Reading / English
June 14--
Students worked on readtheory.org.
June 13--
Students went to readtheory.org to take the placement test so that they are ready to work in that comprehension program this summer.
We are almost finished with Esperanza Rising, the book I have been reading aloud to your children.
Students completed the book inventory for our classroom; they did a great job with this task.
They packed up their personal belongings.
June 12--Field Day
June 11--Note for parents: students are bringing home their orange folders and notebooks. In the orange folders are your children's first cursive sample along with a recent sample, their first writing composition and the last one, and their spelling pretest and posttest. Also find the school newsletter and a letter from me about summer work in the orange folder.
3rd and 4th:
Students finished the final draft of their rocks essay;
wrote a thank you letter to Fr. Milhton;
worked independently on the science reading packet and rock cycle worksheet.
June 10--
3rd and 4th:
Students finished making the outline of their essay.
They completed the rough draft and worked in pairs to help one another edit their draft.
They began writing their final draft.
June 7--
Students attended graduation and the graduation assembly.
Students gave their gifts to the graduates.
They continued writing the outline and rough draft of their rocks essay.
June 6--
3rd:
Students corrected the comprehension test for "The Armadillo from Amarillo";
took notes for the first two paragraphs of an essay about types of rocks;
wrote the first two paragraphs of their essay about types of rocks.
4th:
Students corrected the comprehension test for "In My Family";
took notes for the first two paragraphs of an essay about types of rocks;
wrote the first two paragraphs of their essay about types of rocks.
reading intervention groups:
Students read to me. Today was our last meeting of our reading intervention students. Each will receive a summer practice packet next week.
June 5--
3rd: homework: finish reading "The Armadillo from Amarillo" and answer the comprehension questions.
Students corrected the comprehension test for "Alejandro's Gift";
finished their graduation gifts for the eighth graders;
began reading "The Armadillo from Amarillo.
4th: homework: finish reading "In My Family" and answer the comprehension questions.
Students finished their graduation gifts for the eighth graders;
corrected the comprehension test for "The Gold Rush";
began reading "In My Family".
June 4--
3rd: homework: finish reading "Alejandro's Gift" and answer the comprehension questions.
Students finished their artwork for the graduation gifts;
finished reading Charlotte's Web;
began reading independently "Alejandro's Gift".
4th: homework: finish reading "The Gold Rush and answer the comprehension questions.
Students finished their artwork for the graduation gifts;
finished reading "A Very Important Day";
corrected the comprehension test for "Saguaro Cactus";
began reading "The Gold Rush".
June 3--
3rd: homework: finish reading chapter 21 of Charlotte's Web.
Students practiced cursive;
continued working on their gifts for graduates;
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 21 of Charlotte's Web.
4th: homework: read "Saguaro Cactus", pages 546-559 and take the comprehension test, pages A89-A92.
Students practiced cursive;
continued working on their gifts for the graduates;
began reading aloud and discussing "A Very Important Day".
May 31--
3rd and 4th:
With their grandparents here with them in class, students recited the Latin and Greek roots they know and gave their meanings. They also gave examples of English words with those roots.
Some grandparents shared memories from their third-grade and fourth-grade classrooms.
Students attended the talent show, and all the students in our class were in the talent show. Everyone did a marvelous job!
Reading intervention group: homework: Students who met with me today have homework.
I met with some students today but not all.
May 30:
3rd:
Students took a quiz on chapter 19 of Charlotte's Web;
read aloud and discussed chapter 20;
continued work on the graduation gifts for eighth graders.
4th:
Students corrected their worksheet for chapter 9 of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler;
finished reading aloud and discussing the book From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler;
continued work on the graduation gifts for eighth graders.
reading intervention group:
I did not meet with students today.
May 29--
3rd: homework: finish chapter 19 of Charlotte's Web, pp. 150-154.
Students practiced spelling with a partner;
took the spelling end-of-year posttest;
discussed chapter 18 of Charlotte's Web;
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 19.
Students worked on their graduation gift for the 8th graders.
4th: homework: finish chapter 9 of Mixed-up Files and answer the questions on the worksheet in complete sentences.
Students practiced spelling with a partner;
took the spelling end-of-year posttest;
continued reading and discussing chapter 9 of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
Students worked on their graduation gift for 8th graders.
reading intervention group: homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
May 28--
3rd: homework read chapter 18 of Charlotte's Web; complete the science reading packet about earthquakes.
Students finished thank-you letters to the chaperones of our nature journaling field trips;
finished reading aloud and discussing chapter 17 of Charlotte's Web.
4th: homework: complete the science reading packet about earthquakes.
Students finished thank-you letters to the chaperones of our nature journaling field trips;
continued reading aloud and discussing chapter 9 of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
May 24--
3rd:
Students took a spelling test;
began reading and discussing chapter 17 of Charlotte's Web;
began writing a thank-you note to a nature journaling field trip chaperone.
4th:
Students took a spelling test;
began reading and discussing chapter 9 of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler;
began writing a thank-you note to a nature journaling field trip chaperone.
reading intervention group: homework: no
I did not meet with students today.
May 23--homework: study for tomorrow's spelling test.
In this timeslot, students went on their third nature journaling field trip to Hill Park.
May 22--
3rd: homework: read chapter 16 of Charlotte's Web; study spelling words at spellingcity.com.
Students finished the spelling word sort they began yesterday;
continued their science reading packets about earthquakes;
discussed chapter 14 of Charlotte's Web;
read aloud and discussed chapter 15.
4th: homework: finish single-paragraph outline about glaciers; finish chapter 8 of Mixed-up Files; study spelling words at spellingcity.com
Students wrote a spelling sort for their spelling words;
read a two-page article about glaciers;
began a single-paragraph outline about glaciers;
continued their science reading packet about earthquakes;
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 8 of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
reading intervention group: homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
May 21--
3rd: finish reading chapter 14 of Charlotte's Web and writing a short summary of what happened.
Students discussed chapter 12 of Charlotte's Web, which they read for homework;
read aloud and discussed chapter 13 of Charlotte's Web and read chapter 14 independently;
wrote a few sentences to summarize chapter 14.
Students worked in pairs to create a spelling sort for this week's spelling words.
4th: Students were at their Catholic Schools track meet all day.
reading intervention group:
I did not meet with students today; I was at the track meet.
May 20--
3rd: homework: read chapter 12 of Charlotte's Web; write spelling words three times each.
Students put 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
made a single-paragraph outline about earthquakes;
wrote a paragraph about earthquakes using their single-paragraph outline;
completed a quotations worksheet;
finished reading aloud and discussing chapter 11 of Charlotte's Web.
4th: homework: Write spelling words three times each.
Students put 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
made a single-paragraph outline about earthquakes;
wrote a paragraph about earthquakes using their single-paragraph outline;
completed a quotations worksheet;
finished reading aloud and discussing chapter 7 of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
reading intervention group: homework: no
I did not meet with students today. I will not meet with them tomorrow either.
May 17--
3rd:
Students took a spelling test.
Third graders went to their track meet.
4th:
Students took a spelling test;
read aloud and discussed chapter 6 of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
May 16--Homework: study for tomorrow's spelling test; finish the spelling and quotations practice sentences.
3rd and 4th:
Students took the MAP test for Language.
We corrected the spelling sort assignment.
Students continued to work toward completing the spelling and quotations sentences. Those who have not finished should finish it for homework.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
I did not meet with students today. Students should repeat yesterday's homework.
May 15--homework: Get plenty of rest, have a nutritious breakfast, and come to school on time. We have a MAP test Thursday.
3rd:
Students took the MAP test for math.
They continued working on their spelling sort;
began work on spelling and quotation punctuation practices sentences;
finished reading aloud and discussing chapter 10 and began chapter 11 of Charlotte's Web
4th:
Students took the MAP test for math.
They continued working on their spelling sort;
began work on spelling and quotation punctuation practices sentences;
continued reading aloud and discussing chapter 5 of From the Mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler;
finished reading chapter 5 independently.
reading intervention group: homework: optional
All students except one read to me and received new assignments.
May 14--homework: Get plenty of rest, have a nutritious breakfast, and come to school on time. We have a MAP test Wednesday morning.
3rd and 4th:
Students took the MAP test for reading.
Students began their spelling sort worksheet.
reading intervention group: homework: optional
Students read to me and received new assignments.
May 13--Homework: Get plenty of rest, have a nutritious breakfast, and come to school on time. We have a MAP test Tuesday morning.
3rd:
Students put 25 new spelling words in their notebooks;
practiced oral phonogram review;
practiced telling the meaning of Greek and Latin roots;
practiced putting proper punctuation in sentences that have a quote;
practiced writing their spelling words three times each;
began reading and discussing chapter 10 of Charlotte's Web.
4th:
Students put 25 new spelling words in their notebooks;
practiced oral phonogram review;
practiced telling the meaning of Greek and Latin roots;
practiced putting proper punctuation in sentences that have a quote;
practiced writing their spelling words three times each;
finished reading chapter 4 and began chapter 5 of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler..
reading intervention group: homework: optional
Students read to me and received new assignments.
May 10--
3rd and 4th:
Students took a spelling test today.
Students took an Accelerated Reader reading test on the book they have been reading.
I met with each student individually to discuss his or her MAP scores in fall and winter for reading and for language and to help each student identify goals for next week's MAP tests.
We used the projector to complete some practice MAP questions for reading and language.
Students read Scholastic News.
May 9--
3rd: homework: finish reading chapter 9 of Charlotte's Web; study for spelling test.
We corrected the spelling sort together;
students made corrections on their spelling words 3x homework.
Students worked in pairs to edit the dialogue they had written yesterday.
Students wrote a narrative paragraph which included dialogue;
they edited their own work using a checklist.
Students discussed chapter 7, read and discussed chapter 8, and began reading and discussing chapter 9 of Charlotte's Web.
4th: homework: finish chapter 4 of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler; study for spelling test.
We corrected the spelling sort together;
students made corrections on their spelling 3x homework.
Students worked in pairs to edit the dialogue they had written yesterday.
Students wrote a narrative paragraph which included dialogue;
they edited their own work using a checklist.
Students discussed their homework reading and continued reading chapter 4 of Mixed-up Files.
reading intervention group:
I did not meet with students today; I substituted in another classroom in the afternoon.
May 8--
3rd: Homework: read chapter 7 of Charlotte's Web, "Bad News"; complete spelling sort.
Students corrected their spelling homework (identifying parts of speech of their spelling words);
edited a piece of text which included dialogue so that it had proper punctuation for quotations;
wrote some lines of connected text which included dialogue;
discussed the end of chapter 4 of Charlotte's Web which they read for homework;
read aloud and discussed chapters 5 and 6 of Charlotte's Web.
4th: homework: read pages 47-56 of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler; complete spelling sort.
Students corrected their spelling homework (identifying parts of speech of their spelling words);
edited a piece of text which included dialogue so that it had proper punctuation for quotations;
wrote some lines of connected text which included dialogue;
discussed the end of chapter 3 of Mixed-up Files which they read for homework;
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 4.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
May 7--
3rd: homework: spelling words labeled with parts of speech; finish chapter 4 of Charlotte's Web.
Students learned about our class gift to the graduates and began to think about which part they want to do;
reviewed all parts of speech;
began labeling their spelling words with the correct part of speech;
completed Reading Detective worksheet #14
continued reading aloud and discussing Charlotte's Web.
4th: homework: spelling words labeled with parts of speech; finish chapter 3 of From the Mixed-up Files.
Students learned about our class gift to the graduates and began to think about which part they want to do;
reviewed all parts of speech;
began labeling their spelling words with the correct part of speech;
completed Reading Detective worksheet #14
continued reading aloud and discussing From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
reading intervention group: homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
May 6--homework: write spelling words three times each, and, PLEASE, PLEASE bring the permission form for the track meet back signed and filled out on both sides. Thank you!
3rd:
Students finished putting 25 new words in their classroom;
wrote a paragraph that included a quote;
Reading Detective #17: read and answered questions;
read independently.
Each student except one completed the spring reading fluency test.
4th:
Students finished putting 25 new words in their classroom;
wrote a paragraph that included a quote;
Reading Detective #17: read and answered questions;
read independently.
Each student except two completed the spring reading fluency test.
reading intervention group: homework: repeat Friday's homework.
All students took a reading fluency test today.
May 3--
3rd:
Students began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
continued working on their science reading packet, "How Do Scientists Know How Old a Fossil Is?"
read independently to prepare for taking an AR test next Friday;
began reading aloud and discussing chapter 4 of Charlotte's Web;
corrected their chapter 3 comprehension questions for Charlotte's Web.
4th:
Students wrote 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
continued working on their science reading and worksheet for lessons 5.1 and 5.2;
read independently to prepare for taking an AR test next Friday;
continued reading aloud and discussing chapter 3 of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
reading intervention group: homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
May 2--
3rd: finish chapter 3 of Charlotte's Web and answer the five questions.
Students practiced cursive;
checked homework passage "Desert Survivor";
reviewed how to write quotations when the quote comes second;
checked yesterday's argument paragraph to see if it began by stating an opinion;
wrote a paragraph which included quotations;
completed a Latin and Greek roots worksheet;
wrote an argument paragraph about staying up later during school breaks
read aloud and discussed most of chapter 3 of Charlotte's Web.
