Activities for the week of Aug 30th to Sept. 3

Hello parents and students:

Here's an outline of the activities we'll be doing in fourth grade this week:

Reading:  We'll be talking about what it means to be thinking and reading at the same time.  To do so we'll be writing down the connections that we can find between ourselves and the books that we're reading.  We'll also write our first 'book letter' to Mr. Rose.  The letter will be about everything that the student is thinking about while reading their book.  Such as what they like or dislike about the book, the connections they find, predictions for the rest of the book, things they like/dislike about the author's writing, etc.

Writing:  We'll be talking about what to do when we think we're done writing.  (hint: we're never done!)  We'll also be continuing our read aloud, Judy Blume's 'Superfudge' and analyzing why we like the book so much.  (realistic storyline, funny dialogue, etc.)  We will work on imitating Blume's style by writing our own dialogue in our notebooks.

Math:  MATH TEST WEDNESDAY!!!!   Our first chapter test of the year comes Wednesday.  Tuesday will be review day, and I will send home a practice test that will mirror the actual test given Wednesday.  Afterwards it's on to addition and subtraction in chapter two.

Social Studies:  We will finish our study of our final two continents, Africa and Australasia.  On Tuesday and Wednesday we will begin a map/research assignment that will ask the students to choose a country, create their own map, and find some information about that country online.  THE STUDENTS WILL NEED TIME TO SEARCH ONLINE AT HOME AT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE:    

www.kids.yahoo.com/reference.world-factbook  

This is a quality website with tons of maps and interesting geography facts.  I would like for each student to get used to searching for information online effectively.

Grammar:  We will be talking about how to write effective and interesting sentences using ADVERBS and ADJECTIVES.  Everybody's two favourite parts of speech!

Character Studies:  Discussing the meaning and importance of Honesty in and outside of the classroom.

Finally to all the parents reading this is my first request for help with our grade four classroom:

NEXT FRIDAY, AUGUST THE 10TH IS OUR INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION HERE AT THE SCHOOL.  OUR CLASS WILL BE CREATING A FLOAT FOR OUR PARADE THAT WILL BE DEDICATED TO THE DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS IN HONDURAS.

Unfortunately I know nothing about the ethnic groups of Honduras at the moment, so any assistance or advice would be welcomed.  Please email or call if you would like to help in any way.

Thanks again,

Jordan Rose

Open House Information for Grade 4 Parents

Dear Parents:

Thank you to those of you who made it out for this mornings open house.  To those parents who were not able to attend the following document is an outline of what we will be doing in class, and an idea of what to expect in terms of homework, discipline and classroom expectations.  I would also like to ask those parents who I have not spoken with yet to please let me know if your child has access to the internet.  The reason being that I would like to assign occasional activities that require the students to search online for information.   I would also like to ask for some assistance in terms of planning field trips and other fun class activities throughout the year.  As I am new to Honduras and the Spanish language I think I will need help in certain areas throughout the year.  I know that in some classes they have 'classroom Mom's' who help out with this stuff.  I don't think this is necessary exactly but if you could contact me if you have any ideas for some fun and educational activities outside of class that you might be able to help organize I would really appreciate it.  And when we have events that may require assistance I'll be sure to let you know ahead of time so that you might participate and lend a hand if you're available to do so.  My contact info and blog address can be found at the bottom of the following document.  I look forward to continued contact with all of you throughout the year.  All the best,

Jordan Rose

Classroom Information  

Reading

We will focus a lot of time in the classroom on strengthening your child’s English reading skills, and helping them on the path to becoming a lifelong reader.  In the class I have two main ways of teaching reading: the first is called reader’s workshop where the students will work on becoming better readers while reading independently and responding in written and oral form to the different texts that they read.  The second is through guided reading where the class or groups within the class will read the same text together while thinking and discussing what they read and then practicing skills that will improve their reading appreciation and comprehension.

Writing/Grammar/Spelling

For our writing periods the class will spend most of the time in sessions that I call writer’s workshop.  In these periods I will give the students lessons on how to write effectively in English, and then give them the freedom to write and practice these lessons in their writer’s notebook.  There will be some whole-class writing assignments that I will give them, but the majority of periods the student’s will be encouraged to write things that are interesting to them, and things that they can then share with me and their classmates. 

Grammar lessons will focus on the students’ learning important grammar rules and learning how to craft quality sentences and paragraphs.

