Hello Fantastic February!!

 Well February is here and the weather is great. I think most of the kids are missing all the snow, but I know the parents and teachers aren’t. We have a lot going on this month here at Brummitt. This week was very busy for me. I started CogAt testing all the kindergarten students. This takes a lot of time and I had to cancel a few classes with my students. I will try to keep it to a minimum because I know they miss having class and seeing each other. I also miss them too. The testing will continue throughout the month.

 February 2 was Groundhog Day and he didn’t see his shadow which should mean spring is on its way, but who really knows if it will be true. Here are some facts about Groundhog Day:  

Origins of Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. While the exact origins of Groundhog Day are not known, the tradition is believed to have started in Pennsylvania in the late 1800s as an annual custom of settlers of German descent. Similar folk beliefs in which an animal — such as a badger or a sacred bear — predicts the weather can be traced to other parts of Europe and are presumed to be rooted in the early Christian holiday of Candlemas.

Interpreting What the Groundhog Sees

According to folklore, if the groundhog sees its shadow on Groundhog Day, it will retreat back into its burrow to hibernate for an additional six weeks of winter. If the groundhog does not see its shadow, it will emerge from its burrow, signifying an imminent end to winter and an early start to spring. 

The Largest Celebration in the United States

In the United States, Groundhog Day is celebrated throughout the country, with the largest celebration held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Punxsutawney Phil, the official weather prognosticating groundhog, has made some 115 official predictions to date, since the first official celebrations began in 1886.

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collection/groundhog-day-15-fun-teaching-resources-1

I know the Six Flags Six Hour Reading Program is under way. Make sure to have the kids reading as much as they can so they can complete their six hours by the deadline of February 19^th.

 All the Valentine Parties will be next week on February 11^th.  

I know the students are really looking forward to having fun with their class mates. There will be no school on February 12^th and 15^th for mid-winter break. These are the two reserved snow days. So let’s all hope that the weather cooperates so we have those days off.

February 18^th is the student council Dress Like a Teacher Day. I can’t wait to see all the students dressed up for that day.

 Mrs. Dortmund announced Dr. Seuss week will be February 22^nd thru February 26^th. We will be celebrating Dr. Seuss’s Birthday on Friday February 26^th! There will be lots of surprises happening with tons of Dr. Seuss stories. Make sure you wear red, black and white.

 This week we continued learning about our Life Skills with initiative. I felt this needed to be more than just one week because students need to learn that they need initiative to succeed. A few of my 4^th graders really need to learn this skill. They aren’t meeting the deadlines given to them and I want them to understand that they are responsible for their own education. I want them to understand that as they get older, no one will be there holding their hand through each step. They will need to take the initiative to figure it all out and find their way through. I know they can do it. I hope this will help instill in all initiative and drive to do well in school and life. I know that they are capable of great things if they want it. I gave them a chance to talk about what they could do to change and take charge to do their best and direct their paths. 

Idiom of the Week

 An Idiom is an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements. This week’s was …. Stay on your toes. I really liked this one because I love ballet and dancing. They thought the picture was cute. I told them they will hear this a lot when they are playing sports. They also thought that they would hear it when they are playing games in the classroom because they will need to be ready for anything. I didn’t have any takers on the picture which kind of surprised me because this one would have been awesome to find online and print out. I am hoping maybe next week. Here is the hint: It has to do with gold and the picture used most during Valentine’s Day. Good luck and I can wait to see if anyone decides to complete this one.

Language Arts

First Grade:

 This week was all about punctuation. It was so much fun to read poems on The Comma, The Period. The Question Mark? And The Exclamation Mark! The students really like discussing each poem and why they are important to writing. 

 The students each chose one poem to complete a reading analyzer on and we all talked about them. We had a great discussion on how without punctuation it would be really hard to make connections in writing. We wouldn’t know what was going on and how things were meant to be understood. 

Then I read Yo! Yes!  The first time I read it I didn’t show the students any of the pictures and I never changed the tone of my voice. That was really hard to do without laughing. The students were really confused by what I was reading and couldn’t retell the story at all. 

 Once I read it again using the punctuation and changing my voice and showing the pictures the students were able to understand the story and retell it. They totally were able to make every connection needed. They really had a great time talking and discussing why writing is so cool and how punctuation can change everything. Next week we will continue with punctuation and some fun activities.

Second Grade:

This week we continued with our novel The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. Monday we continued the activity on metaphors and connecting them to our story and Edward. The students also got to write their own metaphor about love. I will ask them if I can put them on the blog next week. They did a great job finding something they could connect to love and what it is. I am really proud of their efforts. 

