(Expired) Extra stick opportunities

* This week we are working on Sitton Spelling Units 11 & 12. Don't forget to work on your 3 Tic-Tac-Toe activities (Due next Tuesday, Dec. 16th)- but you can also get extra practice by visiting the spelling link on the right! Complete two activities from either Unit 11 or 12 (or one from each) and either print your results or have your parents write a note that you completed them and you will earn 1 stick!

* We have learned about the first successful English colony at Jamestown. Visit this awesome Jamestown website for an interactive decision-making adventure. If you had been John Rolfe or John Smith how would you have run the settlement? When you're done, print your results (don't forget to read about what you've learned) and bring it in to earn 2 sticks!

Holiday Happenings

We're counting down to the Winter Holidays! Only 7 more days to go - and they are jam packed! Please read up on the following announcements:

1. A big thanks to Mrs. Nardulli for our wonderful lesson on artist Georgia O'Keefe and composer Aaron Copeland today! The kids really enjoyed it!

2. Mrs. Charrette visited us today and did an activity on avoiding distractions and remaining focused. So hard to do this time of year, but a still a skill that we must teach our children. They don't always have the strategies for remaining "tuned in" to the task at hand - but it's something that can be practiced at home!

3. Our holiday party is Thursday, Dec. 18th from 1:00-2:00 in the classroom. All are welcome! Thank you to those who have responded to our room moms' calls for donations of food/drinks/and supplies. We will need plenty of snacks for the hungry guests, and volunteers are always appreciated to run games and activities. This year we will be playing BINGO, decorating a cookie, and singing carols in our own classroom version of "Don't forget the lyrics!" We sent home a note today about our book exchange which will take the place of a gift exchange. Books should be new or close to it, and do not need to exceed $5. Please send them in wrapped and ready to swap.

4. How is your child's AR goal coming? Next Friday, December 19th is the last day to take a test, earn points, and ensure that their comprehension rate is above 85%. We will celebrate with all those who meet these goals in January with a luncheon in the classroom. (more details to follow)

5. Our class won the Art behavior award! Next Thursday students may wear their pajamas to school to celebrate with Ms. Dunaway.

6. Ford Elementary believes in the DREAM BIG concept!!! Ford Elementary School is supporting the South Cobb Marching Band by allowing students to wear silly slippers on Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 for a $1.00 donation. All donations will be given to the South Cobb Marching Band to help fund 95 students plus support staff on their trip to Washington D.C. as they represent the state of Georgia for the 56th Inaugural Parade.(Students should bring proper shoes if it is a music or PE specials day...)Show our Ford Spirit!!!

7. High Touch/High Tech is coming! Our in-school field trip is next Wednesday. Thank you to everyone for returning their permission slips and $. We have 100% participation! Learning about and building simple machines should be both interactive and fun!

Check out the new Art & Music Blogs!

OUr wonderful specialists now have a homepage to keep you updated on these terrific enrichment programs at Ford. Please take a moment to check them out!

Art Blog

Music Blog

What Are We Studying?

Reading - Tall tales, fables, folktales

Writing - Response to literature, summarizing

Math - Extending multiplication/division, geometry & angles

English - Pronouns, Spelling Units 11 & 12

Social Studies - Spanish, English, French exploration

Science - forces and motion, simple machines

Class Update 12/3

Hope you all had a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving break! I know we did!! Now we're back in the swing of things and counting down to the end of the 9 weeks. Here's just some of the things we've been up to in Room 309:

* Before the break our class made holiday cards for the Georgia soldiers stationed in Iraq that won't be able to come home for Christmas. We sent them in the radio station B98.5 as part of their "Ho,Ho,Hope" campaign. We actually had names of soldiers to address the cards to, so hopefully the personal touch coming from Ford Elementary will put some smiles on faces all the way around the world!

* The Boosterthon Fun Run was a great success! Thank you all for your support and in getting your pledges in by the December 2nd deadline. If you have any outstanding or late pledges, please send them in as soon as you get them. We can continue to accept donations for our fabulous Science lab - which will be opening in January! Way to go Ford families - your kids will directly benefit from all the money raised. Mrs. Fritts and Mrs. Waddell made good on BOTH of their bets with the kids if they met their goal of $50 per lap by wearing the SEC team colors of the teams they despise. (see pictures at right)

* We will be meeting with our fabulous room moms very soon to plan our class holiday party, which is going to be held at 1 pm on Thursday, December 18th. If you would like to assist in any way with a game or craft, please let Mrs. Waddell or Mrs. Kastensmidt know. Since we did not collect "class funds" this year, we will be asking everyone to bring in a dish, dessert, or paper product. Stay tuned for further news, and feel free to join us that afternoon for the festivities!

Boosterthon Fun Run Update

A HUGE thank you goes out to each and every one of you for your support of the Boosterthon Fun Run! The kids did an amazing job getting pledges, and they blew our $50 a lap goal out of the water!! As a reward, they have earned extra recess this Tuesday, and they got to witness the "Big Team Switch" last Friday - Mrs. Fritts in UGA red/black, and Mrs. Waddell in Tennessee orange! As a special request from Mrs. Kastensmidt and Mrs. Losure, the teachers will also be wearing Gator orange/blue Tuesday after the Fun Run. It's a sacrifice, but someone's got to do it....We'll be posting photos of our humiliation soon.

