One Day. 12 Minutes. Discover the Joy!

Read to a child. Change his or her life. It's that simple.

Today, we participated in Dallas Reads by stopping for 12 minutes to enjoy a book. Members of our community volunteered to read to our students to promote literacy and help create life-long readers.

This campaign strongly encourages reading from our community to model the success that comes from reading. Since our classes didn't have a volunteer, we chose to listen to Polar Express on www.storylineonline.net. What a great story for this time of the year.

 
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A Honor Roll!

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Healthy Choices? Let's Take a Vote!

"Healthy"..."vegetables".... "they are good for you" are words that my students or even my own children don't want to hear. Unfortunately, with the growing obesity rate in our country, these are the very things we need to help us become strong, healthy and fuel successful learning. 

DISD's Food and Nutrition Services has taken on a new initiative to get our children to eat more veggies.  A few weeks ago, our school was among the first to have a "taste testing" of these delicious vegetables which are provided in our school cafeteria daily.  We were delivered a box with 25 plastic containers of assorted vegetables. These vegetables included broccoli, red bell peppers, and carrots. The students were asked to use their senses to rate each vegetable on a scale of 1 to 5. They even included some Ranch Dressing. Their responses were very positive!  Their favorite veggie was the broccoli because it looked like a tree!

Our Surprise Guest

Today, we had a surprise guest in our classroom! As the students arrived to class, they were welcomed by Butterscotch the Guinea Pig! A friend wanted me to help find a good home for her, so I brought her to school.  The kids were funny and excited! Unfortunately, I've never wanted a class pet, so she has to go!   They offered me everything they could think of in order to take Butterscotch home. Finally, after much persuasion, Ms. Jobe has decided to give her a new home!  Bye-Bye Butterscotch! 

ELECTION 2012



 Although they may be too young to vote in an election that counts, Anne Frank's 4th graders participated in a mock election to learn about the voting process. It was amazing this morning to hear the chatter and excitement of the students awaiting to cast their ballots!


SURPRISE!!!!



Luis, Genesis, and Tezlyn



Two weeks ago, I requested a few items such as bean bags and writing paper to be funded through Donors Choose for our new "Writer's at Work" area.  Usually, people donate money to Donors Choose and then the items are mailed to you after all donations are received.  Well, somehow, a community member in Addison found out about our classroom need and sent over a huge bean bag!  I wish you could have seen the look on my kiddos faces!  We are enjoying reading and writing in our "Writer's at Work" area.  We are still needing to be funded through Donors Choose, but this gives us a great start!



If you would like to donate to our classroom, please visit the site below!

http://www.donorschoose.org/Mrs.Edley



What's Your Genre???

This past week the students participated in a genre study.  We analyzed various books and determined what genre each were based on clues in the story!

Create your own free picture slideshow

Native American Culture Project

Example of the Native American culture project

Well, it's that time again! Project time! Your Native American culture project board is due on Monday. Most of the research was done in class, so you shouldn't have a problem.  Please make sure you are following the criteria:

Title
Region- Which region did your Native American live in? (picture)
Natural resources used
Shelter
Customs
Diet/Food
Dress
Religion
Language
Government
Other interesting facts

I expect these projects to be neat, creative, and full of information!

Principal of the Day

Last Tuesday, Anne Frank participated in Principal for a Day. Our guest was Justin Coppedge, Executive Director of Leadership DISD, a non-profit organization that prepares leaders to impact public education in Dallas through volunteering.


Mr. Coppedge lives within our community and is a former science teacher. We enjoyed his visit to our classroom.  He talked to the boys and girls about the importance of education and how it can improve their way of living.  Mr. Coppedge had a little fun with the kids by making it rain in the classroom!  (Ask your kiddo to explain!)




 

The Texas State Fair

One thing we Texans sure do enjoy is our state fair!  Last Friday, dozens of Dallas' students and teachers attended the Texas State Fair.  Of course, my husband and I were among the many! Our day was filled with fun and laughter.

Since I've gotten older, I've learned to stay clear of the Midway!  I love to sit and watch the kids scream as they face their fears on the rides.  Unfortunately, my time of riding is over!!

One of my favorite parts of the fair is the car show.  I walk around and dream about the cars that I can't afford! Haha! I'm like a kid at a candy store, running back and forward, in and out of the new-smelling cars.



Let me not leave out the food!  Oh, the food!  That's the main reason I go.  Of course I am a creature of habit. I enjoyed eating my French's corny dog, turkey leg, and funnel cake.  To fix my sweet tooth I had a small bag of cotton candy! Yummy! You have until the 21st to get out there!

CATCH Kickoff Week

This week we celebrated our CATCH kickoff! CATCH stands for a Coordinated Approach to Child Health. This program addresses the growing problem of childhood obesity and encourages students and their families to develop healthy eating and exercise habits.



Novelle, Jay, and Genesis with
their "Go" foods

On Monday, we started the morning with the entire school doing the Casper Slide together! Teachers and students got moving! On Tuesday morning, students and their parents met on the field at 7:15 am for Zumba! 

Wednesday was National Walk to School Day! The teachers were asked to participate in a "friendly" competition to see how many steps we could take in a day! I couldn't believe the total!  Anne Frank's teachers completed over 339,000 steps! I alone had over 15,000! Every time I thought about stopping my kiddos would scream "Move!" I was exhausted by the end of the day!

Today, Tom Tom Tomato Head came to encourage us to eat "GO" foods. These are healthy foods like fruits and vegetables!

Let's continue to develop healthy habits by eating healthy foods and exercising.  Let's Move!!!

For more information, click below.
Eat Healthy/Let's Move!

Fiction Book Report

On Thursday, September 27th your fiction book report is due!  I can't wait to see the creative wonderful work that you have done! Just in case you need help, here is an example for you.  Please remember that I am not requiring you to type it.  Make sure you follow the criteria that was given.



Students taking a virtual tour of the Regions of Texas

 Tour Big Bend National Park

Texas Region Tour





Howdy Partners!!!!  What an exciting week we have had already!  This week we are learning about the 4 Regions of Texas.  In order to learn about the landforms, climates, vegetation, major cities and landmarks of these regions we are taking a "virtual" tour. We will travel to the Mountains and Basin region by plane, travel to the High Plains on a train, take a Crop Duster to the Central Plains region, and enjoy a boat ride to the Gulf Coastal Plains!  While we are touring, the students have been asked to complete a tour journal and a scrapbook page for each region.  Here a few examples.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Patricia Barber Polacco is the author and illustrator of numerous picture books for children. She struggled in school because she was unable to read until age 14 due to dyslexia; she found relief by expressing herself through art.  Patricia Polacco is our "Author" of the month.  Enjoy reading her realistic fiction books!

Want to know more about Patricia Polacco? Click here

My Culture

Welcome to Texas history!  We are off to a great start and an amazing adventure in learning about our Lone Star State! As you know Texas is a melting pot. Meaning, we have different cultures, people, and traditions that make up this great state.  This is what makes Texas so unique. The students in my classroom are also unique.  Here are a few of their culture posters that they created!

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!

Anne Frank Elementary School
Dallas, Texas

Welcome back to school! I am so excited to have your kiddos in my classroom this year!  4th grade is a challenging grade, but with all of us working together I know everyone is going to be successful! There is going to be a lot of teaching and learning happening everyday! Please, please, please communicate with your child daily to see what's going on in our classroom!