Freaky Friday!!!

This week was very busy here at Brummitt. We had so much going on.

On Wednesday the Lion Club came and met with all the third graders to talk to them about the club and all the great things they do to help others and their community.

They gave each third grader a dictionary to help them with their success in school and their education. I think this was a great idea because I know lots of students need to look up new words when reading a book and studying and this give them the perfect way to find out what those words mean.

 Local author Bob Moulesong visited Brummitt all week to meet the students. He got to meet with each class to read parts of his books and discuss his process of creating his books. He is the author of The Adventures of Rugs and Magic: The Door in the Floor.  The students were all really excited about meeting him and after all they really like it. Here is a website to find out more information about his books Author Link

Also if your child didn’t get a chance to get a book you can email his daughter about purchasing one at qpeck04@frontier.com

This week was Jars Wars between the girls and boys and as of Thursday morning boys were in the lead. I will find out and post next week which group won. I can’t wait to see if the girls came from behind to pull off the win.  Either way everyone wins because they are helping others.

 

Important Dates:

October

28 Report Cards will be available online

31 Halloween

 November

Fridays Student Council “Spirit Day”- wear spirit wear or Brummitt colors (maroon & gold)

1 Book Fair Starts for recess purchases.

2 Early Dismissal 1:45

2 Parent Teacher Conferences

3 Early Dismissal 1:45

3 Parent Teacher Conferences

4 No School

8 School Wide Presidential Election

9 Book Fair VIP Night 6:30-7:30

14-18 Whiffer Sniffer Sale Student will purchase in morning

This week we continued with the Life Skill of Respect. This was the last week and I wanted the students to know that respect is something they should think about everyday in their lives at school and at home. I reviewed with them how we need to get it, to give it. Mr. Cammarata also discussed it again this week on the morning announcements. He gave the students some more insight of how important respect is to be a great person and student.  I think so many students now take the time to think of others and how they can show respect each day just by listening to each other when they are in class and out on the playground. They also know how important respect is in friendship to be a great friend. I know friendship is so important to making us great people. As friends we need to make sure we listen to what our friends need and how we can help them when they need us.

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 …. I had to eat my words. Some of the students really laughed hard at this one because of the illustration. Many of the kids can remember hearing an adult use this term or seeing it on a television show. They can’t really remember a time when they had to do this however. I think that is a good thing. I think children don’t really come across this themselves very often. I explained that there will be times as they get older that they will use this idiom. They all agreed it would come later like middle school. That made me laugh. I had no takers this week on my offer to create a picture, but I am confident that next week someone will come up with something clever.  We will see. I will keep my fingers crossed that someone will take on the challenge. Here is a hint to help you out: it involves socks. I posted the picture for the next week on Thursday so students can stop by and see it before the weekend.

Language Arts

First Grade:

This week we finished our lesson on Pig Latin and writing a persuasive paragraph. The students were really excited on Monday to sing the Pig Latin song again so I played it for them. The students each got to share their connection that they wrote in Pig Latin and let everyone guess.

We had a great time trying to figure out what each student saw out their window and in their yard. Some even had great connections they found inside their homes. They all did a great job sharing. Then it was time to get to work on the concepts of fact and opinion.

We had a class discussion on what a fact is and how it is different from an opinion. Then we shared facts and opinions to help us better understand the concept. The students did a great job knowing the difference between the two. They also did a great job sharing their opinions and telling us facts. Once we completed that, we talked about paragraphs and the hamburger model. This is a very new concept for them and they really were interested in how they could write a whole paragraph by themselves.

 I introduced the song we use to help them understand and remember the parts of a persuasive paragraph.They were so excited to sing the song and learn the information to help them become better writers. We sang it a few time and talked about why it is so important to have each part when writing. This tool helps students to collect their thoughts and ideas before they start writing that way they can organize everything to write a better paragraph. Hamburger Model is a writing organizer that visually outlines the key components of a paragraph. Topic sentence, detail sentences, and a closing sentence are the main elements of a good paragraph, and each one forms a different "piece" of the hamburger.

  The Hamburger Model Song

(sung to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)

In Pig Latin

E-way an-cay rite-way o-tayersuade-say you-way

Ersuade-say you-way

Ersuade-say you-way

E-way an-cay rite-way o-tayersuade-say you-way

y-bay using-way amburgers-hay

He-tay op-tay un-bay ells-tay you-way hat-way e-way hink-tay

Hat-way e-way hink-tay

Hat-way e-way hink-tay

He-tay op-tay un-bay ells-tay you-way hat-way e-way hink-tay

It-way tates-say our-way opinion-way

He-tayatties-pay ell-tay he-tayeasons-ray hy-way

easons-rayhy-way

easons-rayhy-way

e-wayinish-fay ith-way he-tayottom-bay un-bay

ottom-bay un-bay

ottom-bay un-bay

e-wayinish-fay ith-way he-tayottom-bay un-bay

ith-way hat-way e-way aid-say efore-bay

E-way an-cay rite-way o-tayersuade-say you-way

Ersuade-say you-way

Ersuade-say you-way

E-way an-cay rite-way o-tayersuade-say you-way

y-bay using-way amburgers-hay

 After we finished trying to sing we went to work on our first persuasive paragraph. I helped the student by using the overhead to help them complete their first hamburger model. We did parts together and then they added their own ideas in others. I think this helped them to gain confidence in their writing skills. I am very proud of how hard they all worked to share their ideas and thoughts and to write everything out.

