North Winn 4th Grade

Parent Note May 13, 2011

2011-05-15T20:44:00.000-05:00

Thanks for another great week! The students continue to work hard, despite my absence this week. I was gone Tuesday afternoon to Elkader for Keystone Advisory Committee meeting and on Wednesday morning for an Iowa Core Curriculum in Decoarh. The students continued to work hard despite the weather and my absence. GREAT WORK KIDS!

We finished up our Vesterheim Journals, they did an amazing job! I hope all of you made it to the museum for the open house or during the week for the display of the projects at the museum. WE will be getting back the projects next week for me to grade and return to the students the following week.

Writing has been exciting this week! Students have finished writing their letters to other 4^th grade classes and addressing envelopes to send across the United States and Europe. We are hoping for some letters back, but may not get them until fall, when I would pass them along to Mrs. Sand to share with the class. I think the students had fun forming a letter and finding an address of school that they wanted to write to. You will have to ask your son/daughter where they wrote.

Math is coming to a close. We will be taking our final chapter test on Monday. So please look for a study guide to come home this weekend. Also, next week we will be practicing some fun math skills, as well as, taking our year-end math test to wrap up the year. Continue looking for math homework, as there may be nights when homework may not get finished up at school.

Sarah, Plain and Tall is the final book we will be reading together as a class. The students have read about the author, talked about the cover and back of the book, and started a KWL chart on the prairie. We will continue reading this book and end the year by possibly watching the movie.

Important Dates:

Monday, May 16^th DHS Choir singing at school for us
Tuesday, May 24^th Field/Fun Day
Friday, May 27^th LAST DAY OF SCHOOL 11:15 dismissal

Any questions please let me know.

Enjoy your weekend!

Parent Note January 21st, 2011

2011-01-21T09:29:00.001-06:00

Wow! What a start to the third quarter with no school and a late start! What an Iowa winter we are having. I hope this letter finds you keeping warm and having fun in this great Iowa snow.

We have been working really hard in the 4^th grade room. We have been working on Skills Iowa assessments, both paper and in the computer lab. The students have been showing great progress and the skills that they are learning will help with their upcoming ITBS assessments.

We will be taking the ITBS tests over the next two weeks, except for Monday mornings. Starting the 25^th of January and running until the 4^th of February, your son or daughter will be having a 30 to 60 minute testing window each morning. We are encouraging you to help us with these tests by making sure your son or daughter has a nutritious and delicious breakfast. I would also encourage a good nights sleep so that students are alert for the testing periods, which typically start between 8:30 and 9:00 and run no later than 10:00 am. We are doing this testing over a two-week period so that students don’t get “tested” out in one long week of testing. Please see the attached sheet to see how you can help out in other ways.

Students were able to complete 3 labs on Thursday with the help of three J-Term Luther students that are currently in Ms. Meade’s room. They helped the students learn more about sound. Now, the students are going to take that knowledge to create an instrument at home as one of the finals for this unit. The projects will be due on the 31^st to allow students this weekend, all next week and the following weekend to complete them. Then we will have an opportunity to share their instruments with the class.

Reading calendars seem to be going well. Remember that I am not requiring students to complete a reading project this month, rather just read 240 minutes for the month or 60 minutes per week. We are keeping track here at school of the number of minutes read each week and will add them up at the end. Students who accomplish this goal of reading 240 minutes will be going to the Cresco Fitness Center on February 11^th for a fun, energizing, and exciting time to celebrate their reading accomplishments so far this year!

Report cards are coming home today. If you have questions or concerns about your son or daughters grades and need to discuss them before conferences please feel free to contact me at school via phone or e-mail so that I can answer your questions.

Valentine's Day is approaching fast...do you have an idea for the one you love? The North Winn Student Council can help you with that special gift AND it will "keep on giving" during the year. The NW Student Council is selling a card that can be punched each month for an entire year. Each punch comes with one FREE bouquet of flowers from The Country Garden in downtown Decorah. The cards are only $20 each! That's right 12 bouquets of flowers for only $20. To get yours today contact Melissa Wicklund at mwicklund@n-winn.k12.ia.us or the NW School Office. Get the gift that keeps on giving! (Some of the proceeds will go towards new playground equipment at the North Winn School playground).

Important Dates:

· ITBS Testing: January 25^th-February 4^th

· Early Out/Teacher In-service February 2^nd

· Instruments Due for Science January 31^st

· Reading Calendars Due February 4^th

· NAEP Tests February 3^rd (Afternoon)

Thanks for all the work you are doing with your son or daughter! It is much appreciated!

Melissa A. Wicklund

Parent Letter 1~7~2011

2011-01-06T21:43:00.000-06:00

Happy 2011! Welcome to your son/daughter’s final two quarters in 4^th grade. It has gone by quickly and I am certain that the last two quarters will go just as quickly. The students came back ready to learn and tell me all about their winter break. Unfortunately, I was there on Wednesday and then my son was ill for Thursday, so I didn’t get into the routine yet this week with them. I am sure the 4 full days we have next week we will all get into routine and be even more ready to learn!

There are a few changes being made as we start the new year. The 4^th graders will NOT have a book project this month. Rather, the students will have a reading log where they will track the minutes read, pages read, and also the book that they are reading. These logs will be collected every Friday and a new one will be put into their assignment notebooks. I am doing reading logs this month because Mrs. Sand, Mr. Halweg, and I typically take the 4^th and 5^th graders to Cresco Fitness Center in February for swimming. The details have yet to be worked out, but more news will come by the end of next week. So, the expectations for students are this:

1. Read at least 60 minutes per week.

2. Bring back reading log weekly with parent initials somewhere on the sheet.

3. Students should be ready to tell about their book at the end of the month.

As teachers we always look forward to taking the students over to Cresco for a fun and active morning for their reading accomplishments.

Another change is in math. Students were sent home with a packet containing games to practice their multiplication facts. We have now started working on gaining our Taco in a Bag ingredients this week. Students are given 60 problems of one particular multiple. Then they must get all of them right. I am not expecting a certain time, however, I am having the students make goals for themselves on a time. We take one initial test on a multiple to see how they do, and then they make a time goal from there. When they reach their goal and get all 60 problems correct they earn that ingredient. The students were very excited about it and some even passed the multiple of 2 on the first day! Ask your student weekly if they gained new ingredients. Also, continue to work on those facts, it will just help your son/daughter with their math skills. If you have questions about this please contact me.

Finally, the last change is in the computer lab. Students got e-mail this past quarter and it has been going okay. Mr. Dovenberg and myself have spoken with the students about appropriateness of content. However, some things came up over winter break and I have spoken with the students that one person can ruin it for all. I want them to be aware that this is a communication tool. I will be monitoring closely the amount of e-mail time they have here at school, but if you try to monitor them at home that would be appreciated. However, I also noticed the typing skills. Most 4^th grade students don’t know how to type, so I am going to become their typing instructor. We will do typing twice a week here at school but I have found an online program that the students will be completing. They can work on it at home. If they pass a lesson please write me a note to let me know. The website is www.freetypinggame.net . Students can go here to work on lessons, take quizzes, and also play games. The more typing we can get them doing the greater the skills they will gain.

