Two Weeks in Room 21!

In Reading, we finished Saving Winslow before vacation which we all loved! While reading the story, we focused on developing deeper understandings of the main characters and identifying themes (life lessons). After that, the students became authors and wrote the last chapter of the story by identifying a problem and solution. They had a lot of fun being creative!

After vacation, we discussed what characteristics make a hero. In partners, the students read nonfiction articles featuring several heroes and discussed what made them a hero. Next, they'll be making connections to the characters in Saving Winslow.

In Math, we began a new topic which includes how fractions and decimals relate to each other. They are learning to compare and order decimals by applying their understanding of place value. They've also been using money and playing games such as "Decimal War" to help deepen their understanding of decimals.


In Science, we finished up our Animal and Plant Adaptation unit by investigating the interior and exterior structures that help plants survive. First, we reviewed the different parts of a plant and their functions. Then we put celery stalks (with leaves) in water with blue food coloring and observed them over the next few days. The class noticed that the celery had blue along the stalk and even in the leaves! We agreed that was strong evidence that wherever we saw blue was where the water had traveled for photosynthesis!

In addition, by coloring paper with crayons, we made a model of how plant leaves can have a waxy coating to prevent water loss.

Right after vacation we kicked off the beginning of our Washington, DC project! First, we watched a video that highlighted the history of several monuments and memorials and then we used Google Expedition to take a virtual tour of the National Mall and the White House.

Our Teamwork Tuesday challenge was to work as a team to lower a hula hoop to the floor with just our fingertips.

Finally, our dancers of the last 2 weeks!

Weekly Update!

Weekly Review

We began our busy week by celebrating Black History Month. During the 4th grade Community Meeting, Mrs. A. Williams read the book, The Lion and Mouse by Jerry Pinkney, an award winning author and illustrator.

For our Team Building activity this week, groups worked together to stack cups by stretching an elastic to grip and move cups. It's actually pretty tricky and they really had to work as a team to be successful. They needed to establish a strategy along with a lot of communication! Very impressive team work!

Book Talks are a wonderful way for classmates to hear about books their 4th grade friends recommend! It can help get students excited about trying new books!

We are loving the heartwarming book, Saving Winslow, about how a young boy works hard to save a sickly newborn donkey even though his friends and family don't think the donkey can survive. Groups have been tracking a character in the story and get together to discuss their thoughts along with their supporting evidence from the text.

This week, we wrapped up our study of the Northeast Region. Once the Google Slideshows were finished, each group spent time practicing their presentations.

All their work to prepare for the final presentation paid off! In addition, their prior experiences giving speeches helped them be more comfortable speaking to a larger group. They also focused on speaking at a good rate and volume, and looking at their audience!

Weekly Highlights

Another busy week in 4th grade!!

The 4th graders started off the week with a motivational meditation on setting behavioral goals. Each student then set a short term goal and later reflected on how successful they were!

Our team building activity this week focused on communication skills. The students were paired up (back-to-back) and one of them was given a picture that they described in detail so their partner could draw it. It was really interesting to hear the details they thought of! Some of them started off by telling their partner to change the orientation of the paper to horizontal and began with the objects that were in the middle of the picture.

Reading: We've started a new Interactive Read Aloud and the class was VERY excited to learn that we would be reading Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech! As we read, we're developing ideas about the characters by their actions, what they say, and their thoughts. Small groups are tracking specific characters in the story as we read this wonderful story!

Math: The class has been hard at work on fractions. We've converted from improper fractions to mixed numbers and vice versa! Next, we focused on adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers and will be having our Topic 12 assessment this Thursday.

Writing: We have finished our nonfiction research on dogs and are now drafting a persuasive essay about the best dog for our family. It can be tricky to organize all the details from their research but they are definitely up for the challenge!

Social Studies: The students have been working in groups researching the Northeast Region of the U.S. and created a slideshow presentation that they'll be giving this week.

Our dancers of the week!!