Lutheran Schools Week: March 2-6, 2009

Notes for this week:

• Monday: Dr. Seuss Day - dress like a Seuss character, do your hair like a Who, etc.
• Tuesday: Clash Day - wear colors that don't match, mismatched shoes, etc.
• Wednesday: Fancy Dress Day - put on your Sunday best, and bring your manners!
• Thursday: Pajama Day - clean (and appropriate) pjs please...robes and slippers too!
• Friday: School Spirit Day and Field Trip - wear your purple shirt. All students must be at school no later than 7:45 a.m., and the bus will leave at 8:00 sharp.
• Saturday: Open House 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Please help us spread the word about Peace Lutheran School and encourage friends and neighbors with prospective students to attend. They will get to see the classrooms, meet the teachers, and learn more about our school.

Friday 3/6/09

• We had a great time at Beef & Boards today seeing "Sleeping Beauty"! The show was great and we enjoyed getting autographs and meeting the characters after the performance. The bus ride was long and many of us tried to nap on the way back to school...all in all, a great day! We returned to school around 12:30 and had pizza, then recess. After that our class spent some time writing in our journals, finished the spelling bee, and had art. Alina ended up winning the 4th grade bee, and so she competed against Kevin (3rd grade champ) for the title of Class Champion. Alina won! Congrats Alina, and good job everyone else! Our art time was spent creating pieces using only construction paper and glue - no scissors, no pencils, no crayons...it required us to think outside the box because we had to tear the paper rather than cut it but we made some really interesting and unique pieces! They'll be on display for open house. Don't forget to sign your squares slip - lately, many of us have been getting lazy about returning them on Monday morning. Have a great weekend!

Thursday 3/5/09

• Math 3: We worked with fractions greater than 1 and learned how to write mixed numbers. Fractional pattern blocks helped us visualize this concept and we will continue to practice next week. Keep working on those multiples of 3, because next week we're learning multiples of 4! Homework: 98B, if you didn't finish it in class.
• Language Arts 3 and 4: Today we held a spelling bee but it went so long that we weren't able to finish in class! Kevin is the 3rd Grade Champion but the 4th Grade Champion is yet to be decided: it was a neck and neck showdown between Craig or Alina! We'll finish tomorrow after the field trip, so check back tomorrow for results and also to find out who won the title of Class Champion.
• Religion 3/4: Three people earned necklaces for completing their memory work today! Congrats to Alizza, Ryan, and Alina. They began learning about John the Baptist and discussed the Magnificat, the song Mary sang upon finding out that she would bear the son of God. Homework: Page 149, and check your planner for your specific memory work assignment.
• Social Studies 3/4: We discussed the Code Noir, a set of rules written by the French used to control the African-American slaves in their territory. We found the Code to be much less harsh than other stories we've heard about slavery, but at the same time we all agreed that slavery was not a positive experience for anyone.
• PE 3/4: Badminton with Mr. Bretscher!

Wednesday 3/4/09

• Math 3: Today in class we learned how to tell time to the quarter hour. Many students were surprised to learn that a quarter after three does not mean 3:25, but 3:15! We learned how to read time as quarter past/quarter after and quarter to/quarter of the hour. This is going to be a tricky concept to remember so try to reinforce this at home when possible. Also, continue memorizing the multiples of 3. Homework: 97B and oral facts 97.
• Language Arts 3: Third graders read two fun poems today about worms and pigeons, then the practiced cursive handwriting by copying the poem into cursive. We're still trying to remember how to form many of these letters but from here on out we will be using cursive as much as possible in order to reinforce the skill and improve our writing. Homework: Spelling sentences.
• Language Arts 4: Fourth graders read "Thrashin' Time" and worked with facts and opinions within the story. We talked about how facts can be proved, and they are always true. Opinions, on the other hand, are personal beliefs and are not always true for every person. Homework: Spelling sentences.
• Scholastic News: Today's paper focused on Hilary Rodham Clinton and her new role on the President's cabinet as Secretary of State. She is the first Secretary who was also a First Lady! We also read articles on the migration of the monarch butterflies from Mexico, which happens in March (that's a lot of M's!!), and a new airplane called the Transition that can change into a car in 15 seconds! We worked with facts and opinions and practiced reading a table of contents. Homework: Finish the Scholastic News skills sheet if you didn't do so in class.
• Science 3/4: We talked about the brain and learned about the cerebrum, cerebellum, and the brain stem and the functions each part of the brain is responsible for. We also talked about the left and right hemispheres and thought it was interesting that the right side of the body is controlled by the left hemisphere, and vice versa. We took a handedness test and also did an activity to demonstrate how fleeting short term memory really is!
• We also spent time this afternoon writing letters to our penpals at Vienna Christian School!

