This Week 11/27/17

Hello Middle School Families!

I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving break!  The kids were full of stories about what they ate, the things they did and the people they saw :)

Some important upcoming dates are as follows:

• Progress Reports will be available online Thursday, November 30th.  
• Dec. 14- Christmas Program will be at 9am.  Children TK-7th will need to wear red MID polos and khaki bottoms.  Light refreshments in the gym following the program.  
• Dec. 19- Early Release for Christmas Break.  More information on release times will be announced soon.
• Dec. 20-Jan 2- No School - Christmas Break

This Week In...

Bible

We're wrapping up our study of Moses' life this week.  Next we will be learning about the plagues that were visited upon Egypt during the time that they enslaved the Israelites, as well as what the purpose of those plagues was.

Social Studies

This week we'll wrap up our unit on European Exploration.  We'll be filling in our study guides on Wednesday (A Day) and Thursday (B Day).  The unit test will be on Friday, 12/1 for A Day class, and Monday 12/4 for B Day class.  Next week we'll begin our study of European geography.

ELA

We're digging deeper into Dahl's writing, and using it as a model for our own writing.  We talked about how he wrote about his most vivid memories in Boy: Tales of Childhood, and then created a timeline of some of our most vivid memories.  It's always fun sharing some of my childhood stories with the kids!  We'll use those vivid memories as inspiration to write an essay.

Have a wonderful week!

Weekly Update 11/13/17

Hello Middle School Families!

Can you believe it's almost Thanksgiving!  This year is flying by so fast!  Below are a few important dates to be aware of:

• Reading Night is Tuesday, November 14th.  PTO will open the used uniform sale in the upper building from 3-5:30.  There will be a PTO meeting in the Sanctuary from 5:30-6:00 and parents can visit classrooms from 6:00-7:00.  During reading night, teachers and students will share some different things that happen during reading instruction, as well as strategies and activities to try at home! 
• To celebrate reading night, we invite all students to pay $1 and dress up as their favorite book character at school tomorrow, November 14th!  (no weapons, please) 
• Personality Day is this Friday, November 17th.  
• Next week there is No School Wednesday-Friday (11/22 - 11/24)

This week in...

Bible:  We're continuing to learn about the life of Moses, and how God used him in the lives of the Israelite people.  We've also been talking about the fact that God has a plan for each of our lives, just as he had a plan to deliver the Israelites from slavery.

Social Studies:  In Social Studies, we're learning about why Europeans began wanting to explore in the 1400's (spices, gold and silk) as well as finding out about the tools that began to make navigating by sea safer and more accurate, allowing sailors to discover places that they never knew existed!

ELA:  This week we'll continue to read Roald Dahl's writing.  We'll also work on revising our writing to make it stronger and easier to read.

Have a wonderful week!

Weekly Update 11/6/17

Happy Monday!

Important Dates This Week...

• Social Studies and ELA Vocabulary tests for B Day classes on Monday, 11/6 and A Day classes on Tuesday, 11/7
• Veteran's Program on Thursday, November 9th
• No School - Veteran's Day on Friday, November 10th

This Week In...

Bible
This week we'll wrap up Lesson 6.  We've been learning about how the Egyptian Pharaoh felt threatened by the number of Israelites living there.  He worried that if they decided to join together in war with one of Egypt's enemies, Egypt would be defeated due to their great number, so he took them as slaves.  We'll also begin working on Lesson 7, which tells Moses' story.

Social Studies

Today and tomorrow the kids are taking the Geography assessment that starts our European Exploration unit.  Beginning on Wednesday, we'll be learning about why exploration by sea became necessary and how it became possible.  Then we'll learn about some of the famous explorers of the time period (1400-1600) such as Prince Henry the Navigator, Bartholomeu Dias, Vasco DeGama, and Ferdinand Magellan.

ELA

Today and tomorrow the kids will turn in their vocabulary homework and take the test on those words.  They'll be given new homework for the next two weeks.  This homework (Lesson 2) will be due on 11/20 (A Day) and 11/21 (B Day) and they will have an assessment that day.  This week we'll be starting to read some of Roald Dahl's writing, and look at how he focuses in on a moment, just as we've been doing in our writing.

Have a blessed week!

Weekly Update 10/30/17

Hello Middle School Families!

It was great to see some of you at the Fall Festival!  And I'll see even more of you this week at Parent/Teacher conferences.  Just a reminder that there is no school on Tuesday and Wednesday this week due to conferences.  Also, conferences for middle school students are NOT mandatory.  You only need a conference if you have concerns that you'd like to discuss.

This week in...

Social Studies (A and B Days)
We've begun our European Exploration unit with the Geography piece.  We're learning about Indonesia (then called the Spice Islands), the West Indies (Carribean Islands), and Africa, and how these different places played a role in European Exploration.  We'll have a Geography test next week:  A Day on Tuesday, Nov 7th, and B Day on Monday, Nov 6th.  The kids will have study guides that they'll bring home over the weekend.

