Personal Narratives: Samantha, Haley, Xander, Virgil, Stephan

Camp

by Samantha 

I went to camp with my family.  I went canoeing.  I fell down.  At camp, we went down to the beach and I skipped rocks down to the beach.  We have smog at the beach.  We slept there for one day and went home. 

     When we go back, I will get wet.  We will go riding with my bike.  My sister and I will race with my other sister.  I will win and get money.  That was fun at camp.  I miss my camp.  I can yet go to camp again.  We are going on Friday. 

My Trip to Anchorage

Haley

       My family went to Anchorage for my tonsils to take out because I had  huge tonsils.  If you have a huge or small tonsils, they will take them out. If you have a huge one they will take it out. If you have a small one they won't take it out.

When we got there, we took our van to the hotel and unpacked our bags. We went to the mall for some food, some clothes, some shoes, and to keep us warm, and to get us to eat good food to help us not get us starving. If we watched our baby sister we could go to H2Oasis, ice skating, McDonald's playground, go to the pool at Courtyard, or to the movie theaters.

Anchorage vs. Nome

Xander 

My grandma got tickets to Anchorage.  We  lived in Days Inn.  We went to Walmart and bought a robot.  I went to go get my tonsils out and it hurt after I woke up.  I had to only have Otter Pops and ice cream.  Then we went to the Restaurant and bought an ice cream sundae. We went home.  

The next day when it was sunny, we saw the Fair.  We went to the fair.  We got tickets.  We went to the Spinning Apples ride, and I rode one.  Then it was dark, and the Fair was still open.  When it was dark, we went to the airport and got tickets to go back to Nome.

          We only stayed in Anchorage for ten days.  When we got to Nome, we took a cab home.  When I got home, my dog Copone jumped on me when I had just opened the door, and he followed me everywhere.  The next day I went to the park, and Darius and I were playing Marines.  Marines is a game where we shoot bad guys.  We went home and went to eat.  We went to the store.  We bought a new gun.  We played Marines again— Darius and I versus each other.   We split up.  I won. 

We went to go ask Timothy, but he wasn't there.  We were looking for him.  We found him.  We played Marines some more.  Darius and Timothy won.  I saw grandma.  We went to the store, and grandma bought me and Darius HubbaBubba gum.  We went to the park and we went on the swings.   We went home and watched a scary movie called Paranormal Activity 2.  It was a long movie.

       Anchorage was more fun than Nome because they had a Fair and they had waffles at the restaurant and yummy burgers and shrimp.   At Walmart they had cool toys, and cool buses and cool cabs at Anchorage.

Tubes and Tonsils

Virgil

I went to Anchorage with my mom to take my tonsils out and get tubes in my ears.  We stayed at our cousin's Nolie's.  We went to McDonalds and went to Old Navy to get new clothes and shoes.  I got a new game on the Xbox 360 called 

Battlefield 3.  

The next day the doctor took my tonsils out and got tubes in my ears.  I couldn't wait to take my tonsils out.  My mom and I went to the hospital.  They gave me Laughing Gas.  It took me 20 minutes to go to sleep.  I was asleep for one hour.  When I woke up, my mouth was hurting for a while. 

We went back to Nolie's for 10 days.  We went to the Ted Stevens Airport and went back to Nome.

Odyssey With Virgil

Stephan Anderson

On Fourth of July, 2010, Virgil and I went biking up to Chicken Hill.  He found the biggest jump, and hit it, and did a trick.  I tried, but I crashed and hit my, um, groin.  It really hurt, it felt like I needed some ice. 

        After a while we went to my house and got some money.  We got a soda at A.C. 'cause we got thirsty.  After a while, we got really hyper.  I hit a small jump, but went really high. I jumped off ,my bike in the air, then crashed, but got up really fast and chased a squirrel into a squirrel hole.  We spied on it for a while.  It popped out.  I grabbed a rock.  I  threw the rock.  The rock knocked the squirrel out for about 30 minutes.  It got up really quick.  It was so funny,  I almost peed my pants. 

