Class+News


 * PAST POSTS:**
 * These are posts that were originally on the home page. I thought I would move them yet make them still available for you in case you missed something.**

11/20/11: Yeah!! I am all caught up in grading the blogs!! Between the redoing parts of the Jamestown test and report cards, I had to put the blogs on hold. That is why we didn't have one this last week. You can see the grades by having your child log in and reading the comments I have left about each blog. We will start blogging again after Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has a great break and gets time to relax and enjoy your family!! Happy Thanksgiving!!

11/8/11 - part 2 - Don't forget about the Student Calendar here on the wiki. I am trying to keep up with due dates for things coming up for the kids. We are introducing the new books for Battle of the Books tomorrow. I have placed the due dates for the books on this calendar, too.

Thanks to all of you who have helped get some missing assignments caught up over the last couple of days. I appreciate your help. I also had my first SKYPE talk with Ravi tonight. It was great. If you use SKYPE or want to join, it is free, and you can find me by searching for bettyvbl. I don't think you have to have video, but I was able to do a video feed with Ravi. You never know, you might get to see one of my eight children!! :)

It is your right to vote, but it is your responsibility to go and vote!! :) Just a little bit of our class discussion! Anyway, the Question of the Week on Indentured Servants is now posted on the blogs. Enjoy your day off!!

11/6/11 End of the Grading Period. The following blogs will be part of this last grading period and should be completed: Roanoke, Primary and Secondary Sources, Landforms, and US Regions. There are several students missing some of these assignments. Students will receive zeroes for not completing this work.

11/2/11 Kevin and Ms. C stayed after school today to play with another new toy, YOOSTAR. When Kevin got done, he took off to New York and sent back this video.

[|Kevin in New York]

Ms. C had to stay behind and just dream about Spring Break!

[|Dreaming of Spring Break]

10/30/11 Don't forget - You can SKYPE me. My SKYPE username is bettyvbl. If I am online, my computer will ring! Try it out and let's see if we can talk face-to-face!

10/21/11

This week's blogging assignment required the kids to listen to four songs about four of the five regions in the United States. The only problem was that there wasn't one for the Southwest Region. I put the challenge out there for someone to write and sing one. And guess what? Srikhar P. has not only written one, but he has also recorded it. It's awesome. You have to listen.

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**10/17/11 Cool Jamestown Simulation Game:**

Jing found this website that has a simulation of the Jamestown colony. In this simulation you can make the decisions for yourself.

[]

If you play it all the way through, write about it on your blog. The more things you investigate along the way, the more you will get out of playing the game. Have fun!! And thanks, Jing!!


 * 10/9/11 **

The blog "Question of the Week" has now been posted on my blog page. The question from last week about Roanoke should be completed by the end of today and the new one by next Sunday, 10/16/11. The answers should go directly on the student's blog, not just as a comment left on my blog. If you have any questions, please email Ms. C!

NEW 5/8/11: Hope everyone has a great Mother's Day and enjoyed the Derby yesterday. I am looking forward to getting back to some kind of regular schedule this week now that testing is completed! Yeah!!

NEW 4/18/11 - It seems like it has been a while since I have left a note. Sorry about that! Today was our first day of testing and things seemed to go pretty well throughout the school. I know some of the kids are a bit anxious, but we are doing everything we can to help them relax. They have done everything they could do up to now, and now it is time for them to show what they know. I know they will do their best.

Our schedule for these next three weeks is completely different as special areas and lunch times had to be adjusted around the testing, so some days the kids might be with their homeroom teacher all day. It is a bit strange and I am sure at some point even the teachers will have it all mixed-up as to who goes where and when, but it will all come to a close. Tomorrow, (Tuesday) the kids will test in the morning and in the afternoon. It will be a tough day but we can make it through.

