Huzzah!  We toasted to the colonies, to the revolution, and to Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death” speech that was made on this day in 1775.  We drank “tea and biscuits” (sweet tea and cookies) and read each other’s American Revolution books this morning!

Today was the Read -A-Thon and we read, read, and read some more!  Thank you for your donations and for sponsoring us in this Holmes fund raiser!

For a look at what else we did in class this week, check out our blogs.  You can read them all, or click on a name on the right and read only that person’s posts.  Check it out! https://kidblog.org/class/MsVandenBosch4thGrade/posts

Important Dates:

Thursday, March 29 – final Chicago payments due

Friday – Sunday, March 30 – April 8 – Spring Break

Tuesday, April 10, 2018 – No school.  Professional Development for teachers

Tuesday, April 24– Link Up Concert

Friday, April 27 – “Dolphin” movie at Cinema Carousel

We read what we were wearing today!  There were a lot of words all around us today as we expressed ourselves on our clothes.  We also had another all school D.E.A.R. time today.  Don’t forget to sign up for the Read-A-Thon online soon! You can do that at pledgestar.com/holmes.

This week in reading we continued to read The Lightning Thief as learn about different things that authors do in fictions.  One technique we discussed comes from the very old Lenox Globe on which the mapmaker wrote: Hic Sunt Dracones, which meant “Here Be Dragons.”  It was written to warn the first mariners who charted the oceans of places that were dangerous and to stay away.  It was mostly symbolic but meant “Look out!  You’re in dangerous territory – don’t go there!  We talked about our characters in our books face metaphorical dragons, or inner struggles that they usually don’t want to talk about.  We discussed the “dragons” of the characters in Lightning Thief and students looked for dragons for the characters in their books.  We also discussed how most fantasy books are really about the struggle between good and evil.  We looked at things like what the character learns and teaches to find the themes of our books.

In writing we spent the week creating our final copy of our research/informational books on the American Revolution.  These books look great!  We will keep them here for a bit to share with each other, then they will be sent home.

In social studies we talked about the checks and balances that our government has in place to limit the power one branch could have.  We also went over the Bill of Rights and what are in those first 10 amendments.  We will be doing more with The Bill of Rights next week.

In math this week we learned more about line plots – how to create them and how to interpret them. We took the final test today.  Next week we begin decimals!

Important Dates:

Friday – Sunday, March 30 – April 8 – Spring Break

Tuesday, April 10, 2018 – No school.  Professional Development for teachers

Tuesday, April 24– Link Up Concert

Friday, April 27 – “Dolphin” movie at Cinema Carousel

Happy March Is Reading Month!  It is one of my favorite months of the year because we celebrate reading!  It is a time to push ourselves to read even more than we already do and have fun doing it!  There are a few things I want to highlight:

1. Our Read-a-thon!  This is the one fund raiser for Holmes Elementary.  It is time now to collect donations.  An orange packet went home this week with all the details.  Please go to: pledgestar.com/holmes to register.  Our class will receive a prize if we can all at least sign up by next Friday.  The Read-a-Thon day will be March 23.
2. Your child has the opportunity to receive a free ticket to a Whitecaps game by reading 15 minutes every day.  Your son or daughter already has to read 20 minutes for school Monday through Friday, so just add 15 minutes on Saturday and Sunday and they are all set! ( You have to read every day, not for a long time on one day.)
3. The calendar that went home in the packet has some fun activities centered around reading to do at home every day.  If you email me a picture of your child doing one of those activities, I will give him or her $5 in 4th grade money.  If he or she does every activity this month, they may turn it in for a prize drawing in the office.  Here are some great pictures I received already of students reading!  Keep up the great work!

In reading this week we are using The Lightning Thief to learn more about the genre of fantasy.  We talked about three possible settings for fantasy and how to determine what setting their book has.  (It would be beneficial if students chose to read a fantasy “just right” book for these next couple of weeks).  We also talked about how in fantasies a lot of the time the main character does not know a lot about this “new world” they are in, and we as readers learn along with him about the world. We discussed how in fantasy and other upper level novels there are multiple plot lines to keep track of while reading.  Many characters have many problems that may or may not get solved, and we created a chart to keep track of these problems.

