4th grade visits the Springfield Science Museum

April 29th, the third and fourth grade classes traveled to the Springfield Science Museum. At the Black Holes Special Exhibition Program, our students were able to have hands-on experiences as they explored the properties of black holes. They even piloted an excursion pod into an enormous black hole at the center of our galaxy! Students received Black Hole Explorer's ID cards to use from home when they visit the museum's website. With this card they will be able to continue their space exploration. We reviewed facts about the planets in the Space Explorations Classroom Program. Students volunteered to demonstrate the rotation of the earth and moon as they orbit the sun. It was a memorable and entertaining model! After a picnic lunch by the Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden, we went inside the planetarium to learn more about the night sky. It was a wonderful way to extend our understanding of space!

Diane Adams and Ms. L.

April is National Poetry Month!

Our students have been reading poetry! Here are some poetry reading activities we've enjoyed:

• finding poems that represent our inner and outer selves

• choosing poems to perform in pairs and trios

• reading poems aloud

• finding kinds of poems we like

• identifying the characteristics of poems, and then finding poems that are good examples of those characteristics (for example, poems that use repetition, have rhythm, include comparisons, etc.)

• recording favorite lines of poems

We are now reading poems closely in small groups. We talk about the ideas, images, language, and feelings of the poems we read. We find evidence in the poem to support our interpretations.

Heart Goals

Our class has been talking about what it means to bring "our best selves" to our interactions with each other. Here is a sample of the goals they set:

I want to be patient with others.

I want to accept hard things, like a baseball glove accepts a baseball.

I want to put myself in others' shoes.

I want to be able to control when to let out my energy.

I want to make people feel good about themselves.

I want to be nicer to my sister.

Tell the truth but in a nice way.

Stand up for your rights.

Talk to people to get ideas to say.

I am going to let the other person do some too, so I don't do it all for them.

After setting our goals, we represented them using words and images (as seen on the bulletin board shone above).

Proof!

Proving fractions that are NOT equal…

…and fractions that ARE equal!

Our 3-D Wall Map of Mexico!

A glimpse inside the classroom during MCAS

What does it look like when we take the MCAS? What's the feeling in the room like?

On Tuesday our class wrote compositions. Today and tomorrow we are taking the Reading Comprehension test: reading and responding to questions about fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

As I look around, I see students engrossed in reading, while others look back through the stories, searching for evidence to help them answer a question. Some are writing the longer answers required by the "open response" questions. Many students have already written half a page or more! The atmosphere is focused and intent.

Earlier this morning, we took a break for snack and to run around outside. Later in the morning we will break for our "Smart Moves" exercises. If students need more time after lunch, they will have more time, while others who have finished move on to math and art.

What are they sharing in 4th grade?

We are in the midst of our three-way conferences. Students perused their portfolios, searching for pieces of work from each subject area to share with their parents. Here are some of the items they've chosen:

• published writing projects (essays, 2010 compositions, personal narratives)
• evidence of passing their multiplication and/or division combinations tests
• our wall-size, 3D map of Mexico
• reading lists
• science binders (based on their studies of whales and of plant growth)
• Word Olympics word lists (and medals)
• mathematical proofs
• math assessments
• independent Mexico research
• drawing and writing about "the First Thanksgiving"

We've also reflected on goals we set for the year and, in some cases, set new goals!