* Monday is the Fun Run from 10:55-12:15. All parents are welcome to come help us keep track of laps and cheer the kids on to run as many laps as they can! Please ensure your child is dressed warmly on Monday, and wearing appropriate clothing and comfortable shoes for this event. Please send in a snack with your child, and sack lunches will also be served in lieu of a hot lunch that day. You have the option of sending in a packed lunch if you choose.

* After Monday, the hard part begins - collecting all those pledges! A collection envelope will be coming home after the event, and all monies are due after the break on December 2nd. All those students who bring back all their pledges by that Tuesday will receive a "NO HOMEWORK" pass. If we collect all our pledges, the 10% that comes back to our class will amount to almost $200! We can choose to spend that on a future field trip, classroom supplies, whatever we like! That's cash right back in your pockets. Again, thank you for all your support - we couldn't have done it without you, and the Boosterthon is on track to be a great success!

Week of Nov 10-14 Announcements

* How is your child's AR point total? We are halfway through this 9 weeks, and our young readers should be halfway to their goal. Please help to make sure your child is reading 30 minutes every night, and always has at least one AR book traveling back and forth to school each day. Next week during Thanksgiving Break would be a great time to catch up on reading!

* Book Talks start Monday, are you ready? Please help your child to practice their presentation before they give their oral reports, as they are being graded on listening and speaking standards. There are some very creative students in our class, and we look forward to hearing these Book Talks!

* We have reached the halfway point in the 9 week grading period. If your child is struggling in any subject area you will receive an Academic Alert by Thursday of this week. All students will bring home a progress report with current averages in each subject area in the red folder this week. Watch for it!

* Please send in your High Touch/High Tech permission form and donation as soon as possible. This $8 will pay for both in school field trips, the one in December, and another in March addressing our study of ecosytems.

* A big Room 309 welcome to our new student, Justin! He's a great addition to our group. The kids have been very helpful getting him acclimated to life at Ford.

What Are We Studying?

English

* Skills - irregular verbs, subject verb agreement, Spelling Test Friday, Nov 21st
* Writing - explorer crew letters, response to literature

Math

* Long division
* Geometry - lines, features of angles and 2-D shapes

Reading

* Traditional literature - tall tales, fables, folktales
* Comparing text elements - similes, metaphors, connections

Social Studies

* Motivations of European explorers, interactions with Native Americans
* Map Skills - latitude, longitude, using coordinates

Questions of the Week 11/10

After studying the "Columbian Exchange" in Social Studies, find out more about how the foods we eat today have been traded from all over the world! Follow this link to play a fun game and learn more about which foods were already here in the Americas and which were brought over by the European explorers. Choose "Print Your Lunch" at the end of the activity to earn an extra stick!

Question of the Week 11/3

1. Visit this BBC learning website, to learn more about subject/verb agreement! Review the fact sheet, play the game, and take the quiz! Print out a worksheet to complete, bring it in with your parent's signature that you completed all 3 activities and earn 2 sticks!

2. Read an excerpt from Columbus' journal. Print out the questions, answer them, and bring in your activity to earn a stick!

Week in Review - 10/24

Hello, parents and students! We are already two weeks into the second grading period, and busy learning a lot! Keep up all the hard work, and thank you for all the support of our curriculum at home by allowing your child to use the computer for extra practice. I feel so lucky to be at Ford where we have such wonderful families! Now on to our announcements:

* Please remember that in order for an absence/tardy to be counted as "Exscused - for medical reasons" you must send in a doctor's note from the physician who saw your child. This is county policy, thank you for understanding.

* Thank you ALL for your wonderful donations for our sister school, Brown Elementary. Mrs. Kastensmidt has been amazing for coordinating this effort, and she will be picking up the box on Friday, Oct. 31st. We will be writing the students letters this week to send with our supplies.

* This week's writing project will be to create a fall poem. Maybe this weekend you and your child can take a moment to appreciate all the fall colors by taking a walk and allowing them to get a sense of how fall looks, feels, and smells. These poems will be published for display in the hallway, and also your child will have a chance to recite their poem to an audience this week at Barnes & Noble at the Avenues! Thursday evening is 4th grade's time slot to present - times to come home soon. We will be taking volunteers to sign up to share their poetry. What a great opportunity to practice the 4th grade standards of listening/speaking - and to get experience before the "Book Talk" project coming up in November! I hope you all will be able to come out to shop and enjoy the special activities at Barnes & Noble this week, even if you can't make the performing time. Don't miss Mrs. Fritts dressed up as the Magic School Bus' "Mrs. Frizzle" on Thursday also, doing a read-aloud!

* Speaking of the "Book Talk" project - have you picked the book you're going to use yet? It should be a chapter book that you have read recently or are currently reading now, and this time it should be fiction. Send in your choice as soon as possible using the form at the bottom of the packet we sent home. Keep that back page with suggested ideas and the grading rubric to guide your work. This project is to be completed entirely at home, and your child will be graded on the live presentation. This is different than a "book report" where we grade the written project, this activity looks at how well your child is communicating what they know and understand. If you have any questions, please let me know, I'd like to clear up any confusion before the actual presentations start on Nov 17th.

* We sent home a letter on Friday outlining your child's progress with the "25 Books Campaign." I know you're probably thinking, "My child has read way more books than this," but have they filled out the story map to show their knowledge of the book? We keep extra story maps by the bookshelf in the classroom, and if your child needs more time to fill them out, they are welcome to complete story maps at home. The books do not have to be AR books, and we are expecting half of them to be fiction and half of them non-fiction. They do need to be chapter books, however, to count.

