Appearing on the 4th Grade English Quest Google Classroom This Week....
All 4th graders should have begun revising the first draft of their short story! Their double-spaced drafts, in 12 point Times New Roman font, should be from a minimum of 1 1/2 pages to a maximum of around 3 1/2. Their final stories should really be no longer than three pages. This require some cutting of text for some.
Yesterday, every kiddo was given a print out of the plot diagram they created as well as a current draft of their story. (Kids who continued revising up until our class met did not likely get their most recent version though). Beth and I encourage you to read your child's plot diagram (the "map" of their story) as well as their draft. Is their story clear? Does the story that follow the diagram? The revision work they need to do this week, should help with clarity and returning to the basic ideas of their map.
What about their punctuation, capitalization and spelling?
Here's a sign posted in the Quest room:
In terms of spelling, I expect every word they can find spelled correctly around them to copied correctly.
On Thursday, the kids were given the following assignments in class (posted on their Perspectives Google Classroom):
May 11th
1. Fix your dialogue. The writer's job is to make the reader's work clear. (See the attachment below).
2. Work on "show not tell." You have limited space. Use your words wisely. (See the second attachment below).
*****Short story writing revisions should be complete by Monday morning, May 16th, at 7:30 a.m.****
3. Be sure to finish reading 'The Golden Touch" by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
4. By Wednesday morning, May 18th, find a quote from one of the stories we've read which represents a great example of "show not tell." Everyone should add a NEW quote, with the story title and page number, to the document below. (Your story choices are: 'The Ransom of Red Chief," "Robin Hood," "The Gift of the Magi" or "The Golden Touch").
Yesterday, every kiddo was given a print out of the plot diagram they created as well as a current draft of their story. (Kids who continued revising up until our class met did not likely get their most recent version though). Beth and I encourage you to read your child's plot diagram (the "map" of their story) as well as their draft. Is their story clear? Does the story that follow the diagram? The revision work they need to do this week, should help with clarity and returning to the basic ideas of their map.
What about their punctuation, capitalization and spelling?
Here's a sign posted in the Quest room:
In terms of spelling, I expect every word they can find spelled correctly around them to copied correctly.
On Thursday, the kids were given the following assignments in class (posted on their Perspectives Google Classroom):
May 11th
1. Fix your dialogue. The writer's job is to make the reader's work clear. (See the attachment below).
2. Work on "show not tell." You have limited space. Use your words wisely. (See the second attachment below).
*****Short story writing revisions should be complete by Monday morning, May 16th, at 7:30 a.m.****
3. Be sure to finish reading 'The Golden Touch" by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
4. By Wednesday morning, May 18th, find a quote from one of the stories we've read which represents a great example of "show not tell." Everyone should add a NEW quote, with the story title and page number, to the document below. (Your story choices are: 'The Ransom of Red Chief," "Robin Hood," "The Gift of the Magi" or "The Golden Touch").
Drafting Short Stories With Irony, O. Henry & Nathaniel Hawthorne
4th grade short story writers are drafting! May has brought not only more rain, but a returned focus to writing. Our deadline this spring is influenced by..... the end of the school year! Here's what your kiddo needs to accomplish within the next week:
To help us reach a better understanding of O. Henry as well as have a little fun, we studied irony on Thursday! Enjoy the videos posted here. They are also on the kids' latest Google Classroom assignment. These are great to use when you need to talk to your kiddo about a sarcastic tone.....
- Latin 'mal-' tree (due on Monday the 9th)
- A first draft of their short story.
- This should be DOUBLE-SPACED and in 12 point Times New Roman black font. Documents should be a minimum of 1 1/2 pages to a maximum of 3 pages.
- The kids have the option of drafting on looseleaf. If they choose to draft on a computer, they should create a Google doc through the 5/5 Google classroom assignment. Kids who already started drafting, need to share that doc with both me and Ms. Schrank.
- Kids are expected to use the plot diagram and character work they already completed when drafting!! (They have already done so much work. They need to use that work and not start from scratch!)
- This first draft should be ready by Wednesday, May 11th!
- Read "The Golden Touch" by Nathaniel Hawthorne (by Thursday, May 12th). The text is available through the 5/5 Google Classroom assignment or in the workbook.
To help us reach a better understanding of O. Henry as well as have a little fun, we studied irony on Thursday! Enjoy the videos posted here. They are also on the kids' latest Google Classroom assignment. These are great to use when you need to talk to your kiddo about a sarcastic tone.....
