Island of the Blue Dolphins

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Soctt O'Dell was one of my favorite books in elementary school. One of our literature circle groups is currently reading it, and I had to take it home and finish it IMMEDIATELY. This is one of those books that just gives you a feeling of a world you would never know, or expect to know. I find it difficult to describe without giving away to much, but the book it phenomenal. I have several copies of this book, so if you have interest in borrowing, let me know.

Week of November 29 – December 3

This Week’s Objectives:

Reading: The fourth graders will continue to read non-fiction and fiction text to pick out the specific text features: subtitles, titles captions, bold words, photographs, etc to help them understand what is important in the story. We will create a Topic/Detail/ Response chart in order to come up with the main idea of each selection. The topic is what the section is about; the details are the specific facts that support the topic; and the response is what our readers are thinking. Students will also review charts and graphs and recall the important information. For example what the chart/graphs are comparing or specific questions regarding the data of the charts/graphs.   Major Grade: Determine Importance Test Thursday, December 2.

Science: Students will differentiate among forms of energy, including mechanical, sound, electrical, light, and heat/thermal (electricity); they will also demonstrate that electricity travels in a closed path, creating an electrical circuit.  

Social Studies:  Students will investigate and discuss the government of Texas. 

Writing: Students will be introduced to figurative language. Students will create flip books to introduce and teach similes (comparing 2 or more things using like or as), metaphors (comparing 2 or more things without like or as), personification (giving human traits to non-living objects), and idioms (an expression that has a meaning apart from its original wording). We will discuss how using figurative language adds voice and specific details to your writing. On Friday, students will have a quiz on whether they are able to recognize the definition and an example of each form of figurative language. We will also have a grammar quiz on Thursday covering punctuation, capitalization, and complete sentence rules.

Math: Students will identify and describe parallel and intersecting lines; they will also use essential attributes to define two-dimensional geometric figures.

Spelling Test on December 3rd!

WEEK 15 (11/29)

wait

weight

heard

herd

days

daze

heel

heal

peak

peek

sent

cent

feet

feat

vain

vein

vane

miner

minor

scent

YEARNING

MEMORABLE

BETRAYED

CONDITION

HORRIFIED



Thankful

.Im am thankful for school because it is fun learning new things all the time
.Im thankful for my family because I don't want to be lonly when I am sad
.Im thankful for food so I don't die
.Im thankful for Ms.Pickert because she is a cool teacher
.Im thankful for god because he made the world
.Im thankful for dictionarys so when im stuck on a word I don't have to be scared

by.Alexis

Thankful

On the Tuesday before our break,  I asked you to write down 5 things you were thankful for and why. You had the chance to share a few, but what were your others? Below I've listed a few of mine, what are yours??

• My family. My parents have always been supportive and always tried to challenge me. They have helped me grow into the person I am today. My brother and sister are very entertaining and fascinating people. I am truly thankful to have them in my life.
• Teaching. Teaching allows me to help others grow, it allows me share my interests, and help develop interests in children. I am truly grateful to be a teacher (especially thankful to be at this school, with these amazing teachers, and with these fabulous children). 
• My health. I have a working body. I'm petrified of needles and hospitals, and I am VERY thankful that I have never known any true sickness. My body works just fine, although I may not be in the best shape ever, I can run and I can swim. I am thankful for this!
• Books. I love to read. LOVE. I love to be pulled into a story and I am thankful that there are so many talented writers who are always trying to create new and exciting stories. 
• Having enough. This may sound silly, but their are many people that do not have enough to get by. I am truly thankful that I have never know the pain of being without a home, or without food. I may not have enough for elaborate vacations or all the shoes I want, but I have always had enough.  

11 Birthdays

"11 Birthdays" is a Bluebonnet award nominee, and the book was a gift from my friend Alexis. It is a really cute read. The storyline is pretty similar to the movie "Groundhog Day," but in this story an eleven year old girl has her birthday repeatedly. The birthday repeats until she can figure out what she is doing wrong. She has some help along the way, but if I tell you about that, it will give away a secret about the story.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Be safe and enjoy your family and friends!

