Fourth+Grade+Learning+Team+Notes+2011-2012

__ 2011- 2012 School Year __ =‍__ (Katie Davis, Leah Turner, Amy Wallace) __=

__ Aug. 17, 2011 __ Grade Level Planning for Aug. 22 - 26, 2011
 * S.Studies - Map and Globe Skills (Continents, Oceans, Directions)
 * Math - Place Value (Found Mimio Connect Lessons/ CLASSWORKS mini-lessons)
 * Reading - //Because of Winn Dixie// (Gathered resources for skills: Sequence, Author's Purpose, Summarizing)
 * Language - Declarative/ Interrogative Sentences
 * Writing - Powerful Paragraphs
 * Science - Electricity (Use AMSTI student books/ Textbook... Do "Hair Raising Experiment on Friday)
 * 4 H every first Monday of month

PLT - gathered DI lessons for Reading and Math

__ August 24, 2011 __ Grade Level Planning for August 29-September 2, 2011 PLT - gathered DI lessons for Reading and Math
 * Science - discussed the recipt of Electric Circuits kit and decided to start with building a circuit. Also decided to talk about Thomas Edison and show a video from the library about Edison.
 * Alabama History - Map and Globe Skills (Continents, Oceans, Directions). Test on Wednesday. Also compiled resourcess about Coordinate grids and reading a city map.
 * Reading - //Lewis and Clark and Me// - Shared Mimio lesson on Author's Purpose, and shared a Tri-fold to go along with teaching the comprehension skills
 * Spelling - Shared teacher-created Mimio lesson with the definitions of the spelling words.
 * Language - Imperative and Exclamatory Sentences
 * Writing - Continue writing paragraphs
 * Math - Word Form, Expanded Form, and Standard Form of numbers (found Mimio Connect lesson on Expanded Form). Rounding - Found classworks mini-lesson on rounding from the AL COS unit 1338

__ August 30, 2011 __ Grade Level Planning for September 5-9, 2011

PLT - Data meeting - discussed student referrals and looked at trends for test scores and discussed options to maximize instruction time in math.
 * Discussed options for enhancing lessons since Discovery Education has been discontinued. Discussed using Brain Pop and You Tube to bring in extra learning for Language and Science.
 * Math - Comparing and Ordering Numbers. Found a Mimio Connect lesson as well as a powerpoint on comparing and ordering numbers
 * Alabama History - Begin Chapter 1 - The First Alabamians; Discussed sending home the Montgomery letter.
 * Science - Conductors and Insulators; show Brain Pop video on Electric Circuits
 * Language - Subjects and Predicates
 * Writing - Grabber Leads; use Razzle Dazzle Writing as a resource
 * Reading - //Grandfather's Journey// - Shared Mimio lesson on sequencing
 * Spelling - Shared Mimio powerpoint with the definitions of the spelling words

__ September 7, 2011 __ Grade Level Planning for September 12-16, 2011


 * Sept. 12, 2011 - 1st 4H meeting
 * Discussed important dates for the week - Sept. 14 - pictures, Sept. 16 - Progress Reports sent home
 * Math - test comparing and ordering numbers; begin adding and subtracting (subtracting across zeros)
 * Reading - //The Horned Toad Prince// - Shared teacher created mimio on this story
 * Writing - Continue with Grabbers and paragraph writing
 * Language - Compound Sentences and conjunctions; discussed using a Brain Pop video with this lesson
 * Science - Conductors and Insulators information from the book. Mrs. Turner is going to create a graded activitiy to go along with this lesson. We also discussed finding a YouTube video on conductors and insulators to use this week.
 * Alabama History - Continue with Ch. 1

PLT - Discussed sending home the Montgomery letter on Friday, September 9, 2011. We also talked about setting up the INow gradebook and what parameters to use. We discussed the fact that student averages over 100 do not show up on the gradebook. __ September 14, 2011 __ Grade Level Planning for September 19-23, 2011


 * Discussed Montgemery Trip
 * Math- discussed beginning ARMT practice problems, ClassWorks begins this week- complete Universal Screener, skills for the week: estimate or exact, subtraction
 * Reading- Unit 1 Benchmark- shared resources to help teach Fact and Opinion
 * Writing- Grabber Leads - information from Razzle Dazzle Writing, Begin Show Don't Tell
 * Language- Clauses and Complex Sentences- You Tube video on skill
 * Science- Making a Filament- discussed ways to increase success with this lesson, Switches- discussed incorporating math with science by graphing categories of switches
 * Alabama History- Chapter 1: Paleo Indians, Archaic Indians, and Woodland Indians- discussed chart to compare groups

PLT- Laura Clemons, AMSTI specialist, discussed ways to maximize instructional time during math. She suggested beginning ARMT practice problems and gave us ideas for using math workshop effectively. Laura is going to make plans to model sample ARMT lessons.

