JunHyeok, Volume 22: February 2, 2015

What is the chance that you love this blog? 100% We've been diving into probability by remembering what we learned in past years, as well as playing different probability games in centers. Did you know that probability is always measured on a scale from 0-1? Cool Fact!

JunHyeok one of five paper ball attempts.

Pulling for the ace! How many times do you think you need?

What are the color of those cubes in the bag?

Reagan shooting for the point!

Ekaterina discusses the coin toss.

Olga found the ace!

Our UOI PuppetPals migration videos are done! We will be watching them this Friday and reflecting on the unit next Monday. The videos really show how hard so many migrations were for a variety of different people across the world. Students have demonstrated their understanding of how, why, and the consequences of migrating from one place(s) to another. What a successful unit! Next week, our next UOI on How the World Works will focus on weather. More to come!

Khwahish and Adli working hard at script-writing.

PuppetPals in the making!

JunHyeok adding his narration to his Puppetpal.

JunHyeok and Hassaan editing their scripts and listening to each others 

 Report cards will be email to parents this Friday, January 30. Please review them closely with your child and check to see if they are making progress towards the goal he/she set during Student-led Conferences. If you have any questions, please email me.

The second trimester of ASA's has begun. I helped out ice skating, I've included some pictures from that day. Also, Lock-in was a HUGE success! Students had a ton of fun, and I am sure got plenty of sleep (Saturday night, that is)! Thanks to Mr. Erik for his picture taking!

Sometimes it takes two!

Margaret, Ekaterina, and Na Yeon skating!

JunHyeok and Anthony playing cards at Lock-in.

Excited, anyone?!?!

The Dance is on!

Dance trains never get old:)

Mr. H dressed in his Winnie the Pooh costume delivered
on the tunes!

Sevinch, Olga, Barbara, and Margaret posing
for a candid.

Owl of the Week

JunHyeok

Our Learning in ACTION

Ms. Gisela shared her family's migration story and it inspired us all. Throughout the past two weeks, students have really been able to connect with their stories because of the vivid details and person story told by Ms. Gisela. This little moments build strong connections that stay with our children forever. They make an impression in other things and ways of thinking, so to influence us in positive ways. 

Homework

Monday: Singular and Plural Nouns

Tuesday: Possessive Nouns

Wednesday: In your UOI notebook, write two proverbs about weather from your country in your own language about the weather. Please translate this into English. You will need your parents for this! Example proverb: "It's raining cats and dogs."

Thursday: Pronouns

Friday: Read, relax, and enjoy the weekend:)

Reminders

Book sharing - please be on-time
The Phantom Tollbooth video is available for 20,000 sum

Aerobic games group project.

Students accomplished an excellent job in collaboratively creating a game that is fun and active. To do this student worked in the teams of three. The game was expected to involve teamwork and cooperation, and also challenge different fitness and ability levels. In completion of the project students taught the game to others students who truly played with great deal of appreciation and enthusiasm. 

Composing Melody

Music class 

Grade 4 students started this semester with developing basic skills in composing Melody. They learned how to make different rhythm patterns using  quarter notes, eights, sixteenths and dotted rhythms. Students experimented with rhythm combinations and came up with two measures long rhythm score. Afterwards they put notes to the rhythms that they made. At the moment we practice our new melodies on the piano, glockenspiels and xylophones. 

Follow the link below to see more pictures:

Composing melody

Ji Su, Volume 21: January 26, 2015

Homework this Week

Read 20 minutes each night.  Don't forget your non-fiction book presentation requirements!  AND, it's grammar time, so get ready for. . .VERBS!

Monday:  Action verbs and tenses

Tuesday:  Verb tenses and linking verbs

Wednesday:  IXL  Grade 3 Probability and statistics X.1 and X.3

Thursday:  Past tense match-up and Helping Verbs

Friday: Curl up with a warm blanket, while sipping on a cup of hot chocolate, with your nose in a book:)

Have a chilly weekend!

Dates to Note

Wednesday (1/2 day- 11:30 am dismissal)
Friday Just Dance @ 7pm Get Your Tickets! Ms. Tina is getting her groove on!

Last and This Week in Pictures!

The US Embassy was super fun!

Library with Ms. Sayyora. 

Working with mathematical averages and Comic Life.

Diligent script writing for our PuppetPals animation re-retelling of our migration stories.

Anthony... just being himself. What a guy!

Adli, Volume 20: January 19, 2015

It has been a wonderful first week back. We have been exceptionally busy with three guest speakers Ms. Gisela, Ms. Magda, and Ms. Natalya who shared their human migration stories. Also, our field trip to the US Embassy was a huge success and very fun. Soon, we will have a link to the school's Facebook webpage and possibly, the US Embassy in Tashkent's Facebook page showcasing our visit.

Ms. Magda shares her story about her family.

Ms. Gisela shares her grandparents story.

Ms. Natalya shares her grandparents story. 

This coming week we will be making a Comic Life book called "Are you an Average 4th Grader?" in which students have now completed collecting, organizing, and analyzing their data.

Students from Ms. Tina and Mr. Mike's class collecting data by interviewing others.

In our unit of inquiry, students will work on script writing to add to their Puppet Pals video that retells the migrant story of a book they've read. This week, students learned and practiced using the program with Mr. Seth in Tech.

 In the 4 pictures above, we are working on our tri-folds, which is a quick-representation of the migration stories we heard from our guest speakers. Students choose one speaker's story to share. They added why, how, and what were the consequences of the speaker's migration story. 

We are weaving in an end to our book club books with a focus on asking deeper meaning questions. We are practicing this by crafting "Thick" and "Thin" questions. The former deeper meaning, and the latter surface-level and easy remembering questions. Some "Thick" question examples we have so far are "How would you solve ________ using what you learned from ________ in the story? What conclusions can you make... ? What is the relationship between ______ and ________? How would you prove...? Explain the importance of... "How would you adapt ______ to create a different ending?" You can use these questions when you read with your child at home!

We have also been practicing using our "fix-up" strategies while reading. If you get confused, STOP, then ask yourself, "Where am I confused?" Choose a strategy: read on, re-read, context clues (pictures, text/words, prior experiences) to find an answer to what you're confused about. Finally, ask yourself, "Am I crystal clear?" or "Am I not confused anymore?" This is a process good readers use to monitor and then clarify their understanding of text while they read. Try it and encourage your child to use it when they read at home.

Owl of the Week
Adli

Homework
Remember to read 20 minutes each night. It is vital to your child's continued success!
Monday: Math Activity: Finding Averages
Tuesday: Typing Ace (20-30 minutes) Technology link
Wednesday: IXL Math (grade 4)  B.7 Choose numbers with a particular sum; C.5 Choose numbers with a particular difference
Thursday:
Friday: Read

Upcoming Events
Jan 21              Money due for Dance and Lock-in Night
Jan 23 STUCO sponsored Lock-in and Dance Night Fri, Jan 23 7:30pm-Sat, Jan 24 8:00am; students who do not wish to stay the night must be collected by 9:00pm, Fri night

Jan 28 Half day PD

Morning Assembly