4th:
Students practiced cursive;
checked homework passage "Desert Survivor";
reviewed how to write quotations when the quote comes second;
checked yesterday's argument paragraph to see if it began by stating an opinion;
wrote a paragraph which included quotations;
completed a Latin and Greek roots worksheet;
wrote an argument paragraph about staying up later during school breaks
began reading and discussing chapter 3 of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
May 1--homework: Read Reading Detective passage "Desert Survivor" and answer questions.
3rd:
Students reviewed how to write a sentence with a quotation when the quotation comes second:
Students should remember: comma, quote, capital. For example: Mr. Smith said, "A plant cell has a cell wall."
Students wrote five sentences with quotations;
discussed yesterday's assignment writing a paragraph that argues a point (expresses an opinion);
wrote another argument paragraph;
practiced typing on Typing Club;
read and discussed chapter 2 of Charlotte's Web.
4th: homework: finish chapter 2 of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
Students reviewed how to write a sentence with a quotation when the quotation comes second:
Students should remember: comma, quote, capital. For example: Mr. Smith said, "A plant cell has a cell wall."
Students wrote five sentences with quotations;
discussed yesterday's assignment writing a paragraph that argues a point (expresses an opinion);
wrote another argument paragraph;
practiced typing on Typing Club;
read aloud and discussed most of chapter 2 of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
April 30--
3rd: homework: finish reading chapter 1 of Charlotte's Web.
Students practiced cursive;
corrected their reading comprehension homework;
practiced writing sentences with quotations.
Quotation marks show the exact words a speaker says.
The exact words in the quotation marks begin with a capital letter.
Students followed this model: My teacher said, "Do your best work."
Students remembered comma, quote, capital...…..end with punctuation and quote marks.
Students discussed the difference between fact and opinion;
read examples of opinion writing;
wrote an opinion piece about student seating in a classroom;
began reading aloud and discussing Charlotte's Web.
4th: homework: finish reading chapter 1 of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
Students practiced cursive;
corrected their reading comprehension homework;
practiced writing sentences with quotations.
Quotation marks show the exact words a speaker says.
The exact words in the quotation marks begin with a capital letter.
Students followed this model: My teacher said, "Do your best work."
Students remembered comma, quote, capital...…..end with punctuation and quote marks.
Students discussed the difference between fact and opinion;
read examples of opinion writing;
wrote an opinion piece about student seating in a classroom;
began reading aloud and discussing From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
reading intervention group:
I met with one student who read to me and received a new assignment. (I taught in another classroom this afternoon and, therefore, could not meet with the other students.)
April 29--homework: Reading Comprehension: week 7, days 1 and 2.
3rd and 4th:
Students practiced cursive;
began a new science reading assignment;
searched literature books for examples of quotations;
used their literature samples to analyze how to write quotations correctly;
copied five quotes from their literature sample.
Lesson about quotations:
Quotations contain the exact words of the character who is speaking.
Quotation marks are put at the start and end of the exact words a character says.
Quotations can begin with the exact words and end with the part that names the speaker: "Good night, Margalo," called Stuart.
Quotations can begin with the part that names the speaker and end with exact words: Sarah said, "Tell me about winter."
April 19--
3rd and 4th:
Students practiced cursive;
took a spelling test
independently read Reading Detective #9 and answered questions;
corrected Reading Detective #9.
April 18--homework: study for spelling test.
3rd:
Students practiced cursive;
took the comprehension test for "If You Made a Million";
read Scholastic News.
4th:
Students practiced cursive;
took the comprehension test for "Fire!";
read Scholastic News.
April 17--homework: practice spelling words with a family member or on spellingcity.com
3rd:
Students took a listening quiz;
created their own spelling sort worksheet;
practiced cursive;
corrected Reading Detective lesson 4;
finished reading aloud and discussing "If You Made a Million."
4th:
Students took a listening quiz;
practiced cursive
created their own spelling sort worksheet;
corrected Reading Detective lesson 4;
April 16--homework: study spelling words on spellingcity.com
3rd:
Students practiced making sentences which use commas to separate items in a series;
practiced cursive;
finished science reading packet, "Where to Look for Fossils".
continued reading aloud "If You Made a Million".
4th:
Students practiced making sentences which use commas to separate items in a series;
completed worksheet for science reading lessons 4.5 and 4.6;
practiced cursive;
finished grammar assignment writing items in a series using commas;
read pp. 498-499 and practiced the skills of compare and contrast;
began reading aloud and discussing "Fire!".
reading intervention group: homework over Spring Break: optional
Students read to me and received optional reading assignments for Spring Break. I will meet with students again on the Tuesday following Spring Break.
April 15--homework: spelling words three times each.
3rd:
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
learned about using commas to separate items in a series.
The items in a series could be the subject of the sentence: Peter, James, and John were in the garden with Jesus.
The items in a series could be the predicate of the sentence: Bill mowed, raked, and seeded the lawn.
The items in a series could be a direct object: Mary bought tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce.
Students practiced making sentences with items in a series;
completed p. 106 in their green grammar book;
completed a Latin roots worksheet;
read and discussed pp. 260 and 261, compare and contrast;
began reading aloud and discussing "If You Made a Million".
4th:
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
learned about using commas to separate items in a series.
The items in a series could be the subject of the sentence: Peter, James, and John were in the garden with Jesus.
The items in a series could be the predicate of the sentence: Bill mowed, raked, and seeded the lawn.
The items in a series could be a direct object: Mary bought tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce.
Students practiced making sentences with items in a series;
began the exercise on p. 356 in their yellow grammar books;
completed a Latin roots worksheet;
finished reading aloud and discussing The Cricket in Times Square.
reading intervention group: homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments. Tomorrow will be the last day I meet with my reading intervention students until we return from Spring Break.
April 12--
3rd and 4th:
Students took a spelling test;
they began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks.
reading intervention group: homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
April 11--homework: study for spelling test. Students, please work hard to prepare for your spelling test tomorrow.
3rd:
Students reviewed compound sentences. A compound sentence is an independent clause followed by a comma and a coordinating conjunction followed by another independent clause. A clause is a group of words that has a subject and its verb. An independent clause is a clause that can stand alone. The coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet. Sometimes they are referred to by the acronym FANBOYS. (F=for, A=and, N=nor, B=but, O=or, Y=yet, and S=so.)
We put some student sentences from yesterday's homework on the board to locate the independent clauses and the coordinating conjunction.
Students completed the science reading packet "Where is a Good Place to look for Fossils?"
Students finished reading aloud and discussing "Cocoa Ice".
4th:
Students reviewed compound sentences. A compound sentence is an independent clause followed by a comma and a coordinating conjunction followed by another independent clause. A clause is a group of words that has a subject and its verb. An independent clause is a clause that can stand alone. The coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet. Sometimes they are referred to by the acronym FANBOYS. (F=for, A=and, N=nor, B=but, O=or, Y=yet, and S=so.)
We put some student sentences from yesterday's homework on the board to locate the independent clauses and the coordinating conjunction.
Students continued reading science 4.5 and 4.6 and completing the accompanying worksheets.
Students continued reading aloud and discussing The Cricket in Times Square.
reading intervention group:homework: study for spelling test.
I was not able to meet with students today. Please use the reading practice time to study for the spelling test.
April 10--homework: spelling sentences worksheet
3rd:
reviewed clause--a group of words with a subject and predicate; an independent clause can stand alone while a dependent clause cannot stand alone;
learned how subordinating conjunctions can start dependent clauses;
identified independent clauses and dependent clauses;
reviewed formula for a compound sentence: Independent clause--comma and coordinating conjunction--independent clause.
reviewed formula for a complex sentence: dependent clause--comma--independent clause.
Compound sentence is abbreviated I -- comma and coordinating conjunction -- I
Complex sentence is abbreviated D, I
Students practiced writing compound and complex sentences using spelling words.
They continued reading aloud and discussing "Cocoa Ice".
4th: homework: finish chapter 13 of The Cricket in Times Square.
reviewed clause--a group of words with a subject and predicate; an independent clause can stand alone while a dependent clause cannot stand alone;
learned how subordinating conjunctions can start dependent clauses;
identified independent clauses and dependent clauses;
reviewed formula for a compound sentence: Independent clause--comma and coordinating conjunction--independent clause.
reviewed formula for a complex sentence: dependent clause--comma--independent clause.
Compound sentence is abbreviated I -- comma and coordinating conjunction -- I
Complex sentence is abbreviated D, I
Students practiced writing compound and complex sentences using spelling words.
They read aloud and discussed part of chapter 13 in The Cricket in Times Square.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
April 9--homework: spelling sort worksheet; finish three dictionary definitions in cursive; bring orange folder back.
3rd:
Students reviewed memo from Mrs. Murphy to her scholars:
papers with drawings, letters, grades, or others marks that were not part of the assignment will be redone.
Beginning today, sentences without correct capitalization and punctuation will be rewritten correctly.
Students participated in dictionary races with spelling words;
completed a Greek and Latin roots worksheet packet;
reviewed clause--a group of words with a subject and predicate; an independent clause can stand alone while a dependent clause cannot stand alone;
learned how subordinating conjunctions can start dependent clauses;
identified independent clauses and dependent clauses;
constructed a few complex sentences using this formula: dependent clause, comma, independent clause;
wrote in cursive three spelling words and their dictionary definitions;
continued reading aloud and discussing "Cocoa Ice".
4th: Homework: read chapter 12 of The Cricket in Times Square.
Students reviewed memo from Mrs. Murphy to her scholars:
papers with drawings, letters, grades, or others marks that were not part of the assignment will be redone.
Beginning today, sentences without correct capitalization and punctuation will be rewritten correctly.
Students participated in dictionary races with spelling words;
completed a Greek and Latin roots worksheet packet;
reviewed clause--a group of words with a subject and predicate; an independent clause can stand alone while a dependent clause cannot stand alone;
learned how subordinating conjunctions can start dependent clauses;
identified independent clauses and dependent clauses;
constructed a few complex sentences using this formula: dependent clause, comma, independent clause;
wrote in cursive three spelling words and their dictionary definitions;
read aloud and discussed chapter 11 of The Cricket in Times Square.
reading intervention group: homework: repeat yesterday's homework.
I did not meet with students today because I worked in another classroom in the afternoon. Please repeat yesterday's homework.
April 8--homework: write spelling words three times each.
3rd:
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
practiced oral phonogram review;
reviewed all the Greek and Latin roots they know;
took an AR test on the last book they read;
began reading aloud and discussing Cocoa Ice.
4th: homework: finish chapter 10 of The Cricket in Times Square.
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
practiced oral phonogram review;
reviewed all the Greek and Latin roots they know;
took an AR test on the last book they read;
continued reading and discussing The Cricket in Times Square.
reading intervention group: homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
April 5--
3rd and 4th:
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks.
reading intervention group:
I did not meet with individual students today.
Some reading intervention students are in a newly formed spelling group called Group I. Their word list will also be on the "Spelling" page of this website, following the group V words.
April 4--homework: prepare for spelling test.
3rd and 4th: Students had a nature journaling field trip in this time slot.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
April 3--spelling sort worksheet
3rd:
Students practiced forming compound sentences using the information on cells on pages 103-105 in their science notebooks.;
practiced cursive;
finished reading and discussing "Boom Town".
4th: homework: read chapter 9 of The Cricket in Times Square.
Students practiced forming compound sentences using the information on cells on pages 103-105 in their science notebooks.;
practiced cursive;
read and discussed chapter 8 of The Cricket in Times Square.
reading intervention group: homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
April 2--
3rd
Students practiced cursive;
read the grading rubric and feedback on their dinosaur essays;
reviewed compound sentences;
wrote compound sentences using their spelling words;
began reading aloud and discussing "Boom Town";
listened to a memo from Mrs. Murphy to all third- and fourth-grade scholars:
Beginning today, papers with drawings, letters, grades, or others marks that were not part of the assignment will be redone.
Beginning today, sentences without correct capitalization and punctuation will be rewritten correctly.
4th:
Students practiced cursive;
read the grading rubric and feedback on their dinosaur essays;
reviewed compound sentences;
wrote compound sentences using their spelling words;
continued reading and discussing The Cricket in Times Square.
intervention reading group: homework: optional, as tonight is the science fair.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
April 1--Homework: write spelling words three times each.
3rd and 4th:
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
completed Sentence Sense pages 66-70;
corrected Sentence Sense pp. 66-70 and turned in their completed books.
reading intervention group:
I did not meet with students today. They can repeat their homework from the weekend. I will meet with students tomorrow.
March 29--
3rd and 4th:
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
corrected Sentence Sense, pp. 66-67.
reading intervention group: homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
March 28--Homework: spelling test tomorrow.
3rd:
read aloud and discussed "Yipee Yay!";
took the comprehension test for "Yippee Yay!";
completed a Greek and Latin roots worksheet;
participated in the spring Touching Safety lesson, lesson 2: "Safe Friends, Safe Adults, Safe Touches"
corrected Sentence Sense pp. 64-65;
completed Sentence Sense pp. 66-67;
corrected spelling sentences.