Thanks for getting the kids to bed a reasonable time and getting them breakfast. It is hard to concentrate when you are tired and hungry!! One more thing...please do your SUN DANCE so we can get outside and play when we aren't testing!! We don't need any rain!! :)

NEW 3/20/11- The students with permission have now been given their email address and password. As they work to complete their Northeast Region project, many of them will be able to send it to me through email. Please go to the Email link on the left to read the various directions. If you find out I have left out a step or have something wrong, please let me know. It is so much easier to type these up when I have a kid right next to me, but unfortunately, Rocky, Pebbles, Chesney, Rascal, Sugar, Cookie, Ilio, and Maggie do not have doggie email addresses in JCPS. :) I will have to work on that!!

NEW 3/14/11: I was asked to put up a description of the project the kids are working on so here is what I have told them. Their project should answer the following five questions:

1. What have I learned about the geography of the Northeast? 2. What have I learned about the culture of the Northeast? 3. What have I learned about the history of the Northeast? 4. What have I learned about the government of the Northeast? 5. What have I learned about the economics of the Northeast?

What I don't want the kids to do is just talk about the nine places we visited because we have already done that on our graphic organizers. I told them that part was like collecting data in a science experiment. Based on the information they gathered from the nine spots, what conclusions can they make about these five areas of social studies. How they demonstrate their learning is up to them. Those who had permission now have their email addresses and can reach the 'cloud' by going to office.live.com.

If you have any questions, please let me know!

NEW 3/13/11: The Northeast Project is now due March 22, 2011. I was not able to help as much as I would have liked to last week, so the kids will have a couple of extra days in class to work on their projects and the date is moved back. Any questions or concerns, please email me!!

**NEW 3/6/11: FIRE DRILL on Monday:** The video below contains an interview with Mrs. Mayhugh about fire drill safety, and the second part talks about how to exit the rooms when in a classroom in the intermediate hallway.

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NEW 3/4/11: There is a problem logging in to Zooburst. The information on the sticker in the agenda is correct, BUT at the end of your user name, you need to add the information below depending on which homeroom you are in.

Buehner homeroom: add _360 Crenshaw homeroom: add _361 Hines homeroom: add _362 Thompson/Ragsdale: add _363

For example, if my username was bcren01, I would need it to be bcren01_361 to log in to Zooburst. Make sure you include the underscore line. If you have any questions, just email me.

New: 3/1/11 I know you missed seeing me today, so play the video below and let me know what you think!! :)

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I LOVE TECHNOLOGY!!

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NEW 2/28/11: Computer Club Survey - Parents, please take moment to fill out the following survey!!

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NEW 2/27/11: Check out this Blabberize by Sam about the Hershey Factory! What a great idea! I love it!!!! I hope others will try doing something similar!!

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I used ANIMOTO to put this 30 second video together showing the 9 places we visited on our trip.

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 * [[image:perfect_attendance.jpg width="262" height="120"]]NEW 2/24/11: Wow! The following students in Ms. Crenshaw's homeroom **
 * had perfect attendance during the 4th Grading Period! **

** Congratulations!! **
NEW 2/20/11: Like making comics? How about making one about our Northeast trip? Login to bitstripsforschools and check out the new activity! This will also be for extra credit!


 * NEW 2/20/11: We are off to Hershey, PA tomorrow, and boy do we have a surprise in store for you! **


 * If all goes well, we will broadcast live from the classroom while visiting Hershey, PA. This is our schedule: **
 * Crenshaw's HR: 9-10 **
 * Buehner's HR: 10-11 **
 * Thompson/Ragsdale's HR: 11-12 **
 * Hines' HR: 1:20-2:20. **

** Also, a special thanks to those of you who donated computer mice, headphones, and hairnets. The kids and I really appreciate your support! You are terrific!! **

A lso, do you use SKYPE?

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EXTRA CREDIT FOR THE 5TH GRADING PERIOD:
 * 1. Northeast ABC's - add to our chart - see link on the left **
 * 2. Due to time restraints, we had to leave Boston before we were able to follow the Black Heritage Trail. Below is the link to a Voice Thread walking you through the steps of the trail with recorded information. Press the right arrow to advance to the next slide. When you are finished, fill out the form below (IN YOUR OWN WORDS AND NOT COPIED FROM A WEBSITE) listing two ways each place was important to the African Americans in Boston and submit. I encourage you to take this tour together with your child/parent!! **

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NEW 2/18/11: Ellis Island guide sheet must be completed for Monday.

