Jump Rope For Heart!

Science Lab Fun

This is from a science lab we had a few weeks back where learned about both the respiratory system and the excretory system. Check out the video...it's SO cool!


Mrs. McKenzie is blowing into REAL pig's lungs!

Slightly Overdue...

Well, it's been way too long, but I finally have a chance to update the blog. I'll start by posting pictures of some of our bigger events over the last couple of months. Up first...Peebles Farm! Enjoy!

A Round of Applause...

Today I read Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco to the class. I was modeling for them how to make text-self connections. I told them how I related to the part where she was treated poorly by other kids at school and how the tears burned in her eyes. I referred to a time when I was in 6th grade and was taking a note from my teacher to a 7th grade teacher. As soon as I opened her door, a boy in her class, referring to me, goes, "UGH!" That one utterance from some boy I don't even know hurt my feelings so badly that day- I felt so low- ugly, dumb, etc. (By the way, if your child tells you that I teared up during this part, I'm neither denying nor confirming this ;) We had a little "teachable moment" about how I care so much about this class and how it hurts me so badly to hear them say ugly things to each other.

THEN, as I finished reading the book and closed the back cover, the sweetest thing happened...the whole class spontaneously broke out in applause! It truly is a touching book, and it was so heart-warming to see how it impacted this class. One student even exclaimed, "that was SUCH a GOOD book!" They didn't even notice that we were 5 minutes late to recess because we all were caught up in the story (usually I have 3 or 4 reminders that recess starts in a few minutes ;)

I am so proud of this wonderful class. Getting lost in a good story is what reading is about. As readers, when we develop a connection with the characters and with the story, it becomes not just pages with words, but a wonderful journey we can all go on together. Thank you for taking me on that journey today!

"Honey is sweet, and so is knowledge, but knowledge is like the bee that made that sweet honey, you have to chase it through the pages of a book!”

-Thank You, Mr. Falker
by Patricia Polacco

One more week down...

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I haven't posted in a while, but now that the progress report situation is FINALLY taken care of, I'll have more time on my hands to update! :)

Here are a few pictures I hadn't posted yet. Enjoy these, and look for another update soon!







The bat we saw on the way to morning recess!

What We're Up To...

Here's a look at what we're up to in reading...

We made a "reading salad" during today's read aloud. Just like a tossed salad could be a mixture of lettuce and tomatoes, our reading salad was a combination of text and thinking to represent that REAL reading means you are metacognitive: thinking about our thinking! Without the thinking, we can't comprehend the text!




Here are some pictures of a new strategy we're trying. We use 3-tone paint samples to track our understanding of the text we're reading. We place our finger on the white square if our understanding is clear, the middle darker square if we think we understand but need to read on some more to make sure what we're thinking is correct, or the darkest square if we are confused and need to go back and use some fix-up strategies to help our comprehension. It has been a great visual aid to help us monitor our metacognition!








Here are some more pictures of us hard at work! We had a wonderful day today!






...And it's only Tuesday! Here's to a great rest of our week!

Backwards Bob Rap

This is a video of us doing one of our favorite poems from our word studies!

4 Day Week

What a great week! Not only was it a quick 4-day week, but our class was hard at work the entire time!

We talked about book genres, the writing process, numeric patterns, and problem solving strategies.

I am so impressed with how hard everyone is working. This class means serious business! We have a highly competitive bunch, which makes for some action packed learning!

Mrs. Guillo's favorite moments of the week:

-Hearing a student laugh out loud as she was deeply involved in a funny part of her novel
-Watching many of the students step up as real leaders to help each other out with work
-Listening to students encourage and praise each other for trying their best

I am proud of this wonderful class! Keep it up, and let's have another great week!

Are You a Poet and You Didn't Know It?

Make sure you check out the info. I sent home regarding the poetry contest! I hope to see many of my students entering! Here is the link for more details.

http://www.youngwritersofamerica.com/home.html

Happy Writing, authors!

R&R

Have a wonderful 3-day weekend!! See you all on Tuesday! :)

Writing With a Purpose

We were hard at work on Tuesday...

We discussed the 4 main purposes for writing: to entertain, to inform, to communicate, and to persuade. The class was divided into four groups, and they had to find authentic examples of their assigned "purpose for writing" in newspapers, magazines, around the room, etc. They did such a wonderful job on their posters that I decided to make that our first hallway display!

Check out their hard work:

Show Me the Money!

What a week! Students in my class have been earning 'dollars' left and right! I haven't been able to keep enough of them copied and cut out to keep up with how awesome everyone has been! What a great problem to have! Today, coach Moore brought the class back from P.E. and raved about how wonderful the class was for her! I'm so proud!

I feel so blessed to be matched up with 27 of the best 4th graders at McRae!!

Friday will be our first 'store' where students will be able to purchase their own rewards with the dollars they have accumulated over the last two weeks.

Keep up the great work, everyone!

1 Week Down...

What a great first few days! I loved getting to know all 28 of you! Together we came up with a set of 6 great rules to live by this year. I am proud of the thought you all put into these guidelines, and I am positive they will help us have a successful year together! My favorite rule you came up with was "Be a good example for others." As 4th graders and the oldest kids at school, other kids really look up to you, so it's important to be leaders.

On Friday, someone from the Quick 99.9 radio station came to record our class (and a couple others) recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Listen in the mornings and see if you hear us!

I'm looking forward to another great week! I'm proud of each of you!

Welcome, 4th Graders!

Hello to all of my new students! I'm so excited to see your name on my class list!

For those of you who don't already know me, I have been teaching 2nd grade for the last two years at McRae, but now I'm teaching 4th! I have a husband, Chris, who is taking classes at Harding University. I also have a son named Camden who is 4 months old. I'm sure you will be seeing and hearing about both Chris and Camden from time to time throughout the year. :)

I love to write and read (the more I read, the better writer I become!), dance, sing, and travel! I have been to over ten countries, as well as many of the United States. I even went skydiving in Australia!

I'm very excited about 4th grade, and you should be, too! We are going to have lots of fun as we become brilliant authors, passionate readers, inquisitive scientists, curious explorers, and expert mathematicians.

I will be keeping a blog going throughout the year for you and your parents to check from time to time so that I can post news and brag about all of your wonderful accomplishments!



-Mrs. Guillo