__ September 21, 2011 __ Grade Level Planning for Sept. 26 - 30, 2011


 * Discussed Montgomery trip, Blue Ribbon Visit, Parenting Day (letter goes home on Monday) and CLASSWORKS (do Universal Screener this week)
 * Our Title I Teachers, Dana Bouderoux and Ginny Carden, came to discuss the progress of students that receive help from them.
 * Math - Expressions/ Equations/ Multiplication (ARMT practice in small groups)
 * Reading - "//What Jo Did//" - discussed websites/ resources for skills of the week
 * Language - Nouns (Mimio Lesson/ other resources were shared)
 * Writing - Continue with grabbers and Show, Don't Tell
 * Science - AMSTI Electric Curcuits (filaments and switches)
 * Alabama History - continue with Ch. 1: The First ALabamians/ River Systems - decorate River Systems on cookie cake on Friday

PLT - discussed changing times for math to ensure that the gifted students are receiving math on a daily basis/ decided that the majority of our ARMT practice can be done in partners or small groups to allow for teacher directed practice for lower students/ gathered ARMT items

__ September 28, 2011 __

Grade Level Planning for Oct. 3-7, 2011 - all members present


 * Talked about Parenting Day on Oct. 10, 2011 and trying to schedule parents will all teachers that the child has.
 * Discussed the progress on getting a new math schedule. We talked about several options that have been presented and talked about making a mock schedule to present to Mrs. Calvert.
 * Math - Equaations, Word Problems, and Armt Review - We talked about setting aside part of one class period per week to start drilling on Armt material.
 * Reading - Coyote School News - Shared teacher created Mimio on this lesson
 * Language - Regular Plural Nouns - Shared Brain Pop video on nouns
 * Writing - Show, Don't Tell and Strong Verbs vs. Weak Verbs. Mrs. Davis shared an edhelper resource on writing prompts.
 * Science - AMSTI Electric Circuits - Series and Parallel Circuits/Constructing and Wiring a House. We discussed asking parents in our newsletters to send in shoe boxes, magazines, and fabric scraps for the children to use in construction their houses.
 * Alabama History - Finish and test on Ch. 1 so that we can start teaching on state government before the Montgomery trip.

PLT - We shared resources to use when teaching expressions and equations. Shared powerpoint on expressions. We also discussed the plans for switching Math times to accomodate the Gifted students who are out two days a week. We discussed several scheduling options to help alleviate this problem. We also discussed using part of one class period a week to begin Armt review.

__ October 6, 2011 __

Grade Level Planning for Oct. 10 - 14, 2011


 * Finalized Parenting Day list
 * Finalized Montgomery Field Trip plans
 * 4 H - 10/11/11
 * Reading - "Grace and the Time Machine" - everyone tests on Thursday - shared Mimio/ Brain Pop materials on Drawing Conclusions, Compare/ Contrast, and Questioning
 * Writing - Class story using grabbers, show don't tell, and vivid words
 * Language - Irregular Plural Nouns
 * Science - Continue wiring shoebox houses/ share as a group on Thursday
 * Alabama History - Discuss Montgomery/ watch virtual tour of the Capitol building and Old Al. Town (Ch. 10 - Government of Alabama)
 * Math - ARMT word problems (gridded and open-ended)

PLT - We gathered ARMT resources (including CLASSWORKS mini-lessons, ARMT specs, materials from Laura Clemons)

__ October 13, 2011 __

Grade-Level Planning for Oct. 17 - 21, 2011 - all members present


 * Data Meeting - Oct. 19
 * Writing - continue with Class Story from previous week
 * Math - Chapter 4 Algebra: Input/ Output Tables (found Mimio connect lesson and powerpoint, as well as worksheets)
 * Reading - "Marven of the Great North Woods" - found resources for fact/ opinion
 * Language - Singular Possessive Nouns (Shared Brain Pop/ Mimio Connect lesson)
 * Alabama History - reflect on Montgomery Field Trip (write letters to places we visited)
 * Science - Review Electric Circuits (test on Electricity Friday)..pack up AMSTI kit