We will continue on with all of our units and the end of quarter is next week. Keep your students on top of their homework. If you have further questions or concerns please feel free to contact me via e-mail or school phone.

Thanks for the gifts for Christmas for both the classroom and myself. They are greatly appreciated!

Have a great 2011!

Mrs. Wicklund

December 10th Parent News

2010-12-10T12:40:00.000-06:00

4^th Grade News

The 4^th graders have been working hard to finish up work before the holiday break arrives. We are finishing books, starting new books, and gaining more knowledge along the way! Students have been exploring sound in science, gathering information by using PVC pipes to play musical tunes. They are doing algebra in math by finding the missing number or variable in multiplication and division problems. With all these great skills the students are learning in the core subjects, students are also having fun too! They performed an amazing concert for us on Thursday evening for music, creating a “surprise” for you, as parents, in art, and also developing teamwork skills in PE! However, the Winter Break is fast approaching so please make sure that your son/daughter is keeping up on work for class.

The 4^th grade Holiday party will be on Wednesday, December 22^nd. We get out of school at 2:15 that day and will be having our party that afternoon. Austin, Mason, Stacia, Billy, and Kailer are signed up for the holiday party. I will provide the drink, plates, and napkins as this holiday did not match up with the original sign up sheet.

Many times students give me a gift for the holidays, which is great! However, I would like a gift not for me but for our classroom. Classroom gifts that everyone can enjoy! Board games, books, gift cards, or other classroom supplies are much appreciated! Know that you don’t need to give anything for the holidays but if you choose to, make it for the class.

Now, I know that you have seen the following several times, but I would like to show you again, as the school gets ½ of the funds raised! So please take time to read the following and tell your friends and family about this amazing deal!

THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!!

No need for you to look any further for that perfect gift. The North Winn Student Council has what you need. For $20 you can get 12 flower bouquets from The Country Garden. That’s right, one bouquet a month for an entire year! To order yours, fill out the order form attached with check or cash and send back to school. Your flower cards will come home with your son/daughter. Don’t wait or hesitate, now is the time to get your flower cards for you, grandma, auntie, babysitters, and all those other special people in your life! Remember, $20 for 12 flower bouquets, you can’t go wrong. For more information contact, Melissa Wicklund at mwicklund@n-winn.k12.ia.us .

Stay warm over the weekend as it is supposed to be cold! Send your student with all the gear needed to keep them warm on our COLD playground!

Warm Winter Wishes,

Melissa Wicklund

Parent Letter 11~19~2010

2010-11-18T22:28:00.000-06:00

Friday, November 19, 2010

Dear Parents,

The students have had another busy week. We have been working hard in all subjects, starting new topics, ending others, and continuing to work hard yet on others. The students are ready for the break next week and it is well deserved. A few notes before I am not at school for a while.

Reading: New books, new KWL charts, and continued progress on ReadAbout. Students started new non-fiction books this week. They are topics of pets, westward travel, hockey, and talking birds. Not only do the students learn about these topics, they also learn skills to help them read other non-fiction texts. I have noticed that their learning on ReadAbout is transferring over into the classroom. They are talking about their learning and then using it to read their non-fiction books in their small groups.

Writing: Wow! Tall tale characters are coming along great! Students have been using their creative juices to create a character for their future tall tale stories. It may seem that we are doing the process backwards, however, I want the students to gain inspiration from their characters to create their final writing on tall tales. Be looking for their tall tale characters and stories.

Math: We have started chapter 4 in math about multiplication and division. Please be working with your students on their basic facts whenever possible. Students can even be working on them in the car.

Science: Sounds…. what is sound? Students have asked this question and in the next few weeks will be doing research and experiments to answer this question. They will be keeping a journal on their findings and be looking deep into sound.

Social Studies: Business planning and government branches are what have been on the horizon in social studies. Students have been looking at all the vocabulary and facts that go along with learning about the United States. They will continue to learn about these ideas during the next few weeks and then start in on their first region. We will move quickly through these regions as the Vesterheim Immigrant Immersion program is quickly approaching.

Again, a reminder that I will be out of the classroom until December 3^rd. I will have my e-mail but will not be checking it throughout the day. If you need to contact the teacher about after school plans for your son or daughter please contact Wendy or Lynn. Thanks for your understanding.

Keep encouraging your son or daughter as we progress through the month of December. They should be reading an adventure book right now and be working on their rough draft for their sandwich project. I also need them to work extra hard if they are in a group of Mrs. Evelsizer’s because they are leaving my room throughout the day and still need to be doing the work they are missing. If you have questions or concerns about this issue please contact me as the practices will continue and be more frequent as the concert draws near.

Have a great weekend and Thanksgiving! I look forward to being back in the classroom after my surgery.

Thanks,

Melissa A. Wicklund

Parent Letter 10-29-2010

2010-10-29T12:28:00.000-05:00

SKELETON BOOK PROJECT:

Please make sure that your son/daughter is reading a book to use for this month’s book project. These book project explanations came home at the beginning of October and are due on November 8th. I have sent home the skeleton body parts to trace in hopes of the students starting their projects soon. If you have questions let me know. There are only 2 weekends to work on these projects and they are part of each student’s reading grade.

RINGS OF RESPECT:

The students have been working really hard this past quarter on earning their “Rings of Respect”! Well, this past week they earned all their rings. When they accomplished this task they were to get something for what they did. The students have decided that they wanted pajama day with a movie, popcorn, and hot chocolate. We will be having this fun and exciting day on Thursday, November 4th. I am so proud of these students for wanting to work hard to earn these rings and not have them taken away! WAY TO GO 4TH GRADERS, I AM PROUD OF YOU!!

It has been a busy week in our class with finishing up last quarter and getting started with the 2nd quarter of their 4th grade year. I have spoken with ½ of the parents and look forward to talking with the rest of you next week. Our second quarter is off to great start with some modifications and changes in our room. I look forward to having each child grow and learn in my classroom. I hope to learn more about each student and what they have to offer to the classroom. Thanks for all that you have done so far this year with your 4th grader. There is so much more to come this school year!

Thanks!

Parent Letter 10-22-2010

2010-10-24T15:47:00.000-05:00

REPORT CARDS:

My grades are due on Monday so if your son/daughter has homework this weekend it is likely homework that needed to be finished Friday and was not. So, if you could make sure that those things get finished up that would be great. Report cards will then come home on Wednesday of next week in their homework folders or assignment notebooks. This allows you as parents to have the report cards before conferences. I look forward to seeing all of you at conferences next Thursday or November 4^th.

SKELETON BOOK PROJECT:

Please make sure that your son/daughter is reading a book to use for this month’s book project. These book project explanations came home at the beginning of October and are due on November 8^th. I have the skeleton body parts to trace here at school. If you have questions let me know.

