Category: Home Connection - Cruisin' Through 4th Grade: Route #125

Scholastic Top Teaching Blog

9/17/2015

Dear Parents,

I have the incredible honor and privilege to be a Scholastic Top Teaching national blogger. From educators across the country, only a few educators spanning Kg. through middle school are selected to be a part of their Top Teaching blogger panel. Last year was my first year as a Scholastic blogger, and it was a wonderful experience for both myself and my students.

I have been asked to blog for Scholastic again this year, and cannot wait to share our classroom adventures with other teachers to connect with and inspire them. If you wish to see examples of previous blog posts, please check out my Scholastic Top Teaching blogger page (Click HERE).

Recently one of my articles was also published in Scholastic Instructor magazine. Another was recognized by SmartBrief Education as the August 2015 post of the month for outstanding content. As part of that recognition, next Wednesday, 9/23/15, I will be interviewed on Education Talk Radio.

All students photographed in the blog entries at the above link signed specific release forms in order to appear on the Scholastic blog. While I typically try NOT to photograph faces, occasionally I may. These release forms are very similar to what you sign during registration for our district, but Scholastic uses their own for legal purposes and consistency in the release forms. If you are willing to let your child be photographed for Scholastic blog posts, please print and sign the attached media release form. I will also send home paper copies as back-ups or in case you are unable to print.

Thank you for your support, as your children help be examples for and inspiration to teachers and classrooms across the nation. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Best regards,
Lindsey Petlak

Please sign and return ASAP.
Downloadable file can be found below.
PLEASE NOTE: Student names, nor any other identifying personal information will ever be featured in the posts.

petlak_teachermediareleas_form.doc
File Size:	32 kb
File Type:	doc

See You @ Open House! {Please RSVP}

9/15/2015

we hope to see you at Open House!

See the information and schedule below. Please complete the RSVP below(or click here)
to let me know who will be attending, and
during which session(s). I can't wait to see
all of you on Thursday! Thanks!!

Almost Open House! {Parent Survey}

9/15/2015

I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each and every one of your children over this first month of school! To help further that connection and my insight into your child and your thoughts, preferences, etc. for this year, please complete the online survey below PRIOR to Open House on Thursday.

Just click on the image below.
Thanks!
Mrs. Petlak

Homework Hotline

9/10/2015

How do I know what Homework is Assigned?

Students have been instructed on the many ways they can find homework assignments. Homework is meant to be simple, independent, review tasks to reinforce what we have learned and practiced at school. Please see below for details and links directly to homework info:

Student/Parent Route 125 Homework Calendar: This has been shared with both students and parents and can be accessed HERE.
Off-Road Research Website Page: If for some reason you cannot access the homework calendar directly, it is linked to our "Off-Road Research" (Homework) website page. It will update automatically and is a great resource for homework assignments & info.
Click on each assignment on either the calendar and/or the Off-Road Research page for up-to-date homework information.
Students know to EMAIL ME if they have questions about or difficulty with homework, in the case that Homework Hotline (see below) is not live.
Typical Nightly Homework: Details may vary, but typically, homework consists of the following:

-20 min. reading nightly (ways to record/track reading to follow)
-ALEKS math practice assignment
-Individualized spelling list practice @ SpellingCity (students have login info)
-Occasional other tasks such as region/map skills practice, etc.

Learn about this NEW & exciting
home-school Communication TOol!

Click on the image above to see a video tutorial of our new homework hotline!

In an effort to maximize the impact of our 1:1 Chromebooks for home-school communication, student independence, and responsibility, Mrs. Petlak will now be offering HOMEWORK HOTLINE!

Watch the video to see how this tech tool similar to chat will allow students to quickly and effectively ask Mrs. Petlak homework and school related questions, receiving instant (or as close to it as possible) responses and not having to fire a thousand emails back and forth to each other!

Current HOMEWORK HOTLINE hours will be posted on our homework calendar & typically an email will also be sent.

HOMEWORK HOTLINE link: https://todaysmeet.com/Route125HomeworkHotline2015-2016

**NOTES:
1) I will answer questions on the hotline as soon as I can. Be patient, and I will work as quickly as possible.

2) If it takes me more than 15 minutes to respond or you are NOT available during the homework hotline hours, please EMAIL your questions to me so that I may see them and reply when I am able.

Thank you, and I'm excited for this new collaboration venture!
-Mrs. Petlak

Anniversary of 9/11 & Celebrating NYC

9/9/2015

Friday is the anniversary of 9/11/2001. This is obviously an important day in American history, but it is also a very sensitive subject. For your information and peace of mind, I wanted to share with you some of the material we will be exposed to in honor of this day and also provide you with kid-centered materials to help you talk to your child about the events of 9/11 should questions and/or discussion arise.

