

Hello Parents,

Our first field trip is planned for October 10 and we need your help. We will visit the beautiful Garfield Park Conservatory. This is a great trip!   I am looking for three to four parents who can join us. We will leave school at about nine a.m. and will return at about one p.m.. Parents must be on the "Approved Volunteer List."

I hope that you can join us!
Please email me at mport@cps.edu as soon as possible.

MIghty Mummy Micro Multiplication Mystery Mommy Mood Mac and Cheese Monday

Today's title was a group effort. Thanks for your great ideas, Team 201!

This evening at home.....
-read for twenty minutes or more. Get a signature.
-do the Stormalong Vocab sheet. Please add detail to sketches.
-math 2.3 and unfinished classwork

Fryday Friday

It may be breezy outside, but in here, we are in the tropical zone!

Parents, please log on to Think Central to see the results of today's reading test. This weekend at home....
-please read Stormalong in Journeys. Be prepared to discuss the story.
-note that this week's spelling skill is homophones. We will test on the entire list.
-page 61 and 62 in the Ch.2 Go Math book
Many kids are asking if Stormalong can count as a reading log. Yes, it can. However, I should see two reading entries this weekend.

Thinking Thursday

Today we worked on our science fiction stories. We also played Jeopardy to help us prepare for tomorrow's reading test, which we will take on Think Central.  Tomorrow, we will discuss the 40 Book Challenge.  40 books? Yes, 40 books!

This evening at home...

• reread Invasion From Mars and study the vocabulary words.
• prepare for the spelling test.
• you have Chapter 1 Math test tomorrow. Check Ms. Hick's website.

Thankful for Think Central

Think Central is back! I know that students and parents will be happy to lighten the book bag.  We will be taking our next reading test on T.C.. If you have time, log on to make sure that your child's username and password are working.

We will also do a test run in class together, and I will print login information.

Thank you  Dr. Hagstrom and to the Disney L.S.C, for approving this budget item and getting us the valuable resource.

Warm Wednesday

Good Afternoon!

This evening at home...

• please finish the Invasion From Mars comprehension questions. Use the lined paper to build complete answers. To build your answer, use the text to find key words and find evidence to back up your ideas.
• read: The History of Radio, found in Journeys on page 190. This can count on your nightly reading. Think about how this genre, historical fiction, differs from the drama, I.F.M..
• don't forget to do your math homework!

Spend some time playing the vocabulary games so that you will be ready on Friday!
*Remember, that unexcused missing homework can be accepted one day late, for partial credit.

Click on the link to hear the original broadcast of War of the Worlds.

Vocabulary and Pet Pics

Hello!

Tomorrow's Morning Greeting slide will feature a V.I.P. That's an acronym. V.I.P. stands  for very important pet. Parents, and students, if you would like to see your V.I.P. featured on 201's morning slide, just email a photo of your pet.

Vocabulary Practice: At the end of the day, we used the blog to open up the "vocabulary workshop" tab. Look up and you will see it.  I have added a link to lots of fun word play games that will help you prepare for the Invasion From Mars test, which is on Friday.

Boone, also know as The Best Dog in the world, loves the water.

Terrific Tuesday

Good afternoon Team 201 and 202,

The temperature is rising in here. We will aim to keep our learning cool and calm for the remainder of the day! Today we met with partners to discuss our "pug in space" stories. We also held "morning meeting" in each homeroom and "worked out" using our Grammar Boot Camp.  We met in small groups to discuss the vocabulary and plot points of Invasion From Mars.  In Social Studies, we are continuing our work on the What is Social Science foldable.

This evening at home....

• make sure that you are keeping up with this week's vocabulary and spelling words. Scroll back to Friday's post to see the spelling list.
• complete worksheets from the Readers Notebook pp.63-64. You do NOT need to do the challenge this evening.
• use the half sheet of paper to create a mini onomatopoeia poster. You may use an onomatopoeia from Invasion From Mars, or one of your choice.

Make your poster POP!

Marvelous Monday

Good afternoon team 201 and 202 families,

Today in Language Arts, we reread Invasion From Mars in Journeys. We discussed all of this week's vocabulary words. They are tricky! We went to grammar boot camp too. Right now, 202 students are working with partners to develop some writing ideas.

This evening at home....
-complete the Invasion From Mars close reading sheet.
-read for 20 minutes or more and get a signature.
-check our Ms. Hick's blog to see the math homework.

Fantasticos Friday

Test Link:
Click the link! Don't forget that you can and should use Winn Dixie to help you. You may not use Journeys for the vocabulary. There are several questions about a new passage called The Surprise. I will give you the passage.