ELA (A and B Days)
We're continuing our work on narrative writing.  This week we'll look at the difference between telling versus showing what is happening.

ELA Homework Reminder

• B Day students received their vocabulary homework 10/23, and it is due on Monday, Nov 6th.  They'll have an assessment on the words that day as well.  
• A Day students received their vocabulary homework on 10/24.  It is due on Tuesday, Nov 7th, and they'll have an assessment that day.

Wishing you a blessed week!

This week...10/23/17

Hello Middle School Families!

This week in...

Social Studies (Both A and B Days)
We're wrapping up our Ancient Civilizations unit by writing an essay that tells about the masks that we made.  The masks have symbols on them that represent the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations.  We had a lot of fun researching and creating them!  Check it out!

The next unit we'll be working on is European Exploration.  We'll mainly focus on the early explorers from Spain and Portugal, the places and peoples they discovered, and the navigation tools that allowed them to sail further from shore than they'd ever imagined.  We'll begin with a short geography unit that will allow us to get familiar with the areas we'll be learning about:  the Spice Islands, West Indies, and ports in Africa.  There will be a test on this part of the unit on November 3rd (A Day) and November 6th (B Day).  A study guide will come home next week.

ELA (Both A and B Days)
We've been getting familiar with the ELA Amplify curriculum, and are currently working on the first unit, Dahl and Narrative.  The first half of the unit is spent working on narrative writing, and we've been working on focusing our writing in on one particular moment.  This week, we'll sharpen our focus on chosing one moment to write about, and adding lots of details.

This week I'll begin assigning homework for vocabulary.  Students will have about 2 weeks to complete the homework.

• B Day students will receive their homework today (10/23), and it will be due on Monday, Nov 6th.  They'll have an assessment on the words that day as well.  
• A Day students will receive their homework tomorrow (10/24).  It will be due on Tuesday, Nov 7th, and they'll have an assessment that day.
• I'll send out Remind messages about the due dates and assessment dates.  Students will also write them in their planners.

I hope you have a great week!

This Week 9/18/17

Hello Middle School Families!

I'll be using this blog to give you updates (every two weeks) about what we're working on in each class that I teach.  We're working on implementing Google Suites at MID, so the format may change once that's completed...I'll be sure to let you know :)

This week in...

Social Studies (both A and B day)
We recently completed our first unit...Geography Review...and are now beginning a unit on Ancient Civilizations.  We're studying the Aztec, Maya, and Inca civilizations, and will learn about their development, culture, and accomplishments, as well as what led to their downfall.  We just watched some introductory videos, and next will learn about Central and South America to become familiar with where these people lived. 

Over the next two weeks we'll spend time learning about each of these civilizations, specifically, their location, form of government architecture, religious practices, advances, and what happened to them?  Our final activity will be for each student to create a clay mask.  They'll each decorate the mask with symbols that represent the three cultures, and will write an essay explaining what each symbol stands for and why it was chosen.

English Language Arts (A and B day)
During the first weeks of school we spent quite a bit of time talking about reading,  We discussed the fact that reading involves thinking, and the different types of thinking we do when we read (predicting, questioning, making connections, inferring, etc.).  My goal is for students to be active, mindful readers, engaged with their chosen text. 

I introduced the kids to Biblionasium.com where they can keep track of their reading, as well as review books and give recommendations to other students.  This is a safe, monitored forum for 6-13 year olds, and they only interact online with other MID students after you've given them permission.  If you haven't already, you'll be receiving an email inviting you to join us on Biblionasium :)

Over the next two weeks, we'll be starting the first unit of our new curriculum which will have us reading some selections by Roald Dahl (James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), and working on writing in the narrative style.  A lot of this work will be done using student iPads,

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about what we're doing in class, or about your child.  The easiest way to reach me is via email at kpoole@midschool.org. 

Have a  great week!

This Week 4/17/17...

Welcome Back!
I hope you all had a fun and restful Spring Break, as well as a blessed Easter!

Now we begin the last leg of the school year...why does it seem like it's gone so fast?!?  We've got some important dates coming up, and an update on what's going on in our classroom this week.

April 21^st- Personality Day (free dress)
April 25^th- Spirit Night at Chick-Fil-A
May 1^st-5^th- Teacher Appreciation
May 9^th- Progress Reports
May 19^th- Personality Day (free dress)
May 23^rd- EOG Pep Rally
May 24-26^th- Camp Mariner
May 29^th- No School
May 30^th-June 1^st - 3^rd-7^th Grade EOG testing

If you haven't already signed your child up for Camp Mariner, check to see if you still can.  It's the most fun field trip EVER!!!  We spend 3 days and 2 nights on Oak Island at Fort Caswell.  The kids stay in bunk houses (separate rooms for boys and girls, with LOTS of chaperones) and we travel all over the Southport area learning about the history of the area, and having a blast at the Fort Fisher aquarium, the beach, and the Provision Company (for dinner one night).  We end our trip with a picnic by the ocean and a trip to the Christmas House (sugar 'em up and send 'em home!).  It's one of my favorite events of the school year!