HALLOWEEN PARTY:

We will be having our Halloween party on Friday, October 29^th in the afternoon. After the reorganization of the holidays, due to my misplacement of the original, the following students have the Halloween treats. Michael, Zach, and Ashton are to bring treats. Brendan is to bring drinks and Jake is signed up for cups/plates/napkins. We have 21 students in our classroom. Also, remember that the state implemented the Healthy Kids Act, saying that treats served in school should be healthy snacks. Meaning cheese sticks, fruit, veggies, trail mixes, etc. There are some fun snacks that you can make or buy that are healthy to serve in class. Thanks for your help on the party. I know that students will look forward to dressing up, decorating pumpkins for the Pumpkin contest, and having a party!

October 15th Parent Letter

2010-10-15T12:09:00.001-05:00

Miss Terhune: Luther Student Teacher

Miss Katie Terhune has been with us from Luther for the past two weeks. She was out in Boston, MA for her first placement and came back to start in Allamakee Schools. However, she needed a placement for two weeks before heading to Allamakee schools. So, she came to our classroom for a short time. She was a great asset to our room. She taught spelling, math, social studies, and really helped out on Tuesday while I was sick. Thanks for coming to our room to spend some time with us, we had fun!

Mr. Woodin: Luther Music

Mr. Woodin is our Luther Music student that will be with us on Thursday mornings for the next 5 weeks. He was teaching the students new notes on their recorders this week, along with learning the song, Ode to Joy.

Bryan and Rachel: Luther Nursing

Yet another Luther group that is coming to our classroom. Rachel and Bryan are nursing students that have been coming to our room to teach us about hand washing, sugar in different cereals, and the fat content in various foods. They bring lots of energy to our room and the students look forward to having them here every Friday morning. They will be with us for another 3 weeks.

Charlotte’s Web Fair

Thank you to those students who participated in the Charlotte’s Web fair on Tuesday. The fair was a success! I feel bad that I had to miss it, but Miss Terhune took lots of pictures and said that Mrs. Goetsch did a wonderful job of playing games and judging projects for students. Mrs. Heier was also a helpful asset during this busy day! I hope your son or daughter shared with you the award that they won during the day!

Skeleton Book Project

Your student should have brought home a book project outline for this next month. The parts are ready to be sent home when your son/daughter is finished with his/her book. The projects are due on November 8^th! Please ask if you have not seen the projects.

Scholastic Book Orders

I have sent home another book order. These will be due on Wednesday, October 20^th! You can either send a check or money back to me or order online. For every order online, the classroom gets one free book!

Character Counts Week

October 18^th-22^nd! Dress up and join the fun!

OCTOBER 1ST PARENT LETTER

2010-10-01T10:57:00.001-05:00

4TH GRADE NEWS AND NOTES

READING
Wow! We have finished Charlotte’s Web and now are on our way to the 4th grade fair. I am sure that your child came home this week and shared a letter about our upcoming 4th grade fair. If he/she did not please ask for a copy of the letter as each student will need some assistance from his or her parents. We will be studying for the test together next week with the test next Friday, October 8th and then the fair on Tuesday, October 12th.

SCIENCE
Students are almost complete with their research and will now start on their short report and spider model. Students were given a handout this week about what the expectations were for their model and habitat. If you have or your child has questions about the expectations, please let me know. These are due on October 12th so that we can have these spiders in our room for the 4th Grade Fair.

MATH
Estimation, rounding, and different strategies for addition and subtraction are the various things that we have been working on during this week. Students have been completing the tasks and working hard to understand the concepts given to them.

STUDENT TEACHER
Over the next two weeks we will have a student teacher from Luther in our room. Her name is Katie Terhune. We are excited to have her in our classroom. We will be learning from her and she from us. If you have questions or concerns about the placement please contact me.

STUDENT COUNCIL
Congrats to Brendan, Zach, Maddy M., and Kailer for winning a spot on our Elementary Student Council! They will be doing many fun and exciting things for all students do in grades Pre-K through 5th grade. I will also be working closely with the Middle School representatives.

DATES TO REMEMBER
• Tuesday, October 5th –NICC Dairy Field Trip
• Monday, October 11th --No School-Teacher In-Service
• Tuesday, October 12th –4th Grade Fair

**End of the first quarter is coming soon please contact me if you are having concerns or have questions about your son or daughter so that I help you with those before the end of the quarter

Parent Letter 9~24~2010

2010-09-23T22:20:00.000-05:00

The 4th graders have had a busy couple of weeks! During the past couple of weeks the students have gained many new skills, have experienced new and exciting things and grew in leaps and bounds.

We have gained new skills in math by taking our first math test. You will not find these in the Friday folders, as I tend to keep the first tests to go over with you at conferences. I felt that students did their best and succeeded well. Then we started chapter 2 and will continue working hard on that during the next few weeks.

Experiencing new things comes from going to Cannons and Redcoats. Students were excited about many of the stations that we attended. They learned about making wooden paddles, wooden bows, shearing sheep, French dancing, a new game Graces, and also hearing 4 real cannons shoot off. We talked about the field trip and that they will attend again next year and do more activities related to this field trip.

We are finishing our spider research and will write a paragraph about it. To finish our spider research students will be asked to create a spider model including putting the spider model into its habitat. More expectations and due dates will be given to the students next week.

Charlotte’s Web is coming to an end. We are on chapter 16 of 22 chapters. Soon Wilbur will be going to the fair. This means that the 4th grade fair is fast approaching. On Monday, the students and I will be talking about the different activities that they will be able to participate in during our 4th grade fair. I look forward to finishing the book and celebrating with our 4th grade fair!

Finally, the students had quite the spelling list this week! Homophones are difficult for students. However, we also tackled homophones in language this week. Students created pictures and sentences that went with homophones. We used the Smart board to sort homophones and play a matching game with homophones. It is amazing how many homophones are a part of our English language. It is important that students continue to use these words so we will continue throughout the year to look at homophones when they come up in our reading or writing.

Congrats to Brendan, Zach, Kailer, and Maddy M. who are our new Student Council representatives. I have some exciting things for them to get involved with here at school and for them to share with students 3-5.

Dates to Remember:
• Tuesday, September 28th: School Pictures
• Wednesday, September 29th: Out at 1:15 Teacher Inservice
• Tuesday, October 5th: Field Trip to NICC’s Dairy Center
• Monday, October 11th: No School Teacher Inservice

Parent Letter 9~10~2010

2010-09-12T16:03:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the third week of school! The students have already done so much in these first three weeks. It will be fun to see how much more than can do the rest of the school year. I am having lots of fun with them with their learning and look forward to even more exciting times with them.

In reading, students continue to expand their knowledge in story elements (setting, plot, characters, etc), and learn more about the Zuckerman’s and Arable’s. We are half way through the book and a quiz will be happening late next week. More info about the quiz will come home early next week.

Science goes hand in hand with reading right now as the students are studying about spiders. We have covered general spider information and now students will be researching their own spiders. The research that they will be collecting includes description of their spider, habitat, food/diet, and young. This information will help them build a spider model in the near future.

Math is coming right along. Students are almost at the end of the chapter 1, learning about large numbers, their place value, and how to order them. We have been working on story problems here at school. They are difficult for the students, but slowing down and reading sentence by sentence helps to understand what the book is asking them to find.

