Mrs. Ball » Uncategorized

Spring Schedule

balld — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:20:28 +0000

Wow, is there a lot going on!! Here are a few things to mark on your calendar…

May 26 (Wed.): MSP Narrative Writing

June 1 (Tues): Field trip to Mix Park 8:30-10:30

June 3 (Thur.): Walk to DPE to visit reading buddies 1:00-2:00

June 4 (Fri): Bowling in am IF all classwork is caught up

June 7 (Mon): Math Camp (all day here)

June 8 (Tues.): Camp Read (all day here)

June 9 (Wed): LAST DAY!! Early release

Welcome back!

balld — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 19:17:34 +0000

Well, it’s certainly easier to be seeing snow out the window than blue skies and sunshine and wondering why it wasn’t warmer over the break!!

The next few weeks are jam-packed. Our last science kit (on water) arrived right before conferences and we will be spending a great deal of time learning more about our state. In reading, our focus will be on summarizing and determining important information. In addition to reviewing multiplication daily, we will be working hard on fractions and decimals.

Information on the last book project came out at conferences and the kids are practicing making book covers this week.

There will be no time for a dull moment!!

Conference Time!

balld — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:35:59 +0000

Parent/student/teacher conferences will be held on March 24 & 25. Because my daughter has an event I wish to attend, I am holding evening conferences on Wednesday the 24th instead of on Thursday evening. Forms are coming out on Monday for you to select your preferences. Remember, I encourage the kids to come and share their work with families!! I’m looking forward to seeing all of you soon.

Homework Update

balld — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:50:54 +0000

After a couple of catch up weeks, we are back on track. The kids will be coming home with Math 4 Today and new spelling words for Friday. Also, instead of timings on multiplication facts, the kids are bringing home double digit problems. We are learning a strategy called the “box method” and will be moving into the traditional method we learned later in the week.

Please let me know if you haven’t seen the pink book project form for Feb/March. This involves reading a nonfiction book, then putting together a presentation of some sort. It could be a poster, demonstration, video…have fun with this one!

Here’s the latest…

balld — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:32:45 +0000

There is never a dull moment in fourth grade! We’ve been busy learning about Washington’s climate, building circuits, and figuring out strategies for solving two-digit by one -digit multiplication problems. In reading we are working on the strategy of making inferences and Mrs. Otteson has helped with narrative writing to give me time to conduct some mid-year reading assessment. Ask about our bad day stories!

You probably noticed a change in homework assignments the past week or so. I decided to take a pause in Math 4 Today to spend extra time on skills the kids were struggling with. Thanks to the help of Mrs. Schatz and Mrs. Otteson, we’ve been able to do a lot od reteaching and clarifying in small group settings. Math $ Today will resume after the four day weeks.

Spelling is also slightly different during these short weeks. We are working on strategies for reading and spelling multisyllabic words. The kids are busy breaking down compound words, looking for prefixes & suffuxes, and finding syllables. Normal spelling will resume after the four day weeks, so don’t expect any spelling words until then. With all the midyear assessment going on, it’s been nice to take a break from a couple of weekly assessments.

Welcome to Jacie Lickfold, who is an EWU education student working in our classroom. She will be student teaching with me next winter.

As always, feel free to contact me with any questions/concerns!

Magnets and Electricity

balld — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:34:23 +0000

We are in the middle of some exciting investigations into magnetism
and electricity. The kids should be able to talk to you about magnetic force and building a circuit. They are having a blast with it!

Kid-Written Newsletter

balld — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:41:59 +0000

I am asking my kiddos who have interest and a few spare minutes to write paragraphs about what’s going on in our fourth grade class. The first one is not quite complete, but it’s at least a taste of what I hope to develop. It’s always fun to hear their perspective on things!

Weekly Update

Measurement Unit

balld — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:37:39 +0000

Last week we began a unit on measuring by sorting measurement words and working with a balance to weigh objects. We are building understanding so that kids will eventually be able to do unit conversions (e.g. inches to feet, ounces to pounds, centimeters to meters). This week’s focus is on weight. Vocabulary covered was: ounces, pounds, tons, milligrams, grams, kilograms.

Thank you…

balld — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:09:52 +0000

to those of you who returned the surveys I sent out at conferences. I really want to do a good job of keeping you informed about what’s going on in our classroom and of being in touch so we can work together for the benefit of the kiddoes. If you haven’t returned yours, feel free to send it in or to ask for another.

Welcome Back!

balld — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:55:04 +0000

I hope all of you had a wonderful winter break. It was a great first day back, although I had to leave halfway through because my daughter has strep. Please check the homework and book project pages for updates.