NEW 2/12/11: We finished our trip to Boston on Friday! I can't believe how many different sites we saw while walking the Freedom Trail. Ms. West was even able to come up and join part of the group one day. The kids had great questions and hopefully have shared with you at home some of the things they have learned. If you haven't learned enough yet, you might want to check out the kids' blogs. They have been doing a great job writing about their trip. We are off the Erie Canal on Monday. Do you know the song?

We have a busy week ahead: Erie Canal, Valentine's Day, //Tuck Everlasting// play and Tumbleweed on Tuesday, New York City towards the end of the week, and conferences on Wednesday and Thursday night. It is great that the parents needing conferences can fly up and join us on our train tour those two nights! :) If need to get in touch with any of us while we are on the trip, just email. We have internet access at night! :)


 * New 2/6/11: We have had a very busy week. We introduced Battle books for round 3, completed the NAEP testing, introduced short answer questions for Battle, and carried on with all content classes. I am happy to say that we did leave on our Train Trip this week! It has been so exciting and we are ALL having a great time. Hostess Betty and Miss Lauryn have made it a very enjoyable trip so far. If you haven't heard, we have been to West Quoddy Head, Maine, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and Plymouth, Massachusetts. Our next stop is Boston where we will be walking the Freedom Trail!! Like I said, we are having a blast!! **


 * If you want to check out some of our sites and information we have been learning along the way, just click on NORTHEAST ITINERARY on the right. Then click on one of the stops we have been to so far. When the kids are tucked in at night and traveling safely on the train, I finally have time and internet availability and am posting this information on line for parents to see along the way. :) Your kids are in good hands!! We will see you in another week or two!! **

NEW 1/27/11: We did a marathon round of Battle today, getting in both the Quick Recall and Short Answer rounds. We will announce the winners tomorrow and celebrate in the afternoon.

As we look towards Battle of the Books 3, I would like each 4th grader to fill in the form below and submit it. I would like them to do with their parent(s) so the goals they are setting will be challenging and reasonable. Hopefully, this will help encourage some to read more books than he/she read for Battle of the Books 2.

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NEW 1/23/11: I am trying to collect email addresses from all families. If you think Ms. C doesn't have your email address or you would like her to use a different one than the one that she has been using, please fill out the form below and submit. Students with emails who have permission to share the address with Ms. C may also fill out the form and submit. The information will only be shared with Ms. C as it goes directly to her email account.

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 * NEW 1/22/11: **

I have created a message board for all 4th graders and their parents to use. Simply go to the internet (You must use FIREFOX and not INTERNET EXPLORER) and put in this url: []. When you get there, you should see something that looks like a corkboard with post-its on it. You can add to the notes already there or create a new one simply by clicking somewhere on the cork. If you find a message for yourself and you take care of it, just click on the X and remove it.

Remember, this is for everyone, including parents. Feel free to leave questions or notes behind that are appropriate and helpful for our team. We will try it out and if it is useful, we will keep using it. It might even be a place where we can list homework (but I haven't committed to that yet). :)

1/8/11: These 13 students had perfect attendance during the 3rd Grading Period: Vivek Ravi Callie Jaxon Kevin Trevor Keely Srikur Cameron Sarah Imani Kadambari Regis

Congratulations!!

NEW 1/6/10: Our Native American test is finally over! Yeah!! We are learning to create comic strips on bitstripsforschools.com. We will use them to teach each other about the tribes we have been reading about in literature circles. Check out Srikar's comic on potlaches below!! Too cool!!

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NEW 1/3/10: It was great seeing everyone today. They all had a lot to tell everyone!

WHAT'S NEXT, YOU MIGHT BE ASKING? How about a Train Tour to the Northeast! Hope on board and come along with us on our trip. I'm sure you will have fun!!

NEW 12/30/10:

NEW 12/28/10 We had a great time at Gattiland on December 19. About half of the team was able to make it, and I think everyone really enjoyed seeing each other. I hope everyone is well and having a great holiday. It won't be long before we will be back in school. See you soon!