Tuesday 3/3/09

• Math 3: We learned how to subtract money amounts across zeros (example: $5.00 - 2.48). This type of problem requires you to regroup twice and can be tricky if you don't keep your numbers lined up. We also talked about the importance of lining up the decimal point when adding or subtracting money amounts. Please practice your multiples of 3 this week since we just learned it and many still need to learn them. Homework: 96B.
• Language Arts 3: Third graders read an interesting piece called "Urban Roosts" that told us all about the different types of birds that live in the city and the unique places where they make their nests. Some of those birds are very creative! Homework: Spelling words 3x in very best handwriting.
• Language Arts 4: Fourth graders reviewed verbs and the spelling rules for changing a verb into past tense. Some of them are tricky, such as when to drop the -y and add -ied and when NOT to drop the -y...so we will continue to review these rules. We also read "The Wonderful Machine," an excerpt from the Little House on the Prairie series. Homework: Spelling words 3x in very best handwriting.
• Religion 3/4: We continued to practice our memory work. Our lesson was on John the Baptist. Homework: See planner for specific memory work assignments.
• Social Studies 3/4: We concluded our Fur Trade simulation and used some exchange rates that were actually used in the 18th century to convert all our "goods" into beaver pelts. Then we compared our own exchange rates with the actual ones and found that some of us got quite a good deal on our goods while others basically got "ripped off." We discussed the pros and cons of bartering and decided we'd rather use money and standard rates to buy things rather than have prices changing all the time.
• PE 3/4: Pickleball with Mr. Bretscher!

Monday 3/2/09

• Math 3: Third graders learned multiples of 3 today, and we also talked about weight and mass using terms like ounces, pounds, tons, grams, and kilograms. Students are responsible to know how many ounces in a pound, how many pounds in a ton, and how many grams in a kilogram. Some finished all the work in class, others did not. Homework: Finish any part of 95 A/B that is not complete.
• Language Arts 3: We read a story called "Fly High, Fly Low" about pigeons in San Francisco. We also got to read a Dr. Seuss story called "Horton Hatches an Egg" in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday. Homework: Spelling words in ABC order.
• Language Arts 4: We read an informational piece called "The Workhorse" and took notes on how the use of the horse has been affected by technological advances. We will be constructing a timeline throughout the week as we read a few more stories about horses and technology. We also got to read a Dr. Seuss story called "Horton Hatches an Egg" in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday. Homework: Spelling words in ABC order.
• Religion 3/4:
• Science 3/4: We conducted two experiments today to test the sensitivity to touch of several body parts - our back, shoulder, knee, cheek, and hand - palm and finger tip. We learned that the fingers and face are the most sensitive, while the back and shoulder were least sensitive. We also learned about two types of nerves: sensory nerves and motor nerves. They both play different roles - ask your child to explain the difference.
• Music 3/4: We continue learning new songs on the recorder! Some students have taken on the challenge of learning to play a song from our chapel songbooks...but remember to do your other homework before practicing!

Week of February 23-27, 2009

REMINDER: Lutheran Schools Week will kick off THIS SUNDAY, March 1, here at Peace Lutheran Church. All students are expected to attend with their families and participate in the service (we will be singing) with their classmates as a way to show the community what we are all about here at Peace Lutheran School. Please make plans to attend!

