Math Update and Visit from the Haffenreffer Museum

Today we practiced measuring angles using a full circle protractor.  We also learned how to draw angles using a full circle protractor.  The students have these protractors in their assignment books.

We also were introduced to measuring angles using a half circle protractor.  We will practice that tomorrow and work on drawing angles using the half circle protractor.  If your child would like to practice measuring or drawing angles, he/she can find directions showing how to do this here (full circle) and here (half circle).  We have an assessment on Thursday, and the students will have to measure and draw angles on this assessment.


We also had another fabulous visit from our Anthropologist in Residence, Mrs. Silvia.  She comes from the Haffenreffer Museum at Brown University. Mrs. Silvia discussed the life of the Native Americans of the Plains.  We learned about their clothing, homes and culture.  We also compared these Natives to the Inuit of the far north, and the Northeast Woodlands tribes.  It was a great day!

This is a calendar.  Each drawing represents a year.

This is how the Plains Natives hunted buffalo. They hid under a wolf hide (that's Derek under there) and used a bow and arrow.

 Many of us wanted to try on this traditional head dress.

Grinding berries (raisins), fat(butter), seeds (sunflower seeds) and meat(beef jerky) to make 

"pemakin", a type of food.

Sometimes  women carried their children in this type of carrier, held across the chest.

Sometimes the strap when around the head.  It was heavy!

Charlene is wearing traditional clothing made of animal skins. This was what the women wore before the Natives lived on the reservations.  Once they lived there, clothes were made of cloth, similar to what Charlotte is wearing.

The boys are all holding a piece of ONE outfit worn during a "grass dance".

Comparing the tribes we have learned about 

There is no homework tonight!  Happy Passover.

Our Week In Review

WOW!  What a week our fourth graders had!

The children worked diligently on the PARCC test on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  The students enjoyed using the chromebooks in our classroom, and everyone enjoyed this part of our week.

We worked this week on our non-fiction "expert" pieces. Students have chosen their topics, planned their pages and created their tables of contents.  Today during technology workshop we typed these, and learned about how to "find" new fonts using Google Drive.  During poetry workshop with Mrs. Williams, we have been writing mythology poems in many styles.  Derek even had the idea to try a "spine poem" about mythological creatures.  We can't wait to try this out!

We have been working on geometry in Math.  This week we discussed lines, line segments and rays, as well as different 2 dimensional shapes.  We began learning about angles, including drawing and measuring them.  We have a geometry assessment scheduled for Thursday.

This week we focused on the Southeast region.  We have learned about the geography, climate and natural resources of this region.  We will have a presentation by Mrs. Silvia, our anthropologist in residence, about the Natives of the Southeast.  Our Southeast assessment is scheduled for Wednesday.

Mrs. MacMurray informed us on Tuesday that 17 of us have earned our BLACK BELTS in Recorder Karate!  Mrs. Merten is so excited for EVERYONE to earn this belt.  We all can do it!!!  If our class all earns a black belt, Mrs. Merten will be giving a special recorder concert for our class!  

Our week wrapped up with an EXTRA RECESS!  The children enjoyed the beautiful weather before the rain began.

Mythic Warriors - Perseus The Search For Medusa

This week we read the story of Perseus and Medusa.  Check out this version from Mythic Warriors.  

Spotlight on ....

Dhashadyu! He participated in a Geography Competition at Fitchburg State College this weekend.  He was in the 4th grade and up division.  Way to Go!!

Spine Poems

Don't forget your spine poems!  Upload them to your Google Drive, and Mrs. Merten will print them out.  Here's one from last week!

Some of our fourth graders treated the school to a rendition of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" in honor of the Red Sox home opener.  Here they are playing in the lobby.  The performance was broadcast over the school intercom.

During Writing this week we began to work on writing non-fiction.  Students have been given the task to consider a topic that they are "experts" in.  Next week we will begin planning our writing pieces.  

Students completed their Washington, D.C. projects, and brought them to school this week. Mrs. Merten was very impressed with the effort the students showed.  Below are the projects as seen from the outside.

In reading we continue to learn about mythology.  Students are enjoying learning about the mythological characters.  We have been writing poetry and will create a trading card about the mythological creatures. Some students are interested in participating in a book group for the book The Lighning Thief.  This book is a fantasy which has many connections to the study of mythology.  This book is considered a challenge for many fourth graders.  If your child is interested in reading this book with the group, but is concerned about the reading level, I have linked a free audio copy of the book to the previous post.  We will confirm the group next week.  We will begin our next interactive read aloud next week as well.

In Science we continue to learn about weather.  The next part of our unit is about the Jet Stream and storms.  It is usually the favorite of  the students.

Our travels across the US have taken us to the Southeast region.We will learn about this region for another week and will have a test on the information before vacation.

Interested in The Lightning Thief -Book Group?

Spine Poetry

Check out the "Spine Poems" we wrote today.  Students will have the opportunity to write some from home this weekend.  I have embedded a presentation below.  Use the full screen view to enjoy the poems.