Information on the Journeys Book (for Class 402)

Dear Parents and Students of Class 402,

I'd like to clarify the confusion that many of you have regarding the the Journeys textbook. For this semester, the 402 class will study half of the hard cover (HC) Journeys Book and half the soft cover book (SC) Journeys Book but we alternate every week. For example, we studied Lesson 8 'Me and My Uncle Romie' last week (week 9) in the HC book. Therefore, we will be studying Lesson 9 'Snake Hunt' in the SC book this week. For further clarification, please read the weekly printout that students glue in their Communication Books every Friday. Below is this week's printout.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any more questions!

Ms. Wendy

L9 Vocabulary Study Tool- Quizlet

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Here is the link to the this week's vocabulary on Quizlet. I suggest you (student) to download the Quizlet app onto your phone if you haven't already. When you're waiting for someone or waiting for your food to be served at a restaurant, using Quizlet is an effortless way to study. This way, you wouldn't have to cram all the studying the night before your test!

Please click here to access the Quizlet
Please click here to download Quizlet for Android and Quizlet for Apple

Here are some tips for studying vocabulary

1. Round 1: start with the side that has the vocabulary word first and say the definition out loud to yourself. If you're in public, just say it in your mind. Try to remember the spelling of the word in Round 1.
2. Round 2: start with the side that has the definition first and spell out the vocabulary before you click to flip the flashcard over. Make sure that you've spelled it correctly.
3. Round 3: do Round 2 again but also compose a sentence for each vocabulary

If you have trouble memorizing certain words, I suggest you to find pictures to help you remember. Instead of just memorizing the word, seek to understand its meaning through context.

Happy Studying!

Ms. Wendy

Week 9 Highlights

Dear ALL,

Week 9 has come to an end and here are some highlights:

• I've rearranged the seating in class. I am so happy to see that students have made such wonderful friends with one another. However, chit chatting with their friends during class time will hinder their learning, which is why I've made new seating arrangements.
• I've assigned leadership roles to: Koki and Luke (Line Leaders); Justin, Zoe, Audrey, and Nicholas (Table Leaders); and Sean, Anne, Anna, Katie (Cleaning Leaders). All of them have been very helpful!
• We read a story about 'Me and My Uncle Romie' (402) and 'Summer in the City' (403). While these stories might not be many students' favorite, most students still pushed through and were able to re-tell the story in chronological order. Kudos!
• In Math, we learned about Angles (not Angels!) and Directions (pgs 89-95 and 100-101). Angles may be a tricky one. I asked Tyler to stand in front of the class and be a model angle for everyone. Thank you for being such a good sport, Tyler!
• In Science, we played a game and reviewed about the properties of water. I am impressed that many students still remember what they've learned last week about condensation, evaporation, freezing, and boiling!
• In Creative Writing, I taught my 402 students how to brainstorm before writing an essay. Brainstorming is crucial for generating ideas or else you wouldn't know what to write in a long essay! Ms. Chien also helped us (402) learn how to evaluate and revise an essay. We revised a student's essay together as a class. I told the student that I chose his essay not because his essay was bad but because everyone makes similar mistakes and I needed to use his essay as a sample for learning experience. So, I want to thank the student again for letting us use your essay! As for my 403 students, we brainstormed and wrote an opinion essay about 'The Best Job in the World.' I really enjoyed reading my 403 students' essays about how some of them would like to become authors, cooks, veterinarians, and even a policeman!
• All students chose interesting characters for the Story Town Festival and guess what?! Sean won the prize! He was one of the first ones to figure out the answer to the game, which was MINION. Congratulations, Sean!

What was your favorite part of the week? :)

Anyways, that was a brief overview of Week 9. We have so much more to learn and so much more to know about each other. I look forward to start a new week with you all next week :)

With all the best,

Ms. Wendy

Information on the Story Town Festival

Dear ALL,

Please read through the pictures carefully regarding information on the Story Town Festival this coming Thursday on 10/24. Every student must bring their character worksheet or they won't be able to participate in the activities. I'm excited to see what all of you are going to be!

Ms. Wendy

BRING YOUR GRAMMAR BOOKS TO CLASS TOMORROW

Dear Students,

Please remember to bring your grammar books tomorrow. Thank you!