* We have a busy week ahead! On Tuesday, Mrs. Kastensmidt and Mrs. Povich will be in the classroom to do our Earth Lesson for the month - making homemade weather instruments! We look forward to this as a wrap-up to our unit on weather. We will be reviewing this week and having a test on Thursday, Oct. 30th. Your child should be bringing home their interactive science notebook to study - and don't forget the online version of the science textbook that you can access at home. It reads to you!

* Thursday we look forward to Mrs. Nardulli presenting our next Fine Arts lesson!

* Starting in November, we will be coordinating Mystery Readers along with classroom reading parents. I'm looking for parents to give us an hour a week to read and practice test taking skills with individual students. If you're interested, please email Mrs. Kastensmidt. Early morning, 7:15-8:00 works well, as does 10:00-11:00, or 12:00 - 1:00. Whenever you can come in, we'll be able to put you to great use!

* Did you get the flyer about the upcoming Fun Run? Start calling your friends/relatives to prepare them that you will be asking for pledges soon to support the new "SCIENCE LAB" we want to get at Ford! We will be having a student pep rally on Nov 5th to give out further details. 10% of the proceeds go directly back to our classroom to support our instruction! This could help supplement the book publishing project your kids are interested in doing, buy more books for the classroom library, or science materials for projects. It's our choice!

* This week Mrs. Waddell will make her yearly pilgrimage to Cincinnati for the Halloween weekend to visit family. Mrs. Fritts and Mrs. Anglin (primo substitute) will be holding down the fort in her absence, and I know the students will be as awesome and respectful as they are to their regular instructor. Please wish us safe passage, and I'm looking forward to visiting my favorite teacher from elementary school who I just got in touch with again! I'll be bringing back pictures to show the kids when we do our "Favorite Teacher" writing project coming up soon.

* Have a SAFE AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Class Update 10/17

Our first week of the new grading period has come to a close, and we're doing great! I feel so lucky to be able to teach your children every day and play a part in shaping their futures and getting them prepared for middle school. They continue to make me more and more proud. Now on to our weekly wrap-up:

* We had a fun Donuts and Cider party on Tuesday to celebrate all our students who met their AR goals with at least an 85% overall accuracy. As a class, we earned over 300 points during the first 9 weeks! Thank you to all our parents who sent in supplies for the celebration, and to our wonderful Co-Room Moms for coming in bright and early to help serve. Goals have already been set for the new 9 weeks, and students are already hard at work on earning points. I will have several weather AR books in the classroom this week the students can choose to read as part of their varied "reading diet." We will be visiting the library on Tuesday for a lesson/checkout, so at that time all students should have 2 books checked out of the library. 4th grade students should always have at least one chapter book that they are reading, as well. Don't forget to log your nightly reading in the agenda, as well as on the Book It! calendar, and filling in your bowling balls on the Stampede to Read yellow sheet. Don't pass up your chance to earn free pizza and the $5 gift card to Stars and Strikes! The "Million Dollar Store" at Ford will be opening soon, so remember - those AR points turn into $$$ to spend on books and small toys.

* Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of supplies for our sister school at Brown Elementary - you all have been wonderful! Also, a big thanks to Mrs. Kastensmidt for coordinating this activity. Our students will be writing letters to send with the supplies at the end of the month. What a great lesson in giving as we head into the holiday season!

* Next week is "Bus Driver Appreciation Week." If your child is a bus rider, please have them make a card for their bus driver to thank them for providing safe transportation to and from school every day. I even suggested a nice drawing or a warm muffin - just to make their day!

* "Red Ribbon Week" also starts on Monday, October 20th. Red bracelets will be distributed on Monday, and students should wear them all week. The spirit events are as follows:
Mon –The students will get drug free bracelets in class. They will wear them all week.

Tues- Sock it to Drugs- Wear Crazy Socks. (yes, it was supposed to be Hat Day but due to lice situation it was changed)

Wed- Don't get crazy and mixed up with drugs- Wear mix-matched clothes/crazy hair.

Thurs- Team up against drugs- wear favorite team attire.

Fri- Spirit Day- Wear as much red as possible.

Curriculum News

Math

We are continuing to extend multiplication computation. The standard is for your fourth grader to be able to multiply 2 digit by 2 digit numbers using a variety of methods. You may see partial products and area model homework practice coming home. Please remember how important being fluent in your multiplication facts is to this process! Practice, practice, practice!

Science

We've completed the water cycle, and are now working on weather forecasting and weather instruments. We plan on making a weather map and creating our own weather forecast as a culminating activity. Have your child start watching the weather report on the news with you daily to get some ideas!

Writing

How do I know if my writing is good? This week we finished rewriting a Haunted House story, making sure to include an engaging beginning, complex characters, descriptive language to establish a setting, and a sense of closure. This piece of writing will be graded. We also wrote a "Diary of a Water Drop" as part of our Science curriculum. Next week we will continue narrative writing with a new project, as well as doing a pre-assessment on our next genre - Response to Literature. We are currently reading aloud a very amusing book called Stuart's Capeto base this piece of writing on.

Reading

Guided reading groups will be reading weather books, and practicing using text features to locate information, and using strategies to locate the answers to our questions.

Grammar

Complext subjects and predicates, varying our sentence lengths when we write using compound instead of simple sentences. Next week we'll begin a Shurley English unit on prepositions.

Spelling/Vocab

This week we will have a test Wed over the words in Vocabulary Unit 4, and reviewing Units 1-4. Thursday we'll begin studying the words in Sitton Spelling Units 7/8, with a test planned for Friday, Oct. 31st!! Visit the Sitton Spelling website (link on right) to preview the words.