         We went to Cup Hill and I hit a HUMUNGUS jump, went flying in the air, then crashed again.  I almost landed on a squirrel hole.  After a while we went to my house to shoot around.  We got bored, so we went to Virgil's house to play the Xbox 360.  We were playing Call of Duty: Black Opps.    After we finished a level, his mom told us to go play outside. We played Eskimo Kickball with Virgil's neighbors, Steven and William.  We won.  We had 15 points, they had 12 points.  We went to my house.  Virgil went to the beach with me and my family.  All the kids went swimming.  The water got really cold, then it got really warm.

When we got done swimming, we made some s'mores. They were really good and super-sticky.  Virgil got the chocolate all over his face.  We went to my house.  I asked if  I could sleep over at Virgil's, and my mom said I could.  We stayed up for a long time.  We got bored, so we just played a game of Run Away FromThe Popo's(Police).  It got boring, so we went to his house.  We got so bored, we went to sleep.  We woke up at 1:00 p.m. from the smell of bacon that his mom was cooking.  I had so much fun with Virgil those two days.

Parent FYI, week of October 29, 2012

Parents F.Y.I.

Weekly Newsletter for Mr. McRae's 4th Grade & 4th Grade Reading Class

Week of October 29—31

Scroll down for this week's Word Lists.

It's not too late to take the NOME PUBLIC SCHOOLS District Survey. This is one way to  give your input to Nome Public Schools:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NPSAnnualSurvey  

 Perfect Attendance Assembly

·       Grades 1 – 4

·       Tuesday, October 30, 2012,   8:05 AM

Parent – Teacher Conferences

·       November 1 – 2, 2012

·       8:00 AM – 4:00

·       NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS ON THURSDAY & FRIDAY

 Thanks for confirming your conference time with me.  If you have questions or need to make a change, email me, or call the  front office at Nome Elementary School (443 5299)

50 Points Party!!

            •  Mr. McRae's class has earned 50 points

            • A point is given when every single student is ON TASK for an entire  lesson

            •  The 50 Points Party is scheduled for this WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, for the duration of the day 

            •  Parents are invited to drop by

            •  Snacks are welcome

            •  Points help students learn and stay on task.  This is a great class and they have been working plenty hard.  Now, we will 

celebrate this hard  work, which will help us work even harder .

   •  Oh yes, and it's a costume party!

 "I Elect To Read"  Reading Incentive program

            •  We are in Week 3.

            •   Students read for 30 minutes each night and keep a log of what they have read.

            •  Reading Logs are DUE ON WEDNESDAY this week!

Tonight's Homework

Tonight's Math Homework:

          1.  Write a "Times Table" through 12 x 12 = 144
                              and
          2.  Write a +, —, X, or ÷ WORD PROBLEM for the class


Tonight's Reading Homework:

         Read your book for 20 minutes, write a brief summary, and have   
           your parents sign and date your summary.

Parent FYI, week of October 01, 2012

Parents F.Y.I.

Weekly Newsletter for Mr. McRae's 4th Grade & 4th Grade Reading Class

Week of October 01—05

SPELLING WORDS

pound    drawn    howl    scout        jaw    false           bounce   proud    cause    frown   always   sauce      shout     gown    aloud    couch      south     dawn     couple  mount

VOCABULARY /   CHALLENGE /    REVIEW   WORDS /   INUPIAQ

borrow            gnaw          walk        —(r) tuq

eager               prowl         lawn         niGi

lap                   pounce       loud         qaniq

check out       doubt          sound

glaring            scrawny     clown

storyteller

Science Words (from Chapter 1, "Classifying Living Things")

organism                          vascular

microscopic                    non-vascular

bacteria                            fungi

protist

•  Houghton Mifflin Reading, Theme 1, Lesson 3

            Reading Selection: "Tomas and the Library Lady",  Pat Mora

            Theme:  "Traditions"

            Comprehension Strategy:  Predict/Infer

            Comprehension Skill:  Sequence of events

            Spelling:  /ou/ and /o/

            Structural Analysis:  Contractions

            Grammar:  Proper Nouns

            Writing:  Writing and essay

•  Minimum Day, Wednesday, October 03

            4th Graders dismissed at 1:30 p.m.  Teacher collaboration time.  

        

Daily Homework will no longer be posted on Class Blog. 

