News for August 30

Dear Families:

We have finished the 4th week of school. I am enjoying meeting you to go over student data and to make sure that homework expectations are clear. Thank you for completing the homework habits survey. The best time to schedule an appointment with me is on a Monday or Tuesday between 3:40 and 4:20.

Dates to Note:

*September 3: Geometry test 1 points, lines, rays, polygons
*September 10: Geometry test 2 angles and symmetry
*Magnetism and Electricity test coming 3rd week of September

Here are brief blurbs about our current units of study:

During Reading Workshop, we are shifting from Building a Reading Life to Following Characters into Meaning. These teaching points will help students deeply investigate the characters in the books they are reading, which will help them develop interesting characters during the Arc of the Story narrative writing unit.

During Writing Workshop we have finished our first summary, which was a slow and extremely guided process. We now expect students to write at least one summary per month independently. 

During class, our teaching points are shifting to Arc of the Story. Students will learn that narratives follow an arc-also know as a plot diagram or story mountain. This arc begins with a small problem and shifts to larger and larger problems, which must be overcome by a protagonist (main character). Grade four writers are going to create a HEART for their story, just like the heart that they are identifying in all of the beautiful realistic fiction novels we have been reading in class.

For science, Electricity and Magnetism continues. We will pull out the circuit boards soon. Science will wrap up around the third week of September and an assessment will be given. The Geography and Culture of South Asia with a focus on India begins as science wraps up. As your son or daughter about BAD DATA.

For math, this is our final week on geometry basics and we are beginning to focus on angles and symmetry in class. Students are drawing angles with protractors and playing Angle Tangle, Angle Race, and Advanced Angle Tangle. These games will prepare students for geometry test 2. We have symmetry mirrors and many fun symmetry activities that we will do in class as well before the 10th of September. Khan Academy and IXL have important symmetry and angle practice games.

For math homework, all students are working on either multiplication or division skills at home, and all students are working on current geometry topics. IXL and Khan Academy are being used both in class and at home. Students may borrow games to use at home: Product Pile Up, Polygon Capture, Angle Tangle, and Angle Race.

MORE LINKS TO USE BEFORE SEPT 3's TEST:

Here is a great tool for polygon vocabulary review, if your son or daughter is having trouble remember polygon terminology and traits:

http://www.math-play.com/Polygon-Game.html

LINKS FOR THE SECOND GEOMETRY TEST SEPT 10

Introduction to symmetry

http://resources.hwb.wales.gov.uk/VTC/ngfl/maths/greg_morgan_symmetry/index.htm
*Type Symmetry into the SEARCH box to find the game

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/maths/shape_space/symmetry/activity.shtml 

Play with symmetry

http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/math-games/symmetrizer/ 

http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/maths/activities/year3/symmetry/shape_game.asp 

Sort according to number of lines of symmetry

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2numeracy-shape-and-weight.html#Symm 

Symmetry tool

http://www.flashymaths.co.uk/swf/rsymmetry.swf 

A LINK FOR OUR NEXT MATH UNIT: PLACE VALUE

Practice Reading Numbers: Especially Really Big Numbers

http://www.mathcats.com/explore/reallybignumbers.html

Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions please email me us tbritt@aisch.org and ddeanna@aisch.org.

Ms. T and Ms. Deanna

Math Assessments on Sept. 3 and Sept. 17: How to Study...

On Wednesday the 3rd of September, 4B students will take Geometry Test 1. On Wednesday the 17th of September, 4B students will take Geometry Test 2.

To study for test one, students should do the following:
*This test is about polygon terms, traits, symbols, lines, rays, line segments, and points.
1. Play Polygon Capture. This game will help with #4 below.
2. Review the Math Practice Book Pages work on lines, rays, line segments, parallel, perpendicular, and the like. These pages will be torn out of the MPB and put into our GREEN MATH study folders.
3. Use the TEMPLATE to draw each shape, name each shape, spell the name correctly, and use math terms to describe the shape. For example, if I draw the equilateral triangle from my template, then I will write "has 3 sides, has equal sides, has no right angles, has 3 angles which measure 60 degrees"...
4. Remember "symbols" for parallel, perpendicular, ray, line segment, line, and point... Our Writing About Math WAM notebook has notes for these symbols.
5. IXL grade 3 and grade 4 "geometry" games should be played, but SKIP area/perimeter, volume, and 3D topics. All students have their account as of Friday the 22nd.