Questions of the Week 10/18

We are always encouraging your child to go "above and beyond" to get more out of their learning. At-home research projects on something that we're studying is always encouraged, so students are not limited to these ideas. Be creative! This week's suggested "extra stick" opportunities are:

1. Visit the vocabulary website using the link on the right and click on "level orange." Choose an activity such as hangman or word scramble for the words in Unit 4 to prepare for this Wednesday's test. If you complete 2 activities, have Mom or Dad jot me a note or send me an email that you practiced your words at home!

2. Make a weekend "Cloud Diary." Draw the clouds you see in the sky this Saturday and Sunday. Can you name them? (use the Internet for help) Write a sentence or two describing the weather at the time.

3. Clip out (2) color weather maps from the back of the front page of the newspaper and bring in to class.

Field Trip to Cobb Youth Museum

We had a wonderful time on Thursday at the Cobb Youth Museum! I hope your child came home and told you some of the exciting history that they learned about the events of the Revolutionary War. It will still be a couple of months before we get to this in our study of American History, but these interactive lessons where the students got to play parts in the historical events should bring it to life for them. Check out the photos below of the day we spent in the 1700's! (Click on "Full Screen" for it to come up)

American History Comes to Life!

Our Week in Review 10/10

It's the end of the first 9 weeks! Time sure does fly. We've had a very eventful week, keep reading to get up to date announcements:

• Report cards will go home NEXT Friday, October 17th
• Please remember that Wednesday, October 15th is an Early Release Day, students will be released two hours early at 12:10.It will also be SLIPPER DAY to support the Relay for Life team. (formerly HAT DAY) Students may pay $1 to wear slippers that day. All donations benefit Cancer research, and the winning class gets a treat!
• The Scholastic Book Fair was a great success! Thank you so much to all the students and families that donated books to our classroom library - we will really enjoy reading each and every one.
• New AR goals will be given out next week. We had quite a few students meet both their point goal and achieve 85% overall accuracy, and we will have a party to celebrate their success on Tuesday. If your child did not make their goal this time, every 9 weeks is a new opportunity! Keep reading!!!
• Stampede to Read began today. Students will need to read for 40 minutes a night, color in a bowling pin on the yellow card, and have a parent sign it. Cards are due on November 7th, and every child that meets their reading goal will receive a $5 gift card to Stars and Strikes Bowling Center.

Our Week in Review 10/3

October is under way! How great to finally feel that chill in the air. I hope you get some time to root on your favorite football team this weekend. Mrs. Waddell's Bulldogs will be taking on Mrs. Fritts' Volunteers next weekend - that oughta be good!!! Read on for some important announcements:

• Watch for the Book Fair all next week! Our class took a preview trip through to make our Wish Lists on Friday. Students may visit the Book Fair before announcements each morning if they bring money to school. Check the green flyer sent home in the Friday folder for times the Book Fair is open after school, so parents can visit, too. Great place to do your holiday shopping!
• Due to the power outage on Tuesday, Picture Retakes have been rescheduled for October 7th
• Thursday, October 9th will be our field trip to the Cobb Youth Museum. Please remember to wear your green class t-shirt. Watch this blog for some photos of our fun!
• Friday, October 10th is the last day of the 9 week grading period. Report cards will go home on the following Friday, October 17th.
• October 10th is also the final day for this first AR Goal challenge. Those students who meet both their point goal and have greater than 85% overall accuracy rate will be invited to an AR celebration on Tuesday, October 14th. That still leaves almost a week to be reading and accumulating points! We have checked out many shorter books that we are keeping in the classroom for students to read when they are finished with their work. We want EVERYONE to meet their goal! An updated report was sent home in the students' agendas on Friday, so you can be aware of their current status.
• A bright orange calendar for the Book It! program went home on Thursday. This is not meant to be an extra amount of reading, students simply need to record their required 30 minutes of reading in their agenda AND on this calendar. That will total the 2 hours a week, for a total of 8 hours for the month. Return the form by October 31st with a parent signature, and your child will receive a coupon for a FREE personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. They will have the opportunity to participate in the same challenge every month from now until March. Those who meet their goal all 6 months get a special certificate.
• I hope everyone has had a chance to try logging into their textbooks online at home. This saves having to lug the SS, Science, and Math books home on the nights you have homework that requires a textbook. If you are having trouble, please let me know as soon as possible.
• I'm proud of all our students who entered the PTSA Reflections "WOW!" contest. Good luck Grace, Tate, Brianna, Bethany, and Nikki!
• Hope to see everyone Saturday night for "Movie in the Garden!" Bring your chairs, blankets, and picnics out to watch Snow Buddies on the track with your Ford Family!

Questions of the Week 10/3

Complete these activities and return to Mrs. Waddell for an extra stick!

1. Visit the "Wacky Web Tales" link on the right side, and complete a tale by filling in the proper parts of speech. Print it out and bring it in!
2. Visit and review the Cobb Science newsletter at http://picasso.cobbk12.org/cobbcurriculum/curriculum/ScienceElem/waterparentnewsletter.doc and visit the links with a parent. Watch the video on the EPA website of the water cycle, then draw and label your own diagram of the water cycle!
3. Visit this website http://www.goenglish.com/Idioms.asp and research an idiom. (you can click on the underlined text to get more background and examples) Illustrate the literal AND the intended meaning with written explanations for both. If you redo a final copy in class on our class book paper, that will be worth an EXTRA stick, for a total of 2 for this activity!
4. What are the 4 types of precipitation, and what place in Hawaii claims to be the rainiest place on earth?