 On Tuesday the students shared their metaphors about love and we talked about why this activity is so important to understand the novel. We also talked about Edward and how his feelings about love have changed so much from the beginning of the book. 

We then read the next two chapters. Sara Ruth got really sick and Edward and her brother felt the pain of loss when she passed away. We then discussed how hard this was for us as readers because we too have grown attached to her. Next week we will continue with the novel and what Edward experiences in Memphis and his travels.

Third Grade:

Monday the students continued with their fairy tales. They got to use the laptops to write their fairy tales. They all did a great job working with their small groups as a team with a common goal to come up with the best story they could think of. 

 Tuesday they continued their journey with writing. I have two groups who completed their stories by the end of the class, and the other two were dividing up the writing at home and will bring it in to me to finish typing for them.

  I think they really liked the experience of being creative together and finding ways to make their ideas all work. Next week we will share our stories and start on some grammar in fairy tales.

Fourth Grade:

This week the students were supposed to be prepared to make their presentations. Some were and some weren’t. All the students that were scheduled to go on Monday weren’t ready or prepared. I was very disappointed that they weren’t ready especially since they had so much time over the last two months to prepare. 

 On Tuesday all the students scheduled to go were ready and very excited to make their presentations. The students that weren’t able to go will have to wait to present until February 16^th since the fourth grade will be finishing their rehearsals next week for their musical.

We will not have class on Monday or Tuesday. We will pick up on the 16^th and the remaining students will be presenting. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have. Here are the instructions which are also in the google docs for the students to view: 

People Who Made a Difference Instructions

Step Seven: Create a Prezi that includes the person’s name, a photo, years lived, and contributions. (The students should have their log in information to work on at home.)  Change due date because they needed more time February 16^th

Monologue Criteria

-Monologue describes events in the person’s life with detail and clarity.

-Monologue includes insight to changes in the person’s life.

-Monologue explores how the person made a difference.

-Speaker confidently presents monologue using good eye contact, posture, and voice.

-Speaker engages audience with appropriate words, facial expressions, and gestures.

-The presentation is supported with appropriate costume and props

Math

First Grade:

This week we continued working on and learning about logic with the Math Maven. We solved two math mysteries this week. 

Second Grade:

This week we started Pascal’s Triangle. This is a triangular array of numbers in which those at the ends of the rows are 1 and each of the others is the sum of the nearest two numbers in the row above (the apex, 1, being at the top). We had a great time figuring out each problem and seeing where it leads us next. Next week we will learn about the Magic Triangle.

Third and Fourth Grade: Math Vocabulary Comic Relief

This year I am starting something new we will be doing each week on Wednesdays. I have the Math Vocabulary Comic Relief board. Each week when the students come in on Wednesday they will go to look at the board and grab their problem. They will have five minutes to read and solve it. This week was Remainder.The amount left over after division.

Example: 19 cannot be divided exactly by 5.
The closest you can get without going over is 3 x 5 = 15, which is 4 less than 19.
So 4 is the remainder
So the answer of 19 ÷ 5 is 3 with a remainder of 4, usually written "3 R 4".

The students did a great job this week reading the information and taking their time to answer the problem. I am really proud of their efforts.

Third Grade:

This week we continued with the Sweet Multiplication and the students did a great job.They are really trying hard each time they take a test. I have two more students who have mastered it all: congratulations to Ben and Kooper. 

 You have joined the club.  A few more students have already passed 11’s and are working on their 12’s. They are rocking it. And now all our students are at 6’s and higher.  After we completed those we continued to work on our logic chapter.

 The students all worked hard this week to complete the genius level. A few of the questions threw some for a loop but once we all started discussing it together they figured it out.  On Thursday we had enough time to start our next chapter which covers exponents. They loved it. We will continue with this next week. We will only meet one day because we have the parties on the other day.  

Fourth Grade:

This week we continued working on fractions. I decided to shake things up and have the students use white boards to figure out problems. It was exciting to see how each student figures out their problems. We started the first day adding mixed numbers with different denominators. Some really got the concept and ran with it, but I had a few that struggled. 

 Once I gave some direction to those students they did catch on. On Thursday I decided that subtraction was the way to go. It was much easier for them once they saw the first problem completed. They had a great time seeing if they could solve each question.

  I didn’t know any of the answers before we started so if they were working a head they would want to know if they were right and I would say give me a second to figure it out myself. Thanks for all the math classes I had in college because I could complete it quickly in my head. They did a great job and had some fun while they learned. Next week we will continue working on fractions.

Have a Great Weekend!

Mrs. Lutterman