New Latin Homework Policies!
- Students will have one week to make-up any Latin work. Late work will not be accepted after a week.
- Work with no name will be recycled.
Robin Hood!4th graders will visit Sherwood Forrest in the coming weeks! The version we'll explore is pulled from Eva March Tappan's book, Robin Hood His Book.
Next week, we'll begin digging into this story with the same tools we used to examine The Ransom of Red Chief. Ransom will now serve as a touchstone text for us - one we will continue to reference and use as a point of comparison as we read other texts. I encourage families to read each story with us (attached at left) and engage your kiddos in conversation. They've done some great thinking and I look forward to hearing their thoughts on this text! |
robinhoodandthemerrylittleoldwoman.pdf | |
File Size: | 926 kb |
File Type: |
Exploring Perspective Through O. Henry
While I doubt O. Henry was thinking about how to challenge 4th grade readers when he wrote The Ransom of Red Chief, he laid the groundwork for some marvelous discussions about perspective with his short story!
Today, 4th graders described the story as funny, weird, and confusing. This is a challenging story.
The Ransom of Red Chief will serve as the text that we revisit throughout our study of perspective, so the kids don't have to delve into all O. Henry offers after the first read.
That said, please read the story yourself and talk about it with your kiddo. The story used by the William and Mary curriculum was retrieved from www.online-literature.com/o_henry/1041/ The kids have chosen to either read this same version posted on-line in their Perspectives Google Classroom or read a paper copy in the Perspectives student guide. The more they discuss the story, the richer their understanding will become. Please do not show your kids the movie version or have them read a summary. Movie versions and summaries will confuse the discussions we have based on the text as well as your child.
Please do check their agenda book each night so they develop the routine of checking their assignments. Next year, wherever they are a 5th grader, they'll benefit from developing this habit. As kids, they'll need help planning their time to make sure assignments are complete so they're ready to stretch their brains and use class time to grow as learners.
Try creating a checklist of what materials they need'll need the next day at school (4th grade English Quest meets on Wednesdays and Thursdays). Each night, they can check to make sure all of these materials are in their backpack before they get ready for bed.
Please do ask questions about what we're doing in English Quest. Your kiddo should be able to answer most of your questions, but Beth and I are happy to fill in any gaps.
Today, 4th graders described the story as funny, weird, and confusing. This is a challenging story.
The Ransom of Red Chief will serve as the text that we revisit throughout our study of perspective, so the kids don't have to delve into all O. Henry offers after the first read.
That said, please read the story yourself and talk about it with your kiddo. The story used by the William and Mary curriculum was retrieved from www.online-literature.com/o_henry/1041/ The kids have chosen to either read this same version posted on-line in their Perspectives Google Classroom or read a paper copy in the Perspectives student guide. The more they discuss the story, the richer their understanding will become. Please do not show your kids the movie version or have them read a summary. Movie versions and summaries will confuse the discussions we have based on the text as well as your child.
Please do check their agenda book each night so they develop the routine of checking their assignments. Next year, wherever they are a 5th grader, they'll benefit from developing this habit. As kids, they'll need help planning their time to make sure assignments are complete so they're ready to stretch their brains and use class time to grow as learners.
Try creating a checklist of what materials they need'll need the next day at school (4th grade English Quest meets on Wednesdays and Thursdays). Each night, they can check to make sure all of these materials are in their backpack before they get ready for bed.
Please do ask questions about what we're doing in English Quest. Your kiddo should be able to answer most of your questions, but Beth and I are happy to fill in any gaps.
Perspective
Today, we talked about perspective. After looking at the different optical illusions below, we began exploring the following:
- What are examples of perspective in everyday life?
- How do you know when you have a perspective?
- What words or ideas come to mind when you think of perspective?
- What kinds of things have perspective?
4th Graders Reflect on Gifted Tonight Via Google Classroom and Begin to Accumulate Words With the Latin Stem 'Poly'!
4th grade kiddos worked on developing main ideas about the poem Gifted in small discussion groups today. Tonight, they need to reflect on Jacqueline Woodson's use of the word gifted on their Perspectives Google Classroom. It will look like this:
By next Wednesday, your 4th grader will need to add words using the Latin stem 'poly' to the tree in their binder. That sheet looks like this:
Gifted by Jacqueline Woodson
Back in October, I had the honor of hearing Jacqueline Woodson speak at the Virginia Children's Book Festival. 4th graders read this award-winning author, and the Young People's Poet Laureate, when we were drafting our Writer's Eye pieces.
