These last two weeks have been a little crazy and fun in the fourth grade. Last week we went to the Kansas State Fair. While we were there, we had the opportunity to listen to Governor Brownback announce the top 5 notable Kansans. They included William Allen White, Carry Nation, Jack Kilby, Bob Dole, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. After that, we got to explore the fair. Some of the highlights included the western comedy show, building toolboxes at Star Build, the magic show, and eating lots of yummy fair treats!
Back at school, we have been busy finishing up our insect keynotes. Today we got to present them to the class, and next week we're going to present them to our parents at conferences! We also learned about the properties of addition in math (ask a member of our class about the CIA!), and we started practicing place value. This morning we had a surprise when we got to school. One of our mealworm pupas hatched, and now we have a darkling beetle in our container! Ms. J. thinks it might be time to let the beetles and mealworms go free. If anyone's parents would like to volunteer to take them home instead, she would be happy to let them go.
This week was spirit week. We had a blast wearing our hats, dressing up, fixing crazy hair, and showing off our socks. Some of us dressed up as celebrities or twins, and most of us wore maroon today! Our class has been earning gumballs for good behavior and compliments from other teachers. Today we got 100, which was our goal, so next Wednesday we're going to have a celebration. Before we go we want to send out a great big congratulations to Mrs. Nickel, one of the kindergarten teachers in our building. She had a baby boy last night! We also want to shout out to Mrs. Goertzen, for earning the Region I Kansas Teacher of the Year Award. We're proud of you!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Bugs, Cranes, and September 11
This week has been a very busy week. We have been working on our insect keynotes, doing math reviews, practicing our stamina in reading and writing, and learning about some special things such as September 11.
We have had a lot to learn about insects in science. In order to help our learning, our class got mealworms, which are the larvae of darkling beetles. We're going to try to raise them until they turn into pupae and adults. Ms. J. is trying not to kill them, but since they gross her out so much she is letting the kids take care of them. Several students have also brought insects to share with us. We each chose an insect to make a Keynote about. We are learning about adaptations, life cycles, habitats, and many other things.
Yesterday, a fifth grader came to our class to teach us how to make paper cranes. In Japan, making someone 1,000 paper cranes out of origami is said to bring good luck. We made our cranes to encourage a student who has cancer. We thought it was cool, awesome, fun, and really really difficult.
Today was a special day in our classroom. We have been learning about the events of September 11, 2001. We read a special book called "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers," which is a true story about a man who tight-rope walked between the twin towers when they were being built. We also watched a video about the events of September 11, and read another book called "September 12 We Knew Everything Would be Okay." It was written by a group of first graders the day after the towers fell, and it reminded us to remember our heroes and that everything turns out okay in the end. Ms. J. challenged us to participate in the national day of service that is taking place on Sunday, September 11 even if all we can do is help out at home.
Next week we are going to the State Fair on Thursday! We're very excited! Stay tuned for more information!
We have had a lot to learn about insects in science. In order to help our learning, our class got mealworms, which are the larvae of darkling beetles. We're going to try to raise them until they turn into pupae and adults. Ms. J. is trying not to kill them, but since they gross her out so much she is letting the kids take care of them. Several students have also brought insects to share with us. We each chose an insect to make a Keynote about. We are learning about adaptations, life cycles, habitats, and many other things.
Yesterday, a fifth grader came to our class to teach us how to make paper cranes. In Japan, making someone 1,000 paper cranes out of origami is said to bring good luck. We made our cranes to encourage a student who has cancer. We thought it was cool, awesome, fun, and really really difficult.
Today was a special day in our classroom. We have been learning about the events of September 11, 2001. We read a special book called "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers," which is a true story about a man who tight-rope walked between the twin towers when they were being built. We also watched a video about the events of September 11, and read another book called "September 12 We Knew Everything Would be Okay." It was written by a group of first graders the day after the towers fell, and it reminded us to remember our heroes and that everything turns out okay in the end. Ms. J. challenged us to participate in the national day of service that is taking place on Sunday, September 11 even if all we can do is help out at home.
Next week we are going to the State Fair on Thursday! We're very excited! Stay tuned for more information!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Insects Abound!
Today our class read a great book about insect life cycles. In order to memorize the stages of an insect's life cycle, we made up a chant with movements to help our brains remember it better. Check out our video!
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