Don't forget to read! If you find a story that you would like to write a book review for, please write it in the comments! Make sure to use correct punctuation, spelling, and grammar in your review. If it is a good one, I will publish it under Book Reviews!

No Tuesday Folders!

There will be no Tuesday folders going home this week. We will resume sending home folders next week.

No spelling this week either! Have a wonderful break!

The Red Pyramid

I recently read "The Red Pyramid," the first book in "The Kane Chronicles," Rick Riordan's new series. It is told by a brother and a sister who have spent most of their childhood living apart. They soon realize that the "blood of the pharaohs" is a very real thing. In the world created by Riordan, the Egyptian world continues on, and is the foundation for today's society. A parent disappears, prompting introductions to ancient characters and travels to otherworldly places. There are battles with evil forces and a looming deadline by which the children must complete a mission, and if they don't, well chaos will take over.  

It is VERY similar to "Percy Jackson." The thing is, I loved  "Percy Jackson." I am an absolute sucker for a story that pulls you into another world.  This book was a fun adventure, but it doesn't come near Riordan's orignal (Percy). Read it, tell me what you think, and we will have a nice book talk. The size of the book may pose a challenge, but I think most of you should be able to tackle it. If you ask nicely, I may just let you borrow my copy of the book (thanks Matthew)!

Don't forget! SS Quiz Thursday!

Colonization Vocabulary

Study vocabulary and be prepared to use the words in a sentence based on the definition. Quiz: Thursday, November 18.

Independence: Freedom

Tax: Money paid by people to run their government

Revolution: a sudden, complete change in government

Declaration: official statement

Frontier: Land that lies beyond the settled part of a country

Pioneers: people who first settle a new place

Treaty: an agreement between groups or countries

Equality: the same rights for all people in Mexico

Rebellion: fighting against the government

Dictator: a government leader with total authority

Grants: gift of land

Empresario: a person given a grant by the Mexican government to bring settlers to Texas

Militia: a group of unpaid people that acts as an army

A note from Coach!

Parent(s):

If your child is interested in earning an extra foot token for the Marathon Kids program, Scanlan Oaks Elementary is having their Reindeer Fun Run on Dec. 4^th.  Please visit the website below to find out more details or to register online.  J

The Sugar Land Turkey Trot is scheduled for Thanksgiving morning.  I will be there to cheer on the kids. 

http://www.soepto.org/

Mary Colaianni

Physical Education

Jan Schiff Elementary

Objectives for the week of November 15

This Week’s Objectives:

Reading:  The fourth graders will read non-fiction text and pick out the specific text features: subtitles, titles captions, bold words, photographs, etc to help them understand what is important in the story. Students will create a Topic/Detail/ Response chart in order to come up with the main idea of each section. The topic is what the section is about; the details are the specific facts that support the topic; and the response is what our readers are thinking. There will be a daily grade quiz on Thursday.

Science: Students will continue to investigate electricity.  They will need to be able to build and recognize series and parallel circuits, build and understand how a switch works, and know the parts of the light bulb.  We will have a Science District Assessment covering all information learned so far this year on Thursday, and we will be reviewing for it on Wednesday.

Social Studies:  Students will identify the impact of Mexico gaining its independence from Spain and how it affected Stephan F. Austin and other Europeans who colonized Texas. There will be a vocabulary quiz on Thursday for a major grade.

Writing: Students will stretch their creative muscles this week by writing a point-of-view paper. They will pretend they are a turkey who is scheduled to BE dinner for a holiday party. They will write a story on how they escape from the dinner table. This paper will be a daily grade. We will also take a grammar quiz on Thursday for a daily grade that will assess the capitalization, punctuation, spelling and sentence structure rules we have covered in class during daily grammar practice.

Math: Students will need to be able to find the important information in a story problem in order to solve problems involving multiplication and division.  This includes long division and 2-digit multiplication.  We will have a Multiplication and Division Test on Friday for a major grade. The study guide is due on Thursday.

