Dear families,
A few weeks have gone by, and our students have been busy at work in the classroom. Here are a few highlights from the past three weeks:
In Math, we have started a new morning routine to review concepts of multiplication like finding factors and multiples, and solving three step word problems. The students have been collaborating while answering to 10 daily problems that range in difficulty. Our students are demonstrating pretty good acquisition of math concepts. We have also started practicing measurement using metric and standard systems.
During our Daily 5 block, students have finished their book report on character change, finding the major and minor characters in their books, and inferring character traits from dialogues, actions, feelings and thoughts narrated in the book. They have also found the major event that causes the characters to change, and the type of character conflict. Log into Seesaw to see their book reports. Additionally, we have been learning about the setting, and how the change in setting affects the characters, and we are currently learning about the different stages of plot development. 
In writing we continue working on our personal narrative, where students are learning to "show", not "tell" during the edit of their first draft. 
During Social Studies, our students continue learning about how maps give us information about land and people.
The mindful practices that we have recently incorporated into our self-regulation tool box are: body awareness, anchor spots and anchor words. Students have learned about three important parts of our brain, the prefrontal cortex, amygdala and hippocampus, that get affected by stress and anxiety, and how breathing exercises and using our anchor spots can help us calm down and return to a place where we are able to learn again.
We have also incorporated cursive handwriting as a calming mindful activity to do at the end of the day, when our brains are tired, and our bodies get fidgety. Students work at their leisure focusing on the repetitive movements of tracing and writing cursive letters. Eventually, students will practice writing in cursive those words that we will catch from their reports and personal narrative and that need to be spelled correctly :)
And we have also started our "Reading Buddies" activity with Mrs. Pilkington's kindergarten students. Our students have paired up with one or two little ones to help them with their reading. Our students were well prepared, and showed fantastic teaching and mentoring skills, being patient, cheerful and so caring. They read a book to the kindergarteners and asked comprehension questions. It was such a cute thing to witness!
As a final note, students have continued earning tickets for their fantastic participation and collaboration skills, and have exchanged them for rewards. Recently some students exchanged their tickets for songs, and we ended up the day with some karaoke and dancing!
It is my intention to move my blog to Seesaw in the near future to incorporate student pictures that will be password protected. I will let you know when it happens.
Have a fantastic weekend!

Dear families,
This is the learning that we have been working on in our classroom:
In Math, our fourth graders have been working on using multiplication strategies and mastering their multiplication facts. Students have been using quick arrays to aid their comprehension, finding hidden arrays and partial products. 
During Daily 5, students have continued working on their personal reading goals, and after finishing the lessons on how to describe a character in depth, students are working on finding the types of characters, and the character traits of the protagonist of the books that they are reading, as well as finding the main event in the story that helps the protagonist to change or learn a lesson, and the type of character conflict presented in their books. Students are writing a small report on the books that they are reading, and will be uploading that report to Seesaw once it is finalized and edited. Also during Daily 5, students have been building more vocabulary with their weekly words, by learning the spelling and definitions of those words while playing Pop with a partner, using the words in sentences and adding them to our Graffiti Wall, and completing the assigned paper to practice the words. During the mini-lesson part of Daily 5, students have learned about the description of characters while listening to and discussing the story of Verdi, by Janell Cannon. Together we have found character traits to describe our protagonist, using their lists of character traits. 
During Writing, our students have been planning and writing the first draft of a Personal Narrative story, introducing the setting and characters, and writing the sequence of events with important details to keep the readers engaged. 
During Social Studies, we have been noticing and wondering about different types of maps, and how maps tell us about people and land.
Additionally, the students have been completing the Math and Reading i-Ready tests, and working on STMath and XTra Math digital platforms.
And during our Thinking Journal time, the students have continued practicing daily personal writing, guided by simple prompts, like writing a list of things that you see through a window (Window Wednesday), writing a thank you note to a classroom friend, and to planet Earth (during Thankful Thursday), or writing about the plans for the weekend  (on Freedom Fridays). 
Finally, our students have continued earning tickets through participation, collaboration, and use of new vocabulary. Many students have traded their tickets for a lunch with me, sitting at my desk, chewing gum in the classroom, bringing a stuffed animal, or playing with one of the centers (fidgets, watercolors and playdough are the most popular). And, we are so close to get another extra recess, as the students have been amazing in the hall, using quiet voices and gentle feet when  transitioning to and from specials and recess, closing their locker doors with care, and taking good care of the school supplies. 
It is a total joy to work with this kind, gentle and respectful bunch of kids :)
​Have a fantastic weekend!