Spelling lessons will work on building the students’ vocabulary and their grasp of the confusing rules of spelling properly in the English language.  The lessons will introduce fifteen new words each Monday, the students then have until Friday morning to craft 5 good sentences using 5 of the 15 words and draw 5 pictures that demonstrate their understanding of 5 other words.  They will also be quizzed on the entire 15 words that morning.

Math

Our math program follows the well-renowned Scott Foresman/Addison Wesley Grade 4 Math program.  I will be following this program and covering roughly one lesson, per one hour class session.  The students will have a follow-up homework assignment each evening that allows them to review and practice what they learned in class that day.  There will be a test at the end of each chapter, and quizzes periodically to assess the students’ learning.  I am planning to cover 3 chapters of the program each quarter.

Theme

Our theme unit is divided into two sections, Social Studies and Science.  I plan to alternate these two sections to make it easier for the students to focus and to keep our classroom from getting too crowded with projects and homework assignments.  There will be one Social Studies unit and one Science unit that we will learn about per quarter. 

Character Studies

I plan to devote one period a week to understanding and fostering quality character traits within each student.  These traits will focus on concepts such as:  respect, honesty, responsibility, fairness, friendship, citizenship, and diligence.  These lessons will focus on what it means to be a good person as well as a good student.

Homework

Almost every night your child will have reading homework and math homework.  The reading homework most nights will be simply to read 20-30 minutes of the book that they are currently reading.  EACH STUDENT SHOULD HAVE A BOOK THAT THEY ARE READING AT HOME AND IN CLASS.  THIS BOOK GOES HOME EVERY NIGHT FOR HOMEWORK AND MUST COME BACK EVERYDAY IN THEIR BAGS.  The math homework will likely be a photocopied page from that day’s math lesson, as I discussed above.  The spelling homework will be due each Friday and will be completed in their spelling notebook.  There will also be occasional theme and writing projects that may require parental assistance and/or computer and internet access.

If you ever have a question about homework please refer to your child’s “Learning Log”.  It is a small blue notebook where they record their homework each night.  If they can’t explain what it is they need to do for homework then they probably haven’t been paying full attention in class and will need to be reminded to do so.

Discipline

The Rules of the Our Class Are:  1)  Respect your teacher    2)  Respect your Classmates  3)  Always Try!!  4)  No Whining!!  5)  Ask before speaking Spanish   

The students should have a good grasp on these rules by now and the type of behaviour I expect from them.  I have a simple 3 strike policy for punishing anyone who breaks one of our rules.  The first strike of the day results in a warning, or yellow card for the student.  The second strike is a red card and will lead to a timeout, either at the back of the classroom or in the adjacent class.  The third strike will be more serious and will result in a discussion with Miss Cristiana or Miss Giles.  At this point I will also likely call home to discuss the student’s behaviour with one of his or her parents.

Contact    jrose@discoveryschool.hn    or  95800073    blog:  mrrosesclassblog@blogspot.com

Open House This Friday!

Greetings parents and students,

Well we are off to a great start in grade 4 this year.  I am looking forward to getting together with all our classroom parents at our open house.  Unfortunately it wasn't possible this past Thursday due to the weather and transportation issues.  We have re-scheduled the open house for this coming Friday, August 27th.  The meeting will be from 7 am to 8 am in our grade 4 classroom.  At 8 o'clock classes will begin and there will a parental meeting with members of the school administration at the cafeteria from 8 to 9.  Refreshments will be provided.

I hope all of you can make it.  I look forward to giving you an idea of what will be going on in grade four this year and answering all the questions you might have this Friday morning.  Have a great week and I will see you then!!

Jordan Rose

Greetings From Your Fourth Grade Teacher Mr. Rose

Hello Students and Parents,

My name is Jordan Rose.  I am a 33 year old Canadian Elementary School Teacher.  I have recently moved to Tegucigalpa with my wife to begin teaching our fourth grade class here at Discovery School.  I am very excited to meet my new students and to get started with our new school year.

I have been living and teaching overseas now for 10 years.  I have taught students in Korea, Taiwan, Australia, and most recently in the United Arab Emirates at the American International School in Abu Dhabi.  I love to travel and see new places, and I love working with students from all over the world.  I am very happy to be here in Honduras and I look forward to learning all about the people and places in this beautiful country.

This year I will be posting information about the class to this blog every week, so if you have any questions about what your son or daughter is learning in our classroom this will be the place to find out.  Also, I will post a picture of myself as soon as I have the chance, so that you can recognize me when you come to the Discovery School campus.

Here's to a wonderful year in grade four!  I look forward to seeing you all very soon.

Yours sincerely,

Jordan Rose