Spelling Test November 19th!

WEEK 13 (11/15)

block

shown

oatmeal

wrote

fellow

scold

coast

odd

locate

slope

throat

host

online

shock

solve

known

remote

stock

boast

globe

ASSIST

INNOCENT

SCHEME

REGRETFULLY

SPECULATED

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

A lovely poster and presentation from the green group (Alyssa, Sarah, Josh, and Matthew)!

Box Tops

Parents and kiddos!

Please keep cutting off those BOX TOPS and bringing them to school! I know I have been guilty of throwing things away with box tops on them.... but I am turning over a new leaf, and I am getting serious about my box top collection! So, I'm begging you, get serious about it too!! It is super easy, if you see one, cut it out, and bring it in!

Skating 101 Schedule

If you are interested in helping out with Skating 101, here is the schedule. Please remember that Ms. Rahaman's class and my class are split for LAMP. Ask your student which class they go with. Outclass begins at 9:45! Happy Skating!

Skating 101 Schedule

11/15               Davis/Minor

11/16               Clark/Cormier

11/17               Barron/Harrington

11/18               Tomlinson/Murat

11/19               Davis/Minor

11/22               Clark/Cormier

11/23               Barron/Harrington

11/29               Tomlinson/Murat

11/30               Davis/Minor

12/2                 Clark/Cormier

12/2                 Barron/Harrington

12/3                 Tomlinson/Murat

Percy Jackson and The Olympians - The Series

Recently, I read the entire Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. I'd heard good things and I definitely needed to see for myself what all the fuss was about! I quickly finished the first book and then found myself reading a Percy Jackson book every weekend. The books pack in a lot of adventure and also provide a characters that you can identify with. Percy, like many young male heroes, is an outcast. He has problems at every school he attends, and because of this, he attends MANY schools. He doesn't know his father when the series starts out, and as the first book develops he finds he has an unexpected family history on his father's side.

The series takes the reader on an adventure in a world where the Greek Gods are real and their family lines still continue. If you find that you are someone who loves to get pulled into a completely new world, then you need to read all the Percy Jackson books!

What do you think? Did you have a favorite book in the series?

L.A.F.F. Night

Help us CELEBRATE THE STARS at the   3^rd Annual

Jan Schiff 

LAFF NIGHT!!! 

November 11, 2010

6:00-7:30

     

                                           

         

Social Studies Vocabulary

Colonization Vocabulary

Study vocabulary and be prepared to use the words in a sentence based on the definition. Quiz: Thursday, November 18.

Independence: Freedom

Tax: Money paid by people to run their government

Revolution: a sudden, complete change in government

Declaration: official statement

Frontier: Land that lies beyond the settled part of a country

Pioneers: people who first settle a new place

Treaty: an agreement between groups or countries

Equality: the same rights for all people in Mexico

Rebellion: fighting against the government

Dictator: a government leader with total authority

Grants: gift of land

Empresario: a person given a grant by the Mexican government to bring settlers to Texas

Militia: a group of unpaid people that acts as an army

Charlotte's Web Presentation

 

Charlotte’s web

View more presentations from pickertmeg.

 

Great work red group! (Ava, Alexis, Clay, and Gavin)!

Grandparent's Day Note

Parents,

Please note that the order form for Grandparent’s Day pictures is not included in the flyers sent home with your child today.  A correction had to be made, and new order forms will be sent home no later than Thursday of this week.  Thanks!

Sparrow Girl - A book review by Darshana

Have you read SPARROW GIRL? Well, if you haven't...you should! This is a wonderful book about a war declared in China. The Chinese people had to kill the sparrows because they ate too much grain. BUT...A girl named Ming-li loved sparrows.... Get the book and find out what happened (because if I told you the whole story it won't be much fun!) The last thing I want to say is...Get It, Read It, LOVE IT!

- Darshana

PS:This is a BLUEBONNET book!

Objectives for the week of November 8

This Week’s Objectives:

Reading:  The fourth graders will listen to their inner voice and ask questions to better understand the text. We will focus on the difference between a thin question that can be found within the written words, and a thick question where you have to think and search beyond.