We happen to be studying New York City as we embark on our exploration of the Northeast Region of the USA (we study all 5 regions throughout the year). Tomorrow we'll be continuing to read books and poetry about New York City. We will also be watching the Brainpop video about 9/11 below. Feel free to watch the video for your own reference. Your student has his/her own login for Brainpop.

Scholastic News Resources

Student Reporter News Article (at 4th Grade Level)

Resource for Talking to Your Child

Click the image below to view a document provided by the 9/11 Memorial Foundation for speaking with your child about this event.

We Love NYC!!

Beyond 9/11, we are currently studying New York City as part of our Northeastern region tour. We will be reading tons of NYC books, poetry, studying famous landmarks, tourist attractions, and even artwork! As a shared literacy experience, we are listening to In the Year of the Boar & Jackie Robinson, which takes place in NYC. Soon, we'll "visit" Broadway to study the science behind sound and light! Stay tuned for details and photos!

We are proud to be learning about landmarks & historic sites in NYC, as well as celebrating the resilience, strength, and spirit of New Yorkers! Last year we had a special guest speak about the rebuilding of One World Trade center and it was amazing! While Grandpa Chip won't be visiting again this year, he was kind enough to leave us resources, posters, and loads of information to share about the 9/11 memorial and new construction at Ground Zero in NYC.

STAMP your Remind Messages to Let Mrs. Petlak Know You Received Them

9/23/2014

Thanks to everyone for downloading and using the Remind app for quick messages and reminders! Remind has JUST introduced a cool new feature to make their messaging app 2-way responsive. You can "STAMP" any message from Mrs. Petlak to indicate that you received it, if you have a question, etc. This is really helpful for me, because then I receive feedback on the messages I send out, without you having to go to the trouble of writing an email.

You have the option of 4 different "STAMPS" for any message received:

1) STAR means you really LIKE something, it's important to you, or you need to remember that message/date.

2) CHECK means you RECEIVED the message. Please mark this ANY TIME you receive a message from me to indicate receipt. It could also mean YES if I send a message asking a question.

3) An "X" means NO to a question.

4) QUESTION MARK means you have a QUESTION about a message sent, or are UNSURE about a response (such as an RSVP). I will try to contact you to clarify if you mark "?" to a message.

See how it works by CLICKING HERE or on the image below. It's a snap...I PROMISE!!

An Amazing Guest Speaker Helps Us "Never Forget."

9/23/2014

Last Friday was an EXTRA SPECIAL day for the ENTIRE 4th grade at Indian Trail. Having just remembered the events of 9/11 the week before, we were incredibly fortunate to have a guest speaker who has been instrumental in the rebuilding and memorialization of Ground Zero.

Mickey Kupperman, a.k.a. Grandpa Chip, is the Chief Operating Officer at Silverstein Properties in New York City, the developer of the World Trade Center property. He visited our classes, giving his first-hand, very personal, and completely fascinating account of the events of 9/11, and perhaps even more importantly, the diligent process to preserve the memories and honor the fallen through the REBUILDING of Freedom Tower, the 9/11 Memorial, and additional 3 towers at the site of the tragedy.

Nearly 60 students (and 3 teachers) sat SILENTLY throughout the entire presentation, learning about the process of a project of this magnitude, the decisions and teamwork necessary to make it happen, and the sentimental value, honor, and pride the workers embody in order to complete this undertaking. Through a Powerpoint presentation, large, beautiful color printed photographs of the stages of rebuilding, and engaging conversation with Mr. Kupperman, students were exposed to a once-in-a-lifetime guest experience.

Not all of the session was serious and somber. Learning cool facts about the architectural design process and materials selection was fascinating. Watching the Annie movie trailer and spotting entire penthouse levels from the newly built tower was super exciting! In a culminating surprise, Mr. Kupperman busted out the most AWESOME souvenirs EVER! THANK YOU!

We are so grateful for this experience. Having real world professionals share their knowledge, history, and expertise is very important for students. Our classes are STILL buzzing about tidbits from the presentation, questions, and comments about how much they enjoyed the event. I think it sums it up best to say, that upon completion of the presentation, all three 4th grade classes erupted into a lively, repeated chanting of "GRANDPA CHIP!" We hope it expressed a small drop of our overflowing gratitude and that he enjoyed the experience even a fraction as much as we did.

Thank you, Grandpa Chip!

What We've Been Up To!

9/22/2014

We had a busy week, last week! See some snapshots and the standards we explored below.