This weekend:
-Read in Journeys: Invasion From Mars
-Look over study guide
-Do vocabulary matching found on back of guide.
-Read
-Please see the note about 2nd Floor Incentives and Discipline from Ms. Trilla


This weeks spelling words are...
-fruit
-argue
-suit
-tissue
-rescue
-attitude
-young
-refuse
-amuse

Click here to learn about tonight's Harvest Micromoon!
https://time.com/5673236/full-harvest-moon-friday-13th/

Theme Thursday

Hello Team 201 and 202 Families,

    Today we spent our class time talking about themes in literature. We talked about how theme is a "big idea" that the reader infers by examining the characters' actions and the story events.  We discussed some common themes, such as "good triumphs over evil" and found some examples in movies and books. Lastly, we began to apply this learning to our story, Because of Winn Dixie.

I will have one more class period with each group today. During this time, we will work on constructing complete answers to questions. We will also work on adding text evidence to support our claims.  You can help you child by asking them to proofread their work. Does it make sense? Is the writing clear? Is there an example or evidence?

Tomorrow we take a test that will cover reading and vocabulary. We will also take our short spelling test. All students were given a study guide.The vocabulary words are highlighted within Winn Dixie.

This evening at home....

• reread BOWD. This can count as your nightly reading.
• prepare for the spelling and vocabulary tests.
• finish the checked sections of the Winn Dixie Trifold. It is o.k. to work ahead and finish the entire tri fold, if you have time.

******Parents, thanks for taking the time to review and sign off on the homework and nightly reading.  Fourth graders are building important habits that will help them prepare for middle school. The work we do with them now will help them build a solid foundation as they work toward independence.

Lesson 1 Vocabulary:

 consisted positive comfort peculiar mood intends talent advanced mention properly

Weally Weally Hot Wednesday

This evening at home...
-get the ice maker going, because you will need some ice for your water bottle tomorrow.
-select an outfit that is suitable  for school, but cool, as in temperature cool.
-read for 20 minutes or more. Justin reads for thirty minutes each evening and he is not going to stop!
-rework selected questions from last night's homework. Do not erase. Use the clean copy provided. Boston and Ava are in the clear. No revisions for you!

Temperature Tuesday

Buenas Dias! Let's talk about how hot it is in here. Literally. Think layers!

Today we....

• held our Morning Meeting and Greeting. We are discussing the actions and behaviors that show that one is open to friendship.
• worked on developing a new Snapchat journal story. #baddog!
• began Vocabulary Workshop and Reading Rotations
• worked on Grammar Boot Camp Day 2
• went to Gym
• worked on Place Value concepts with Ms. Hicks
• discussed Social Sciences and the ways that historians, economists, geographers and political scientists work to study how people live.

So, as you can see, another reason we are hot is because our brains are  on fire!

This evening at home...

• study those spelling words
• complete the double sided reading sheet:Prefixes and BCOWD
• read, sign, etc.

Magnificent Monday

Hello 201 and 202 Families! Welcome to the first Monday of the school year. Some of us were on the sleepy side today.

This evening at home...
-Read for 20 minutes: sign, title, pages, etc.
-Complete both sides of the BOWDixie sheet
-Go Math 1.3 for Ms. Hicks and finish classwork. Check her website to confirm.

Please note that we have marked this week's spelling words on the study guide. The words are...

• break
• afraid
• maybe
• trait
• champion
• activity
• graceful

Weekend Update

Good Morning Team 201 and 202 Families! I have just a few updates for you.

• I noticed that 202 kids did not take home Journeys on Friday. This means that you won't be able to read Because of Winn Dixie.  We will read it in class. Just read a book of your choice for 20 minutes or more and finish the I Nouns poem.
• We need parent helpers on Monday. If there are any parents who are willing and able to help us organize and distribute our book, we will greatly appreciate it. Thanks to Gabriel's mom for her efforts last week. If you can join us, please come first thing on Monday and we will put you to work. You can email me to confirm at mport@cps.edu, and I will give the front office your name.  Note: Volunteer status needs to be up-to-date. Thank you!

This week we will....

• continue working with Ms. Hicks in Go Math. 
• begin Journeys with me. 
• discuss plot structure as we read BOWDixie
• dive into our new Vocabulary workbooks
• continue with our read aloud, Wishtree, by Katherine Applegate
• share our OWLS on Monday afternoon
• begin our US Regions Social Studies Unit. We will start by exploring U.S. Maps
• participate in a Code Red drill on Tuesday at 8:00 a.m.
• lift our voices to join in the 9/11 Sing Along Assembly on Wednesday, September 11.

Spelling is.....

• ...important, and we will be studying spelling skills each week.
• ...is not THE most important part of reading and writing. Our precious time at home and school will be wasted if ALL of our energy is spent memorizing 25 spelling words each week.
• ...not more important than reading ACTUAL books each night at home. Reading is the most important component of our ELA work

Therefore, I will be selecting 10-12 words from the spelling list each week. These words will be tested on Friday. We will practice the skills with ALL of the words. Kids should concentrate on studying the 10-12 words that I select. Words selected will represent a sampling of the week's skill set. All 201 and 202 kiddos should have a list in the red folder. ON Monday, we will mark the words that will be on the test.

I hope that everyone enjoys this beautiful weekend! Enjoy these video previews about Plot Structure.