Mr. Blanc's Class

Reading By Monday, 10/2 each student will have their first reading goal. They are responsible for working on their reading goal during their in class independent reading time. Each time I conference with them I'll check in on their previous reading goal and then give them another reading goal to work on. Your student should know what their reading goal is, have them tell you. Vocab Our vocabulary for next week will again focus on figurative language. Instead of showing an understanding of the definition, students will be given six types of figurative language and asked to write an example of each. The six types of figurative language they will need to give examples of are simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, and idiom. Idiom of the Week From this point forward we will have a different idiom of the week each week. Students are encouraged keep an eye out for the idiom of the week and share when they encounter it in their lives. Our first idiom of the w...

Reading Students will turn in their 1st weekly reading log of the year on Tuesday, 9/26. They are expected to record a minimum of three hours reading outside of school each week. Now that we have established our reading expectations for the classroom, students will begin getting reading goals next week. Each student is responsible for working on their reading goal as they read, have your student tell you what their reading goal is.  Vocab Our first vocabulary test of the year will be on Tuesday, 9/26. Students were sent home with a paper copy of the words but they can also practice the words here . One thing we have talked about this week is that figurative language is everywhere. I've let the class know that any student who notices figurative language over the weekend in a song, book, conversation, or anywhere else will be added to the classroom Wall of Fame.    Math Our focus in math has been communicating our thinking with each other. The studen...

Reading Next week we will begin having the expectation that students read 3 hours a week outside of school. Students will be given a reading log to document their reading on Tuesday. They will turn the reading log in the following Tuesday. Vocabulary Students will be given their first set of vocabulary words on Tuesday. They will be tested on these words the following Tuesday. The words this week are introducing figurative language. We will be studying the words in class, but some students may want to study the words on their own at home as well. One way to study the words is to use quizlet. There is a link to the website under the Websites page of this blog. Students will have been shown how to get to the site and use it to practice their words by Tuesday. Inquiry We are in the beginning of our first PYP inquiry unit. The first unit falls under the transdisciplinary theme of Who We Are. The central idea of our unit is that people bring their cultural and personal beliefs to a c...

First Week Goals I had three goals that I wanted to focus on during the first week. They were to get to know each other, learn the classroom expectations, and begin to collect to beginning of the year academic data on students. I feel that we had a successful first week and accomplished those three goals. Reading Next week I'll start the process of reading with each of the students and having a conversation with them about their reading. Studies have shown that by far the best way to improve as a reader is to read. In order for the time spent reading to have the best impact, students need to be reading just right books. When I have finished reading with each child next week, I'll have a good idea of the just right books for each student. Back to School Night Back to School Night will be on Thursday, September 14th starting at 6 pm. If you have any questions about classroom expectations, the 4th grade curriculum, volunteer opportunities, or anything else, thi...

Today was an awesome start to the school year! I have three goals for our class this week (1) I want us to get to know each other, (2) I want to make sure that we know and understand the classroom norms and essential agreements, and (3) I want to get some baseline data on where students are at in reading, writing, and math. Today we made great progress towards the three first week goals. I'm really looking forward to working with the students in this class! If you ever have any questions, please, don't hesitate to send me an email.