4th:
participated in the spring Touching Safety lesson, lesson 4: "Telling Someone You Trust";
read aloud and discussed chapter 7 of The Cricket in Times Square;
completed a Greek and Latin roots worksheet;
corrected Sentence Sense pp. 64-65;
completed Sentence Sense pp. 66-67.
corrected spelling sentences.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
March 27--
3rd: homework: Write ten sentences using spelling words. Two of the sentences should be compound sentences. Read your current reading book. Be ready to take an AR test on your book on April 5.
Students practiced Latin and Greek roots;
did oral phonogram review;
practiced developing simple sentences into compound sentences;
corrected Sentence Sense pp. 62-63;
completed Sentence Sense p. 64-65;
finished reading aloud and discussing "Leah's Pony".
4th: homework: Write ten sentences using spelling words. Two of the sentences should be compound sentences. Read chapter 6 of The Cricket in Times Square. Read your current reading book. Be ready to take an AR test on your book on April 5.
Students practiced Latin and Greek roots;
did oral phonogram review;
practiced developing simple sentences into compound sentences;
corrected Sentence Sense pp. 62-63;
completed Sentence Sense p. 64-65;
took a short quiz on chapter 4 of The Cricket in Times Square;
read aloud and discussed chapter 5 of The Cricket in Times Square.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
March 26--
3rd: homework: spelling sort, cursive R and B
Students practiced cursive;
did oral phonogram review;
practiced Latin and Greek roots;
completed a Latin and Greek roots worksheet;
corrected Sentence Sense pp. 60-61;
completed Sentence Sense pp. 62-63;
practiced writing compound sentences;
continued reading aloud and discussing "Leah's Pony".
4th: homework: spelling sort, cursive R and B; read The Cricket in Times Square, chapter 4.
Students practiced cursive;
did oral phonogram review;
practiced Latin and Greek roots;
completed a Latin and Greek roots worksheet;
corrected Sentence Sense pp. 60-61;
completed Sentence Sense pp. 62-63;
practiced writing compound sentences;
discussed chapter 2 and read aloud chapter 3 of The Cricket in Times Square.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
March 25--
3rd: homework: spelling words 3 times each; cursive capital letters L and P. Bring report card back with envelope signed.
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
corrected Sentence Sense pp. 57-58;
learned about adverbs, p. 59 of Sentence Sense;
completed pp. 60-61 of Sentence Sense;
did oral phonogram review;
began reading aloud and discussing "Leah's Pony".
4th: homework: read chapter 2 of The Cricket in Times Square; write spelling words 3 times each; complete cursive capitals page L and P. Bring report card back with envelope signed.
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
corrected Sentence Sense pp. 57-58;
learned about adverbs, p. 59 of Sentence Sense;
completed pp. 60-61 of Sentence Sense;
did oral phonogram review;
read aloud and discussed chapter 1 of The Cricket in Times Square.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
March 22--
3rd and 4th:
Students began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks.
Students corrected their reading comprehension test
Reading intervention group:
I did not meet with students today; repeat yesterday's homework over the weekend.
March 21--homework: cursive capitals S and G; finish comprehension test.
3rd:
Students reviewed spelling rule 9;
took a quiz on spelling rule 9;
completed Sentence Sense pp. 57 and 58;
learned two new roots (see vocabulary page of this website for details);
finished reading "The Crowded House";
began the comprehension test for "The Crowded House".
4th:
Students reviewed spelling rule 9;
took a quiz on spelling rule 9;
completed Sentence Sense pp. 57 and 58;
learned two new roots (see vocabulary page of this website for details);
began and finished reading aloud and discussing "One Grain of Rice"
began the comprehension test for "One Grain of Rice".
reading intervention group: homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
March 20--homework: spelling quiz tomorrow applying rule 9; cursive capital letters T and F.
3rd:
Students practiced cursive;
corrected their spelling worksheet;
corrected Sentence Sense p. 56;
reviewed how writers write complete sentences and complete paragraphs using notes;
finished writing their three-paragraph essay about dinosaurs;
continued reading aloud and discussing "The Crowded House"
4th:
Students practiced cursive;
corrected their spelling worksheet;
corrected Sentence Sense p. 56;
reviewed how writers write complete sentences and complete paragraphs using notes;
finished writing their three-paragraph essay about dinosaurs;
finished reading aloud and discussing "Red Writing Hood".
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Some students read to me and received new assignments. Some took a new spelling placement test so that we can make a spelling plan
March 19--homework: spelling worksheet and cursive capitals practice, I and X
3rd:
Students practiced cursive;
corrected Sentence Sense p. 54 and completed pp. 55 and 56;
reviewed spelling rule 9: when a short word (four letters or fewer) ends consonant-vowel-consonant, double the final consonant before adding and ending that begins with a vowel. So, three things have to happen to double a final consonant:
it has to be a short word
the word's last three letters have to be consonant-vowel-consonant
the ending has to begin with a vowel.
Students corrected yesterday's spelling worksheet;
read aloud and discussed "The Crowded House";
put notes about dinosaurs into a Venn diagram;
wrote first paragraph for a three-paragraph essay about dinosaurs.
4th:
Students practiced cursive;
corrected Sentence Sense p. 54 and completed pp. 55 and 56;
reviewed spelling rule 9: when a short word (four letters or fewer) ends consonant-vowel-consonant, double the final consonant before adding and ending that begins with a vowel. So, three things have to happen to double a final consonant:
it has to be a short word
the word's last three letters have to be consonant-vowel-consonant
the ending has to begin with a vowel.
Students corrected yesterday's spelling worksheet;
read aloud and discussed "Red Writing Hood";
put notes about dinosaurs into a Venn diagram;
wrote first paragraph for a three-paragraph essay about dinosaurs.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
March 18--Homework: spelling worksheet applying the rule we studied today; cursive capitals, V and W. Five fourth-grade students need to finish letters they have not yet finished. They are due tomorrow morning.
3rd and 4th:
Students practiced a spelling rule: when a short word (4 letters or fewer) ends cvc, (consonant-vowel-consonant), double the final consonant before adding and ending that begins with a vowel; [Read more details about applying this rule on the spelling page of this website.]
completed a worksheet to help them easily recognize short words that end cvc;
wrote their nature journaling or snow day haiku in their nature journals and illustrated it;
practiced taking notes on a non-fiction topic (dinosaurs);
worked on letters (those fourth graders who have not turned in the assigned letters).
reading intervention group:
Students read to me and received new assignments.
Some students completed their winter reading fluency assessment.
March 14--
3rd:
took a spelling test;
finished reading aloud "Lon Po Po" or worked on science research paper;
took the comprehension test for "Lon Po Po" or worked on science research paper.
4th:
took a spelling test;
finished reading "In the Days of King Adobe" or worked on science research paper;
took comprehension test for "In the Days of King Adobe" or worked on science research paper.
Reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
March 13--homework: study for spelling test and complete cursive capital letters worksheet for Y and Z.
3rd:
Students practiced cursive;
practiced Latin and Greek roots;
corrected Sentence Sense p. 51 and 53;
completed Sentence Sense p. 54;
worked on their science research paper or, if they have completed that, the next science reading packet.
4th:
Students practiced cursive;
practiced Latin and Greek roots;
corrected Sentence Sense p. 51 and 53;
completed Sentence Sense p. 54;
worked on their science research paper or, if they have completed that, worked on reading and answering questions in their science book, chapter 4, lessons 5 and 6.
reading intervention group:
I did not meet with students today. I used that time to work individually with students who needed help with their science research papers.
March 12--Homework: spelling sort worksheet; cursive capital practice, K and U.
3rd:
Students practiced cursive;
completed a time test for cursive;
learned two more Latin and Greek roots (see vocabulary page of this site for details).
corrected Sentence Sense pp. 50-51
lesson: a pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. Pronouns that can be used as a subject are I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they. Pronouns that can be used in the object place of a sentence are me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them.
Students practiced selecting the correct pronoun;
completed Sentence Sense pp. 51 and 53
began reading aloud and discussing "Lon Po Po".
4th:
Students practiced cursive;
completed a time test for cursive;
learned two more Latin and Greek roots (see vocabulary page of this site for details).
corrected Sentence Sense pp. 50-51
lesson: a pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. Pronouns that can be used as a subject are I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they. Pronouns that can be used in the object place of a sentence are me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them.
Students practiced selecting the correct pronoun;
completed Sentence Sense pp. 51 and 53
began reading aloud and discussing "In the Days of King Adobe".
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
March 11--homework: spelling words three times each; cursive capital letters practice: M and H.
3rd:
Students did cursive practice;
completed Sentence Sense, pages 50, section I and page 51, section J.
began answering questions about the independent variable, the dependent variable, and the controlled variables in their experiments;
finished reading aloud and discussing "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears";
read aloud and discussed p. 92 about how to summarize and p. 93, test prep.
4th: homework: finish letters.
Students did cursive practice;
completed Sentence Sense, pages 50, section I and page 51, section J.
began answering questions about the independent variable, the dependent variable, and the controlled variables in their experiments;
corrected p. 47 in Sentence Sense;
wrote two letters of gratitude for last week's field trip teacher and driver;
finished reading aloud and discussing "The Case of Pablo's Nose".
reading intervention group: Homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
March 8--
3rd and 4th:
Students studied compound sentences and practiced writing their own;
took a spelling test;
put 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
went to the small hall for the student auction drawings.
reading intervention group:
Today I began retesting students in my class for reading fluency to make sure they are making adequate progress.
I did not meet with my reading intervention students (except for a reading fluency check.)
March 7--
3rd: Homework: study for your spelling test; cursive capital letters worksheet E and N; finish science reading packet; bring a ready-to-eat lunch tomorrow--no microwave.
practiced cursive for speed and accuracy;
reviewed Latin and Greek roots orally;
participated in dictionary races;
did practice sentences for Latin and Greek roots worksheet;
completed Sentence Sense, pages 46-48;
completed science reading packet;
began reading aloud and discussing "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears".
4th: Homework: study for your spelling test; cursive capital letters worksheet E and N; bring a ready-to-eat lunch tomorrow--no microwave.
practiced cursive for speed and accuracy;
reviewed Latin and Greek roots orally;
participated in dictionary races;
did practice sentences for Latin and Greek roots worksheet;
completed Sentence Sense, pages 46-48;
completed science reading packet;
began reading aloud and discussing "The Case of Pablo's Nose".
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
March 6--Homework: take a practice spelling test at spellingcity.com. AND do one vocabulary exercise also at spellingcity.com
3rd and 4th:
Students practiced cursive.
(We went to Mass during this timeslot.)
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
March 5--Homework: spelling sort worksheet; cursive capital letters worksheet C and D.
3rd:
Students practiced cursive for accuracy and speed;
completed Sentence Sense pages 46-47;
corrected Sentence Sense;
read and learned vocabulary pp. 36-37;
read aloud and discussed "Coyote Places the Stars";
completed the comprehension test for "Coyote Places the Stars".
4th:
Students went on a field trip to Mercer Slough.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
I did not meet with students today. They have homework for tonight which I assigned yesterday.
March 4--Homework: spelling words three times each; cursive capital letters worksheet, A and O.
3rd:
Students finished putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
practiced cursive for speed and accuracy for 10 minutes;
learned how to write a compound sentence: joint two simple sentences with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
The painter painted the walls, and he cleaned his brushes.
Rain fell hard, but we played outside anyway.
We could make spaghetti for dinner, or we could eat leftovers from yesterday.
Students finished reading "Papa Tells Chita a Story";
corrected p. 44 of Sentence Sense;
completed p. 45 of Sentence Sense and began to work on p. 46.
4th:
Students finished putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
practiced cursive for speed and accuracy for 10 minutes;
learned how to write a compound sentence: joint two simple sentences with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
The painter painted the walls, and he cleaned his brushes.
Rain fell hard, but we played outside anyway.
We could make spaghetti for dinner, or we could eat leftovers from yesterday.
Students finished reading "The Kids' Invention Book";
corrected p. 44 of Sentence Sense;
completed p. 45 of Sentence Sense and began to work on p. 46.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students met with me and received new assignments. I will not meet with students tomorrow because I will be at Mercer Slough with 4th grade.
March 1--
Students took a spelling test, and
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks.
February 28--Homework: study for spelling test. Use results from your practice test to see which words to study.
3rd:
Students practiced cursive;
took a practice spelling tests;
received a lesson about compound things in grammar.
Compound means put together by joining parts.
A compound subject is a subject put together by joining two nouns: Bill and Bob went swimming. The two subjects are joined by the conjunction and.
A compound predicate is a predicate put together by joining two verbs: Jane ran and jumped. The two subjects are joined by the conjunction and.
A coordinating conjunction is a word that joins two words, two phrases, or two clauses in a sentence. The coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet. We will only be using and, but, or, yet for a while.
Monday we will learn how to write a compound sentence by joining two simple sentences.
Students began working on a Reading Detective called "Sacagawea";
began reading aloud and discussing "Papa Tells Chita a Story";
corrected p. 42 in Sentence Sense;
completed pp. 43 and 44 in Sentence Sense
4th:
Students practiced cursive;
took a practice spelling tests;
received a lesson about compound things in grammar.
