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2008 Has Been Busy so Far...

Hello, Families!

We hope that your 2008 has gotten off to a great start. We have all been very busy in the room since school resumed just a couple of weeks ago. Here's the latest...

ROPES
Many of you went to the ROPES informational meeting on last Thursday. If you didn't,no worries, there is plenty of information in the packets, from the educators, and from the plethora of ROPES veterans at the CLC. Those who have read/seen information regarding ROPES probably noticed that it dovetails nicely with the philosophy behind the Personalized Learning Projects (PLP). The packets are very informative. One of the few changes we impose is that we ask that learners do not work with partners in the fourth grade; their first year attempting ROPES. In many projects in class, learners have opportunities to work with others, so that isn't an experience from which they are lacking. Learners can pick similar ROPES and work together if activities happen to coincide, but the projects should ultimately be solo. In order to save paper, we will be sending home packets with learners who tell us they do not have one. If you do not see a ROPES packet by the end of the week, and do not already have one at home, please let us know. The ROPES takes the place of the annual Personalized Learning Project (PLP). If your child (or family) decides that he/she (they) will not participating in the district ROPES project, we can have a discussion about how to do an alternate PLP that is based on the ROPES, yet modified as needed. Please note that you are responsible for turning in a form to participate in ROPES. The form is in the ROPES packet. It is due to the district office on February 15. We will be turning in all forms to the district as a group, so please put your form in Elysha's family folder once you have completed it. There will be an envelope inside the folder to put it in. We will send out more information about ROPES shortly. Spending some time looking over the packet with your child and having them brainstorm some of their personal interests would be a good idea this week.


Instructional Assistant

As you know, Emma made the decision to focus on her role as a librarian and her graduate work earlier in the school year. We have finally found a new Instructional Assistant who can fulfill the twenty hours of aiding allotted for the fourth grade classroom. Christina Harris, our new IA, will be introducing herself to the classroom and it's routines this week. She's a recent Sociology graduate from San Jose State with a strong interest in working with children, and experience as a volunteer student aide and peer mentor. She will be working in our classrooms in the mornings and in Educare some afternoons. Luckily, the learners will still have the opportunity to connect with Emma during our regularly scheduled library hours, and the many fun library events Emma schedules.

Reader's Workshop
We have begun a new round of literature circles based on the genre of Historical Fiction The books all take place in California during the 1800's and connect with what we're focusing on in Social Studies. The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, The Island of the Blue Dolphins, Patty Reed's Doll , and The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung are the books that the learners chose from. They are being facilitated by some wonderful volunteers: Emma Moore, Patti Miller, Jacqui Inglis, Laurel Skillman, and Sandee Althouse. Some of the children are learning about the Gold Rush through the eyes of a girl from the East Coast and a boy from China. Some are learning more about Native American life through a book based on a true survival story that took place during that time. Lastly, some are learning about the fateful Donner Party (rated G version) and westward expansion from the eyes of well, a wooden doll. You may see them carrying their book home if they haven't finished it during the Reader's Workshop times we have scheduled almost daily. Ask your child about what they're reading!

Writer's Workshop
We're finally publishing our personal narratives. Learners had conferences during the writing process and continue to refine their essays, even in the publishing stage. Mini-lessons on items like correct punctuation of quotation marks, using juicier words than "said" in dialogue, and indenting and spacing of dialogue are examples of skills and techniques being reviewed and taught while working on the final piece. We are looking forward to sharing them with the K/1 buddies. If you are looking for home hours and would like to format the already typed pieces of the learners so that they can make a small picture book, please let me (Lale) know.

FAB
Art, Drama, and the extra Library Research groups running on Wednesdays ended today! Irene reported that she loved hearing the conversations about color as they explored color in various ways this session. Drama has been filled with lots of laughter and some silly plays. The library research project has given the learners some new exposure and skills for researching. Thanks to Irene for teaching Art, Sharon Collier for teaching Drama, and Emma for teaching Library Research Skills. We'll let you know about our next exciting round of FAB soon!

Math
The last couple weeks have been filled with review. We reviewed addition and subtraction as well as multiplication of larger numbers. Before the break we looked at decimals and percents and their relationships to one another. We will now take that a step further and start to look at fractions. Last week learners divided crazy cakes into two halves and then had to prove that their cake was divided fairly. In the upcoming weeks we will use geoboards to look at fourths, eigths, etc. We will also begin to compare and order fractions. One thing you can do at home is cook together. What if you double the recipe or cut it in half? How does this change the fractional parts?