Friday 2/27/09

• Math 3: We completed part two of yesterday's two-day fraction lesson and then were able to begin our math test around 9:20 a.m. Those who finished the math test early were able to get a head start on tonight's homework. We have some extra work to do this weekend in order to make up for missing next Friday, when we will be going on a school field trip. Homework: 94 A and B. A homework pass may be used on one PAGE, not the whole packet.
• Language Arts 3: Third graders took spelling tests and also took a quiz on yesterday's piece on City Lots. Then they worked independently to read "Linnea's Almanac," a short piece about January. Homework: Read, or finish reading, "Linnea's Almanac", pages 120-123.
• Language Arts 4: Fourth graders worked more with cause and effect as well as character development (thoughts and feelings). They also took a spelling test and a comprehension quiz on the story "You Never Can Tell."
• Religion 3/4: Many students got caught up on their memory work today and we had a good time increasing our speed with Bible races.
• Art 3/4: We used white crayons and watercolor paints to make resist paintings in spring scenes. Anywhere we colored with the white crayon would stay white even after painting over it because the wax in the crayon repels the water-based paint.
• We also spent some time this afternoon "spring cleaning" the classroom and getting it ready for potential visitors in preparation for Lutheran Schools Week next week.

Thursday 2/26/09

• Math 3: Today we used strips of paper to represent fractions with denominators of 2, 3, 4, and 8. We compared and ordered them from least to greatest, and we also learned how to add and subtract fractions with the same denominator. This is a two part lesson which we will conclude tomorrow before we take our math test. Everyone finished their homework in class today so there is no homework!
• Language Arts 3: We read "City Lots" about the various types of lots in the city and what you can find there. It was an interesting read, and we worked on cursive handwriting afterwards. Today we did capital W and X. Homework: Spelling sentences.
• Language Arts 4: Miss Bertschi attempted to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches using the directions they had written out, but sadly the sandwiches didn't turn out. After realizing that there needed to be many more details in describing the process, students wrote new directions that (for the most part) resulted in edible sandwiches. It was a fun (and funny) visual lesson on the importance of details and describing words in writing! Homework: Spelling sentences.
• Social Studies 3/4: We conducted a simulation today and assumed the roles of Miami Indians and French Fur Traders. Without talking, and then only using one word, we attempted to barter otter and beaver pelts for supplies like guns, knives, blankets, and other European luxuries. It was interesting how we worked around the communication barrier.
• PE: Badminton with Mr. Bretscher!

Wednesday 2/25/09

• Math 3: We worked more today on subtracting two- and three-digit numbers. Some of us are still struggling with remembering when we need to regroup and when we don't, but that will come with more practice! Students had a hard time staying on task today so most of us have some homework tonight. Homework: Finish lesson 92 A/B.
• Language Arts 3: We are doing a writing assignment for Lutheran Schools Week about what we like about our school, and we spent some time in class today working on that. We also reviewed prepositions and searched for sentences containing them in yesterday's story. Homework: Spelling words 3x AND finish your writing assignment about PLS.
• Language Arts 4: We are doing a writing assignment for Lutheran Schools week about what we like about our school, and we spent some time in class today working on that. We also read another story in our Technology unit called "You Never Can Tell." Homework: Spelling words 3x AND finish your writing assignment about PLS.
• Social Studies 3/4: We began a new study on Frontier Indiana by watching a short video and trying to assemble a timeline of what happened in the early 1700s here in Indiana. We talked a lot about the French fur traders as well as the French and Indian War.
• Scholastic News: Today's paper was about a new group of wild animals discovered along the Mekong River in Asia. There were some fascinating creatures discovered and the WWF is trying to protect them from becoming extinct. We also read about Daylight Savings Time as well as the Grand Canyon celebrating its 90th birthday.
• Science 3/4: With everyone getting sick lately we did an experiment today to show how effective or ineffective various methods are for killing germs on our hands. We used glitter to represent germs and tried many ways to get rid of them: wiping with a paper towel, using hand sanitizer, running them under cold water, and scrubbing them with soap and hot water. We found the hot soapy water method to be most effective and it was a fun visual reminder of the importance of hand washing and being wise about what we let into our bodies.