Another week is coming to an end, and these students haven't slowed down one bit. The learning that is being achieved in this classroom can be seen in the students' books and journals, and in how the walls are being filled up with anchor charts, student work and student goals.
This week in math, the students have continued learning about prime and composite numbers, and have been creating quick sketches to represent the arrays that they have been creating with tiles. On those sketches, the students have represented the factors and products of the equations. The students have also collaborated with partners through Work Places to play "Cover Up" and "Arrays to 100".
During our Literacy block, the students have been working on the i-Ready assessments for reading, and learning about Major and Minor Characters, Protagonist and Antagonist. Students have also learned about how character traits can be inferred from the dialogues, feelings, thoughts and actions of the characters. During independent reading, students have been practicing their words of the week if their choice was "Word Work", playing Pop with a partner to practice this week and last week's vocabulary, using those words in sentences to add to our Graffiti Wall, Reading to Someone and practicing check for understanding, Reading to Self and finding the protagonist and antagonist of their stories, Working on adding more ideas for their personal writing, or listening to some assigned articles on the Readworks platform.
This week we have added one more mindfulness practice to our thinking journal, the one called "heartfulness", where we think kind thoughts towards others, and they have been writing about moments or objects that they treasure, and places they are thankful for.
During science, the students have continued working and investigating using the eye models they created, and learning about how nocturnal animals can see in the dark.
We have also launched the Writing Workshop with lessons generating ideas for personal writing, zooming in just one moment, and making a plan for the first draft.
Have a fantastic weekend!

Dear Families,
This week our students have been building up their math, reading, writing and science skills, as well as their POL superpowers while working on the following tasks:
During Math, the students have been creating posters with all the possible arrays for numbers 1 to 36, and noticing patterns in the arrays. Students have found that some numbers only have one type of array, while others have a few more. Students have been introduced to the words prime and composite numbers,  and have practiced the previously learned vocabulary words, such as factor, factor pairs, dimensions, and product. While playing POP for math vocabulary, the students have been collaborating effectively, being patient with each other, finding strategies to give each other time to learn the spelling and definition of the words, and supporting each other with positive feedback.
During Daily 5, the students have been using their Mindful Learner superpowers to set, adjust, accomplish and reflect on personal goals for reading. Students have set goals like "read 3 chapters a day", "finish my book", or "read 5 pages a day". Other students have set goals related to sustaining focused attention during their independent reading, or practicing check for understanding during read to someone. We have added two more optional activities to our Word Work choice: Write a postcard to the teacher, with specific directions and models on what and how to do that, and our Graffiti Wall where students will use the new vocabulary words in sentences. Today we have been organizing some of the finished papers in our Literacy Folder.
During writing, the students have been writing letters to all of you for Open House, as a way to welcome you in our classroom.
For science, the students have been learning about how the human eye works, the different parts of the eye, and have created a model of the human eye using a lens as a model for a cornea lens, and one index card as a model for the retina. Students have observed that when the light enters the lens and touches the retina, the images that appear on the index card are upside down.
Our Mindfulness practice this week has been "Mindful Listening". The students have practiced sitting in their mindful bodies, breathing slowly in and out to send oxygen to their brains and to relax, and paying attention to the sounds of birds and a bell.
So much learning packed in just 5 days!

