Welcome to the New 2010-2011 School Year

in Mrs Daemmrich's Brain Health Center!!

I began a blog so I can better communicate with my students, their parents, and other fourth grade classrooms around the world.  Please visit it at http://smv421.edublogs.org/ and comment on any of the posts.

***There will be NO hot lunch OR milk tomorrow - 8/31/10.  All students need a cold lunch and a beverage.***

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe summer break.  I'm ready to get back to learning. 

Over the summer I found many new resources to engage my students and make their learning more authentic.  I'm moving our learning out of our classroom this year.  I want my students to understand that life and learning are connected and should be celebrated.  Instead of just a paper and pencil dialogue between me and a student for a report card grade, I want them in safe and monitored conversation through writing, through projects, through problem solving, through chess competitions with other fourth graders so they can begin to build the 21st Century skills they need to be successful in our ever changing world. 

One of the projects we'll be doing in September is an OREO project (Our Really Exciting Online project) with several hundred other classrooms.  You can take a peak at an unfinished VoiceThread that will be used, after its completion, to promote this project for students.  In the VoiceThread, my daughter is posing with our class Oreo in front of the Milwaukee Art Museum.  The OREO project has us submitting the results of our work to a teacher in California.  Other projects will be interactive with fourth graders from other schools.  We won't begin these projects until we learn about online safety and etiquette.  The sites we use and the projects I register us for will pass my teacher and mom test for safety.  I won't use these projects just for the sake of incorporating technology into our classroom.  As a standards based school, I need to justify how the use of technology, broader communication, and problem solving increases the learning of my students and prepares them for their future education and life.  A selection of potential projects can be found here.   

 IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Monday, 8/30 - first day back to school, half day of school dismissal at 11:00AM

Tuesday, 8/31 - no hot lunch

Please send a water bottle (or two) labeled with your child's name so they can stay hydrated during the day.  Also, please send a HEALTHY snack (popcorn, crackers, fruit, vegetables, breakfast bar, granola bar, pretzels, cheese, etc but NO candy please) for morning snack time.

Please see the attached file for links and instructions to view some of our textbooks and their resources online.  The beginning of the year information packet is also available as an attached file.

I typically update this page every weekend in preparation for the upcoming week.  I do not send home weekly newsletters.  ***I recommend you elect to be notified of any changes and updates via email by clicking on the "be notified" button at the top of this page.*** 

  HOMEWORK

Monday, 8/30 - cover any hard covered books with paper book covers (no cloth book covers allowed on the textbooks); read the blue Rights and Responsibilities paper with your parents and have everyone sign it - due back by 9/3; read the salmon 4th Grade Policies and Procedures paper with your parents and have everyone sign it - due back by 9/3; if you're ordering from the Scholastic book catalog, orders are due online or in the classroom by Wednesday, 9/15; NO MILK tomorrow so bring a beverage with your cold lunch; if you know you're missing any supplies please bring them in by 9/3; use the headings on the white half sheet of paper in your Friday Folder to help you label the tabs in your take home accordian folder - due by 9/3; bring a water bottle or two for tomorrow because it will be hot again.

Tuesday, 8/31 - cover science textbook; Ryan E, Tony and Kevin need to try to email me a new wild thing; Annie needs to finish her name card; Ms Benson hasn't yet emailed me the URL for the online typing program - I'll post it here as soon as I have it.

Wednesday, 9/1 - finish penmanship pgs 10-11; practice typing on attached links

Thursday, 9/2 - practice math facts and keyboarding

HOT LUNCH CHOICES

Monday, 8/30 - no hot lunch due to half day 11:00AM dismissal

Tuesday, 8/31 - no hot lunch because our hot lunch service begins in September

Wednesday, 9/1 - mini corn dogs OR rib-b-que on a whole wheat bun, potato wedges, whole kernel corn, applesauce, welcome back treat

Thursday, 9/2 - pancakes with eggs OR ham and cheese on a roll, hashbrowns, baby carrots, apple wedge

Friday, 9/3 - cheeseburger on a bun OR chicken parmesan on a bun, potato rounds, green beans, peaches

  SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS

Evan and I will be celebrating our birthday on September 5th.  Brendan celebrates his birthday on the 25th.

  ART

Our walls are bare so we will be doing several art projects during the first two weeks of school to showcase the students' creativity.  I incorporate art projects into the content areas for two reasons.  The first is so students know they don't have to wait until 2:00PM on Friday afternoons to be creative.  The second and more important reason is I use art projects as alternative and authentic assessments in place of paper and pencil tests.  This takes pressure off students while allowing them to more fully explain to me all they know.

