Monday, August 31st

Happy Monday!

We had a busy start to our week!  We began to take our knowledge and understanding of place value and modeling, and apply it to adding multi-digit whole numbers.  Some students worked on their rounding and estimation skills this afternoon while utilizing the Atlanta Falcons' salaries from last season.

Students were introduced to the summative task that they will be working on during our trip to the zoo on Thursday.  We are excited to choose our animals tomorrow!

Students received several items for homework today.  The Native American reading packet is their reading for the week.  It is due Friday, but can be turned in before then.  The science study guide came home today as well.  Our science assessment will take place on Friday.

Don't forget to sign the t-shirt form that was sent home today.  Thank you to our PTO!!

See you tomorrow!

Thursday, August 27th

Happy Thursday!
We completed our second morning of MAP testing.  If students were unable to finish today, they will make up the testing sometime next week.

We dissected owl pellets!!  Students used toothpicks to dig in to an owl pellet and extract the bones of the animal inside.  They were able to make lots of connections to the central idea and lines of inquiry.  Check out our pictures.  Video to come soon.  Ask your child to tell you more!

We are prepared for our math assessment tomorrow.  Students have made great progress with utilizing place value to assist with ordering numbers, and rounding.

See you tomorrow!

Wednesday, August 26th

We had a very busy day!
Students worked to complete their first day of MAP testing.  If they were not able to finish today, they will be scheduled to complete their test at another time.

Students worked to compare and order numbers by playing a game with a partner.  They also put their numbers in order for greatest to least.  Ask your child to tell you more!

Students completed a matching activity for their Native American tribes.  They were able to bring it home in their homework folders today.  Please use this as a study guide to help them remember each tribes location, and resources.

Thank you for sending in your zoo forms!  I hope you have a great evening!

Thank you for coming!!

I appreciate your support tonight.  Thank you so much for coming to curriculum night!  Here are the pictures that we didn't get share: ;)

 Mrs. Sanders' Family - Allen, Freddy, Luke

Ms. Ehmer's puppy - Duchess

Tuesday, August 25th

It's Tuesday, and it's Curriculum Night!

I am looking forward to having you here and sharing information about our school and our classroom.  We will begin at 6:30 in the classroom.  Please join us!

We had a very busy day.  Students expanded on our rounding from yesterday to practice rounding to any place value using a vertical number line to model their thinking.

Students enjoyed story telling during Spanish with Senora Souki.  Ask your child to tell you more!

We utilized Tiger Rising to analyze our main character, Rob.  Students used his feelings, action, thoughts, and sayings to provide evidence as to why Rob is the way that he is.  They then used this information about Rob to make three inferences about what he might do next.  They provided evidence to support their predictions.

Don't forget to return your field trip forms and money.  Book orders are due tomorrow!

See you tonight at 6:30!!

Monday, August 24th

Happy Monday!

We had a wonderful day!  Students did a wonderful job working to review saying and writing numbers in standard and expanded form.  We then worked on rounding numbers to the nearest 1,000.  Students learned to underline the thousands place and use that number to determine their lowest benchmark numbers.

Students worked to play Native American jeopardy.  It was a great review to prepare us for our upcoming project.

We worked to make inferences today.  Students used our read aloud, Tiger Rising, to assist them in making predictions about what may happen in the next chapter.

Please check red folders and book bags!  I have only received field trip forms for half of the class.  They are due Thursday.  Book orders are due Wednesday.

Have a great night!

Friday, August 21st

What a day. We were so busy, I almost forgot to blog!

Thank you to everyone who was able to come to the picnic tonight. It was a great time!
We have a busy week ahead of us. Tuesday is Currculum night . Please join me in our classroom for some great information about the school year. Curriculum Night will begin at 6:30..
MAP Testing will be August 26th-28th beginning at 7:55. Please help your child arrive to school on time.

Keep those zoo field trip forms and money coming. They are due Thursday, and book orders are due Wednesday.
Have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, August 20th

We had a wonderful Thursday!
Students worked to build 1,000.  They were challenged to use noodles, or beans to represent the number 1,000.  They were to use strategies that we have been using in class.

We continued working on our map for social studies.  We have added some of our native tribes to the map.  I will post a picture of our finished product tomorrow.

We worked to added evidence to support the character traits of our main character in Tiger Rising.  We are using our iPads to create a working representation of our book.  I am looking forward to seeing the finished products.

I hope you all can join us for the F.AVE Family Picnic from 5-8 tomorrow.
Curriculum night is on Tuesday at 6:30.  I hope to see you there.
Don't forget to send in your field trip forms and money, as well as book order forms and money.

See you tomorrow!

Wednesday, August 19th

We had a good day!

We started with multiplication war!  Ask your child to tell you more, or challenge them to a game.  We continued working with place value.  We used the largest unit to compare multi-digit numbers and determine which one was the greatest.  Students have review for homework tonight.  See the sample below to assist with division.

We enjoyed a lesson from Ms. Theisen.  She expanded our ecosystem knowledge and understanding from food chains to food webs.  Students were able to determine that all things in an ecosystem are dependent on each other for survival.

