Updated Update...

Reader's Workshop
We had a conversation about what it means to be an "active reader" this week. Strategies active readers use can include marking up the text (with post it notes!), questioning, visualizing, and predicting. We practiced with a resource book called, Daybook of Critical Reading and Writing. We read an excerpt from The Lad, by Jane Yolen. If you've seen your learners wanting to "stare you down", ask them why. The learners answered personal letters from me in their Reader's Notebooks. Along with emphasizing correct friendly letter format, the learners are engaging in literature response; deepening their reading comprehension. I attended a wonderful district workshop with colleagues on Wednesday about learners responding to literature. It was affirming for practices I already value and teach in the class. It was also inspiring. I came away with new thoughts and ideas that I'll implement this year.

Writer's Workshop
We're about to publish our book reviews. Writing four specific paragraphs about our books is proving challenging. Our zealous writers are working on effective summaries vs. long retellings. More hesitant learners are learning to add detail and learning that expectations for paragraphs are raised in fourth grade. They are all learning how to be better at following directions, using resources to help guide writing, revising and editing.

Magnets
The unit began with expressing what we know about magnets and what we want to know about magnets. Partners were given a piece of magnetite (lodestone). They learned a little about the history of magnetite as well as observed what happened when iron filings were poured on and near it. They then were given manmade magnets and a cup of things including coins, screws, wires, and paper clips. They are questioning and wondering about why certain things stuck and others didn't. We'll be finding out more in the coming weeks...including the connection between magnets and electricity.

Explorers
The learners came up with some very important questions about California explorers that they'd like to answer. They were given a choice of different types of projects based on multiple intelligences. In groups, they will be researching different California explorers. They'll be working on internet and hard copy research, using "active reading" skills and notetaking skills of nonfiction writing. They will then teach the other learners about their explorers by sharing timelines, drawings, models, songs, skits, etc.
Last week we began to talk about what we already knew about California. We talked about the native people that lived here. This week we connected that to what was happening in Europe and why these countries started exploring. We talked about what it would have been like for there to be no maps and basically a vast unknown. We read about Columbus and Magellan and their expeditions. I really wanted the learners to think about what it might have been like for the native people to be "discovered" by these explorers. To simulate this, Karrie's class INVADED us today after recess. They came in with a bag of shiny tokens and stickers symbolizing that they were a unified group with new things. Karrie quickly noticed the fabulous materials in our classroom and offered them up to her class. She also banished our class to the floor so her group had comfortable seats to sit in. Of course she asked me to consider helping my class to follow her orders by offering me some tokens for my help. It was a bit chaotic, but the learners felt betrayed and angry. They were upset and felt like their space was being invaded. It was a fabulous learning experiment. After Karrie's class left, including their mess, we talked about how we felt and many made the connection between us and the native people living in the "new world". This led us to a fabulous discussion about what happened to the natives, how they might have felt, and how the exploration of the "new world" changed their lives. We will continue to talk about this as we learn about the history of California during the year.

Math
In math this week we continued with our math menus. The menus were filled with several activities. Each learner completed an activity with Jamie and I, played a partner game, a challenging multi-step problem of the week, and a couple independent skill sheets. We are continuing to work on how to explain our thinking using both numbers and words, learning how to use estimation as a strategy, adding several numbers, and reviewing basic math facts.