Helping Writers at Home

Teachers at Centerfield teach writing using a writing workshop model. This means students have the opportunity to write on a daily basis. They study accomplished authors to learn from experts, they write about important matters, keep thier ideas in a writer's notebook, and they share personal pieces and listen to their peer's work. Writing workshop is a dynamic part of the day.

Here are some suggestion when working with your child at home:

* Basic punctuation, spelling, and grammar are learned through practice, trial, and error. If this is a struggle for your child, try editing one sentence, and then letting them edit the next. Use teachable moments, but don’t over-edit to the point of exhaustion or frustration.
*Keep in mind that unedited pieces guide your child’s teacher’s lesson plans. Papers edited by parents don’t show teachers what deficiencies need to be addressed.
*Encourage your child to write for a variety of purposes: grocery lists, diaries, to-do lists, letters to relatives and friends, etc.
* Write in front of your child to model writing as a daily adult habit.
*Keep resources available: dictionary, thesaurus, spell checker, etc.
* Some children are inspired by writing “tools” like special pens, paper, staplers, construction paper, etc.
*Tell stories together! This helps build idea development, creativity, sequencing, vocabulary etc. *Play with words to build vocabulary.
*Encourage your child to read their writing aloud. This will help correct errors and improve writing fluency.
*Check spelling by reading written work backwards.
*Point out your favorite authors and how they make reading enjoyable.
*Allow your child time to think before getting started on a written assignment; take the time to listen to their ideas. This oral rehearsal helps students organize their thoughts, sequence their ideas, and check for missing detail.

Students will make mistakes, but they will also surprise you with creativity and enthusiasm! You will be amazed by your child's progress this year. Most of all enjoy the writing process and celebrate great thinking and unique ideas! Ask and most importantly, LISTEN you your child's writing!

If you have any questions regarding writing, please contact your child’s teacher, or me. We are looking forward to a wonderful year of writing.

Instructional Academy Vocabulary Wordle

This is a link to a Wordle based on the vocabulary PowerPoint from teh vocabulary workshop at the instructional academy.

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End of Summer Blog News

Students,

As the summer comes to a close, I will be revising this blog in August to welcome the new class of fourth graders. Many of the posts will be deleted, and I will clear out the books we read as a class so that I can start a new list. If you want to print our list, or post to our site, please feel free to do so before we come back to school in August and you start fifth grade.

Fondly,
Mrs. Heim

Summer Social Studies Fun

Students, if you are checking the blog this summer, try this fun site to help you remember the United States map!

I hope you are all doing well and are enjoying your summer break! I've been to Lake Cumberland, Ohio, and I'll be traveling to Colorado twice in July. I'm having fun, so I hope you are, too!

http://jimspages.com/States.htm

Improper fractions and mixed numbers

You can practice working with these fractions models by going to the NCTM site through the following link: http://illuminations.nctm.org/ActivityDetail.aspx?ID=44

Reducing Fractions Lesson from April 14

Helpline

If you want to help other kids with their pieces or put your own piece on here, you may. Just post a comment, with your advice or your piece. Remember, this will be approved by Mrs. Heim first, so make sure you use good spelling, puncation, ect., ect. Give good ideas for your buddies and give as much help as you can!!!

From,

The Helpline Crew
******************

What's Happening?

Students,

Here is a place for you to share what you're thinking about current events or what's going on in your life. Remember to use initials and that your comments are approved before being posted!

Setting Goals

What goals did you set for yourself at the beginning of the year that you have reached or are still working towards reaching? What goals are you setting for yourself now? How are you going to reach these goals?

Science

Students,
We have started a long unit on physical sciences. We will be conducting lots of labs and designing many experiments. Not only will we have fun, but we'll learn a lot, too! Here is a place for you to talk about science, ask questions, and share your thinking.

Star Jumper

Sort of Forever

Walk Two Moons

Esperanza Rising

Math Problem - March 11

Ben is training for a big race. He runs a lot each week, but does not want his competitors to know how much. He did let these clues slip out, however:

It is more than 150 miles
It is less than 225
Th e number is divisible by 5
The number is divisible by 9

How many miles does he run each week?

Feature Article Helpline - Students Helping Students

Now that you've started researching and writing your feature article, you may come up with problems and questions. Here is a place for you to ask for advice from your classmates. Maybe you have a question about how to add bullets to your article, or where to find information about your topic...see if your classmates can help! Remember that even the best writers ask for advice and seek help from their peers!

Math Problem February 27

Emma's family is going to travel from their home near St. Louis, Missouri, to her grandmother's nome near Chicago, Illinois, a distance of 290 miles. Emma's mother is the driver, and she averages 50 miles an hour.

How many hours will it take to get to Chicago?

