Lunch time socializing

Usually around 18 kids come in to play checkers, mancala, a cool pattern game; some knit while others draw--and of course a few can finish up classwork. 
Games are being brought in and it is a very comfortable place for some good fun and laughs. 

So glad to have Sarah join us and teach knitting and get to know new people!

This usually lasts through the winter and then we are ready to be outside  again!

Memorizing and racing against the clock by finding strategies to go super fast!

                                              

Sometimes checkers, occasionally chess, but these two play everyday.

                                     

Fun to hear them express delight and frustration-they are also designing patterns  and adding them to the game!

Culture...Reading and Art

Arrived right on time at the library. We looked at the "Yarn Bombs" around the library.  We were met by 3 parents-- Chesney, Curtis, and Keeahas' Mom and Traye's Dad was able to stop by. It is so fun for the kids when you attend... THANKS!!

With culture as the backdrop from what we are talking and learning about in Social Studies, last Friday we made it to the Latah County Library Moscow Branch and had the grand tour--2 hours of book hunting, and had a fantastic time with Jackie, the Youth Educator for the District, and all the other people involved there. The kids loved seeing the 'bowels' of the library and how it works! Jackie took the kids through an in depth lesson about how to use the connected library system, what resources are in the database, and how to find books using the Dewey Decimal System. The information about the history of the building was neat to learn. Our community is so full of terrific people and interesting things to learn about!

Completely Engrossed!! Imaginations in Action!!

Jackie explaining the Reference books that can be used only at the library. Good discussion about World Book...

So many options...series...sharing good reads!

Azalea was fun to watch as she went through the whole shelf to the right and then made her way over to the next stack taking in all the titles.

 

 And now to the 3rd Street Art Gallery and the 30*30*30 Show

Partners picking out favorites and finding the subjects of each series. The students counted to find all 30 of an artist.

The kids got to eat lunch in the City Council Chambers and then discovered the themes of the art done by the individual artists. We had discussed the idea of subject in class with Mr. Gregory leading the kids in a lesson. We produced pieces of art ourselves. The pieces were connected to math because the kids filled out a chart to figure out what type of subject was more common--idea or thing. Our interesting class was divided 11/11... And we collected data about color with 12 kids using color and 7 using pencil.

The kids brought home their 6x6 piece of art...be sure to ask about it...

Descending the lovely stairwell at City Hall

 

We made the front page of the paper on Saturday. The kids were excited to see and meet Geoff Crimmons of the Daily News because we read the paper each Tuesday and they know his name. Having the newspaper the sponsored subscription is such a great tool with so many skills that can be learned using it!

Appreciation of the creative subjects and mediums...

Learning about the compass with Ms. Bensen--totally classic!

Radius, Diameter, The Olympics, and donuts...the infinity of the circle is all around and today the 4th had a great time practicing and learning how to use a compass during math. They all agreed it was hard and interesting.  We figured out how to get the little plastic tools to work-- duct tape helpful to get some pencils to stay in the apparatus. :P Discussion was lively and we went to the official website for the Olympics and thought--Wow, there is nothing more classic than these games started by the Greeks in
 776 B.C.E. Now that is a negative number to remember!

Ms. Bensen, UI Student Teacher,starts a discussion in our Morning Meeting Circle

www.olympic.org

Practicing with the radius ruler- cm or inches? 

Donor's Choose Update

With only 35 days to go, pass the word and we can fund the Chromebooks to keep in the 4th grade classroom. There was a very generous donation given yesterday! 
There are so many wishing and helping our students. Check out and pass along the info on my Donor's Choose Page.

 The link is www.donorschoose.org/MsBonzo


Thank you!!!!!

Spelling Bee Club started today and every Tuesday through February

 We love the academics behind words... 3:15-4:00 is the time we are together practicing and researching words and strategies for the MCS Scripps Spelling Bee in February. This club is open to all grades.

Students can pick up words lists too.

http://www.spellingbee.com/


Use the link for lots of info and study tips.

2 on a Crayon and Mr. Helmke does awesome agricultural math with us!

The partners concentrate, smile, laugh, shrug, and look confused. The process of creating a picture sharing a crayon sounded super weird and exciting. This activity was one that them thinking...

During the Morning Meeting, the activity was called "2 on a Crayon". It is really interesting to watch and for the kids to do. Without talking or knowing what the each other wants to draw, the two kids share a crayon to draw a picture. Several minutes pass as they were all concentrating with music from the record player adding an air of mystery. When time was up, the kids came back to the circle and we discussed what happened when they were drawing, what it was like, and what they thought out it is. The partners put together were not random, I picked some personalities to see how cooperation or competition would affect the work together. We will do it again...saw them all really giving it some thought when we talked...

     

Then for Science, Social Studies and Math when

 Mr. Helmke visited!!!