We also began a social studies project today.  We are working to create a "timeline" of sorts that will be used throughout the school year.  Ask your child to tell you more!

 Don't forget to return your forms and money for our field trip and for our author visit.

Mark your calendars!!!!  Friday is our F.AVE Family picnic from 5-8pm.  I look forward to seeing you all there!

Tuesday, August 25th is Curriculum Night at F.AVE.  Please, join us in the classroom to discuss classroom procedures, what to expect in 4th grade, grading, and more.  We will be at 6:30pm.  See you then!

Have a great evening!

Wednesday, August 18th

Happy Tuesday!
We worked hard this morning to apply our knowledge of place value to break numbers into their expanded form, and unit forms.  We worked to add these numbers together and create representations using models on a place value chart.

Students worked to connect our food chain activity from Friday to energy flow in an ecosystem.  They were able to link our activities to our line of inquiry: Connections between organisms within an ecosystem.  Ask your child to tell you more!

As we continued our read aloud of Tiger Rising, students were challenged to become a character in the book.  There was even some acting!  Our risk-takers volunteered to act out the chapter as I was reading, but they couldn't use their voices.

We hope you can join us this Friday for our F.AVE Family Picnic!  It is from 5-8pm, and we will have food trucks available for dinner!  A portion of the sales will go to our PTO.  Everyone will get a free Sno-ball, and there will be a DJ!  See you there!

Don't forget to send in your zoo field trip permission forms and money, as well as book order forms for our author's visit.  Also, if you would like to chaperone our field trip, please e-mail me.  I am looking for 5 now.  Only two chaperones can join us on the bus, but the others can meet us at the zoo.
Have a great evening!

Monday, August 17th

Welcome back!  We had a great start to our week!

We enjoyed a trip to the media center.  Mrs. Smith introduced us to books by our visiting author, Jacqueline Kelly.  She will be visiting F.AVE on September 4th.  If you wish to pre-order books for her to sign, the order form is in the red communication folder.  It is due by next Wednesday.

We continued to review our Native Tribes.  Students are preparing to complete a class project around this topic.

We began a read aloud of Tiger Rising.  This will be a focus for the next few weeks as we work to become even better readers.

Please check the red folders today.  There is a permission form for our upcoming field trip to the zoo.  Please return the form and money by next Thursday.  We will need two chaperones for this field trip.  The cost for chaperones is $10.  Please e-mail me if you are interested. csanders@csdecatur.net

Please join us this Friday for the F.AVE Family Picnic from 6-8pm.  We will have food trucks and lots of fun!

Have a great evening!

Friday, August 17th

What a fun Friday!

We continued our work with multiplicative comparison.  We branched into division today as well.  Students worked to model equations such as 4 hundred thousands/10.

We had a fun activity outside to explore the structure of an ecosystem and food chains.  Students had roles to play and rules to follow.  Ask your child to tell you more!!!

We continued with our guided reading assessments this afternoon, and Ms. Ehmer did a fun and silly introduction to grammar.

We also had our first Chance ticket drawing of the school year!!
The MAP Schedule has been updated in the upcoming events area.  We are schedule August 26th-28th from 7:55 - 9:00.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Thursday, August 13th

Happy Thursday!

Students were signed up on xtramath.org today.  This is a great site that practices math facts.  Students need practice with fluency with addition, and subtraction facts.  This will greatly help their ability to solve multiplication and addition problems.

We worked to create vocabulary Frayer models for science.  Students worked to describe key vocabulary words such as producers, consumer, predator, prey, and more.

As we continue to work on our writing pieces, students were read an excerpt from a book.  This piece described a big event, and students were charged with the task of coming up with big events from their lives that they could write about.

We are looking forward to another great day tomorrow!!

Wednesday, August 12th

It's mid-week, and we are on a roll!

We continued working with our multiplicative comparisons today.  Students used models to demonstrate how grouping and multiplication changes place value.  They will be working on this tonight for homework.  Here is a picture that may help if they get stuck:

We enjoyed a science lesson with Ms. Theisen.  She helped us come up with a deeper meaning of ecosystem and all of the "things" that may be a part of them.  Ask your child to tell you more!

Students began to think of ideas for personal narratives.  They were asked to generate a list of possible writing topics from their remembered life.

Stay tuned for updates about MAP testing.  I will post them as soon as I receive them.

Possible changes to the MAP Schedule

Good morning,
We received word that there will likely be changes to the MAP testing schedule.  Please, disregard the previously posted dates and times, and stay tuned for updates.  Thank you!

Volunteer at the FAVE Family Picnic

The F.AVE Family Picnic is on August 21st.  If you are interested in volunteering, please follow the link below.  Thanks!
Picnic Volunteers

Tuesday, August 11th

Another busy day!

We worked to understand place value today.  We compared numbers as a multiplication equation(10 times as many as). An example is: 10 is 10 times as many as 1.  Students worked with number discs to practice modeling their statements.

Students enjoyed Spanish with Senora Souki today.  They worked to learn important vocabulary that they will utilize throughout the school year.

We worked on a proofreading pre-assessment.  This is a wonderful tool as we head into our writing process and grammar lessons.