I gave them a homework sheet to complete and turn in for next Monday and let them know they would get a prize if they turned it in early. Almost every student brought it back the next day in the morning to collect their prize. Great job First Grade. Next week we will start our next lesson and read a book called the Disappearing Alphabet. It is considered a poem and we will examine why.

Second Grade:

 This week I introduced a new concept for the students to help them become good readers who are always formulating and asking questions about what they read. I want them to get the most out of reading and I want them to dig deep when they read and ask themselves questions about what they read to better understand the text.

 We went over Paul’s Reasoning Wheel. This will help them to ask more questions and want to know more about the story. We went over each part to give students the tools they need to become great readers who know how to formulate questions about what they are reading. The wheel has eight parts: question at issue, purpose, point of view, concepts, evidence (data), implications (consequences), assumptions, and inferences. This wheel will help them start to think about what they are reading on a deeper level. We will use it throughout the novel.

 On Tuesday we also took time to answer more questions about the novel in our writing journals. After we answered each question the students talked about their thoughts and opinions on it. They did an awesome job sharing and really thinking about the story.

I gave them some reading homework for next week. They will read chapters five through eight of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Next week we will discuss each chapter and review all the predictions they have made so far to see how different they all are compared to the novel.

Third Grade:

 This week we continued to work on parts of speech with an activity on nouns and pronouns. First I showed them the school house rock video on pronouns to help us review: Video

 We talked about pronouns and went to work. The students were asked to find all the nouns and pronouns in the handout from a tall tale. They had to take each pronoun and draw a line back to the word it is referring to. They worked on it the rest of class on Monday and we talked about it on Tuesday and they finished it up. Then we moved on to the modern legend.

The students were very interested in learning how it applies to literature. We read the poem about the Edmund Fitzgerald which is based on the song written by Gordon Lightfoot.

We discussed the tone and feeling that the poem gives you. The students shared their thoughts and feelings about the poem and how the crew were lost in the wreck. They also discussed which great lake the ship was on. I reread the poem and the students were then asked to draw what they thought the ship might look like and the feeling that the poem gave them. They drew and colored a sheet according to what they saw and felt from listening to the poem. They were also instructed to not leave any white on the sheet. They all took the time to re-read parts of the poem and really think of what it meant to them.

The students were given no picture or information on the ship except for what the poem tells them. I think they doing an excellent job in expressing the overall feeling of the poem. They will have time next week to complete their drawing and then we will listen to the song. We will watch a video about the wreck and what happened to the ship.  

Fourth Grade:

This week the students worked on their vocabulary maps to complete the words they were given. They were given the time on Monday to get caught up on anything they hadn’t gotten finished so far. They all turned in everything they needed. On Tuesday I went over the biography projects and discussed change. I wanted the students to make sure that the person they chose will work for the project.

 They are required to read a full length biography and have other sources to complete this project. I went over all the requirements and let them tell me about who they decided to research. The Change Maker project will take us several weeks to complete and some students will need to complete parts of the project on their own if they can’t get it done during class. The full length biography can also be used in their class for AR points which is a bonus since they are required to complete points for each quarter. This project will teach the students about how to research someone, work with deadlines, and use time management wisely. I also want them to learn about their person and how they are Change-Makers. We have a student who still needs to pick their person and let me know by Monday and most of the students still have to show me their full length biography Monday. Next week the students will use their Chromebooks to learn about researching a person and what websites are best and most reliable. The deadline dates will follow:

• StepOne: Choose your person to complete the project on

• Step  Two One: For this project, you are required to research one person using:

-A full-length biography

-One or more primary sources

-Two or more secondary sources

• Step Three: Read the biography and:

-Collect information about the person

-Complete the Biography Summary and submit

-Create a works cited page to acknowledge sources you are using; use a consistent format

• Step Four: Synthesize information to list at least ten major events in the person’s life.

• Step Five: Create a timeline of the famous person’s life.

• Step Six: Consider change in the person’s life and how he/she made a difference. Write a monologue that includes events, changes, and differences made in regard to his/her life

• Step Seven: Create a Prezi that includes the person’s name, a photo, years lived, and major contribution(s).

• Step Eight: Memorize your monologue. You may dress as your character. You are now ready for the People Who Made a Difference presentation.

Step Eight: Memorize your monologue and dress as your character. You are now ready for the People Who Influenced Change presentation.

• Timeline Criteria

Timeline includes entire life of person with dates measured at appropriate intervals.

Timeline includes ten or more important events of the person’s life.

Timeline includes two or more pictures of the person.

Timeline is neat and legible.

At least four sources are properly cited.

