May 19, 2011

The science fair last week was a great success! The students did a wonderful job of explaining their projects, and it was interesting to see all the topics they'd chosen, including catapults, rock candy, and video games. Congratulations to our fourth grade winners: Kevin and Nicholas, Robert, and Victor.

Congratulations as well to Ismael and Chelsea, whose essays about freedom came in first and second place, respectively, for the VFW contest.





Students are currently working on literature circles in reading class. Books they've chosen to read include Tiger Rising, Shiloh, Who Stole the Wizard of Oz? and Edgar Allen's Official Crime Investigation Notebook. They've also been working on writing a research paper. The fourth graders learned how to take notes and write a bibliography, organize their notes into an outline, and are now drafting their papers.

Upcoming tests include spelling, which will be this Friday, and social studies, which will be next Wednesday.

May 5, 2011

Happy Easter everyone! Even though Easter Sunday has passed, we continue to celebrate this season in the Church until Pentecost.

The science fair is quickly approaching. The students have had many great ideas, and have had time to work in the class on their presentations. The projects are due into school this Wednesday, on Thursday evening families are invited from 5:30-7:30 to come and view everybody's projects, and on Friday the fourth grade will be sharing their projects with the rest of the school and the judges.

In writing, we've begun working on research projects. The students learned how to find the information needed to write a bibliography, chose a "just the right size" topic, and are currently researching their topics and taking notes. Next week, we'll begin to outline and draft the papers.

Students are also working on creating scrapbooks for characters from The Bad Beginning, one of our most popular books. Many students have chosen to keep on reading books in the series. They had time in class to work on the scrapbook yesterday and today, and will have time tomorrow. To give students enough time to complete these and the science fair projects, these will not be due until May 16.

We're going to the Cubs game tomorrow! Since it is still a bit chilly outside, and we may be sitting in the shade the whole time, please make sure your child wears warm clothes. We will eat lunch in school before we leave, but students are welcome to bring money for snacks. They may bring cameras, as long as they can be responsible for them and hold them the whole time.

April 3, 2011

Our weather podcasts are now on-line! These are the forecasts that we created in December and that students have been recording in computer class. Go to Fourth Grade Weather Podcasts to listen.

On Friday, we had a field trip to the Nature Museum. Students got to see spiders, snakes, and turtles; explore how locks and dams work; look at the different homes animals build; and my favorite part: visit the butterfly room! We also were able to take a class there discussing different types of habitats and how they meet the animals' needs.



I recently sent home a letter about the science fair. Please review this with your child, noting that questions are due to me by next Wednesday and procedures due the Tuesday before break. The experiment needs to be conducted at home, and if you are traveling over spring break, the questions and procedures may be turned in for my approval earlier so students have more time to work on it.

Lent

In this season of Lent, we are working as a class on almsgiving, fasting, and praying. To tie Lent into what we've been studying in the Ten Commandments, we made a calendar as a class with different Lenten activities each day, that tie into one of the commandments. For example, for "Keep holy the Lord's Day," the students came up with activities like going to Mass or reading the Bible. Please encourage your child to talk about what he or she has done so far for Lent. We will also have a Reconciliation service and a living stations of the cross in the week before Easter break.

For social studies, students have a menu of project ideas to choose from. They need to choose one from each category to complete about a Midwestern state. The projects are due between April 5-7, depending on the day the student signed up to present. We will also have a test that week. Students will have time in class to work on the graphic organizer and drawing part of these, so please make sure they have their materials.

We recently finished our unit on electricity and magnetism. Students did a great job creating series and parallel circuits for their shoebox rooms!

March 3, 2011

As a review for social studies, students are working on creating a "scrapbook poster" this week. One of the requirements is to include a primary source photograph. We went to the computer lab today to print some pictures from the Library of Congress, but not every student found a picture in time (and some just wanted to explore more at home). To find the pictures we looked at, visit the site below:

America's Library: Explore the States

Students are taking TerraNova tests this week and Monday and Tuesday of next week. Please continue to make sure they are well rested and have eaten breakfast.