Social Studies
We are almost finished with our mission brochures and all of our mission drawings are finished. I have attached some photos below. They have really turned out great. The mission brochures will be available shortly.
One of the groups of settlers we'll be studying in class are the Russians. If you would like to be a part of providing some cultural experiences from the day. (ie cooking, art, dance, storytelling) please let Lale know. She has lots of resources and ideas if you're interested. She's hoping these will happen sometime in early February. We are also beginning to look at the California Ranchos. We recently read about the closing of the missions and what happened to the land in California. We made diseno's (handmade maps that were created for land grants). We will continue to learn about ranchos, and will participate in a variety of hands on activities at our next field trip to the Adobe House on Feb 1.

Dear Families,

Last night was the ROPES information meeting. We have not, and were not going to introduce ROPES just yet. Today after lunch I was asked tons of questions, it must have been a hot topic on the lunch yard. The learners are clearly very enthusiastic, which is great, but because they hadn't heard from us yet about the project, they may have had some misconceptions about it. This is not something that the learners need to start on yet. We will talk about it in class in the next few weeks so the learners have a clear understanding of what it is. We hope to have past ROPES participants share some of their projects as well as their experiences with the process. We think this is a valuable part in helping the learners wrap their heads around this project and will give them lots of opportunities to hear about successes and get their questions answered. We really want the ROPES process to be a personal learning experience for them that is aligned with the vision of personalized learning at the CLC. Because of this, the learners are not allowed to work with partners. This is a great opportunity for the learners to really accomplish a significant milestone on their own. Some learners were not happy to hear this, and we wanted to give you a heads up in case they came home asking questions. We hope to answer more questions about the ROPES project as we introduce it to the learners, so please stay tuned.

Have a terrific weekend,
Elysha

Dear Families,

A couple of quick reminders...

The next field trip will be on Friday February 1. Below are the drivers that signed up to assist with this trip:
Adobe Days San Jose 2/1/07 (Friday)
Sylvie Parkin (5)
Tim Walsh (3)
Janice Pasqualotto (6)
Jessica Mantoani (5)
Jacqui Inglis (3)
Bill Cheney (4)
Stacy Emory (4)
Pam McGee (4)
Alternates: Yvonne/Grace (5), Donna Chin Mohler (3)
Please let me know as soon as possible if you can't drive and are scheduled to so we can find an alternate.

It is time to collect the second installment of funds for the field trips. I am still waiting for a total for GC matching in order to know how much to collect. Hopefully I will be able to give you a total by the end of the week. Stay tuned. Remember that there is a financial aide form to assist with funds if needed.

Lastly, I wanted to compliment the learners for working so hard this week to complete there assignments. Some learners had to work many hours this week to complete their mission brochures and math menus. I am just impressed with their hard work and commitment to completing their work.

Thanks,
Elysha

Hello, Families,

First, we hope that you were able to come and enjoy the staff Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast. The time you dedicate to this school community both in and out of the classroom is commendable. Thank you so much!

...I was invited to a Volunteer Breakfast of my own on the same day for my work as a volunteer in the Oakland Library's PASS afterschool program. It's a free city program for K-12 kids, that sadly is getting cut next year. My work there makes me realize how lucky the CLC community is and how vital strong volunteers are for helping children. It truly takes a village...Lale

Learners have been busy this week reflecting on work done over the year with the creation of student portfolios, exploring rocks and minerals, sharing ROPEs and PLPs with classmates, ending Boy and Girl Circles, completing end of year assessments, creating an ensign to be raised aboard the ship, and preparing for their end of year Milestone trip and their Wednesday, "Oh, California Day". All of this despite the demolition work happening right outside our backdoor. I'm sure your learners can imitate the sound of concrete cutting machines. To say it's loud and distracting is an understatement. Thank goodness it didn't begin any earlier this year! We spent part of Friday working in the library so we could hear ourselves think.

We are all excited for Monday and will share photos as soon as we can.

Ahoy!
Elysha and Lale

Happy Friday,

From Elysha...
It is definitely getting close to the end of the year. Summer is in the air and the learners already have "summer fever" much like the "gold fever" the miners had when coming to California in 1849. We learned on the field trip that "gold fever" was an illness that they couldn't control, so maybe the learners could argue the same.
The field trip yesterday was fantastic! The learners knew so much. Many of the docents complimented our class and were quite impressed with their knowledge base. I felt proud seeing how much they knew. We also had the opportunity to pan for gold. Unfortunately no one struck it rich, but we did learn that the miners worked hard to earn what they found only to be outsmarted by the merchants who practiced price gouging on a daily basis.
I wanted to add how proud I was of the learners MARS scores this year. If you don't remember the MARS test is a district math assessment that is closely aligned with how we teach math in the classroom. Over 90% of our learners scored at or above fourth grade standards for math. I was so thrilled with how great they did! You will be getting copies of their scores soon.

