Bullying, Rumors, and Gossip

Today during Social Skills/Fun Facts time we had a quite lengthy discussion on rumors, bullying, and gossip.  We watched a few very short videos on how these things make a person feel and what we can do when we encounter them.  Many of us have already experienced these things in our life and we were able to share how it made us feel.  We had a great discussion on what to do if we see or hear these things such as tell an adult immediately, ignore it, or correct it if we know it isn't true.  During our second week of school we had a funeral for put-downs so this was a great reminder that put-downs should not exist in our classroom, or anywhere at school.

A fun activity we did to help with the positive "vibe" in the classroom was an activity called "On My Back".  We stuck a piece of paper on our back and took turns writing appreciations about each other.  Then, we shared what was written on our papers.  What a great feeling to know that so many people like so many things about us! Here are a few photos of the end result:

We will be sure to do this activity again throughout the year.  It will be neat to see how our comments change. :)

We are finishing up our literacy "perfomance task" (assessment) this week and they look great!  Have your child show you the website and you can look at the book review they published.  (www.bookhooks.com) It probably won't be available until at least Monday (10/1)

Homework: Study for Spelling Test
                   Study for Social Studies Test
                   Read for 15 minutes

Book Reviews

Our focus in literacy last week and this week is writing book reviews.  The class was assigned to read a book of their choice in two weeks.  The test then, is to write a book review on that book.  Last week we practiced writing book reviews in groups.  This week, we will be writing our own book reviews and posting them on a website. (Bookhooks.com)  We will also share these reviews with our class.  There are some great books! I can't wait to hear the reviews.  Here are some photos of the groups working together to write their book reviews.

This group reviewed "By My Brother's Side"

This group reviewed "Piggy Pie"

This group reviewed "My Birthday Pet"

This group reviewed "Click Clack Moo"

This group reviewed "Stink Soup"

We are continuing to learn about the human body in science, map skills in social studies, and geometry in math. Our next project in literacy will be Myths/Legends.  I think the students are really going to enjoy it!

Every day when the bell rings the students give Ms. Behnke a high five or a hug on their way out of the classroom.  (A great way to fill people's buckets!)

Homework:  Study Spelling Words,

                                 Read for 15 minutes every night

Angles, Shapes, and Bones.. Oh My!

Happy Tuesday!  We have gotten a busy start to our week.  This week we are focusing on beginning book reviews in literacy, lines, angles, and shapes in math, bones in science, and map skills in social studies.  Here are some photos from our photographer:

Miss Behnke and a few of our girls

(look at how responsible they are! They all have homework in their hands) :)

More of Miss Behnke's ladies :)

Today we worked with straws and pipe cleaners to make different shapes

Aiden brought in an alligator head to go along with our bone unit

Have a great night!!

Homework:  Study those spelling words!

                      Read for at least 10 minutes

We are Bucket Fillers!

Wow! What a great second week.  We have been quite busy getting into the swing of things.  This week we dove right in to our academics. In literacy we began talking about writing good "hooks" to get our reader hooked into our story.  In math we began learning geometry.  The past few days we have been investigating shapes and their characteristics (straight lines, curved lines, how many sides, etc.)  We began learning about bones in science and are making our own skeleton (Mr. Bones).  Finally, in Social Studies we are learning map skills to help us perform better on the upcoming WKCE test.  Here are a few photos from the second week of school:

We are bucket fillers!  Everyone made a bucket that can be filled by our friends.  We will "empty" our buckets once a week.

A closer photo of our buckets

A photo of our buckets hanging up

We also made personal goals for the year and made a paper quilt

Have a great weekend!

First Friday!

Whew! We made it through week 1 and did GREAT!  We wrapped up our "getting to know you" week with discussing the story we read yesterday called "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?"  Our class will have this as our "theme" this year. Here is a song that we listened to, to help give us an idea of how we can fill buckets:

We will be on our normal schedule starting Monday. Have a wonderful weekend!

Homework: Read, Return Friday Folders

Second Day!

We had a wonderful, yet busy second day of school.  Today we focused on Classroom rules and our classroom agreements that will help us be a positive classroom.  We did a few more "get to know you" activities and shared about ourselves.  We played "The Quiet Game" to work on our teamwork and non-verbal communication.  Our final activity of the day was a 4th grade "Time Capsule" to record our thoughts about 4th grade.  We will look at these again at the end of the year to see how much we have changed.

Here are a few photos of our second day from our photographer:

Miss Behnke's "First Day of School" Flowers

The class hard at work

We love reading!

Homework: Return Handbook Form, Book Orders due 9/24 (Order online and get a free book coupon!)

Fabulous First Day!

Whew! We made it through the first day.  Everything went very smooth and we are ready for a great start.  Today we focused on the rules/procedures for the classroom and did a short activity to get to know each other a little better.  We will be doing more activities to get to know each other and build a sense of community in the classroom throughout the week.  If your child did not bring enough folders or notebooks to school you will find a note in their student planner.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Welcome!

Hello and Welcome to 4th grade at Madison.  I am so excited that your child is in my class.  We are going to have a great year filled with many fun activities and wonderful learning experiences.  I look forward to keeping in contact with you.  Please feel free to e-mail me or call me with any questions or concerns.