The first full week has come to an end, and our fourth graders have been really busy learning.
This week, during math, the students have been practicing multiplication and division strategies, while collaborating with partners and sharing with the whole classroom. The students have been solving word problems showing their understanding while using skip counting on the number line, and ratio tables, area models and tile arrays. The students have followed the guidelines that we agreed on to keep a safe and welcoming environment as a community of learners, using math vocabulary, negotiating disagreements, supporting each other and staying focused on the task at hand. The students have also practiced math vocabulary with our Math Pop game, and worked on addition, subtraction and multiplication during morning practice.
During Daily 5, this week we have introduced the choice called "Work on Writing" as independent practice, but connected to our Writing Workshop and our Thinking Journal routine. Students have been able to choose what to work on every round, either read to self, read to someone or work on writing. Setting weekly goals for reading has kept my students laser focused and committed to their reading, as they get to know themselves as learners. With guidance, some students are challenging themselves to read chapter books on topics of interest. We have also practiced a couple of strategies when reading with a partner, like "I read, you read", and "Coaching or time". Students are also tracking their Daily 5 choices on a chart.
On our 20 minute block between specials and recess, the students have learned one mindfulness practice called "mindful bodies", where they become aware of their body posture with straight but relaxed spine, relaxed shoulders, feet on the floor, and hands on their laps or heart or bellies. In that posture, students practice slow breathing exercises to check in with themselves, and help their nervous system to calm down. Just a few minutes helps us reset and get back to work. Students learn to be more in tune with their bodies. Throughout the week, we have also used this time to write on our Thinking Journal about the pets that we have or we would like to have, a skill that we would like to improve this year,  and one person that we are thankful for and why.
During Science, the students have been exploring their engineering skills through the construction of a robotic hand. Students have learned about bones, tendons and muscles and have followed a step by step process of inquiry and hands on activities. I am sure that you have seen this project already. It was so much fun to see their enthusiasm, and to hear the many questions that came up with this project. We have quite a group of scientists in this class!
Finally, the whole class has been able to enjoy an extra 20 minute recess because they earned 20 points through collaboration and excellent behavior in the hall and in transitions. 
Great job, class!

 "Dear families,
Welcome to our classroom blog!
This is the first post of our classroom adventures in learning. Every Friday (except for short weeks), I will be posting a few notes on what the students have been learning throughout the week, and about other activities and events happening in our school. Eventually, my students will be the ones posting! I really hope that this weekly newsletter serves you as a way of starting conversations about school with your child. 
What a fantastic beginning of the school year we've had. In just six days of school your children have already shown tremendous hard working skills and resilience. From the very beginning they have been engaged and collaborative, they have adapted quickly to the learning schedule, and have worked through hard conditions like the extreme heat we have experienced. They are fantastic listeners, and skillful collaborators. Here are some of the few things that we have learned this week:
In Math we kickstarted the week with a couple of activities to get our math muscles ready, and to understand that to learn math, our brains also work spatially and make connections. We have created a "community of learners" chart to talk about the things that we should see and hear in the classroom when we are working on math, with items like "students are encouraging each other with positive feedback", "students are using math vocabulary", "students help each other". We have also solved some multiplication story problems, using different strategies like repeated addition, skip counting on the number line, area models, and ratio tables. Students have shared the strategies with the whole class, and participation has been very high! Additionally, at arrival, students have been working independently on writing about math, using some problem strings and questions to guide their thinking.
For Language Arts, we have been launching our Reading Workshop routine called Daily 5, a model in which we gather at the assembly area, I teach a mini-lesson, we model and practice, and then students practice independently for a few minutes. After that, we gather again, check-in and start with another mini-lesson. This week, we have started with the first Daily 5 choice called "Read To Self", where students learn the behaviors that they have to show when they are reading by themselves. We have practiced transitioning to our reading spots, ways of reading a book, and checking for understanding. To make sure that they have a clear understanding of the expected behaviors, students also got a chance to play some charades, showing what not to do when reading independently, and then showing the right way again. We had a lot of fun with our little theater! The Daily 5 model, when developed fully, will allow me to work with small groups and individual students and that way get a more targeted instruction for each of my students. In the meantime, students that are working independently or with a partner, will be able to practice the skills that they have learned in the mini lesson or during group work. Your children were so amazing during their "read to self" independent practice, showing all the right behaviors and making perfect transitions, that during that time, I was able to confer with a few of my students to learn about their individual reading habits and likes.
During the 20 minutes that we have between specials and recess, we work on our "Thinking Journal". This writing activity is aimed at working with Social Emotional skills, with the purpose of helping your children appreciate and foster happy feelings throughout the week. We have a theme for each day, and I give them a prompt and model for them. This is like a personal journal where students are encouraged to write as little as one sentence, and more if they like. If they wish, students can share with the class what they wrote. These are the themes that we've been working on so far: Tickle Tuesday: write about a happy memory or something that made you feel happy lately; Wonder Wednesday: write about  what you wonder about; Thankful Thursday: write about something that you are thankful for and why (this week we wrote about an object that we were thankful for- it was so cute to have a few students share about their gratitude for their favorite blankie!), and today Friday the theme will be Freedom/Friendship Friday, where students will write about weekend plans or their friends. 
In the afternoon we have launched our Science block, were we are learning about the Human Machine, how the muscles control their bones to move their bodies. 
Students have also been working on ST Math at dismissal, and we have been trying to stay cool at the end of the day by going to the library or siting in the hall.
As you can see, your children have been really busy learning! 
Join us next Friday to read more about our learning adventures!
​Have a fantastic weekend!