PLT - Mrs. Turner shared resources and information from ARMT workshop in Tuscaloosa (changes in ARMT PLUS)

__ October 20, 2011 __

Grade-Level Planning for Oct. 24 - 28, 2011 - all members present


 * Writing - Similes - Discussed doing a Simile flip book allowing the students to write and illustrate similes.
 * Math - Teach balancing equations; Review Chapter 3 in preparation for Chapter 3 test.
 * Alabama History - we discussed just teaching the 4 Indian tribes of Alabama in Chapter 2 in preparation for assigning the Salt Map project of the Indian Tribes of Alabama. We decided to illustrate the Salt Map on Monday, October 31 and give out directions then. This project will be due on Friday, November 18, 2011 and will count as 2 test grades.
 * Reading - //So You Want to Be President?// - We shared information on the 3 branches of government as well as a video of the book that had been saved from United Streaming before we lost access to that resource.
 * Language - Plural Possessive Nouns - Shared a review guide to review this concept
 * Science - Introduce the Animal Studies unit. We decided to use some higher level learning writing prompts from Mrs. McKelvy to introduce this unit. We chose the following writing prompts:


 * 1) If you were an animal, which one would you be and why?
 * 2) List all of the ways that animals are useful to man. (Harmful)
 * 3) Combine the parts of the names of two animals to create a new creature (alipotamus, monkaphant.) Draw a picture of this new animal and write a story about it.
 * 4) If you could have any animal in the world for a pet, which one would you choose and why?
 * 5) Design the perfect zoo. How would you group the animals? Why?

PLT - We discussed Armt resources and lessons to use (chart to chart pumpkin)

__ October 26, 2011 __ __ Grade-Level Planning for October 31- November 4, 2011 __ - all members present
 * Writing- Metaphors- Discussed creating a Metaphor flip book allowing students to write and illustrate metaphors.
 * Math- Comprehensive Review- Discussed using Monday- Wednesday to review skills taught during the first 9 weeks. Comprehensive Math Unit Test- Thursday and AMSTI Comprehensive Math Test - Friday (these tests will show us what areas need remediation)
 * Alabama History- Will demonstrate the Salt Map project on Monday, October 31/ Continue discussing the four major Indian Nations in Alabama
 * Reading - Discussed planning for Unit Test week- found skills: Main Idea/ Fact and Opinion (shared resources) Discussed using ARMT Coach booklets to supplement review week skill sheets
 * Science- Continued discussing animals ( Basic Needs, Adaptations, Instincts, Hibernation, Migration, Learned Behaviors) - shared Animal Powerpoint that discusses the above areas and shared videos that supplement the above areas


 * PLT- We discussed website- Has games to supplement all areas of the ARMT test. We also shared ARMT powerpoint that includes all item specs. Games are embedded into the ARMT powerpoint.

__ November 2, 2011 __ Grade- Level Planning for November 7-10 - all members present


 * Writing- We will continue practicing similes and metaphors. We discussed having the students write following a prompt and using similes and metaphors in their writing.
 * Math- Due to 4H and the Veteran's Day program math will be at 11:00 on Monday and Wednesday. We will begin elapsed time/telling time. ARMT item specs will be embedded throughout the week.
 * Alabama History- We will finish discussing the Indian groups. We will have a graded activity on reading a timeline.
 * Reading- The Stranger- Discussed skill cause and effect- Discussed the test schedule for the week- All three classes will test on Thursday
 * Science- Due to 4H and the Veteran's Day program will are unable to have science on Monday and Wednesday. We will begin discussing Vertebrates and Invertebrates on Tuesday and Thursday. Found animal analogy sheet from [|www.superteacherworksheets.com].
 * Discussed presenting Chapter 5 in __Understanding Poverty__- faculty book study : Will compile notes on Chapter 5 and make a handout of information. We will present this information at the faculty meeting on November 16


 * PLT: Shared math website that has specific content standards that can be used on ARMT days. This site works easily with our interactive boards.