In reading, we focused on continued practice with visualization, and also worked on making connections (text-to-text, self, and world). It's important for us to CITE EVIDENCE WITHIN TEXT for both reading strategies. Writing focused on satisfying endings and adding descriptive language to our narratives. In language, we are looking for and correcting basic conventions in our writing and adding juicy adjectives wherever possible.

Social studies was exceptionally interested last week, thanks to a special guest speaker! Watch for a separate blog post on that engaging presentation. We are still enjoying our "trip" to NYC, and will start learning more about other Northeastern states in the week to come.

In math, we continue to review basic place value, rounding, and number comparisons. Multi-digit addition and subtraction were also introduced and practiced, with application to word problems included. Next up...multiplication and division!

Snapshots from Our Week

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What We Did All Week

9/14/2014

Take a peek as we "Cruise Through Class"

To get the best review/preview of what we are learning about HOW we are learning, take time each evening or weekly to check out our Cruisin' Through Class page. This is our in-class blog, and you can read more about it in detail on my blog post from earlier this week (HERE).

Souvenir Standards

See a list of the Common Core Standards we are "keeping as souvenirs" (focused on this week) for each subject area below.
Click on the GREEN link to be taken to details about that standard.

READING
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.7
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.10
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.7

SOCIAL STUDIES
17.C.2b
17.D.2a
17.D.2a

LANGUAGE
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.1.D
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.1.F
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.2.A
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.2.D
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.3.A

SPEAKING/LISTENING
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1.A
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1.B
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1.C
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.5
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.6

WRITING
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3.A
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3.B
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3.D
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3.E
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.5
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.6

21st CENTURY SKILLS
Learning and Innovation
Info, Media, & Tech. Skills
Life and Career Skills

See slideshows of your little "travelers" in action below and on our ROADSIDE SNAPSHOTS page. Throughout the year I'll add ALL student/classroom photos to the ROADSIDE SNAPSHOTS
page after they appear on the blog!

Math Snapshots

This week in math we explored the concepts of ROUNDING and ADDITION/SUBTRACTION -- both up to hundred-thousands place value (required) and BEYOND (challenge)! Students learned multiple new math games to practice, reinforce, and build strategy related to these skills. Mrs. Petlak met with small groups providing individualized instruction, practice, and challenge opportunities to apply what they had learned!

Reading/Language Arts/Writing
Snapshots

This week was jam-packed in the areas of reading, language arts, and writing!
In reading we focused on visualization, CONNECTIONS (text-to-text, text-to-self, text-to-world) and CITING EVIDENCE from within text to BACK UP our connections. You will see that CITING EVIDENCE is a HUGE focus in 4th grade!

In writing, we focused on mentor texts providing good examples of using juicy details to paint mental pictures and create mental movies in our minds. We then focused on variations of adjectives in our grammar studies and added them to our writing. Finally, we focused on ways to END our personal narratives: circular, hopeful, decisions made, and moral endings were all explored. Students took notes on mentor text examples, created an example for each type to use on their OWN narratives, and then chose their favorite to add to their digital drafts.

Coming Soon: NYC & 9/11 photos!

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Cruisin' Through Class: Follow our Day!

9/10/2014

OUR DAILY COURSEWORK IN-CLASS BLOG

Ever wonder what we do all day?
When you ask your child about his/her day, does he/she claim "nothing" or say something like "lunch, recess, gym?" Guess what? Now you can follow along with our in-class travels!

Our Cruisin' Through Class blog page is a daily coursework "road map" of the bulk of our lessons. These may be applied to whole group, small group, or independent lessons and activities.

Your child is gaining independence and maximizing use of our tech tools through our Cruisin' Through Class blog page. I am able to link documents, external websites, videos, songs, forms, polls, and much, much more to each lesson or series of activity instructions that I post. YOU can follow along to see a glimpse of what we are learning each day/week!

Students are able to work at their own pace using this travel guide. They may watch and re-watch instructional videos, if they need to, or may progress quickly through the activities listed if appropriate, allowing me to confer with students in small groups or 1:1 to effectively differentiate my instruction and their learning experience on a deeper level.

Another great aspect of the Cruisin' Through Class blog page is that if your child is ABSENT or needs a quick reference for homework, this resources is live 24/7. Wonder what your child is missing while absent? Check out the in-class blog! Does your student need to re-visit a lesson from today or earlier this week to complete homeowork? No problem! ....just look back at the in-class blog!

I hope you'll enjoy following our in-class road map by following our Cruisin' Through Class blog page! Feel free to email me with any questions!

Thanks for your partnership,
Lindsey Petlak