  COMPUTERS

We will meet with Ms Benson in the computer lab each Tuesday from 2:00-2:30PM.  I will also take my Social Studies classes to the computer lab on Tuesdays so we can work on projects or visit online resources that augment our classroom lessons.  For all content areas, my students will visit the lab whenever I feel they need their own computer to interact with a resource.  For the first four weeks of school, both fourth grades will be going to the computer lab three times a week for thirty minutes each time to work solely on their keyboarding.  This skill is necessary for them to be successful as more and more computer access is built into our day.

  K4 BUDDIES

We'll meet with our K4 Buddies each Monday from 8:00-8:30AM.  This year's pairings are Brendan C with Thomas V; Matt H with Joseph H and Mason M; Francesca L with Emily B and Katelyn C; Ethan M with Joseph G and David S; Hailey P with Jessica J and Sofia P; Lizzie with Nora C; Marie P with Mary S; Evan R with Joey S; Reegan S with Samantha M and Andrea R; Ryan S with Audrey E and Kyle H; Bridget T with Maureen S and Caitlin S.   

  MATH

I teach Math for both homerooms.  Three times a year (Sept, Jan, May) I give an overall test to gauge student growth.  Every week I alternate between two other assessments.  The first is a timed multiplication facts test and the second is a timed multiple choice problem solving test.  None of these test scores get entered into StandardScore.  Rather, I use them to monitor progress.

I use individual student whiteboards with dry erase markers in math class so I can see the work and answer for each puzzle from every child.  Students get immediate feedback and support.  During the year, we'll watch videos and use physical and online interactives to help make sense of the math concepts we're learning about.

I can't stress enough how important it is for students to be automatic with their math facts.  Please, please study math facts with your child daily (in the car, at the movies, at grandma's, at the grocery story, at the dentist, etc).  Flashcards are boring and cumbersome so purchase two 12-sided dice from the Learning Shop and have your child use them instead.  Online games are also a terrific way to practice math facts without boredom.

  MORNING WORK

On alternating days, students will either choose a journal prompt to respond to, practice their penmanship, or complete a skills activity.  For variety, I'll also use listening/following directions activities so they can practice those skills.

  READING

I use several different resources to meet our reading curriculum.  I split our time between fiction, non-fiction and skills work.  We'll use literature circles to organize, comprehend and discuss five or six novels this year, each from a different genre.  In addition to those assigned novels, students are required to independantly read at least 300 minutes each month and do their choice of a book report activity.

  RELIGION

My class will be focusing on service as part of our year long Good Deed Doers online project.  I'll let the students lead the way with this as they identify needs in our school and community.

Students will be memorizing and discussing fifteen prayers this year.  In September: the Sign of the Cross, the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be, Grace Before Meals, and the Fatima prayer.  In October: the Act of Contrition and the Guardian Angel prayer.  In November: the Hail Holy Queen prayer.  In December: the Spiritual Works of Mercy.  In January: the Corporal Works of Mercy.  In February: the Prayer of St Francis. In March: the Apostle's Creed.  In April: the Come Holy Spirit prayer.  In May: the Ten Commandments - in order.  In June we'll work with, but they won't have to memorize, the Beatitudes.

  SOCIAL STUDIES

I teach Social Studies for both homerooms.  We work with geography and maps on Mondays.  Tuesdays we have the computer lab to supplement our classroom learning with virtual field trips, primary sources, webquests and much more.  I only give state and capitals tests in Social Studies.  All other student learning is expressed through authentic assessments such as posters, brochures, timelines, compare/contrast articles, minibooks, etc.

Students will take four regional states and capitals tests and a Wisconsin geography test on these dates: the Middle West on Thursday, September 30th; the Northeast on Thursday, December 16th; the Southeast on Thursday, February 10th; the Mountain and Western states on Thursday, April 14th; and the Wisconsin test on Thursday, June 2nd.  All five tests will have a mock test the Monday before the real test so students know exactly what they still have to work on to be successful.

I've submitted a field trip request to Old World Wisconsin for the end of September/beginning of October.  As soon as I hear back from them I'll let parents/chaperones know the date.  We will be visiting the Capitol Building and Wisconsin Historic Museum in Madison on Monday, May 16th.

Our State Fair will be held on Thursday, May 5th in the gym.  During the week of September 13th, students will be submitting their top five choices for their state project.  I will randomly pick names and assign students with their highest available choice.

  VOCABULARY AND SPELLING

I'm trying a new spelling program this year.  We'll work with ten vocabulary words each week by focusing on spelling patterns, meaning, and usage.  For weekly spelling tests, students will have to identify four misspelled words of ten from a piece of writing then correctly spell them.

  CHARACTER EDUCATION

Each month we focus on a topic for discussion and to do activities.  September's topic is Friendship.  We'll define what it is to be a friend and determine what it looks, sounds, and feels like.  We'll be on the lookout for fellow classmates acting like a friend to someone else.