More field trip fun

Field Trip

The class had an exciting hands-on experience on our field trip this year. They were given a "family" from the original Oregon Trail. They had to plan what to take on their journey. They were given a wagon to load with the supplies they thought their family needed. As they traveled down the trail with our leader, they earned money according to the circumstances on the trail and what they brought with them.

I was very proud of the students for packing everything they needed. They all survived the trail. They all worked hard as a family cooperated with each other as well as perfect behavior for our tour guide!!

No more crayfish!

It is sad that all of the classroom crayfish have died! Not quite the experience we wanted, but we can't control nature.

Crayfish!

The crayfish have arrived. Students have learned quickly about death with our crayfish, unfortunately. Fourteen crayfish arrived, and only 3 survive at this time. It has been disappointing to only this few left, but we will still learn about them. The students have had their first day exploring with the little creatures, and students will soon learn the daily care needs of the crayfish. Students will learn about the life cycle and also responsibility for a living creature.

Halloween!

A day of wind, rain, costumes, and fun was Halloween this year. The students had a great time with trick or treating and the parade. Thank you to all of the friendly neighbors who shared with our students! Even parents joined in the fun!

Math Leader

Each morning, the students work on a Daily Math Practice. This is a quick and easy way to practice 5 different math skills. I choose one student to be the leader each day. They go over the paper with the rest of the class with my guidance. They work out the problems and help each other catch mistakes or understand what the problem is asking. The students are excited to be the leader. This activity is helping the students be more aware of why they work out problems the way they do.

Reading Games

Reading games are a way 4th graders have practiced skills they have been learning about. As a reward for hard during the week, the students are put into small groups and work on figurative language, sequencing, logic and reasoning, drawing conclusions, fact and opinion along with reading between the lines.

New School Year!

The school year is off to a great start. What a wonderful group of kids I get to teach everyday! The students are getting into the routine and it seems to be working very well. Each Friday, I hope you have found the week-at-a-glance in your child's mail. Each week the week-at-a-glance tells you everything your child will be doing in the upcoming week. I try to make those as accurate as possible. Thanks for your wonderful support!

Spelling in 4th grade!

Just a few notes about spelling.
1. Spelling words are listed on the week-at-a-glance.
2. Spelling packet is sent home on Monday and always due on Thursday.
3. Spelling pretest is on Wednesday.
4. Final spelling test is on Friday unless no school, then the test will be on Thursday.
5. From now until January, the last five words are bonus. Starting in January and continuing through May, the last five words are required!
Study! Study! Study!

Quick and easy way to reinforce school!

Just a nifty idea to for you to help your child with something they are learning at school that is fun and easy to do. Create a large hand poster or star poster. Put a card with something the child has to do before going out the door to play or to school, or maybe on the refrigerator before they get a snack. The card could say to give the meaning to words they have learned about on their spelling packets or science or social studies words from their units. Just something quick to help them learn!! Let me know if you want some ideas from what we are doing at school!