 Having Parent Experts visit and talk about what they do is one of the best things for the kids to connect their learning to. Mr. Helmke explained what he does with John Deere and how things are figured for farmers. The kids looked at the costs, time, and worries. Mr. Helmke shared the joys of his job. On the whiteboard behind the kids you can see all the math (we got to work with the power of 10) when thinking about life as a farmer.  We talked about how farmers have 'adapted' to better techniques by looking at the models brought in. He even gave us the set with cool books that explain all the workings. It was such a great talk--right at their level and super interesting. THANK YOU MR. HELMKE!!!!

                          This is classic MCS and totally STEAM!

Clarissssa is comfortable in the 4th grade classroom!

Add caption

This is a good picture to give an idea about her length. She moves smoothly over the limbs and coconut husk bedding. Climbing from top to bottom of the tank, she covers the whole area. The water bowl  that she passes through helps keep some humidity in the tank. Since the water is room temperature, it is a spot that she moves through and drinks from. When she drinks, her head is just above the water and she sucks in. The only way to tell she drinks is that her throat moves as she swallows. I have seen her at the bowl sometimes drinking for up to 4 minutes.

The limbs are something she can completely wind around and does hang from. There is spot to the right that has the red light heat lamp where she bakes. There are really two spots in a tank, a hot one an a cold one. She regulates her body temperature by moving back and forth between the two areas. 

Many other students have some by to visit. It has been fun to answer questions and for them to get to know Clarissssa.

                                                                             

Finding details in the text...

Each chapter of the Sid Fleischman text is packed with interesting dialogue which are clues to character, and plot twists that are fun to figure out. Having different partners allows the students to read, analyze, question, and enjoy the novel. These pictures are how the kids typically look when ever they work in partners. They are engaged and helpful with each other. They reread and wonder about how the story will develop. They have proved to work so well together. I have been very proud of their work

Collecting the character traits is for a project at the end of the book.

  It is great to watch and listen at how well the kids take turns and read enthusiastically with each other.

 

 I help answer questions about the characters and remind them to cite their information.

Haven't let that idea out of the bag yet... :)

Sodoku Mania...Inspiring Each Other!

Using a straightedge for a professional look

Complicated and new versions

Talking about math

The class is creating and finding all kinds of puzzles. They are enjoying thinking, talking about, checking in with, and wondering about how the numbers or symbols are fitting together. Other ideas emerging are about problem solving and the fun  of creating and sharing....inspiring and getting to know each other better.  All kinds of great opportunities come together because of the weekly sponsorship to the Moscow Pullman Daily News. As a teacher, I signed up for the Tuesday paper because it has the Sidewalk Series. The paper offers so many resources for teaching and extension activities. The class became excited about Sudoku when I used the puzzle during math. Most had seen one, but didn't understand how it worked. Right after Ayden brought a book and then Caden created a puzzle, Keeahna joined in and just yesterday, Elizabeth made one. There have been good laughs and shared learning.

Proud Creators

 The students come to the document camera and explain their thinking and creative process. They also get to work on presentation skills while our class participates as an active audience engaging in questions and comments.

Character Traits for Prince Brat and Jemmy, Scoring Guide for Personal Timeline

Partners work together to capture character traits-citing chapter and page number.

We just started Literature Circles which is the next step for the class to think through a story. As we dissect the stories, the kids are analyzing the characters of Jemmy-From-The-Streets and Prince Brat. 

We have had great discussions about what the similes mean--Social Studies is everywhere! 

The sticky notes are the information captured by chapter. 

This is the rubric for the Timeline. They are learning about fractions too. L

We have spent time creating criteria lists for work, used checklists and are talking about how to evaluate. It is what 4th grade is all about-- working thoroughly, thoughtfully and carefully together.

Next pictures will be of the Sodoku madness that has taken over. The kids are inspiring each other to create and solve...so much fun!

Found Spider Egg Sacks-- adaptation in my backyard!

 I told the kids that I found the Spider--Wolf-- under the potted plant water plates in my backyard while I was putting in some new xeroscape perennials.
       It was so cool to see the eggs sacks.  We will see how well they survive through the winter and look for the emergence of little spiders in the Spring sometime. We will take predictions on when they will hatch.

The sacks were so round and dense looking held in place by a lot of webbing.

Math Stations for Multiplication and Division-- start of Quarter 2

Working on Tenmarks program

 The students were divided into three groups.
        One group played Baseball Multiplication from the Student Reference Text. They have to read and learn how to play. The second group worked on their Tenmarks accounts. (Reminder: these can be accessed from any computer with Internet access.)
       The third group worked on the floor with close to 300 horse-chestnuts that Anne collected for us!! Great for grouping into multiples. This group also got to use the 'Multiplication Keys' for basic practice. We will be working in more groups during this next quarter.

They all have been working on a 100 Grid to find patterns with multiples. The goal of all this foundational work is to grow their number sense by providing opportunities to think and process with their peers.