I absolutely love our field trip to Glacial Park! We had a beautiful day! Our field trip consisted of three major parts. The first thing we did was plant Oak trees, which helps to restore the area. Students had to get dirty and use all of their strength to dig holes and then put the baby Oak trees in the ground. After that, we hiked throughout the park and learned about the different native plants and animals of the area. We stopped part way through to have a picnic lunch. Lastly, Mr. Andrew gave us a presentation inside called the Living Map. The Living Map is an interactive presentation where Mr. Andrew showed us how the land has changed over time. Check out the pictures below, and be sure to ask your child what part was his/her favorite!
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Wow! I was so impressed by all of the Science Fair Projects and Presentations! I'm sure it was extremely difficult for the judges. Way to go, class! Check out what's going on in Room 812!
Reading: In reading, we are learning about poetry and figurative language. The two really go hand in hand. Math: We are finishing up Topic 9, which teaches adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators. We will be testing this week, and moving on to Topic 10, which focuses on multiplying fractions. Social Studies: We've moved on to learning about the Midwest region! We will be discussing our connections and comparing and contrasting the Midwest with the Southeast and Northeast regions. Writing: In writing, we will be learning how to write an Opinion essay. This is my favorite unit to teach in writing! A few reminders... Our Science Fair will be held next Wednesday, May 3. Please come see all of the beautiful boards in the multi-purpose room between 4 and 6 that evening. Also, our field trip to Glacial Park is next Friday. More information will be going home about our field trip the beginning of next week. In math, we have just begun our unit on fractions. Fractions can be very difficult for students to understand and visualize. In class, we decided to make jumbo number lines to help us visualize fractions. In creating this number line, we began by determining if fractions were closer to 0, 1/2, or 1 whole. After making our lists, students were able to get a 2 meter piece of butcher paper to create a number line. On that number line, students had to determine where to place different fractions. Some things learned during this activity was how to find equivalent fractions, how to divide to create equal parts, and what a simplified fraction is. We are going to continue to use these number lines to get a sense of different fraction sizes and benchmark fractions. Check out the pictures below! Good morning! We have been up to so much the past few weeks. First, I want to say thank you for another successful round of conferences. Your children worked very hard preparing presentations, and it was fun to see them share their 4th grade with you! Thank you for attending and for always being so supportive! Math Currently, we are finishing up our geometry unit. Yesterday, we had four stations around the room to help us review. Our iPads came in very handy to show our learning! At our Triangle Station, students went to Brainpop to learn more about types of triangles. They watched the video, took the online quiz, and then took a screenshot of their score and sent it to me. At the QR Code station, students measured different angle task cards with a protractor, recorded their measurements on a recording sheet, and then checked their answer using the QR code on the task card. At the What Shape Am I? station, students chose an index card with a shape. Then, they drew the shape on a grid paper, using a straight edge. Next, they wrote out a script describing the shape's different attributes. Finally, students took a picture of the shape on ChatterPix, recorded their voice describing the shape, and shared their video on SeeSaw. At the Angles, Triangles, Quadrilaterals, OH MY! station, students went around the hallways looking for angles, triangles, and quadrilaterals in our building. Students took a picture on SeeSaw, traced the shape, and then used the textbox to give the angle/triangle/shape its name. Students were highly engaged throughout our math time! Check out the pictures below to see them hard at work! Also, if you haven't already signed up for SeeSaw, please do so. You will be able to see the work your child is most proud of. Reading In reading, we have just finished our unit about Text Structure. Text Structure can be very difficult for students to understand, so we took a lot of time identifying key words. Next week, we will do a mini unit about different Text Features that help us to understand informational text. We have also been busy presenting our Biography in a Bag book reports. Pictures will be posted as soon as we finishing presenting! Writing In writing, we are incorporating our learning about the Southeast Region. Students have been assigned a specific state to research. After we are done researching, students will be creating a lap book about their state, and writing an informational report. Social Studies We are still making our way through learning about the Southeast Region. We will probably complete this unit in about 2 weeks, and then move on to our exciting, new, hands-on science unit! Don't forget, next week is Spirit Week for our Jump Rope/Hoops for Heart event! Have a wonderful weekend! Yesterday we used technology to help learn about different types of angles. Dash is a robot and a set was purchased from a D46 Foundation Grant. We have been studying angles and basic geometric figures in math, and what better way to learn than with a Dash robot! Students were able to visit different centers to help reinforce math skills. Students learned how to drive Dash with the Go app, record their voice explaining the different types of angles and have Dash 'speak', use big paper to draw the four basic types of angles and then have Dash cruise around on them, draw their names in block letters and measure the angles with a protractor, and take a selfie by twisting their body into as many angles as possible and upload it on our learning portfolio, SeeSaw! Students were engaged and had so much fun! Just in time for Valentine's Day, students wrote what they love most about Park School on little hearts. These hearts will be used to decorate the multi-purpose room. My favorite thing about Park School is the amazing students I get to teach each and every day. I'm so blessed to have such a caring and kind classroom of students! What are your New Year's Resolutions? This year in class, each student set three goals for 2017; a personal goal, school goal, and family goal. Students recorded their New Year's resolutions on the computer, and we turned the recording into a QR code. Students also went through the writing process to write the resolutions on 'balloons'! Check out the resolutions and be sure to come visit our classroom to listen to each student's resolutions. Happy Monday!
Wow, I can't believe it is already February, and testing season is upon us. This week we will take our NWEA winter/spring test. Tomorrow we will take our math NWEA test, and next Monday we will take our reading NWEA test. There is nothing students can do to prepare for this test, besides getting sleep and eating properly. During the day, we have been busy preparing for our student led conferences. I am so excited for students to share and 'brag' about the wonderful things they have accomplished in 4th grade so far. Student led conferences will be held next week. Other than conferences, here is a look at what we've been doing in other subject areas: Math: We just finished our topic on division, and moved on to geometry. We will cover geometry pretty quickly, and then move on to fractions. Reading: In reading, we are learning about text structures and how an author decides to 'build' the text. Text structure and text features are very different, but both are essential when it comes to reading comprehension. Social Studies: We recently finished our short Magnetism unit in Science, and have moved on to the Southeast region of the USA. Please send in any pictures from any travel you've done in the SE. Writing: We are about to begin our unit on informational writing. We are going to research a state from the SE region to help us learn how to write an informational piece. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email or call me. Have a great week! Wow, Friday we had a wonderful day, all thanks to some pretty awesome parents and kids! During our holiday party, students rotated between two craft stations and two game stations. I want to send out a special thank you to Mr. & Mrs. Chevrier, Mrs. Kissner, Mr. & Mrs. Vale, Mrs. Whaples, Mrs. Smith, and Mrs. Eckenstahler for volunteering to plan, shop, and help out at our party. The kids had so much fun! The smiles I saw and laughs I heard were truly priceless. Please stay warm and enjoy family time during your winter break! |
AuthorI graduated in 2007 from Carthage College with a Business and Marketing Major and in 2010 from the University of Phoenix with a Master's in Elementary Education. Archives
May 2017
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