To study for test two, students should do the following:

*This test is about symmetry and angles.
1. Review sheets in the GREEN MATH folder about symmetry.
2. Use the Khan Academy symmetry game: we will all be on Khan Academy by next Tuesday the 26th of Aug.
3. Play Angle Tangle and Advanced Angle Tangle. Students will have a protractor and the game to take home with them.

Summary Star Graphic Organizer Prewriting Tool

Possessives Quiz

Possessive Nouns

Geometry "I Can" Sentences

• I can identify and name and spell the names for polygons from triangles through to dodecagons. http://www.math.com/tables/geometry/polygons.htm
• I can describe their traits by using math terms that describe their sides and angles. Game: Polygon Capture helps with these skills...
• I can classify two-dimensional shapes into categories (including those with/without parallel line segments and perpendicular line segments).
• I can classify shapes by their angles. 
• I can name and identify right, straight, obtuse, and acute angles.
• I can identify a right triangle and equilateral triangle.
• I can identify and draw an example of point, line, line segment, ray, angle, parallel lines, and perpendicular lines.
• I can follow a set of instruction and draw a design of lines, line segments, points, rays and the like.

Magnets Observations From 4B Notebooks

Magnets attract and repel.

Magnets seem to have a force around them.

If you put the North Pole and North Pole together for two magnets, you can feel the magnets push each other apart.

You can make a magnet dance around if you put another magnet just at the edge of the dancing magnets magnetic field.

If you go to close into the dancing magnets field, then the magnets pull together.

You can put paper or a ruler in between two magnets and their force is still strong so they stay together.

If you put an eraser between two magnets, you break the force and they will not stick.

North to North are repelled by each other.

South to North or North to South are attracted to each other.

Opposites attract!

Magnets stick to chairs. 

Elements of Story Slideshow

click here 

What type of data are you gathering to get to know my child?

4B students are completing many assessments during the first few weeks of school, which are vital to getting to know them. Often the assessment is in the form of a game, such as Scoot. This way students do not realize it is truly a test. These assessments then help teachers guide instruction and differentiate and personalize instruction.

Here are some examples:
*Running records which inform words per minute fluency, Just Right reading levels, inferencing skills, and the like
*50 Multiplication Facts in 3 minutes
*Pre-testing for geometry content and vocabulary knowledge
*Pre-testing for multi-digit multiplication and division skills
*On Demand summary writing
*Daily Oral Language sentences, which help us see who applies the rules of capitalization and the like

I will not send all of these items home, but you may come in and see them by making an appointment with me or Ms. Deanna after the 4th week of school. 

News for August 18

Dear Families:

We have just finished week 2, and next Thursday the 21st of August is Back to School Night, which begins at 4P.M.

Look for another email with detailed information, but know that the two "teacher speaking" sessions are at 4 and at 5 in the classroom.

It is very important that at least one parent attend. If you miss the event, email me at tbritt@aisch.org so that we can make an appointment to meet.

Dates to Note:

*August 21: Back to School Night at 4

*August 25-28: School photos

Homework:  

This link provides videos that support current geometry instruction in class. We are not studying geometric solids or volume, but the other videos are relevant.

http://www.mathatube.com/geometry-home.html

Students who cannot score above 90% accuracy on 50 multiplication facts in 3 minutes, must study at home. Here are some study tools:

1. Hoops Multiplication with an Expo marker. A copy of these will come home soon.

2. Product Pile Up with a deck of cards.

3. Flash Cards

4. Use an online game from my blog, such as http://freerice.com/user/login

Here are brief blurbs about our current units of study:

During Reading Workshop, we are Building a Reading Life by learning how to select “Just Right” books and building a series of habits that will help us think deeply about our reading. For example, we are now using the StopNJot, which is a quick blurb on a sticky-note.

