Big Shout Out to all the Cubs fans out there! Awesome game last night and the wait is finally over! Yippee!!
Is it finally Fall? That is a great question. I think this week has been great and so many fun things happening here at Brummitt. The Fourth graders got to run their cross country race and I took a few pictures of them running. Looks like the whole grade had so much fun running and cheered each other on. It was really cool to see.
The Book Fair started and it looks like they are many great books out there to buy and read this time. I think that there is a book for everyone including all the adults. There are lots of great sale items too.
The Jar Wars winners last week were the Girls. They pulled it off in the final round. I can’t believe there was an upset like this. They were really behind, but came up with the coins to win the challenge. Great Job Everyone Who Donated!!
This month Mrs. Moskalick is working with students on The Gratitude is your Attitude Tree. The students will have the opportunity to fill out leaves to put on the tree. So next time you stop by the school look for it by the front entrance.
Important Dates:
November
Fridays Student Council “Spirit Day”- wear spirit wear or Brummitt colors (maroon & gold)
1 Book Fair Started
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
11 Veterans Day
14-18 Whiffer Sniffer Sale Student will purchase in morning
This week we started a new Life Skill of Gratitude for the month of November. This will also have other life skills it relates to like: grateful, kind, generosity and manners. I will make sure to touch on all those life skills as we go through the month. This time of year helps students learn why it is so important to care about all the people around us and why we need to be thankful for everything we have. Mr. Cammarata discussed gratitude on the morning announcements and gave the students solid advice. He read to them a part of a story, Gym Teacher. He told them of a shy student who didn’t really like gym at first, but because of her teacher taking the time to make it fun and exciting and teaching her so much she changed her mind. She was scared to tell the teacher this, but she finally blurted it out and the teacher was so glad she told her because she knew she was doing a great job. The student was so thankful that the teacher was there for her and helped her become a great student in gym. I know that stories like these help students to relate to the life skills and better understand how important there are for each of us everyday.
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 …. That knocked my socks off. This illustration was really cute and funny. The students really enjoyed it. They did talk about how they have known people to say this, but they were older people. I laughed at that because it is kind of true. I think adults say it more because we were all raised around this idiom. I explained that to them and they all smiled. We did all know of a time where it is great to use it when you see something really amazing like a movie, fireworks, a performance, a world series baseball game, and other students’ projects. They all agreed this one is awesome. This week I had one student find another cool illustration and she got a prize out of the box. Keep them coming I would love to a few one week for all the students to see. I will keep my fingers crossed that some students will take on the challenge. Here is a hint to help you out: it involves cheese and big. 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 started our new lesson and that means we had a new message to decipher. We used the over under substitution cipher to help us out. The students looked at it and within a few minutes had it down. They had a message to figure out and they went to work to decipher it.
A
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B
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C
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D
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E
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F
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G
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H
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I
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J
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K
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L
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M
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N
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O
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P
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Q
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R
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S
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T
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U
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V
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W
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X
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Y
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Z
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UVCŸUVCŸUBBENLŸSBEŸGURŸ
NYCUNORG!
The message read: Hip hIp hooray for the alphabet!
We took some time to talk about how we each figured it out and then what it might mean. The students then got to share their answers from the homework. They all did a great job sharing and talking about how they found the new word.
We then discussed how and what connections we make when we think of words and how one letter can completely change a word and meaning. They loved that idea. At the end of class Tuesday We started to read a poem by Richard Wilbur called The Disappearing Alphabet. We discussed how different things would be if one letter was missing from the alphabet. We got to the letter E and class was over. They were really disappointed, but they will be very excited next week when they get to hear the rest.
We will also talk about letters and making connections. I will also introduce a reading analyzer and help them figure out each section. They will complete one for this poem.
Second Grade:
This week we went into more detail with our novel The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. The students got to look over their original predictions and modify their answers to fit what they know so far. They were all surprised how different the book was compared to what they originally thought. They also took time to really think about what has happened so far before they answered what they predict will happen. We took time to listen to chapter 8 again while they finished writing and then listened to chapter 9 and the students filled out a reading analyzer for the chapter.
We then had a class discussion answering some questions about Edward and how he has changed so far throughout the novel. We also started to discuss point of view and we talked about how it can change and we also discussed connections and how they can change too. We talked about how Edward's connections are changing as we are reading. We took time to review Paul’s Reasoning Wheel. It will help us to formulate better questions when we read this book. Finally we took some time to go over grammar and parts of speech with some sentences from one of the chapters..
We completed it as a group and they all had a chance to breakdown a sentence as we went through the sheet. They were all laughing at me because I tried to give them clues and help them with things that might be new for them. I think they will all remember what a pronouns is and isn’t after that. I think this activity also helped them to become more familiar with prepositional phrases and how they add to a sentence. Since the students were all so excited to keep reading and find out what happens next to Edward, I assigned some chapters for them to read at home by Monday: chapters 10 through 13.
I think they will all be a little shocked at what happens next when Lolly comes to visit
Third Grade:
This week the students had the opportunity to finish their art on the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. I let them finish their drawing and I read the poem one more time before they finally got to hear the song. They were all so interesting in hearing the song about the poem. They even sang along while they finished the last of their coloring.
After everyone completed their art we took sometime to watch a video about the wreck and how it might have happened. The students were so surprised at what the ship looked like before the accident. They thought it looked so different than what they had imagined in their heads and drew on their pictures. They wanted to know why it happened and how it could have been prevented. We only got through half the video and I will finish it with them next week, but here it is: Link
We will also complete a Problem Statement and Need to Know Organizer on this modern legend next week.
