Invention Convention

Fourth graders put on their engineering caps last week as they presented inventions created and built by themselves!  Families, staff, and fellow students filed through the cafeteria learning about new ideas to solve old problems.  Check out the pictures.

So Long September

If you walked into room15 today, you would probably think that students have been here for far longer than just a month.  Students have quickly adjusted to new routines and expectations.  Very few reminders are needed now for where to put lunches, when to pass in homework, or what is acceptable behavior on the rug.  

Best of all, there is a pleasant buzz coming from our room. Kids are nice to each other. They are interested in what their friends have to say.  And yet they know when to be focused and behaving like students.  As such, lots of work is getting done. 

We have looked at ourselves as learners and used what we know about ourselves to write goals for 4th grade.  We have finished our first unit of math and are wrapping up a unit on matter in science.  Oral storytelling has been the focus in out writing class. This week will see the beginnings of taking our favorite stories to tell aloud and shaping them into interesting, well written personal narratives.  

We even got our first classroom pet today from the science center.  Various animals will visit us throughout the year. Right now, we have a baby snapping turtle that is 2-3 months old. He is about the size of the palm of your 4th grader's hand!  As fun as the pets are, they are also wonderful resources for writing inspiration and animal behavior observations. Students do all of the care taking on a volunteer basis and have the opportunity to spend recess interacting with the animals if they choose.  This can be a nice bonding time for kids who otherwise didn't think they had much in common.  

Classroom Scavenger Hunt

First Day Of School

 

            Fourth grade us officially underway on this last day of August.  The heat expected outside this week is going to make it especially difficult for many of us to say goodbye to summer and feel ready for school!  However, we are really lucky in that this particular classroom doesn't get nearly as hot as many of them do.  That being said, extra water would be very helpful this week!

           The day was spent getting to know each other in a variety of ways, learning about our new classroom, and laying down a foundation of learning that will hopefully point us in a positive direction for the year.  Students participated in a Scavenger Hunt finding items in the room.  Once they found each item, they'd take a picture with their ipad and check it off their list.  We then talked about the materials, job lists, etc, as the kids "airplayed" their photos onto the Touch It Board-----ask them to explain!  Students also interviewed a partner to get to know them better.  These findings will be shared tomorrow. 

            The bags kids compiled over the summer look great!  We'll be sharing those over the course of the next day or so.  We don't do them all at once as it tends to be too much sitting and listening, so I space it out over a few days' time.  

            This group of students made quite an impression on me in the six hours they were here.  I heard them complimenting each other, offering to help each other pick up things, offering to buddy with a new student..... their attitudes make me very excited for a fun year ahead. 

            Papers went home today from the office to be completed and returned by you.  I will send home a notice soon offering to meet or talk with anyone who would like to do so.  In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out to me if needed.