Our Halloween Party

Boo! Good coustume. Thats what we are going to hear at our Halloween party. Everybody is dressing up as something new and different. We are going to play fun games like Pin the Nose on the Witch" and lots more! We have the room decorated and ready. Our Halloween party is also going to be our Winn-Dixe party too. That's two parties in one!
By: Steven Zanetti

Here are some pictures of our party.

Oobleck Recipe

This recipe is different than the "slime" recipe and has a slightly different consistency--but, it is really cool too. If you make this one, ask yourself, "Is it a solid or is it a liquid".
Oobleck Recipe:
Mix 7 tablespoons of cornstarch with 4 tablespoons of water a little at a time until you get the "just right" consistency.
Stir in a little food coloring. Store in a plastic container with a lid or in a zip-lock baggy.
Have fun!

Slime

Today in Science class we made "Slime". Is Slime a solid or a liquid? Take a look at our pictures and then think about an answer to that question.

Social Studies

Michigan Maps
Students have been using maps to learn about Michigan. We have been studying Grid Maps, Transportation Maps, Political Maps and Elevation Maps. Here are some pictures of the students working together in class.

October in Mrs. Ford's Class

"Graveyard Words"
Students used a thesaurus to find synonyms. We "put to rest" some common words that we use in our writing and found more interesting words that we will hopefully use in our writing.

Fantastic
Outstanding kids
Respectful
Demonstrates good behavior
Safe

Fun
Our class is awesome
Undeniably ready for school
Ready to learn
Trustworthy
Honorable

Geniuses
Responsible
A+ Teacher
Dedicated to learning
Extraordinary

Ford's Fourth Grade: By: Steven

Science --Using Balances, measuring matter, finding the mass of an object using grams!

Here are some pictures taken by our class photographer, Sophia! We are learning how to use balances and find the mass of objects. Students are learning how to make predictions and record data.

Everyone did a great job while working together!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Today is Lillian's Birthday! I hope she has a wonderful 9th birthday today! I am really looking forward to a great week. Today we reviewed and also continued our discussion about classroom rules/consequences and rewards. I tied in this discussion with Social Studies by having students begin to learn the Preamble to the Constitution for the United States. I showed them a short video from "School House Rock" to help them learn the words. We also talked about Michigan's Constitution and that brought us to creating our own Classroom Preamble and Rules for the Classroom. Below is a picture of our Classroom Constitution.

Today was our first full day of school. We have been reviewing a lot and learning about our classroom and our procedures. Since I will be teaching Science and we do a lot of group work, I like to start out the year with a cooperative activity called "Save Fred". You can find more information about this activity on line by googling "Save Fred" activity. The kids always love this! It challenges them to think outside the box, work together to get the job done, and be creative and positive with each other. Once the students "Save" Fred, they get to try to save him in a different way, like only using 2 paper clips or with only 2 people in their group, or with no poking the gummy worm etc... This also leads into a discussion about how to treat others and work together in small groups. Here's a picture of a "Saved" Fred.

Welcome Back to School!

Hopefully everyone is well rested and had a wonderful summer vacation! When anyone asks what my favorite season is I always say summer, because of vacation--but really it is the fall and the beginning of a new school year. I love the excitement and the anticipation of a new beginning, meeting new students and new families, and getting back into the swing of things. I love the crisp weather, football, apples, pumpkins and falling leaves. Mostly I love teaching 4th grade and being back in the classroom. In the fourth grade, students will be switching classes and will be taught various subjects by all 3 of the fourth grade teachers. Homeroom teachers will be teaching Reading to their own classes. We will continue to use "Making Meaning" with the addition of the Vocabulary supplement to the program. Mrs. Darnell will be teaching Math to all three fourth grades. Ms. Ruloff will be teaching the writing program and I will be teaching Science and Social Studies to the students. We are looking forward to meeting all the new students and having a great year!