First of all, I would like to thank all families for the kind gifts I have received.  My wife is always excited when I bring home gifts (candles, treats, tea, fruit, and gift cards)…it is like an early Christmas for our family.  So, I do thank you for your generosity!  I am very grateful to work at Madison.  You send me such wonderful children and I am honored to work with them each day.

 I would encourage each student to continue reading over the break.  Our Reading Challenge ends on February 14^th and that means 20 books need to be completed.  You can find the list below.

Academic areas we will be moving toward in 2014:

Writing – persuasive (writing bills for our mock congress)
Reading – reading rotations begin Jan. 13^th
Science – energy from plants
Social Studies – branches of government
Math – math rotations begin Jan. 13^th (division is focus)
Read Aloud - The Whipping Boy

 

I hope you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

 

 

Thanksgiving Break is Here!

Today, we harvested our crops and prepared our garden for the winter.  The kids did an amazing job taking care of the garden.  This activity fits nicely with our study of biology.  When we return from Thanksgiving break, we will focus on Plant Life!

The fourth grade handball team represented our grade with a tremendous effort at noon today.  The final score was fifth grade 12 and fourth grade 11.  They gave it their best and we are so proud of them!

The Winter Reading Challenge has begun.  Please see my note below for the detail.

Report cards have come home today.  Please sign and return after break.  I have emphasized with the students to continue developing CORE.  Perhaps, you could ask what CORE means to your child.

Thank you for your support.  I look forward to starting fresh when we return.  The second trimester is very important and I want the students to give their best effort!

Reading Challenge / Winter 2013-2014                                                                       Mr. Jewell

 

Henry’s Freedom Box

The Bears of Hemlock Mountain

Tiger Rising

Sybil Ludington’s Midnight Ride

Tale of Despereaux

Katie John

Onion John

Amber Brown is Not a Crayon

Muggie Maggie

Ghost Soldier

The Chocolate Touch

And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?

The Cabin Faced West

Caddie Woodlawn

Ivy & Bean series

Narnia series

Amber Brown series

Being Teddy Roosevelt

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Frindle

How to Steal a Dog

StoneFox

The Family under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson

Meiko and the Fifth Treasure by Eleanor Coerr

 

SHORTER STORIES:

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski

When I was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett

Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully

The Gardener by Sarah Stewart

The Houdini Box by Brian Selznick

Rip Van Winkle by Thomas Locker – (Washington Irving)

The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen

The House Gobbaleen by Lloyd Alexander

Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say

The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward

Stone Soup by Marcia Brown

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling

Hachiko Waits by Leslea Newman

Fables by Arnold Lobel

Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni

 

Any Blue Stem or Caudill you haven’t read (see library for list)

 

Any Battle Book you would like to read (see Mr. Jewell for list)

 

Seven books can by your choice.

 

Please choose GOOD FIT books.  You need to read 20 books before February 14th, 2014.  You must sign-up for a BOOKCHAT and keep track on your recording sheet. J

 

 

Our Garden Planted!
Our class members got assigned jobs and we got to prepare a garden. Some of the jobs were:
Plant team, Water team, Soil prep team, and Dirty team.  We just started a last week and will journal the progress our garden makes.  Stay tuned for pictures!

Longitude Lines
In geography, we work on longitude lines. Longitude lines run North and South and measure distance from the Prime Meridian.

Latitude lines
Latitude lines measure the distance from the Equator.  Chicago is at nearly 42 degrees latitude!

Reading Challenge:  we need to read 15 books before Nov. 15!  Are you getting your reading done.  We should read for at least 20 minutes each day!

By Micah & Josh (bloggers)

In social studies, our class is doing a game called The Amazing Race. It is a race to get across the United States by doing mental or physical challenges chosen by Mr. Jewell. A physical challenge
is when you have a little game you have to complete. A mental challenge is when you must answer questions related to the geography of the United States.  If you meet the challenge, your team gets to move to the next state.  The first place team is in Florida.  It is a fun and exciting way to learn about our country.  The focus for fourth grade in social studies is the regions of the United States.

Bloggers: Micah & Josh

IMPORTANT DATES:
Curriculum Night - Wed
Picture Day - Thur

Classroom update from our first bloggers coming Friday!  Stay tuned.

Summer Vacation: Seattle

Here is a little about me:

My family has four people: my wife (Dawn), my daughter (Naomi), my son (Gabe) and me.  I am from Indiana and have lived in the Wheaton area for over a decade.  I came to this area to attend Wheaton College Graduate School.  My kids have kept me busy this summer.  Gabe likes to play soccer and swim.  Every summer, we visit my wife's family in Seattle.  We went to Pike Place Market, ate sushi (YUM), paddled around in a kayake/paddle board, and went shopping.  The food in Seattle is awesome.  They have fresh seafood! 

I am wondering if you had an interesting trip this summer? 

See you soon.

Mr. Jewell

Welcome New Fourth Graders 2013-2014 School Year!

If you are receiving this email, then you are in my class.  So, welcome to the 2013-2014 school year!  I look forward to meeting you!

We have a "mission" for our classroom.  We call our mission, "CORE" and it stands for:

C = communicate with each other
O = stay organized
R = respect others
E = encourage others: build people up and don't tear them down

I will tell you more about it and hope you are excited to start school.  This will be a great year for you! I will ask this question on the first day of school to see who actually visited the blog:

What city is my wife from? 

If you answer this question, then you get to be the first blogger!

See you soon.  The meet & treat is on Tuesday, August 20, starting at 3:00.  Glad you are on our team!

Mr. Jewell