In writing we created our glossary for our American Revolution books, we added text features, and we are now revising, editing and writing our final copies.

In math this week we finished our final unit on fractions.  The test results came home Thursday.  Nice job!!  We began our next, short unit on line plots today.

In social studies we are learning about terms like Republican government, Popular Sovereignty, and more.  We learned about the three branches of government and took a quiz today.

We had an assembly today! Kevin Depree, a musician and composer, showed us how he uses Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math in his work.

It was crazy sock and hat day today!  Check us out!

Important Dates:

Friday – Sunday, March 30 – April 8 – Spring Break

Tuesday, April 10, 2018 – No school.  Professional Development for teachers

Tuesday, April 24– Link Up Concert

Friday, April 27 – “Dolphin” movie at Cinema Carousel

It was great to see everyone at conferences this week!  Thank you for coming in to talk about your child and his or her learning and development.  There are only 12 weeks of school left in this year.  It’s hard to believe!

I feel like I spoke to  most of you about what we have been studying in our subjects this week, so I just want to highlight a few things that are coming up for this year:

March is Reading Month – a packet went home a few days ago detailing all the activities for the month.  There are a couple of contests and a calendar of reading activities to do at home.  Each Friday we will be Dropping Everything And Reading for a few minutes as a whole school.  Today’s theme was “beach!” There will be a Read-A Thon again this year.  Look for information to come home regarding this event.

Field Trips – We have a few!  More detailed information will come home closer to each date.  I just wanted you to be aware. Check out these important dates:

April 24 – Link Up Concert.  Look for information about this trip coming from Mrs. Ireland soon.  There a few opportunities to chaperone for this trip

April 27 – “Dolphins” movie  Thanks to generous donations from Holmes families and friends, we will be taking the 4th grade classes to see this Earth Day movie at the Cinema Carousel

May 31 – Chicago – You received your final payment information at conferences

June 1 – Bocce Ball and Rocket Launch Day – Look for information to come home about this fun day to come from Mr. Robinson and Mr. Overway.  I know they always need parent help for this day!

June 5- a day at Camp Pendalouan with Jeffers 4th graders.  Plans are being finalized.  We will let you know more at a later date.

OTHER Important Dates

Friday – Sunday, March 30 – April 8 – Spring Break

Tuesday, April 10, 2018 – No school.  Professional Development for teachers

We have  had a busy week of learning, and have showed perseverance (our word of the month) while working on our subjects this week!

In reading we are still researching the Revolutionary War for our informational books.  We learned that pre-reading an easier book on the topic will help us have background knowledge that will help us read more difficult texts.  We learned to look in the introductions, conclusions, and text features to find the main idea, too.

In writing we began a new chapter on whatever had piqued out interest while reading about the war.  Some of us are researching George Washington, Molly Pitcher, Deborah Samson, Sam Adams, Ethan Allen, or Paul Revere. Some other topics include spies or women of the war, and different battles.  We wrote our essay chapter as well this week.  We had to support the claim that our focus topic (Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, etc.) was important to the war.  Next week we will work on our introductions and conclusions.

In math this week we continued to add and subtract mixed numbers.  We then took the online test for practice, reviewed, and took the paper version of the test.  I am pleased to say that the class did the best ever as a whole on this test! 🙂 I will have these tests to show you at the conferences, unless your child had 100% correct on the practice online test.

In social studies we have begun our unit on government.  This topic fits perfectly with our language arts curriculum, as we begin by studying the constitution that was written after the Revolutionary War.  We talk about what it is and why it was written.  Each child illustrated the phrases of the preamble to show understanding.

