The Kvenild Quackers

Murdock's Vision

Murdock Elementary School will provide students with the foundational skills necessary to become productive citizens through the development of literacy, critical thinking, problem solving, effective communication and collaboration, and personal responsibility.

Holiday Spelling Words

This week the children brainstormed a list of holiday spelling words to use!  We chose words that came from ALL of the winter holidays that are celebrated by families of the students in our class.   :)

icicle

ornament

dreidel

menorah

decorating

miracle

Ramadan

imam  (one who leads prayer for Ramadan)

masjid   (mosque)

Kwanzaa

avalanche

reindeer

sleigh

kinara  (Kwanzaa candles)

latke  (potato pancake)

Science Games!

Enjoy!

http://edheads.org/

 

"What's Left?" - Division

Long Division:  A new way to do it!

If you're having trouble remembering the steps in our "What's Left?" way of doing long division problems, watch these videos I made for you!  :)

Click on the link to download/open the video.

Basic version, with all the steps listed:  Download Whats left method

Advanced version, without the steps listed: Download Whats left 2

Basic long division (like mom and dad used to do): Download Long division

Vocabulary Words - beginning 9/14/11

fume

rummage

hypnotic

opponent

glum

dedication

seclusion

victorious

 

For a fun game to practice this week's words, visit:

http://quizlet.com/2001830/scatter/

Friday Notes - 9/16/11

Parents:

This week was certainly a busy one!  Hopefully you've all had a chance to review the tests and graded papers that have come home in today's Friday Folder.  Please keep in mind that a student's grade does not have to be solely based or derived from written tests; we are constantly making documented observations, giving informal assessments, etc., and use them to also formulate the children's grades. 

The children got a kick out of our air pressure demonstration today (I think they just liked the fact that we used half a box of matches!) using a soda bottle.  Ask your child which type of pressure (high or low) brings clouds and which type brings clear weather.  Next week we'll have our Map Skills assessment on Thursday.  Please help your child study nightly and initial in the labeled area on his/her study guide. 

Our Fact Pack (as we are affectionately calling it) is doing well on the memorization of the multiplication facts, and Mrs. Armour and I are eager to see these skills improve in the students that didn't master them in 3rd grade.  In other math news, we've been differentiating (as you know) for several weeks now by grouping the students based on their needs.  Today the children were given a four-problem "formative assessment," and Monday will mark yet another division of the groups as we narrow down which children still require practice on 2x2 digit multiplication, and which have mastered the standard and are ready to move on to some enrichment challenge activities.  As in the past, your child may have one of three different homework activities each night next week, depending on which group he or she fits into.  This weekend, ask your child to demonstrate two DIFFERENT ways to solve a multiplication problem - the traditional algorithm (like WE learned!) and the less-traditional area model (or, as the kids like to call it, the rectangle, the "keyboard," or the "plate.")

This week in reading we focused on main idea and details, and next week we'll be working on the 5 types of context clues and how to use them to figure out the meanings of unfamiliar words in text.  Don't panic when you see words whited-out of some assignments next week, or "nonsense" words thrown into stories!  :)   They're all a part of the activities we'll work on to increase these context clue skills.

In other reading news, Literature Circles are beginning to take shape for students whose fluency and comprehension skills exceed our expectations for this point in the school year.  The students have been learning effective discussion/argument techniques, have been creating rubrics for being graded on their usage of the techniques, and early next week will be choosing the books they would like to read first.  More information will come home about this next week to those parents whose children are involved!  For those groups with students requiring rehearsal of fluency skills, practice on comprehension techniques, or a review of some basic skills, this is underway in a guided reading setting and the students have been working hard on finding main ideas, inferring, predicting, and answering questions by finding "proof" in the reading.

As always, should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email!  Have a wonderful weekend.  :)

Vocabulary Words - Beginning 8/31

Here are our new vocabulary words:

scoff

assail

optimistic

lament

steadfast

decisive

gratifying

resigned

About Your Teacher :)

Hi there!

I bet by now you have checked the class list up at school and you found out that you, the luckiest kid in the world, have ME as a teacher for 4th grade.  :)   Congratulations!  We're going to have an awesome year.

My name is Mrs. Kvenild (it's pronounced QUEN-uld. Imagine that the "V" is a "W" and it kind of makes sense!)  I have been teaching at Murdock for 5 years, and before that, I was a teacher in Maryland and in New York, where I'm from. 

I am married (my husband is a manager at Wells Fargo by the new Whole Foods - you should stop in and say hi!) and I have a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter named Juliette.  We have two dogs- a pug named Sophie (old) and a golden retriever named Aggie (puppy!).   I own a photography business called Up & Away Photography (your family TOTALLY needs some family photos done this year!) and I really, really, REALLY like taking pictures and editing them to works of art.  I also enjoy reading, and I like to watch reality TV shows like American Idol. 

I'm not going to lie to you - this year is going to be tough.  You're going to have to work hard, and put your best effort into your work. You're going to need to be neat, and organized, and study for tests.  You're going to have more homework than you've had before, and you're going to have to remember that to me, learning comes first and I want you to go to college, be rich and famous, and buy me a convertible because I was your favorite teacher ever.   :)

Seriously, though - even though 4th grade is tough, we're also going to have a ton of fun.  I love music, and videos, and silliness.  I like to play games, and make jokes, and work in teams.  I like to smile, and laugh, and add excitement whenever we can to our lessons.

So.  Are you ready?   :)

I hope to meet you next week at Meet & Greet!  I would love for you to send me an e-mail (whether you're a kid or a Mom or Dad) to tell me you've read this, and to tell me what you think and maybe even a little bit about yourself!  My email address is kristi.kvenild@cobbk12.org

I can't wait to see you!

 

2011-2012 Supply List

We are excited to start a new school year! 

Here are the supplies your fourth grader will need:

2 spiral notebooks - WIDE ruled (not college ruled)
2 marble notebooks - WIDE ruled (not college ruled)
2 boxes of 24 pencils
2 pkgs of Crayola Twistables
1 pkg of wide ruled filler paper
2 pink erasers (not pencil-top)
3 sturdy, plastic-coated hole-punched folders
2 pens
1 pack of 4 (colored) dry erase markers
Pencil pouch or pencil box
2 yellow highlighters
2 large glue sticks
2 pairs of student scissors
1 box of facial tissues
3 pkgs of 3x5 index cards
GIRLS - 1 bottle hand sanitizer
BOYS - 1 container Clorox or Lysol wipes
2 Vis-A-Vis wet erase markers
1 box of sandwich size Ziploc bags
$2 per child for organizational folders that will be purchased by the teachers, so that the entire grade level has the exact same materials