Pyramids

Today, in math, we talked about pyramids. We talked about how a pyramid and cone are alike and how they are different. Then, we used straws and twist ties to construct pyramids. Groups had to work together to make their pyramids. We made square pyramids, triangular pyramids, rectangular pyramids, pentagonal pyramids and hexagonal pyramids.

Quotation Marks

Our grammar focus this week has been quotation marks. We practiced writing sentences with quotation marks by using macaroni.

Utah Symphony

We had the great privilege of getting to watch the Utah Symphony yesterday. I couldn't take photos at the symphony but I did manage to snap a photo of us walking to the Eccles Center. The kids looked great! Many dressed up for the occasion.

This Week...

This week, being a short week, we will not have spelling words or homework packets. Tuesday will be an early out day. Students will be dismissed at 12:30.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

How To...

We just got done with our most recent writing project--write to inform: instructions. To demonstrate, I brought in some bread, peanut butter and jelly. The students had to give me the instructions for how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The focus of the lesson was that when we give instructions, we need to make them step-by-step and clear enough for someone to follow. These stories will be coming home soon. This week our writing focus is a persuasive letter. We are in the process of working on a persuasive letter, as if we were a turkey, writing to someone persuading them not to eat us for Thanksgiving dinner. They are turning out to be very cute letters. These letters will be coming home before Thanksgiving break.

Halloween Party

We had a great Halloween party on Friday! A big "thank you" to Mimi Denton and Stephanie Howell for planning the fun activities and to Muggins Haerter for the yummy Frankenstein cupcakes and Carson for the scrumptious cookies. Before the party, however, we had a school Halloween parade. It was so fun to see the students dressed as princesses, monsters, animals, etc....


We had a mummy-wrapping contest.




We ate yummy cupcakes and cookies.


The students had to act out words, such as 'haunted house' and 'trick or treat.'

Come Join Our Halloween Celebration!

The kids are super excited to show off their costumes this Friday during our school's Halloween parade. The parade will start at about 8:30 and parents are more than welcome to come and watch the parade. Right after the parade, we will be having a small party in our classroom. We'll have cupcakes and juice. We will also be doing a few activities in our classroom. Come join us and see all of the students' fun costumes.

Arrrrg...It's a Pirate!

Today we went to listen to a pirate read us a story. The pirate is part of the book mobile that will be at our school for 2 weeks. The students will be going out to the book mobile during part of their library time.

As long as we are talking about books, don't forget about the book fair going on in the library this week. It is open before and after school. Our very gracious PTO has given each child a $5.00 coupon to use at the book fair. Please be sure to thank the PTO for this wonderful gift.

5th Grade Reading Buddies

We have 5th grade reading buddies! Our goal is to meet with our buddies 1x/month. During our first meeting with them, the students interviewed each other which, later, they turned into a paragraph. This will go into their memory book (which will be brought home at the end of the year).

Writing and Grammar

I just wanted to let you know what we have been working on (for writing and grammar) these past few weeks. We started writing some expository text using the Step-Up to Writing model. The topic sentence is where we GO so think of that like it is green (like a stop light). Then we start to slow down and talk about some details. This is yellow. At the red we STOP. This is the meat of the story--the evidence, smaller details, etc.... Here is an example of a student's expository writing:


Next week, we will be starting a report about bats.

For grammar, we have been working on making nouns plural. On the day we talked about adding -es to words ending in s, x, ch and sh we made a book:






This week, we are working on proper nouns.

Back to Normal

The Comstock/Kearns intersection has returned to normal!! Yay! Beginning Monday, September 27th, you may resume dropping off and picking up your child/ren in the school parking lot. You no longer have to drop them off at the high school. Thank you for your patience during this time of construction.

Starry Night

The art program looks a lot different this year than it did last year. Once a month, we will listen to a brief presentation (and see a powerpoint) about a specific artist and focus. Then, two weeks after our presentation, the students will have the opportunity to create their own artwork of that artist/focus. This past month was Vincent Van Gogh and Starry Night. The students did an amazing job of creating their own variations of Starry Night. If you would like to view your child's artwork, please check out this link: http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=63543. I will also be posting some pictures of the artwork on the blog this week.


Here is just a sampling of the students' amazing artwork:

Bicycle Safety

Today was Bike/Walk/Scooter to Work (School) Day. We even had someone in our class pogo stick to class. This afternoon, we had an assembly outside with a police officer. He taught us some safety tips for riding our bikes. Just remember A-B-C. A=check the air in your tires; B=check your brakes; C=check your cranks (pedals). He also taught us the proper hand signals. Be sure to ask your child what s/he learned from the officer. Most importantly, we need to wear our helmets when we ride our bikes.