Here are the vocabulary words this week.  Try to slip them into conversation with your child! 🙂  Any use of these words will help cement them into their reading, written, and oral vocabulary!

mistreat     apprehensive     refuge     bliss     valiant     revere

You probably have noticed that the iPad has not come home with your child.  We are charging them in a rotating basis at school, and sometimes doing the math homework on paper. We are working with our technology team to fix a glitch in the filter system, and then decide how to best use these tools.  I would be happy to discuss any of this with you further at your child’s conferences, if you wish.

Important Dates

Wednesday and Thursday, February 28 – March 1 – Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday and Friday, March 1 and 2 – 1/2 days

Friday – Sunday, March 30 – April 8 – Spring Break

The Second Continental Congress met in Room A203 today!  Delegates from the 13 colonies were represented.  As loyalists and patriots we debated whether we should declare our independence from Great Britain and the fate of the colonies!  The debate was well argued and rebutted, and they adjourned to take time to determine the next course of action.  We had a great time with this reenactment, as it was a culmination of all of our historical reading and researching up to this point. Great job, delegates!  Here are pictures from the day they planned what to say as teams and from today’s meeting.

While researching the American Revolution we discussed how the point of view of the author makes a difference.  We looked at a book that tells the story or the American Revolution from both sides and how perspective matters!

In writing we caught up on our first three chapters of our American Revolution book.  We have a chapter that tells briefly all about the revolution, a chapter on one event that led up to the revolution, and a chapter that is told in first person from the point of view of someone who was at a particular event like the Boston Tea Party.  Next week we will write an essay explaining why that particular event was important to the American Revolution.

In math we are still working on fractions.  We are adding and subtracting simple fractions as well as mixed numbers.

In social studies we completed our final project for African American History month by creating a quilt square representing four concepts, people, or words that we thought were significant.  These quilt squares will be on display during conferences.

Important Dates

Wednesday and Thursday, February 28 – March 1 – Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday and Friday, March 1 and 2 – 1/2 days

Friday – Sunday, March 30 – April 8 – Spring Break

Your child is becoming an expert in the American Revolution, especially in one of the events that led up to the war.  We looked at primary sources this week as well as reread the texts to find those interesting details to add to our writing.  We wrote a chapter called,”All About the American Revolution” and one called, “All About (whatever their focus topic was).”  These were drafts, and we are constantly trying to make them better with details and organization.

In math this week we took the test over the first unit of fractions. The test went home today. If your child only brings home a half sheet of paper with his or her scores on it, have them pull up their online test to show you.  They did not have to take the paper test if they received 85% or better on the online test. We started the next unit on fractions yesterday.  We added fractions with like denominators and decomposed fractions.  That means found fractions that added to a fraction, including improper fractions and mixed numbers.

We took a close look at the Civil Rights Movement today.  We learned about Jim Crow Laws, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and Ruby Bridges.

We are blogging with a school in England called Claire’s Court Junior School.  We paired up with a class of Year 5 boys to learn more about their lives, and for them to learn about us.  We read their blogs and commented on what they wrote.  We wrote about our school today and are waiting their replies!

Have a wonderful mid-winter break!

Important Dates

Monday and Tuesday, February 5 and 6 – Winter Break – No School

Friday, February 9 – Chaperone lottery results sent home and chocolate sales wrap up

Wednesday and Thursday, February 28 – March 1 – Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday and Friday, March 1 and 2 – 1/2 days

Friday – Sunday, March 30 – April 8 – Spring Break

I hope to see you at Bingo tonight!  It is the one, big fund raiser for HPC for the year.  I will be there selling World’s Finest Chocolate!

This week in both reading and writing our focus topic is the American Revolution.  We are still trying to gain background knowledge about the causes of the war and the war itself for next week’s writing assignment. We are reading all about the entire war as well as about one topic to focus on for our research.  We each chose a cause of the American Revolution to study.

In math we are learning about fractions.  We found equivalent fractions through multiplying and dividing.  We are using bench mark fractions like 1/2 and 1 whole to compare fractions.  Then finally, we learned how to find a common denominator for fractions in order to compare them, and we learned a short cut.  Ask your child about the “butterfly method” to compare fractions.

