Birds of a feather flock together

We read the book Snowballs by Lois Ehlert.  Beyond learning how to make snowmen, reader's eyes are captivated by the illustrations in this book.  Take a peek and you will find lovely woodland creatures peaking around the corners of the books.  Our "mocking birds" mimic Ehlert's.  Here are a few samples.  If you'd like to see them in real life, stop in!  Interested in learning how to make this type of art?  Check out Deep Space Sparkle!

Cardinal Cut-Ups

Aren't these guys cute?  These little cardinals are made with fractions of paper.  In Ed Emberley's book Picture Pie, readers learn how to make all sorts of fractional creatures from a whole.  You'll see these scarlet-winged birdies flitting in our classroom and around the school.  For more information on cardinals, check out Cardinals.
 For more information on Ed Emberley you can stop in here.
Happy winter!

And they're off!

 
That's right folks, our fourth graders are off and running with their NWEA testing.  I had the GREAT pleasure of watching our students score well on their NWEA tests.  Looks like the pep talks, mints, healthy foods, and sleep helped!  We'll test again on Wednesday and Thursday of next week.  Keep pumping them full of good things!  An extra hug or two may also help!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!
We've started the new year off with a bang!  We've been learning about circumference and mean averages.  In the pictures below, you'll see us wrapping adding machine tape around our heads.  We took the strips and then measured the length of tape (our circumference) to the nearest centimeter.  Then, in our groups, we connected out lengths of paper together and by folding the paper we were able to divide the total length by the amount of people in our group and got the mean average circumference.    
We also calculated the mean average by adding the measurements together and dividing by the number of people in our group using a calculator.  Most groups had a mean average of 54 cm. On Monday, we'll see what the mean average is for the whole class!
We'll be visiting the Kilton Library on Tuesday.  NWEA testing will start again on Friday: rest up and eat up!

GIZMOS!

Our gears have been turning as we've embarked on a Gizmo module.  Students have been studying prime factorization in math.  To enrich our experience, we hauled the mobile lab to class and partook in Gizmo lesson on prime factorization.  What fun we had!  Check out Gizmos for free for 30 days at Gizmos!  Students can access their accounts from home too!

4 Winds!

Today we had the opportunity to learn about camouflage with Mrs. Corbin and Mrs. Lynn.  Check out our pictures below!

November News!

As you know, we have been holding conferences which is why I haven't had a chance to write to you!  Nearly 100% of students were represented!  Way to go parents!

In math we've been focusing on addition and subtraction with regrouping.  We worked with base-10 pieces and practiced the process of exchanging ones, tens, and hundreds pieces in order to add or subtract.  Students are using base-10 shorthand to model problems as well as computing standard algorithms.  Here's a website we've enjoyed using Adapted Mind

We introduced our rocks and minerals unit (finally) with the book Rocks in His Head written by Carol Otis Hurst.  You can get a snippet here.  We also began watching a video about rocks and minerals.  Next week we'll delve into observation of rocks and minerals with our Delta Science Kit (thanks again, PTO).

In Daily 5 (our literacy block), we've been studying the polar bear.  Students have read an article in Time for Kids and have worked in their guided reading group to expand their learning about polar bears and their habitat.  Did you know that by 2050 the Arctic could be free of its sea ice in the summer?  You can get more information and activities here

We just finished reading aloud the book The Twits by Roald Dahl.  This obnoxiously funny story had our students rolling with laughter and groaning with disgust at Mr. and Mrs. Twit's nasty ways.  Tomorrow, we'll move on to reading aloud a new Great Stone Face book with Mrs. Stone.  Students will be listening to various adults introduce the books and selecting books they'd like to read in their dossier.

In writing, we've finally finished our Picturing Writing stories and have moved on to more in-depth pieces.  Tomorrow, we'll be making art for our monster stories.  Be on the lookout for these scary creatures on a bulletin board near you!

The cooler weather is upon us.  Please be sure your child comes prepared for frigid temperatures.  Remember to put their name in their hats, mittens, boots, coats, and ski pants.

Knitting group for fourth grade will start tomorrow during recess.  Mrs. Shaker and I will lead the kids through the basics of knitting.  If you or someone in your family has yarn or needles they'd like to donate, send 'em in!

As always, you are welcome to stop in and observe lessons, volunteer, whatever!  We'd love to have you visit!