Mr. Blanc's Class

 Click on the link below to view our week at a glance.   The Week at a Glance

Inquiry Next week we'll begin our Where We Are in Place and Time inquiry unit. The central idea of this unit is migration impacts individuals and communities. The lines of inquiry are reasons for migration, ways migration impacts quality of life, and impact on current groups. In the beginning of the unit we'll learn about migration by studying westward expansion, starting with the Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark led Corps of Discovery. Math Students will continue their study of fractions next week. Up to this point our main focus has been working with equivalence and comparing fractions. Two of the big ideas students should grasp are for fractions to be equivalent, the ratio must be kept constant and the greater the denominator, the smaller the pieces. Next week the students will work on adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators. Conferences Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences will take place the first week of April. Please go to...

How We Organize Ourselves Thank you to all of the chaperones who joined us for our field trip to the State Capitol! Hopefully you have had a chance to check out some of the pictures from the trip on our class Instagram account, blanc.wstv. On Friday, our classroom committees presented their classroom bills. There was fierce debate but in the end, only one of the five bills got a majority vote in both the House of Representatives and Senate and is now a classroom law. Have your student tell you what they think of the new classroom law. Last Monday, I sent you an email letting you know that we will begin teaching our state mandated Erin's Law lessons next Monday, 3/2. In the email I sent a link that included information on the learning outcomes as well as a link to a website with more information. If you review these materials and decide you want your student to opt out of the lessons, please contact the office and they will get you the opt out form. Students that opt out will do ...

How We Organize Ourselves When students return to school next Monday they will learn which committee they have been placed in. On Friday, they listed their top three preferences between culture, health and safety, infrastructure, technology, and rules. Once they've been placed in their committees, they'll work with their fellow members to craft a classroom bill that they believe should become a classroom law. On Friday, 2/28, each committee will get a chance to make their case and then each bill will be voted on. In order to become a classroom law a bill needs to get a majority vote in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Then Governor Blanc will need to sign it.  Field Trip Our field trip to Salem will take place on Tuesday, 2/25! We will be leaving school at 9 and expect to return around 1. Chaperones please arrive at the school by 8:45 so we are able to get our groups established. Reading  As book groups are finishing their books they will have a written res...

Short Week Students won't return to school until Wednesday, 2/19. Because there is no school on Monday or Tuesday, they will turn in their reading logs on Wednesday. How We Organize Ourselves Our classroom has now been divided into Senators and Representatives. Each legislative group selected their leader. Next week the students will be placed in committees. The committees will work together to craft a bill that they will attempt to convince their fellow lawmakers to turn into a law. In order for their classroom bill to become a law it will need to get a majority vote in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Then it will have to get signed by Governor Blanc. Writing We're working on writing strong persuasive arguments. The students have learned how to outline their argument by determining what their claim will be and their reasons to support the claim. Some of the ways they have been elaborating their reasons include brief stories, statistics, and counter argument...

Reading The book groups are really taking off! Have your student tell you about a character in their book. They should be able to provide evidence from the book to support their opinions of the character. In an effort to get quality nonfiction texts in the hands of our students I will now be sending Time for Kids magazines home with students on Wednesdays. These may be used as at home reading for weekly reading logs. Please encourage your child to take advantage of this great resource. Idiom of the Week : cat got your tongue? How We Organize Ourselves Last week we learned about the three branches of our state government. The students were introduced to a fun resource called icivics.org. It's a great place to play simulations related to government. For example, they were able to be a legislator and work to get laws passed. Next week we'll go more in depth on the process of bills becoming laws. Hopefully you have already seen the paperwork for our upcoming field trip to ...

Social Emotional Learning This week in class we learned about our social filter. The students were introduced to the idea of a thinking bubble and a talking bubble. The words in our thinking bubble are private and only for us. Our social filter makes sure that words in our thinking bubble that cause hurt feelings, embarrassment, or are disrespectful are kept out of our talking bubble, which can be heard by others. We read a great book called "I Can't Believe You Said That" by Julia Cook that helps teach the importance of a social filter.   Reading The students have now been placed in a book group. Each book group has selected their book. They also decided how many pages they would read each day. Ask your student to tell you which book they are reading, how many pages or chapters they are reading each day, and when they will finish their book. Idiom of the Week: in the same boat Math We are continuing our multiplication and division unit. We made solid gro...