Compound means put together by joining parts.
A compound subject is a subject put together by joining two nouns: Bill and Bob went swimming. The two subjects are joined by the conjunction and.
A compound predicate is a predicate put together by joining two verbs: Jane ran and jumped. The two subjects are joined by the conjunction and.
A coordinating conjunction is a word that joins two words, two phrases, or two clauses in a sentence. The coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet. We will only be using and, but, or, yet for a while.
Monday we will learn how to write a compound sentence by joining two simple sentences.
Students began working on a Reading Detective called "Sacagawea";
continued reading aloud and discussing "The Kids' Invention Book";
corrected p. 42 in Sentence Sense;
completed pp. 43 and 44 in Sentence Sense.
reading intervention group: homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
February 27--Homework: practice spelling words at spellingcity.com or practice them on paper.
3rd:
Students corrected Sentence Sense p. 39 and 41;
completed Sentence Sense p. 42;
wrote a letter of gratitude to the teacher who taught them at Mercer Slough;
wrote a thank you letter to their drivers and chaperones;
finished discussing "Sayings We Share: Fables and Proverbs". Third graders have finished their first of two reading books.
4th:
Students corrected Sentence Sense p. 39 and 41;
completed Sentence Sense p. 42;
Began reading and discussing "The Kids' Invention Book". Fourth graders just finished the half-way point of their reading book.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
February 26--
3rd:
Students went on a field trip to Mercer Slough.
4th:
Students completed reading "Look to the North: A Wolf Pup Diary";
completed the comprehension test for "Look to the North: A Wolf Pup Diary";
read and answered questions for "Caught White-Handed", a Reading Detective selection;
practiced spelling words on Spelling City.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
I did not meet with students because I was on the field trip. When I met with them yesterday, students received homework for tonight.
February 25--Homework: write one Haiku poem about your nature journaling experience last Friday. Remember: the first line is five syllables; the middle line is seven syllables; the last line is five syllables.
3rd:
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
learned about verb tense: tense refers to the time of the action. A verb in the past tense tells about action that happened in the past. A verb in the present tense tells about action happening now. A verb in the future tense tells about action that will happen in the future. Future tense verbs have the helping verb "will" or "shall" along with the main verb.
Students completed pp. 39-41 in Sentence Sense.
Students wrote their spelling words two times each;
completed pp. 386-387 in the reading book--prefixes and suffixes along with the test prep questions;
began reading and discussing "Sayings We Share: Fables and Proverbs."
4th:
Students finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
learned about verb tense: tense refers to the time of the action. A verb in the past tense tells about action that happened in the past. A verb in the present tense tells about action happening now. A verb in the future tense tells about action that will happen in the future. Future tense verbs have the helping verb "will" or "shall" along with the main verb.
Students completed pp. 39-41 in Sentence Sense.
Students wrote their spelling words two times each;
began reading and discussing "Look to the North: A Wolf Pup Diary".
reading intervention group: homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
February 22--
Students had a field trip in this time slot.
February 21--
3rd and 4th:
Students turned in their snow-days homework. Wow! I am so impressed with my scholars and their parents that these snow-day assignments were completed and completed so well! (Three students were not in school the day the notice went home about snow-day assignments. They received this paper today.)
Students reviewed the form of poetry called Haiku. They read aloud some haiku written by Japanese children, some written by others, and some that they wrote.
The class practiced writing one Haiku together, then students each wrote one.
Students attended the all-school spelling bee. Six of our scholars participated in this bee.
Students celebrated St. Valentine's Day today.
reading intervention group:
I did not meet with students because of the combination of the Valentine's party and the Spelling Bee.
February 14--water main break, and now it is mid-winter break. See you February 21!
February 13--Snow day.
Homework: this is your only assignment: if you plan to bring valentines for your classmates, get them finished today. You do not have to bring valentines, but if you do bring them, you should bring one for everyone. If you did not get a chance to buy valentines, do not worry. You can make your own. That is what I am doing. There are a total of 19 students in our class. I sent to your parents' email the list of students and a list of what to bring for your party Thursday. [I am missing the email address for one family.] If we have school Thursday, we will have our Valentine's Day party Thursday. Optional: practice your spelling words at spellingcity.com.
By the way, I asked my friends to write haiku about the weather where they are and send them to me to share with you. I received haiku from all over our country and from England. I will share them with you.
February 12--Snow day! Homework: on a piece of paper, complete Exercise #1 and Exercise #2 found below. Be sure to head your paper correctly.
lesson: fragments. A fragment is a group of words that is not a sentence.
Sometimes a fragment has a subject but no predicate (verb). In 1804, Lewis and Clark is a fragment. It has a subject, Lewis and Clark, but it does not tell us what Lewis and Clark did or was. You could make the fragment into a sentence by adding a verb to be the predicate. In 1804, Lewis and Clark began exploring the land west of the Mississippi River.
Sometimes a fragment has a predicate but is missing a subject. Won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin is a fragment. It has a predicate part (with a verb), but it is missing a subject. It does not say who or what won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. You could made this fragment into a sentence by giving it a subject part. Jesse Owens won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
Exercise #1: Now you try. Number a paper 1-10. Look at each set of words below. If it is a sentence, write "sentence" on your paper next to the same number. If it is a fragment, fix it so that it is a complete sentence. On your paper, next to the same number, write your complete sentence.
After breakfast, Mr. Smith
A microscope can help us see things too small for our eyes to see.
The Seahawks won.
caught a large number of fish.
I burned my toast!
On the other side of the field, the old brown cow
The chicken
The snow fell for several hours.
The seed coat
Mrs. Murphy loves teaching us.
Exercise #2: Now, look at your spelling list. This exercise works for both group O and group U.
Write one word from your spelling list that can be a noun or a verb.
Write six nouns that you have not used yet.
Write six verbs you have not used yet.
Write one adjective. (Remember, an adjective can describe a noun.)
Write a sentence that uses two spelling words you have not used yet.
Write seven words you have not used yet.
February 11--Snow day! Homework (due our next day in school): Write your spelling words three times each. Read today's lesson about haiku below. Write one or more haiku poems. (You put your spelling words in your backpack on Friday. If you cannot find them, they are listed on this website on the "spelling words" page.)
Lesson: Haiku is a traditional Japanese form of poetry. Haiku are often written about nature. A Haiku has three lines. They do not rhyme.
The first line has five syllables.
The middle line has seven syllables.
The last line has five syllables.
Here is an example of a haiku written by a Japanese child:
In the dark night sky,
How they twinkle, how they shine
All the little stars.
Here is one I wrote about all the snow:
Coastal evergreens,
boughs bent low with heavy snow,
wait for warmer days.
Can you clap out the syllables of each line or count the syllables on your fingers as you read each line?
Now you try. Write your own haiku about the weather today. Write more than one if you like. Remember: five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the middle line, five syllables in the last line.
After our first nature journaling field trip we will write haiku about our experience.
February 8--
3rd and 4th:
Students began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks.
Students celebrated a student birthday today.
February 7--late start today. Homework: Students should finish their science reading packet. If it is too much for your student to complete in one sitting, please [parents] initial where they stopped to indicate that is the right amount of work for them tonight. (Our school's general rule: third grade, thirty minutes of homework; fourth grade, forty minutes of homework.)
3rd and 4th:
We had our classroom spelling bee today. Three fourth graders and three third graders will go on to the school spelling bee.
Students listened to speeches by the 7th and 8th grade students who are preparing for Saturday's speech tournament at Archbishop Murphy High School.
reading intervention group: Homework: no.
I did not meet with reading intervention students today.
February 6--important updates
I will be rescheduling the first nature journaling field trip to Hill Park, originally scheduled for tomorrow, February 7. Because school was cancelled the first three days of this week, our students have not had all the lessons they need to get the most out of the nature journaling trip. I will be consulting with Dr. Matthews to select a new date for the first of three trips to Hill Park.
Our classroom spelling bee will take place tomorrow as scheduled, or, if we do not have school tomorrow, on the first day we are back in class.
February 1--
3rd and 4th:
Students took a spelling test.
We had a discussion about the upcoming spelling bees.
Our classroom be will be Thursday, February 7. The top two or three from each grade will participate in the school bee.
The school bee will be Wednesday, February 13 at 1:00 p.m.
Today students brought home a list of third-grade words, a list of fourth-grade words, and a list of K-8 words. In the classroom bee or school bee, participants could be asked to spell words above their grade levels.
We do not have our regular list of spelling words for next week nor a spelling test on Friday so that students can focus on the spelling bee.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
January 31-- Homework: study for spelling test.
3rd:
practiced cursive writing;
wrote a letter of appreciation;
corrected Sentence Sense p. 38;
completed Sentence Sense p. 39;
continued reading aloud and discussing Ramona Forever.
4th:
practiced cursive writing;
wrote a letter of appreciation;
corrected Sentence Sense p. 38;
completed Sentence Sense p. 39;
finished reading aloud and discussing "Two Lands, One Heart".
reading intervention group: Homework: yes
Students read to me and received a new assignment. Four of the five students are using science reading packets for their exercises at this time.
January 30--Homework: spelling sort worksheet
3rd and 4th:
Students took the MAP test for language.
read Scholastic News;
grammar lesson: how to recognize which first-person pronoun (I or me) to use when there is a compound subject:
Fred and ______ played at the park. Should you use I or me? First, imagine the sentence without "Fred and". Now, read your sentence. _______ played at the park. Now it is easier to know the answer is I played at the park, not me played at the park.
Mom gave a snack to Fred and _______. Imagine the sentence without "Fred and". Mom gave a snack to ______. Now it is easier to know the correct answer: Mom gave a snack to me, not Mom gave a snack to I.
reading intervention group: homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
Four students in the reading intervention group are currently reading science reading packets to me instead of the other readings. They are working on fluency and comprehension as always.
January 29--No homework : )
3rd and 4th:
Students took the MAP test for math.
Lesson: adjectives:
an adjective is a word that modifies (or describes) a noun.
Adjectives have positive, comparative, and superlative forms, for example small, smaller, smallest; smart, smarter, smartest; green, greener, greenest; happy, happier, happiest. Words with one and sometimes two syllables form the comparative form by adding -er and the superlative form by adding -est. Words with two or more syllables form the comparative by using more and the superlative by using most, for example, more compassionate, most compassionate; more beautiful, most beautiful.
A good adjective tester is a _________ cow. If your word makes sense in the tester, it is likely an adjective.
reading intervention group: Homework: no.
I did not meet with students today. A combination of MAP testing and the events of student appreciation day left me without time to meet with them. I will meet with them tomorrow.
January 28--Homework: finish spelling words three times each.
3rd and 4th:
took the MAP test for reading.
finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
began writing their spelling words three times each.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments. (I was not able to meet with one student.)
January 25--
3rd and 4th:
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
continued work in their science reading packet.
Students finished their work for the poster of gratitude for our local firefighters.
reading intervention group: Homework: no.
Students read to me; some of them received new assignments.
January 24--Homework: study for tomorrow's spelling test.
3rd:
Students practiced cursive;
corrected pp. 36-37 of Sentence Sense;
completed p. 38 of Sentence Sense;
wrote two letters, one to Fr. Milhton and one to Fr. Jay of Holy Cross in Lake Stevens to thank them for beings priests. Part of our celebration of Catholic Schools Week is to stop to thank those who care for us.
Students continued reading aloud and discussing Ramona Forever.
4th:
Students practiced cursive;
corrected pp. 36-37 of Sentence Sense;
completed p. 38 of Sentence Sense;
wrote two letters, one to Fr. Milhton and one to Fr. Jay of Holy Cross in Lake Stevens to thank them for beings priests. Part of our celebration of Catholic Schools Week is to stop to thank those who care for us.
Students continued reading aloud and discussing "Two Lands, One Heart".
reading intervention group. Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
January 23--Homework: spelling sentences worksheet; two hearts cut out for the thank you board for our local firefighters.
3rd:
Students learned two new Latin and Greek roots (see vocabulary page for details);
reviewed all Latin and Greek roots they have learned so far;
did oral phonogram review;
corrected p. 35 of Sentence Sense;
completed pp. 36-37 of Sentence Sense;
corrected spelling sort homework;
corrected errors in spelling three times each;
practiced cursive;
wrote a thank you letter to local fire fighters;
began reading aloud and discussing Ramona Forever.
4th:
Students learned two new Latin and Greek roots (see vocabulary page for details);
reviewed all Latin and Greek roots they have learned so far;
did oral phonogram review;
corrected p. 35 of Sentence Sense;
completed pp. 36-37 of Sentence Sense;
corrected spelling sort homework;
corrected errors in spelling three times each;
practiced cursive;
wrote a thank you letter to local fire fighters;
began reading aloud and discussing "Two Lands, One Heart"
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
I met with all students except one. Students read to me and receive new assignments.
January 22--
3rd and 4th: Homework: complete spelling worksheet.
Students introduced themselves to a new fourth-grade student who started today;
finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
read parts of the Snohomish Fire Department website and discussed what firefighters do to serve us and the rest of the community;
discussed good ways to thank fire fighters for their service;
practiced cursive;
wrote their spelling words three times each.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read aloud to me and received new assignments.
