DePlaunty's Blog - Room 83

October 25, 2015

Hello Families,

Wow!  We had a successful and fun week this week in fourth grade.  We all made pledges to be defenders and take a stand against bullying at Westwoods Elementary.  The children attended an OLWEUS assembly on Friday and created a pledge link for our school chain.  This chain will be on display in our front entrance area.  

We completed our study of mapping skills and an introduction to the regions of the United States this week.  Students worked with partners to locate specific information and locations on specialty maps.  

The students all worked to HELP HARRY on Friday.  Students were given time to plan, build, and test a perch (structure) that would support Harry! Students evaluated themselves on their team skills and engineering accomplishments.  

Questions you can ask your child this week?

How hard was it to work with your group to build a perch for Harry?

Did all group members participate equally?

If you were to design your perch again, would you do it differently?

What is the narrative story you are writing about? 

How are Rob and Sistine complicated characters?  What evidence do you have from the story to support your theory?

What is the difference between a factor and a multiple?

Classroom Halloween Celebration

When:  Friday, October 30th, 8:45 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.

Where:   Room 83

What:  Children will wear costumes (follow school guidelines), eat a yummy breakfast and watch a     Halloween video 

Who:  Everyone in our class and parents are welcome to join!

If you would like to help out with our party, please email me a deplauntsh@tcaps.net.  

Important Upcoming Events and Dates

10/27 and 10/29 Parent/Teacher Conferences

10/29 Spelling Assessment and spelling packets are due

10/30 HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION 8:45 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. (please send in your child's donated item on or before October 30th)

11/4 Incredible Moe's Family Night - see link below for more information

https://tinyurl.com/tcwwfamily

11/19 Picture Retakes

11/24  La Senorita Gives Back - Westwoods fundraising event

Math

This week in math we will focus on multiplying a 2-digit number by a 1-digit number using an array model and an area model.  We will review information presented in Chapter 2 and take an assessment over Chapter 2 late in the week.  Students should continue to practice multiplication and division facts to improve their speed and accuracy (snap fast)!  

Reading

We will discuss how different readers have different viewpoints about books.  Students will develop evidence-based arguments for or against theories in The Tiger Rising.  We will begin to look beyond the characters in our stories and focus on other story elements such as setting, recurring objects and images and plot.  

Writing

This week students will work on drafting the heart of their narrative stories.  We will review and study published texts to write strong leads, work on showing the place and time for our story settings, and continue to weave together actions, thoughts and dialogue throughout our stories.  

Spelling:

Spelling words:  zebra, chose, tease, buzz, zero, cheese, wise, crazy, lazy, fuzzy, prize, froze, freeze, zoo, puzzle, sneeze, surprise, lizard, zipper, size

Halloween challenge words:   frightful, scary, Halloween, skeleton, jack-o'-lantern, costume, pirate, ghoul, cauldron, haunted

Have a fantastic week!  

Mrs. DePlaunty

Mrs. DePlaunty's 4th Grade - October, 16, 2015

Math: 

Our focus in math this week was using estimation to check sums, differences and products for reasonableness.  Students did many hands-on activities in groups using basic multiplication facts to find factors and multiples.  They broke down whole numbers into factors or multiplied them to get multiples.  Students used this information to determine whether a number was a prime or composite number.  Next week, we will revisit these math concepts and multiply larger numbers using array models.  

Questions you can ask your child?

What are the factors of 18?  Is this a prime or composite number?  How do you know?  What are the first 12 multiples of 5?  

  

Language Arts:

This week in reading, students practice ways to help grow their ideas about characters in the stories they are reading.  

* The learned to read intensely to notice patterns in the characters actions and use them to      form ideas about them.  

* While reading think about how a character's new actions fit or change with those ideas.  

* While reading think about why the character might be acting this way.  

* Think about the characters desires and how they are trying to achieve them.

Next week, students will be reading intensely and paying close attention to details in their stories. 

Questions you can ask your child:

What inner strengths does Rob have in The Tiger Rising.

How are his inner strengths different from Sistine's inner strengths?

Why do you think Rob and Sistine have become friends?

What is your prediction about what Rob and Sistine will do with the tiger?  Will they let him go or what else do you think could happen in the story?

Why doesn't Rob cry in the story?  