So, have your kids told you about our Praying Mantis habitat?  A couple of days before we left for Spring Break we received a Praying Mantis habitat with an egg case that should hatch in 3-4 weeks. We'll keep you updated on their progress!

This week in...

Literacy (Reading, Writing, Language)
We're starting our poetry unit this week, and today we learned the definitions of, and differences between, poetry and prose.  Tomorrow we'll begin our review of Figurative Language and will talk about metaphors, similes, hyperbole, and personification throughout the week.

We're also working on opinion writing, and supporting our opinions with facts.  We're taking our inspiration from the game "Would You Rather..."  Ask your kids whether they'd rather wrestle a black bear or an alligator, and why!!!  Tomorrow we'll talk about/write about whether they'd rather have a pet python or a pet chimpanzee...ha!

Social Studies/Science
We've spent the last few weeks learning about the Revolutionary War.  The kids broke up into groups to learn about the key battles of the war, and today they'll start presenting their projects.  Each group created a poster with important information about the battle, drew a picture of a key event in the battle, and wrote a skit depicting what happened. I can't wait to see what they've put together, and how they'll teach each other about the battles of the American Revolution!

Math
This is what our differentiated math groups are working on:

• 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication
• Long division with and without remainders
• Adding and subtracting fractions by finding common denominators
• Working with decimals
• Understanding mean, median, mode and range

Bible

This week we're in Acts chapter 18, learning about Paul's continuing travels to spread the word of the Gospel.  As he has many other times, he runs into trouble and is persecuted for his message.  

Our memory verse this week is:  One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision.  "Don't be afraid." he said, "Keep on speaking.  Do not be silent."  Acts 18:9

Have a wonderful week!

This Week...1/2/17

Hello Fourth Grade Families!

I hope that all of you had a wonderful break, and hopefully had some time for fun, family, and some much needed rest!

We'll be jumping back into real life tomorrow, and we'll have a returning student joining us...Sage Patterson.  Welcome back to MID Patterson Family!  This puts us at 23 students in our class.

***I'm looking for donations of 2 liter soda bottles for a science experiment that 

we'll be doing later this week.  If you can send any in, I sure would appreciate it!***

This week in:

Reading:  We're beginning our Nonfiction Text unit, and this week we'll be talking about Main Idea and Supporting Details. I always start out with a picture that illustrates this concept really well...kids playing in the park.

I ask the kids to tell me what's going on in the picture, and they tell me about:  kids swinging, playing catch, riding bikes, sailing a boat in the pond, etc.  I ask them questions like:

• Is the whole picture about kids riding bikes?
• Is the whole picture about kids swinging?
• Is the whole picture about kids playing catch?

Of course, they tell me "No!"  Then we talk about the Main Idea of the picture being "Kids Playing in the Park" and equate the things the kids are doing to Supporting Details.  Over the next few days, we'll transfer these ideas into paragraphs and other texts.

We'll also begin our middle of the year reading assessments.

Language:  We'll be working on Relative Pronouns (who, whom, which, and that).  Here are links to some online activities and games that can help with learning Relative Pronouns:

Study Ladder

Lets Have Fun With English

Got Kid's Games

Writing:  We'll be changing our writing focus to Organization.  This means that we'll be looking at the different ways that writers can organize a piece of writing, such as:  using transition words, sequence, compare and contrast, problem and solution, cause and effect.  This will coincide with the Nonfiction Text unit that we're working on in Reading.  I love showing the kids that Reading and Writing are just flip sides of the same coin!

Science:  We're beginning our unit on the Respiratory Unit this week.  We'll learn the parts of the respiratory system and how it works.  After that, we'll build model lungs using 2 liter soda bottles and balloons. Then the kids will write an illustrated book about what happens to a dust particle that enters the respiratory system.

Math:  The kids continue to work in differentiated groups.  We have one group working on multiplying by 1-digit numbers.  Another group is working on Patterns and Expressions.  A third group is learning how to multiply by 2-digit numbers.  Our final group is starting a geometry unit on lines, angles, and shapes.

Everyone will take a benchmark assessment this week to see what they've retained from their previous learning.

Bible:  In Bible we'll be focusing on Acts 8:1-15, which tells us about Stephan's death by stoning.  We'll talk about persecution in the church at that time, and persecution that still happens today.

This week's memory verse is:  Blessed are those who suffer for doing what is right.  The kingdom of Heaven belongs to them.  Matthew 5:10

Wishing you many blessings in 2017!