New Class--2014-15

We are off and running with another school year. I have a great group of kids this year and we are already well on our way to learning lots and having fun along the way. We have started a new math program called "Everyday Math". It is challenging, fun, and moves quickly. We are up to the challenge! We are reading and writing a ton already this year and have just finished the book, "Because of Winn Dixie" and had our Winn Dixie celebration--full of egg salad sandwiches, pickles, dog pictures and Dump Punch.

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!

Moon,Sun and Earth Poster Presentations

We have been working on our sun, moon and earth presentation posters. We have partners to work on them. We color, draw and write information on one of the objects in the sky then presented them to the class. We learened a lot of interesting facts about the sun, moon and earth.

Science Class

In Science class we are making "Quiz Boxes". We are working in groups of 3 and writing questions that go along with "Electricity and Magnetism". If an answer is correct a buzzer will ring. Everyone is doing a great job. We presented these last week and invited parents and other classes to see them and to test their knowledge.

Quiz Boxes

The fourth graders created Quiz Boxes as a culminating activity for our "Energy Transfer" unit in Science class. We worked in groups to write questions, decorate boxes and put together simple circuits run by 9 volt batteries. When questions were answered correctly a buzzer went off. This was a fun and educational activity for the kids.

Science Question

What electrical appliance or form of technology could you not live without?

Why?

Happy December!

November sure did fly by fast. We have been busy, busy, busy! We've written friendly letters, set goals for our reading, increased our reading stamina to about 35 minutes on a daily basis, are learning the distributive property in math class, learning about The Three Fires in Social Studies, and started a new unit in Science called "Energy Transfer".
We have made some "shocking" discoveries through experimentation, like how to create a static shock, what materials work well to create static electricity and how long a balloon can stay attracted to various places in the classroom. We are beginning to learn about current electricity as well. Students get to explore and experiment how to light a light bulb using a battery, one wire and a mini light bulb. They have to use trial and error to figure out not just one way to get the light bulb to light, but 3 ways it can light and a few ways that it won't light and then figure out what makes a light bulb light-how do the materials have to be connected to each other to get the light bulb to light.
We have been reading some Patricia Polacco books and thinking about story parts and creating story maps. One book we read was called, Thunder Cake, so naturally, we are making a Thunder Cake to eat too! I'll add a link under ELA with the recipe!
We are trying to increase our vocabulary too. We look for longer, interesting words in our reading, try to use longer, more interesting words in our writing, and try to use them when we talk. Students pull out their Spelling Booklets all the time to ask how to spell an interesting word to use. I am loving this! At my own house, with my own family, when someone uses a wonderful word we always say "Oh, that's a two point word for sure!" Sometimes the words are very impressive. My kid's friends also try to get in on the action and when they think they say a really great word they'll ask me if it's point worthy. If it's not, they keep trying! So, I started to do that in class too. It's fun to hear and see all the fabulous words the kids come up with!
Check out the "shocking" pictures below!

The BFG

In class we are reading the book "The BFG" ( Big Friendliy Giant) . The author is Roald Dahl .This book is about a giant that is not a man eating giant he is a dream giant. He goes out at the witching hour and he puts dreams in the kid's rooms. Sophie stayed up during the witching hour and the big freindly giant captured her because she saw him walking down the street and putting dreams into kid's room. So he tock Sophie to Giant Country where all the bone crunching, blood drinking giants that eat 8 to 10 human beans every night live. Sophie was trapped there forever and all they had to eat there was snozzcumber. The witching hour was over and the Bloodblottler was coming back .
The Bloodblottler came into the BFG's cave and said, "What are you doing little twerp? You are talking to a human bean aren't you?"
"No", said the BFG but he was talking to Sophie. She was so scared that she hid in the slimy gooey disgusting snozzcumber. The BFG had no idea that she was in there so he asked if the Bloodblottler wanted a little bit. He did take a bite. A little bite and he said it the most disgusting thing he had ever tasted. He spit the snozzcumber out and Sophie flew out with the spit.
Stay tuned for more about the BFG next week.

Slime!

Halloween Pictures