Social Studies:

This week students worked to locate specific locations and information using specialty maps. Next week, our class will review the information and notes presented in Chapter 2.  Students will take an open book/note chapter assessment over Chapter 2 on Wednesday.  

Questions you can ask your child?

What is a specialty map? 

What is the name of the major river that runs from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico?

 Why are the Great Lakes in the Midwest region so important?  

Halloween Celebration

Our classroom Halloween celebration will take place on Friday, October 30th from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.  We will be having a "Spooky" breakfast in our classroom.  Students may wear costumes to school.  Costumes must be friendly, so that they are appropriate for all age groups. Children may not wear masks of any kind or have any pretend weapons that go with their costume (swords, guns etc.)  Your child may bring a change of clothes to put on after our party. Children should bring in a bag to take their costume home in.  We are still in need of 2 more party helpers.  If you would like to join us and help serve breakfast, please send me an email or a note.  Helpers will need to arrive in the classroom at 8:15 a.m.  Your child will bring home a note next week notifying you of the item that they have chosen to contribute to our party.  If you cannot donate the item for our party, please let me know and I will make other 

arrangements.  

Spelling Words:  

knee, knight, quilt, question, knot, knuckles, quite, square, knock, quack, quiet, squeeze, know, quick, queen, squeak, knife, quit, quarter, squirrel

Important Upcoming Events/Dates

October 21st - Social Studies - Ch. 2 TEST and Parent/Teacher Conferences 5 - 8 p.m.

October 22nd - Spelling Packet due and Spelling Assessment over KN and QU words

October 23rd - Wear blue - BULLY Prevention Awareness and Popcorn Day

October 27th - Parent/Teacher Conferences 5 - 8 p.m.

October 29th - Parent/Teacher Conferences 5 - 8 p.m.

October 30th - Halloween Celebration 8:45 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.

November 4th - Family Night at Incredible Moe's

November 19th - Picture retakes 

November 24th - La Senorita Gives Back night

Have a wonderful weekend and stay warm!  

Mrs. DePlaunty

deplauntsh@tcaps.net

October 9, 2015

Mrs. DePlaunty's Classroom

October 9, 2015

Math:  This week in math we began chapter 2 about using estimates to check to see that the sums, differences, products and quotients we find as answers are reasonable.  We reviewed rounding to the nearest 10 and 100 before learning about rounding using front-end estimation.  Your child received a family newsletter this week explaining the concepts and skills your child will develop throughout the unit.  Our multiplication fact review next week will focus on 5's, 10's and 3's.  Please encourage your child to practice facts to be able to recall them "snap" fast. 

Questions you can ask your child:  What is the difference between traditional rounding and front-end estimation?  Show me how you round a number to the nearest 10 or 100. 
What is Frontrow.com?  

Reading:  This week we continued to learn strategies strong readers use to read intensely.  Students began to practice synthesizing as a form of retelling.  We have currently increased our class independent reading time stamina to 35 minutes.  After reading, students are responding about the books they read in their reading notebooks and sharing their thoughts about the books they read with partners.  Our new book order was delivered and the class is enjoying all the great books we were able to purchase.  We received over 40 books for our own classroom library.  Some of the books were the entire series of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson's mythology collection, the I Funny series, Fourth Grade Angels and many more.  The kids have immersed themselves in these great books!  It is so exciting to see them sharing their opinions and recommendations with each other. 

Questions you can ask your child:  What is the difference in a chronological retelling and a synthesis?  Which is easier for you to do after reading?  What book are you currently reading?  What are some strategies you are using as reader to read intensely? Have you been recording your reading time at home in your new reading log?  What are some ideas you can think of to help you get more reading time in at home? 

Social Studies and Science:
This week we have begun our study of the regions of the United States of America.  Students are learning mapping skills that are needed to locate important information on various types of specialty maps.  We will begin our new science unit next week about heat, electricity and magnetism. 

Questions you can ask your child: 

What are cardinal and intermediate directions?  What is a compass rose?  What geographical features make Traverse City special? 

Spelling word list:  doubt, enough, county, country, brought, thorough, dough, tough, through, fought, bought, trouble, ought, thought, double, though, drought, cough, rough, throughout


Important Upcoming Events and Happenings

Thursday, October 15th - spelling packet due and spelling assessment
Friday, October 16th - Popcorn Day
October 21, 27 and 29th (4:00 - 8:00 p.m.) - Parent/Teacher Conferences
October 30th - classroom Halloween celebration 8:50 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.


