December 19, 2014

Merry Christmas, everyone! I wanted to share a few pictures from this month.

First of all, we completed our Jesse Tree:

We also had an award winner this month! Priya won first place in the 1st-4th grade division for an essay contest on school choice sponsored by the Office of Catholic Schools:

Next, we have some pictures of students taking measurements of the weather during science class and reading with their buddies:

Finally, don't forget about the work over break! Students need to complete the midyear review in their math book, pages 181-191, except for most of the problems about fractions. We crossed those out in class already. They also need to read a book and either leave a review on kidblog or write it out on a piece paper.

December 11, 2014

The Christmas concert was a great success! Thank you to everyone who attended. I was very proud of how many fourth graders were there and how well they sang.

In class, we're reading non-fiction articles from National Geographic as we talk about text-features. In writing, students are working on their persuasive essays. We made our own barometer, anemometer, and wind vane in science and have been using these to record the weather each day in groups. Instead of a paper and pencil test next week on Thursday, students will need to use these tools to make their own measurements. We have a social studies test on Monday, and we'll also have our geography bee next week. In religion, we're continuing to learn about the Jesse Tree, in addition to our weekly Advent prayer services. In math, we're going to review fractions and learn how to make equivalent fractions this week and next, before diving into the next unit on adding and subtracting fractions after break.

Students will have two assignments over break. The first one is to read any book they'd like and post a book review on Kidblog. We'll go over next week what the book review should look like. If students don't have access to the internet, they can write their book review on a piece of paper and use a computer in school to publish after break. The second assignment will be the cumulative review in their workbooks. I'll have students cross out certain problems we have not covered yet next week. Please help your child use their time wisely to get their work done!

How Do Animals Interact with their Ecosystems? Video from the Nature Museum

Wetlands: Video from the Nature Museum

How are animals adapted to hot or cold places? Video from the Nature Museum

The Prairie Environment: Video from the Nature Museum

Adaptions to Ecosystems: Video from the Nature Museum