The fourth grade class will be featured in the bulletin article this Sunday. The article is about the citrus tasting and will include many pictures!

"Citrus Tasting

Many kids get excited about cupcakes, candy, and other sugary treats. But on February 24th, the cheers coming from St. Sylvester School were loud and clear for a different type of snack-citrus fruits! The Good Food Project came to teach kindergartners through sixth graders about the joys of healthy eating.

Led by Susan Taylor, a Chicago Tribune food critic and founder of the Good Food project (www.thegoodfoodproject), the students learned about different types of citrus fruits, identifying ones they were already familiar with and learning about ones that were a bit more exotic (such as the pummelo). They reviewed vocabulary to use while tasting, and then came the most exciting part of the day-eating! Every student received a piece of a naval orange, Cara Cara navel, Moro orange (a type of blood orange), and a "cutie." They smelled, licked, tasted, and savored, then chose their favorites and debated how each one tasted. Finally, students discussed how they felt after eating the different fruits. Many said that they had more energy and were excited to have more of these fruits at home.

The fourth grade students had a lot to say about the tasting. Dejah said, "They tasted like fruity perfume. I thought the blood orange was going to taste gross, but it was actually pretty sweet." Nathalia learned that "blood oranges are a type of citrus, and some of the oranges have navels, which means belly button." Nicholas said, "I thought it was fun. The cuties are my favorite because they're sweet and juicy." "I learned that every type of fruit tastes different," said Kevin. It was great to have the students so excited about fruit and willing to taste new foods!"



We will have a social studies test on Thursday, March 10, English on Tuesday, March 15, and Science on Friday, March 18.

Congratulations to Dejah, whose essay won second place in the city of Chicago for the DuSable essay contest sponsored by the Chicago History Museum!

February 15, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day! Thank you to everyone who sent treats and cards yesterday. We had a fun Valentine's Day party, and I now have enough chocolate to last until Halloween!

TerraNovas are just around the corner. The first day of testing will be February 28th. To prepare, students have been practicing taking multiple choice reading tests, proofreading sentences daily, and practicing responding to prompts, as well as covering important material in science and social studies.

The historical fiction projects students made turned out wonderfully! I heard many positive comments from Mr. Bennett, the other teachers, and students who walked through the halls. The fourth graders put a lot of effort into these projects, and it shows what they learned about the setting of the books we've been reading.



Students had a lot of fun at Toy Story 3. They each wrote a descriptive paragraph and drew a picture of their experience, which we will be giving to Mr. Jim to thank him for his donation of the tickets. You can also see pictures of our pancake making (to learn about physical and chemical changes) and making butterflies and bugs with our buddies for Valentine's Day.



Congratulations to our award winners from last week: Nathalia for the peacemaker, Chelsea for the effort award, Nicholas for the handwriting contest, and Kevin for the poster contest.

January 23, 2011

We were very fortunate last week to have two people from DeLoitte (an accounting and consulting firm) come in to our classroom for Junior Achievement. They spoke with the students about businesses, the different resources needed, and how prices are set and profits are made. The students had a lot of fun, and this was a great chance to review what they'd learned about the economy.

Earlier this week, students conducted one of my favorite experiments: the density mystery. To figure out who stole a CD, they need to identify a mystery powder by creating a density column, and dropping in and observing flour, baking soda, and sugar to find their densities. Pictures of the excitement are below.



At conferences, I discussed ways to work on the definitions for our vocabulary words with many of you. The link of games for each unit is below:

Sadlier-Oxford Vocab Games

This week, students have an English test on Wednesday and a social studies test on Thursday. Our science test will be Monday, January 31st. Don't forget the historical fiction/castles project! Those are due on February 2nd.