From Lale...
I must have passed the learners on my way to school yesterday. They were surprised to see me working in the classroom when they came back from their field trip. I was on campus Thursday to have a conversation with Cheryl Wozniak, a teacher liaison with the Bay Area Writer's Project, a non profit run in conjunction with UC Berkeley and the National Writing Project. I have attended some of her district training sessions and have incorporated some of her lessons. She is truly inspiring. She helped confirm that I covered valuable things in fourth grade in writing, and gave me suggestions for improvements for next year. Karrie Amsler, next years 5/6 Language Arts educator, sat in on the meeting. She and I have been having many conversations about the learners and their growth as writers this year and how to expand their writing repertoire next year. I am grateful that I'll be able to to do more professional cross-grade level professional discussion. (Karrie and I have the added benefit of being carpool buddies who share commute time.)
Learners will be on the lookout next week for current events about California. They can look at newspapers, magazines, and on the web for information. If you had any sections of the paper or magazines that are headed to the recycling bin, you may want to set them aside. More details will come home on Monday.


Have a terrific weekend!
Best,
Elysha and Lale

Weekly Update
Written by Sierra and Maddy

This week in Language Arts we have been busy reading By The Great Horn Spoon Chapters 10-13. We also read Creatures of the Deep, then wrote a big summary on it. We've been doing lots of things that include summaries. We have also been looking at the main ideas of some writing.

In math we have been learning about geometry and decimals. In geometry we learned about parallelograms, polygons and how to use triangles to make them. For decimals we have been learning about tenths, hundredths and thousandths.

In Social Studies we have been learning about the Gold Rush. We were assigned a specific technique that miners used to get gold. They were panning, rocker, sluice box, long tom and hydraulic mining. We created skits to teach our class about the different techniques. We hope you have enjoyed this update!

Week of March 19- March 22

The learners continued drafting their persuasive papers this week. There were many aspects that were either reviewed or introduced with this form of writing. They continued worked on beginning paragraphs with topic sentences, having the rest of the paragraph relate, and using transitional phrases such as "First of all..". They talked about the best way to creat a call of action being using sentences that start with active verbs.

We talked more about how we infer when we read. That we continually draw conclusions from what is not being said explicitly. We did this last week by reading factual primary documents of the excitement surrounding the Gold Rush (mentioned last week). We also talked about inferences in the book, By the Great Horn Spoon! The learners are working on doing several different activties along with reading their books to help them have a good quality discussions in their small book groups and as a whole class.

We connected the importance of reading with math by reading "actively" to answer problems that used a chart. Strong math skills were not the only skills needed to navigate the information on the chart and the questions. Some brought home their "Gold Mine" Charts to finish at home.


We also looked at fractions based on formulas. We used a variety of manipultatives (cubes, rods, pattern blocks, graph paper, and our fingers) to find out more about fractions. If we know one piece, than could we figure out the rest? Learners explored this concept through the use of maniputlatives. For example, if 8 squares of graph paper is eqaul to 2/3, than what is 1 whole or 1/4? It was a nice way for learners to make connections about fraction equavalents. We use a "peanut butter" strategy to support this where learners think about how the pieces would change if they were peanut buttered or stuck together. Want to learn more? Ask your learner how they would reduce 5/20? They also noticed that most of the time the fractions that could be reduced were both even numbers in the numerator and the denominator.

We had a great discussion today about the assembly. The learners brought up some insightful questions and powerful feelings. We decided that we represented the group that had everything and that we could do something about it within our classroom. Learners were asked to go home and talk about ways your family might already participate in helping others. One learner mentioned a girls school in Ethiopia and another mentioned sponsoring a local family through their church. We are going to share what we discover and decide how we want to move forward.

Language Arts
For word work whis week, we've been looking more closely at word roots and suffixes. They will be creating thier own "cheat sheets" to help them with the rules/particular suffixes they have trouble with to use as part of their editing process in writing. During Writer's Workshop, we read samples of quaility persuasive essays. We are all rallying around a topic we feel passionate about and are all in the prewriting stage of the writing process.
This week we started reading By the Great Horn Spoon! (one of my favorite reads from this summer btw) in book groups. If you have a spare copy at home, may we borrow it, as we are sort a copy or two for our parent group leaders. Your child has been working on writing concise summaries of the chapters, including the main idea. They are also are making many connections with the interesting curriculum about the Gold Rush. They've been looking at and reading primary documents to help give them a sense of the excitement of the time. They've been working in small groups to read excerpts about "argonauts" from all over the world sailing towards San Francisco. They compared what they do at home when they are bored to what passengers did on the ship to pass the time during the long journey "round the horn". They read about different types of ships, good background knowledge for our field trip in June.

Social Studies
Gold was discovered in in the fourth grade. The learners went "crazy" when gold was discovered in the classroom. There was screaming, yelling, pushing, fighting, and chaos. It simulated what it might have been like in San Francisco when Sam Brannan ran through the streets yelling that gold had been discovered. Sam Brannan was smart because before he made his announcement he bought all the shovels and axes in the city for less than $2, and resold them the next day for $15. We learned that most of the people who struck it rich during the gold rush weren't really the miners. We also learned about how word spread so quickly from San Francisco via sailors and ship crews.