Tuesday 2/24/09

• Math 3: We learned how to subtract two- and three-digit numbers today. We already know how to subtract with regrouping so it was a bit of a review, but we can always use the extra practice! Almost everyone finished all their work in class today! Homework: Finish lesson 91.
• Language Arts 3: We read the first story in our new literature unit, which is on City Wildlife. It will be interesting to learn how city wildlife contrasts with the wildlife we read about in our Country Life unit. Today's story was called "The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Spring." Homework: Spelling words in ABC order.
• Language Arts 4: After reading two pieces on ancient technology we completed a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the technnology used to build both the Great Pyramids and the Great Wall of China. We also worked some more on our process writing skills and will be putting our instructions to the test this week as we use our own written instructions to attempt to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Homework: Spelling words in ABC order AND write instructions for how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
• Religion 3/4: We talked more about the story of Daniel and continued to work on our memory work. See your child's planner for his or her specific pages to work on.
• Science 3/4: After reviewing yesterday's lesson on the nervous system we watched a School House Rock video that compared the nervous system to a telegraph line! It was a good visual and helped us better understand the concept. We also did a fun experiment in which we put each of our five senses to a test and found that they did very well!
• PE 3/4: Volleyball with Mr. Bretscher!

Monday 2/23/09

• Math 3: We used the terms certain, likely, 50-50 chance, unlikely, and impossible to describe the likelihood of an event and conducted probability trials using various spinners. We also reviewed the three ways to write a division problem and learned the fact families for dividing by 2, 5, and 7. Homework: Finish lesson 90.
• Language Arts 3: We took a spelling pre-test then worked some more on our Venn diagrams comparing the country mouse to the city mouse. We also read "How Does Your Garden Grow?" about the roles gardens played in the lives of early settlers. Homework: Use a dictionary to find the definition of each spelling word - this week we have homophones so we need to know how to use these words correctly.
• Language Arts 4: We took a spelling pre-test and then worked with interesting verbs. We spiced up a paragraph that used the word "moved" in every sentence by replacing it with more interesting verbs such as "leapt" or "slithered." We also read a story about the technology involved in the building of the Great Wall of China. Homework: Use a dictionary to find the definitions of each spelling word - this week we have homophones to we need to know how to use these words correctly. Also, finish the interesting verbs skill sheet.
• Music 3/4: We worked on our recorders songs and also began learning the words to the two new verses of "Life is a Journey" that the 5th and 6th graders wrote. Please make plans to attend the School Family Worship THIS SUNDAY, when we will be singing the new verses!
• Science 3/4: We began a new unit today on the nervous system. We learned that the nervous system is composed of the brain, spinal cord, and the nerves. More to come as we learn more about the awesome bodies our Creator God gave us!
• Religion 3/4:

Week of February 16-20, 2009

Friday 2/20/09

• Math 3: We took a test this morning, then worked on math puzzles.
• Language Arts 3: We took spelling tests and also read "The Country Mouse and The City Mouse" to learn about comparing and contrasting. Homework: Daniel and Alizza didn't finish the skill sheet during class.
• Language Arts 4: We took spelling tests and worked on process writing some more. We peer edited our first drafts and will work more with this next week. Homework: Write a second rough draft for Monday, writing on every other line.
• Religion 3/4: We talked more about the book of Daniel and heard about how he was thrown in the lion's den for refusing to bow down to anyone but God, but God protected him and used him to change the king's heart. Homework: Everyone but Laurie, Craig, and Kevin still have memory work that they need to catch up on - let's try to get it done this weekend!
• Art 3/4: In our continuing discussion on African American History Month, we read a bio on Jan Ernst Matzeliger, an immigrant from Dutch Guiana who revolutionized the shoe industry in the 1800s. To celebrate his work we used the soles of our shoes to create crayon rubbings and experimented with textures that we found in the classroom.