NEW 12/16/10 : WINTER CELEBRATION THIS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2010 - GATTILAND ON LYNDON LANE - 4:00! All 4th graders are invited to a Winter Celebration this Sunday, December 19, 2010, at Gattiland on Lyndon Lane! We thought it would be nice to get together even if we aren't having school. If you can come, please email or leave a comment on the blog so we can have some idea of how many are coming. Hope to see you Sunday!!

NEW 12/14/10: Wow! What a great day we had today. The projects are wonderful, and I am very proud of the work the kids have done! I know they spent a lot of time working on them. I will begin evaluating this week, but I don't expect to be through by Friday, so I will send home the final grade when we return in January. I want to take my time to read through everything they have written carefully. Parents, thanks so much for supporting your child with this assignment. They were very pround when they showed it off today in class!

NEW 12/11/10: We had a very busy week, and the Multi-Cultural day was a great success. I have posted the correct answers to the study guide on the NATIVE AMERICANS page. If anyone has a question this weekend while the project is being finished, just send me a post on the blog and I will respond as soon as I can.

NEW 12/5/10 (later) - This is a neat website with Native American games. You might want to check it out! []

NEW 12/5/10:
 * Most of the students got all four region packets in on time Friday. There are still a few more to be turned in on Monday, and those that I return Monday can still be redone to better the grade. I have posted on the NATIVE AMERICAN PROJECT page a graphich organizer the kids might want to use in planning for the comparing/contrasting part of the project if they have not already started. I also have an 'example' that I filled out as if I were doing the project. The form can be printed out or something similar can be drawn on paper. This is just an idea.**


 * We will start our social studies version of a Literature Circle on Monday. There are five books available to choose, and the kids were told to leave me a comment on my blog if there was a particular book they wanted to read. I will be setting up the groups later today.**
 * I will send home a study guide for the test later this week!**



NEW 11/28/10 (later): Check out the new page NATIVE AMERICAN WINTER COUNTS to see a few of the students' drawings for this assignment.

NEW 11/28/10: All Northeast and Southeast region packets turned in last Friday will be returned tomorrow. You may redo those questions you missed. Simply write the new answers on a loose leaf piece of paper, staple it to the old answers, and turn it back in by next Friday! Remember, all packets are due by December 3, 2010.

Due Dates for Region Project, Extra Credit, & Native American test: I have posted the dates for these items on the Student Calendar. All happen during the month of December before Winter Break. The region project and the test are required; the extra credit is optional.

Region Project: To see the directions for this project, just click on the tab on the left that says NATIVE AMERICAN PROJECTS. The directions for extra credit are also there. I will be going over this in class.

Don't forget to take the survey described below!!

== NEW 11/24/10: Check out the Native American ABC's page. This is totally being done by the kids in Ms. C's class right now. They are members of the wiki and can add to and edit the things on this page. This is a collaborative Native American dictionary! It is so cool!! ==
 * NEW 11/26/10: For all the kids - check out my blog when you go to your class blog. I have asked you to take a SURVEY for me. It will only take you a few minutes but will give me a lot of feedback from you!! **

== **STUDENT CALENDAR: I have added a calendar to our wiki. You will find it on the list of available pages to the left. I have posted dates that I am aware of at the time. I will not post daily homework assignments, but I will post dates of long range assignments and other school events. If you know of an event that I should add to the calendar, please let me know.** ==

The required 4 regions' packets are due Friday, December 3, 2010. All 6 can be done for extra credit.

 * 11/20/10: We have gotten a lot accomplished this week. The PowerPoint vocabulary projects are now complete, the 'Winter Counts' assignment is turned in, and we have begun our study of the six Native American Cultural Regions. For this assignment, the students must complete the work for the Northeast Woodlands and Southeast Woodlands. They must then choose 2 other regions (Great Plains, Great Basin, Southwest, or Northwest) to complete. They may choose to do all 6 for extra credit. **

New 11/14/10: **It has been a rough week for me since I have not been feeling well, but hopefully all of that is behind me. We are now in the second phase of our Native American study - Native Amerian Cultural Regions. We will be researching different regions while we finish our powerpoints and Winter Counts.**

