Mr. Blanc's Class

Math  We will be taking our first math test on Tuesday, 9/27. The test will cover the first 10 lessons. We will spend Monday reviewing for the test. Students will be sent home with a practice test on Monday evening. You can help your student prepare for the test by going over the practice test with them. Reading Each child now has a specific skill they are working on while reading. Check in with your student and ask about their progress on their skill. Students should also be recording their reading on their reading log. They are expected to read at least 2 hours outside of school each week. Vocabulary  Students will be tested on their ten vocabulary words from our read aloud book, The Tiger Rising. The test will be on Tuesday, 9/27. We have been working with the words in class, but your student may need to study them in order to be prepared for their test.  Writing Students have been making good progress in their narrative writing. So far we have worked on us...

Updates It was great to see everyone at Back to School Night! I'll touch on a few of the big topics that were discussed in this blog post, but if you weren't able to attend and you have any specific questions please let me know. Students will have their first vocabulary test on Tuesday, 9/20. They will be tested on six figurative language terms. We been spending about 10 minutes a day in class studying the words, however students are encouraged to study their words at home as needed. In addition to taking their vocabulary test, students will also get their new vocabulary words that will be tested the following week. Math     Last week we started our math curriculum. You can expect your student to have math homework each night, except for Friday nights. If you find that you are not quite sure what the students are expected to do on a lesson please take a look at the math videos in the Websites section of our class website. Reading At the end of the week I started reading...

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 Last week I started 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. Because time in text is the best way to improve as a reader, students will be expected to read at home two hours each week. They have a reading log to document the time spent reading. Word Work Students will have a set of vocabulary words e...

Hello! The purpose of this blog is to communicate with families about the events in Mr. Blanc's class. Research shows that when students talk to their parents about school they perform better. This blog can be a valuable tool to help families facilitate meaningful discussion with their child by giving them specific things to talk about. I hope to see you all at the West TV Meet and Treat on Thursday, 9/1 from 4:30 - 5:00! Please contact me if you ever have any questions or concerns. I look forward to getting to know my new students and their families!

Updates This will be the final week of school. It has been a pleasure to work with this group of students! Each morning I wake up excited for the chance to spend the day with this class. Thank you for the great support from home, it makes my job so much easier! Artist Visit We will get to work with an artist this week. His name is Mark and he will be joining us Monday-Thursday. He will teach some collage techniques, and then the students will create a final collage piece. Health  Students came home with information about an upcoming health lesson. The lesson will cover changes a child goes through as they get older. 4th grade boys will be with me for the lesson and the girls will go to Ms. Youm's class. All students will participate in the lesson, unless they are opted out by a parent. 4th Grade Olympics On the last day of school we will have 4th Grade Olympics! Students from our class and Ms. Youm's class will create events out of objects in the classroom. Then ...

Updates I can't believe we are down to the final two weeks of school! If you are a volunteer that comes to our room on a specific day each week, you should have received an email letting you know that we won't need volunteers the final two weeks of school. Thank you for giving your time to our class this year! When students return to school on Monday, 6/6 they will have reading logs due. Inquiry  We are beginning to wind down our inquiry unit on responding to change. Most of the students have turned in their opinion paper and completed their action plan. There are a few students who will finish up next week. The students who have completed their paper and action plan are now using the inquiry time for Genius Hour. They get to research any topic that interests them, but they are responsible for coming up with a way to share their knowledge with me.   Everyday Heroes  Next week we will begin a unit that combines nonfiction reading and collage. Students will read biog...

Updates There is no school on Monday, 5/30 because of Memorial Day. When students return to school on Tuesday, 5/31 they will have a reading log due.     Inquiry Most students have completed their opinion paper in which they convince others of an appropriate response to a change in the world. When students finish their paper, the next step is to come up with an action plan. A few examples of action plans in progress are making posters to convince students the importance of not wasting food, giving a presentation to educate other classes in the school about the importance of preparing for an earthquake , one student has written letters to our state legislators and has already received feedback from one of them! The action plans are open-ended and can be anything the student comes up with. Check in with your student and ask them about their action plan.   Government Last week students formed committees. These committees are currently working on writing a bill that th...