Writing continues to be about adjectives. We will one final lesson on adjectives and then will introduce verbs. Students wrote short paragraphs about a picture this week. They couldn’t use the objects name in their paragraph so it challenged them to describe the object using wonderful adjectives. The students enjoyed this activity and it got them up in front of the class.

Next Week:

*Monday I will have sub in the room as I am attending training in Elkader.

*Tuesday students will take their final MAPS test in the morning and I will gone again in the afternoon for another training in Calmar.

*Wednesday students will be dismissed at 1:15pm as we have an in-service.

*Thursday is a NORMAL school day.

*Friday we will be going to Prairie Du Chien for our first field trip. We will be going to the Cannons & Redcoats reenactment and learning stations. See field trip note for details.

Please make sure your child gets a good night sleep on Monday evening for the MAPS test on Tuesday. If you have questions about next week please feel free to call or e-mail me here at school.

Welcome Back to School!

2010-08-09T22:15:00.002-05:00

School is only 1 week away! I hope all the students are getting ready to come back and see the changes that have occurred throughout the summer. Be ready for a splash of color in the 4th grade classroom, as well as, some updated technology. It is really exciting! I look forward to getting to know my new class and all they have to offer to the classroom. See you on the 19th!

Parent Letter

2010-01-31T21:44:00.000-06:00

Good Friday! Well, we made it through an entire week of school! And the students are almost completed with their ITBS tests. They will take 2 more on Monday and then be finished with them for the year. I have been impressed by their hard work on the tests and hope it continues for one more day of testing. Please make sure that your son/daughter gets plenty of sleep on Sunday evening with a good breakfast on Monday morning. They can also bring snacks on Monday for the testing. Thanks for all the help you’ve given your student so far during the ITBS tests.

Report cards are in the your son/daughter’s Friday folder. I look forward to talking with each of you at Parent/Teacher Conferences in a couple of weeks. If you feel you need to speak with me before then please e-mail or call me at school.

Over the next couple of weeks your son/daughter may come home and tell you about subs being in the classroom. I wanted to give you some insight to my absences in the next couple of weeks. Today, I was actually not in the classroom because I had a sick child at my house. Next Tuesday afternoon I will be gone due to a doctor’s appointment. Then next Thursday and Friday I will also be gone to a Professional Development conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with Kris Bigler. I am very excited about the conference and look forward to bringing back several good teaching strategies to implement into the classroom. Finally, on Tuesday, February 9th, I will be absent for the Keystone Advisory Committee meeting in Elkader. I feel confident with the subs that are coming into the classroom and I put lots of time into the lesson plans that are there when I am gone.

Look for another letter next week that will update you on what we are doing in our subject areas. Enjoy the cold winter weather….I know that I am ready for spring and warmer weather!

Upcoming Events

February 2nd—Cereal Box Rough Drafts Due
February 5th—Cereal Box Final Copy Due
February 9th and 11th—Parent Teacher Conferences
February 12th and 15th—No School
February 19th—Swimming at the Cresco Fitness Center

Parent Letter

2010-01-27T09:10:00.000-06:00

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!! Wow! What a January it has been for our students. I am hoping to be in school FULL TIME this week to accomplish some much-needed learning! We will continue working hard to start this third quarter off right for our 4th grade year!

One major event that is going to be happening is the ITBS TESTING! It is happening this week. We will start on Tuesday and continue through next Monday. Please make sure that your students are going to bed early and then getting up to have a healthy breakfast. The students are welcome to bring water bottles, (with only regular, no flavored waters please), to school to keep next to their desks. Also, HEALTHY snacks are also encouraged. It can be such things as fruit, un-buttered popcorn, crackers with cheese or peanut butter, granola bars, etc. If you have questions about the testing please e-mail or call me at school.

Reading book projects rough drafts are scheduled to be due on Tuesday, February 2nd. I hope all students are able to get their projects in by then, especially since the long break gave them some time to read. If they are having difficulty getting their book finished please have them come talk with me about their situation. The FINAL projects will not be due now until Friday, February 5th. Let me know via e-mail, phone, or assignment notebooks if you have questions.

Parent homework—I realize that it may seem a long time away until my maternity leave; however, we can never plan when babies arrive. I need to be prepared now so that if something happens, my sub will be prepared. Please turn in the parent homework sheets that I have sent home. Dual households need to make sure that they BOTH fill out the sheet. If you have questions, please let me know.

UPCOMING EVENTS
• ITBS Testing—Week of January 25, 2010-February 1st, 2010
• Teacher In-Service—Wednesday, February 3rd
• Immigration Unit Starting—February 9th
• Parent/Teacher Conferences—Tuesday, February 9th and Thursday, February 11th.
• No School—February 12th and February 15th

Parent News 1-15-2010

2010-01-18T12:49:00.000-06:00

Dear Parents,

A FULL WEEK OF SCHOOL! It was a long week for the students getting back into things, but I feel they did an overall great job of being on task. I look forward to more great weeks like we had this week! Thanks 4th graders!

Reading is going really well. The students and I have been talking about, modeling, and practicing important comprehension strategies. The strategies that we have talked about this week include: Do I remember what I just read? Make a picture in your head. Predict what will happen next. Back up and reread. Summarize the text. The students took the “Make a picture in your head” and did just that. They took a picture from their head (after they had done Read to Self) and drew it on paper. Then on the back they wrote about their picture. The strategy helps all readers better understand what they are reading by being able to see those pictures.

States, states, and more states. The students are becoming teachers. Each pod of students in our classroom is in charge of a different region. We are learning 5 different regions. I teach one to the class, and then they take what I have taught them and do the same for their region. Finally, they will teach the class what they have learned. It is a great way for the students to be involved with hands on activities in social studies.

Research has been the talk in science. Students have gotten information off the computer and also from books about an invertebrate animal. They are in the process of gathering all the information they can about their specific invertebrate. Then we will write a report and create a model of our invertebrate. Finally, we will move on to vertebrates and do the same process.

There is plenty going on in the 4th grade classroom! The students are keeping mighty busy here at school. The business will continue into 3rd and 4th quarter. I look forward to the time I have with the students to watch them grow and develop as students and individuals.

**Please return BLUE Student Information Surveys to Mrs. Wicklund as soon as you can.

**If your son/daughter doesn’t have an address to bring to school, write me a note so I can get them one.

Important Dates:
*Monday, January 18th—No School
*ITBS TESTING-January 25th-29th
*Friday, January 29th—Rough drafts due for Cereal Box Madness
*Tuesday, February 2nd—Cereal Box Madness projects due
*Wednesday, February 3rd—1:15 Dismissal Teacher In-Service
*Tuesday, February 9th and Thursday, February 11th—Parent Teacher Conferences
*Friday, February 12th—No School

Let me know if you have questions or concerns before conferences.