Thursday 2/19/09

• Math 3: This morning we spent some time learning to find the sum in problems with three addends. Since we are already addition experts, we found adding three addends to be just as easy as adding two addends. Everyone finished 89 A and B in class. Homework: Oral Facts 89.
• Language Arts 3: We finished reading "Whatever Happened to the Baxter Place?" and took a quiz, then we used the rest of class time to catch up on any unfinished assignments in our literature folder. Homework: Spelling sentences, and study for the test!
• Language Arts 4: Students read the first story in our new literature unit, Technology. The piece was about how the Pyramids were built and was a great example of writing that described a process. We will be working on a lot of writing projects during this unit and will begin with writing our own "process" piece. Homework: Spelling sentences and study for test!
• Religion 3/4: We did some memory work and learned about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel. Homework: Specific memory work assignments are listed in each person's planner.
• Social Studies 3/4: After learning about lines of lattitude, lines of longitude were very easy. We learned about the eastern and western hemispheres and found that the continent of Africa touches all four hemispheres! We also discussed the Prime Meridian, which is 0 degrees longitude. A few students finished all the workbook pages today but many did not. Homework: Finish any missing pages in 57-61.
• PE 3/4: Volleyball with Mr. Bretscher!

Wednesday 2/18/09

• Math 3: Our work with arrays yesterday helped us today as we learned about area. We were able to use the same number sentence to find area that we used to solve the array. This concept will test our multiplication skills so find a set of flashcards and practice those facts! Everyone completed all their work today, so no homework!
• Language Arts 3: We read the first part of a story called, "Whatever Happened to the Baxter Place," which tells the story of how a once large family farm was eventually put out of use due to technology, modernization, and changing times. Homework: Spelling words 3x.
• Language Arts 4: We read an informative piece today about slavery and how slaves used music to inspire hope and survive their terrible times. Homework: Spelling words 3x.
• Social Studies 3/4: This afternoon we learned about lines of lattitude on the globe. We learned that the earth is divided into two hemispheres and that the Equator lies on the 0 degree line. We did several activities in our workbook to enforce this concept and will learn about lines of longitude later this week.
• Scholastic News 3/4: The title piece of this weeks' paper was about earthquakes and spotlighted the May 2008 quakes that devastated China. We also read articles about Black History Month and a cute story about scientists who used teddy bears to test new space suit designs in outer space.
• Music 3/4: Those who completed all their work were able to spend some time working on their two recorder songs, "Aura Lee" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

Tuesday 2/17/09

• Math 3: We learned how to draw and label an array as well as how to write number sentences to go along with them. An array is an orderly arrangement of objects in the shape of a rectangle, and they are designed to help us learn and remember our multiplication facts. Everyone finished 87A in class. Homework: 87B and oral facts 87.
• Language Arts 3/4: We took our spelling pre-tests this morning and spent some time journal writing. The rest of class time was spent browsing the Usborne books and selecting the ones we wished to order with our fundraising money. Three people still need to bring their forms and money in NO LATER THAN TOMORROW. Homework: Spelling words in ABC order.
• Religion 3/4: We continued with our memory work and Bible races. We also read in Jeremiah and talked about God's comfort during sad times. Everyone except Craig and Laurie have memory work to catch up on - see your planner for your specific assignments.
• Science 3/4: Our chapter review was completed today on force and motion. We worked a little more with simple machines and read some books that go into more detail about each specific machine.
• PE 3/4: Volleyball with Mr. Bretscher!

Monday 2/16/09 - President's Day! No School!

Week of February 9-13, 2009

Thursday 2/12/09

• Math 3: Today we discussed larger-smaller-difference problems, involving words like bigger, smaller, longer, shorter, hotter, colder, etc. Some students finished 86A in class, others did not. Homework: 86A and B.
• Language Arts 3: Today we took a quiz on "Potato Vacation," worked some more on our paragraphs for our book, and reviewed prepositions. Homework: Study for the spelling test!
• Language Arts 4: Today we held a literature circle discussion on "The Diary of Anne Frank." It was a very interesting story! Homework: Study for the spelling test!
• Religion 3/4:
• Social Studies 3/4: We spent some time in small groups practicing the Preamble as well as working on an activity comparing George Washington's USA to Abraham Lincoln's USA. It was strange to see a map of the USA with different markings on it, but very cool to see how things have changed since then.
• PE 3/4: Volleyball with Mr. Bretscher!