Numbering the Bones

The Beloved Dearly

Ice Storm of 2009

What started out as a few snow flurries and maybe a little bit of ice quickly turned into the worst ice storm in Kentucky's history. Oldham County was hit pretty hard with power outages, icy roads, and snow-packed roads on top of the ice. Those who were lucky fired up generators and huddled next to gas fireplaces. Some of us wrapped up in layers of clothing and blankets as the temperature sank to the teens outside and not much above inside. As miserable as it was, there was beauty to behold as well. Tell us about your story. What did you experience during our week off? did you notice the sivler shimmering of the ice covered trees as the sun started to sink in the early evening? Lets hear your story...

Math Problem of the Week

Three children in the neighborhood decided to throw a party and share the expenses equally. Susan bought $3.oo worth of ice cream, Janet bought a cake from the bakery for $5.oo, and Sharon bought $1.oo from the candy shop.

How much did each person pay the others so that each of them spent the same amount?

Share your thinking and your answer.

Joshua's Song

Book Club Posts

Dear Students,
You are all participating in book clubs right now. One way for you to discuss what you are reading is to respond to a post on our blog. Find the post about your book and share what you are thinking and the questions you are pondering as you read through your novel. Also feel free to respond to your classmates' responses. Remember to use your initials when you submit your post.

RKB's Cincinnati House - Poetry

Here is a piece that is being posted for review. RKB is aksing for some feedback in the form of stars and wishes.

Cincinnati House

Cincinnati house
Small garden out front
Welcoming any friendly visitors
Reminding them of spring
But now it’s gone
From my life
Warm crackling fire inside
As smoke rises
The smell of burning wood fills my nostrils
But now it’s gone
From my life
Muffled talks in kitchen
Never able to understand
What they say
But now it’s gone
From my life
Creaky stairs as I head up for bed
Creak
Creak
Creak
But now it’s gone
From my life
6 years old
Stairs so steep
As if I were climbing Mount Everest
Sitting on my bottom
Slowly
Scooting
Myself
Down
Down
Down
But now it’s gone
From my life
Cold in the family room
As chills run up my back
Playing tag
One after another
But now it’s gone
From my life
As I plop face down on the beige couch
Breathing in the scent of
Old furniture
But now it’s gone
From my life

Sitting in the kitchen on a warm sunny morning
The birds sing’n there song of gratitude
Saying:
Thanks for the food
But now it’s gone
Thinking back to those days
When that old house was still part of my life
I just sit there
Thinking
The scent of old crayons
Missing
The warmth of the crackling fire
Burning
Making salty dew roll down my crimson red cheeks

Wondering
If I will ever see it again

Sitting in the kitchen on a warm sunny morning
The birds sing’n their song of gratitude
Saying:
thanks for the food

Math Challenge for November

Students, here is a math challenge:
In many schools across the country, students run laps for exercise during recess or P.E. You have set a personal goal to run 100 miles in one year. If your school track is one-fifth mile, how many laps should you have to run to reach this goal for the year? On average, how many laps would you need to run each week to reach your goal of running 100 miles in one year?

When giving your answers, be sure to explain your thinking so others can understand your reasoning and learn how you came up with your answers. Remember this is a two-part question.

Here's a site that will challenge the whole family: http://www.freerice.com/ . It's a vocabulary game that, when you get questions correct, 20 grains of rice are donated to the UN World Food Program to help end hunger. Parents, test your vocabulary knowledge. Kids, get a dictionary! The questions get harder as you get words right, and the questions get easier as you make mistakes. See how much rice you can donate!

Dear Friends and Families,

Our class is creating a video about reading and writing. We're asking people questions about their reading and writing experiences and how literacy has influenced the lives of people around the United States. We're inviting you to respond to one or all of the following questions. In your post, it would be helpful to know if you are an adult or child, and where you're from. We are looking forward to learning how others think and feel about literacy!

1. How did you learn to read?
2. Do you remember the time you realized you could read? What was that like?
3. What book or author got you hooked on reading? What made that book or author unforgettable?
4. What are you reading now?
5. How important is writing well?
6. What author has helped you the most as a writer? What did they do to guide your writing style?
7. What kinds of writing do you do now?

Writing Similes is as Fun as Riding in the Hot Air Balloon at the Fall Festival!

Students - we have had a great time creating similes - comparrisons using the words like or as. We discovered it is sometimes simply not enough (or as fun) to write simple similes (The cat is as black as the night). It is much more effective (and fun!) to extend similes to add a bit more description (The cat is as black as a moonless night in the middle of January).

Students, here is your challenge. When you come across a well written simile - either in you reading, or one you've written, please add it to our classroom blog. Be sure to give the author credit. Let's see how many fabulous similes we can find.

Welcome!

Welcome to our classroom blog; we're excited to use this space to discuss what we're reading, writing, and learning about this year. Please come back often to see what we're up to!