Report Cards I can't believe we've reached the midpoint of the year! First semester report cards will be available on Monday, 2/3 on ParentVue. Please keep in mind that the proficiency levels on the report card of your student are based on end of year 4th grade expectations. Inquiry Thank you so much to all of the volunteers who pitched in last week to film the natural disaster videos! We wouldn't have been able to do it without you! Our next inquiry unit will be under the theme of How We Organize Ourselves. The central idea of the unit is community values influence leaders and impact decision making. In this unit students will learn about our state government in Oregon. Math We are in the middle of our multiplication and division unit. Next week students will focus on dividing two digit numbers by one digit divisors. They'll learn how to use partial products to break a larger dividend into two easy to divide by numbers. For example they may solve a problem like ...

There will be no school on Monday, 1/20 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. How the World Works Next week we will be filming our natural disaster videos! A huge thanks to the parent volunteers who have signed up to film the students! We wouldn't be able to do this without your help. Most of the groups in our class will be filming on Tuesday, 1/21. Because we are using a green screen, students should not wear green on the day they are filming.  Idiom of the week: fly off the handle Report Cards  Beaverton School District will no longer be sending paper report cards home. The report cards will now be posted on ParentVue. The first semester report card will be available on Monday, 2/3. Continent Club For the forseeable future, Continent Club study materials can be accessed via links in the Monday Minute. Continent Club is a highly recommended, but optional, study at home program. All students will be tested at Continent Check on January 30th. Below are lin...

How the World Works We are nearing the end of our How the World Works inquiry with the central idea that people use scientific knowledge to respond to a changing Earth. Students have been working hard researching their natural disasters and writing an informational paper about them. Next week they'll begin our culminating project for this unit, which will involve the students filming videos using a green screen. The filming of these videos will take place on 1/21, 1/22, and 1/23.  We’re asking for parent volunteers to sign up for sections of time to film a small group of students using an iPad. We will set up the green screen and the students will be well rehearsed and ready to go. If you are interested in filming please go to the link below and sign up for a time. We are asking for two volunteers for each filming session. Feeling a little unsure about using the technology? No worries, we’ll give a quick 10-15 minute tutorial on how to use the iPad to film with a green screen ...

How the World Works To further our understanding of our how the world works central idea, which is, people use scientific knowledge to respond to a changing Earth, we will have two days with guests next week! On Monday, 12/16 a representative from the Red Cross Pillowcase Project will join our class to talk about being prepared for natural disasters. Then on Thursday, 12/19 we will have an expert panel of community members visiting our school. Andrew Phelps - Director of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management Mike Mumaw - Emergency Manager City of Beaverton Paul Jewell - Emergency Coordinator Beaverton School District Scarlet Valentine - Principal West TV This panel will give the students a chance to speak with leaders from their school, school district, city and state communities and see the work they do to prepare for natural disasters. Math Last week students learned what makes a number prime or composite. Have your child tell you the difference between the two....

How the World Works Our inquiry unit with the central idea that people use scientific knowledge to respond to a changing Earth is off and running. This week students learned about tectonic plates and how their movement can cause earthquakes. Next week we'll study volcanoes, landslides, and wildfires.  Reading Students have learned that knowledge of text structures can help readers determine the main ideas and supporting details from nonfiction text. The structures we have studied are chronological, problem/solution, cause and effect, compare/contrast, and description. Ask your student to tell you about the different text structures we've studied. Another way you can support your student in their nonfiction reading is to highlight everyday examples. Whether it's reading recipes, instructions on assembling furniture, street signs, or the back of cereal boxes. Idiom of the week : sit on the fence Math   To get started with our multiplication and division unit we'...

Short Week There will only be two days of school next week because of Thanksgiving Break. Monday, 12/2 is a Staff Development day, so students will not be in school then either. Students will return to school on Tuesday, 12/3. Inquiry The Innovation Fair was a great way to finish our How We Express Ourselves inquiry unit. Thank you to everyone who joined us! Our next inquiry will be under the theme of How the World Works. The central idea is people use scientific knowledge to respond to a changing earth. Some of the content unit students will learn about include plate tectonics, weathering, and erosion. Reading Students will not be assigned new vocabulary words or a reading log over Thanksgiving break. Instead, they will be given an optional reading log and anyone who brings it back when we return to school on Tuesday, 12/3 will get on the class Wall of Fame.  Idiom of the week: hit the road Library Cards Today students were given Washington County Cooperative Lib...

Innovation Fair On Thursday, students were sent home with information about the 4th Grade Innovation Fair. This will be our culminating activity for our How We Express Ourselves inquiry unit with the central idea that people innovate using creativity and knowledge of energy. It will take place on Thursday, November 21st, from 1:40-2:20 in the school Library. Students have been given a design map and been put in charge of coming up with a creative idea that they can share at the Innovation Fair. This idea will solve a problem by improving an existing object, or by inventing a new one. If your child needs anything other than their Chromebook, Micro:Bits (a computer coding device), or basic school supplies, it is their responsibility to bring those items to school. Reading  A big focus for our class going forward will be having each student select books at their just right reading level. This is so important, because in order to grow big ideas about the books they are reading, stu...

