Slime!

Halloween Pictures

Science

Today in Science the students worked on an experiment to see if the mass of solid chocolate chips was the same as melted chocolate chips. We used a variety of heat sources--lamps, hairdryers and an overhead projector. The results were the same--the mass stayed the same--because no particles were added or lost.

"Winn-Dixie" Party

After reading the book, "Because of Winn-Dixie" to the class, we decided to have a party--just like the one Opal had in the book. Some of the kids even dressed up like they did in the book!

We had pickles at the party too--because Otis brought pickles to the party--and what is a party without pickles???

May played guitar music to the class--and just like when Otis would play his music to the animals to calm them down, our class quieted down and listened and enjoyed the music too!

We also had Dump Punch and Egg Salad Sandwiches. It turned out to be a nice party and we must have been hungry because everything was eaten!

We even had Littmus Lozenges!

MEAP

This week we are taking a test called the MEAP test. It is a reading, writing, and math test only in separete packets. Every 4th grader takes it in the whole state of Michigan. It takes a really long time to get the results of the test. It shows how you do in the three subjects. Instead of a regular test you have an answer document to put down your answers and it takes about two weeks to do. In the reading section, you read selectoins and answer multiple or short answer questions. So far, we are doing pretty good.

MEAP

Science News

In Science class we are learning about the States of Matter. We have discussed properties of solids, liquids and gases. Everyday we have done hands-on activities to help students understand the concepts. Today we talked about volume of liquid water and ice. Our experiment showed how water expands when it freezes. We filled up a beaker to 250ml with water, then froze it. After it froze the volume increased to 275ml and the plastic beaker expanded too! We also filled up a water bottle all the way up to the top and put the cap on then froze it. What do you think happened to the water bottle????

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October ~ Book Fair ~ Reading

October is my favorite month. The leaves change, the weather gets crisp, school is rolling along, the kids are in the groove of 4th grade and the Book Fair comes to our school!
On Wednesday, my class get to go to the Book Fair and purchase books if they wish. Our PTO is awesome and gives each teacher $50 to spend on books for our classroom--plus they are treating us to lunch on Monday to kick off the book fair!
To go along with our "Making Meaning" Reading curriculum, the district purchased classroom books for all grades, classrooms, and schools. 4th grade recieved over 350 new books for each classroom. WOW! These books are leveled, high interest, all different genres and I cannot wait to let the kids get their hands on them!
We are up to 15 minutes for IDR time. We are kind of at a stand still at 15 minutes--lots of kids have no trouble reading for this amount of time, but others are still antsy--we are still working on building our stamina and being able to sit and read for an extended period of time. It is nice to see so many students check books back out and read the whole book! So many kids start a book then never finish it--just keep on starting them. It is my hope that my students will start and finish most of the books they choose to read--that is what we are working on!
I have brought in pillows, fish pillows, rugs, and a leaf canopy for the kids to use during IDR time--or writing time--they love to use these to get comfy while reading or writing!
For reading homework each night I have asked the kids to read daily. Hopefully they are reading at home for 15-20 minutes everyday! We are working on "Stop and Think" about what you are reading---after a few paragraphs or a few pages or even a chapter, students should stop and think about what the book is about and asking themselves if they understand what they just read. We have also been working on "Re-reading". Re-reading is a strategy good readers use not only to understand what they are reading but to get deeper meaning out of what they are reading and notice things they didn't notice the first time.
Read, read, read!!!