Fourth Grade:
This week we only got to meet on Monday because the students were running in their cross country race on Tuesday. I went over the timeline with them and we talked about expectations on completing their projects. They all have a change-maker picked and have their biographies which they are already reading. I have one student who also completed her book and biography summary. Then they took some time to research their person to find additional sources and pictures to help them. We also talked about how to save information into a google document and what sites will work best. Here is the review of the information for the project and deadlines:
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. Next week the students will use their Chromebooks to learn more about researching a person and what websites are best and the most reliable.
• StepOne: Everyone has their changemaker picked.
• Step Two One: For this project, you are required to research one person using:
-A full-length biography: Students all showed me their books
-One or more primary sources: : Due Nov. 8th
-Two or more secondary sources: Due Nov. 15th
• Step Three: Read the biography and:
-Collect information about the person On going
-Complete the Biography Summary and submit: Due Nov. 15th
-Create a works cited page to acknowledge sources you are using; use a consistent format: Due Nov. 22nd
• Step Four: Synthesize information to list at least ten major events in the person’s life: Due Nov. 29th
• Step Five: Create a timeline of the famous person’s life: Due Dec. 13th
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.
• 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: Due Dec. 20th
• Step Seven: Create a Prezi that includes the person’s name, a photo, years lived, and major contribution(s): Due Jan. 10th
• Step Eight: Memorize your monologue. You may dress as your character. You are now ready for the People Who Made a Difference presentation: Due Jan. 17th
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 was all about finding things that weigh the same. I gave the students a certain amount of an item and then they would have to find items that weigh about the same. We used all our Halloween items from before and items around the classroom.
They students had a great time counting, filling, and weighing the bags against each other. They were so excited to take pictures to show what they did. I went a little overboard with the photos because they were having so much fun.
They also liked giving each other bunny ears this week for some reason. Then they completed a worksheet with their findings and we discussed what they learned. They all had great things to add to the class discussion.
I am glad to say that everyone brought in their bags and we will complete the comparing to 50 pennies investigation next week. I will send the items back home after we are complete.
All students brought in great items to compare to the pennies and I can’t wait to see what we find out. Here are all the great, fun, and exciting photos from this week.
Second Grade:
This week we continued to work on centimeters and length. We started the new lesson last week and we reviewed the new math vocabulary words: centimeter, length, and circumference. The students were really excited to get started on our next investigation, but first we needed to review somethings.
We went over the worksheets on seat belt length in centimeters and we took time to look over a chart on safety seats and which one is the best buy. The students discussed it with a partner to decide which they would choose. Then we had a class discussion talking about about ideas and feelings on which is best.
On Thursday we didn't get to meet because the students had a presentation by a guest on seeds and they need to complete their weekly tests. Next week we will start our next investigation to find passengers for our safety seats. We will measure the circumference to know how long to make the belts to keep them safe.
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 mode. The "mode" is the value that occurs most often.The number which appears most often in a set of numbers. Example: in {6, 3, 9, 6, 6, 5, 9, 3} the Mode is 6 (it occurs most often).
This week I reminded them to read before they answer and they all took my advice. They rocked it out fast and with ease. Once they read the information and the comic they were off and running. They all did a great job to get it done. The students are starting to really get the hang of what to do and do it right the first time. I don’t know if I have told the parents the reward for answering it right the first time? The student gets to take the paper and make a basket in my recycling bin from anywhere they think they can make it. I have seen some great shots made by the students.
Third Grade:
This week we continued our adventure to find out if the Yeti exists. We started our investigation on the Yeti’s pet and what size it really is. First we each walked out the 8 x 20 pen size. This took a while, but we got it done. Once we looked at them we realized mine was much bigger than hers. This was something we needed to investigate further. We then took measuring sticks and tape to find out what 8 feet by 20 feet really is. We were both much smaller than we thought.
Once we figured the real size of 8 feet by 20 feet, we knew without the size of Jane’s exact shoe size we really didn’t have a 8 x 20 pen. What if her feet were really small? What if they were really big? We knew we need to find more out. We needed a benchmark to help us with the real exact size. For the activity we were using the real size of a foot (12”) as our benchmark. Once we knew this we could move on to our next task. Find out what the perimeter was if we had a Yeti’s dog pen that was 8 x 20. We got to work and figured out we would need 56 feet of fence to complete the pen. We needed to come up with a new design to fit 56 feet of fencing. We spent the rest of the class measuring out on our grid paper different designs that might work. Next week we will continue to work on the Yeti’s Pet Pen and write about our findings.
Fourth Grade:
This week we continued our journey with shapes and took time for learning and having fun with a new game. It is called triple play and the students got to play it all week. s.
Well, I took time on Wednesday to teach them how to play. This game allows them to practice all they have learned about shapes and apply it to finding matching shapes that fit the same criteria.
This was a hard task for some and others did a great job looking at a shape and applying everything they have learned so far. I think they all had fun playing. It takes awhile to get the hang of how to play and find the most points you can for each round. They loved every minute of it.
I had them play in teams and we will switch them all around next week to play again. I look forward to seeing who will come out ahead on the new match-up.
Have a great day off and weekend!
Mrs. Lutterman
Here are some pictures from the 4th grade cross country race.
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