Our Week In Review

We began this week trying out the new chromebooks which will be used for the PARCC testing. The students did a great job using them carefully, and testing the new material.  We will be practicing for the PARCC next week, and will take the actual test the following week.

In Math, we have continued to learn about measurement.  We completed our ladybug homes, and shared them with one another.  Below are our finished blueprints.

In Reading we have been very busy.  We have been reading different Greek myths and discussing this genre.  We also have been working on reading non-fiction texts.  We read a bunch of non-fiction about weather and clouds and shared what we learned from these books.  We had a great discussion about what makes a book a good resource vs. what makes a book just "fun to read".  This was a great tie in to our Social Studies research about Washington, D.C.


Students have been working on researching in the classroom this week.  We used many books from the Kennedy Library as well as from our classroom.  Today we used our technology time to research using websites listed on this blog (under the curriculum links, social studies).  Many of these sites will be helpful not only with finding information, but also to locate the monument/memorial on the map and to illustrate it.

In Science we wrapped up wind and clouds with our test today.  During the week we created cloud models in centers.

For the students ~Click here to see a survey about our classroom set up.  Take a minute to complete it to have a voice in what's next in room 24.

Our Week In Review

This week we started learning about Mythology. The children are really enjoying this topic and have liked looking through the books we have in the classroom.  We will read and discuss a variety of  myths in the next few weeks.

In math we have continued to learn about measurement, focusing on using measurement skills and applying them to problems involving area and perimeter.  You may have heard about the project we have been working on, designing a house for a ladybug family.  The children are working int teams to complete this.  Look for the finished house plans next week!

In science we have been working on learning about clouds and wind.  We will have a science test next Friday on this topic.  The children will receive a study guide on Monday.

During social studies, we began to discuss the monuments and memorials of Washington, D.C.  Students were assigned a project this week, due on April 4th.  We will create the final copy book  at school on Monday, so that students can put their information in the book over the next few weeks.  The students will have time to research the 4 monuments that they are learning more about during our technology time on Friday and during Reader's Workshop one or two days next week. Under the important links section to the right, your child can find a video about various monuments and memorials from DC, as well as a "social studies" links page.  We watched parts of the video at school, and it is a great resource for this project.  The socials studies links page also has some great Washington, D.C. sites listed.  Of course, students are also welcome to find other resources.

From the Teacher's Desk

Report cards will be sent home next Friday, March 28th.  The report card is one way for teachers to communicate with parents about school progress.  We look at progress throughout the term on formal and informal tasks and complete the report card based on the information we collect.  Once you receive your child's report card, please take some time to review it with him/her.  If you have questions about information, your child may know the answer.  Of course, after checking with him/her, if you have any questions about your child's report card, please don't hesitate to contact me. My contact information is below.  Enjoy the first email of spring! 

                      phone:  508-541-5261 ext. 2024

                      email:  mertenk@franklin.k12.ma.us

Washington, DC video

This video playlist will help the students with their Washington, DC project. The project is due on April 4th.

Spotlight On...

Jack!  He and his teammates are the division champs for the regular season! Playoff games start in 2 weeks - GOOD LUCK JACK!!!!

Speeches

Our speeches were once again fabulous.  Below are some pictures and videos of our speeches.

I created a playlist of the videos of our speeches.

Room 24 Update

It has been a busy few weeks in room 24! Even when Mrs. Merten was absent, we completed so many things!

During Writing, we have finished our essays. This has been an exciting time for us.  We learned about how to explain our point of view, and we also typed our essays using our new Google Drive.  We LOVED this part of our writing.  Ask your son or daughter about this.  He/she can sign into Google Drive from home and share his/her writing with you.  Mrs. Merten was able to comment on our writing as we wrote.  Students, comment on how Mrs. Merten's comments helped (or didn't help) you with your published work.

We also have been working on using Google Drive to create presentations.  Students have been working together in partnerships to create these presentations.  If your child would like to show you his/her presentation, he/she can log in using the following information:

UNAME:  student number@franklinps.net
PW:  last name (all lowercase letters) followed by 2022

Some of the children have been working on these projects at home.  This is wonderful that they are so excited about this work.  Doing the work at home is optional, not required.

In Math we finished learning about the basics of measurement.  We learned how to measure in the customary and metric systems, and we also learned about conversions within each system.  We took our measurement test on Wednesday, and started right in on our next unit. We are taking what we learned and applying it to the next part of our measurement unit.  We will learn about area and perimeter, and will have to measure shapes in order to solve area and perimeter problems.

In Social Studies we wrapped up our trip to the northeast.  We were able to play Ring that Bell with Mrs. Williams' class and enjoyed this way to review.  We will continue our trip across the US with a journey to the southeast.

In Reading, we have ONE more chapter to read in Snow Treasure.  This book has been full of cliffhangers, as well as figurative language. We have loved the cliffhanger. At the end of each chapter, when we stop reading, there are moans and groans from students who want to know what is happening next.  What a great way to show they love the book!  We are all anxious to know how this turns out for Peter and his friends.

housekeeping

We continue to learn about the different aspects of studying the Weather.  We are learning about wind and clouds.  On Wednesday, fourth graders had the exciting opportunity to meet and learn from a real meteorologist, Danielle Niles from WBZ!  Ms. Niles explained her work as a scientist, from making predictions and using data to communicating her findings to others.  She answered many of our questions about storms, clouds, safety, and predicting the weather.  Ms. Niles also showed us a video and explained to us what the meteorologists do on a daily basis and some of the equipment and tools they use to measure and predict weather.  We even learned about some fun weather experiments and activities we can do at home! Kennedy fourth graders were the "wake up call" this morning, and will be on the CBS local news tonight at 5:15 and 6:15 PM.  Check us out, and let us know that you saw us in the comments below!

Today was PI Day. To celebrate, we enjoyed some circular snacks and our class ran a 3.14 mile relay in the gym. Everyone had a race number ~ 3.14.We used a round plate with a PI symbol as our baton.  We completed our race in 20 minutes and 38 seconds!

In Music we are all well on the way to earning our BLACK BELT in recorder karate.  Mrs. Mac has some links on her blog to help with practicing. You can find the links here.  

In Art, Mrs. Hess made finger puppets with us out of class. The puppets were adorable!