In grade 3, students focused on text to text, text to self, and text to world StopNJots. In grade 4, we are adding in a plethora of new ways to StopNJot including “Making Inferences”.

Please encourage your son or daughter to write 2 or 3 StopNJots as they are reading for homework.

During Writing Workshop we are learning to write “Long and Strong” and writing every day, which is new for most grade 4 students. Building stamina is the most difficult aspect of writing, so we encourage students to use pre-writing strategies, such as webbing, listing, sketching, and the like. Then as we draft, we do not stress about spelling and grammar. We simply push kids to get “ideas” on the page!

Our first genre of writing is The Summary: instruction for this begins next week. We will use the wonderful children’s book The Emperor and The Kite to explore how to infer author’s purpose or theme and then weave our theories into a persuasive summary. Students will work through the writing process and have models written by the teachers to use as a guide. Then, they will be asked to write at least one summary per month at home.  

For science, Electricity and Magnetism is our focus. Yet, building habits that good scientists use is just as important. Students are learning to use “the power of quiet observation” as their first habit, which is torturous because so many kids want to yell out “I see the magnets doing…!”

Another habit, which is challenging, is to keep a tidy and detailed science notebook.

Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions please email me us tbritt@aisch.org and ddeanna@aisch.org.

Ms. T and Ms. Deanna

User Names and Passwords for Awesome Resources!

• http://www.raz-kids.com/main/Login

user: grade4b4b

• Tumblebooks.com

user: aisc
password: chennai

• brainpop and brainpopjr

user: aisc
password: chennai

E and Magnetism Vocabulary Slideshow

click here for the slideshow

Welcome to 4B for 2014.15

Dear 4B Families, 

I am thrilled to be in Chennai for my 3rd year working as the grade 4B homeroom teacher with Ms. Deanna as my EAL co-teaching specialist. This is my 8th year abroad and my 16th year as a head teacher. 

I would like to recognize Ms. Valar. She is a most talented teaching assistant who spends a good deal of time in the classroom working stations with the children and teaching technology tools, which is her speciality. 

Ms. Deanna, Ms. Valar and I work side by side to create an environment of "courage, confidence, creativity, and compassion". Differentiation and personalization are our goals. Some examples are as follows:

• reading in a Just Right book during independent reading time based on a running record assessment, teacher observation, and student interest
• reading with a homogenous book club based on interest and reading level
• writing that essay based on your own theories 
• writing that story based on your personal life experience
• working on an IXL or Khan Academy math game that "you" need to practice based on assessment data
• using word study sorts based on your word study assessment

As you see above, we use data to drive instruction. With that said, we also use our hearts, our wisdom, and the power of relationships to drive instruction. 

Because communication is crucial to student success,  you will be on a 4B parent email list and emails will arrive to notify you that a current newsletter, homework update, list of topics for a test, sample work, or vocabulary study slideshow has been posted to my blog: brittkjthorpe.blogspot.in

I will also email you a trail of photographs from the classroom. Delete the email or download the pictures to your computer. I will NOT post these photographs on my blog, and I only save the photos that I use for my end of year iMovie.  

I typically write Newsletter blogs on Saturday or Sunday mornings when I have no distractions, and I try to send them out bi-weekly, sometimes weekly. Please read through each and every newsletter and I will try to be concise. If you need more detailed information, please email me at tbritt@aisch.org. 

For dates about school events, please continue to follow the AISC website: http://www.aisch.org/

You may visit me in person between 4:00 and 4:20 in room 3140 if you email in the morning to secure the time slot.

If you need a morning appointment, I am happy to see you between 8:00 and 8:20. Afternoon is much preferred however because I run a hands-on classroom, which requires a lot of morning preparation. 

I look forward to meeting you in person at Back to School Night and to starting the year with strong communication. 

Warm regards,

Ms. T