     I just   can't find the time each day to keep up with it! Instead, I will  use the time to post student work, as well as updates on class topics and progress.  I have posted our Alaska Poems on the   blog;  check them out, they're fun!  The reason I have chosen a blog format instead of a District Web Page is:  a.  I am already familiar with the blog format.  b. It's seems to be a little faster and more reliable than a web page.  c.  It creates a sense for the     students of being "big time published writers."  I will use first          names only for student writing that gets posted, and will use full   discretion for subject matter and internet permissions.  Contact  me if you see anything that you would like to be deleted from our class blog.  The "Default Homework" will be posted for homework, see below.

•  Homework

            Students should do the regular, take-home, paper homework each night for Reading & Math.  Homework reviews class work which is aligned with the state math standards.  For reading    homework, my intention is to integrate SCIENCE and SOCIAL   STUDIES into the reading homework (since it is difficult to find enough time during the day to address these important subjects.)   I will try, when possible, to create Reading Homework which addresses the reading skills of the week as well as science and social studies content.

            However, if the paper homework is lost or destroyed, I will    accept the DEFAULT homework as long as it is only "once in a while."  The DEFAULT HOMEWORK is:

         MATH:  1.  Make a "Times Table" through 12 x 12

                     2.  Write up a +, —, X, or ÷ Word Problem for our class.

         READING:  Read your book for 20 minutes, write a brief  summary, and       

              have your parents sign and date it.

     

•  EDITOR'S CHOICE sentences from last week 

        No sentences last week because it was a spelling review week.

Alaska Guy Poems III

Alaska Gal Poems II

Tonight's Homework

Math Homework:

1.  Create a "Times Table" from 0 x 0 through 12 x 12 .

2.  Write a math word problem that can be answered with an addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division sentence.


Reading Homework:

Read your book for 20 minutes.  Write a brief summary.  Have your parents sign it.

Reading Homework, 09-24-12

Parent FYI, week of September 24—28

Parents F.Y.I.

Weekly Newsletter for Mr. McRae's 4th Grade & 4th Grade Reading Class

Week of September 24—28

SPELLING WORDS

safe    kept   gray  grown             wrote             blind

suit      crumb    wait    creak   steep    gain   still      gold      crime    few      trunk    steal   weight   meat    past    reach   coast    odd   sigh       true      tube    steel     creek    meet   

VOCABULARY /  CHALLENGE /   REVIEW   WORDS /  INUPIAQ

sensation          descent            its              —(r) tuNa  

turbulent         graceful            it's              niGi

precious           rigid                there            qaniq

perch                continue          they're

hindrance       remind               their

fluttered

•  Houghton Mifflin Reading, Theme 1 Review

            Reading Selection: 

               "Chester Cricket's Pigeon Ride",  Garth Williams

               "The Parcel Post Kid" Michael O. Tunnel

            Theme:  "Journeys"

            Comprehension Strategy:  Predict/Infer

            Comprehension Skill:  Noting details, Text Organization

            Spelling:  Review Theme 1 words

            Structural Analysis:  Review:

            Grammar:  Review:  Subject / Predicate

            Writing:  Personal Narrative

•  HOMEWORK

            •  Substitutions can be made if homework is lost or forgotten:

                    Math:   a multiplication "times table"

                    Reading:  25 minutes of free reading, with a signed note from 

                                         parent

            •  Homework is not counted in grade, but it does determine

                  Class Raffle eligibility!

                                     

• PTA Meeting

·      Date:  September 24, 2012

·      Time:  6:30 PM

·      Location:  Library

·       

^Reading

We are finishing Theme 1 (Journeys) in Houghton Mifflin Reading.  This is a review week.  Our plan is to review:

1.  Reading comprehension:  keyword summaries, noting details in text, & test taking skills

2.  Subject / Predicate:  writing complete sentences, identifying simple and complete subject & predicate 

3.  Alphabetization

Math

This is Multiplication / Division week.  We are departing from the Houghton-Mifflin textbook and focussing on

 multiplication and division, with an emphasis on the language of word problems.  The goal is for each student to be able to solve AND write word problems using "times" and "divide".  Word problems are more fun when we write our own!  Help your 4th grader to "think" in multiplication and division by relating real-world situations to simple multiplication/division equations.  And of course--  it is ESSENTIAL that 4th graders memorize their multiplication facts and their corresponding fact families.  (For example:  if you know 3 x 4 =12, then you also know that 12 ÷ 3 = 4)

Writing

We have finished our "Personal Narrative" rough drafts.  In writing this week, we plan on a final phase of peer editing & teacher editing before we go to press with the narratives.  In particular, we are looking at ORGANIZATION of ideas in a story, as well the usual struggle to use correct punctuation, spelling, and grammar.