__ November 9, 2011 __ Grade-Level Planning for Nov. 14-18, 2011 - Leah Turner and Amy Wallace present.
 * Science - We will teach Animal Classifications from the text book and include supplemental materials on animal clasifications (the song that includes the classification chart). We discussed the quiz to use to assess the book pages taught.
 * Alabama History - we will not teach Alabama History this week due to the new 4th grade class schedule which reflects a 2 hour Reading block and 1 1/2 hours of Math.
 * Language/Writing - Main and Helping Verbs. In writing, we will begin the class narrative. We will choose a prompt and as a class we will write a story incorporating all of the components we have already learned (strong verbs, similes, metaphors, etc.)
 * Reading - //Adelina's Whales// - We shared a YouTube video appropriate to use with this story that describes the friendly whales from La Lauguna San Ignacio, Baja California. With the longer Reading block, we discussed incorporating Literature Circles and a 30 minute AR reading time. We also discussed our AR requirements.
 * Math - Continue with time, specifically elapsed time. We shared Amsti materials beneficial to teaching this subject. We also discussed that with the longer math block we would use the last 30 minutes of each class period to teach Armt lessons.

PLT - We discussed what classroom sets of books we might want to order since Tina Towers said she could order what we needed. We also discussed when to order our animals for our Animal Studies unit in Science so that we did not have to care for them over Thanksgiving

__November 30, 2011 __ Grade-level Planning for Dec. 5-9, 2011


 * Due to 4H on Monday of this week, we decided to teach Math in the morning in order to maximize our instruction time.
 * Math - Multiplication - we decided to teach 2-digit by 1-digit this week as well as 3-digit by 1-digit. We shared multiplication resources from superteacherworksheets.com to use this week.
 * Reading - //Eye of the Storm// - we researched youtube videos and found videos of the main character discussed in this story.
 * Language - Present, Past, and Future Tense. In writing, we will teach writing to a prompt by incorporating some Christmas prompts into our writing.
 * Science - Animals will come this week! We decided to set up animal habitats on Tuesday and who would be in charge of what habitat. When the animals arrive on Wednesday, we set a schedule of which class would care for the animals at what time. We reserved the Science Lab for this project.
 * Alabama History - None this week.

PLT - We discussed what ARMT items to review this week.

__December 7, 2011 __ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Grade-level Planning for Dec. 12-16


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Reading - The Great Kapok Tree; book report is due the end of this week - we decided to work on this in class as time permits.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Language - Possessives. In writing, we are writing good paragraphs and writing to a prompt.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Alabama History - Alabama's Birthday is this week so we decided to construct an Alabama book containing state symbols and facts about Alabama. We also decided to teach only the highlights from Chapter 3. We divided the chapter into three sections and each 4th grade teacher offered to write a graded quiz for their section.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Math - continue with multiplication 3-digit by 2-digit. We discussed presenting the students with 3 different strategies to work these problems: lattice, break-apart, and traditional. We also discussed Amsti lessons to correspond with this material as well as shared resources to teach multiplication.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Science - we will finish our Animal Studies unit by adopting out the animals and testing on this unit. We discussed what to test and decided to test on Wednesday.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">PLT - We discussed the specifics for our Christmas parties. We will do the party on Dec. 22 and each student will be asked to bring a $5 generic gift card. We also decided to contact several parents and see if they could help with additional gift cards in the event that this put a monetary strain on a family.

__December 14, 2011__ Grade-level Planning for Dec. 19-22

As this is the week of Christmas, we decided not to switch classes after Tuesday, Dec. 20.
 * Reading - Unit 3 Benchmark. We will review the skills needed for this test and each class will take the test paper and pencil and then enter the answers in the computer lab whenever each teacher is able to schedule time.
 * Math - We will be doing the quarterly assessment this week. The assessment needs to be completed by Tuesday and given to Mrs. Turner to turn in.
 * The rest of this week will be spent doing Christmas related activities which incorporate math, reading, and language.
 * Christmas Party will be Thursday morning at 11:00. We decided that in addition to the snacks brought by students, each teacher would also order pizza for the class. We informed the lunch room that 4th grade would not need lunches on Thursday.

