1. What are you most excited about and looking forward to at TBS?  Explain why.
2. What is one thing you learned about TBS today that surprised you.  Explain.
3. What concerns do you have about going to TBS?  (I bet you’re not the only one!  If you share, maybe you can help one another to feel better about this!)

Write your responses by clicking on the title of this article (where it says “Thoughts about TBS” above the top of the message) and then adding your comments at the bottom.

Enjoy!  Remember, TUSS projects are due tomorrow with your program page!

Our T.U.S.S. (Teach Us Something Somehow) project is due very soon! We all can’t wait to see your projects! We can’t wait to see what you have chosen for your topics and how you present it, it is going to be so much fun! Make sure your projects have tons of info so that we can understand what you are teaching us. Make sure you double check your work so that you don’t make any mistakes! Can’t wait till Thursday!

From 111 – 23 and 1112 – 10.

http://www.softschools.com/math/geometry/symmetry_game/

Click your mouse on one dot to start a line segment and on the next dot to end that line segment.  Create the matching shape.

http://www.softschools.com/math/geometry/symmetry_game/draw_symmetry/

Try drawing a mirror image with your mouse.

http://www.innovationslearning.co.uk/subjects/maths/activities/year3/symmetry/shape_game.asp

How many lines of symmetry can you identify in each shape?

http://www.haelmedia.com/OnlineActivities_txh/mc_txh4_001.html

Try the “Create a Pattern” option to make a symmetrical image.

Here’s how to remember your login information.  Your username is “1112 – your class number” and your password is your last name LOWER CASE.  So if we had a student named Mary Smith and she was #25, her username would be 1112 – 25 (notice that there are spaces before and after the dash) and her password would be smith.  (Again, don’t capitalize any letters of your last name.  If your last name has a space in it, enter it without any spaces.)

I know this means that you all can figure out how to log into each other’s accounts.  The purpose it not to keep your accounts secure from each other, since I trust you all, it’s just to limit who can comment in our discussions.  I’m trusting you to be honest and to login only as yourself.  (I can see where people’s comments come from, so I’ll know if you’re using someone else’s login information!)

If you have any issues, please email me.

4:05pm update:  I figured out that the filter on the website that automatically blocks junk mail (called spam) was marking all your messages as spam.  I’ve turned it off.  However, for safety reasons, I changed the settings so that you cannot post WITHOUT logging in.  Remember, your username is “1112 – #” (like 1112 – 21) and your password is your last name.  If you are having issues with your login, use the backup account I just made.  The username is “student” and the password is also “student”.  But it seems that everyone’s login information seems to be working well!  Huzzah!

When Jaime came to visit us today, we talked about Ellen and Annemarie’s friendship.  Jaime read an excerpt (a passage) from the book in which Ellen and Annemarie were playing outside.  In groups, you made tableaus of their first day of school, the girls at a birthday party, the girls racing, Kirsti coming home from the hospital, and the school play.  Clearly, these girls are the best of friends.  BFFs!  Toward the end of the activity, Jaime shared one other key detail:  Ellen was Jewish, and Annemarie was not.  You started to learn about how Jews were treated during the Holocaust.  Knowing that, put yourself into Annmarie’s position to answer the following question:

If you were Annemarie, how would you feel about being friends with Ellen?  Explain.

READ THIS CAREFULLY!

1. Click on the name of this article: “NTS:  How would you feel?”.  It’s in a green box.  That takes you to the page that shows you JUST this article.
2. Below these directions, you should see a form called “Leave a Reply”.  If you DON’T see it, click on “Add comment” in the orange box to the right of this article.
3. If you are successfully logged in, you won’t need to enter your name or email address or website.  If you are not logged in…  Where it says “Name” put ONLY your class number.  For privacy reasons, you MAY NOT post your actual name.  If you do not follow these directions, your comment will be REMOVED.  This is for your safety.
4. If you are not logged in… Enter nothing in the “Mail” box.
5. If you are not logged in… Enter nothing in the “Website” box.
6. Type your prediction in the box and AFTER YOU HAVE PROOFREAD YOUR RESPONSE, click “Submit Comment.”
7. In addition to sharing your prediction with everyone, consider commenting on someone else’s comment by submitting a NEW comment (steps 1-6 again) and referring to someone else by NUMBER.  You can write something like “I like what you had to say, 25.  I also think that being friends with Alf would be hard since he lives all the way on planet Melmac.  I’m not sure my mom can give me a lift over!”

FOR PARENTS ONLY

Today, we started a mini-unit about the novel Number the Stars.  This award winning text following a Jewish family during the early days of the Holocaust.  This is the second year that the PTO has generously funded a visit from theater educators from The Hartford Stage.  Each day this week, we will be visited by a theater educator to learn about the book through dramatic readings, tableaus, and discussions.  This will be the starting point for a study of the whole book.  All of our fourth grade classes are participating in this enriching program, as are fourth graders at Roaring Brook School.  In a quick survey today, I found that none of the students in our class knew what the Holocaust was, which was, of course, perfectly understandable.  The Holocaust is a notoriously “sticky” subject to get into with children, particularly in school.  To address some concerns which may be coming up in your mind, let me share some thoughts about how we cover this topic in school:

• I focus primarily on the facts of what happened, leaving out the parts that are the most frightening.  There are no photos from the Holocaust, and I never go into graphic detail about the atrocities.
• We focus on the fictional characters in the book as a way of studying the Holocaust.  Most conversations will center around helping kids to understand the feelings of characters, such as “How would you feel if your family had to suddenly move and hide?”  I try to compare events and situations to things kids understand, such as saying that the Nazis were like bullies.
• When particularly difficult topics come up, I am matter of fact with the kids.  We don’t dwell on frightening parts for the sake of drama, and I am always careful to stress that these events happened long ago and that the kids are all safe.
• Consider preparing yourself for questions that your son or daughter may ask at home.  When particularly sensitive topics come up, I encourage kids to discuss them with their grownups at home, because I think it’s important that you decide how and when to address certain topics.  In the event that a particularly sensitive topic does come up during a discussion, I will make every effort to inform you of it in a timely manner so that you can be prepared for questions and conversation at home.

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Today, Jaime from The Hartford Stage came in to introduce us to Number the Stars.  She pretended to be a character, Ellen, from the text.  Based on how she dressed, walked, and talked, you were able to make some predictions about her character.  Tonight, think about what you saw and heard, and create a Character Snapshot of Ellen.  (We have Character Snapshots at our Writing Station.)  Describe how you think Ellen looks and acts, and also think about what her personality traits and chatacteristics might be, based on Jaime’s portrayal.  Here’s how!  READ THIS CAREFULLY!

1. Click on the name of this article: “Predictions about Ellen”.  It’s in a green box.  That takes you to the page that shows you JUST this article.
2. Below these directions, you should see a form called “Leave a Reply”.  If you DON’T see it, click on “Add comment” in the orange box to the right of this article.
3. Where it says “Name” put ONLY your class number.  For privacy reasons, you MAY NOT post your actual name.  If you do not follow these directions, your comment will be REMOVED.  This is for your safety.
4. Enter nothing in the “Mail” box.
5. Enter nothing in the “Website” box.
6. Type your prediction in the box and AFTER YOU HAVE PROOFREAD YOUR RESPONSE, click “Submit Comment.”
7. In addition to sharing your prediction with everyone, consider commenting on someone else’s comment by submitting a NEW comment (steps 1-6 again) and referring to someone else by NUMBER.  You can write something like “I like what you had to say, 25.  I think that Ellen might definitely be an alien from the planet Melmac and she might know Alf.”

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