Shopping and Sushi
12/21/2019
This last week before the winter break has been a busy one for sure! With several projects and pieces of work to tie up, adverts and commercials to finalize and film, our second parent lunch and also spirit week. The class was certainly kept busy. The students worked furiously this week trying to get their radio and TV commercials made in time for Fridays parent lunch where they would premiere for the fist time. It was certainly a lot of fun making them and trying to include all the features we have learnt about persuasive writing into a short sequence and creative scene proved to be quite challenging. For our second parent lunch of the year we took it out of the classroom and to the local Fred Meyers. As part of their current project, as well as making adverts and commercials, each student had to price and cost out how much it would cost to make their products and what ingredients they would need to make their product. Staying within a budget and being able to get the most bang for your buck as it were is a valuable life skill and one that this current projects helps teach. Students were set a limit of $20 and had to be able to buy everything they needed and then figure out what they could reasonable sell their product for in order to make a profit. All profits will be going back to the school to help fund future field trips. Maybe an unconventional parent lunch but a fun and valuable one nonetheless. Sadly, we do have to say goodbye to one of our students. He will be sorely missed. Some of these students have been together since kindergarten and have developed deep and meaningful relationships with their peer group. This was clearly shown as students prepared their own personal poems that conveyed their thoughts and feelings to their classmates, the school community and to each other. Have a wonderful holiday break and Happy New Year!
Writing to Persuade...
12/13/2019
Our most recent writing unit has been titled "Boxes and Bullets, Personal and Persuasive Essays". 4th grade has really taken to the persuasive part of this unit. Perhaps learning how to use language and word choices to convince others to do your bidding resonates with the strong personalities we have in the class. We each wrote our own persuasive essay trying to convince others to join our cause. Whether it be; not having to wear a school uniform, playing video games in school or getting paid for good grade. Students had to to create an argument, write a thesis statement for that argument. Then back up their argument with reasons and evidence to support them. Students where challenged with using rhetorical questions, punctuation, opinion transitions to state their reasons as well as convincing language to persuade their peers. As well as a little exaggeration and perhaps a slight bending of the truth to give them an edge. Examples of their persuasive essays are below. After writing our persuasive essays we moved onto advertisements and commercials. We spent some time studying and critiquing advertisements from different sources, such as magazines, radio and TV. Breaking down the tricks they use to make their products stand out, and analyzing the language they used to convince consumers to buy their products. We collected our findings together in an anchor chart for our future use. This should come in handy as we have come up with our next project idea which should put our newfound knowledge of how to persuade to good use! Morning Meeting
12/7/2019
At PNA we use The Responsive Classroom Approach. It is a way of teaching that fosters safe, challenging and joyful classroom and school wide climates for all students. Using this approach we understand that all of a students' needs - academic, social, emotional and physical - are important. This is teaching to the whole child. At PNA we create an environment that responds to all of those needs using practical strategies for bringing together social and academic learning throughout the school day so that your child can do his or her best learning. Key responsive classroom practices include the following: - Morning Meeting - Guided Discovery - Creating Rules - Classroom Organization - Interactive Modeling - Academic Choice - Teacher Language - Collaborative Problem Solving - Logical Consequence - Working with Families The Morning Meeting is an integral part of Responsive Classroom and starts the day of in a positive, engaging and fun manner as well as bringing students together, building peer relations and developing social skills. Each and every morning meeting consists of:
At PNA, we strive to give students not only a voice but many opportunities to let those voices be heard. By taking part in the morning meeting, asking and answering questions, sharing news and conversing with peers. Students are not only revisiting new vocabulary and concepts, but they are able to state their opinion and respectfully disagree with the opinions of others. In just a short space of time the morning meeting welcomes students and conveys a sense of belonging, reminds students of key ideas and behaviors, as well as adding a challenge that gets their brains warmed up and ready to start the day. PNA performed their Christmas Concert on Thursday. It was a great show and 4th grade performed exceptionally! It is nerve wrecking performing in front of so many. Each student should be proud of themselves. |
Martina HenkeMartina Henke has been a K-8 educator for 30+ years. A life-long learner, she loves working with kids of all ages, new technology, great books, fiber arts, and her wonderful family! Archives
April 2021
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