Report on a Current Event

With the internet, as well as television, radio, and newspapers, the availability of news items for current events reports far exceeds what was available only a few years ago. The report only needs to be about a paragraph long, summarizing the topic and point made by a news item. Try to find out where the event happened (setting) and then write a few sentences telling about the item.

Cards are available in the classroom for writing the current event report.Of course you can use notebook paper or write it in the Readers' Notebook as well.  There are lots of different kinds of news items as you may already know. Try to find the non-sensational and the non-horrifying kind. Lots of good and worthy things happen in the world, too.

STRONG BEGINNINGS

This week we started working on strong beginnings for our stories and essays. Sometimes it works to begin with a quotation:

In the Attic
by Mei Ann Lee

  "Achoo!" Sarah sneezed in the dusty air. "Looks like no one's been in this attic for years." There was dust everywhere. Camping gear, old toys, furniture, and trash were stacked along the walls. "This is so cool!" she said to her friend Matt.

  The idea is to get the reader's attention and make them want to read the rest of the story or essay. However, use the quotations sparingly. Too much dialogue gets in the way of the plot and cause the reader to become confused and give up. Try to make the reader curious while establishing the setting and characters.

  A strong beginning for an essay can start with a question:

                                                               Clouds
                                                                by Mr. Burnett

  With as much rain as we've had this October, one wonders, will the skies ever clear again? Yet, there is something wonderful about the clouds in the sky during this rainy time of the year. Looking at the clouds is a bit like looking at an oil painting that changes from one day to the next. Let's consider some of the reasons for nature's art work.

  Like in a story, you want to grab the reader's attention in the first sentence or two, and make them want to read what you've written. A question at the beginning of an essay just might make the reader curious enough to read on.

Problem-solving Steps

Were you good at solving word problems? Probably not. Most of us struggled with 'story problems' in school, and many have difficulty with them as adults trying to help fourth graders. Fortunately, difficulty solving word problems in Math is not a permanent condition.

Here are the steps that will help make the process of doing word problems easier:


1.What is the problem?
2. What do you know?
3. What is your plan or strategy?
4. Write the solution (answer) in a complete sentence.

Let's apply those steps to the following word problem.

A penguin can swim 11 miles per hour. At this speed, how far can it swim in 3 hours?

1. What is the problem? How far can it swim in 3 hours?

2. What do I know? The penguin can swim 11 miles per hour, or 11 miles in 1 hour.

3. What is my plan? I will make a table and look for a rule.   Hours      MPH
                                                                                                   1              11
                                                                                                   2              22
                                                                                                   3              33
Rule: add 11

4. The penguin will swim 33 miles in 3 hours.

Most people, at least at one time or another, are capable of getting excited about their favorite dessert. Therefore it makes a good topic for learning to write an essay. Try to decide if the writer below was excited about his favorite dessert. Do you hear the voice of a robot or does it, in fact, make you hungry as you read it?

My Favorite Dessert

  My favorite dessert is blackberry pie with vanilla ice cream. The cold ice cream slides down my throat while the berries crunch beneath my teeth. If the crust is just right you can taste a hint of cinnamon at the tail end. The joy lasts a long time.

 The first time I tasted blackberry pie with vanilla ice cream was at my grandmother’s house a very long time ago. It must have been my birthday or some other special occasion. Otherwise, there probably would not have been any form of dessert after dinner. Dessert is uncommon in my family.

 

  Besides the cold of the ice cream, the crunch of the berries, and the final hint of cinnamon, the appearance of this fine dessert is a thing to behold. It looks a bit like Mount Rainier if the light and the mood are just right. With the vanilla ice cream on top of jagged pie crust and blackberries, you can imagine the majestic mountain right before devouring it.

 

  Much more could be said in praise of blackberry pie with vanilla ice cream, but the experience of eating it should not be delayed any longer. Don’t spend too much time deciding which brand of ice cream to use. Instead get down to the business and joy of actually eating this fine dessert.