Students began a discussion about the poem, Gifted, from her autobiography, Brown Girl Dreaming this week. I think Gifted has many ideas we can all unpack. Perhaps it will prompt some conversation over the winter break.
Students began a discussion about the poem, Gifted, from her autobiography, Brown Girl Dreaming this week. I think Gifted has many ideas we can all unpack. Perhaps it will prompt some conversation over the winter break.
Previewing Prepositions, Practicing Parts of Speech and Pondering 'Dis' Words
4th grade EQ students tightened up their 3-column notes on the six Parts of Speech and reviewed the Latin stem 'dis' this week. Before next Wednesday, your kiddo should complete the following at home (as shown on Google Classroom):
Last week, I had copies of the kiddos' NoRedInk login information from last year. By the end of the year, some kiddos had forgotten their passwords and we reset them with 1234567. If that doesn't work, I suggest using their CCS Google login. To get into NoRedInk, enter Class Code fmce4va7 if your kiddo was in Mrs. Shook's class last year. If your child was in Ms. Bradley's or Mrs. Williams' class enter code 3vxh3kc9.
Relearning to Better Access What We Learned
"Forcing the brain to make multiple associations with the same material may, in effect, give that information more neural scaffolding," reports The New York Times in the September 10, 2010 article 'Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits.' Today, 4th grade English Quest students began revisiting the multiple ways we learned parts of speech last year.
Using 3 column notes, 4th graders wrote down what we learned about nouns and pronouns last year by rereading Grammar Island, watching Schoolhouse Rock videos, and examining Super Grammar heroes. Tonight, they can access Schoolhouse Rock videos, Super Grammar material and link to NoRedInk through the 4th Grade Quest Perspectives Google Classroom. (If you need help getting to Google Classroom, scroll down to the first blog posting. If your kiddo doesn't remember their NoRedInk log-in, I'll have them ready tomorrow during class).
Benedict Carey's article captures our revisiting process with the following: "The process of retrieving an idea is not like pulling a book from a shelf; it seems to fundamentally alter the way the information is subsequently stored, making it far more accessible in the future." Tonight, your 4th grader can access the Schoolhouse Rock videos, Super Grammar material and link to NoRedInk to add information about adjectives to their 3 column notes. Here's to building and stronger grammar neural network in your child's brain!
Using 3 column notes, 4th graders wrote down what we learned about nouns and pronouns last year by rereading Grammar Island, watching Schoolhouse Rock videos, and examining Super Grammar heroes. Tonight, they can access Schoolhouse Rock videos, Super Grammar material and link to NoRedInk through the 4th Grade Quest Perspectives Google Classroom. (If you need help getting to Google Classroom, scroll down to the first blog posting. If your kiddo doesn't remember their NoRedInk log-in, I'll have them ready tomorrow during class).
Benedict Carey's article captures our revisiting process with the following: "The process of retrieving an idea is not like pulling a book from a shelf; it seems to fundamentally alter the way the information is subsequently stored, making it far more accessible in the future." Tonight, your 4th grader can access the Schoolhouse Rock videos, Super Grammar material and link to NoRedInk to add information about adjectives to their 3 column notes. Here's to building and stronger grammar neural network in your child's brain!
On Friday, all 32 Writer's Eye entries from Venable Elementary were delivered!
Huzzah to all the writers for their hard work! They should, and I believe do, feel quite proud of their entries.
All writers can consider entering their work for consideration in The Unfinished Jigsaw in the spring. If they have multiple piecess of writing, they'll have the opportunity to choose their best to enter.
Poets have been thinking about entering their work in the Bus Lines Poetry Contest by the November 30th deadline. This year's contest is for poetry in the following categories: Limerick, Acrostic, Tanka, Ghazal or Doublet. Your child can try their hand at one of these styles, if their Writer's Eye piece was free verse.
