*ALL BAND LESSONS WILL BE COMBINED THIS WEEK!  MONDAY WILL BE BAND LESSONS WITH MRS. COHEN.  PLEASE BRING YOUR INSTRUMENTS. 

Important Upcoming Dates:

Tuesday, 11/10 - 4th Graders Veteran's Day Mini-Presentation @SW Senior Center.

Wednesday, 11/11 - Veteran's Day Assembly

9am

Wednesday, 11/25 - Early Release

Thursday, 11/26 - Thanksgiving/Eid Begins (No School)

Friday, 11/26 - No School

MR. GIANSANTI – GRADE 4

ROOM 14

*Schedule for Monday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday 

8:25 – 8:45:  Writing

8:45 – 9:00:  Morning Meeting

9:00 - 9:45:  Writing

9:50 – 10:35:  Special

10:35 – 10:45:  Snack

10:45 – 12:05:  Reader’s Workshop

12:05 – 12:40:  Small Group Instruction/Enrichment

12:45 – 1:05:  Recess

1:05 – 1:35:  Lunch

1:35 – 2:30:  Math

2:30 – 3:10:  Science/Social Studies/Geography

3:15:  Dismissal

 

 *Schedule for Tuesdays:

8:25-8:45:  Writing

8:45-9:05:  Morning Meeting

9:05-9:45:  Chorus

9:50-10:50:  Math

10:50-12:25:  Reader's Workshop

12:25-1:05:  Band/Orchestra Rehearsal

1:05-1:35:  Lunch

1:40-2:10:  Small Group Reading

2:10-2:30:  Writing

2:30-3:10:  Science/S.S./Geography

 

Specials:

Monday:  Physical Education

Tuesday:  Chorus, Band & Orchestra Rehearsal

Wednesday:  Art

Thursday:  Library

Friday:  Music

Monday/Tuesdays:  Band & Orchestra lessons

 

 

 

*Please note that it is strict school policy to be sure to sign in and out and receive a visitor's pass every time you are in the building.  Thank you.

 

Tribes:

Tribes is a way of learning and existing within any given community.  Tribes is:

1.  Mutual Respect

2.  Attentive Listening

3.  Appreciations/No Put-downs

4.  The right to pass/participate

 

Students achieve because they:

• feel included and appreciated by peers and teachers
• are respected for their different abilities, cultures, gender, interests and dreams
• are actively involved in their own learning
• have positive expectations from others that they will succeed.

The clear purpose of the Tribes process is to assure the healthy development of every child so that each one has the knowledge, skills and resiliency to be successful in a rapidly changing world.

Students learn a set of collaborative skills so they can work well together in long-term groups (tribes). The focus is on how to:

• help each other work on tasks
• set goals and solve problems
• monitor and assess progress
• celebrate achievements.

The learning of academic material and self-responsible behavior is assured because teachers utilize methods based upon brain-compatible learning, multiple intelligences, cooperative learning and social development research. The teachers and administrators in a Tribes school or district also work together in supportive groups. They too enjoy the participatory democratic process and creative collegiality.

For more information on Tribes, please visit the following webite or contact me. 

http://www.tribes.com/index.html

 

Literacy in Room 14 consists of:

Writer's Workshop - an environment where students learn and practice the writing process.  Students acquire skills necessary in order to become solid writers by teacher and peer conferencing, editing and revising, publishing and sharing their work.  Narrative writing is the focus for the majority of fourth grade curriculum while expository writing is introduced and practiced as well.

Reader's Workshop - very similar environment to the Writer's Workshop model however focusing on reading skills.  Some of the components of Reader's Workshop include:  Guided Reading where students work on skills and strategies in small group format at their current instructional reading level.  I believe it is essential that Guided Reading happen daily.  Students will be accountable for three Reading Response Journal entries a week.  Turn and Talk is also a daily activity that involves students discussing a shared book that I will read aloud.  Currently, we are reading City of Ember.  Shared Reading is an opportunity for students to read aloud as well as hear others read aloud with individual copies of the same text.

Words Their Way is a word study program that is based on various word sorts.  Students will receive a sort every week.  Each day they will sort their words and have activities where they will be able to utilize those new skills and vocabulary.  Again, students record and reflect on their learning in their W.T.W.  Specifically, students should be looking at how their sorts are grouped by sound, pattern and meaning.   

Math/Math Workshop:

*Decimals - Family letters coming your way...

In Math/Math Workshop students will be learning many skills that will be essential to both the CMT's as well as everyday life. 

During workshop students will work cooperatively while stopping to reflect on their learning.  Students will make connections to their learning in their Math Notebooks.  This is the time and place for students to really apply the material learned and demonstrate higher ordered thinking as well as make their learning meaningful. 

Social Studies/Geography/Health:

In fourth grade students get to experience switching classes for Science, Social Studies, and Geography.

Students will visit with me for Science:

Water Cycle (Current)

Food Chains & Webs

Electricity & Magnetism

 

...with Mrs. Noble for Social Studies:

Jamestown, Roanoke, Plymouth

13 colonies (current)

The Revolutionary War

 

...with Mrs. Davies for:

Maps & Globes (current)

the state of CT

health

 

***

National Adoption Month, November 2009

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

_{For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 30, 2009}

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

All children deserve a safe, loving family to protect and care for them. In America, thousands of young people are waiting for that opportunity. During National Adoption Month, we honor those families that have strengthened America through adoption, and we recommit to reducing the number of children awaiting adoption into loving families.

America is a country rich in resources and filled with countless caring men and women who hope to adopt. These individuals come from all walks of life, united in their commitment to love a child who is in need of the protective arms of a parent. We must do more to ensure that adoption is a viable option for them. By continually opening up the doors to adoption, and supporting full equality in adoption laws for all American families, we allow more children to find the permanent homes they yearn for and deserve.

This month, we also focus on children in foster care. These children are not in the system by their own choosing, but are forced into it by unfortunate or tragic circumstances. These young people have specific needs and require unique support. Federal, State, and local governments, communities, and individuals all have a role to play in ensuring that foster children have the resources and encouragement they need to realize their hopes and dreams.

The course of our future will depend on what we do to help the next generation of Americans succeed. This month, we celebrate those families brought together by adoption and renew our commitments to children in the foster care system.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2009 as National Adoption Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month by reaching out to support and honor adoptive families, as well as to participate actively in efforts to find permanent homes for waiting children.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA