Updates!

Happy Halloween! It was so nice to see many of you at our Halloween celebration! Thank you to everyone who contributed wonderful treats and of course to our mystery reader, who had the kids speechless when she arrived in a witch costume! I know the kids had a great time!

• On Thursday, a letter went home regarding the new video/audio policy. Please sign and return the form as soon as possible.  
• We will be traveling to the Portland Symphony on November 10th. Permission slips went home last week. There is no cost associated with this trip. 
• Parent teacher conferences will be held this week. Please return the parent survey at your earliest convenience. This will allow me to make sure all of your questions and concerns are addressed when we meet. 
• Thursday, November 5th- Half day for students
• This Friday, November 6th- No school for students

A look into our week:

• We had Mystery Skype with a class from Alabama. We even guessed their town using clues.  The kids quickly searched the internet for maps of Alabama to figure out they were from Jacksonville!
• We used Seesaw, an online portfolio, to complete book reviews.  Students can access Seesaw at home by using their google username and password.
• We discussed how characters are just like people in our own lives. They have more than one side and can act out of character in different situations. Many students shared that they act much different with their siblings than they do in school.  We also had our first book debate and discussed how readers can have different opinions of the books they read. 
• In writing we studied published authors to learn how they hook the reader and end their stories. Students also learned that authors make sure readers know exactly where and when the story takes place. 
• We continued to learn about colonial life in social studies. We had great discussions about how different our schools are today. From materials to punishments, almost everyone decided they would rather go to school today!
• We started unit two of math. We have been discussing how important it is to for students to know their multiplication facts! Please encourage your child to practice their facts each night at home. 

Questions to ask about our week:

• What was your job during Mystery Skype?
• Where did people get their clothes in colonial times?
• How were schools different in colonial times?
• Can you show me your seesaw book review?
• Do you think Rob & Sistine should let the tiger go? Why or why not?
• What book did you read to your reading buddy?
• Can we play multiplication war together?

I look forward to meeting with you over the next few weeks!

-Ms. Tingle

Updates

 I heard today, "I can't believe another Friday has come and gone."  I could not agree more. The weeks seem to just fly by.

• The highlight of our week was traveling to Old York today! We had a blast learning about colonial life. The students quickly realized that life was much different back then. Surprisingly, some students said they would love to live in colonial times without their iPads, TVs, and other electronics!
• This was our first week of recycling and 4T set a record for being so fast and efficient! The kids worked together to gather the recycling from each class of the school.
• We finished our first unit in math and took our first test of 4th Grade! We will begin unit 2 on Monday. 
• We continued to write our realistic fiction stories. We learned how important it is to include dialogue in our stories as well as leads that hook the reader. 
• In reading, we continued to analyze characters. We discussed how a character's thoughts and actions can reveal important details about who they are.
• We had a Mystery Skype with a class in New Jersey! We are having so much fun learning our geography by skyping with classes throughout the U.S.

Questions to ask your child about their week:

• How are colonial homes different than our homes?
• What did you bake at Old York?
• What was your job during Mystery Skype?
• Can you show me your realistic fiction story on Google Docs?
• How would you describe Rob in Tiger Rising?
• Would you like to live in colonial times? why or why not?
• What is a goal you have for reading this year?

And of course, here are several photos from our amazing trip into the past!

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I am happy to be back in 2015! Have a great weekend! :) 

Updates!

Another week has come and gone! Here's a sneak peek into our week in 4T.

• We learned about angles, quadrilaterals, measurement, and lines in math. 
• We did a Mystery Skype with a class in Iowa. We had a few technical difficulties in the beginning, and the teacher from Iowa said, "you must have one of the most patient, well behaved classes I have ever seen!" What a great compliment!  
• We continued to learn about the early settlers of New Hampshire. 
• We learned how to use dialogue in our writing to make our stories stronger.
• We learned about character traits and discussed the characters in Tiger Rising and Fish in a Tree. 