In social studies, we are beginning our history unit by learning about slavery.  We have watched a few videos and read a few books on the topic.  We are taking organized notes to use for an end of the unit project.

Important Dates

Friday, January 26 – Chicago chaperone requests due and BINGO Night from 5:30-8:00 PM

Monday and Tuesday, February 5 and 6 – Winter Break – No School

Friday, February 9 – Chaperone lottery results sent home and chocolate sales wrap up

Have you cuddled with your pet lately? Do you savor each bite of food and appreciate what you have?  DO you wait patiently for your turn, treat new experiences with “I’ll try!”, and do you you relish in the sun and rain (or snow)?  Mrs. Smits talked to us about being mindful today.  She built upon our mindful lessons today by adding mindful tasting to the list.  We tried a new food and a sweet.  We used our senses first.  We all made goals for ourselves on how we would like to be more mindful this year.

You probably saw that a box of world’s Finest Chocolate came home today!  If your child sells the whole box, and you would like to sell another, just send in the $60 and a note saying it is OK to take another box home to sell.

In math this week we began our unit on fractions by finding equivalent fractions in three different ways.  We used pictures, a number line, and multiplications.  Ask your child about numerators and denominators being jealous brothers and sisters.

In reading and writing this week we are reading a lot and watching videos about the American Revolution.  We are trying to build our background knowledge on the subject for writing time and learning how to read history, both primary and secondary sources.

In science we reviewed and took the final test on properties of matter.  We are finished with our science units for the year and will be starting our social studies units.  We will spend the next few weeks studying slavery and the civil rights movement.

Important Dates

Friday, January 26 – Chicago chaperone requests due and BINGO Night from 5:30-8:00 PM

Monday and Tuesday, February 5 and 6 – Winter Break – No School

Friday, February 9 – Chaperone lottery results sent home and chocolate sales wrap up

Are you a good listener?  Do you notice tiny details in things around you?  We are learning how the brain gets information to the prefrontal cortex where it is analyzed.  We have begun to talk about sharpening our senses.  We practiced being a mindful listener and being able to tune out unwanted sounds around us.  We have also discussed mindful seeing and being able to better observe our surroundings and learn from them.

We began a new unit in reading last week – Reading History.  History texts present a unique type of nonfiction that students will be required to read in the upcoming years, and we are learning different skills by reading about the American Revolution.  Right now we are gaining some background knowledge on the topic by watching short PBS videos called “Liberty Kids” that give some basic information through historical fiction. We are reading a lot of different levels of text on the topic as well.  Next week we will choose a subtopic on which to focus our reading from the causes of the Revolutionary War.  Ask your child what he or she knows about the Boston Massacre or the Boston Tea Party.

In writing we just finished our essay “on demand.”  We had three days to write a persuasive essay on a topic of our choosing.  I am grading how well they follow the format, support their argument, and use the conventions of language.  Ask your child about their thesis and the intended audience.  It may be you! 🙂

In math we began a new unit as well.  We learned all about factors, multiples, prime numbers, and composite numbers.  The practice test was today, and the final test will be on Tuesday.

In science this week we are wrapping up our study of the properties and phases of matter.  Today we learned of a fourth phase – plasma.  We talked about the movement of molecules and how adding energy can change the state of the matter.

We finished our tri-annual computerized testing of math, reading, and language skills.  We use this data, along with the data I receive from the Fountas and Pinnell reading testing beginning next week, to help guide instruction for the rest of the year.

Important Dates

Friday, January 19 – World’s Finest Chocolate Sales begin

Friday, January 19 – 1/2 day – noon dismissal

Friday, January 26 – Chicago chaperone requests due and BINGO Night from 5:30-8:00 PM

Monday and Tuesday, February 5 and 6 – Winter Break – No School

Friday, February 9 – Chaperone lottery results sent home