Wednesday 2/11/09

• Math 3: Today we discussed how many inches in a foot, how many feet in a yard, and how many centimeters in a meter. We estimated the length of our classroom in feet and yards then measured the actual length using a tape measure. What a crazy world this would be if everyone used his or her own foot for measuring! Good thing we have standardized units of measure now! We also learned how to use a clock to help us with multiplying by 5, how to multiply by 0, and the commutative property of multiplication. Homework: 85A and finish 85B.
• Language Arts 3: Our story for the day was called "Potato Vacation" and we learned a great deal about life for potato farmers living in Maine from the point of view of a young girl named Peggy. We talked about fact versus opinion and looked for examples of opinions in the story. Homework: Spelling sentences.
• Language Arts 4: We were unable to have our literature circle today due to an absence so those who were prepared were able to spend some time practicing their spelling words using a fun website called http://www.spellingcity.com/. Those who weren't prepared for the literature circle finished their work and also completed a self-evaluation from the last literature circle discussion. Homework: Spelling sentences.
• Science 3/4: We discussed Sir Isaac Newton and his three laws of motion this afternoon. The first and most well-known is the Law of Inertia which tells us that an object in motion or at rest will STAY in motion or at rest unless another force acts upon it. This means that when we throw a baseball, the ball will continue to move forward in the air until another force (gravity) acts upon it, bringing it down.
• Scholastic News 3/4: Our Scholastic News for today was celebrating Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. We discussed many reasons why Lincoln is said to be the greatest president of all time, and we learned that the U.S. Mint is releasing four new pennies in his honor. Following our discussion of the news stories we read the Gettysburg Address and talked about what it meant.

Tuesday 2/10/09

• Math 3: This morning we learned a poem to help us remember how many days are in each month of the year: "Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November. All the rest have thirty-one, except February, with twenty-eight days clear, and twenty-nine in each leap year." Everyone finished 84A in class. Homework: 84B and oral facts 84.
• Language Arts 3: Today third graders did a fun activity to help build our sentence writing skills. Eventually we will have written a book about ourselves but for now we are working on writing strong paragraphs that focus on a central theme. Homework: Spelling words written 3x.
• Language Arts 4: Fourth graders read an excerpt from "The Diary of Anne Frank," which is set in Germany during WWII, like our last story, "The Cage." Students looked for similarities between this and other survival stories we've read and used their dictionaries to identify new vocabulary words. Homework: Finish answering the questions from class, and spelling words written 3x.
• Religion 3/4: We had Bible races today and also talked about sins of omission as opposed to sins of comission.
• Social Studies 3/4: In our continuing mini-unit on President's Day we read a fascinating story about Abe Lincoln's journey to Washington D.C. and the things he fought for and accomplished during his work in office. Many sad things happened to Lincoln but still he fought hard to save the Union and keep everyone free.
• PE 3/4: We got to have PE outside today with Mr. Bretscher!