Curriculum Review

A special thanks to Mrs. Nardulli for the Fine Arts Lesson on Wednesday! We enjoyed viewing and discussing the artworks of Romare Bearden and making our own collages in his style. We look forward to learning more about Andrew Wyeth later this month!

Math
We have studied algebra with variables, and all compacting classes are now working on multiplication and graphing. Several methods of solving double digit problems will be presented, including the area model, partial product, and the traditional way. Don't forget to visit the math book website for extra practice. A weekly review of multiplication facts is also necessary for students to stay sharp. Check out multiplication.com for some fun games.

Spelling
We are now studying words from the Sitton Spelling Units 5-6. Tic-Tac-Toe activities are due on Thursday, October 9th, and our cloze and skill tests will be given that day after the field trip. Make sure to study words before that, however, since the sentence dictation test will be given on Wednesday. Don't forget to visit the link on the right to extra Sitton Spelling activities!

Social Studies/Science
This week we began a unit on the First Americans, and began to study the different regions of natives, and how they used the land to survive. The students studied the Northwest Indians with Mrs. Waddell - LOVED THE TOTEM POLES!- then travelled to Mrs. Fillingham's room to learn about the Hopi Indians of the Southwest Region. They will visit 4 more regions over the next 2 weeks. In our homeroom, we will begin learning about the parts of the Water Cycle, and are looking forward to our Earth Lesson this week.

English/Grammar
We continue to study the 4 main parts of speech in a sentence, the subject/predicate relationship, and are now studying proper use of quotation marks. Proofreading is a great skill that can be practiced at home too on eduplace.com/powerproofreading. We will be doing some MadLibs this week to practice parts of speech, but there are also online versions for fun at home practice. (check the links to the right)

Reading/Writing
We are continuing to work on strategies of good readers (connectiona, visualizing, summarizing) and the elements of good story. This week we practiced our engaging beginnings, and establishing a setting. Next week we will incorporate complex characters, and adding suspense/conflict to the plot. Students are rewriting a Haunted House story that will be graded for these narrative elements when they are finished.

Our Week in Review 9/19

What a great week in Room 309! The kids are really starting to get into their 4th grade learning - thanks your sharing your great minds with us everyday.

• Please check the dates for Picture Retakes (9/30) if you weren't happy with your child's portrait. Remember you have to return the package you have to get a free retake.
• Information about our upcoming field trip to the Cobb Youth Museum came home in the Friday Folder, please return the permission slip and $$ as soon as possible. We will be going on October 9, and it is a wonderfully interactive preview to our unit on the Revolutionary War.
• Every student needs to have a large Magic Rub type eraser in their desk. Our pencils' erasers are gone long before the lead is out! We could also use donations of packages of cap erasers for these pencils.
• Please check out the links on the right side of this blog. I'd love for the students to be practicing their keyboarding skills once or twice a week on DanceMat typing to prepare them for typing their finished writings this year.

Have a great week!

(Expired) Questions of the Week 9/22

Each of these activities is worth 1 stick if you bring in your written answer on a sheet of notebook paper before Friday!

1. I gave the students on Friday a hint about how they could earn an extra stick using the blue "Login Information" sheet I sent home. Do they remember what they have to do to earn the extra stick?
2. Find a poem in a book or on the Internet. Print it out, or copy it. Then write a response letter to your teacher outlining your connections to it, why you liked it, and what examples of sensory language gave you a picture in your mind.
3. Remember the PTSA Reflections contest entries are due October 1st. Everyone who enters will receive an extra 5 sticks!!!

Questions of the Week 9/15

1. (Expired) Social Studies: Make a list of all the resources you'd need to throw a birthday party. Sort your list into the 3 types of resources. Turn in your answer to earn a stick!


2. Spelling: Visit the link on the right to the Sitton Spelling Core Word list and complete an activity for Unit 3 AND Unit 4 (crossword, etc.) Print your finished project, and bring it in to class to earn 1 extra stick!

Our Week in Review 9/12

Dear Parents - 4th Grade is off and running - the students are really getting settled into their daily routines and responsibilities. I'm very proud of how they're adjusting to being more independent and focused. We have gotten a lot of compliments as a class from the specialists, so this week I will be implementing a class "Compliment Jar," so the students can work together to earn a whole class reward for their behavior. I can't believe we've already reached the mid-point in the grading period. Time sure flies!! There are a lot of announcements this week, so please scroll all the way down, and again - thanks for checking in.

Progress reports will go home next week with students who are receiving a C or below in any subject area. If your child does not receive a progress report, they are making satisfactory progress at this time. Please remember to review graded papers that go home in the Friday Red folder for a clear picture of how they are doing, and feel free to ask any questions you may have.

What we are studying across the subjects
Reading: Comprehension strategies, such as predicting, making connections, and visualizing. Each child is also working on a small group literature circle book, and taking notes in their Reader's Response Journal. As a class, we read 2 new "Poems of the Week," and responded to them. Please review your child's mid-point AR report. I have quite a few students who are not taking very many AR tests, and I don't want to see anyone miss out on our celebration at the end of the 9 weeks. I want everyone to reach their goals! Also, by this point in the school year, every child should be well on their way to meeting the standard in the 25 books campaign. In order to count towards this goal, the students must fill in a story map or write a book review, and later a Reader's Response letter. This week we will be sending home story maps with any child who has not yet completed one on a book they've recently finished. This should be a step that they take right before or right after an AR test. I expect all students to have at least one sticker on the 25 books chart by Friday, Sept. 19th.