Science: Our students will continue our unit on different forms of energy.  This week our focal point of instruction will be electricity.  

Social Studies:  We will continue our investigation of the establishment of the Spanish missions in Texas.  Students will complete and present their Mission Brochures.

Writing: Students will write a composition about an adventure. Students will focus on adding specific details to engage their reader. We will work on adding an introduction or lead that grabs the reader’s attention to get them to want to read more.

Math: This week in math the students will continue division. We will be analyzing story problems to determine if we use division or multiplication to solve as well as solving multi-step problems.  We will then begin long division.  It is extremely important that your child knows his/her facts quickly and accurately.

Spelling

Spelling Test on November 12th!

WEEK 12 (11/8)

skill

crime

grind

tonight

brick

flight

live

chill

delight

build

ditch

decide

witness

wind

district

inch

sigh

fright

remind

split

SENSITIVE

OBSERVES

PREPARED

NEGATIVE

ENCOURAGEMENT

Because of Winn Dixie

Poster done by the purple group (Justine, Eric, Abin, and Patrick). We've been promised a book review is on the way as well!

Stone Fox

This is the poster created by the yellow group (Javier, Vera, Emma Grace, and Amira) for their Literature Circle book, Stone Fox.

Reminders!

SKATING 101 Forms are DUE Friday!

UNICEF Money is DUE Friday!

Charlotte's Web

Charlotte’s web is about a pig named Wilbur that’s lonely .Then he found a unusual friend named Charlotte she’s a spider .Wilbur grew and grew happy; to have Charlotte as a friend, but Wilbur had a problem the farmer was plotting to kill Wilbur on
Christmas .Wilbur doesn’t what to die .Charlotte had a plan to save Wilbur!! Charlotte made words in her web, to confuse the farmer. The farmer thought that Wilbur was making these mysterious sign’s .He thought Wilbur was a unusual pig and let him live.Charlotte hat a egg sack and died . Wilbur had grand children now. All of the spiders left Wilbur except 2 .And Wilbur was very happy with them.
A Book Review Gavin, Clay, Alexis, and Ava.

Objectives for the Week of Novemeber 1

Reading:  The fourth graders will focus on the author’s purpose. We will analyze different text and determine the purpose for writing.

Science: Our students will continue our unit on different forms of energy.  This week our focal point of instruction will be electricity.  

Social Studies:  We will continue our investigation of the establishment of the Spanish missions in Texas.  We will create a brochure showcasing each settlement.

Writing: In writing, students will focus on leads and hooking their readers. They will begin writing an adventure paper about an adventure they have had using writing techniques and strategies.

Math: This week in math the students will begin division. We will be using rounding and compatible numbers to learn division.

What are your favorite books?

Think about what books you have loved and WHY? In the comments write about books that you couldn't put down. Occasionally a friend or a classmate is looking for just the right book, so post what you liked and maybe you'll help a friend choose their next book. Answer these questions about each.

1. What is the title and author of the book you wish to share?

2. Who was the main character? And what was his/her struggle?

3. Did the main character have a problem that you could connect with (Text to Text, Self, or World)?

4. Why do you think other people might enjoy this book?

Week 11 Spelling words

Test on November 5!

west
steep
member
gleam
fresh
freedom
speed
steam
beast
believe
speck
kept
cheap
pretend
greed
shelf
least
eager
reason
chief
INJUSTICE
NOURISHING
PREFERRED
ENCOUNTERS
CAPTURED

Explode the moment

Use the comments to respond to this writing prompt:

Write an EXPLODE THE MOMENT about today's recess.

Remember that an EXPLODE THE MOMENT is a moment by moment description of what happened!

Character Traits

Read the prompt and use the comments to post your story to this website.

Write a character description about YOU! Describe three of your personality traits and give evidence to prove them. 

Literature Circles

In class we read different novels based on our color groups. As each group reads their novels, they discuss the books. At the end of each book the group will present a project. We will feature some of these projects on this page.