Monday 2/9/09

• Math 3: We learned about the Celsius scale on the thermometer and how to write temperature in Celsius. We learned that the freezing and boiling points for water are 0 and 100 on the Celsius scale, and that a Celsius thermometer shows increments of one while the Fahrenheit thermometer usually shows increments of two. Everyone finished 83A in class. Homework: 83B.
• Language Arts 3: We read a Patricia Polacco story called "Just Plain Fancy" that gave us more insight into the Amish community and also taught us a lesson on the beauty of God's creation. Homework: Spelling words in ABC order.
• Language Arts 4: Today we held a literature circle discussion on "The Cage." It was interesting when we talked about what things we NEED to survive - are friends something you need to survive? Homework: Spelling words in ABC order.
• Religion 3/4: Homework: 126-127 in religion book.
• Music 3/4: We reviewed playing the notes G, A, B, C, and D. Most of us are working on learning the song "Aura Lee" but a few students have learned the note E and habe begun working on the song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Students have been informed that if recorders go home this week they are to be practicing their song and nothing else. By Friday I'm hoping everyone can play Aura Lee so that we can move on to more challenging pieces with more notes.
• Science 3/4: Continuing our physics unit we discussed forces today. We talked about force, friction, gravity, work, and power. We talked about what kind of things make our work easier and what kind of things have more power, and we also talked about the effect of gravity on every object. We tested a theory by dropping a tennis ball and a baseball at the same time. Before dropping them we predicted which ball would hit first. As it turned out, the tennis ball and baseball both hit the ground at the same time, everytime!

Week of February 2-6, 2009

Friday 2/6/09

• Math 3: This morning we took a math test and spent the rest of class time working on critical thinking puzzles.
• Language Arts 3: In addition to spelling tests, third graders worked on a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting themselves with Amish children. They used yesterday's story, "Growing up Amish" to get information about Amish children.
• Language Arts 4: In addition to spelling tests fourth graders worked more with adverbs. They also looked for the various methods an author uses to tell us about a character's thoughts and feelings: dialogue, narrative, and action. We used "The Cage" to look for examples. Monday will be our literature circle discussion on that story.
• Religion 3/4: We went over our tests from yesterday and worked on some memory work. This is the beginning of the next unit in our religion books.
• Social Studies 3/4: Today we read a little about Abraham Lincoln and then made a Venn diagram comparing him with George Washington, who we discussed yesterday. We dissected the Preamble to the Constitution and figured out what all those big words mean, and then we watched the SHR clip again so we could practice learning the words. Here is a link to the video on YouTube if you'd like to watch at home: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_TXJRZ4CFc
• Art 3/4: We used our art time today to create valentine holders for next week's Valentine's Day Party. We will be having a combined party with 5th and 6th graders, and a class list went home today so you know how many Valentine's to bring!
• Remember to read and gather sponsors for the Read-a-Thon! We still have one more week to READ READ READ!!

Thursday 2/5/09

• Math 3: Today we learned how to add money amounts as a decimal. Since we already know how to add with regrouping it was not a difficult lesson, with the exception of the decimal point and dollar sign. Some of us keep forgetting to include them! Everyone finished 82A in class. Homework: 82B and oral facts 82. Keep practicing those perfect squares as well.
• Language Arts 3: We read a really interesting story called "Growing up Amish" that told us a lot about life as an Amish person. Amish children have very different lives than we do!! Homework: Study for the spelling test tomorrow!
• Language Arts 4: Fourth graders read a new story called "The Cage" which is set during the time of the Nazi rule. In reading they prepared for their next literature circle discussion, which will take place on Monday.
• Religion 3/4: We took our first religion test today and spent the rest of classtime fixing pages in our religion books that needed completion or improvements.
• Social Studies 3/4: In an effort to better understand why we get President's Day off from school, we are studying a mini-unit on George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Today we discussed Washington and the role he played in the formation of our nation. We also watched a School House Rock clip about the Constitution, which will help us learn the Preamble. I'd like to see every student be able to recite the Preamble by President's Day!
• PE 3/4: Volleyball with Mr. Bretscher!

