News From Third and Fourth
Ms. Fayle's Room- September 28, 2015
First Four Winds Day of the School Year!
Last Science Friday, our Four Winds Guest Teachers, Karen Wiseman and Dell Waterhouse, visited the 3/4 room to teach the team about insects and patterns in nature. Students learned the characteristics that all insects have in common, classified insects into different types, constructed model insects, and caught insects outside to observe. In the picture above, we are sharing our observations and releasing our insects back into nature!
Grammar and Mentor Sentences
On Monday, the 3/4 team reads a picture book that serves as our "mentor text" for the rest of the week. Our mentor texts are used as examples in our grammar, reading, and writing lessons. We pick one "mentor sentence" from our picture book on Monday and throughout the week we learn about what the author does well in the sentence, we practice the elements of grammar that are present in the sentence, and we edit, revise, and imitate the sentence. The best sentence imitations are hung on the wall in our "Sentence Hall of Fame." Our first two weeks we worked on commas in a series and descriptive adjectives. Here are some of the amazing sentences the 3/4 writers created the last two weeks:
- In the house were two annoying brothers, one nice mom, two licking dogs, and me.
- Every Monday, she had giant pieces of pizza with hot pepperoni and sweet lemonade waiting on the table.
- Every Friday, she heard a rockin' song, loud guitars, and banging drums at the Shady Lady Concert.
- Blackbeard dropped three gold coins, each unique in its own way, with pictures of pirates on each side of the coins.
- Mr. MC (a.k.a. Mr. Mustache Cat) served 15 bowls of special mushroom-carrot stew in 5 minutes and 35 seconds, with a toy on each of the soups.
- The chef slapped down two hamburgers on the smoking hot grill, and I said “yummo!”
- The judge lined up the three last contestants, with big, poufy dresses and 10-inch heels.
Team Tidbits
Chaperone Needed!
We are in need of one more chaperone for our field trip to the the Montshire Museum on November 12th! Chaperones will accompany a group of 6 students as they explore the museum and participate in a workshop on clouds and precipitation. The bus will be leaving around 9:00 am and returning to school by 3:30 pm. Please email me at afayle@u32.org or stop by the room before or after school if you are interested.
Series Book Clubs
3/4 readers are currently reading multiple books in a series and learning about story elements and characters changing over time. Our class read-aloud during this unit is Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar. Book clubs include:
- The Ramona Series by Beverly Cleary (currently reading Ramona Quimby, Age 8)
- The Fly Guy series by Tedd Arnold
- The Fudge Series by Judy Blume (currently reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing)
- The Horrible Harry series by Suzy Kline (currently reading Horrible Harry in Room 2B)
Upcoming Events
- Wednesday, 9/30: Rotary dictionary project visits 3rd grade
- Wednesday, 10/7: Monteverdi Cello Performance
- Monday and Tuesday 10/12-10/13: No School (Columbus Day Weekend)
- Friday, 10/30: School Halloween Celebration
- Friday, 11/6: No School, Parent-Teacher Conferences
- Thursday, 11/12: Field Trip to the Montshire Museum
All-School Hike
We had a lovely day for the All-School Hike on Thursday. The 3/4 team hiked from the bottom of Robinson Hill Rd. through a network of small trails to the Ellis-Bruce Trail, and then back down Gould Hill Rd. to school. Our own special guest photographer Alexis Utton took these pictures of happy faces eating lunch in the field.
About Us
Email: afayle@u32.org
Website: www.dotyschool.org
Location: 24 Calais Rd, Worcester, VT, United States
Phone: 802-223-5656