October 31, 2007
Book Reports
Book report presentations are about to begin! A bright pink information sheet that outlines the expectations should have reached you this week.
The book report presentations serve several purposes. One is for the students to share and advertise a book with the class so that others will want to read it. Another is to to help the students with their public speaking - they learn to speak in a clear voice with inflection, make eye contact, and be organized and prepared enough to respond to questions and comments from their peers with ease.
Each child is asked to sign up with me BEFORE Wednesday, 11/21, to share their book presentation with the class (no longer than 15 minutes).
The fourth graders have really rallied behind the third graders by sharing some experiences from last years' presentations. Everyone is looking forward to some great new book being introduced!
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.
Posted at 9:36 AM| Permalink
October 22, 2007
Upcoming Field Trips & Events
In conjunction with our Hawaiian Studies curriculum and the 100-years-in-Manoa celebration, the multiage 3/4 classes will be taking some fun and interesting trips over the next few weeks!• Monday, 10/29, Manoa Heritage Center
• Friday, 11/2, Foster Gardens
• Tuesday, 11/6, Manoa Stream Tour
Your children should wear covered shoes and an MPI collared shirt on these special days.
* No "bagged" lunches needed
Be sure to ask your child about each trip to find out what they learned. Then check out our gallery for the photos!
EVENTS:
Wednesday, Oct. 31st- Spooktivity 12:30-2:00pm
Monday, Nov.12th - NO SCHOOL Veterans Day!
Wednesday, Special Guest - Graham Salisbury, Author: Under a Blood Red Sun
Friday, Nov.16th Obake play by HTY at Tenney Theatre
Thursday & Friday Nov. 22-23rd THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY!
Thursday, 11/29 Christmas Talk Story by HTY at Tenney Theatre
Posted at 12:34 PM| Permalink
October 11, 2007
Vocabulary in 3/4H
As we continue to work on portfolios (yes, we've already begun!), we explored "What makes a good reader and writer?" in class this week.
"Good writers use all different kinds of words in their writing," a student said. That is correct. Good writers use synonyms and antonyms when they want to vary their word choice and analyze the meaning of a word.
"Good readers look up the meaning of words they don't understand in their reading," said another student. Right again. Good readers discover the hidden or special significance in a word by using dictionaries as tools.
The activity we did provided a unique and fun way for the students to analyze the meanings of selected words from their literature groups.
We made Vocabulary Vampires, which included a word from their literature group reading that they did not know. The students then had to find the definition, an antonym, and a synonym of the their word. This information was then placed on the vampires, which are now hanging in the windows of our classroom. A spooktacular display for Halloween! Please stop by and take a look -- can you find your child's?
Posted at 1:48 PM| Permalink