Creative Arts Fridays continue to be a very popular addition to our weeks. Poetry Workshop and Tech Block are rolling right along and everyone is making great progress. We have learned to write haiku with Mrs. Williams, and Mrs. Merten has started to teach us about Glogster. Soon, you will be able to check our Glogs at home! In music we are enjoying our time with our recorders, and our fourth grade chorus sounds AMAZING. In art we have learned about drawing still life, and we drew a close up view of a leaf. We learned a bit about Georgia O'Keefe, Pablo Picasso and abstract designs.
Our week was filled with science activities. We have been closely monitoring our growing grass seed, and have found that some of our hypotheses were right on the money! We will continue to grow and water our grass for another week or two, and then develop a conclusion to our experiment. We also had a chance to look in microscopes at salt and at pond water. We worked with Mrs. Williams' class and enjoyed sharing our water samples.
We also learned some new games in math to help us to practice our multiplication facts. This week we had a chance to play Baseball Multiplication and Multiplication top it. Both of these games can be played at home with dice or playing cards, and are excellent ways to practice math facts.
From the Teacher's Desk:
Our first science quiz/assessment is scheduled for Tuesday. The children have a study guide, with the vocabulary needed written on the back. I have asked all students to bring home their science folders. In addition, we took some time today to look at the test, so that the children will not be surprised when they see it. I have explained that tests are not to "trick" students, a test is simply one way to determine what they are learning.
I have seen some improvement with students completing homework and returning it to school, however it continues to be a struggle for some children. Please check in with your child to see how homework is going. Remembering to pack it is just as important as completing the assignment. If you are looking for some suggestions on helping with homework, you can find some here.
School hours ~ Our school opens the doors at 8:15 each morning. This allows the children to enter the building, arrive at their classes and unpack before school officially begins at 8:30 AM. Many of the children are entering our classroom at 8:30 or later. If the children enter the classroom later than 8:30, they are marked late for school. Additionally, I begin some type of announcement or discussion after the school wide announcements in the morning. If your child is arriving at 8:30, taking 5-7 minutes to unpack his/her bag and get settled, he/she is missing some important information for the day. Often times assignments required at that morning time are not completed, and the day begins with a challenge. I've been encouraging the children to arrive sometime between 8:15 and 8:25, so that they have ample time to get organized and unpacked before instruction begins. I realize that this isn't always possible, and that the morning time can be hectic, but I wanted to be sure all families were aware of this.
This week we began discussing several topics in science. We started learning about how scientists use specific guidelines to conduct experiments. We are practicing these guidelines, the Scientific Method, while observing an experiment with grass seed. Your child can tell you the steps we have taken, including what the only variable is in this experiment. We all made hypothesis and we will be collecting data in the next few weeks. Later in the week, we reviewed the water cycle and discussed water on Earth. We created our terrariums using soil, rocks for drainage, plant clippings(thank you for sending those in), and water. Inside our mini-ecosystems, we can already see the water cycle in action! We can't wait to see how our terrariums do over the next few weeks!
planting grass seed
Measuring the water for the grass
counting the grass seeds
counting the grass seed
planting grass seeds
It was great to see so many of you at Open House last night! I hope that you were able to get a tour of our classroom. I know that the children were proud to show you all that they have done this year. If you haven't signed up for a conference in December, please contact me at your earliest convenience to schedule this.
This was a very busy week in Room 24! We continued to work on learning about place value and we practiced addition and subtraction. We are really focusing on using the "traditional algorithm" to add and subtract. Your child will be able to show you this method, and you probably will remember this from your own childhood! We have our second math test on Tuesday. A study guide went home, and you can also find one in our important documents gadget to the right.
In writing, we have been working on writing some seed ideas. The children are familiar with this, and it has been a good way for me to see their writing skills and to hear their voice! We have finished writing goals for this school year, and some of the children were proud to say they have already accomplished one or more!
In reading, we continue to focus on reading strategies and thinking while we read. I have continued to remind the children that the same book should be read at school during reading zone and at home for the nightly reading. Regular reading of the same material allows the children to focus on plot, characters and their traits, and other higher level reading skills. I'm looking forward to starting our first interactive read aloud in a week or so.
This week we worked diligently to prepare for our puff mobile races. We worked in groups to:
work cooperatively
practice the engineering steps
create a puff mobile
This ended with a rousing race in the gym. Your child can tell you the specifics, but our class did REALLY WELL!
The beginning of the design process
Testing designs
Testing our designs and choosing a puffer!
choosing jobs and beginning our design
ready to race!
Classroom winners
ready to race!
ready to race!
Classroom winners ~ boys
Classroom winners ~ girls
ready to race!
Our winning group
BEFORE THE RACE!
Here are a few videos from the race!
From the Teacher's Desk: The students have adjusted very well to the expectations of fourth grade. As you know, we are focusing largely on independence and responsibility. To that end, I have stopped checking assignment notebooks, with the exception of a few students. Students have been responsible for bringing home their materials and writing in their assignment books. I have checked the books on Friday when I check for a parent signature as well. I wanted to mention our homework policy. You can also find it in our student handbook. Each term, students are all given a "freebie". This is one missed homework assignment, no consequence, the student just has to bring it in the next day. After the freebie, a student who misses an assignment a second, third or fourth time, must make it up (in some cases redo it) at recess. After that he/she can play. After that fourth miss, the student must miss the recess, do the homework, and write a letter to you to be signed. This is so that you are aware of the missed homework assignments and is a clear way for me to communicate that to you. Homework includes: the nightly written assignment, his/her library book, his/her nightly reading book (to be brought to and from school), the reading log (due Friday) and the parent signature in the assignment book (due Friday). The written assignments must be complete. I know that as the year goes on, this will become second nature to your children. At this point, several students have used their "freebie" plus at least one more assignment. I'd appreciate it if you take a minute and talk with your child about his/her homework progress. If your child has missed assignments, sometimes it is helpful to set up a regular location for homework, and to have some type of checklist to be sure items are packed correctly. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this.
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