R.O.C.K.

We have a school-wide behavior system known as R.O.C.K. R=Respect, O=Organization, C=Cooperation, K=Kindness. If our entire class is caught showing "rockin'" behavior, we receive a golden "You R.O.C.K." ticket. The primary class and intermediate class with the most golden "You R.O.C.K." tickets at the end of the month will receive ice cream sandwiches. White "You R.O.C.K." tickets are handed out to individual students for exhibiting "rockin'" behavior. Students put their tickets in a basket in our room and I draw 1 ticket per day. That person gets to choose something out of the treasure box.

To follow the R.O.C.K. system, our class rules are built around the same principle. R=Respect (Treat others how you want to be treated.) O=Organization (Raise your hand to talk.) C=Cooperation (Listen to each other.) K=Kindness (No put-downs.)

Behavior Systems

We will have the following 3 behavior systems in our classroom: individual, table groups and whole class.

Individual: Each student has a weekly chart on his/her desk. On this chart will be where I record stars and checks. Stars mean all rules are being followed and the student is doing what s/he is supposed to be doing. When a student gets 15 stars s/he will get to choose something from the treasure box. Checks are recorded when the student is exhibiting some sort of inappropriate behavior. Examples of this may include, but are not limited to, talking during work times, bothering another student, making noises and saying put-downs. One check= warning. Two checks=talk with the teacher. Three checks=miss recess. Four checks=call home.

Table groups: Table groups will earn points for working well together and following our R.O.C.K. rules. At the end of the week, the table group with the most points will earn a reward.

Whole class: Students will work towards using the laptops (which are stored in a cart and can be wheeled into our room). It will be a point system: Mrs. Tullis vs. The Class. The class can earn points for staying on task, lining up quickly and quietly and walking quietly in the hallway, just to name a few. I earn points if the class does not do the tasks mentioned above. If the class has more points at the end of the day, they earn a letter. Our goal is to spell out the word L-A-P-T-O-P-S. If I have more points at the end of the day, no letter is given.

Homework Folders

We can talk more about homework folders at the Back to School night but, for now, I wanted to share some information with you.

Students will have homework starting this Monday, August 30th. Homework folders go home on Mondays and should be returned the following Monday. Your child's homework folder will consist of the following:

reading log: Your child should read, at least, 20 minutes per night. Please make sure to record the date, book title, number of minutes read and your initials.

math: In the Everyday Math program, homework does not begin until lesson 11 so, until then, I will be sending home review, supplemental materials. On the bottom of the cover sheet, it will tell you which day to complete which math paper.

spelling list: We will practice our spelling words during class but a list will be sent home in case you would like to practice at home, as well. If you need additional ideas for practicing your child's spelling words, I will have a list at the Back to School night.

Welcome!!

Dear Parents and Students,


It's almost that time again. The 2010-2011 school year is about to begin! It is going to be a fantastic year!

I hope you can all make it to the "meet and greet" (open house) on Tuesday, August 24th from 3-4 p.m. on the playground. I am so excited to meet you!

Please check back soon to find out more about our classroom, procedures and expectations.


Sincerely,
Mrs. Tullis

L-A-P-T-O-P-S

In order for our class to earn the use of the laptops, they must spell out the word "laptops." The class earns points for following directions, responding to quiet signals, walking quietly in the hallway, and getting good reports from specialists. I earn points when the class does not follow through with any of the above expectations. If the class has more points before lunch, they earn a letter. The same is true if they have more points at the end of the day. If I have more points before lunch and/or at the end of the day, a letter (or letters) get removed. I was really excited to introduce them to a new application on Friday. Ask your child about the project they did on Comic Life.

Writing With More Details

We have been working on including more details in our writing. Along with that, we've been reviewing complete sentences. To show off what we learned, our class made a dragon flip book.



Each student started by making a page like this...


As students read the book, they can mix and match the pages.

Relief for Haiti

The Student Council is holding a "medical supplies drive" to help out the people of Haiti. I would love to have our whole class participate in this event. Our class is in charge of collecting band-aids and gallon-sized plastic bags. Everything must be new! There will be a box in our classroom to collect the supplies. Let's do what we can to help out an area that has been devastated by this tragic event. Thank you for your support.