Update

I can't believe we are going to hit May this week! I have a feeling the rest of the school year will fly by...and we still have a lot to do!

We are continuing our work in math working with geometry. Anytime you can ask your child what shape something is or a specific angle that would be great! They should be able to name a number of polygons depending in the number of sides. They should also be able to tell you the difference between a right, acute, and obtuse angle. These geometry quarter has been a lot of fun so far.

In reading our focus in on theme and genre right now. Students are identifying the genre of book depending on specific characteristics. We have also been reading a lot of books and identifying the theme, or author's purpose. Theme is often difficult to identify because it is not always written out for the reader. It really shows how well we understood the book if we are able to identify the theme.

We are finishing up our persuasive pieces in writing, and some of you parents are receiving some great letters from your child. Ask them what their persuasive topic was. They have worked hard organizing their ideas to sound convincing. We are focusing on the traits of Voice and Conventions this quarter. So when your child is writing make sure they reread their work to check for spelling, capital letters, and punctuation.

In social studies we are continuing our study on community and how different communities function. Currently we are learning about the Amish community. We are looking forward to our field trip in May! We had several parents volunteer to go. I will let you know by Thursday who is going for sure...I have to ask Mrs. Dowty how many are allowed to go first.

Thanks for checking out the blog and please ask if you have any questions!
Mrs. Butcher

New Information

Hey Everyone!
Just some reminders for the upcoming week and weekend.

• Bring in your field trip money and slips as soon as possible. There are a limited number of chaperones allowed to go so we will be having a drawing on Tuesday, April 29th. This way I can let those who are going know in advance.
• Also, book orders are due Tuesday, April 29th. This will be the last one for the year.
• Penny Wars is going on right now, so be sure to bring in your spare change!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Butcher

New Website

Hey Everyone,
I added a new website to the left hand column. It goes along with our Time magazine we read in school. Just click on "Time for Kids". It has some great information on it along with some fun games as well. (I even played the state trivia game for awhile!) Take some time to check it out. If you, please let us know what you liked about it.

Thanks!
Mrs. Butcher

Book Summary

Hey Everyone,
This is where you can post tonight's homework assignment. I can't wait to read your summaries! I am sure you are all reading really good books. Can't wait to hear from everyone!

Mrs. Butcher

Weekend Challenge!

Hey Everyone!
Trevor commented about a book he was reading and how the author used great purple words in his writing. He wants me to read this book to the class next. I thought this would be a great opportunity to hear about the books you have read or are reading. Do you have any books you think I should read next?

Over the weekend post any books that you feel would be good to read to the class. Make sure you persuade me as to why this would be a good book. Remember persuasive writing has a strong, confident voice, not a begging voice that sounds like whining. Give me good reasons why you think this book is a good choice and why you think the rest of the class would enjoy it. Who knows...maybe I will pick a book one of you have suggested!! Good luck!

I can't wait to hear from everyone!!

Your Teacher,
Mrs. Butcher

Great Week!

Well, we had a great first week with our class blog! Seeing everyone so excited is great. I hope we can continue to use this over the summer!

We all worked really hard this week. Everyone got started on their Young Author book...keep working on it! We also took several math assessments. Students don't forget to show these to your parents in your DNB. We took a problem solving assessment which was really challenging for us. The problems came from prior fourth grade ISTEP tests.

I have also made some changes and additions to the dates to remember section. Be sure to check it out! Looking forward to another great week! Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Butcher

Wow!

It is so exciting to see everyone checking out our blog! Your comments have been great. Aaron and Shivonne have pointed out that we have had over 100 hits to our blog! That's amazing! I have also had some very kind comments from both students and parents...thank you for these. It is so great to have a place where we can compliment and encourage one another. We can make it a goal to compliment someone every week!

I have listed some of my favorite websites along the left hand side of the blog. These range in level of difficulty. If you find some that are too easy, select a more difficult level. The Rainforest math website has several different levels to choose from. You can also let me know in the comments section if you find another website that you think would be useful to your friends. (Make sure it is related to school.)

I can't wait to add some pictures to this blog! I think that will make it even better and more fun to visit! I have also been working on finding a way to publish some of our work on here for parents, grandparents, and friends to see. Hopefully this will be coming soon! If not, then we have something to look forward to and figure out for next year!

Keep checking us out!

Mrs. Butcher

Welcome!

Welcome to our class blog! As you can tell it is still a work in progress, but hopefully this will serve as a great communication tool. It will take some getting used to, but the amount of information that can be placed on a blog is significant. It is also a great way to stay up to date on what is going on in our classroom. Please strive to check the blog page every other week or so. It is a great tool to use over the summer as well.

Note the information along the right hand side of the blog page. I will list dates to remember and other information in the green box. Below in the white box I have listed several websites for teachers, parents, and students. Simply click on them to check them out! I encourage you to get your child on the blog site to check out some of the websites.

Soon I will be adding slide shows from the year. It will be a great place to take a look at some pictures from field trips and classroom parties throughout the year. I will be sending home permission slips to put your child in these slide shows. Please return them as soon as possible. These are fun for grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. to check out on our blog page.

Right now the main purpose of the blog page is for information and pictures. My goal is for students to take over the blogging by keeping you all up to date on what is going on in the classroom. We also hope to be able to publish some of their writing projects as well. However, with the limited time of school left, this may have to wait until next year.

Please take some time to get used to this page. I plan on it taking the place of our newsletters. It is a great way to save some paper and help the environment! Feel free to post any comments and/or questions by clicking on the comments link!

Thanks!
Ginger