There are a few supplies that we would like you to send to school for our upcoming Native American Day. They will be used for fun activities and projects. Please send them to school as you get them.
- a brown paper bag (large size from a supermarket)
- a coffee can or formula can or drink mix can (something that we can turn into a drum)
- either a large pringles can or a paper towel roll
- optional- a wooden spoon
Since we are collecting… we will be needing any old magazines that you might have laying around the house for our December Science day. If you have any that you would like to donate we would appreciate it. 🙂
Thank you for your support!!
:o) Mrs. Spata
I think this blog is a great idea. Thank you for taking the time to set it up!
I had a question regarding the report. I would like to allow Emma to complete much of this project independently and wanted to know what skills were being addressed in the classroom? When creating a bibliography, is there any format that is introduced in class that I can support at home? A mom from another class had asked me if you had gone over the process of writing the report with regard to introductions and paragraph structure, but I was not sure. While she has been assigned reports in the past, the process was not a major focus as much as the product was. I thought I would touch base with you to find out.
I am enjoying many of the things Emma has been involved in this year and applaud your abilities as an educator. Thank you for being so terrific.
Excellent question! Since this is the first report of the year, the focus is primarily on the content rather than the format.
We have been working very hard on what a “fourth grade” paragraph should look like. Students should be including introduction sentences and closing sentences to each paragraph. As well as many powerful and detailed sentences on the topic.
They have been working with our librarian on research techniques while creating a powerpoint presentation about New York. So they should be familiar with the basics of a report.
I will be showing them a website that creates the bibliography for them for the next research assignment. For this report, no bibliography is necessary. However, if you are interested in showing it to her ahead of time… we will be using the MLA format for citations. Here is the address. Feel free to check it out.
http://elementary.oslis.org/resources/cm/mlacitationse
Hope this answered your question.
:o) Mrs. Spata
PS Thank you so much for the compliment!!! It means a lot!
Thank you for getting back to me.
I will allow Emma to learn about the bibliography format along with her classmates. Sometimes it is hard not showing her the correct format, but I trust that you will introduce it to her when it is developmentally appropriate. I will reinforce it at home, but I need to refrain from being the ELA Director in my home and just stick to being Emma’s mom. I know that isn’t fair to poor Emma.
You are more than welcome for the compliment. I have been so impressed with Emma’s experiences this year. You are quite the educator and I am thrilled that Emma has you this year. I am quick to point out a shortcoming (as I am sure you have heard) but I am equally willing to praise quality instruction.
Have a great night!
Kim
I agree that it is sometimes hard to “hold back” teaching the kids everything at once. I felt that for the first report, content was my focus. We will definetly be learning the format of the bibliography soon. Thanks for understanding. I look forward to a great year together! :o)
Me, too! The start has been amazing. I cannot believe how different Emma has been this year. Mrs. DeLuca has also played a postive role in motivating Emma to read. I am looking forward to the rest of the year:)
Enjoy your Thanksgiving if I am not able to come in on the 25th!
Kim Hardwick
Thank you! I hope that your family enjoys the holiday as well.
I loved Native American Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I liked how we had a POW WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so fun sharing our myth. NATIVE AMERICAN DAY was the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!