__December 20, 2011__ Grade-level Planning for Jan. 4-6 Mrs. Turner and Mrs. Wallace met to discuss the new schedule for 4th grade. It was decided that 4th grade would be completely self-contained beginning 2nd semester. We agreed upon a schedule and mapped out the first week back after Christmas.
 * Reading - we will do a 2 hour reading block. The first hour will be Scott Foresman driven. This weeks' story is The Houdini Box. We shared Youtube resources on Houdini. We will also have a 30 minute small group instruction time and progress monitoring time. We decided to PM our low readers weekly, mid-readers 2 times per unit, and high readers 1 time per unit. We will also have a 30 minute uninterrupted AR reading time. We will set AR goals after our Professional Development day when we meet with the AR representative.
 * Math - We will have a 1 1/2 hour math block. The first hour will include whole group instruction and small group instruction as needed. The remaining 30 minutes will inclued ARMT review daily. We decided to spend donation money and assemble an ARMT notebook for each student. This notebook will include the appropriate answer documents as well as sample questions. We will faithfully include this ARMT instruction daily.
 * Language - Pronouns (singular and plural)
 * Alabama History - Ch. 4 - The Cotton Kingdom. We divided the chapter and each teacher will write a quiz to go along with a particular part.
 * Science - None this week - we will not have our new Amsti kits.

PLT - We discussed what ARMT skills to review this week and pulled other information as well. For Reading, we looked at NAEP

lessons and Comprehension Toolkit lessons.

__January 4, 2012 (Melissa Barr, Leah Turner, Amy Wallace)__

Grade-level Planning for Jan. 9-13, 2012


 * Reading - Encantado - we shared youtube and PBS video about dolphins and pink dolphins
 * Language - Subject and Object Pronouns
 * Alabama History - continue in Ch. 4. We decided who was going to write the quiz for this week. We also decided to show the Clotee video from the library to go along with the section on slavery.
 * Writing - 3 paragraph writing/continue with narrative writing.
 * Math - Division introduction. We decided to start with 2-digit dividends. We shared mimio connect lessons as well as a powerpoint detailing the steps to division.

PLT - Since next Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. day we decided to pull some resources to introduce the students to his life. We also researched videos to share with the class. Also, we discussed our schedule for Jan. 9 as we have 4H that day. We shared math resources to use with division, especially from superteacherworksheets.com

__January 11, 2012 (Melissa Barr, Leah Turner, Amy Wallace)__

Grade-Level Planning for Jan. 16 - 20, 2012


 * Schools closed on Monday
 * Reading - "The King in the Kitchen" (Play) ARMT Review - COACH books and "The Lemonade Stand" from ARMT Specs
 * Math - Division (ARMT REview...Standard1and 6 : Number and Operations) Quiz Friday
 * ALabama History - Harriet Tubman/ Slavery (Gathered Resources/ Movie, etc.)
 * Language - Pronouns/ Antecedents
 * Writing - Continue with Narrative

PLT - finalized presentation for Ch. 5 in Understanding Poverty, assigned CLASSWORKS

__January 18, 2012 ( all members present)__

Grade - Level Planning for Jan. 23 - 27, 2012


 * Give STAR Test this week to determine ZPD
 * Math - continue with division
 * ARMT Review - Standard 1 and 2: Number and Operations (Quiz Friday on Gridded and Open ended Questions)
 * Alabama History - Continue with Chapter 4: Towns and Commerce, Transportation (pg. 119-130)
 * Writing - finish Narrative (one prompt daily...Friday choose their best to turn in)
 * Reading - "Seeker of Knowledge" - shared Egypt and heiroglypics materials
 * Mrs. Turner and Mrs. Wallace will attend ARMT Training on Friday
 * Language - Possessive pronouns

PLT - Found mimioconnect lessons on division, decided on ARMT materials to be used and CLASSWORKS lessons to assign, compliled a list of websites to be sent home in newsletter for student practice at home.

__January 24, 2012 (Data Meeting Jan. 25th )- all members present__

__Grade-Level Planning for Jan. 30 - Feb. 3, 2012__


 * Math - Word Problems...addition, subtraction, multiplication, division (identify key words, give HINT sheet to put in ARMT folder)
 * ARMT Review - Standards 10, 15, and 17 (Algebra adn Data Analysis) Quiz on Friday (start putting a graph, chart, table on quiz weekly)
 * Reading - "Enclycopedia Brown and the Case of the Slippery Salamander" - we decided to write summary of story on ARMT practice paper to keep in their ARMT notebooks. Continue working out of the ARMT COACH books as well as using ARMT Specs for practice
 * Writing - introduce Descriptive (use Razzle Dazzle acitivities)
 * Language - contractions and negatives (Brain Pop videos)
 * Alabama History - Finish Ch. 4 ...Test Thursday
 * Send home STAR report

PLT - Gathered all ARMT materials, shared mimioconnect lesson on word problems, found mystery items (Reading and Math) to go along with story, assigned CLASSWORKS lessons