Writing: How to create an engaging beginning for narrative writing, responding to what I read. I have been quite impressed with our budding authors! I LOVE to write and teach writing, and these kids really have a passion for it as well. I've been quite impressed with their creative imaginations, and can't wait to see what stories they produce this year. My class last year published a class book ( a year-long project) and I'd love to see this group do the same!

Grammar: Dividing a sentence into complete subjects and complete predicates, types of nouns. We will begin Sitton Spelling Units 3 and 4 ('s, ss, sc, ce cy and ci sounds) on Wednesday. I've had quite a few questions about the Sitton program and how it works, so let me just remind you of these tips: 1.) Review the 4th Grade "Core Word List" from the Open House packet. The words with (*) will be introduced this year on a spelling list, but the ones without a (*) will continue to reappear on spelling tests throughout the year as "recycled" words from 1-3rd grade. We do not pre-study all 20 words for the test, because some are supposed to be retained from earlier years. Any words your child misses go in a "Words to Learn" notebook that they keep up themselves, and use for practice when they are finished with their work. The skill tests under the regular test review the patterns learned in class and from the Take-Home spelling task. This next time, I am going to require that every child complete their Tic-Tac-Toe homework in a row that includes this center square activity for extra practice before the test.

Math: Using rounding to estimate sums and differences; analyzing data in tables and graphs; algebraic equations; properties of multiplication; strategies for problem solving. In addition, 4th grade students are expected to already be fluent in their multiplication facts, and will periodically be tested using a 7 minute timed test. (100 facts) We are having one coming up this Tuesday. Please encourage your child to practice their facts several times a week using flash cards, websites, or any other means necessary. Knowing these facts will help tremendously with double-digit multiplication, as well as becoming fluent in the division facts that we will be moving towards in the near future.

Social Studies: Scarcity, specialization, trade, resource types, and opportunity cost in economics. We will complete a performance task on these concepts on Tuesday, and have a vocabulary test on Wednesday. Please review the index cards with definitions on them that your child brought home last week to study. Coming up: Map skills, then Science: The Water Cycle!!

PTSA Membership Contest

Did you ever stop to think about the "S" in PTSA? That's right - it stands for Students! They need a voice in our organization, as well. If your child has not yet joined PTSA (or if you have not) please do so right away! Membership is just $5, and Ford is having a contest for the first class that achieves 100%. This year, the first class to achieve 100% student membership will win a trip to Acworth City Hall and lunch with Mayor Tommy Allgood! What a fun and wonderful learning experience this would be for our class! A membership form can be sent home if needed. The deadline is Friday, Sept. 19th - so please send in your membership dues as soon as possible!!! (P.S. Class t-shirts have been ordered, hopefully they will be in before our first field trip on October 9th)

Thank You Fabulous Room 309 Volunteers!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who have sent in supplies, and volunteered for one of the many volunteer opportunities in our ranks. Even though there are two teachers in our room, there is always plenty to do, and we couldn't do it without you:

• First of all, I wanted to send out a HUGE thank you to our co-room parents, Mrs. Kastensmidt and Mrs. Povich! They have worked tirelessly on putting together our class address book - great job ladies! They have also volunteered to fill in as Earth Parent, and we look forward to learning about weather instruments later this month.
• WHEW! Mrs. Losure has been working her fingers to the bone coordinating school store supplies for the whole Ford student body - so a big thanks go out to her! She is here every day fulfilling her duties as PTSA secretary, and I know how much work that is.
• Thanks to the efforts of Joshua's mom, Mrs. O'Neill, we are in the running for the PTSA Discount card contest! The winning class gets a pizza party. Keep sending those in, if you haven't already.
• Thank you to all that volunteered for "Mystery Reader!" We enjoyed our first read-aloud with Tarin's Mom, Mrs. Fitton, and we look forward to our next reader on the 26th! (we do one every other week due to Mustang Madness)

EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU ROCK!

PTSA Reflections Fine Arts Contest

It's that time of year again - Reflections competition! This year's theme is "Wow!" (interpret as you wish) Reflections packets with rules and regulations in them were sent home Friday. As a fourth grade team we are encouraging each child to participate. The deadline is October 1. Children who participate by entering a piece of writing, art, music, or photography will be rewarded with BONUS sticks!! We are looking forward to being enriched in the classroom soon with our monthly art lessons taught to us by John Nardulli's mom. Thanks for volunteering!

Student Council Election Results

We learned a lot about the election process with our vote for first-ever Student Council representatives! We had 7 students in our class wage a campaign, and it was quite an interesting battle. We enjoyed the creative posters, friendly vote for me treats, and interesting speeches! After a second run-off election, we are finally ready to announce our winners: Alex Miller, rep and Nikki Hansen, alternate. Congratulations to both of them, and to everyone who ran!

Fall Garden Clean-up Day

Do you want to help our school, kids, and staff, but are limited on time? We have award winning gardens that could use your help!!!"Fall" Garden Clean-up is Saturday, September 27th from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Come for the whole time or just part of the time!Please bring items listed below or anything else you can think of that will help us:

• Blowers,
• work gloves
• small garden tools
• pruners
• hedge clippers
• trimmers
• tree trimmers
• extension cords
• pressure washers, hoses,
• Round up weed-killer and yard waste bags. Additionally, we need donations of the same such tools, such as rakes, etc. to leave here so that we may continue to beautify our gardens. A donation of a bag of mulch or a bale of pinestraw would help too!