Parent Letter 11-20-09

2009-11-22T16:57:00.002-06:00

Book Projects

The skeleton book projects for oct. & nov. went very well. We are going to do another project before christmas. you will find the project outlined in either your students homework folder or yellow book project folder. if you have questions about the project or the adventure genre that your students are doing for the next month please contact me with questions.

Homework

Homework has become an issue for some students. please look in your son/daughert's assignment noebook to make sure that all homework is being done. Also, I assign homework to be done at home and not on the bus. Messy assignments have been handed in and difficult to correct because of being done on the bus.

Shai Shay

Shai shay t-shirt order forms are due on november 30th. Please make checks payable to the Shai Shay benefit.

Scholastic Book Fair

The Scholastic book fair will be on vip day from 9-1. Come check out the book fair for both your child or our classroom. There are lots of great books to choose from!

Language Class

In language class students are working hard on writing different paragraphs. We learned the new genre of narrative writing. The students learned that it is a genre where they tell about themselves, others, or make-believe events. They use words that tell how the events happened in order.

Parent News 11-12-09

2009-11-11T16:17:00.001-06:00

Shai Shay Benefit Basket
We have received many donations this week. However, the due date on these items for our baby basket is on Monday, November 16th. Here is a list of what we have so far: Fleece blanket, Cabbage Patch Kid, Teething Ring, Burp Rags, Lots of Links, a baby bib, small t-shirt, pajamas, rubber ducky, baby towel, baby blanket, keepsake pillow, and Dice, Dice Baby toy. Remember, nothing has to be too expensive since it is all going into one basket. If you want, you can also donate money and I will be going shopping with that money to fill the rest of the basket with items. We encourage each child to bring in one thing for our basket. Please help our class!

Skeleton Book Projects
The skeleton book projects are due on Tuesday, November 17th. I encourage you to check with your son/daughter to see if they have completed or are working on their skeletons. This is a long weekend for them to work on the book projects. We will be doing one more project before Christmas!

Parent/Teacher Conferences
I enjoyed meeting with some of the parents last Thursday and look forward to talking with some parents tonight. Your support at home and ideas and questions that you bring to me help me teach your child to the best that I am able to teach them. Please remember that if you have any questions that you can ask anytime.

Upcoming Events
• VIP Day—Wednesday, November 25th
• Early Dismissal: 2:15 or take your son/daughter home after VIP Day—Wednesday, November 25th
• No School—Thursday and Friday, November 26th and 27th.

Parent News 10-30-09

2009-10-30T12:47:00.002-05:00

Conferences
Conferences are next Thursday, October 5th and also Thursday, October 12th. If you’re scheduled time doesn’t work please contact Lynn Sickles as soon as possible.
Shai Shay “Baby Basket”
We have two items thus far for our basket. We have “Dice, Dice Baby” and a “Yellow Rubber Duck”. Please start bringing in baby items for our 4th grade basket. If you have questions about this fundraiser or benefit contact Mrs. Heier or Mrs. Sickles. I will keep you updated on what comes in so that we don’t double things up. Remember, if you want to send money we can also purchase items for you.

Illness
The 4th grade class is experiencing illness. There have been kids with cough, colds, flu like symptoms and various other symptoms. The school, on the advice of Iowa Public Health, is asking parents to keep their child home 24 hours after the fever or other illness symptoms are gone and without the child taking any medicine such as Tylenol or ibuprofen. If your child waits to come to school after the 24 hours, then it will help prevent the spread of illness in our classroom. I am doing all I can to help, including washing hands several times throughout the day and keeping our desks clean. I am just asking for more help with this prevention of illness because of my personal circumstances of expecting a new child.

Also, there is a birthday party this weekend and two of the participants were sick the week of the 26th-30th. Please check your child on Sunday several times for a fever or any symptoms that might show up as an illness. If they have a fever, cough, sore throat, chills, vomiting, or diarrhea on Sunday, they should not come to school on Monday! Call Andrea Homstad at school with questions.

Bookfair
There will be a Scholastic Bookfair at North Winn during VIP Day. There will not be a book order coming home with your child this month as the school is trying to raise money. You can however, buy books for our class at the fair. Please look for more information coming home with your child.

Book Project
Your child should be reading a mystery genre book. In class we have spoken about the skeleton and also about the different parts of a mystery that go along with the skeleton. I have all the skeleton parts cut out for the students. When the student is finished reading their mystery books they can get their skeleton from me to complete. The skeletons are due on Tuesday, November 17th.

I look forward to seeing each of you at parent/teacher conferences in the next couple of weeks. If you have questions about anything prior to that please let me know. Also, be looking for your child’s report card to be sent home on Wednesday, November 4th in their homework folders.

4th grade news

2009-10-24T15:00:00.003-05:00

Shai Shay Benefit
Please see the yellow letter in your son/daughter’s Friday folder about 6th grade student Shai Shay. Each class is going to be participating in the benefit, see how you can help on the yellow letter.

New Arrivals
As I am sure all of you have heard I am expecting a new little bundle of joy! The students found out on Wednesday after I heard the heartbeat! They were very surprised! I will be having the baby in April but will keep you updated on when I will be leaving and the sub that will be in my classroom.

Halloween Party
We will be having our Halloween Party next Friday, on our early dismissal day. These are the students that signed up to help out with the party, Garrett, Chase, and Cole (Dad) signed up for treats. Tristan signed up for drinks and Davon signed up for cups and napkins. If you have questions about the party call or e-mail me.

Northeast Iowa Passport for Fitness
Please read the letter that was send home about the program that was started in 3rd grade. Please help your student write a story about the outdoor activities that they did outside this summer.

End of Quarter
The end of the first quarter is fast approaching, next Friday! If you have questions before the end of the quarter please make sure that you call or e-mail me.

Halloween Pumpkin Decorating Contest
Grades PreK-5
Choose a round pumpkin or a
crazy-shaped pumpkin
and use your creative imagination to decorate it wild, crazy, funny,
silly, or scary!!
Bring to school from Oct. 19-28
Prizes will be awarded!

Mr. Twedt
Mr. Twedt had his final day in our classroom. We really enjoyed having him here and look forward to seeing him in the hallways as he works with Mrs. Bigler for 2nd quarter.

Miss Haug
We have had Miss Haug in our classroom for the past 3 weeks. She has been working on her teaching of music to 4th grade students. She will be with us until mid-November. The students enjoy seeing her on Thursday mornings.

Important Dates
• Friday, October 30th—End of 1st quarter and Halloween Party
• Thursday, November 5th—Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Thursday, November 12th—Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Friday, November 13th—No School
• Tuesday, November 17th—“Spooky” Book Project Skeletons DUE!

Charlotte's Web Fair

2009-10-09T15:02:00.003-05:00

Friday Letter 10-9-09

2009-10-09T15:00:00.000-05:00

Reading

Charlotte’s Web is over and the students worked hard on their test and projects that were brought in for the 4th Grade Fair. Students were also excited to watch the movie of Charlotte’s Web in the afternoon and eat eachothers baked goods.

Science

WOW! Excitement in the air! Students are so thrilled about the stories that they are creating with their scientific research teams on spiders. They have gathered realistic facts and also fictional facts about spiders. When we are finished with the stories, students will be asked to design and bring in items to create a spider. We will be making or spiders the week of October 26th-30th. Look for more information on bringing in spider model items.