Ms. Wendy

Homework Guidelines

From today onward, I expect ALL students to follow the 'Homework Guideline' below. I will deduct points if students fail to follow the guideline.

Homework Guideline

1. ONLY write with pencil or black pen (Please DO NOT use a black pen if you cannot erase it)
2. Use blue pen to make corrections

Please follow the sample format for today's vocabulary homework (10/21)

1. Please center your heading 'Lesson 8 Vocabulary'
2. For each vocabulary, please write the word, its part of speech (i.e. noun, verb, adjective) in brackets, its definition, and make 1 sentence of your own. DO NOT COPY THE SAMPLE SENTENCE FOR MONDAY'S VOCABULARY HW.  Please write your own sentence.

Feel free to comment on this post OR email me at wendy@ljjhps.tp.edu.tw if you have any questions :) I'm more than happy to help you out!

Ms. Wendy

Vocabulary Study Tool- Quizlet

Happy Monday, everyone!

Here is the link to the this week's vocabulary on Quizlet. I suggest you (student) to download the Quizlet app onto your phone if you haven't already. When you're waiting for someone or waiting for your food to be served at a restaurant, using Quizlet is an effortless way to study. This way, you wouldn't have to cram all the studying the night before your test!

Please click here to access the Quizlet
Please click here to download Quizlet for Android and Quizlet for Apple

Here are some tips for studying vocabulary

1. Round 1: start with the side that has the vocabulary word first and say the definition out loud to yourself. If you're in public, just say it in your mind. Try to remember the spelling of the word in Round 1.
2. Round 2: start with the side that has the definition first and spell out the vocabulary before you click to flip the flashcard over. Make sure that you've spelled it correctly.
3. Round 3: do Round 2 again but also compose a sentence for each vocabulary

If you have trouble memorizing certain words, I suggest you to find pictures to help you remember. Instead of just memorizing the word, seek to understand its meaning through context.

Happy Studying!

Ms. Wendy

First Day of School (Well...for Ms. Wendy)

Dear Parents and Students,

We can now officially cross out our first day together. Whew! What can I say, this is a lively bunch! Here are two highlights of today: 1) We went over the classroom rules together. 2) We took the spelling and grammar test. Most students are already familiar with school routines such as lining up before/ after class and the duties of a line leader. However, they still do need a reminder sometimes because of their high energy. As for the spelling and grammar test, many students did well but some students will have spend more time preparing. During the test, I strongly advised students to double-check their answers before turning in their tests! This must become a habit.

With all of that being said, I look forward to meeting all of you at the Parent Teacher Conference tomorrow. I am eager speak with each of you personally so I'll know the best course of action I can take for your children to have a fun yet productive semester.

See you all tomorrow!

Ms. Wendy

Classroom Rules & Routines

Dear Parents and Students,

I hope that all of you are having a wonderful day! Please click here to access the 'Classroom Rules and Routines' powerpoint. I will go over this powerpoint with all students on Friday, October 18th. However, I would advise students to refer to this powerpoint whenever they need a reminder. Classroom rules and routines serve to ensure a safe learning environment for each student to flourish in school. Again, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

Yours sincerely,

Ms. Wendy 

Greetings, everyone!

Greetings!

My name is Ms. Wendy and I will be teaching your child’s 4th grade English, math, and science class this school year. I graduated from Cedarville University in Ohio. I have three years of teaching experience and this is my second year at Lih-Jen. I have a passion to empower children to realize their unique abilities and motivate them to surpass their potential. I look forward to collaborating with you and your child(ren) to strive towards a fruitful school year.

The three key components to my teaching philosophy are respect, collaboration, and learner autonomy. First, I show students the importance of respect inside and outside of the classroom. Not only must students respect the teacher in the classroom, students must also respect their peers, especially when there is a difference in beliefs, values, and opinions. Second, I establish a structured and disciplined learning environment for students to exercise collaboration. Lastly, I promote learner autonomy, where I equip students with tools to take charge of their own learning and develop a growth mindset.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me anytime at wendy@ljjhps.tp.edu.tw or my phone number, which is on the first cover page of the Communication Book.

I am excited to continue the semester. Many great learning experiences lie ahead. Together we will make this year a great one!

Respectfully,

Ms. Wendy