__Feb. 1, 2012 (all members present)__ __Grade - Level Planning for Feb. 6 - 10, 2012__
 * 4 H Monday 1:00 - 2:00
 * Math - Decimals...(ARMT Review... Standard 5 and 9: Decimals and Algebra (quiz Friday)
 * Reading - Unit 4 Review/ Test (ARMT Review...Poetry)
 * Writing - continue with Descriptive
 * Science - begin Space Unit...Moon Phases and Calendars (shared materials/ resources)
 * Language - Unit 4 Review

PLT - Gathered ARMT, space, and Reading materials (found mimio connect lessons to review skills), assigned CLASSWORKS lessons (decided to assign Reading ARMT lessons for the next few weeks)

__Feb. 8, 2012 (all members present)__ Grade-level Planning for Feb. 13-17, 2012
 * Science - finish Ch. 9 Space from book. We planned an activity for Friday to show about asteroids and meoeorites (using sand, golf balls, and marbles).
 * Math - Geometry. We pulled lessons from V-Math and Amsti to teach geometry. With Valentine's Day on Tuesday, we decided to do a coordinate grid activity in math called "Valentine Battleship." On this day we will also do a Valentine's Day on the Hundreds chart reviewing multiplication. We decided to do ARMT content standards 11, 12, and 17 dealing with geometry and Mrs. Turner will make the quiz for Friday.
 * Reading - "Sailing Home" - we will summarize the story on Wednesday and write in the Armt format and put in Armt notebooks. We will work on Armt story "The Sun and the Moon" practicing compare and contrast.
 * Language - Adjectives and Articles - shared BrainPop resources.
 * Writing - continue with Descriptive writing.

PLT - Gathered ARMT resources and found Mimio connect lessons and AMSTI lessons for geometry. We decided to assign geometry units in Classworks as well as what to use for Reading Armt review.

__Feb. 15, 2012 (Melissa Barr, Leah Turner, and Amy Wallace)__ Grade-level Planning for Feb. 20-24, 2012
 * No school on Monday for weather make up day and Friday we go to the Symphony
 * Science - Review Wednesday and Test on Ch. 9 on Thursday. On Friday, after the Symphony, we will show "Fly Me to the Moon."
 * Math - Perimeter/Area and Probability - We shared AMSTI resources to use for probability (likelihood lines, spinners, etc). We decided to do Armt review content standards 15 and 17. Mrs. Wallace will make the quiz for Friday when we return from the Symphony.
 * Reading - As we only have 3 days this week, we decided to read the story "Lost City," but not test on it. We will devote time to Armt review. We decided to use the Coach book and cover the skills for this week (context clues, visualization, and word structure). We will also use the Armt Specs story, "Birdhouse Gourds."
 * Language - Comparative and Superlative Adjectives. Shared BrainPop resources.
 * Writing - Descriptive Writing continued.

PLT - We gathered Armt resources and decided what to test on. We also shared Amsti lessons about Probability and Likelihood lines and researched mimio connect lessons.

__Feb. 23, 2012 (Melissa Barr, Leah Turner, Amy Wallace)__ Grade-Level Planning for Feb. 27 - March 2, 2012


 * Discussed utilizing Brain Pop for Science concepts
 * Data Meeting next Wednesday
 * Science - Begin AMSTI Motion and Design Unit (so Lessons 1 - 3). Kits need to be reutrned by March 15
 * Math - Fractions (read and write, compare and order) - gathered resources from AMSTI and Superteacherworksheets.com... ARMT review this week will be on Standards 4 and 8- Number and Operations (fractions and decimals)
 * Reading - "Amelia and Eleanor Go For a Ride" - shared resources/ books about Ameila Earhart
 * Writing - Descriptive (one prompt for the entire week)
 * Language - Adverbs

PLT - Gathered ARMT resources and decided what standards to test on. Also found Mimioconnect lessons on fractions and adverbs.

__Feb. 28, 2012 (Melissa Barr, Leah Turner, Amy Wallace)__ Grade-Level Planning for March 5-9, 2012


 * Discussed the end of the nine-weeks project due dates
 * Data Meeting Wednesday
 * Science - Motion and Design - Lessons 4-6. Kits will go back week after next. We discussed signing up to use the Science Lab to conduct some of these experiments.
 * Math - Fractions (converting fractions from improper to mixed and from mixed to improper; simplifying fractions). Gathered resources for ARMT review - Standard 3 and Amsti open-ended chart to graphs
 * Reading - Antarctic Journal - researched videos on Antarctica
 * Language - Comparative and Superlative Adverbs
 * Writing - work on Student Treasures book - one book per class. This must be completed for a March 23 press date. We decided to do Alphabet books and discussed using alphabet book resources as examples.