Mrs. Dambek/Drama

Mrs. Dambek comes into our room on Wednesday and Friday mornings to work with us on choral readings, drama, and how to become better actors and actresses. The students are working right now on picking out picture books and then using those picture books to create a reader’s theatre based on their book. She is really incorporating reading and writing into one. The kids love her coming into our room!

Character Counts

Character Counts week is fast approaching! The week of October 18th-24th is when students will be participating in activities related to being a good person of character. Please look for a letter about dress up days to come home soon! It will be an exciting week!

Important Dates

**Tuesday, October 20th—NICC Dairy Center for Iowa’s Dairy Story
**Friday, October 23rd—Last day Mr. Twedt is in our classroom.
**Friday, October 30th—End of Quarter, 1:15 Dismissal; Halloween Party

Halloween Pumpkin
Decorating Contest
Grades PreK-5
Choose a round pumpkin or a
crazy-shaped pumpkin
and use your creative imagination to decorate it wild, crazy, funny,
silly, or scary!!
Bring to school from Oct. 19-28
Prizes will be awarded!

Building a Character Counts Tree

2009-09-17T13:58:00.005-05:00

The 1st graders and 4th graders met up for a Character Counts lesson during the normal Buddies time on Tuesday afternoons. The 1st and 4th graders brainstormed together how we can "Fall Into Good Character" this next semester. Our tree is displayed in the school cafeteria to motivate other classes to have great character!

Deanna and Maria working hard on their sentences!

Davon and James show Mrs. Wicklund and Mrs. Morken their greats leaves (hands).

Rye and Jackson coloring their leaves.

Mr. Twedt checking in on Garrett, Steven, and Kylie.

Avery helping out her 4th grade friend Chase to trace his hand. Jack and Parker color their hands next to the 4th graders.

Emily and Ashley working hard on their leaves!

A New School Year Begins (Student Teacher Letter below)

2009-08-30T14:58:00.002-05:00

A new school year is an exciting time for children. It means making friends, taking part in activities, and learning new skills. But the beginning of school can also be an unsettling time. Children wonder whether they’ll like their teacher and be accepted by their classmates. It’s a time for establishing a new place in the world. I am excited to have each of these students in my room and look forward to helping them adjust to 4th grade.

Together, you and I have a common goal—to help your child be a happy, well-adjusted learner. As a parent, you know the most about your child’s likes, dislikes, and unique learning styles. Sharing any information about your child’s reading tastes and favorite activities allows me to extend their learning in interesting ways. We can share information in a number of ways—Parent’s Night (Monday, August 31st at 6:30), telephone conversations, notes from you to me, e-mail or face to face meetings.

Home is where learning starts. As a role model, you are a very important part of your child’s education. If your child sees your enthusiasm for learning, he or she will also be enthusiastic. I encourage you to take part in activities that reinforce what your child is learning in school.

Encourage your child to talk about school experiences. Many kids will tell you what they’re thinking, and feeling. Listen carefully, not only to the words but the gestures, the emphases, and the emotions. If questions arise that you need more information about or possible answers, please feel free to contact me and I will help you in any way that I can.

I am looking forward to working with your child this year during 4th grade.

Melissa A. Wicklund

IMPORTANT NOTES:

**No flip flops at all at school!
**Parent’s Night—August 31st, 6:30 p.m,
**Cannons and Redcoats Field Trip—September 18th
**MAPS occurring in the first couple weeks of school. Please look for more information.

Greetings from a student teacher

Dear 4th grade parents,

Greetings! My name is Gabriel Twedt and I will be student teaching in Mrs. Wicklund’s room for the first eight weeks of the school year. Since I will be working in the classroom with your students, Mrs. Wicklund and I thought it would be a good idea to send this letter to you all so you can get the chance to know me before we get too far into the school year.
I was born and raised on a small sheep farm north of Decorah and I graduated from Decorah High School in 2006. After three years of college classes, I am currently a senior at Luther College where I am pursuing a degree in Elementary Education. I am lucky enough to come from an immediate family of educators including three elementary teachers, one music teacher, one math teacher, two physical education teachers, and one Agriscience teacher. I plan on graduating this spring and will possibly seek employment around the area.
I truly appreciate having the opportunity to spend some of my time student teaching with your students and with Mrs. Wicklund. I hope to meet many of you at the upcoming Parent Night on Monday or at the Parent/Teacher meetings later this fall. I truly appreciate your student’s presence in the classroom and am excited to learn from them as well.
Thank you for you time and I hope all is well for you.

Sincerely,
Gabriel Twedt

3 Students Attend Writing Conference

2009-04-26T14:14:00.003-05:00

Three North Winn 4th grade students attended a writing conference sponsored by Keystone AEA. The students were Meretta Peterson, Shane Sexton, and Elizabeth Smith. They were put to work by two enthusiastic individuals from Poetry Alive! Poetry Alive is a Poetry Company. The Poetry Alive actors have memorized hundreds of poems, from the classics to the popular to the contemporary. Those poems, presented in engaging and memorable ways, become the connection to enhanced reading and writing skills. During the day the students listened to poems performed, wrote their own poetry, and also looked at a poem and made it into a skit with other students. It was an amazing day for the students and they truly enjoyed their time there. Check out the website http://www.poetryalive.com/ for more information.

Meretta, Liz, and Shane with the Poetry Alive! actors.

Moon Phases

2009-04-22T08:38:00.003-05:00

Luther Students, Jill, Erik and Gabe, came to teach a short unit on the moon phases. Students looked at models of the Earth, Sun, and Moon to show how they rotate and revolve. The 4th graders also drew the moon phases and described how they are different. At the end of the time here with us they had the students make the moon phases with Oreo Cookies. The students enjoyed the "new" teachers and also the science unit put together by the Luther Education Students. We will have 3 new teachers in our room to teach us about the planets and more about the solar system.Erik helping Courtney with her moon phases.

Deirdre having fun with her Oreo moon phases.

Erik and Jill both helping Phoebe with her moon phases.

Gabe helping Natalie with her moon phases.

Shane's completed moon phases, made with Oreos!

Immigrant Immersion Projects on Display

2009-04-19T09:40:00.000-05:00

Immigrant Immersion Projects Open House
4th Grade students have been working hard on learning how the immgrants of the late 1800's and early 1900's lived, worked, and came to their new country. To bring this experience to a close the students are asked to put together a project about all that they have learned and discovered. These incredible projects will be on display in the NW cafeteria the night of the Spring Concert. The Open House will begin at 6:15 and continue after the concert as well. Please come see their projects! If you miss it at the school you can see them at the Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum the week of May 11th-17th from 1-5pm daily. We will have a Student/Parent Open House at the Museum on Thursday, May 14th from 4:30-6:30 pm.

Parent Letter 4-17-09

2009-04-19T09:34:00.000-05:00

Hello! Well, the spring weather is finally here. We are enjoying it at school and look forward to even more warm weather to come our way. Please continue to remind your students about the choices they are making to wear to school. Our classroom is actually cooler than what it is outside, my recommendation is to dress in layers.