 

 

 

Come to Open House tomorrow night in Room 17 at Franklin Elementary School. We'll talk about the new school year, parent/teacher conferences, upcoming projects, and study habits. You can also meet me, if you haven't already, and ask me nearly any question--there are only a few I won't answer!

Meanwhile, encourage your student to read for fifteen minutes each night as part of their homework, and try to capture a news item or current event, either from the newspaper, radio, television or internet. It doesn't have to be a clipping, but it can instead be a short summary of an event heard on the news from television, radio, internet news sites, and news magazines. Cards are available in the classroom for taking notes and writing summaries. Your student knows about these things! See you tomorrow night.

 

Room 17 Report

Mr. Burnett's Class       Franklin School                     

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

August 28, 2012,

 

Dear Fourth Grade Student and Parents/Guardian:

 

     I want to welcome you to the fourth grade and let you know that I am looking forward to having you in my class this year.  You will have an enjoyable and productive year in our room!

 

     You will need to have a book for silent reading at 8:10 each day. You may bring a book from home or find one in our classroom collection.

 

     Since we believe that education is serious business, please do not bring any toys to school because they interfere with learning.  Here are other rules you will be expected to follow:

 

     1. Follow directions the first time they are given.

     2. Stay in your seat unless given permission to leave

         it.

     3. Raise your hand and wait to be called on before

         speaking.

     4. Turn in all assignments on time.

 

HOMEWORK:  Students are responsible for handing their homework in on time. Homework is due the following day and needs to be placed in the correct assignment box before the second bell when school starts. Homework generally consists of unfinished daily assignments, and I ask the students to read for at least fifteen minutes each evening. Occasionally, there will be homework projects that require more than one day to complete, and for these assignments I will give the students a due date.

 

WHEN ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE:  Assignments are usually due the morning after they are assigned. If the assignment is not handed in, the student receives a 0 in the grade book for that assignment, so it is very important that all assignments are completed and turned in on time. Nothing lowers a report card grade faster than missing assignments. If a student is absent, he/ she will have at least two days to make up the assignments after checking with me to see which assignments to make up.

 

GRADING:  No student will receive failing marks on their report card if their assignments are turned in on time and they are trying to do the assignments to the best of their ability. I will present more details on the new report card as they become available to me.

    

                You will earn good grades as long as you listen well in class, follow directions the first time, and complete and turn in assignments on time.

 

HANDING ASSIGNMENTS BACK:  Assignments and papers are returned to the student’s “mail box.” Students are responsible for getting their “mail” and taking it home to show their parents/ guardians. I encourage you to keep assignments rather than throw them away, at least through the end of the trimester. The projects, like the “Family History Report,” you will probably want to keep forever. 

 

I hope some of your questions and concerns about this year have been answered in this letter. You can also check our Franklin website by accessing the Port Angeles School District website. Good communication will help each student succeed in fourth grade. Please contact me with any other questions and concerns.

 

 

Sincerely,

Mr. Burnett (565-1853)                                   

How many fourth graders fit in the back of a Honda Element? Students pondered that question for awhile until they made predictions ranging from five to seventeen. In Math we call that estimation, and with a range that wide, only one thing remained to do. That's right, pop that hatch and climb in one after another until the car fills up. Now, just to be clear, no actual ride was taken since seat belts were lacking, and a ticket or an unsafe trip with nine and ten year olds was not part of the lesson plan. At least not in their teacher's plan. Some did, in fact, think a trip to McDonalds or Hollywood Beach was in order. We stayed in the Franklin parking lot, however.

We managed to cram ten fourth graders in the back of the Honda when all was said and done. Probably a few more would have fit, but this is fourth grade and not the college days of yesteryear when some scholars thought it a good idea to see how many freshman would fit in a phone booth or Volkswagon Beetle. These students will have to wait awhile for that experience.