New! Pockettales Home Reading Program!
Today was a start of some new things in 4H/G. Today we started a new reading adventure with the start of our Home Reading Program. We are going to be doing things differently with our Home Reading program.Though I have done Home reading Programs in the past, this exciting program is new for me hence the delay in start up.
You may have done home reading programs in the past. Students would bring a chart or their planners and parents would sign saying that their child read that night. We will continue to do something of the same. However, the main part of the program will be quite a bit different.
We will be using a website to record our reading and share the books we are reading as a class. Students will be able to collect virtual badges/amulets for reading and sharing their books.Students will read books, write review, share booklists with friends and take/create quizzes about books they have finished. Sounds complicated but after the initial “getting used to things”, it should work very nicely to encourage student reading.
As this is very new for everybody, I have created a booklet for parents to refer to as we get going. The booklet will be coming home today and should be in their planners. I have also put it on the blog here for you in case it somehow gets lost.
If you have questions, something is not working or you are having difficulty with something, please let me know as there will invariably be problems initially. I think this will be lots of fun and I think the students will enjoy it as well!
Thank You!
Wow!!! I want to say a huge thank you to my wonderful students and also to Mr. Hancock! Today I received 21 beautifully written and decorated birthday cards AND a delicious chocolate cake! I felt very blessed today! So thank you – you are such an amazing group of students!
Love, Mrs. Goosen
Pumpkin Day 2010
The week has been going by in lightning speed and Monday seems already forever ago but I just wanted to share with you the great day. We had Mrs. Goosen and several parents join us for a wonderful day filled with pumpkin activities. In the morning, students used math skills in estimating and measuring to record the weights and size of their pumpkins. They then estimating and counted the number of seeds in their pumpkins recording their findings both in place value and on a graph. In the afternoon, we had several centers where students wrote pumpkin stories, made pumpkin muffins, tested whether their pumpkins floated and carved polygon shapes in patterns all around their pumpkin. It was a full day of learning and fun.
I made a video showing the students doing lots of learning with their pumpkin. You can watch it below. Just a reminder about the 9x tables quiz tomorrow, along with the memory verse and Spelling Test. It’s a busy day tomorrow!
Tomorrow, students will starting our Home Reading Program. The way we will be doing it is very different than what you may be used to which explains the delay in start up. I will be going over it tomorrow with the students and will be sending home a booklet describing the program and the steps for students to complete. The booklet will also be on the blog for you to download and refer to.
Yummy Pumpkin Muffins
It was so much fun joining the class for pumpkin day on Monday! I LOVED baking with the students and had a lot of requests for the Yummy Pumpkin Muffin recipe. This recipe is cut in half and will make approx. 9 good sized muffins. Enjoy! **click on the link to get the recipe ** Yummy-Pumpkin-Muffins-2
Mrs. Goosen
Spelling List for this Week!
Hello Grade 4 Parents and Students!
I have listed below the spelling words for this week. Because of Pumpkin Day yesterday, our spelling test is going to come a little sooner. However, with all the short weeks we have been having, it is necessary for us to get in our spelling lists when we can.
Here are the lists for this week followed by the links for Spelling City. Don’t forget to bring in your certificate or get your parents to write a note in your planners to get your bonus mark!
Here are the links to the Spelling City pages.
HELP NEEDED!!!!
On Monday, we are going to be having a very special day of Math, Science and Language Arts fun!
The fall season is one of my favorite times because it means that there will be mounds and mounds of pumpkins! Yes! That’s right! We are going to be playing with pumpkins on Monday for our Third Annual Pumpkin Day!! We are going to be exploring, measuring, writing about and doing lots of other things with pumpkins!
However, in all the excitement of the past week, I neglected to make a call out for parent helpers to join us in the fun and give a helping hand!
If you are at all able to help out this Monday, Mrs. Goosen and I would really appreciate having you! We will be doing activities all day. You are more than welcome to participate and help all day. However, if you can not be with us all day, please consider joining us for the afternoon or morning.
If you are able to join us, please leave a comment on the bottom of this post or send me an email at <ihancock(at)highroadacademy.com> without the arrows and with the proper “at” sign. You can also leave a message at the office tomorrow.
Thanks in advance and we hope to see you there on Monday!
Free Spell To Write and Read Program Seminar
On November 6th, Highroad Academy willing be hosting a free seminar on Spell To Write and Read. This program is the spelling program all grades use from K-6. Using a phonics base, students learn all their phonograms and spelling rules to help them to learn how to read and develop a sight word vocabulary.
As this is a fairly intensive program involving lots of work at home to help students memorize phonograms and practice spelling lists, we encourage all parents to attend the free seminar to become familiarized with our program and what you can do to help your child at home.
We STRONGLY encourage new families to attend as your child will be new to a program that has been used right from Kindergarten.
If you are interested in attending (new families!!! Hint, hint! Wink, wink), please contact me by email, phone or by seeing me after school).
Continents and Oceans Quiz on Thursday!
The students have spent the last two Thursdays learning the names of the earth’s oceans and continents. We listened (and grooved) to a You Tube video and made a beautiful world balloon – and now it’s time to see what they’ve learned. The quiz will show a picture of the earth with the continents and oceans labelled with numbers or letters. There will be a word bank at the bottom and they will need to fill in the blanks, correctly matching up the continent or ocean with its correct name. I have attached a study guide for your child to review…happy studying! Mrs. Goosen =)
Our Frist Spilling Liisst
I am very excited! This week we are starting our very first spelling list! (Yes, I know you’re excited too!!)
If you have not been in my room before, we use a website (Spellingcity.com) where students can practice their spelling words. It is a really cool site for students to practice and have fun with their spelling words. I also have another great thing with the website! If students complete the practice test, receive 100% and print out the certificate, I will give them a bonus mark for their test on Friday! For the spelling test at the end of the week, I do not require markings or syllable spaces. I have embedded the spelling list below and the link to the Spelling City. There are two lists this year. Students know which one to use to practice.
Here are the links to the Spelling City Pages. Just click on the picture that matches your list.