HOMEWORK: Homework is becoming more of an issue with the warm weather coming. Students are still required to get their homework finished and handed in during the morning hours. If they have difficulty please send them to school to ask me right away in the morning.

IMMIGRANT PROJECTS: Student projects are due on Monday. Students need both their immigrant project explanation and also their project on Monday. We will have them set up on Thursday evening before the concert at 6:15pm. Please bring family and friends to see the work your son/daughter has put into their immigrant projects.

GROCERY BAG WINNERS: Your son/daughter participated in the annual grocery bag contest. Each drew a picture about how important soil is to us. They drew these on a reusable grocery bag. These are being displayed at the Fareway store in Decorah. We had four winners in the 4th grade. Congratulations to Shane, Katey, Meretta, and Liz. They will be attending an awards breakfast with me on April 29th.

MAPS TESTING: The annual MAPS testing is coming right up. The students will be taking the MAPS testing on the computer during the week of April 27th. During this week please make sure your students are getting the sleep they need. Also, send a snack for them to have to feed their brain.

SCIENCE: Luther students have joined our classroom once again. There are currently three teachers in our room teaching us about the Solar System. We will have 3 more teachers in a couple weeks, followed by 3 more in early May. Ask your child what they are learning in Math. These teachers are amazing and are doing a fantastic job to keep the kids going and learning.

We only have 28 days of school left and plenty to do in 4th grade. Please remind students to try their best and work hard. The end of the year is difficult because of the warm weather but we do have lots of important things to cover. Please help your student remember that the end of the year is just as important as the middle of the year. Keep them on track. If you have any questions or concerns let me know.

Parent Letter 4-3-09

2009-04-05T20:22:00.000-05:00

Wow! Another week of school flying by, I find that as the year goes on the weeks seem shorter because time seems to go by quickly when you have items you want to cover before school gets out. To add to the weeks going by quickly there are is a lot going on over the next two months both in our classroom and also within the school. Just to mention a few:

*Early out Thursday, April 9th
*No School—Friday, April 10th and Monday, April 13th
*Vesterheim Trip—Tuesday, April 14th
*Old Creamery Theater—Monday, April 20th
*Vesterheim Projects Due—Monday, April 20th
*Vesterheim Trip—Tuesday, April 21st
*Spring Concert—Thursday, April 23rd
*Colin O’Brien Concert—Friday, April 24th
*MAPS Testing—Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday of the last week in April

As you can see we have a busy month and the month of May is just as busy. Please keep looking at your son/daughter’s assignment notebooks as class time is precious and homework may be coming home. I need students to keep up on work or they will be staying in for recess and with the beautiful spring weather (hopefully soon to come) the students won’t want to be inside doing homework but outside playing. I would appreciate your support with the last two months of school.

OCEAN ANIMAL MUSEUM to be open on Wednesday, April 8th at 8:30-9:30 and again on Thursday, April 9th from 12:45-2:00. Please join us to see our Ocean Animals and hear us talk about the ocean animals we have been studying. We will start at 9:30/12:45 with a class and run a new session every 15 minutes. Please join us for one of the sessions! If you have questions please e-mail or call me at school.

Thanks for the continued support of the students in 4th grade. I couldn’t be as good of a teacher without the help of the parents that stand behind their students.

Vesterheim Visits

2009-03-18T21:53:00.004-05:00

The students have started to visit the Vesterheim Museum. We have learned about the ship ride over to the United States, what they pack in their trunk and also how to travel when you get to the United States. The students in 4th grade have become immigrants and have started to keep a journal of their immigrants journey from their home country to the United States. These journals and the student's at home projects will be seen at the Elementary Spring Concert. We look forward to sharing these amazing projects!!

3rd Quarter News

2009-03-17T15:38:00.001-05:00

An Ocean Museum at North Winneshiek School? Is it possible? Of course it is when you are in 4th grade! The 4th grade class is studying about several vertebrate ocean animals including whales, dolphins, manatees, turtles, and stingrays. The students are gathering important information about their animal writing a research paper and then presenting a few facts. The presentations will be done to classes in the lower and upper elementary. The classes come to the 4th grade classroom where there will be models of each animal. Then the 4th grade students will give a short speech about their animal. It will be an exciting time for the students in 4th grade and at North Winn to learn new information on ocean animals! The 4th graders will also gain more knowledge on various writing skills. The ocean in our classroom is an ocean of learners!

Realistic fiction, humor, adventure, and fantasy are the talk of the 4th grade reading groups. The students are reading books from each of these genres. During discussions in groups we talk about why the book fits into that particular genre, the characters, personalities, and also the problems or conflicts that the characters face. The students are involved with their comprehension on an individual level and also a group level. They are answering questions together and with their group, learning to communicate their answers, as well as, writing them down with details on paper. We will continue to develop these skills in reading.

In Reading, we also started a new reading block time. It is the Daily 5. Students have learned right along with me about this amazing program and have flourished as readers. They are now taking a more active role in picking out books, learning about retelling and how to read to someone effectively. If you want to see what we have been doing in our classroom with this new reading block time, log onto my blog at http://www.northwinn4thgrade.blogspot.com/ , there is a lot of information about this exciting new reading block time in our classroom!

There may be only one quarter remaining but there are lots of new ideas and adventures to undertake. The 4th grade students will be involved in their learning, create their learning, and develop their skills as the end of their 4th grade year draws near.

Character Counts Lesson on Fairness

2009-02-27T20:40:00.003-06:00

Each group got a bag of marshmallows and toothpicks. They had to build with them. Look to see what the students have created and how they worked together!

Parent Letter

2009-02-26T21:58:00.000-06:00

Can you believe that there is one more day in the month of February? I can’t believe that this school year has flown by so quickly. I am positive that the rest of the school year will go even more quickly than we think that it will go. We also have a lot of things to fit into the end of the year. The students are doing well keeping up with the new challenges that are placed in front of them. We do need to remind them that homework is important and the responsibility of doing it is beneficial.

The Vesterheim Immigrant Immersion program has started for the 4th graders. I have never seen a class so excited about getting started with their immigrant journals and getting started with their at home projects. Be sure to discuss the immigrant identity sheet with your child over the weekend and return it by Tuesday. Be checking your child’s folders for more information with the immigration unit, we will need your help with some of the things your child will be doing.

Imagine the 4th grade classroom quiet for 20 minutes…it is happening. The new program that I have started for our reading program is working. The students have been working on their STAMINA during Read to Self time. They made it up to 20 minutes for a week now and we have been staying there to make sure they we can actually do the 20 minutes. It is amazing!! We will continue to work on our STAMINA and build even further. If you have questions about the new strategies that I am using with the students feel free to ask.

Ocean reports are coming along nicely. Some of the 4th grade students have started their report. In the next week we will be measuring out our ocean animals and then starting to create them in art class. It is a process that we will continue working hard on until our Ocean Animal Museum.