January 10, 2011

We've been getting lots of mail lately! The postcard project has been very successful so far. We've gotten postcards from all five regions and 20 states so far, and they're still pouring in! We also got two exciting letters today. In November, the students wrote a letter to an author of a book that they felt a connection with. Today, two of the students received replies to their letters, from Judy Blume and Kate DiCamillo. It was nice to have their letters acknowledged in this way.

Last week, I assigned the students the setting project for a historical fiction novel. They can choose to recreate the setting of either The Whipping Boy, the book they read on their own, or the book they just began reading in guided reading groups. The projects are due on Wednesday, February 2, so they can be displayed as part of Catholic Schools Week. If they are researching castles, below are some links that may be helpful:

Castles for Kids
National Geographic: Ghosts in the Castle

Last year's projects were wonderful (as I'm sure this year's will be as well-I've been very impressed with the quality of work turned in by many of the students). If you'd like to see last year's castles for inspiration, just click on the slideshow from January 7, 2010 posted in this blog.

In social studies, students are going to begin to be tested on the location of the states. At the beginning of the week, they will receive a blank map to use as their study guide, and we will fill in the states they need to memorize (usually five at a time). On Friday, they will use another blank map to fill in the names of the states. Spelling does not count as long as I can recognize the name, but they may not use the abbreviations. The students filled in the first five today, so our first test will be this Friday, January 14th.

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a joyous and restful Christmas break. It is important to keep students reading, and since we are reading historical fiction books in class right now, each student needs to choose a historical fiction book of their own that they should have read by January 7. They also have a "flip book" report that they need to fill out and turn in. Many students have already chosen a book from the classroom library, and the Chicago Public Library is also a great resource!

December 6, 2010

Thank you to everyone who helped to make the Christmas concert a success! The students sounded (and looked) beautiful.

As we prepare for the coming of Jesus in this Advent season, please remember to make this a special time with your child, and emphasize the importance of the birth of Jesus and not just presents. Here in class, we are making a Jesse tree to trace Jesus's ancestry. Every student has a story to share and a symbol to create, and we end each day with one of these stories. We are also beginning each week with a school-wide prayer service.

In science class, we have begun our unit on the weather. Students made barometers (to measure air pressure), wind vanes, and anemometers (to measure wind speed), which they use every day to take measurements. At the end of the month, we'll have a test on the weather, and students will have to use these tools to create a forecast.

We have a test on Tuesday on maps, the weather test next week (either the Thursday or Friday), and a nouns test next week (either Wednesday or Thursday).

November 19, 2010

Above are pictures from our trip to the circus and a science activity called "Seed Olympics." We looked at different ways that seeds travel, then students used felt, marshmallows, styrofoam, and feathers to create their own seed. The seeds were tested in three events: floating in the wind, clinging to animal fur, and floating on water. Students tested their seeds on Day 1, observed what worked and what didn't, then redesigned their seed to compete on Day 2. There were many improvements. On the second day, the seeds went 30 cm farther in the wind, clung to the animal fur longer, and many of them are still floating in the water now, three days later! Instead of a test, students are creating their own animal and describing the adaptations it has. This project is due on Tuesday.

We've also finished reading How to Eat Fried Worms. We had to stop reading only five pages from the end because it was time for recess, and I've never heard students want to not go to recess so badly before! They are practicing skits right now to share different scenes from the book with the class. There is a test on Monday on the book, and it would be helpful if they reviewed the vocabulary words from the unit beforehand. The sequence worm is also due on Monday.

Advent is quickly approaching, and with it comes one of my favorite religion projects: creating a Jesse Tree. Each student will be in charge of reading one Bible story, writing a summary, and creating a symbol of that story to share with the class. By doing this, we will trace Jesus' ancestry from Adam and Eve to his birth.

November 7, 2010

Thank you everyone for coming in to conferences! I appreciate having the opportunity to sit down and discuss each student's progress and goals for the upcoming quarter. As always, if any questions arise, please do not hesitate to contact me either through a call, note, or before or after school.