Parents and children attending and working will receive $10 million dollar bucks for their children to spend in Mrs. Pepper’s Million Dollar Store! The CLASS with the most parent participation will win a $25 gift card to spend on something for their class! See you there!

Vocabulary Words - Test Tuesday, Sept. 16th

Don't forget to visit the publisher's website at http://www.sadlier-oxford.com/vocabulary/levels_color.cfm?sp=student (we're level orange) to do online activities and practice, such as Hangman, Concentration, and more!

1. annual
2. basic
3. competition
4. contract
5. dismiss
6. neglect
7. obtain
8. portion
9. recall
10. sponsor
11. stern
12. vacant

Schedule Change

IMPORTANT INFO REGARDING LUNCH TIMES FOR SEPTEMBER 17-27:
Beginning Wednesday, September 17 our lunch times will change for a short period due to Cogat and ITBS testing. New time for those days ONLY: 11:45- 12:15. If you plan on joining us for lunch during these dates, please plan accordingly. Thank you!

(Expired) Questions of the Week 9/2

You can still do this, but no more sticks will be given as a reward. Great independent study opportunity, though!

• Visit the "Grammar Blast" website at http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/grammar/#four and practice your English skills. When you finish a quiz with a passing grade of 90% or better, print out the final page. Bring in proof of 2 passed quizzes to earn an extra popsicle stick!
• Current Event Question: It's hurricane season! Investigate the rules for naming storms, and answer these three questions: 1.) How does a name get retired? 2.) Which letters are not used in the naming of storms? 3.) What are the planned names for storms after Josephine this year?

Our Week in Review 8/29

We are off and rolling following our 3rd week of school! Some great things are happening -

* We are compacting for math now. Your child may go to another class based on their math needs. We have had some adjustments with remembering homework, so it is important to reiterate how essential copying down the math homework from your math teacher's agenda is - since it may not be the same.

* Class T-Shirts: Thank you to all of you who pre-ordered a class shirt! They will be green Ford Elementary shirts, same basic mustang design. The cost is $10, and Mrs. Losure is placing the order ASAP. Please send in a payment made out to Ford PTSA, and we can fill out the order form for you - just indicate the size.

* Sending out smiles from Ford Elementary: A special thanks to Tate's mom, Mrs. Coston who came in this week to do a wonderful service project with us! She brought along craft supplies for the students to decorate goodie bags for ill kids at Children's Hospital, then stuff them. We're hoping everybody learned a lesson about appreciating our own health, and how important it is to spread cheer to those in need. Thank you!

* Mystery Reader: Thank you to all who signed up for a slot on the Mystery Reader calendar! Thank you to Mrs. Kastensmidt for coordinating this for us, too. I was overwhelmed that there are more volunteers than slots. At this point we're only scheduling it for every other Friday due to time constraints, but as the year progresses and we get into more of a routine, I may find that we can open it up to every Friday. Stay tuned!

* What's going well: The students did some beautiful writing in class this week! We've been concentrating on adjectives and similes, and how they can liven up our writing. We studied engaging the reader by starting off describing the setting, and writing about "My Favorite Place." As a warm-up, I put the students into teams to describe a postcard, using as many details as possible to see if we could guess which one it was. The results blew me away! They were so beautiful and full of description - I can't wait to see what kind of authors we become this year.

* Have a wonderful, restful Labor Day holiday - and we'll see you back bright and early Tuesday morning! GO DAWGS!

Vocabulary or Spelling?

Well, the answer is both, really, just not at the same time. To minimize confusion, we will be rotating a unit of each. Last week we started with the Vocabulary Workshop workbook, Unit 1. We had an assessment over them today. There is some overlap, however. Today, the students got their spelling list for our first unit of spelling. These words will continue until the following Thursday, spelling test day. For homework, students need to choose 3 activities to complete from the Tic-Tac-Toe board that went home today. These are due on test day. They are not limited to just these activities, and if your child needs extra assistance to learn words, they can complete more choices. We will continue to focus on words for writing in spelling this year , instead of just the phonics/spelling patterns, and we will be looking for these words to be spelled correctly throughout their daily assignments in other subjects. Let me know if you have any questions, and I also wanted to pass along the publisher's website for extra vocabulary games and practice. It is: www.sadlier-oxford.com

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to another great year at Ford Elementary! We had a fantastic first day - we took a "Pop Quiz" on our teachers, interviewed and introduced a partner, and spent time getting to know our rules and routines. Some talking points for you and your child this week: ask them about the 25 books campaign, their goals for 4th grade, anything they're apprehensive about,their favorite special, Mustang Madness, and how it feels to be back! I hope you are as excited to get this year underway as I am. Whether it's studying weather, space, explorers, the early colonization of the United States, or long division - I know we will have a wonderful time growing and learning in 4th Grade! Writing across the content areas will be a big focus for us this year, both as preparation for next year's 5th grade writing assessment, as well as making our kids effective written communicators for life.
I appreciate all the support that Ford parents are known for, and hope we can work hand in hand to develop strong, creative, independent learners. If at any time you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at kristen.waddell@cobbk12.org, or my co-teacher at heather.fritts@cobbk12.org. Here's to the next 179 days of learning!