Remember to keep up to date with the 4th grade class and also all the resources that are available to the 4th graders at my blogspot. http://northwinn4thgrade.blogspot.com/ The students have been on my blogspot and are currently using the resources for their ocean report and also their new state reports.

Dates to remember:
• March 1st-24th—Boating with Books Down the Mississippi
• March 17th—Luther Play "Diavolo"
• March 20th—End of 3rd Quarter—Out Early
• March 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st —Field Trips to Vesterheim

Thanks for your continued support of your son or daughter.

2009-02-12T10:48:00.009-06:00

These are pictures of the students swimming last week at the Cresco Fitness Center. The students had to read their goal number of minutes to go on this trip.

Shane and Weston floating!

Meretta

Weston having fun!

Mr. D and Mrs. Sand playing a little pool basketball!

The 5th grade girls hanging together!

The 4th grade girls having fun together in the pool!

2009-01-29T21:12:00.001-06:00

Dear Parents,

Wow! Another week with 5 full days of school. It was wonderful!

On Tuesday, Mrs. Christopher and I team taught a lesson. Mrs. Christopher came into the 4th grade room. We team taught a lesson on "GOOD FIT BOOKS". Choosing a "Good-Fit Book" takes practice, but with 5 strategies, students are able to better pick a book to read. The 5 strategies use the acronym, I PICK:

I choose a book.
P urpose--Why do I want to read?
I nterest--Does it interest me?
C omprehend--Am I understanding what I am reading?
K now--I know most of the words, using the 5 finger rule.

We demonstrated to students how to choose a shoe based on our purpose of clothing. I brought in Addison's shoes and Mrs. Christopher brought in her doll. The students learned how we use this same process when doing other things in life and that choosing a book is just as important as the picking of shoes we put on our feet!

We had a great time team teaching and we are going to be teaching together during the rest of this year. I know that the students really enjoyed it and so did we.

Ask the students about the layers of the ocean and the ocean food chain. They should be able to tell you the 4 layers of the ocean. The students and I also discussed and learned about the ocean food chain. There are 5 different areas to the food chain, plankton, zooplankton, small fish, large fish, and mammals. These can either be very simple or more complex, we are learning the simple version of the ocean food chain. After, we discuss the food chain and the layers of the ocean we will cover a couple more areas and then decide what animals we will be studying.

Next week is going to be busy. On Wednesday, the students will be taking the NAEP test and learning about their February book project. Thursday I will be attending an Iowa Core Curriculum meeting all day in Elkader and finally on Friday, the students will be swimming at the Cresco Fitness Center. Busy, busy!

To keep up to date on your student follow the blog I started. The internet address is http://www.northwinn4thgrade.blogspot.com/
Or go to the North Winn homepage, elementary, and click on my name. I am going to start putting the Friday letters on there, as well as, fun daily lessons that I will be teaching. I think it will be a great way for you and students to keep up to date.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Wednesday, February 4th—NAEP Testing
Friday, February 6th—Swimming at the Cresco Fitness Center for January Reading Calendar—Keep Reading!!! New project coming soon!
Tuesday/Thursday, February 10th & 12th—Parent/Teacher Conferences
Friday, February 13th and Monday, February 16th—No School

Conferences are coming up, but if you ever have questions or comments that you would like to share, contact me via e-mail or phone.

Good Fit Books

2009-01-27T09:34:00.002-06:00

Today, Mrs. Christopher came into the 4th grade room. We team taught a lesson on "GOOD FIT BOOKS". Choosing a "Good-Fit Book" takes practice, but with 5 strategies, students are able to better pick a book to read. The 5 strategies use the acronym, I PICK:

I choose a book.
P urpose--Why do I want to read?
I nterest--Does it interest me?
C omprehend--Am I understanding what I am reading?
K now--I know most of the words, using the 5 finger rule.

We demonstrated to students how to choose a shoe based on our purpose of clothing. I brought in Addison's shoes and Mrs. Christopher brought in her doll. The students learned how we use this same process when doing other things in life and that choosing a book is just as important as the picking of shoes we put on our feet!

Northeast Region Slideshows

2009-01-26T21:10:00.004-06:00

Here are the 4th Grade Slideshows from the Northeast Region

www.n-winn.k12.ia.us/fourthppt/Boston.ppt.htm
Austin, Shane, Deirdre, Kayla

www.n-winn.k12.ia.us/fourthppt/new%20York%20city.ppt.htm
Brandon, Weston, Katey and Phoebe

www.n-winn.k12.ia.us/fourthppt/newark.ppt.htm
Natalie, Courtney, Liz, Justin

www.n-winn.k12.ia.us/fourthppt/Philadelphia.htm
Gavin, Chloe, Nick, Meretta

Enjoy the videos!

2009-01-26T09:06:00.000-06:00

We had a full week this week!! YEAH!! I was so excited to get in a full week and with testing it made for an easy transition into next week. I continue to wish for full weeks ahead and the snow to stay at bay.

ITBS Testing went well this week. We had “brain food” each day and the students worked extremely hard on the tests. We will get the results back in a month. Unfortunately, not in time for conferences, but they will be mailed to you shortly after we receive them here at school.

OCEANS—The students were able to go across to Ms. Meade’s room for an ocean layers demonstration. Ms. Youngmeyer and Mr. Dignin taught the students about salinity and temperature of the oceans. Ms. Youngmeyer is a Senior and Mr. Dignin is a Junior at Luther, doing a January term with Ms. Meade. We were very fortunate to have them do some wonderful demonstrations and stations with our students. We will continue to study about the ocean and then combine the vertebrates unit and ocean unit into our ocean animal unit. It will be a great combination!

SOCIAL STUDIES—The students will start with a new region next week. We just finished up the Northeast Region and we will start the Southeast Region. We will be studying these states a little differently as there are more states to cover. Students will be putting together projects about states to share with the class.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Wednesday, January 28—1:15 Dismissal Teacher In-Service
Wednesday, February 4th—NAEP Testing
Friday, February 6th—Swimming at the Cresco Fitness Center for January Reading Calendar—Keep Reading!!!
Tuesday/Thursday, February 10th & 12th—Parent/Teacher Conferences
Friday, February 13th and Monday, February 16th—No School

Book Orders—I have included a list of books that I would recommend and their lexile levels. Ask your child what his/her lexile level is and match the books accordingly. Research shows that students who have a book that fits 4 categories are more successful readers and more apt to continue reading without being asked. These categories are purpose (a book to support information that they want to gain or reading just for fun), interest (Do they devour mysteries? Learning more about a pet at home. Or do they want a book similar to the one they just finished?), comprehend and know (Are they able to retell you what the paragraph they just read was about? Does the student know the vocabulary that would go along with that book?) These are just some suggestions. I am taking a graduate class about effectively teaching reading in the classroom. I found that parents could easily help students pick out books using this strategy as well. If you have further questions about this process feel free to ask.
Thanks, Mrs. Wicklund

Welcome to my blog!

2009-01-09T18:58:00.000-06:00

Mrs. Christopher has helped me create a blog and I am so excited to see what can happen with this blog!