4th Grade Calendar

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Learning Prezi.com

Today we worked on our Colorado ABC books.

Many students contributed their information and we're IN PROGRESS in making a presentations.  Check it out!

Prezi is free, so log in and try your own at home.



Posts on More Than the ABC’s may include links to external websites which are not under the editing control of the author of More Than the ABC’s. Please ask that children use adult supervision when visiting websites outside of this blog, especially YouTube. While there are many great videos, please considering the ability for the public to post and comment on videos on YouTube.

2 Liter Bottle Tornado

We've had this contraption floating around our classroom for a few weeks now, and it sure does provide a lot of entertainment!

Materials:
2 2-liter bottles
1 1" washer
masking tape

By swirling the top bottle it creates a vortex and then a tornado funnel appears.

This link has great information about what is happening, and how to make your own!
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/for_fun/TornadoBottle.pdf

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Read and Feed 3-9

Because of our outstanding effort during the state testing the last two weeks we will be enjoying a Read and Feed on Friday March 11th.


Students may bring healthy snacks to enjoy throughout the afternoon. They can bring items to share or items for their own snack.

Free Weekend Fun

The Cripple Creek Ice Festival is in Cripple Creek this weekend through the 21st~!
I went last weekend with a friend, and combined with a hike near Divide it was a great afternoon.

One Fish

Two Fish

"red" fish

"blue" fish


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Netbooks II

Pictures of students working harder because of the technology avaiable to them is exciting to see!

Imagine the day before winter break....extra sweets...fun events....a party coming soon.

Imagine hearing the squeals and laughter coming from other classrooms as they have started their parties.

Imagine being a teacher, and asking her class if they would like to stay on the netbooks practicing math a bit longer, or start their party.

Then imagine the principal walking through to say hello and wondering what this SILENT class is doing?

"Oh, we're just doing math." 

They decided to start the party late so they could spend a bit more time "working".

:)

Netbooks I

After some saving, spending, wiring, waiting, installing, and checking,
our school has a mobile set of netbooks ready to check out for classroom use!!! 

I, for one, am THRILLED!!!

We already benefit from typically a very accessible set of computer labs, but now our classroom can become a computer lab too!


There are enough netbooks for each student in the class (set of 30) and they are stored in a mobile cart system that can also be plugged in to charge them.  The carts wheel to different rooms as teachers check them out for class use.

Imagine trying to arrange all those cords!  Parents, if you get a chance, thank our Library Tech Educator for all the work put into this system!

Once students are assigned a netbook they can take them to their desk to work from their own seat.

The netbooks have a more limited memory capacity compared to a laptop, but have Internet access, wireless printing and programs that word process, present, etc. that can convert back and forth from the other classroom computers.

We won't get to use them ALL the time, but it sure did motivate students the first and second times we've used them.  I can't wait to see what we might be able to accomplish!  Two days before break students were eager to type away on the netbooks.  Paragraphs about an interesting, exciting, or important event of 2010 rolled off the printers with impressive writing!

Teacher Note: Knowing how to type makes a difference, and will continue to do so for all of these student's lives.  If possible, encourage your child to type correctly and practice at home.  Try Here, scroll down, and practice typing in the box in lesson 1.


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Candy Needed!

Yes...I just said we need candy at school.  I know. 

We've got an amazing math project that keeps the students adding up decimals all afternoon. 

They have to measure.

There will be a lot of pattern making and problem solving.

We'll be talking about 2D and 3D geometric shapes.

We'll be talking about economics.  Supply and demand.

Blueprints.

Art.

Patience.  A Whole lot of patience!

We'd appreciate any candy you could send to share with the class by Wednesday December 8th, or sooner!

Tiny Visitor

Some students, especially 3rd graders, have seen this little guy.  Isn't he just too cute!



Posts on More Than the ABC’s may include links to external websites. Links to external sites are not under the editing control of the author of More Than the ABC’s. Please ask that children use adult supervision when visiting websites outside of this blog, especially YouTube. While there are many great videos, please considering the ability for the public to post and comment on videos on YouTube.

Working Hard!

Look at who we found working hard!

A big focus this year is teaching students how to answer questions as a short constructed response, or SCR.

Students know, restate the question, answer it, and add an important or additional detail!

Students are also often reminded about the importance of going back into the text to find answers!

 Or using the glossary to look up a word they aren't sure of.

focus, focus, focus!

 

Thinking about what the question is really asking gives us the best chance of giving great responses!

Turkey in Need of Dressing

By now you have seen this poor turkey.
He or she really needed dressing.

And wow, what outfits they came back to school in!

Elvis, Police Captain, disco dancer, professional golfer, rock star, and many more creative costumes!

In class students have been working on this "Character Baseball Card" to help with character development.

Our next writing project is a biography of these Turkeys!

Want to dress another turkey complete with a crown, leggings, and sunglasses?  It still isn't as cute as some of the ones at school right now!

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Minotaur

This week during our focused reading time my reading group will continue to read about the Greek myths, this time about the Minotaur. These myths have many different versions so explore some additional myths outside of class. If you would like to listen to one about the Minotaur this week go to Storynory and you'll find many myths, including one about the Minotaur.

As someone who loves classic literature, it is exciting to see how interested students are in the Greek myths. The mythology and literary importance will continue through high school and college level classes.
Classic pieces of literature like Homer's epic poems Illiad and Odyssey have many references to these Greek myths. The characters and stories continue to be referenced throughout literary history into Shakespeare, poets such as Tennyson, Keats, Byron, Shelley, and American writers like Nathaniel Hawthorne and T.S Eliot.
My English Literature Loving Heart is Pitter-Pattering!
Does your child want to learn more about the Greek Myths? Check out this site for kids!

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