Mr. Blanc's Class

This will be our final week of state testing. The final test the students will take is the Math Performance Task. We will be taking the test at 12:50 on Wednesday. I've been very pleased with the effort students have given on their state assessments. Just a reminder that this is the final week of no spelling packets and reading log homework. We will continue with that routine starting next Monday, 5/4. Last Thursday the students gave their body system presentations. The groups did a nice job presenting their information. See the pictures of the groups with their posters at the bottom of the post. (I realized that I forgot to take a picture of the immune system group. I'll get a picture of them with their poster next week and email it to their families). Next week we will continue our Arts for Learning unit on Everyday Heroes. Last week we created a class list of qualities that make a hero. Then we began learning about Roberto Clemente and choosing some qualities that descri...

There will be no school on Friday, 4/24. It will be a Staff Development day. I will not be sending home a spelling packet or assigning reading logs again until we get done with our state testing. The Monday you should expect to see a spelling packet come home will be the 4th of May. The children did a great job during the first week of state testing! I appreciate how each child has been giving their best effort. A difference between the tests this year and tests in past years is that we will not know the scores until summer. The previous state tests were multiple choice so each child was given a score immediately after finishing the test. The new tests include short answer, paragraph writing, and showing your work. This requires that they be scored by people, which takes time. If you have any questions about testing please let me know.  Students have been researching information on their assigned body system. On Monday I will give them poster boards for their presentations...

The students learned about Pierre-Auguste Renoir at Art Lit on Tuesday. Enjoy the pictures of them creating their art inspired by Renoir's impressionism.

Next week our schedule will be a little different due to the beginning of state testing. Our class will be taking the English Language Arts (ELA) Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) on Monday and Tuesday. Then on Thursday and Friday we will take the Math (CAT). You can help your student do their best on these tests by helping them get a good nights rest and making sure they eat a full breakfast in the morning. I've attempted to ease any anxiety about the test for the students by emphasizing that these tests  do not determine whether they move on to 5th grade.   All they need to worry about is doing their best and showing what they know. If you have any questions about testing please feel free to contact me. There will be no spelling packet or reading log homework assigned on Monday, 4/13. I'm giving the students a break from the weekly homework during state testing. In math we will continue our study of decimals. Students will work on converting tenths and hundredths into fracti...

Students have a spelling packet and reading logs due on Monday, 4/6. They will also get their next spelling packet that will be due Monday, 4/13. Our next genre study will be on mystery books. Each student will find out the book they are in next week. At the initial meeting they will learn what page they will need to reach for each meeting. Next week we will begin a health unit on body systems. Students will work in groups to research a body system. At the end of the unit each group will give a presentation explaining why the body system they studied is the most important. In writing we have been studying poetry. We have written cinquains, haikus, acrostic, and shape poems. We have used alliteration, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, and different rhyming patterns in our poems. Soon the students will select their best poem and turn it into a final draft with a visual.  In math we will be jumping around the curriculum a little in the next few weeks to make sure we cover material that...