Classroom Halloween celebration will be held on October 30th at 8:50 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.  Children may wear their costumes to school.  Students may not wear masks, violent costumes of any sort or carry pretend weapons to accompany their outfit.  We will begin our day with a spooky breakfast.  We are looking for parent volunteers who will help cook pancakes and serve breakfast.  If you are willing to volunteer, please email me or send me a note in your child's planner. 

We are still in need of a PTO representative for our classroom.  If you would be willing to help our class by being our representative, please email or call me.

Have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. DePlaunty

deplauntsh@tcaps.net

Classroom Update - October 2, 2015

Mrs. DePlaunty's Fourth Grade

October 2, 2015

 

Math: 

 

This week in math we spent several days adding and subtracting large numbers to 100,000.   The students worked as partners to review computation skills and solve for sums and differences.   We will continue to practice adding and subtracting throughout the school year, but this is a skill that many of the children still need continued practice with at home.  Our class played games, such as Close to 100,000 with partners to make learning even more fun!  Students completed a chapter assessment today.  They will reflect on the progression of their learning next week and develop a plan for future growth of these concepts.  Next week, we will begin our unit about using estimation to evaluate whether sums, differences, products and quotients are reasonable. 

 

Questions you can ask your child: 

How do you think you did toward meeting learning goals and demonstrating that on your assessment?  What do you think you may still need to work on to master the learning goals in math?  How did you grade yourself on the learning scale in math (1, 2, 3, or 4)? 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading: 

 

This week in reading we worked on reading intensely.  Students are learning that every part of a books is important and our books make us stop and do work to comprehend what we are reading.  Students learned to reread, stop and jot at parts of your book that you want to talk about later, and to put yourself in the book.  We also discussed how to select the books we WANT to read and are at a reading level that are helping us grow as a reader.  We are currently reading aloud the book The Tiger Rising.  We are anxiously awaiting what will happen to Rob?  How did the tiger get in the middle of the woods?  Will Rob ever be able to open his suitcase and let out his emotions.  We are hooked!

 

Questions you can ask your child: 

What characteristics to realistic fiction stories have?  What realistic fiction book are you reading in class?  Do you like the book The Tiger Rising?  Explain why or why not.  Are you growing as a reader?  How do you know?  Are you reading as much at home as you can?  Are there extra times in your day that you could read just a little more (in the car on the way to soccer or dinner)?

 

Writing:

 

We finished a fun writing project called The Best Part of Me.  We can't wait for you to read our stories and see our project on display during conferences later this month.  We worked on how to write a well-developed paragraph and edited our work with our peers using rubrics. 

 

Questions you can ask your child: 

What is the difference in a common and proper noun?  What are some important parts of a well-developed paragraph?  What did you write about for your The Best Part of Me story?  Do you think you are using your best penmanship in class?  

 

Social Studies:

 

We completed our study of social scientists this week.  We did a fun, hands-on activity with the artifacts the children brought in on Tuesday.  We saw old stamp collections, records, sales receipts, copies of the Constitution of the United States, report cards of our parents in elementary school, etc.  It was so much fun!!  We began our new unit about mapping skills and the regions of the United States.  Students created a birds-eye view map of their home and divided into four regions based on common characteristics.  Again, we had a great time sharing these with our classmates.

 

 

 

 

Important Dates and Upcoming Events

Thursday, October 8th - spelling packets due and spelling assessment

Friday, October 9th - Move-A-Thon for literature

October 21, 27 and 29:  Parent/Teacher Conferences

October 30:  Halloween celebration

 

Move-A-Thon for Literature:  Children received pledge sheets for our annual fundraiser last week.  The teachers at Westwoods are very excited to help raise funds for purchasing books and items to support reading in our building.  Please encourage your child to try to obtain pledges, so that they can help earn awesome literature for our school from our Move-A-Thon. 

 

We are still in need of a classroom representative for PTO.  If anyone would be willing to represent our class, please email or jot me a note in your child's planner.  We would really love your help!

 

deplauntsh@tcaps.net