What We Will Be Studying

Math
* Place value millions through hundredths
* Rounding numbers
* Data/graphs/tables
* Division facts

Social Studies
* Principles of economics
* Native American cultures
* Map skills

Reading
* Narrative reading story elements
* Poetry elements
* Reading with fluency

English
* Shurley English method of diagramming sentences
* Parts of speech
* Types of sentences
* Subject/Predicate

Writing
* Steps to beginning a writing piece
* Narrative writing elements

Supplies & Volunteers

You all are so amazing with the amount of supplies that came in with the students on the first day! We are quite well-stocked with pencils, dry erase markers, post-its, index cards, glue sticks and paper. I also want to thank Mrs. Vroman for sending in treats for our treat box, and Mrs. Povich for the donation of playing cards and Band-aids! Please make sure your child has the red plastic folder from the school store for the Friday communication, as well as the Vocabulary workbook. The 1-inch binder we requested was actually for a writing folder that stays at school, so if your child wants to carry their agenda back and forth to school in a binder, please send in an extra to use for writing. It can be a plain white Avery-type one. I am also looking for old "family-friendly" magazines we can cut up, and asking all parents to start saving the tubes from your paper towels for our upcoming Native American craft project. (can you guess what it is?)
I was thrilled to have so many of you sign-up to volunteer in our classroom this year! You are awesome with your willingness to help, and share the burden. I think we actually have three terrific moms volunteer to be co-room moms, and one of their first duties will be to create a class directory to keep us all in touch. I am also covered on the Fundraising and Reading Parent volunteers- but we still seek an Earth Parent to lead one science lesson per month (plans and materials provided), as well as someone willing to be our Fine Arts parent. (no actual artistic talent required) Even if you have never served in either of these roles, if you could come donate your time once a month to "guest-teach" we would greatly appreciate it! You will receive training on what to teach, and it adds so much to our standard curriculum. If you have any questions before you commit, please let me know. I will need to fill these positions as soon as possible. Be on the lookout for emails from Mrs. Losure, who will be coordinating our "Mystery Readers" this year and will need weekly volunteers to come in and read to our class. Again, I appreciate all you've done to help your childrens' 4th grade year get off to a terrific start!

Interacting With Math @ Home

We are beginning the year in 4th grade with a review of place value, and practicing our multiplication fact fluency. Next, we will transition into mastering our division facts, and extending place value to the tenths and hundredths places. At our Open House parents meeting we will be talking to you about "Math Compacting," which is a method of grouping students based on their math needs and skills. For those of you who want to have a little something "extra" for your kids to do at home that relates to math, I wanted to share with you a wonderful website created by the publisher of our math series. It contains extra practice, games, and resources for further math study. I encourage you to visit and bookmark the site soon, but you will need your child's math textbook to access it the first time. The address is http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/signin/author.html?seriesid=21&preview=true Log on and have fun! Additionally, we are very fortunate this year to have a new textbook series in both Social Studies and Science that are very interactive and have consumable workbooks to accompany them. Harcourt also publishes our Science series, so more information on the related website for it will be coming soon.

A Note to Parents about Agendas

Just a quick reminder about agendas. They are purchased each year for the student body by PTA to help our kids build organizational skills that will take them through middle school. Your child should bring this very important tool home nightly. If you don't see it, ask for it! The student is in charge of keeping up with writing their homework assignments down, as well as spelling/vocabulary words, and specials days. The student will also keep track of their nightly reading in the agenda, as well. That way there is no seperate reading log to lose track of, and you can at a glance check homework, reading, and any discipline reminders or communication from us and initial at the bottom of each day. It is the student's responsibility to bring it to an adult to sign. I will be stressing this with the kids, and following up by checking their agendas each morning. As part of our behavior plan, missing/icomplete reading logs cost a "stick", and if homework is not written down properly, it usually means missing assignments - which has the same consequence. Please also use the front clear pocket for all monies (in the correct payment envelopes) and transportation notes. In the past I have found that a small 1/2 inch or 1 inch binder helps to protect the agenda when it travels back and forth from school to home, but that is up to you. If a child forgets their agenda at home, they are usually unprepared for class, which also has a consequence on our behavior plan.

All About Ms. Waddell

As I can't wait to get to know each of you better, I thought you might like to know a little bit about me! This is my 9th year of teaching, and I'm returning to Ford for my second year teaching 4th grade. Most recently, I taught 2nd grade in Paulding County at Baggett Elementary, but before that I spent 5 years in Smyrna at Nickajack Elementary, working some of that time for our own Mrs. Peggy Pepper! In my spare time I enjoy riding bikes with my family on the Silver Comet Trail, scrapbooking, reading, and movies. We have three pets at home, our black cat, Kitty, our black kitten, Buddy, and our dwarf hamster, Humphrey. (who will soon join our class) I am a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and I get back there whenever I can to visit my family. I have lived in 5 states in my life, but Georgia has been home for the past 12 years. I spent all of my college years in California. That means I actually got to see Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco play on the same team together, and I was there for the "Big One," the major earthquake of 1989. I spent my first year after high school in an art college, but then transferred to the University of California, Davis to complete my degrees. I actually had a whole other career before I began teaching - in the computer field, but I returned to education when my daughter Haley was born in 2000. I have been married since 1998 to my own southern hero, my husband Joey. He is a firefighter for Dekalb County Engine 15, and one of the few people around here actually born and bred in Marietta. We are both the babies of 3 children, so are used to getitng our way! Together we like to work out at the Y together, or jog on the Silver Comet. We spent most of our summer in the pool, and didn't take any major vacations this year, but I did attend my 20th high school reunion back in O-hi-o. I can't wait to hear what you all did this summer!