Wednesday 2/4/09

• Math 3: Today we applied our knowledge of perfect squares to find square roots! Everyone finished 81A in class today. Homework: 81B and keep studying perfect squares.
• Language Arts 3: After journal time we learned about prepositions, prepositional phrases, and the object of the preposition. Prepositions tell us about relationships between words in the sentence, and answer questions like where? and when? Homework: Spelling sentences.
• Language Arts 4: After journal time fourth graders held a literature circle discussion on the story "The Big Wave." We discussed an interesting aspect of the story and considered the idea that life and death are necessary to each other. Ask your student what he or she thought of that idea. Homework: Spelling sentences.
• Science 3/4: We took another look at levers today and learned how to find the fulcrum, the force, and the load. This is something we're working hard to understand and are still not there yet, but it will come! We learned about 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class levers, what makes them different from each other, and identified real like examples of each. A seesaw is a 1st class lever, a wheelbarrow is a 2nd class lever, and a spoon is a third class lever.
• Scholastic News 3/4: We read in our Scholastic News papers today about global warming and the plight of the polar bears near the Arctic Circle. We also learned a little about Chinese New Year and found out that 2009 is the Year of the Ox. Many of us were born in the year of the Tiger (1998) or the year of the Rabbit (1999). Miss Bertschi was also born in the year of the Tiger (1986) because the animals are repeated every 12 years!
• Spanish 3/4: We continued learning and reviewing emotions today and learned some new phrases using "tengo" which literally translates to mean "I have"...such as I have hunger, I have thirst, I have pain, etc. Next week we will have a quiz over estoy and tengo emotions before learning some new conversational phrases.
• **Don't forget to study for tomorrow's religion test!!**

Tuesday 2/3/09

• Math 3: Today we did some experiments with colored tiles to practice making reasonable predictions. We combined tallying, bar graphing, and predicting skills to do this activity and three students still need to finish their observations for tomorrow: Ryan, Daniel, and Alizza. Homework: 79B and finish Master 80.
• Language Arts 3: Third graders read a story called "Cows in the Parlor" about dairy farming. We learned some interesting facts, like cows don't have front teeth! Ryan was also able to offer us some insight on cows and that was pretty cool. Homework: Spelling words 3x each.
• Language Arts 4: Fourth graders began preparing for their literature circle on the next story in the survival unit, "The Big Wave." Tomorrow we will have a literature circle discussion and reflection in class. Homework: Spelling words 3x each, and prepare for literature circle. This includes reading the story all the way through TWO times.
• Religion 3/4: We discussed our red prayer books and worked on some memory work today. We also did some review of the Old Testament studies we've been covering lately in preparation for our very first religion test, which will take place on Thursday. Students should have written down page numbers to study in their religion books.
• Science 3/4: Today we learned more about motion by studying angular motion, rotational motion, and periodic motion. We built levers using rulers and pencils for the fulcrum, and we identified the pivot points for various tools like scissors and hammers. Ask your child to show you the pivot point on a pair of scissors tonight!
• PE 3/4: Volleyball with Mr. Bretscher!
• Don't forget to be reading 20 minutes a night and looking for sponsors to help us raise money for library books at school! Remember you will earn free books too so get out there and find some sponsors!!

Monday 2/2/09

• Math 3: We used part of our math time this morning to kick off the "Reach for the Stars" Read-a-Thon. Many of us read to preschool and kindergarten students and all of us were able to put down the first 20 minutes of our 300 minute goal. In math we talked about ways to make the same amount of money using different coins. For example, we found several different ways to make 25 cents. Homework: 79A and oral facts 79.
• Language Arts 3 and 4: We took spelling pretests today and journaled about our fun weekends. We watched two School House Rock videos on verbs and adverbs since we were studying adverbs today. We also talked about adjectives and how to make an adjective into an adverb. Homework: Spelling words in ABC order.
• Religion 3/4: We continued reading in Proverbs and we sang the psalms that we wrote last week. The red book assignment was discussed today and students have until tomorrow to complete them. Miss Bertschi was not in the room during this explanation so your student should know what is expected of them since Mrs. Hoffman answered all their questions today.
• Social Studies 3/4: We worked more in our map skills books today, finishing the section on Grids.
• Music: Yes, we're still playing those pesky recorders. Students should now be able to play five notes: G, A, B, C, and D. Students were given a sheet in class today with two songs on it and should be working on playing them smoothly and without squeaking. Remember, recorders are not toys and I am asking you to confiscate them if your child is not using it responsibly. Please send recorders back to school everyday - today THREE students were without their recorders, so they did not get to play today during the lesson.