=== NEW: 11/5/10: We have had a great week even though it was a bit weird not having school on Tuesday. In social studies this week, we 'traveled' to northern Alaska and interviewed an Inuit family. I spoke to the young girl in the family, the mother, and the father. If I can get the video edited properly, I will put a link to it on the STUDENTS IN ACTION page. It shoule be very interesting to watch. ===


 * Enjoy your long weekend; I wish I had Monday off, too! **

===NEW: 10/29/10: Congratulations go out to Team 1 and Team 7; these were our 1st and 2nd place teams for Battle of the Books. Lauryn, Ruchi, Sryia V, Sofia, Cameron, Regis, Latoya, Kaustubh, Srikar P, and Jing were on Team 1 and will be the captains of the teams for Battle 2. They will actually pick their team members. We will most likely introduce new books for Battle 2 on Tuesday, November 9. That means we are taking a week off from Battle books but everyone is still required to read and write it down in their agenda this week.=== Have a very safe and happy Halloween!!

NEW: 10/28/10: The kids made my birthday today very special. I love all the notes and cards that were given to me. Thanks so much for everything!
===NEW: 10/27/10: Battle of the Books Quick Recall round was awesome today. Everyone was so excited and serious. Tomorrow will be another round of competition and then our celebration will be on Friday. Stay tuned to see who wins!!===

===NEW: 10/26/10: Parents, if you haven't gone to the class blogs yet, you need to do so. They are great and I am having to work really hard to keep up with everyone, but it is a highlight of my night. Please join our conversations and tell us what you are thinking, too!===


 * Also, think about following me on Twitter. I sent out a 'tweet' today just to let you know all was well with the kids and the storm!**

NEW: 10/22/10 (later): Battle of the Books: Book #4 questions and answers due Monday. The competition begins Wednesday @1:115 with our Quick Recall Round and Thursday @ 1:15 with Short Answer. Anyone is welcome to come watch. It might be a bit hectic at first since this will be the first time the kids have 'battled,' but Quick Recall is always fun to watch. We will have our celebration on Friday. We are asking the kids to bring in something to share if they would like. We will eat, announce the mystery book, students that read all of the books. and the winning teams. The team that wins will become the captains of the teams for Battle of the Books 2. Stay tuned for the results!!

NEW: 10/22/10 - All fourth graders should now know how to get to their personal blog, post a message, and leave comments for another classmate. They seemed really excited in class today and patience was definitely needed as there were many, many questions. The blog site is completely controlled by me. No posts will go on the web until I have approved them. Family members are more than welcome to leave comments as well. I will also have to approve your comments! :) Interaction between you and kids would be great - authentic writing for a real audience. Hope everyone has a great weekend and watches the Vikings pick on the Packers Sunday night! :)

10/21/10: Check out our two newest components. One you will find on the Native Americans' home page. It is our Vocabulary PowerPoint Projects. Our first vocabulary slide show is up and running. Our second link is to our Class Blogs. Every fourth grader has a blog, and I am excited to see what they have to say!
 * 10/20/10:** AP testing is now over and we return to a normal schedule tomorrow! Yeah!! The kids have handled the change in schedule and have been working hard. I enjoyed playing Geography Bingo on Monday and working on the Oceanside Map these last two days. They are looking great. The kids who were testing will get their map in the next couple of days.

All classes are now working on the vocabulary PowerPoint shows. They are incorporating the words, definitions, supporting graphics, and a recording of their voices on the slides. We will print them out when finished and I will also be posting them on this site. Check back soon and some should be loaded.


 * 10/16/10:** The tests are graded. We still have 4 students to complete or take the test. Check out the discussion thread to see the results of the test.

Also, several kids have said they need more practice on using longitude and latitude. On the Geography Unit page, I have added links to new activities that can be used for practice and as a tutorial. These begin with #4.


 * 10/15/10:** AP TESTING will take place on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week. Those kids who are not testing will be working with Ms. Crenshaw during this time. I have posted a new video and picture today so check out STUDENTS IN ACTION. Also, please make sure you check out the DISCUSSION thread on this wiki. I am posting information about our day and welcome your thoughts and comments.