January 18--
3rd and 4th:
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
January 17--Homework: study for spelling test.
3rd:
Students continued writing their science paper;
reviewed the four types of sentences:
Declarative makes a statement.
Interrogative asks a question and ends in a question mark.
Imperative gives a command and ends in a period (or exclamation point).
Exclamatory shows emotion and ends in an exclamation point.
Students wrote 12 sentences, one of each type for each of three spelling words;
finished reading and discussing "Centerfield Ballhawk".
4th:
Students continued writing their science paper;
reviewed the four types of sentences:
Declarative makes a statement.
Interrogative asks a question and ends in a question mark.
Imperative gives a command and ends in a period (or exclamation point).
Exclamatory shows emotion and ends in an exclamation point.
Students wrote 12 sentences, one of each type for each of three spelling words;
finished reading and discussing "Stealing Home"
reading intervention group:
Students read to me and received new assignments.
January 16--Homework: bring a written copy of the procedures for the science fair project.
3rd:
Students practiced cursive;
corrected spelling sort homework;
reviewed parts of speech: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition;
corrected p. 33 of Sentence Sense;
completed pp. 34 and 35 of Sentence Sense;
began reading aloud and discussing "Centerfield Ballhawk";
continued writing their science fair background research paper.
4th:
Students practiced cursive;
corrected spelling sort homework;
reviewed parts of speech: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition;
corrected p. 33 of Sentence Sense;
completed pp. 34 and 35 of Sentence Sense;
began reading aloud and discussing "Stealing Home";
continued writing their science fair background research paper.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
January 15--
3rd: Homework: spelling sort worksheet; finish taking notes to answer questions for science research paper; bring orange folder back.
practiced cursive;
practiced reciting prepositions and making prepositional phrases;
corrected Sentence Sense p. 32;
completed Sentence Sense p. 33;
continued writing their science paper, this day listing steps for their experiments;
read aloud and discussed "The Last Case of the I.C. Detective Agency";
practiced typing at Typing Club.
4th:
practiced cursive;
practiced reciting prepositions and making prepositional phrases;
corrected Sentence Sense p. 32;
completed Sentence Sense p. 33;
continued writing their science paper, this day listing steps for their experiments;
began reading aloud and discussed "Stealing Home";
practiced typing at Typing Club.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
January 14--Homework: spelling words three times each; for those who have not yet finished their background research for the science fair paper, research at home to find answers to their research questions. (They have the questions in their backpack.)
3rd and 4th:
Students did research for their background research for the science fair paper;
corrected p. 31 of Sentence Sense;
completed p. 32 of Sentence Sense;
practiced typing at Typing Club;
practiced cursive with a timed assignment;
listened to a book about prepositions;
developed prepositional phrases using prepositions given on a list.
reading intervention group:
Students read to me and received new assignments.
January 11--
3rd and 4th:
Students took a spelling test;
practiced spelling on Spelling City or practiced typing on Typing Club;
put 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
I did not meet with students today. They can repeat yesterday's homework.
January 10--Homework: study for spelling test.
3rd:
Students practiced cursive,
corrected Sentence Sense pp. 28 and 29;
learned complete subject is the simple subject along with all the words that describe it and the simple predicate is the simple predicate [main verb] along with all its baggage.
Students completed p. 31 in Sentence Sense;
practiced Typing Club;
finished reading aloud and discussing "The Talent Show".
4th:
Students practiced cursive,
corrected Sentence Sense pp. 28 and 29;
learned complete subject is the simple subject along with all the words that describe it and the simple predicate is the simple predicate [main verb] along with all its baggage.
Students completed p. 31 in Sentence Sense;
practiced Typing Club;
finished reading aloud and discussing "How to Babysit an Orangutan".
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
January 9--
3rd:
Students learned two new Latin / Greek roots. (See the vocabulary page for details.)
They practiced saying the meanings of all the roots they have learned so far;
practiced cursive;
corrected p. 26 in Sentence Sense;
learned about compound predicates. A compound predicate is two or more verbs which share a single subject.
Students completed pp. 27, 28, and 29 in Sentence Sense;
practiced Typing Club;
practiced opening their science paper Word document and making changes to it;
began reading aloud and discussing "The Talent Show".
4th:
Students learned two new Latin / Greek roots. (See the vocabulary page for details.)
They practiced saying the meanings of all the roots they have learned so far;
practiced cursive;
corrected p. 26 in Sentence Sense;
learned about compound predicates. A compound predicate is two or more verbs which share a single subject.
Students completed pp. 27, 28, and 29 in Sentence Sense;
practiced Typing Club;
practiced opening their science paper Word document and making changes to it;
read aloud an discussed cause and effect on p. 250;
did the test prep questions on p. 251;
began reading and discussing "How to Babysit an Orangutan".
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
All but one student read to me and received a new assignment.
January 8--Homework: spelling sort worksheet
3rd:
corrected p. 25 in Sentence Sense;
completed p. 26 in Sentence Sense;
practiced cursive by writing this month's prayer;
finished reading aloud and discussing "The Stories Julian Tells";
discussed and agreed upon a timeline for finishing the science fair research paper.
4th:
corrected p. 25 in Sentence Sense;
completed p. 26 in Sentence Sense;
practiced cursive by writing this month's prayer;
finished reading and discussing "The Garden of Happiness";
discussed and agreed upon a timeline for finishing the science fair research paper.
reading intervention group-- Homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
January 7--Homework: write spelling words three times each.
3rd:
finished putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
learned about compound subjects, two or more people, places, things, or ideas that make one subject. For example, in the sentence "the dog and the cat ran about the yard," Dog and cat are the compound subject that go with the predicate ran;
completed pages 24 and 25 in Sentence Sense;
began reading aloud and discussing "The Stories Julian Tells";
students practiced Typing Club.
4th:
finished putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
learned about compound subjects, two or more people, places, things, or ideas that make one subject. For example, in the sentence "Joseph and Mary traveled to Egypt with the child Jesus," Joseph and Mary are the compound subject that go with the predicate traveled.
completed pages 24 and 25 in Sentence Sense;
began reading aloud and discussing "The Garden of Happiness"
practiced Typing Club.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes
each student read to me and received a new assignment.
January 4--
Students read Scholastic News independently;
worked in their science reading packets;
began putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks.
January 3, 2019--
3rd and 4th:
Students learned the definition of a simple sentence: a simple sentence has one subject-predicate relationship;
practiced identifying simple subjects and simple predicates of sentences;
completed pages 21 and 22 in Sentence Sense;
learned details of how they will write the research paper for their science fair experiment.
reading intervention group:
I did not meet with readers today. We will resume reading intervention exercises on Monday.
December 19--
3rd and 4th:
completed their Advent cursive notebooks;
finished the painting they began yesterday;
had a class party.
December 18--
3rd and 4th:
Students practiced cursive in their Advent cursive booklets;
reviewed Latin and Greek roots;
wrote their paragraph (essay for fourth grade) about the person whose biography they read.
December 17--Homework: anyone who has not finished the graphic organizer for the biography should finish at home today.
3rd:
continued working in Advent cursive book;
Students reviewed corrections in the nouns section of Sentence Sense;
continued working in Sentence Sense, pp. 18, 19, and 20 plus any missed work from previous assignments;
began writing their biography paragraph;
finished reading aloud and discussing "Rosie, a Visiting Dog's Story";
read and discussed pp. 278-279, "Decode Long Words" and the test prep questions.
4th:
continued working in Advent cursive book;
Students reviewed corrections in the nouns section of Sentence Sense;
continued working in Sentence Sense, pp. 18, 19, and 20 plus any missed work from previous assignments;
began writing their biography essay;
finished reading aloud and discussing "Nights of the Pufflings".
reading intervention group: Homework: optional over the Christmas break.
Students read to me. This is the last time we will meet again until January.
December 14--
3rd and 4th:
continued working in Advent cursive book;
took a spelling test;
did oral phonogram review;
took a written phonogram quiz;
practiced expanding sentences to make them more interesting and descriptive by including adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases;
completed p. 17 in Sentence Sense.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students met with me and received new assignments.
December 13--Spelling test tomorrow
3rd:
did oral phonogram review and written phonogram practice;
reviewed Latin and Greek roots;
continued writing in Advent cursive booklet;
reviewed subject and predicate and completed Sentence Sense pp. 15-16;
continued reading aloud and discussing "Rosie, a Visiting Dog's Story";
began, finished, and corrected science reading unit review, "Adaptations".
4th:
did oral phonogram review and written phonogram practice;
reviewed Latin and Greek roots;
continued writing in Advent cursive booklet;
reviewed subject and predicate and completed Sentence Sense pp. 15-16;
finished reading aloud and discussing "The Emperor's Kite";
began reading aloud and discussing "The Night of the Pufflings";
began science reading unit review, "Helping Each Other Out", about how plants and animals depend upon one another.
reading intervention group: Homework: optional. I understand there is limited time to work because of the Christmas program.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
December 12--Homework: practice spelling words on Spelling City; continue to take notes about the biography you are reading.
3rd and 4th:
Students practiced cursive in Advent booklet;
practiced oral phonogram review and written phonogram review;
corrected spelling word sort worksheet;
practiced Latin and Greek roots;
learned about the simple subject (the doer) and the simple predicate (the action) of a sentence;
pages 13-14 in Sentence Sense;
listened to and discussed "The Lady of Guadalupe" by Tomie DePaola.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students each read to me and received new assignments.
December 11--Homework: spelling sort worksheet; continued reading biography and filling in graphic organizer.
3rd:
practiced cursive in Advent cursive booklet;
practiced oral phonogram review;
practiced written phonogram review;
practiced Latin and Greek roots and learned two new Latin roots (see vocabulary page for details);
listened to a short biography of Cesar Chavez;
practiced using a graphic organizer by inserting details from the life of Cesar Chavez;
read biography silently and began to fill in their graphic organizer;
completed pages 11 and 12 in Sentence Sense.
4th:
practiced cursive in Advent cursive booklet;
practiced oral phonogram review;
practiced written phonogram review;
practiced Latin and Greek roots and learned two new Latin roots (see vocabulary page for details);
listened to a short biography of Cesar Chavez;
practiced using a graphic organizer by inserting details from the life of Cesar Chavez;
read biography silently and began to fill in their graphic organizer;
completed pages 11 and 12 in Sentence Sense.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes
Students each read to me and received their new assignments.
December 10--Homework: spelling words three times each; continue reading biography
3rd:
practiced cursive in Advent cursive booklet;
finished putting 25 new word in their spelling notebooks;
selected a biography; they will be writing a paragraph about the person they are reading about;
read silently;
read and discussed vocabulary pages, pp. 256-257;
began reading aloud and discussing "Rosie, a Visiting Dog's Story".
Today we finished another class read aloud (when I read to the students)-- The Real Thief by William Steig.
4th:
practiced cursive in Advent cursive booklet;
finished putting 25 new word in their spelling notebooks;
selected a biography; they will be writing a three-paragraph essay about the person they are reading about;
read their biography silently;
took the AR test for Skylark;
began reading aloud and discussing "The Emperor's Kite".
Today we finished another class read aloud (when I read to the students)-- The Real Thief by William Steig.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes
Students read to me and received their new assignments.
December 7--
3rd and 4th:
Students took a written phonogram quiz;
took a spelling test;
wrote in Advent cursive book;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks
reading intervention group: Homework: yes, just repeat the homework assigned yesterday.
I met with one student, the one I did not meet with yesterday. (Students had a math test, and I did not want to disturb them during their test. Monday I will be able to meet with all students in the group.)
December 6--Homework: study for spelling test
3rd:
Students completed grammar pages 10-11 in Sentence Sense;
practiced oral phonogram review;
practiced written phonogram review;
wrote in Advent cursive book;
wrote a letter to thank our janitorial team;
reviewed Greek and Latin roots and learned two more (see vocabulary page for details);
finished reading aloud and discussing "Sue, the Tyrannosaurus Rex".
4th:
Students completed grammar pages 10-11 in Sentence Sense;
practiced oral phonogram review;
practiced written phonogram review;
wrote in Advent cursive book;
wrote a letter to thank our janitorial team;
reviewed Greek and Latin roots and learned two more (see vocabulary page for details);
took a quiz on chapters 11 and 12 of Skylark;
finished reading Skylark.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
I met with all but one student; I ran out of time to meet with the last one. He will go first tomorrow. Students read to me and received new assignments.
If you notice there are tracks of music mixed up with the reading tracks on the CD I sent home, please send it back. I have a new one to give.
December 5--Homework: practice spelling on Spelling City.
3rd:
practiced oral phonogram review;
practiced written phonogram review;
wrote in Advent cursive booklet;
corrected spelling sort worksheet;
completed pp. 7-9 in Sentence Sense;
began reading and discussing "Sue, the Tyrannosaurus Rex".
4th: Homework: read chapters 11 and 12 of Skylark.
practiced oral phonogram review;
practiced written phonogram review;
wrote in Advent cursive booklet;
corrected spelling sort worksheet;
completed pp. 7-9 in Sentence Sense;
discussed Skylark, chapters 8 and 9;
read aloud and discussed chapter 10 of Skylark.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments;
Most students are bringing home an audio CD. Their homework involves listening to the CD for part of their assignment. If there is no way to listen to the CD in your house, just send it back to school with your student and have him or her continue to do the assignments without the CD.
