Creating "catchy" beginnings

In writing workshop this week, we worked on creating "catchy" beginnings.  We started off by doing an in-class writing piece about walking along the beach and finding a mermaid.  The next day, I read the first sentence of each piece to the class.  We found that many of the pieces started off with "Once I was..." or "One day..."  We decided that starting off our stories this way was a little boring and that the reader may not want to read on.  We talked about the different ways we could begin our writing pieces so that the reader would be hooked and would want to read on.

To learn about different ways to begin our writing pieces, we looked at some of the novels to be found in our own classroom.  After reading some books, we made a list of ways that we could write a "catchy" beginning.  We then wrote some catchy beginnings for new writing pieces.  Here is what our list looks like, along with an example of each beginning:

     A detailed description

Students can start off their writing piece by providing a detailed description of the setting or an important object:
"It was a cold morning as I walked down the beach.  The waves hit the sand making a rhythm.  The waves crashed into the rocks making a soothing rumble." S.C.

Sound effect

Starting a writing piece with a sound effect can be a creative way to hook the reader:
"Chirp, Chirp, Chirp!"  I looked out of my window, watching the birds."  J.N.

     Dialogue

Conversation between two characters puts the reader immediately into the story:
" 'Father, why did Mother make me eat all of my food last night and not let me have dessert?'
'Because you had dessert all week and you are going to the dentist soon.' " S.R.

     Character's thoughts

Taking a peek into the character's thoughts helps the reader understand the character better:
"I couldn't believe it was so windy.  I thought the whole tree was going to fall." J.M.

Action

By describing an action, the reading is immediately dropped into the middle of something exciting:
"As mist settled onto the thick mountain, I saw the sun coming up.  It casted a glow around the trees, showing how Amber Forest got its name."  S.C.

We will continue creating "catchy" beginnings in our writing pieces.

Here is this week's class newsletter from our student reporters:

3_4 News TM & SC 9_27.pdf

Posted at 9:43 AM| Permalink

Spelling

Over the past several weeks, we have been working on spelling.  Spelling in our class consists of two main parts:  1) Spelling Workshop and 2) spelling lists.  Spelling Workshop takes place once a week in conjunction with our Writing Workshop time.  Each week students go through their various writing pieces and search for misspelled words.  Soon they will also be searching their reading journals and vocabulary stories for misspelled words.  After finding 5 - 8 misspelled words from their own work, they then "have - a - go" at the words.  When students "have - a - go" at a misspelled word, they try spelling the word three different ways.  After they "have - a - go,"  each student signs up with me so that I can check their work and make sure that they have the correct spelling.  Once they have the correct spelling of each word, they then go on to a multi-step process to help them remember the spelling of the word.  First they look at the word and say it out loud.  They then cover it up and try to visualize how the word is spelled.  After visualizing the word in their mind, the write the word down.  They check their work and rewrite the word one final time.  Once they complete this work, they add the word to their own personal spelling dictionary.  All of the Spelling Workshop work is located in the spelling section of their language arts folder.

The second part of spelling is our weekly spelling lists.  Each week, after examining student work during Spelling Workshop, I choose a spelling pattern that many students are struggling with.  We discuss the pattern in class, and I give them a spelling list based on this pattern.  They have the choice to study the words in any way that they wish.  At the end of the week, I give them a quiz on the words and they add the words to their spelling dictionaries.  For our first list, students will be given the quiz next Wednesday, September 26.  After that, spelling lists will be given every Friday, and the students will be quizzed the following Friday.

In math, the fourth graders are moving on to data collection.  This week we collected data on how many raisins come in a 1.5-oz. box.  After collecting our data, we discussed different ways we could present our findings.  We decided that a line plot was an efficient way to display our information because we could see the numbers that came up frequently.  Next we will compare the heights of fourth grade students with those of first grade students.   Yesterday we spent some time measuring each other's heights in inches.  On Friday we will measure the heights of first grade students.  We will spend some time next week creating line plots to display our information and will discuss making generalizations about the heights of fourth graders compared with those of first graders.

Here is this week's newsletter from our student reporters:

3_4 News KM & CS 9_20.pdf

Posted at 10:22 AM| Permalink

Magical Pueo News

I am happy to announce that we have finally decided on a class name.  We are now the "Magical Pueos."  It was a tight race, but the "Magical Pueos" won out in the end.  Here's what we have been up to this week:
 

Many students have begun the next step of the writing process - peer conferencing.  Students pair up and take turns reading their writing pieces to one another.  Each author reads his or her own piece while the peer listens and takes notes.  The peer then offers suggestions for clarity.  After each student has read their writing piece, they then take the suggestions and make further revisions.  Students are now one step closer to publishing a final piece.  During the next few weeks, we will discuss different ways to clarify our writing.  Final published pieces will be due by the beginning of October.

In reading, each student is now given a copy of our mo`olelo book, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.  Now that all students have their own copy of the book, they can follow along with me as I read.  This is a great way for students to learn about reading with expression.  Next week we will begin literature circles with our book.  During literature circles, students are asked to discuss different topics and questions based on our book.

This week students received their first copy of Scholastic News.  Scholastic News is a student-centered periodical that focuses on current events around the world.  This week's issue has a featured story about the Civil Rights Movement.  We discussed the Civil Rights Movement in class and how the world was much different 50 years ago.  Please feel free to look over the Scholastic News with your child and talk to them about the topics that are discussed in the issue.

In math, the fourth graders are finishing up their unit on multiplication and division.  Right now we are concentrating on factors and multiples of 100.  Soon we will look at common factors between two numbers.  After completing the first unit this week, we will begin a new unit on Monday.  We will revisit multiplication and division later on in the school year.

We also had a special treat today.  This morning the Thunderbirds flew over our school.  It was an exciting sight to watch them fly overhead and feel our classroom shake.  After watching them, students came in and jotted down thoughts about our experience.  What did they see?  What did they feel?  What did they hear?  I think I foresee some interesting writing pieces coming from this experience!

For more about our week, here is this week's newsletter from our class reporters:

3_4 News TM & SC 9_13.pdf

Posted at 10:09 AM| Permalink

Thanks for coming to Open House!

Once again, thank you to all of the parents who attended Open House last night.  I hope you enjoyed taking a glimpse into the lives of your children and learning about what they do here at school.  For those parents who were unable to attend, a copy of last night's Keynote presentation is being sent home with your child today.  Please go through the material and contact me with any comments or concerns.


This week we spent some time creating our vocabulary word wall.  As students complete vocabulary journal sheets on word they are coming across in their reading, they can share the new words that they are learning with their classmates.  After presenting their new word to the class, students add their words to our class word wall.  They also draw a picture to help remind us what the word means.  We now have words up such as "extraterrestrial," and "aristocratic."  We can now use our word wall, along with our vocabulary journal, to help us during Writing Workshop.

Our research on recycling continues this week.  We are learning more and more information about recycling paper, aluminum, and plastics.  The groups will continuing collecting facts about the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling these items and will begin creating their classroom presentations next week.  We hope to fully begin our recycling program by the end of this month!

In math, the fourth grade students are continuing to practice their multiplication combinations.  We are also learning about factors and multiples in a new game called "Multiple Turn Over."  In this game, students play in pairs and take turns calling factors.  Each player has a set of ten multiple cards, and each time a new factor is called out, the players must determine whether or not they have multiples of the factor.  If they do, they record it and turn the card over.  The first player with all their cards turned-over wins.  This games helps students understand the rules of divisibility and multiplication.

Here is this week's newsletter from our class reporters:
3_4 News HL & LS 9:6:07.pdf

Posted at 8:26 AM| Permalink