Science

               Last week, we finally got the science ball rolling!  We studied SCIENTIFIC METHOD (hypothesis, procedure, data,  conclusion), the method by which science "proves stuff."  We did this by performing Mr. McRae's award-winning "ESP Experiment #2".   Ask your 4th Grader for details!  We are also studying classification of living things.

•  EDITOR'S CHOICE sentences from last week 

The door creaked when I peeked.

There were monsters in my closet.

They're there.

I wrung SpongeBob SquarePants.

Don't wear a ring when you wring that thing.

He was slow because he had a lot of weight.

I would like to meet my meat before I eat it.

My gramma has a lot of cookware.

Beets taste gross.

I like to visit Dexter Creek.

I put the lead weights on my rod, then I led the way.

Reading & Math Homework, Thursday, 09-20-12

Tonight's Reading Homework for Thursday, 09-20-12

Use each word in a sentence

steel   steal    lead    led      wait   weight   wear   ware   creak creek   beet   beat   meet   meat   peek   peak   deer   dear  ring   wring

its    it's     they're    their     there

Tonight's Math Homework for Thursday, 09-20-12

Alaska Guy Poems I

My hat is on the North Slope.

My eye is in the Kotzebue Sound.

My nose is the Seward Peninsula.

My nostrils are at Nome.

I'm rubbing noses with Asia.

My ear is in the Interior.

The Aleutians are my long, long beard.

My smile is the Kuskokwim.

I have a Panhandle for a neck.

Who am I?

Reading & Math Homework, 09-19-12

Reading Homework for Wednesday, 09-19-12:
 Read your book for 20 minutes.  Enjoy!  Write a summary of at least one sentence.  Have parents sign and date the summary.  

 Emails are accepted.  Or, sign on to Google and post your homework in the Comments section of this blog!  Good luck with that, I don't know how it works....


Math Homework for Wednesday, Sept. 19

name ___________________ 

ANSWER WITH A MULTIPLICATION SENTENCE.

(Remember:  Multiplication deals with things in groups-  with an equal number of things in each group._      

1.  Devin read 12 books with 9 pages in each book.  How many    pages did Devin read?

2.  Seven kids ate two bowls of soup each.  How many bowls did the     kids eat altogether?

3.  Mr. McRae made 12 pages each night for a story he is making.  It took him 11 nights to finish.  How many pages did he make in all?

4.  Kylee read 12 books with 9 pages each in them.  How many pages did she read in all?

5.  Brianna made 6 cookies.  Nakita made 6 cookies.  How many cookies in all?

6.  Virgil went fishing, then came back with 2 bags.  Each bag had 5 fish in it.  How many fish did he get in all?

7.  Elijah did 10 problems on each page.  There were 9 pages.  How many problems did Elijah do in all?

8.    Mr McRae has 5 baskets.  Each basket has 2 apples in it.  How  many apples altogether?

9.  Sam had 5 brownies.  Each brownie was 2 inches.  How long are Sam's brownies if he lines them all up next to each other?

10. Kaylyn made 11 batches of brownies.  There were 2 in each batch.  How many brownies did she make?

11. Stephine bought 4 Labor Day Duck Race tickets.  If each ticket  cost $5.00, how many dollars did she spend.

11.5

  Melissa saw 20 dragons.  That's her first and only time seeing         dragons.  How many dragons did Melissa see in all?

For the problems below, kids wrote ADDITION problems instead of multiplication.  ANSWER WITH AN ADDITION SENTENCE. 

12.   Mr. McRae made 7 cookies, and 9 more cookies.  How many cookies did Mr. McRae make?

13.  Reese shot two brown bears.  Then he got three more.  How   many bears did Reese get?

15.  Sony made 5 cupcakes and 2 extra for her friends.  How much  do they have altogether?

16. My sister ate 5 apples.  She ate 6 more apples.  How many apples did my sister eat?

 17. Simeon has two jackets and two hats.  How many winter things has Simeon?