Back at West TV! On Monday, 11/4 we'll be back at West TV! There's no place like home! Halloween Party Thank you to everyone who put together the Halloween party! The students had a great time!   Conferences  Fall conferences will take place Wednesday, 11/6 in the evening and Thursday, 11/7 from 8am-8pm. If you haven't signed up yet, please go to the link below and select a time that works for you. I look forward to meeting with everyone! https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/West_Tualatin_View_Elementary Idiom of the week : jump the gun Upcoming Dates Monday, November 4th - Back at West TV! Tuesday, November 5th - Reading Logs Due/Vocab Test Wednesday, November 6th - Conferences 3-8 Thursday, November 7th - No School - Conferences 8am-8pm Friday, November 8th - No School  Monday, November 11th - No School - Veterans Day

Last Week at Timberland Next week is scheduled to be our final week at Timberland! It's a beautiful building, but I'm looking forward to getting back to our space at West TV. We'll have a sink in our room, restrooms a one minute walk away, and lunch and specials will be at the same time everyday! Math We've completed our place value unit. Our next unit covers metric measurement. Students will work with liters, grams and meters. They'll need to know the prefixes milli, centi, and kilo. Keep up with the progress of your student by taking a look at their Seesaw activities. Reading Two of our big focuses in our current realistic fiction unit are developing ideas about characters and determining the theme or life lesson that can be learned from our books. Next week students will complete a Seesaw activity to show their progress in those two areas. On Monday, they'll be given a passage and asked to use evidence from the text to describe one of th...

Conferences Fall conferences will take place Wednesday, 11/6 in the evening and Thursday, 11/7 from 8am-8pm. You should have received an email from the office with a link to sign up for a time to meet. If you haven't signed up, please go to the link below and select a time that works for you. I look forward to sitting down and talking about your student with you.  https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/West_Tualatin_View_Elementary Writing  Now that we have studied figurative language students are noticing it in books they are reading, songs on the radio, TV shows they are watching, and conversations. On Monday, we will have our first idiom of the week. This is a fun way to help students further explore figurative language. Have your student tell you what the idiom of the week is each week. In class students are encouraged to include figurative language in their writing in order to give the reader a chance to feel like they are present in their story. Ask your student to te...

Math Our focus in math is going to shift to using addition and subtraction to solve multi-step word problems. In the problems students will be expected to show all of their work, create a visual representation, and write the answer as a statement.  Reading All of the students are reading realistic fiction books in class. In our mini-lessons we've been talking about characters and how they often change throughout the course of a book. We're asking students to describe their characters and give support from the text to explain their description.   Writing This week students will select one of their narrative drafts to turn into a published piece. They ' ll use revising and editing checklists to help them improve their current work. Ask your student which story they decided to turn into a final draft. Inquiry Our next inquiry falls under the theme of How We Express Ourselves. The central idea of this unit is people innovate using creativity and knowledge of energy....

Friday, 10/11 There will be no school for students on Friday, 10/11. It is a staff development day. Inquiry Our inquiry under the theme of Who We Are, with the central idea that people bring their cultural and personal beliefs to a community of learners, is nearing the end. Next week students will begin working on collages that represent their values, cultures, and a community they are part of. Math Hopefully you've had a chance to see some of the exit tickets your student has completed on Seesaw. These are a great way for you to see how your child is doing in math. Next week we will continue our place value unit and work on rounding. Usually this is the most difficult part of the place value unit for 4th graders.  Reading Students were sent home with their graded first vocabulary test last week. Their next test focuses on grammar and will take place on Tuesday, 10/8. In addition, they are expected to read three hours outside of school each week and record it on a read...

We made it through our first week at Timberland! I appreciate the flexibility and understanding of everyone as we do our best to get settled in.     Weekly Homework  With all of the changes going on, we gave the students a bit of a break on their homework last week. This week we will begin the usual routine of turning in reading logs on Tuesday and getting the new reading logs too. Students will also take their vocabulary test and then get new words to study for next Tuesday.  Math   We just finished a short math inquiry that focused on mathematical patterns and multiplication strategies. Hopefully you had a chance to see the story problem that was completed on Seesaw. Our next focus will be on place value. Students will be comparing numbers, using addition and subtraction to solve multi-step story problems, and use rounding to assess the reasonableness of their answers. Reading  Next week we will begin our realistic fiction unit. All student...