For the last spelling unit, I gave the students two weeks to study and complete activities with the words. As the words have grown more challenging, I am going to continue to do this, so they will have a test every other week. This week, though, the words will be vocabulary words from How to Eat Fried Worms. The students will take a pre-test on Wednesday and write their own list of words down in their assignment notebook. They will then complete spelling contract activities of their choice that week, and the following week will complete sheets from the vocab packet. The test will be on Friday, November 19.



Our Day of the Dead celebration was very successful! The altars looked beautiful, and I know that the students enjoyed sharing their own ofrendas and paragraphs, and looking at the ones created by other students. Our project was featured in the parish bulletin this Sunday, too.

Our art classes, sponsored by Big Shoulders, have sadly come to an end. The students' projects look wonderful, and they will be bringing them home soon to show you (as soon as I'm done displaying them for the rest of the school to see).

Upcoming tests

As our social studies and science units draw to a close, we have several tests coming up. The science test is this Thursday, on habitats and food webs, and the social studies test is next Monday, on the economy and government of the United States.

Thank you to everyone who has sent in money for the postcard stamps! The postcards I ordered have arrived, and the students are busy addressing and mailing them. The images on front are a picture of the class, the block the school is on, the statue in Logan Square, and downtown Chicago.

We also began today to work on the paragraph honoring a loved one for Day of the Dead. The students seem to have learned a lot about their relatives already. Just a reminder that the shoeboxes need to be brought to school by October 28th, when the students will have time in class to begin decorating them. They will also have class time to work on the ofrendas that Friday, and they must be completed by November 1st.

Lots of pictures!

We took a trip to the Art Institute. We got a tour of pieces that came from Mexico and were made by the Aztecs, including murals, elaborate incense burners, and the faces of many of their gods. Afterwards, Mr. E led the third and fourth graders in continuing to create their own symbols for a codex. After lunch, we went to Millennium Park to enjoy what might be one of the last nice days this year!



Here's our class at the beginning of the year, looking at shark teeth.



Also at the beginning of the year, making slider cars and working with creating charts and manipulating variables.



Two buddy activities we've done: making flowers for Grandparents' Day and using our senses on a nature walk.

September 30, 2010

While looking at resources on-line, I found a fun, interactive website about habitats. On this website, students draw a habitat for an imaginary animal, trying to meet the needs that are listed. The link is here.

Thank you to those who have donated stamps and postcards! We have already received what will hopefully be the first of many postcards from other schools, and this one was from another city in Illinois! We will begin writing them and sending ours out at the beginning of the week.

There has been a slight change of plans with the Art Institute field trip next week. The docents and instructors requested that we come an hour earlier, so we will be leaving at 8:10 on Wednesday, October 6th. Please be sure your child is not late!

The students have several projects coming up in the next few weeks. On Monday, their habitat project is due. This should either be a diorama or a poster describing the habitat of a specific animal, with a paragraph attached explaining how the habitat meets the needs of the animal and a chart listing the living and non-living things in the environment. The following Tuesday (October 12th), their business plan is due. This integrates what we have been learning about economy in social studies with an imaginary business students are creating. The students will also have spelling tests the next two Fridays, since we do have full weeks of school.

September 14, 2010

We are very fortunate to have many guest speakers this year. For approximately the next eight weeks, Officer Medina is coming in every Monday morning to share the GREAT program with the fourth graders. GREAT stands for Gang Resistance Education and Training. He is a very engaging speaker, and teaches through many role playing scenarios. He talks about bullying and ways to say no safely. Beginning next week, we will also have a guest coming from the Art Institute. He will be teaching lessons using the Art Institute's new exhibit Ballplayers, Gods, and Rainmaker Kings: Masterpieces from Ancient Mexico. The students will take a field trip to the Art Institute to view the exhibit on October 6th. Both the classes and the field trip are being sponsored by Big Shoulders. Finally, our new parish priest Fr. Elbio will be teaching weekly religion lessons throughout the year. He will bring much new knowledge and expertise into the classroom!