December 4--
3rd: Homework: spelling words worksheet
began Advent cursive practice booklet;
practiced oral phonogram review;
practiced written phonogram review;
finished reading and discussing "Little Grunt and the Big Egg";
participated in making our door decoration for Advent;
reviewed our last "because, but, so" exercise and orally made corrections to sentences that did not use those words correctly;
practiced composing more "because, but, so exercises;
completed pp. 5-6 in Sentence Sense.
4th: Homework: read chapters 8 and 9 of Skylark; spelling words worksheet
began Advent cursive practice booklet;
practiced oral phonogram review;
practiced written phonogram review;
continued reading and discussing Skylark;
participated in making our door decoration for Advent;
reviewed our last "because, but, so" exercise and orally made corrections to sentences that did not use those words correctly;
practiced composing more "because, but, so exercises;
completed pp. 5-6 in Sentence Sense.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes, same as yesterday's homework.
I was able to read with some students today but not all.
December 3--Homework: spelling words three times each.
3rd:
finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
participated in a skit about St. Francis Xavier;
wrote a paragraph about St. Francis Xavier.
4th:
finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
participated in a skit about St. Francis Xavier;
wrote a paragraph about St. Francis Xavier
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received their new assignments.
November 30--
Students took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
reviewed all 70 phonograms orally;
reviewed all the Greek and Latin roots they know.
November 29--
3rd: Homework: study for spelling test tomorrow. (At Spelling City, students can take a test then just practice writing the words they got wrong in the practice test.)
Students corrected their Reading Detective homework;
practiced writing sentences with because, but, so;
began reading and writing answers in a new science reading packet;
began reading and discussing "Little Grunt and the Big Egg".
4th: Homework: finish chapters 5 and 6 in Skylark; study for spelling test tomorrow. (At Spelling City, students can take a test then just practice writing the words they got wrong in the practice test. )
Students corrected their Reading Detective homework;
practiced writing sentences with because, but, so;
began reading and writing answers in a new science reading packet;
took a quiz on chapters 3 and 4 of Skylark;
continued reading and discussing Skylark.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments. Tomorrow I will give a quick fluency test. I will put the results in their orange folder next Tuesday.
November 28--
3rd: Homework: complete Reading Detective assignment
Students completed p. 4 in Sentence Sense;
practiced making sentences with because, but, and so. For example, The house is cold because the furnace is not working. The house is cold, but the family is cheerful anyway. The house is cold, so the children put on warmer clothes. Another example: Dad did not get enough sleep because he was up with the baby. Dad did not get enough sleep last night, but he went to work on time. Dad did not get enough sleep last night, so he is tired today.
Students completed their science packet;
they completed their Greek and Latin roots worksheet;
they began and finished reading aloud and discussing "Wild Shots: They're my Life".
4th: Homework: finish essay for Sarah, Plain and Tall; read chapters 3 and 4 in Skylark; finish answering questions for chapters 1 and 2; complete Reading Detective homework.
Students completed p. 4 in Sentence Sense;
practiced making sentences with because, but, and so. For example, The house is cold because the furnace is not working. The house is cold, but the family is cheerful anyway. The house is cold, so the children put on warmer clothes. Another example: Dad did not get enough sleep because he was up with the baby. Dad did not get enough sleep last night, but he went to work on time. Dad did not get enough sleep last night, so he is tired today.
Students completed their science packet;
they completed their Greek and Latin roots worksheet;
they continued reading aloud and discussing Skylark.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
students read to me and received their new assignments.
November 27--
3rd: Homework: finish cursive practice; Spelling city: take the practice test and make a list of words missed. Bring the list to school.
Students reviewed Greek and Latin roots; learned two new roots (see vocabulary page);
practiced cursive;
completed Reading Detective #2, "Why Dogs Wag Their Tales";
read aloud and discussed pp. 200-201, "Sending a Message";
discussed the difference between language and communication.
4th: Homework: finish chapter 1 and read chapter 2 of Skylark and answer the questions in complete sentences; Spelling City: take the practice test and make a list of words you missed; bring the list to school; continue working on essay for Sarah, Plain and Tall (due Thursday).
Students reviewed Greek and Latin roots; learned two new roots (see vocabulary page);
completed Reading Detective #2, "Why Dogs Wag Their Tales";
discussed their notes for their three-paragraph essay about Sarah, Plain and Tall (due Thursday);
began reading aloud and discussing Skylark. Fourth grade students are reading Skylark on a Kindle. They may take the Kindle home to read and do homework. Each Kindle has parental controls enabled so that students cannot do anything except read books. Two students (those with Kindle Fire tablets) also have a charger for the Kindle.
reading intervention group:Homework: yes.
students read to me and received their new assignments.
November 26--Homework: write spelling words three times each.
3rd:
Students finished putting 25 spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
began the grammar workbook Sentence Sense and completed pages 1-3;
finished reading and discussing "Balto, the Dog Who Saved Nome".
4th:
Students finished putting 25 spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
began the grammar workbook Sentence Sense and completed pages 1-3;
finished reading and discussing "The Baker's Neighbor".
reading intervention group: Homework: yes
Students read to me and received new assignments.
November 21--
3rd:
Students took a quiz to show they know how to apply spelling rule 11: When a word ends in silent e and you add an ending that begins with a vowel, drop the e;
corrected reading comprehension exercise, "An Old-Fashioned Saturday";
read aloud and discussed pp. 180-183 in the literature book;
began reading "Balto, the Dog who Saved Nome".
finished their science reading packet;
read independently.
4th:
Students took a quiz to show they know how to apply spelling rule 11: When a word ends in silent e and you add an ending that begins with a vowel, drop the e;
corrected reading comprehension exercise, "An Old-Fashioned Saturday";
continued reading aloud and discussing "The Baker's Neighbor;
finished their science reading packet;
read independently.
November 20--Homework: read comprehension exercised called "An Old-Fashioned Saturday" and answer questions on the back side of the paper.
3rd:
practiced applying rule 11: When a word ends in silent e and you add an ending that begins with a vowel, drop the e. Students will have a quiz on this tomorrow. They will not have to memorize spelling words. They will have to apply the rule to words + endings that are on the page already. See sample questions below.
Students practiced writing the Prayer of St. Francis in cursive. This time, they did not have a cursive model to follow.
Students finished reading aloud and discussing "Turtle Bay";
they wrote complete sentences to answer questions 1-4 on p. 175 in the literature book.
Students began putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks for next week.
4th:
practiced applying rule 11: When a word ends in silent e and you add an ending that begins with a vowel, drop the e. Students will have a quiz on this tomorrow. They will not have to memorize spelling words. They will have to apply the rule to words + endings that are on the page already. See sample questions below.
Students practiced writing the Prayer of St. Francis in cursive. This time, they did not have a cursive model to follow.
Students began reading and discussing "The Baker's Neighbor".
Students finished writing answers to the Think and Respond questions on p. 139.
Students began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks for next week.
Sample questions for rule 11 spelling quiz:
fine + ed = __________________ (fined)
fine + ly = ___________________ (finely)
smile + ing = _________________ (smiling)
bake + er = __________________ (baker)
time + less = _________________ (timeless)
November 19--Homework: finish cursive practice page
3rd:
Students practiced applying rule 11, When a word ends in silent e and you add an ending that begins with a vowel, drop the e. Students will have a quiz on this Wednesday.
Students began and completed the school-wide Thanksgiving gratitude project in which each student made a feather to express thanks about another student. These are on display in the main hall;
helped finish our new hallway bulletin board about the elements of art;
reviewed phonograms orally;
continued cursive practice page;
reviewed Latin and Greek root meanings;
began Latin and Greek roots worksheet.
4th:
continued working on three-paragraph essay about Sarah, Plain and Tall;
practiced applying rule 11, When a word ends in silent e and you add an ending that begins with a vowel, drop the e. Students will have a quiz on this Wednesday;
began and completed the school-wide Thanksgiving gratitude project in which each student made a feather to express thanks about another student. These are on display in the main hall;
helped finish our new hallway bulletin board about the elements of art;
reviewed phonograms orally;
continued cursive practice page;
reviewed Latin and Greek root meanings;
began Latin and Greek roots worksheet.
reading intervention group:
Students read to me and received new assignments. This is the last time I will meet with students individually this week. I will resume meeting with them daily next Monday. The homework they received they should do tonight. Over the Thanksgiving break, the homework is optional.
November 16--
3rd and 4th:
Students took a spelling test.
Students continued working on their science reading packet;
they also started a cursive review page.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received their new assignments.
November 15--
3rd and 4th: Homework: study for spelling test; take the Accelerated Reader (AR) test for Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat. (The address for Accelerated Reader is https://hosted235.renlearn.com/3193335 . Your child's login and password are on the half-sheet page I sent home with all his or her login information.)
discussed and corrected Reading Detective exercise #4, the excerpt from Owls in the Family.
discussed spelling words and definitions; practiced spelling the words for tomorrow's test.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
November 14--At the start of the school year, I began reading aloud the book Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat. Today we finished this book.
3rd: Homework: Reading Detective, selection #4.
completed cursive worksheet writing St. Teresa's Bookmark in cursive;
completed a grammar worksheet practicing selecting the correct form of irregular verbs;
finished the comprehension test for Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective;
began reading aloud and discussing "Turtle Bay";
began the homework comprehension assignment from Reading Detective, #4, Excerpt from Owls in the Family.
4th: Homework: Reading Detective, selection #4; "Think and Respond" answers 1-4, p. 139.
completed cursive worksheet writing St. Teresa's Bookmark in cursive;
completed a grammar worksheet practicing selecting the correct form of irregular verbs;
corrected the comprehension test for "Lou Gehrig, the Luckiest Man";
finished reading and discussing "Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride";
began writing answers to the "Think and Respond" questions;
began the homework comprehension assignment from Reading Detective, #4, Excerpt from Owls in the Family.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received their new assignments.
November 13--
3rd and 4th:
Students began a new science reading packet;
they finished their paragraph about Elements of Art;
they completed a cursive practice page for capital I;
they read independently;
students began a new science reading packet;
each student met with me to review their computer use in school. (See the home page for more details.)
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
November 9--Homework: spelling words three times each due Tuesday morning.
3rd and 4th:
Students read Scholastic News.
Students took a spelling test.
Students put 25 new spelling words in their notebooks.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received their new assignments. Their assignments have some for Saturday, some for Sunday, and some for Monday. Students will benefit from doing what is assigned each day.
November 8--Homework: study for spelling test.
3rd:
finished cursive practice u and v;
began cursive practice x and z;
reviewed Latin and Greek roots;
finished science reading packet;
went to our school pep rally.
4th:
finished cursive practice u and v;
began cursive practice x and z;
reviewed Latin and Greek roots;
finished science reading packet;
went to our school pep rally.
reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received their new assignments.
November 7--
3rd: Homework: write 10 sentences that use at least 10 spelling words; do days 3 and 4 of science reading packet.
finished reading aloud and discussing "The Olympic Games";
answered questions together at the end of the selection;
began cursive practice, letters u and v;
began writing a paragraph about the elements of art (see art page on this website);
learned two more Latin roots (see vocabulary page on this website);
reviewed all Latin and Greek roots they have learned so far.
4th: Homework: write 15 sentences that use at least 15 spelling words; do days 3 and 4 of science reading packet.
began taking the comprehension test for "Lou Gehrig, the Luckiest Man";
began writing a paragraph about the elements of art (see art page on this website);
learned two more Latin roots (see vocabulary page of this website);
reviewed all Latin and Greek roots;
began cursive practice
began reading and discussing "Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride".
reading intervention group Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received their next assignments. All are doing a great job bringing their work to home and back daily. All are making progress.
November 6--Homework: vocabulary practice at spellingcity.com for their list of spelling words; science reading packet, complete days 1 and 2.
3rd:
continued reading aloud and discussing "The Olympic Games;
finished letters to members of the Kiwanis Club to thank them for the dictionaries;
continued test for Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective.
Students read on Myon.com or practiced typing or spelling.
4th:
finished reading aloud and discussing "Lou Gehrig, The Luckiest Man;
took notes for their essay about Sarah, Plain and Tall.
Students read on Myon or practiced spelling or typing.
Reading intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and received new assignments.
November 5--Homework: spelling words three times each; finish paragraph about Ben; finish cursive g and qu practice.
3rd:
finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
practiced cursive letters g and qu;
practiced phonograms--oral phonogram review, all 70 cards.
began test for Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective;
wrote a paragraph based on details in a picture;
began reading aloud and discussing "The Olympic Games".
4th:
finished putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
practiced cursive letters g and qu;
practiced all 70 cards in oral phonogram review.
wrote a paragraph based on details in a picture;
began reading aloud and discussing "Lou Gehrig, The Luckiest Man;
discussed details of how to write an assigned essay about Sarah, Plain and Tall.
reading intervention group Homework: yes.
Everyone read to me; everyone has improved.