 Dear families,
I can't believe it is already the end of the year. The past few weeks have been a blur of activity, and we've barely had any time to work on our blog. Here is a quick summary of past events:
In Language Arts the students have been working non stop on finishing up their book club books, reading with a partner, working independently or working with me on discussion questions, making connections, describing character traits and finding themes. We culminated the book club activity with a meeting where students reading the same book gathered with a couple of teachers or facilitators to discuss the highlights of the book. Ms. Griswold and I met with the students that had read "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate, and I was blown away by the deep understanding and the insights that all the students shared. I love to talk about books, and sharing with the students how much each of us loved this book made our reading even more significant. This was an amazing 4th grade project that we could not have done without the guidance of our reading specialist Mrs. Zalusky, who organized it all, and the support of our principal Mrs. Garden and our Instructional Coach Mrs. Desruisseaux. We had six groups of students and twelve teachers, paras and administrator working with the fourth graders, and we all really enjoyed the collaboration. What a year for literacy this has been.
Additionally, our students have been working on their opinion pieces, giving very persuasive and valid arguments for the importance of having a pet, extending recess, reading books vs. playing video games, having popsicles with lunch on hot spring days, or being payed for doing chores at home.
During math, our students have been working on describing polygons using specific geometry vocabulary, finding the area and perimeter of rectangles and "hexarights", and measuring angles.
During science, we have finished the unit on waves and the properties of light, creating a laser circuit to explore reflection, and exploring transparent, translucent and opaque objects. 
Finally during social studies, students have been investigating the regions of the United States, and the states and abbreviations.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and communication this year. It has been fantastic to get to know and teach your children. I wish them all the best in Middle School and beyond. Have a fantastic summer :)
Take a look at the pictures! 

