Who We Are

Here's a look at who makes up our community in 2-0-Thrive:

Current Web Resources!

OUR CLASS BLOG!

Check out our class blog, which we will (hopefully) update daily: 

2-0-Thrive.blogspot.com

Our Class Schedule!

Interested in coming to volunteer in our classroom?  Wondering what your child is doing throughout the day?  Need to talk with T. Chris or Doc Joe?  Here is our (general) weekly schedule, which gives you an idea of what we are doing throughout the day (times in bold are times we are available to talk):

What's happening in 2-0-THRIVE?

We are already busy working away on many different projects, and the school year has just begun!  Here is a look at what is happening now in each of our main subject areas, and what you can expect later on in the year:

Reading

We will be following the Reading Workshop format established by Lucy Caulkins for our reading instruction this school year, along with following the CAFE menu for literacy. CAFE stands for Comprehenion, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding Vocabulary.  Our reading workshop will include a mini-lesson in which students are taught a strategy or way of thinking about reading, along with time to practice.  Then students will have individualized reading time, during which we will hold conferences with students using targeted interventions and hold strategy groups with students working on similar strategies.  Students will then have a chance to share their reading with a partner, and finally end the workshop by sharing with the entire class.  Genre studies and book clubs will also occur in our reading workshop later in the year.

In the afternoon, we have our read aloud and our book chat, during which we are reading some great Roald Dahl stories right now and digging deep into books, making many great connections and constructions of understanding about the texts.

Writing

We will also be following the Writing Workshop format established by Lucky Caulkins for our writing instruction this school year.  Our writing workshop will include a mini-lesson in which students are taught a strategy or way of thinking about their writing, along with time to practice.  Then students will have individualized writing time, during which we will hold conferences with students using targeted interventions and hold strategy groups with students working on similar strategies.  Students will then have a chance to share their writing with a partner, and finally end the workshop by sharing with the entire class.  Genre studies and will also occur in our writing workshop later in the year. 

Math

We follow the Everyday Mathematics Math program at Powel School.  This math program may be very different from how you learned math in school.  Topics that are covered include 2- and 3- dimensional geometry, uses, meanings, and representations of number, operations (computation and estimation), data and probability, measurement, and patterns.  

The general structure of a lesson begins with a mental math warm-up, then the math message of the day, which leads into the lesson.  Students then practice individually or with partners, and then have a game followed by review and enrichment.  It is hands-on and includes a lot of math vocabulary.

Science

We began the year with the scientific method and making quality observations.  We are in our first science unit of the year: Land and Water. We are doing lots of hands-on investigations of how water effects land.  Ask your kids about stream tables from their science groups!  Also covered this year will be magnetism and electricity, and life cycles of plants and animals.

Social Studies

How can we examine events in history from many different perspectives?  We will be taking a closer look at Philadelphia history, along with closely studying the Amish and their ways of living, which will be connected to our field trip to Lancaster, PA in November!

Morning Meeting

Our goals for morning meeting include community building, skill reinforcment, and how to listen and share in different experiences.  Meetings will include a greeting, a group activity, news and annoucnments, and sharing.

HOMEWORK!

Being a fourth grader comes with more responsibility.  Accurate completion of homework is one of those responsibilities.  Parents, this requires a lot of participation on your part to ensure the success of your student.  Have conversations with your child about what they are learning in school.  Your signature is required every night, and signifies that you have read and reviewed your child's homework.  

Special Happenings in Fourth Grade!!

As many of you may have heard, there are many awesome things to look forward to in fourth grade!  Here's a glimpse at some of the special things we'll be up to this year:

Field Trips

Teachers Chris and Doc Joe LOVE to take field trips.  You have already heard about our first big trip scheduled for this year already- Lancaster, PA!!  This is an absolutely wonderful trip, and the fall is the perfect time to go, as we'll be able to see an Amish Farm and House along with an Amish School House in the crisp autumn air, followed by a trip to the Shady Maple Smorgasboard!

We also are planning many visits to museums including the Franklin Institute, the Art Museum, Academy of Fine Arts, the Fabric Museum and Workshop, Fairmount Water Works, and of course the Zoo at the end of the year, along with another BIG TRIP!  Stay tuned for when these exciting trips will be coming up!

Theme Days and Celebrations!

It seems many students have heard about the celebrations and festivals we have in our classroom community.  For students who do a good job and work hard, a little fun makes a great reward!  We will have bi-weekly theme days planned throughout the year for students who complete ALL of their homework for the two weeks leading up to the theme day.  Theme days include Pajama Day, Dress-Up Day, Super-Hero Day, Backwards Day, Beach Day, Pirate Day, etc.  Make sure you get all of your homework turned in ON TIME everyday!!

Our first celebration will be our fall festival, which will be held on Wednesday, October 31.  Look for more details as the date draws nearer!

Need-in-Deed: A Service Learning Project

This year, Doc Joe and Teacher Chris have teamed up with Need in Deed, an organization that promotes serive learning in the classroom.  We will be following the five-steps of V.O.I.C.E. for developing our own service learning project, including valuing our own voice, opening the many issues prevalent in our lives, investigating a specific objective, conduct meaningful serive, and of course celebrate at the end.  Be on the lookout for our Need in Deed work as the year goes on!

Thematic Unit: China

This year's thematic unit is China!  Travel back to the Han Dynasty among many other amazing traditions in the world's most populous country!  Explore the great wall, the exciting cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong as we embark on our journey to the land of the dragon!