Buddies
It was so nice to see the fourth graders taking their K/1 buddies out on a "5 Senses" walk on Wednesday. It truly showcased how responsible, kind, and capable these fourth graders can be. Running into other multi-grade pairings doing interesting things on a beautiful day was so nice to see.

Math
In math we have been finishing our fraction unit and have been reviewing a variety of concepts related to the district MARS test. The goal was to help the learners feel confident with the style of the test and know exactly how they would be scored. I am feeling good about the test and can't wait to see how it goes.

This week the learners had their Fort Ross visit. We would like to thank everyone for all their hard work in making this trip such a success. The learners had a great time and loved participating in a living history experience. With the Fort Ross trip and our mission study completed, it is time to move forward in California history. This week we started to look at why the missions closed and what events outside of California led to the development of ranchos. We are also going to begin our study of US exploration and the discovery of gold. It should be great fun!

Next week is the winter break. In math we have been working hard on the concepts of equivalent fractions and how to find common denominators to compare and add fractions. Over the break here are some activities that would support these concepts:

Dominoes: (from easiest to more difficult)
1. Have the learners draw one domino and write a list of three equivalent fractions from multiplying the numerator and denominator.
2. Learners could also draw two dominoes and work on converting fractions to add them (3/5+1/2=6/10+5/10=1 1/10)
3. Lay out several dominoes and have them identify which fractions are in lowest terms. Have them reduce the ones that are not.

Dice:
1. Roll two dice and make into a fraction, then find three equivalents.

Learners can also continue to work on multiplication facts. I am noticing the learners that don't know them are having a harder time with some of the fraction concepts.

Tomorrow we are going to complete a math activity with Mr.D's fifth grade class about fractions. The learners are very excited, and it should be a great experience for them.

Homework:
Unfortunately the learners are not being responsible about bringing in their homework. We have had several conversations about this, but it still seems to be a problem. Today almost 1/3 of the class didn't have their ropes page that was due. Yes, this could make for some interesting fraction problems, but I would prefer for the learners to just have it. I wouldn't mention it, but it is a problem that just seems to be getting worse. Tomorrow the learners have a math packet, a page in their writer's notebook and a mission perspective story due. They should have completed them already or should be close to completing them. These were assigned on February 1st, so they have had over two weeks to complete them. Please take a minute to check in with your learner about these assignments. Together, hopefully we can help them become self reliant and responsible about their homework.

Art:
This week we completed Picasso inspired portraits. They turned out fantastic. The learners did a great job. They are on display in the classroom, but here are pictures of a few:








If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. Have a fabulous break.
Warmly,
Elysha and Lale

Update from week of February 5th

Fort Ross
Fort Ross has been front and center this week as we prepared for our trip next week. The Commandant visited again to show the learners how to sew bags. Different role groups continued their specific jobs to prepare for Fort Ross, and many officers visited the school to meet their "employees". The learners looked at primary documents from the time of Fort Ross and had discussions about the importance of those documents in understanding how life was back then. They also used the primary documents to create word problems for math. The children were given rubrics for their background knowledge and journal projects to help them see the expectations for their work. Volunteer parents came in to help teach the kids embroidery. They all should have brought home embroidered belts that they can wear with their costumes. Several 5th and 6th grade veterans of Ft. Ross came to help demonstrate and teach the troika (a Russian folk dance). I believe that they are prepared to create a real environmental living experience next Monday and Tuesday.

Art Project
Irene and Winnie came with the owners of Skyline Ceramics to guide the learners into making amazing looking chess pieces for a very special chess set.

Women in Sports Day
Caitlin, Kali, Kailee, Maddy, Sierra, Selena, Sam, and Abraham spent some of their own free time this week studying women in sports for the official Women In Sports Day that occurred on Wednesday. They created posters with Christine's guidance to hang in the gym, so visitors to the gym can learn more about important women in sports. The assembly on Wednesday celebrated Women in sports.

Math
In math we are continuing our study of fractions. We are becoming quite good at ordering fractions. We are understanding that the denominator means the number of pieces and can be used to compare fractions. Learners know that it is better to have one out of two than 6 out of 18. Next week we will continue to look at how to compare fractions and begin to explore common denominators.

Dear Families,

The Learner Exhibition was well attended. Thank you very much for coming to the classroom. It was nice seeing the children excitedly sharing their work. The visit in the room hopefully gave everyone a good sense of some of the work going on in the classroom in the past weeks! (So we are hoping the visit gave you a current update: )). We are all working hard (parents, educators, learners..it is a true group effort) in preparing for Ft. Ross this week!

Thanks Again!
Lale And Elysha