Dear families,
Read this week's blog post through my students' voices. Have a fantastic spring break!
Math, by Pepper, Emily and Abby S. 
Hello, hola, and Bonjour! In Math we are working on arm spans, hand lengths, line plots, bar graphs, tables, and last but not least words for analyzing data! Which include; minimum, maximum, range, mode, and median. When we are talking about the minimum we are basically saying, “The smallest element of a set.” So in a set of numbers like: 2 3 3 5 7 8 8 and 10 the minimum would be 2 because it’s the smallest. When we are talking about maximum we are basically saying “ the largest element of a set.” So the opposite of minimum. Example: in a set like this; 2 3 3 5 7 8 8 the maximum would be 8. Another thing that’s very important when talking about analyzing data is the range. The range is; The difference between the greatest and the least values in a data set, Example: 4 6 7 8 8 11 13 {13 - 4 = 9} So the range would be nine. 
The word Mode is also important when we talk about analyzing data, The word Mode means: the value 
(or values) that appear most often in a set of data. Example: 4 6 7 8 11 11 13 It would be 11 because there is more elevens than any other number. And last but not least, Median; the middle value of an ordered set of numerical data in a set with an even number of data points, the median is the average of two middle points. 
Example: 4 6 7 8 8 11 13.We have also measured our hand spans and arm spans. We had organized that data beginning with a table. It organizes the data by putting the students name on one side and their arm length on the other side. It wasn’t organized in any way, which made it hard for us to find the maximum and the minimum. After learning a couple different ways to show it, we decided the easiest one had been a line plot. We all wrote our name on a sticky note, we made a line plot that went from 50-63 inches, we had put x’s on top of the length we had. The mode had been 53 inches which had four x’s. Arm span is another way of saying “the length between one hand to another.” Tip: when measuring your arm span you always start with your middle fingers because they are the longest finger on your hand. For example if you measure your left palm and your other palm you’re not going to get the right answer, you’ll always get a shorter answer because they are closer together than your middle fingers are. Hand spans are a little easier to understand because you only have to measure from your thumb to your pinky finger and that’s how long your hand span is! Tip: round the measurement to the nearest half inch of the ruler you’re using. Anyway we always have fun!
Trickster Tales Celebration, Emmy and Bree
This week we had a celebration for finishing our Trickster Tales writing that we worked on for 10 weeks guided by our writer-in-residence Motoko. Motoko presented a slideshow of the drawings we made. From each class there was two students who shared a bit of their story, from our class, it was Cora and Steven who shared, from Mrs. Keenan's class, Jackson and Madi shared, from Mrs. Rutkowski's class, Giana and Josh shared. After, the parents came upstairs so they could hear the other students’ stories.
Daily 5, Cora, Sam, Violet and Lilly (and guest poets :)
In Daily 5 this week we’ve been doing a few different things that include, Word Work, Greek Mythology, and Poetry. This week in Daily 5 we have been sort of finishing up our poetry. We aren’t completely done with poetry but we are finishing up the important things in it. If you choose poetry in Daily 5, you can either cut and glue poems you need to put in your poetry journal, or write your own poems.
In daily 5 this week we started working on Greek Mythology. We are doing an assignment on Greek Mythology. We have to read a book about a Greek hero and then we have to answer a few questions. You also have the choice to do it independently or with a partner of your choice. We were assigned books on Greek Mythology in Epic and we are able to choose any you would like. The options are Achilles, Icarus, Pandora, and many others. The assignment requires you to write about which story you chose and answer questions about the characters,  setting,  plot,  and theme. 
The words of the week for Word Work are enlarge ( means to grow bigger ) investigate (to look more into a subject) procedure (a way of doing something) and typical (what you do in your everyday life.)
(Mrs. Willinski: To celebrate National Poetry Month, your children have been creating amazing poems in their journals. A few of them have volunteered to share in this blog. Enjoy!)
Colors
By Emmy
Red orange, yellow, green, blue and purple all the colors of the rainbow.
If you look around you the colors they're sounds.
The colors are apart of everything your dreams too.
Love I red orange are butterflies,
yellow is the sun,
green are leaves,
blue is the sky
and purple are flowers in the leaves with the sun right on her
with the sun in the sky
and the butterfly flying so high in the sky
loving his life.

The Best Shot!
By Matthew Ukpo
 Seven seconds on the clock
then I made my shot.
And instantly my team is on top,
now four defenders towards me.
They all flop,
as the announcer observing saying
can he be stopped!
When my team wins I barely have a thought
all I know is I’d worked a lot.

Dreams
By Breanna Romano
Dreams
Dreams are your imagination playing tricks on you
One second you could be in the sky floating on the clouds
and the next you could be swimming in the ocean with mermaids
or on a tropical island.
Your dreams are beautiful

Blue
By Abby Zalenski
Blue is the sound of water dripping from a waterfall.
Blue is a taste of cotton-candy
it feels light and soft in your mouth 

The Window
By Abby Zalenski
It’s dark and black
there’s a shadow behind the window
black and scary
I see
I get out of bed
and under my feet I see some glass that scares me
and noises
I look out the window to see my dad is trying to scare me.

Red
By Jake Stone
Red is like a taste of strawberry Jolly Rancher
Red is like the smell of sweet
Red is a beautiful color
Red feels like a bumpy road
Red is the sound of cake

Dogs
By Abby Zalenski
Cuddly, soft 
playing, barking, running 
run and play as you
         Pups

Two Voice Poem
By Abby Zalenski
I am a monkey 
I am a panda
High in the trees
Laying on the ground 
And I’m a panda
I hate the sun 
I love the sun
I’m as lazy as a pig 
I’m fun as a roller coaster 
​WE ARE TWO OPPOSITES
I’m a monkey 
I'm a panda

Life of a Book
By Emily Moore
Crumpled and rumpled, shipped and ditched 
the life of a book is hard to accomplish,
I wait on the shelf that nobody goes to
but the few people that come look at me and turn away to isle three
 where books of all kinds get taken away
while I lay here day after day.