Students received their new assignments. Students were each given a folder for reading intervention homework. This folder should go back and forth daily with the homework in it. (Soon there will be one more piece of paper. These folders are a good place to keep it all together.) For those students who have faithfully done your homework and brought your homework paper back each day, thank you so much!
November 2--Homework: Typing Club; cursive practice x, z, qu. (All but two students now have a page with their logins and passwords for all the online learning platforms we use in our class. (Students who were absent today do not yet have that paper.)
3rd and 4th:
Students took a spelling test.
Students began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks.
Students began cursive practice for x, z, and qu.
Intervention group: Homework: repeat the homework from Thursday evening. Thank you.
I did not meet with students because of Day of the Dead commemoration and activity plus the fact that we had a half day.
November 1--(Mass was in this time slot today.) Homework: study for spelling test. Students could use Spelling City to study and test themselves.
Intervention group--students read to me and got their new assignments. Homework: yes.
October 31--
3rd:
wrote a thank you letter to the person who drove them to see the musical yesterday;
practiced alphabetizing words;
logged in and began the typing program called Typing Club.
4th:
wrote a thank you letter to the person who drove them to see the musical yesterday;
practiced alphabetizing words;
logged in and began the typing program called Typing Club.
reading intervention group Homework: Yes. Each student knows his or her homework.
Students read to me and got their new assignments.
October 30--Today the 3rd and 4th-grade students went to see a stage musical, Rosie Revere, Engineer.
October 29--Homework: finish comprehension packet, week 1; Write spelling words three times each.
3rd:
finished putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
learned and practiced cursive letters m and n;
wrote a thank you letter to the Kiwanis Club for the dictionaries they received as gifts;
continued to work on their week 1 reading comprehension packet.
4th:
finished putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks;
learned and practiced cursives letters m and n;
continued to work on their week 1 comprehension packet;
finished reading and discussing Sarah, Plain and Tall.
intervention group: homework: yes.
Students read to me and got new assignments.
October 26--
3rd and 4th:
Students took a spelling test.
Students began putting 25 more spelling words in their spelling notebooks.
Intervention group: Homework: yes.
Students read to me and got their next assignments.
October 25--If a student wants to order from the Scholastic Book Club, he or she should bring the order tomorrow.
3rd and 4th: Homework: study for tomorrow's spelling test; cursive page b, v, w.
Students made corrections on their spelling homework from this week (if they had made errors).
Students logged on to Renaissance Accelerated Reader. They listened to a book I read, "The Boy Who Drew Birds" about John James Audubon. Students took the AR test afterward. Later in the day they did a related art project.
Each student will have reading goals to meet by reading books and taking AR tests. They should begin taking AR tests on books when they finish reading them. They may take AR tests on books they have recently finished if they like. Next week I will send home a page with the websites, logins, and passwords for all their online school programs.
Students reviewed the cursive letters b, v, w, o.
Intervention group: Homework: yes! It is written in the margin under today's date.
Students each read to me for speed. Everyone did really well; I am seeing improvement already. They all have new assignments.
October 24--Twenty minutes or more on spellingcity.com. If a student does not have computer and internet access at home, practice writing spelling words.
3rd:
Students learned about an online reading program St. Michael School has purchased called MyOn;
went to www.myon.com to take a Lexile placement test and read books and articles;
learned how to get into their Spelling City accounts;
did their October Virtues safe environment lesson, Lesson 1, Touching Safety Rules
4th:
Students learned about an online reading program St. Michael School has purchased called MyOn;
went to www.myon.com to take a Lexile placement test and read books and articles;
learned how to get into their Spelling City accounts;
did their October Virtues safe environment lesson, Lesson 3, Boundaries: You have Rights!
Intervention group: Homework: Yes! Find it written in the margin of the page.
Students read their homework assignment to me for time and accuracy. New homework assignment is written on the page.
October 23--
3rd: Homework: 10 spelling sentences with at least 10 spelling words; comprehension packet, day 2; cursive practice for r, s.
oral phonogram review;
learned new Latin and Greek roots (shown on the "vocabulary" page of this site);
completed cursive practice, letters r, s;
wrote a paragraph based on what was shown in a picture on the screen;
finished reading aloud and discussing Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective
4th: 15 spelling sentences with at least 15 spelling words; comprehension packet, day 2; cursive practice for r, s.
oral phonogram review;
learned new Latin and Greek roots (shown on the "vocabulary" page of this site);
completed cursive practice, letters r, s;
wrote a paragraph based on what was shown in a picture on the screen;
finished reading aloud and discussing Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective
reading intervention group: Homework: three students: read the passage on the back three or four times, trying to read faster and more accurately each time. Two students have a new page. They should read the word list three times then read the phrases three times, trying to read faster and more accurately each time.
Students read their phrases to me for time and accuracy.
October 22--
3rd: Homework: spelling words 3x each; day 1 of comprehension packet; cursive u, y, i, j; bring orange folder back signed.
finished putting 25 new spelling words in spelling notebooks;
took listening comprehension quiz #2;
began day 1 of comprehension packet;
practiced cursive, letters u, y, i, j;
wrote a paragraph based on what was shown in a picture on the screen.
4th: Homework: spelling words 3x each; day 1 of comprehension packet; cursive u, y, i, j; bring orange folder back signed.
finished putting 25 new spelling words in spelling notebooks;
took listening comprehension quiz #2;
began day 1 of comprehension packet;
practiced cursive, letters u, y, i, j;
wrote a paragraph based on what was shown in a picture on the screen.
reading intervention group: Homework: read the word list 3x and the phrases list 4x, trying to go faster each time. Parents, if your student does not know a word, it is okay to supply the word for them; this is not sounding out practice. It would be fine to use a timer for the phrases practice if that would motivate your student, but it is not required. (I will do timing at school.)
practiced reading the word list and the phrases list of lesson 17.
October 19--
Students took a spelling test.
Students began putting 25 new spelling words in their notebooks.
Students whose parents requested a paper word list on Friday (for the following Friday's test) brought those lists home today. Some of those lists are highlighted as we discussed at conferences.
Students read Scholastic News silently.
October 18--Homework: study for tomorrow's spelling test.
3rd:
reviewed cursive letters e, l, f;
participated in class discussion about best strategies for writing a paragraph about St. Luke;
completed a worksheet of cursive practice, e, l, f;
played a spelling practice game;
continued reading aloud and discussing chapter 8 and part of chapter 9 of Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective;
wrote a paragraph about St. Luke.
4th:
reviewed cursive letters e, l, f;
participated in class discussion about best strategies for writing a paragraph about St. Luke;
completed a worksheet of cursive practice, e, l, f;
played a spelling practice game;
discussed chapter 5 of Sarah, Plain and Tall;
read and discussed chapter 6 of Sarah, Plain and Tall;
wrote a paragraph about St. Luke.
October 17--
3rd:
practiced phonograms--oral phonogram review
reviewed Latin and Greek roots
identified subjects and verbs in a few spelling sentences (from their homework)
lesson: regular verbs: verbs that form their past tense by adding -ed and irregular verbs--verbs that form their past tense in some other way;
completed a worksheet identifying regular verbs and irregular verbs;
wrote a paragraph to tell what happened in a picture projected onto the screen;
continued reading aloud and discussing Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective.
4th:
practiced phonograms--oral phonogram review
reviewed Latin and Greek roots
identified subjects and verbs in a few spelling sentences (from their homework)
lesson: regular verbs: verbs that form their past tense by adding -ed and irregular verbs--verbs that form their past tense in some other way;
completed a worksheet identifying regular verbs and irregular verbs;
wrote a paragraph to tell what happened in a picture projected onto the screen;
continued reading aloud and discussing Sarah, Plain and Tall.
October 16--
3rd: Homework: Write 10 sentences. Each sentence should include at least one spelling word.
learned three new Latin and Greek roots and discussed English words that have those roots [listed on the "vocabulary" page of this site];
reviewed the forms of the verb "to be" and the helping verbs;
completed a worksheet identifying subjects, helping verbs, and main verbs;
took an oral quiz on chapter 5 of Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective;
read and discussed chapter 6 of Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective;
wrote a paragraph to tell what happened in a picture projected on the screen.
4th: Homework: Write 15 sentences. Each sentence should include at least one spelling word.
learned three new Latin and Greek roots and discussed English words that have those roots;
reviewed the forms of the verb "to be" and the helping verbs;
completed a worksheet identifying subjects, helping verbs, and main verbs;
took an oral quiz on chapter 2 of Sarah, Plain and Tall;
read and discussed chapter 3 of Sarah, Plain and Tall;
wrote a paragraph to tell what happened in a picture projected on the screen.
October 15--
3rd: Homework: spelling words three times each; read chapter 5 of "Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective"; finish comprehension test for "Pepita Talks Twice" if you have not already turned this in.
finished putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks,
reviewed how to head their papers,
reviewed the forms of the verb "to be" and the helping verbs;
finished comprehension test for "Pepita Talks Twice";
continued reading and discussing Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective;
reading workbook pages 11 and 13.
4th: Homework: spelling words three times each; read chapter 2 of Sarah, Plain and Tall; finish comprehension test for "Donovan's Word Jar" if you have not already turned this in.
finished putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks,
reviewed how to head their papers,
reviewed the forms of the verb "to be" and the helping verbs;
finished comprehension test for "Donovan's Word Jar";
began reading and discussing a novel, Sarah, Plain and Tall;
began taking the comprehension test for "My Name is Maria Isabel".
October 11--Please remember to bring back the field trip form filled out on both sides and signed.
3rd and 4th:
students practiced for their spelling test;
took a spelling test;
began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks;
cursive practice: h, l, k, t
English grammar lesson: reviewed forms of the verb "to be"; learned that those forms of "to be" plus 15 more verbs are helping verbs that can be combined with a main verb.
Students practiced generating sentences with verb phrases (helping verbs combined with main verbs).
Helping Verbs
am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been
have, has, had
do, does, did
may, might, must
can, could
shall, should
will, would
October 10--Homework: study spelling words. The test is TOMORROW. Finish cursive worksheet. Parents, please fill out and return the filed trip form that your student brought home today. Thank you so much!
3rd:
corrected English grammar assignment, p. 139-140;
new English grammar lesson: p. 146, the forms of the verb "to be". The forms of the verb "to be" are am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been;
new English grammar assignment: p. 147, identifying verbs as action verbs or being verbs;
cursive practice: c, a, d, g, o;
read aloud and discussed chapter 3 of Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective;
practiced spelling words in a classroom game.
4th:
corrected English grammar assignment p. 153;
new English grammar lesson: selecting the correct form of the verb so that subject and verb agree; spelling rules for making a verb past tense;
new English grammar assignment: p. 159 written practice, A and B;
cursive practice: c, a, d, g, o;
finished reading and discussing "My Name is Maria Isabel";
started the comprehension test for "My Name is Maria Isabel";
practiced spelling words in a classroom game.
October 9--Homework: spelling worksheet: trace each spelling word then write it two more times. (If you were absent today, you may just use your own paper to write each spelling word three times.)
Orange folders came home today. Please go through your student's papers with him or her, sign the folder, and return Wednesday.
3rd:
reviewed Latin and Greek roots; learned three new roots [listed on the vocabulary page of this website],
English Grammar, p. 139-140, exercises A and B
oral phonogram review
written phonogram quiz
continued reading aloud and discussing Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective.
began spelling homework, writing spelling words three times each.
4th:
reviewed Latin and Greek roots; learned three new roots [listed on the vocabulary page of this website],
English Grammar, p. 153, exercise B
oral phonogram review
written phonogram quiz
continued reading aloud and discussing "My Name is Maria Isabel",
began spelling homework, writing spelling words three times each.
October 8--Homework: practice spelling words on your own; bring orange folder back signed.
3rd:
finished putting 25 new spelling words in their spelling notebooks and discussed each word,
finished paragraph about St. Raphael,
finished letter to Waste Management guest presenter,
did oral phonogram review,
finished comprehension test for "Pepita Talks Twice".
began reading and discussing Nate the Great, San Francisco Detective.
4th:
finished putting 25 new spelling words in their notebooks,
finished paragraph about St. Raphael,
finished letter to Waste Management guest presenter,
did oral phonogram review,
finished comprehension test for "Donovan's Word Jar".
continued reading and discussing "My Name is Maria Isabel".
October 5--
Students took a spelling test.
Students began putting 25 new spelling words in their notebooks.
October 4--Homework: study for spelling test tomorrow.
MAP testing today.
Students started writing a letter to the presenter who taught them on Tuesday about waste management.
October 3--
Students discussed the meanings of spelling words and how to use them in sentences.
Students reviewed orally what they had learned in the presentation yesterday about waste management.
We reviewed how to format a hand-written letter and discussed the letter they will write tomorrow to their guest presenter.
October 2--MAP testing in this time slot.
October 1--Homework: spelling words three times each
3rd grade:
Students finished putting 25 more words in their spelling notebooks.
English grammar: rewriting sentences so that the verbs are in the past tense, English book p. 137 A.
Began reading and discussing "Nate the Great".
Finished test for "Pepita Talks Twice".
4th grade:
Students finished putting 25 new spelling words in their notebooks.
English grammar: lesson--helping verbs and verb phrases. English book p. 146 A.
began reading and discussing "My Name is Maria Isabel".