Limericks - a humorous poem five lines long in which the first, second, and fifth lines have one rhyme and the third and fourth another. Sample Link 1Sample Link 2
Acrostics - a composition usually in verse in which sets of letters (as the initial or final letters of the lines) taken in order form a word or phrase or a regular sequence of letters of the alphabet. For this contest, there is a ten line limit.Sample Link 3 Sample Link 4
Tanka - an unrhymed Japanese verse form of five lines containing five, seven, five, seven, and seven syllables respectively. Typically, the first three lines are an observation while the last two respond to that observation. Sample Link 5 Sample Link 6Ghazal - a poem with five couplets where the last line of each couplet rhymes with the first couplet (aa-ba-ca-da-ea). The last couplet contains the poet’s name in either an obvious or hidden form.
Doublet - a list of words where only one letter changes at a time. The words are then stacked and a poem is written around the ladder. Sample 8 Sample Worksheet(pg. 10 - answers on pg. 27)
I'm happy to submit entries, with a completed entry form for the Bus Lines Poetry Contest, by this Tuesday, November 24th. (Click on this link http://charlottesville.org/home/showdocument?id=34171 All writers can consider entering their work for consideration in The Unfinished Jigsaw in the spring. If they have multiple piecess of writing, they'll have the opportunity to choose their best to enter.for the entry form or look for your child to bring it home on Monday).
Our Writer's Eye Deadline Is Approaching...
Our final day to submit Writer's Eye entries is next Thursday, November 19th. The most important take-aways from this writing process blitz are for the kids to experience thinking like a writer and practicing the craft of writing. Beth and I feel the kids will have achieved those goals, even if they end up not submitting an entry next week.
Today, we talked to the kids know about these goals and options in case their writing isn't ready by the 17th. (One option is for them to submit their finished work to be considered for the Unfinished Jigsaw! If they've written a poem, they might wish to send it in to the Bus Lines Poetry contest. Of course, these options are available for kids who submit their pieces to the Writer's Eye contest as well!)
But, the majority of kiddos can develop a solid entry by next week's deadline. In order to do so, they will need to complete work at home. What can you do to help them reach their goal? The best things parents can provide are
- time in their schedules to write, and
- a quiet place for them to focus as writers.
Thank you for supporting your budding writer!
4th Grade English Quest Students Board the Homework Train!
On Wednesday, October 21st, your 4th grade English Quest student will have homework! Beginning this week, your student will have written down in their agenda book an assignment or that they have no homework for EQ every Wednesday and Thursday we meet.
Their first assignment is write down as many words using the Latin root 'ped.' They'll have a paper copy of the tree below, in the Latin section of their binder. On each leaf, they should write a word using 'ped' that also uses the meaning of the root. For example, 'biped' refers to animals using two legs, or feet, for walking. Our goal is to have your kiddo think a little deeper by applying the root.
Ms. Schrank and I will collect their trees during English Quest on Thursday. Thank you for helping your child stay thoughtful, and organized, as they grow their lexicon!
Their first assignment is write down as many words using the Latin root 'ped.' They'll have a paper copy of the tree below, in the Latin section of their binder. On each leaf, they should write a word using 'ped' that also uses the meaning of the root. For example, 'biped' refers to animals using two legs, or feet, for walking. Our goal is to have your kiddo think a little deeper by applying the root.
Ms. Schrank and I will collect their trees during English Quest on Thursday. Thank you for helping your child stay thoughtful, and organized, as they grow their lexicon!
Your kiddo has a Quest Google Classroom called Perspectives! Ms. Shrank and I will continually update this Classroom to assist students in finding information, completing reading and writing assignments as well as developing ideas within their fourth grade community. Your kiddo can access their Google classrooms anywhere they can get onto the internet! Have them show you what they're exploring! How do they get there?
- The easiest place to start is the Venable home page (http://charlottesvilleschools.org/venable/). You'll see a list of 'Quicklinks' on the left-hand side of the page.
- Your 4th grader will want to click on Google Student Login.
- Next, they should use their CCS Google login and password (the same ones they use on Venable Chromebooks at school this year). This will take them to their Google Drive page.
- The top right hand corner displays a 3 x 3 array next to their name. By clicking on that array, you'll see a variety of Google apps.
- They may have to click on the word More in order to see the Classroom icon.
- Once they click on Google Classroom, they'll be taken to their Classroom homepage with the different classes they are "enrolled" in.
- Once they've joined the class, your student will see a list of assignments on the Stream. The assignment will tell the student if they need to post a comment, create a Google doc or do another activity to complete the assignment. Pretty groovy, huh?!