Mr. Blanc's Class

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...

It was great to see everyone who made it to Back to School Night last Thursday! I hope you left with an understanding of the curriculum and expectations for 4th grade. Reading Log This Tuesday students will be sent home with their first reading log. Students have the expectation to read three hours outside of school each week. Reading logs will be turned in each Tuesday, and a new one will be going home as well. Vocabulary In addition to the reading log, students will be sent home with vocabulary words each Tuesday. They will be quizzed on the words the following Tuesday. We spend time in class learning about the words, so it is up to the student to decide whether or not they need to spend time studying them at home as well. Inquiry Our first inquiry unit of the year is under the theme of Who We Are. The central idea of the unit is that people bring their cultural and personal beliefs to a community of learners. So far students have started thinking about their values. They...

First Week We had an awesome first week of school! We accomplished all of our first week goals which were to get to know each other, understand the classroom norms and agreements, and start getting baseline academic data on where starting are in reading, writing, and math. Headphones Please have your student bring headphones to school. If you are unable to get headphones for your child, let me know and I'll make sure they are provided. Stay Connected Instagram Follow our class Instagram account at blanc.wstv. Here I'll be posting pictures of what we're up to. Parent Survey Thank you to those who have already returned their Parent Survey. If you haven't sent it back to school yet, please send it with your student next week.  Upcoming Dates Friday, September - Back to School Picnic 6 - 8   Thursday, September 12th - Back to School Night 6 - 7:30

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 start getting some baseline data on where students are at in reading, writing, and math. Today we made great progress towards the 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.

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, 8/2 9 at 4:30 . Please contact me if you ever have any questions or concerns. I look forward to getting to know my new students and their families!

Final Week of School  We have reached the last week of the year! It has been such a pleasure to teach this great class! I hope everyone has a wonderful summer.  Reading Students have one more reading log due on Tuesday, 6/11. Some of the students have completed their final book response of the year on Seesaw. The rest of the children will finish this week. Please make sure your child continues to read over the summer. Set aside time each day for them to read. To help keep them interested in reading I suggest taking them to the library every few weeks. Another way to keep your child interested in reading is to get them a magazine subscription. I remember as a child my parents gave me a subscription to Sports Illustrated for Kids and that was huge for my development as a reader. Idiom of the week: all good things come to an end Writing The students are working hard to finish up their final writing pieces. They took a look back through their writing notebooks and sel...

I can't believe we are down to the last two weeks of school! It has been so much fun to work with the students in this class. The end of the year is always crazy, but I've made a goal for myself to make sure I really appreciate the last two weeks I get to spend with this great group of children. Field Trip We are starting the week off with our field trip to the Cedar Mill wetlands. We will leave the school at 9:30 and expect to return at 11:20. There is no need to pack a lunch as we will be back by then. We will be outside and working near the creek so students will want to make sure they are wearing clothing they are okay with getting a little dirty. I was out of the building on Friday, but as of Thursday, we still had a few students who hadn't returned their permission slip. If you haven't sent the permission slip back with your student, please make sure they bring it with them on Monday. Inquiry Our field trip is supporting our sharing the planet inquiry with t...