Thank you for returning your forms.  Please continue to send them in.

Don't forget to check out our Upcoming Events section.  There are many important and fun things happening at F.AVE.

Our class will have MAP testing on August 25th-27th from 7:55 - 9:00 am.  Please be sure to have students to school on time.

Have a great evening!

Monday, August 10th

What a great start to our week!  I can't believe how much we did today!

Some of today's highlights are:
-We began working to understand place value, and played a math game.

-We had our first trip to the media center to check out books.  Some students were not able to checkout books because we had our first fire drill of the year during that time.  These students will be given time tomorrow.

-Students shared the item that they brought in their brown bag.  Their tables-mates decided which IB Attitudes that demonstrated in their friend.  Ask your child to tell you more!!

 -And.......drum roll, please.......WE GOT THE IPADS OUT!!!  I know that since coming to F.AVE this is what students have been waiting for.  They did a great job handling them responsibly.  They explored the different apps available for our educational purposes and completed a STAR Reader assessment to determine their AR level.

We ended our day with a survival activity.  Ask your child to tell you more!

If you have any forms that have not been returned, please return them tomorrow.

Have a great evening!

Friday, August 10th

Happy Friday!!!

We have had a wonderful week!  Our celebration this morning was great!  Thank you to all who were able to come.

 We continued our day working to create our learner profile posters from our room.  Students worked in small groups to create a poster that describes and represents their assigned learner profile trait.  These will be hung in the classroom all school year.

For homework this weekend, students were given a brown bag.  They are to put ONE thing in the bag that represents them.  It must fit in the bag, and it must follow school policies.  They will bring their bag to school Monday to use for an activity, and their item will come home on Monday afternoon.  I can't wait to see what they've brought.

Thank you for returning your iPad forms!  We are ready to roll out iPads on Monday!

I hope you have a restful weekend.  See you Monday!!

Thursday, August 6th

We had another wonderful day!

Students completed a pre-assessment during math.  These assessments provide great information for teachers and allow us to have a better understanding of the level of each child.  These are not to be a cause for stress or concern.  Everyone did a great job of trying their best!

Students were provided a mentor text that we have read this week.  They were able to work in their table teams to identify the learner profile traits that were demonstrated in the book.  Students provided evidence from the text to support their thinking.  They then worked to create a poster for their book.

We had our first independent daily reading this afternoon, and our class did fantastic!!  Students had great stamina, as they read for over 20 uninterrupted minutes.  During this time, Ms. Ehmer and I began guided reading assessments.  These will continue through next week.

If you have not signed and returned your iPad permission form, please send it back tomorrow.

We are looking forward to our End of the 1st Week Celebration in the multi-purpose room at 8:15 tomorrow morning!  If you are able, please join us in celebrating a successful first week of school.

See you tomorrow!

Wednesday, August 5th

Whew!  We had an amazingly busy day and fun day!

We enjoyed getting to know Ms. Newton, our IB Coordinator today.  She did a great lesson with our class to introduce our unit for term 1 - Sharing the Planet.  We were also introduced to our IB Learner Profile Traits.  Ask your child to tell you more!!

Students completed a matching activity with their table buddies using the Learner Profile Traits and entered them in their IB Journals.

We explored books to practice finding a just right book.  Student dug through our class library and worked to find a book that was just right for them.

Our day ended it iPad training!!  Mrs. Smith came to our class and informed us about all of the ways to take care of our iPads.  Students received a form today that must be signed by them and YOU.  We are not able to use our class iPads until ALL students have returned their completed forms.  You can find these forms in their agendas.  Please return them, along with any other forms, tomorrow.

I hope you have a wonderful evening!!

Tuesday, August 4th

Happy Tuesday!  We had another great day on the Ave.

Students worked to create our essential agreements.  These are important, as we will abide by them for the remainder of the school year.  I think they did an amazing job!

We dove deeper into IB today, discussing the overall theme for our unit this term.  Ask your child to tell you more!!

Students were excited to set up a couple of journals today.  They began their IB, and writing journals.  We even added some ideas to our writing journals that we will use to begin drafting a piece of writing tomorrow!

Students have copied homework into their agendas each day this week.  Encourage great habits and organization at home, so their homework and agendas are returned to school daily.

If you have not yet returned the forms that were sent home in your child's red folder yesterday, please return them ASAP.

If you are interested in being our room parent, please send your contact information to me at csanders@csdecatur.net.  I will send it on to the correct people.  Thank you!!

See you in the morning!!

Monday, August 3rd - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Welcome to F.AVE!!!

We had a great start to our school year!  Most of our day was spent discussing classroom and school procedures.

Students played a brief getting to know you game that involved movement around the classroom.  They were able to find things in common with other students in the classroom.

Students were also introduced to IB and what it teaches us.  They worked to come up with the answers to these three questions...

Ask your child to tell you more!

THE ANSWER IS.... FREDDY IS 4, AND LUKE IS 1.

Communication folders were sent home this afternoon.  There are several forms that must be signed and returned.  Please return those forms, as well as the red folders, tomorrow.

We are looking forward to another great day tomorrow!