In the week ahead, as our social studies and science units conclude, there will be quite a few tests. The social studies test is on Monday, and the science test is on Wednesday. I have given the students a study guide to fill out, which will be due a few days before the test. The tests follow the study guide very closely, so filling it out is not only a good way to study, but it will also provide a resource for students to study from. If the study guide is filled out by the assigned date, students can participate in a review game where we will go over the correct answers together. Because of the tests next week and the shorter week, there will be no spelling test the week of September 20th.

New School Year

Welcome to the start of a new school year! After a week of teaching with this class, I'm very excited about the upcoming year. There are many talented students in this class who are enthusiastic about lots of different subjects.

We spent the first week of school going over rules, expectations, and routines. I only have three rules for the class: respect others, respect the classroom, and always try your best. Students also became used to our morning and dismissal routines.

One of my goals for the year is to have a class of writers and readers. We're starting off the school year doing independent reading, which means students are each reading their own book while I have one-on-one conferences. They've learned how to pick out a book that's at their own level and soon they will begin writing response letters to me. In writing, everyone has made and begun to write in their writer's notebooks. We are also going through the steps of the writing process.

Science began with experiments using slider cars, where students had to manipulate variables to make their "car" go a certain length. This week is Shark Week! Students studied and classified different types of shark teeth, and will identify what shark they came from and how the size of the shark compares to the size of the tooth. In social studies, we are getting an overview of the country and its regions, starting with geography and natural resources, and in religion, we are learning about the covenant before beginning the Ten Commandments.

Spelling also begun this week, which means they have a test on Friday. They need to know how to spell the words and their definitions. Unless the week is shorter than normal or we are doing a review unit, students will have a spelling test every Friday.

Cubs Game, Art Institute, and Earth Day Buddy Activity Pictures

Science Fair Pictures

The science fair last week was a huge success! We had projects ranging from the types of food worms like to eat, creating motors and solar heaters, extracting DNA from strawberries, to testing the use of fins on submarines. Students had a chance to show off their hard work on Thursday to the judges and the rest of the school, and on Friday we went to see the middle schoolers' projects. Everyone worked extremely hard, and they did a good job of presenting their work to others. The judges also chose three winners in each grade. Ours were Isaac, Jovany, and the team of Mason and Christopher. Congratulations!

It's already halfway through the final quarter and progress reports are coming out next week! We also have a test on adverbs, prepositions, and negatives this Friday, and a test on the Midwest next Tuesday. Students are currently reading The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (and really enjoying it), and their final project on the book, a scrapbook which we discussed earlier this week, will be due on May 12.

Science Fair and Cubs Game

We looked at a wonderful web site today that has many ideas for science fair projects. The students had time to explore this after taking an interest survey. To look for more ideas, or to look at directions at an experiment they found, go here:

Science Buddies

Click on "Topic Selection Wizard" to take the interest survey for project suggestions, or click on "Science Fair Project Ideas Directory" to browse ideas by subject area. If the student remembers the name of a project he or she liked, he or she can also enter it into the search bar.

We will be going to the Cubs game this Wednesday, with grades 1-6. We will leave school at 11:30, after eating lunch, and get to the stadium in time to get settled and buy snacks before the game begins. Students should wear their gym uniform, and must wear a warm coat. They can always take the coat off if they get hot, but we will be sitting in the shade for several hours, and it is much easier to take a coat off if they are hot than to make one materialize if they get cold. They can bring money for snacks, a camera, and a cell phone (for emergencies only), but they are responsible for making sure it does not break or get lost. They may not bring any bags with them. We will stop at the classroom to pick up bookbags before we leave, and we should be back at school, ready for the kids to get picked up, at 4:20.