• Monologue Criteria

Monologue describes beliefs and values 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 to work on heavier, lighter, and about the same with a new lesson. We received a new fax from Zani and Imi asking for our help. They need us to brainstorm and come up with a bag of objects that every student could get to use. It needs to be something that would weigh the same and everyone in the United States can get. Well they were up for the challenge this week for sure. The students all took some think time to come up with a few items that would work. Then I had them all share their ideas and we wrote everything down on the whiteboard.

The students looked over their list and found items that couldn’t work because of size or how they might be different if someone used them before they were put in the bag like pencils, pens, markers, crayons. The list was getting shorter and then everyone agreed it could be money but what money was our next step. The students decided bills wouldn’t work because they don’t weigh much and then they decided coins would be best. What coin was our final task. They all agreed pennies would work out the best since they are worth the least amount of money and all students in the United States could collect them. It was decided 50 would be a good amount because they are heavy enough to use as a comparison to other items in the classroom. The students got to work then counting out 50 items around the room that could fit in our bags. On Thursday they finished up their bags of 50 and we compared them to the 50 pennies.  Each student got a chance to feel the weight of the pennies so they knew around what it might weigh. They all compared their bag of 50 to the pennies and got to work on their worksheet to collect their findings. They all did an excellent job drawing what they discovered during their experiment. They also drew their own heaviest comparison on their sheet. I gave them some fun homework to complete over the weekend. I sent home the bag and instructions. They will get a prize out of the prize box if they complete it early. So they might be anxious to complete it right away. Next week we will complete another activity creating bags with items that weigh about the same. I look forward to seeing them use all the math skills they have been learn to complete this fun activity.  

Second Grade:

 This week the students finished up their writing from last week. They completed their think deeply question. We also took time to use the whiteboard to answer some think beyond questions. The students really loved these because they really had to take the time to think about what the question was asking before answering.

They use some think time then partner talk too. Once we all had our answer, we shared with the class why we agreed or disagreed. The class really loved these and I am really proud of how well they all did answering them and coming up with very intelligent reason for their answers. On Thursday we moved on to our next lesson titled: Egg Passenger. We are all really excited to figure out what our mission is this lesson. We received another cool fax from the Detective Duo asking for our help. They finally got their car and with our help picked a really safe one, but since they are so small they will need to purchase car seats for their vehicle and they need our help choosing the best option. First the students will need to learn about centimeters and doing some measuring to get acquainted with the metric system of measuring. So the students got to work on their first activity. They got out the centimeter rulers and went to work measuring little tin seat belts. The students will have the opportunity to create little car seats for eggs to help us decide what car seat would work best for the Duo. Next week we will go into more detail with centimeter and safety seats to see what we can find.

Third and Fourth Grade: Math Vocabulary Comic Relief

This year we will continue to complete these 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. Once they have their answer they can turn over their paper and raise their hand and I will check it. This week was all about the median.  To find the Median, place the numbers you are given in value order and find the middle number. Example: find the Median of {13, 23, 11, 16, 15, 10, 26}. Put them in order: {10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 23, 26} The middle number is 15, so the median is 15. (If there are two middle numbers, you average them.)

Some of the students did really great with this one. They read it over as you can see in the picture and then went to work quickly to figure out the answer. I am glad they all took the time to read it because it helped them solve it fast. They all did a great job this week to take the time to read first then it helped them solve it right the first time.

Third Grade:

 This week we continued our adventure to find out if the Yeti exists. Since we finished our Yeti last week we had to take time to write about our findings by answering some Think Deeply questions. Once we completed those we were ready for our next lesson. This lesson is called: A Pen for the Yeti’s Pet. We read a small introduction about a discovery made by the Yeti Institute of Discovery when out on their search for the Yeti. Jane their team leader discovered a pen. By walking it off, making sure she put heel to toe around the entire pen, she found that two sides were eight steps long and two sides where twenty steps long. We talked about our thoughts on measuring this way and what a perimeter is. We discussed it and also decided to watch a video on it: Link

After the discussion we were asked if we could figure out what animal the Yeti might have had as a pet. We talked about what animal might live in a pen that is 8 foot by 20 foot and  we agreed that is a pen only big enough for a dog. It is too small for a horse and too large for a bunny. Then we had a thought of how big is that exactly and next week we will measure it all out to find out.

Fourth Grade:

This week we continued our journey with shapes. On Wednesday, the students reviewed true and false statements and if the statement about shapes was false they had to give a counterexample. ee how they work together to earn as many points as they can.  

 Counterexample is a new term for most of the students; I took time to go over what it means and when they should use it. They all worked with a partner that we randomly chose via mahjong tiles.

 With their partner they went over each statement and discussed it to decide if it was true or false. They took all of Wednesday’s class completing the sheet. I was very happy at how well each team worked together to complete the task at hand.

 On Thursday they got to work as partners to complete another assignment called Three of These Things Belong Together.
This was a fun activity where the students worked to figure out which shape didn’t belong with the others and then explain why. They did a great job working together to find each shape and explain their thought on why it doesn’t fit. Next week the students will finally get to play the exciting game called Triple Play.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Lutterman