Questions to ask you child about their week:

• What was your job during Mystery Skype?
• What character do you like the best from Fish in a Tree? Why?
• What was life like for the first settlers of New Hampshire? 
• Why was it important for settlers to live near rivers?

Odds & Ends

• On Friday, October 23rd, we are heading to Old York! It is encouraged that children dress from colonial times. 
•  Our Halloween party will be on Friday, October 30th at 2:15. Please feel free to stop by and visit with your child.  A big thank you to Maura Malark for organizing and to all those contributing! 

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  We used Google Maps to create maps of the first four towns in New Hampshire!

  

  

  We learned hand signals to remember the differences between lines, rays, points, and line segments!

Ocean Discovery Day at UNH

I received this postcard today and thought I would share it with you! Looks very fun!

Seesaw Introduction

Dear Parents,

I’m very excited to inform you that your child will be using an online learning journal called Seesaw this year in the Makerspace and in their classroom. Seesaw is a web-based application that allows students to document their learning in a secure way that only the teachers and students within a class can access. Students can show what they know through photos of their work, links, PDFs, drawings, and text. Seesaw makes it easy for students, teachers, and parents to review growth over time. It is very much like a digital portfolio.

Seesaw works across all platforms, including Chromebooks and iPads. If your child is in a K-2 class, then their teacher will create the student account. In grades 3-5, students will sign in through their SAU 16 Google account. Seesaw takes protecting student security and privacy seriously and has taken the Student Privacy Pledge.

Below you will find some additional links to learn more. If you have any questions, let me know. I can be reached at sgagnon@sau16.org.

Seesaw Website: http://web.seesaw.me/

Student Privacy Information: http://help.seesaw.me/hc/en-us/articles/203258429-What-measures-do-you-have-in-place-to-keep-student-information-safe-

Thanks for your support,

Steve Gagnon

Technology Integrator

Updates!

I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend with your family and friends! The long weekends always go by so quickly. Here's a peek into last week.

• In reading we discussed creating a movie in our mind, retelling in chronological order, and conducted reading partner interviews.
• In writing we discussed the importance of showing rather than telling emotions and important events. 
• We learned about early New Hampshire and the reasons why people first settled in our state. 
• We practiced subtracting with regrouping and solving word problems in math. 
• We had a Mystery Skype with a 4th grade classroom in Michigan.
• We blogged about "Silver Dollar Days" for Global Read Aloud.

Questions to Foster a Conversation

• When have you had a silver dollar day?
• What was your job during your second Mystery Skype?
• What job do you hope to have for your next Mystery Skype?
• Where is Michigan located?
• Why did people first come to New Hampshire?
• What did you do during 4th grade activity?
• What steps do you take when solving word problems?
• What was your favorite part of the week?

Reminders

• Please sign up for parent teacher conferences.
• Scholastic Book Order is due on the 15th. 
• We will be traveling to Old York on the 23rd.

That's all for now! 

-Ms. Tingle

Week #5

Wow! This week flew by because it was packed with so much learning! Here's a peek into our 5th week of school.

• Mrs. Wentworth introduced our class to Mystery Skype! We spent two days practicing before our first one. We will have our next Mystery Skype on Thursday. 
• We started reading buddies with Mrs. Gaynor's kindergarten class. 4T did an amazing job being role models. 
• We completed our first science experiment. We investigated how much water a penny could hold. 
• We practiced multi-digit addition and subtraction.
• We discussed how readers create a movie in their mind when they read and practiced talking about books with a reading partner.
• We used a story mountain to plan our realistic fiction stories and began to write. 

I don't think we could have fit anything else into our busy week! Here are some questions to ask your child about their week. 

• What was your job during Mystery Skype?
• How does Mystery Skype work?
• Who is your kindergarten reading buddy?
• How many drops of water can a penny hold?
• What is your realistic fiction story about?
• What is Fish in a Tree about so far?
• What did you do during your first inside recess?

Here are some photos from the week!