PLT - Gathererd ARMT resources and gathered materials on fractions.

__March 7, 2012 (Katie Davis, Leah Turner, Amy Wallace)__ Grade-Level Planning for March 14 - 16, 2012


 * Schools will be closed Monday and Tuesday (March 12 and 13)
 * No story will be taught this week.
 * Language - prepositions (found MimioConnect lessons)
 * Reading - ARMT Preparation ("Homes of the Early Settlers") from ARMT Specs
 * Writing - Work on Student Treasure Books
 * Math - Simplifying Fractions (ARMT Review Content Standard 14: Measurement and Content Standard 1: Decimals)
 * Science - finish Motion and Design Unit
 * Blue Ribbon Celebration - Friday, March 16th. Practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

PLT - Gathered all ARMT materials and resources. Found BrainPop, MimioConnect, and You Tube resources to go along with fractions and prepositions. Assigned CLASSWORKS (Reading and Math) __March 14, 2012 (Katie Davis, Leah Turner, Amy Wallace)__ Grade -Level Planning for March 19 - 23, 2012
 * Reading - Unit 5 BM Test (Gathered materials and resources for reviewing Unit 5 Skills (Compare/ Contrast, Context Clues, Draw Conclusions, Main Idea/ Details, Sequencing, Author's Purpose, Visualization)
 * Reading ARMT Review - Specs pgs. 23-24 - Reading an Advertisement
 * Math - Reivew Fractions (Test Friday) Gathered materials/ found mimioconnect lessons
 * Math ARMT Review - Content Standard 6, 13, and 14 (Measurement, Word Problems)
 * Writing - Begin Expository- "Favorite Spring Activity"
 * Language - Unit 5 Review (Adverbs, Prepositions)
 * Alabama History - Begin Chapter 5: The Civil War
 * Data Meeting next Wednesday, March 28, 2012

PLT - Gathered all ARMT materials. Found MimioConnect Lesson,Powerpoints, and Brain Pop videos for reviewing fractions, adverbs, prepositions, and Civil War. Assigned CLASSWORKS (Reading and Math)

__March 21, 2012 (Katie Davis, Leah Turner, Amy Wallace)__ Grade-Level Planning for March 26-30, 2012


 * Reading - //My Brother Martin// - Skills are cause and effect, answer questions, fact and opinion, and word structure. We shared resources on cause and effect and fact and opinion as well as found mimio connect lessons on these topics. We also shared resources about Martin Luther King, Jr.
 * Reading ARMT Review - We discussed constructing ARMT type questions dealing with cause and effect that go along with the story. We will also work out of the ARMT Coach reading book.
 * Math - Review multiplication, division, and word problems for the ARMT. Mrs. Davis is going to make a Mimio lesson on word problems.
 * Math ARMT Review - Content Standard 13 - elapsed time and Algebra content to prepare for ARMT. An ARMT test was constructed by Mrs. Turner.
 * Writing - Continue with expository writing prompts
 * Language - Conjunctions - We found BrainPop resources as well as School House Rock
 * Alabama History - Continue with Chapter 5. Mrs. Wallace wrote a quiz to go along with pg. 149-156.
 * We will have a Data Meeting next Wednesday, March 28.

PLT - Gathered all ARMT materials, found mimioconnect lessons, shared powerpoints and videos on Martin Luther King, Jr. We also assigned Classworks for reading and math.

__March 28, 2012 (Katie Davis, Leah Turner, Amy Wallace)__ Grade-level Planning for April 9-13, 2012


 * 4H on Monday
 * Clubs on Friday
 * As this is the week of ARMT Testing, we are not doing a Reading story, Spelling list, or Language concept.
 * Math - Armt review on Monday
 * Reading - Armt review on Monday
 * Alabama History - Finish Ch. 5 - we discussed finding Civil War videos on YouTube that would be appropriate to show
 * Science - we will begin the Physics of Sound Amsti kit. We reserved the Science Lab to conduct sound experiments
 * We also discussed our schedule for this testing week (snack, recess, rewards, etc)

PLT - we gathered resources on the Civil War, as well as Spring related materials to use when not testing. We found MImioConnect lesson to use to review with the students as well as to have fun.