I wanted to take a moment to share some of the things I am most thankful for this year.
* I am thankful to work with children whose curiosity is limitless. *I am thankful to work with children whose smiles are contagious. *I am thankful to work with children who demonstrate great determination. *I am thankful to work with a community of parents that supports their children both academically & emotionally. *I am thankful to work with a community of parents that welcomes teachers into their lives. *I am thankful to work in a school district that encourages me to strive for greatness. *I am thankful to work with a dedicated staff that collaborates and supports one another. *I am thankful for my health and for the good health of family & friends. *I am thankful for my beautiful children and loving husband. *I am thankful for my freedom. *I am thankful. May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy the comfort and peace of being with friends and family. Reading nonfiction text is very different than reading fiction text. Reading nonfiction text is its own skill. Yes, we still make inferences, we still question, we still react. However, we pick up clues to help us differently.
This past week we dived into reading nonfiction articles. I created a metaphor for the students to help them tackle this skill. The metaphor is the dinner table discussion. The Dinner Table Discussion Topic When we sit down at the table, we usually talk about a topic. Well, the same goes in an article. A topic is 1-2 words that tells what the article is about. Usually the topic is repeated throughout an article. It is also found in the title usually, and many times pictures and captions lead us to identify the topic. In our class we have practiced circling or underlining the topic in red. Main Idea So what? Usually, when we have a dinner table conversation, we do not just shout out topics. We say something about them. What we say is our main idea. Just as in conversations, authors have a main idea about a topic. In an article, we can find clues about the main idea in the subtitle, the first and last paragraph, and the captions. It also helps to find the main idea of each paragraph and add them up to figure out what is the author's overall point. In our class we have been underlining the main idea in green. Supporting Key Details I don't know about your families, but in my family if you are a younger sibling and state a main idea at the dinner table without proof, watch out! Just kidding, I promise my own children are sweet darlings. Anyway, what would happen to a table without legs? It wouldn't be a table, just a top on the floor. The same goes with a main idea. It needs to rest on legs, or in this case, proof aka text evidence aka supporting key details. With orange highlighters in hand, our detective work begins and we scan for any evidence that proves our main idea. Sometimes the clues are in the text. Sometimes they are in maps, captions, charts, diagrams, photos, captions, and drawings. Our eyes need to be wide open as clues are everywhere! So, the next time you sit down for a family dinner, feel free to preface the discussion with some of the language we use in class. Ask what is the topic you want to talk about? So what about it? What's the main idea? Can you prove it? What are your supporting details that tell me more about the main idea? Below are pics of an example and of a nonfiction text feature chart to help with nonfiction reading. Hope your next dinner table conversation is lively and full o f details! I have a secret to share. My family calls me “Amanda the Brave”, and it is not because I am brave. I was the little girl who was afraid to speak up, afraid to climb to the top of the slide, afraid to tell my friends how I felt, afraid to jump off the diving board, afraid to ride my bicycle down a hill, afraid to go on a roller coaster… I think you get the picture. I was afraid. Today, I am still afraid, but I am getting braver and a huge part of it is because of my students. They are always showing me how they speak up when they are unsure or how they tackle a book that they thought was beyond their comprehension or how they persevere when trying to solve a problem or how they express their feelings to their peers with confidence. They really are brave. Well, this past week, I strolled on down to PE as I heard great things were happening in the gym. Let’s go with AMAZING THINGS! I saw my students with grit take on a rope pull to increase their cardiovascular endurance, stay on a balance ball with determination to improve their core strength and stability, and without hesitation climb a rope ladder to a very high platform and, like Spider-Man, pull themselves across a dangling net (all with a safety harness of course!) . Above all, I saw my students being BRAVE! They didn’t back down, they tried. I was inspired. I was going to try too. (Did I mention how scared I am of heights? How I do not even go on some escalators?!) The next day, I showed up in the gym before school in my yoga pants and with my bike helmet. I eyed the rope ladder with determination. My students were counting on me! Mrs. Grubba, Mr. Hoeft, and Mr. Cutler encouraged me to take one step at a time. Their positive reinforcement definitely kept me going! Needless to say, at some point my fear of heights did get the best of me. I did not make it to the top, but I did try. Thanks to my students and colleagues, I became a little braver. I realized that it is OK to have fears and I have accepted that I might not be as brave as some. But, I have also learned that every now and then I have to face my fears and be BRAVE! Below are some pics for your enjoyment! (Even one of me....Feel free to laugh!) As a culminating event for our biography genre study, we visited the Glenview Senior Center and interviewed various senior members of the community. We then wrote biographies about our volunteers. These biographies will be on display at the Senior Center and are in a book bin in our classroom. We are officially authors! I have to say that this trip is one of my favorite. The children are able to practice their speaking and listening skills and really begin to connect with a different generation. Through their questioning, students learned about the hardships many faced, their work ethic and determination, their joy in the simple things, and their kindness and love for life. It is very different to read about someone's life, then to hear it first hand. The students also shared how school is now and how they utilize technology on a daily basis. One thing did not change, as students they all enjoyed recess and playing with their peers! I hope this is a memory that the students will hold onto and cherish. Below are photos from the day. Thank you to all our wonderful parent volunteers for an amazingly fun-filled Halloween Party! We had the best time making mummy lights and participating in the mummy race! Below is a slideshow of our party. Everyone looked fabulous in their costumes! |
Welcome to Room 314!
Have fun following our fabulous 4th grade journey! Important Dates
August 22nd- First Day!
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September 2018
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