Maroon
By Emily Moore
Maroon is like a mood, sort of red sort of purple.
Now red is the color of madness, and purple is a mix of sadness and sleepiness.
Maroon is like waking up and going to work and finding out that you forgot something and you don’t quite know what that  “thing” is.
Maroon is like smelling a fire and the slightest crackle you get from it. Maroon is rough yet soft to the touch.

Yellow
By Pepper Langley
Yellow, Yellow is the sound
Of birds tweeting in the morning
Yellow tastes like biting into a vanilla cupcake or like a sugar cookie.
Yellow is the feeling of sand between your toes.

Water
By Pepper Langley
Water is a wet,
flowing liquid that runs faster than any human,
water can be warmth like a hot tub in the winter
or chilling like the ocean in the summer.
Water is water

Too Fast
By Pepper Langley
No, life’s too fast
I was seven then blinked and three years had past
Being a kid goes by way too fast
So make sure you enjoy it while it lasts

My Best Friend
By Abby Stover
They can rise me
high as the sky are
as low as you can go
but no one is alone
cause if you're down
I’m around
if your mad
I am so sad
if you're mine
I’m as happy as if just ate pie!

​Other Classroom Events, Pepper and Abby Stover
This week we went on a walk to the Taft Library, the Book Club was organized by Mrs. Zalusky and Mrs. Desruisseaux. The library is so close to our school that we can walk there! When we got there a nice librarian greeted us at the door, we went in and sat down, we noticed that there were six books on the table in front of us. The librarian explained that she was going to give us a short summary about each book (without spoiling it) and later we would get to pick which book we want to read in a book club. The books on the table were “El Defo”, “Land of Stories”, “Save Me a Seat” , “The One and Only Ivan”, “The Wild Robot”, and “Because of the Rabbit”. “El Defo” is a book about a bunny who is born almost deaf in one ear and had to get a hearing aid but the thing is she really hates the way it looks, but it’s the only way she can hear so she has to keep it on. But one day she imagines this cool version of herself that still has the hearing aid, so she tries to be more like that version of herself and ends up liking her hearing aid after a while. “The Land of Stories” is about two kids who fell into this magical storybook and now they’re stuck in the book so they go on an adventure trying to get back to the real world but they end up meeting a lot of fantasy characters like Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks. It’s a great fantasy book. “Save Me a Seat” is about one ordinary boy and the other is from India. He had just come to start a life in America. They had nothing in common until a class bully targeted both boys and they worked with each other to cope. “The one and only Ivan” is about a gorilla named ‘Ivan’ that was captured, then put in a zoo in a mall. Ivan was a very talented gorilla. He knew how to do many tricks, but he needed more space to live. One day he escapes the mall, and the book is all about his life. “Because of the Rabbit” is about a girl named Emma. Emma had been homeschooled her whole life and had never been to school. One day she decided that she wanted to try out public school. Emma’s dad worked to help wild animals. One day he had gotten a call about a wild rabbit stuck in a mean lady’s yard. (That call came in the night before Emma started 5th grade) Emma’s dad immediately went to help the rabbit, but the rabbit wasn’t a wild rabbit it was a pet rabbit who lost it’s owner.  Emma’s dad tried so hard to find who the rabbit belonged to, but he couldn’t. Eventually the rabbit became Emma’s pet and best friend. It wasn’t the best friend Emma had imagined but it was even better! “The Wild Robot” is a book about a robot named Roze who ended up on deserted island because of a boat crash. Roze eventually understood how to communicate  with those around her. She learned to develop feelings for the creatures and the wild life. Which book would you choose for the book club?

This week we also had community reader come and read to us. His name is Sean Nicholson who read the book “What the Road Said ” by Cleo Wade, with illustrations by Lucie De Moyencourt. The story is about a little boy who lives in the city and a road appears out of nowhere. One day he asked the road questions like “ How do I start?” “What if I get scared?”       
The road would answer “ The road smiled and said you have already started” and “ That is okay. You are brave.” We think the theme of the story is about even if you are scared, afraid or confused you can move forward  and be a leader. Thank you Mr. Sean for reading this to all of us!

(Mrs. Willinski: I think you will agree with me that my students are amazing writers. Take a look at this week's slide show!)