Where Does the Time Go?
by Erin Stottmann
November 20, 2008
As November is already half way over, I find myself asking, "Where does the time go?" The 4th graders have gotten use to the daily routines and are showing growth.
In Reading, we have started doing reading groups. The kids are working on Time books for kids right now. These are expository texts, and the abundance of interesting information we can pull from them is great! They are learning new things each time we read, and often times find themselves wanting to know more.
Text structure, the way a text is organized, is a big topic of some of the daily learning. They have introduced and practiced three of the five structures that they are expected to know. Compare and contrast is one that has been practiced. The students were paired with a classmate and then had to write a paragraph comparing and contrasting themselves. When finished, they traded with another group and filled out a venn diagram containing the information from the paper. They learned many things that they had in common that they did not know before this activity. Next, sequence was introduced and practiced. The students wrote papers that told how to make a peanut butter and jelly or syrup sandwich. I then made the sandwiches according to their instructions in the paper. Some of the sandwiches were messy, but they had some good laughs and were able to see the importance of having organization and specific detail in writing. Description was the third structure introduced. It was just introduced at the end of last week so they are currently working with it.
In English, they have been learning about nouns, possessive nouns, and pronouns. These can be difficult at times, so we are working through it with time. With Thanksgiving around the corner, the students wrote acrostic poems using the word "THANKS," to tell what they are thankful for. The poems turned out nicely and the students found much to be thankful for.
I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to see the students learning and the way they respond when they learn something new or want to know more. This is a constant reminder of why I wanted to go into teaching. I ask that you continue to question them about what they are learning. They are an abundance of information and what they know about certain topics is amazing!
With the weather changing, please make sure your child is dressed in appropriate weather clothing and that he or she has a coat. They travel between buildings at least three times a day and these trips can be very cold.