Reading workbook p. 11
September 28-- Students took a spelling test and began putting 25 new words in their spelling notebooks.
September 27--Homework: study for spelling test; finish English assignment (grade 3, p. 137 A; grade 4, p. 143 A.)
3rd:
English grammar lesson: Verbs have tenses. The verb tense tells the time the action happened. Use the past tense for action that happened in the past. Use present tense for action happening right now. Use the future tense for action that will happen later. The past tense is often formed by adding -ed to the verb, but English has many irregular verbs that form their past tense in other ways. The future tense always has will.
examples: past present future
walked walk, walks will walk
smiled smile, smiles will smile
worked work, works will work
exercise: English grammar book page 137 A.
Students finished reading and discussing "Pepita Talks Twice" and began the comprehension test.
4th:
English grammar lesson: A verb can show action (e.g. walk, talk, swim, run, study), but a verb can also show being. There are eight being verbs: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been. Students did oral exercises from the book selecting the correct "be" verb to use in each sentence.
exercise: English grammar book p. 143 A.
Students started and finished the comprehension test for "Donovan's Word Jar".
September 26--Homework: finish English grammar assignment: third grade, p. 132, fourth grade p. 140. Study spelling words.
3rd: corrected spelling sentences worksheet homework; practiced finding verbs in sentences; began assignment identifying verbs, English book p. 132; correcting spelling three times each errors; began writing paragraph about St. Michael; continued reading aloud and discussing "Pepita Talks Twice".
4th: corrected spelling sentences worksheet homework; practiced finding verbs in sentences; began assignment identifying verbs, English book p. 140; correcting spelling three times each errors; began writing paragraph about St. Michael; continued reading aloud and discussing "Pepita Talks Twice".
September 25--Homework: spelling fill in the blank worksheet; complete printing practice worksheet for v, w, x, y, z.
3rd: students continued reading aloud and discussing "Pepita Talks Twice". They learned two new roots, one Latin and one Greek. (These are on the vocabulary page of this website.) Students learned some facts about angels, wrote a paragraph about angels, and practiced printing letters v, w, x, y, z.
4th: Students continued reading aloud and discussing "Donovan's Word Jar". They learned two new roots, one Latin and one Greek. (These are on the vocabulary page of this website.) Students learned some facts about angels, wrote a paragraph about angels, and practiced printing letters v, w, x, y, z.
September 24--Homework: spelling words three times each on the paper I gave them for this assignment; finish printing practice for the letters p, s, e, f, qu.
3rd and 4th grades:
finished putting 25 spelling words for this week in their spelling notebooks
printing practice, letters p, s, e, f, qu
learned the elements of a paragraph and practiced those elements
wrote a paragraph about St. Matthew from notes developed together by the class.
A paragraph has a topic sentence and supporting details. The topic sentence lets the reader know what the topic of your paragraph is. The other sentences contain supporting details that tell the reader more about the topic. Each sentence must be a complete sentence, must begin with a capital letter, and must end with punctuation. The first line of a paragraph is indented. The start of all the other sentences begins after the punctuation from the last sentence. When the writing comes to the margin on the right, the writer continues writing on the very next line beginning at the red margin line on the left.
September 21--
Students took a spelling test.
Students began putting the next set of words in their spelling notebooks.
Students began discussing facts that they can include in a paragraph about St. Matthew.
September 20--Homework: study for spelling test. Idea: have a family member quiz you on the words. Then study the words you got wrong.
3rd grade:
printing: practiced letters i, j, m, n, r
writing: practiced how to put a heading on all work done on loose leaf paper: name on top line on the left beginning at the red margin line, date beginning at the margin on the line below name, assignment name on the next line below the date, also at the red margin. Skip one line then begin work at the margin. If it is a numbered exercise, put the numbers to the left of the red margin line. All loose leaf papers should have this heading.
reading: read aloud and discussed the vocabulary lesson pages that go with the story "Pepita Talks Twice", pp. 42-43.
reading: workbook pages 1 and 3.
Dictionary practice: students practiced using a dictionary. They looked up the word "stamina" to see what it means. Your sons and daughters are building stamina in how long they are able to work quietly and independently.
4th grade:
printing: practiced letters i, j, m, n, r
writing: practiced how to put a heading on all work done on loose leaf paper: name on top line on the left beginning at the red margin line, date beginning at the margin on the line below name, assignment name on the next line below the date, also at the red margin. Skip one line then begin work at the margin. If it is a numbered exercise, put the numbers to the left of the red margin line. All loose leaf papers should have this heading.
reading: continued reading aloud and discussing "Donovan's Word Jar".
reading: workbook pages 2 and 6.
Dictionary practice: students practiced using a dictionary. They looked up the word "stamina" to see what it means. Your sons and daughters are building stamina in how long they are able to work quietly and independently.
September 19--Homework: study spelling words for test on Friday. Ask a family member to give you a practice test so you know which words you still need to study.
3rd grade:
spelling: corrected errors on their spelling homework
printing: practiced letters b, h, k, l, t
vocabulary: learned two new roots and reviewed or learned English words with those roots
phonograms: oral phonogram review, cards 1-47
grammar: learned how to form a possessive form of a singular noun by adding apostrophe s ('s); oral exercise in which they distinguished between plural nouns and possessive nouns; written exercise p. 87, #6-10
reading: began reading aloud and discussing "Pepita Talks Twice".
I began reading fluency tests with third graders.
4th grade:
spelling: corrected errors on their spelling homework
printing: practiced letters b, h, k, l, t
vocabulary: learned two new roots and reviewed or learned English words with those roots
phonograms: oral phonogram review, cards 1-47
grammar: learned how to form a possessive form of both singular nouns and plural nouns by adding apostrophe s ('s) or s apostrophe (s'); oral exercise in which they correctly formed possessive nouns; written exercise p. 282, exercise A.
September 18--Some students are working to improve the look of their printing. We will work on this for a few days. Those whose printing is already excellent will be offered other work to do in place of printing practice. We will begin cursive the second week of October.
3rd grade: corrected the grammar assignment on p. 79; began printing practice for letters that begin like the letter c: c, a, d, g, o. The main body of these letters fits between the middle line and the base line. The tail on g goes straight down below the base line then curves at the end into a fish hook. The stem of d rises above the middle line. Students finished reading "Officer Buckle and Gloria" and took the comprehension test together as a group. Students learned the meaning of "singular" and "plural" and learned about making plural nouns. Homework: English grammar p. 84, written exercise A; finish the printing practice page for c, a, d, g, o; write spelling words one time each and circle the nouns. Remember, a noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. You can use our noun tester: A __________ or the _________________.
4th grade: corrected the grammar assignment on p. 105; began printing practice for letters that begin like the letter c: c, a, d, g, o. The main body of these letters fits between the middle line and the base line. The tail on g goes straight down below the base line then curves at the end into a fish hook. The stem of d rises above the middle line. Students finished the comprehension test for "The Gardener" which they began yesterday. Students learned the meaning of "singular" and "plural" and learned about making plural nouns. Homework: English grammar p. 84, written exercise A; finish the printing practice page for c, a, d, g, o; write spelling words one time each and circle the nouns. Remember, a noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. You can use our noun tester: A __________ or the _________________.
September 17--
3rd grade: finished writing their spelling words in their spelling notebooks. They reviewed the concept of common nouns and proper nouns and practiced orally identifying proper nouns. They began a written exercise, p. 79, written exercise B in the green English grammar book. Homework: write spelling words three time each; finish English grammar assignment p. 79, written exercise B. Students have a photocopy of the exercise. (Remember, the spelling words are on this site on the page called "spelling words".)
4th: finished writing their spelling words in their spelling notebooks. They reviewed the concept of common nouns and proper nouns and practiced orally identifying each kind in sentences. They began written exercise C on p. 105 in the yellow English grammar book. Students finished reading "The Gardener" and started the vocabulary and comprehension test; they did this together as a group. Homework: write spelling words three times each; finish English grammar assignment p. 105, written exercise C. Students have a photocopy of the exercise. (Remember, the spelling words are on this site on the page called "spelling words".)
September 14--
Students began writing in their spelling notebooks today. They learned the procedures for recording in their spelling notebooks and recorded and discussed the first twelve words of next week's spelling list. On Monday, they will record and discuss the remaining thirteen words. Students will typically have spelling homework Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Spelling tests will be Friday mornings. Students who need extra time studying for spelling can use the weekends; the spelling words for the following week will be on the website on Fridays. Next week's spelling words are listed under this website's page called "spelling words". Students are divided into two sections: Section L and section R. Each student knows which group he or she is in.
September 13--
Students took a spelling pretest, did oral phonogram review, learned three new phonograms, reviewed all the Greek and Latin roots they know, and reviewed the four kinds of sentences (declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory). Students practiced making each kind of sentence aloud using vocabulary words from our Latin and Greek roots. For example, using the word photograph, make each kind of sentence:
Declarative: That photograph shows the house where I grew up.
Interrogative: May I see that photograph?
Imperative: Bring me that photograph on the table.
Exclamatory: That photograph is amazing!
Students wrote eight sentences, two of each kind, using vocabulary words from our Latin and Greek root study.
3rd: continued reading aloud and discussing "Office Buckle and Gloria".
4th: continued reading aloud and discussing "The Gardener".
September 12--
computer use: students learned how to use our computer cabinet, how to remove computers, and how to return them properly.
grammar: students learned the components of a friendly letter; students reviewed capitalization rules.
writing: students wrote a letter.
September 11--Homework: complete the Sentence Types worksheet, p. 213 (and bring it back to school).
vocabulary--We reviewed all the Greek and Latin roots we have learned so far. Students took turns naming English words that are formed using each root.
phonograms--oral phonogram learning and review, phonograms 27-34.
listening comprehension--Students listened to a passage twice then took a 10-point quiz on the passage.
grammar--students learned four kinds of sentences: declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory.
Declarative sentences make a statement, tell information. They end in a period. Example: The rain is falling softly.
Interrogative sentences ask a question. They end with a question mark. They usually begin with who, what, when, where, why, how. Example: Why does the sun seem to rise?
Imperative sentences give a command. They end in a period. Example: Shut the door.
Exclamatory sentences show strong emotion. They end in an exclamation point. Example: The ice cream truck is here!
3rd grade: Students began reading aloud and discussed "Officer Buckle and Gloria".
4th grade: Students began reading aloud and discussing "The Gardener".
September 10--Homework: Complete common nouns / proper nouns worksheet.
phonograms--oral phonogram review; we added five more: sh, ee, th, ow, ou
vocabulary--we reviewed Latin and Greek roots and added four more. See the vocabulary page on this site for details.
grammar--A common noun names a person, place, thing, (or idea) without naming one particular one. A proper noun names a specific person, place, or thing. Boy, dog, state, and river are examples of common nouns. John, Rex, Washington, and Snohomish River are examples of proper nouns.
spelling pretest--I was planning to give a spelling pretest today, but some students were absent. I will give it one day this week when everyone is present.
3rd grade: met in reading group. Students read orally, and we and discussed the vocabulary pages (pp. 14-15) for Officer Buckle and Gloria.
4th grade: met in reading group. Students read orally, and we and discussed the vocabulary pages (pp. 20-21) for The Gardener.
September 7--Students read independently from their book or from Scholastic News. We continued reading together the Power Point presentation about the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
September 6--
Grammar: Students reviewed what a noun is. A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. They took turns naming nouns for persons, places, things, and ideas. Idea nouns include freedom, kindness, generosity. Students wrote their own sentences, one including a person noun, a place noun, a thing noun, and an idea noun.
Cursive: students wrote in their best cursive for ten minutes copying classroom procedures. This exercise will help me know how much cursive instruction they need to master writing in cursive. Parents will see this page in June along with the June sample of best cursive.
Phonograms: Students practiced the first 26 phonograms. When I show the card and they say all the sounds that phonogram can make, I call that oral phonogram review.
Reading: Students worked together as a class to complete Reading Detective (pretest page). These exercises are particularly helpful because students must prove their answer by telling where in the passage they found the answer. We also began reading and discussing a Power Point presentation about the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Vocabulary: students reviewed the four Latin and Greek roots they learned this week.
September 5--
Categories of literature: We discussed the main categories of written work: fiction and non-fiction. In our classroom library, our non-fiction books are in three groups: biography, science, and social studies. Our fiction books are in three groups: picture books, early readers, and chapter books. Students may borrow books from our classroom library and make take them home to read. Students practiced putting a variety of books from our library in the correct category and putting them away in the correct location in our library. Students will sometimes be assigned a book from our library to read and report on.
vocabulary: students learned three Latin roots and one Greek root and discussed English words that have those roots. Students learned how to use roots they recognize to figure out the meaning of English words. (The vocabulary page on this website has the roots and words students are studying.)
phonograms: In English there are about 70 phonograms--letters or groups of letters that make a single sound. Students recited the first 26 and practiced the ones they were not sure about. The first 26 phonograms are the alphabet letters. All the remaining phonograms are combinations of more than one letter.
Writing: students wrote a paragraph about their summer in their best printing. Students read Scholastic News.
September 4--In this time slot Mr. Egan and Mrs. Murphy taught students classroom procedures and playground rules. Students put their supplies away.