Author Study Tea

Our classroom is a MESS! 

Our creative juices are flowing and we're getting our presentation boards

 ready for our Author's Tea on Friday. 

Come and join us for this awesome event!

11:15 on Friday, May 25th

Sibley Media Center

Cookies and Punch Provided



Lucas Amundson - U.S. Army Blackhawk Pilot

We had an awesome visitor today!  

Lucas Amundson, a Blackhawk pilot for the U.S. Army, came to speak to our class about his military experiences.  He had great pictures of Afghanistan and he also brought some pilot gear to show the class. 

 He even had a pair of night vision goggles with.  All of the 4th graders got to try them out!

We were very honored to have Lucas come and speak to our classes.  

We appreciate his service to our country and want to thank him for a very fun afternoon!

Grandpa Phil and the Gold Rush

Grandpa Phil came to 4th grade for his annual Gold Rush presentation last week!

We've been reading about the California and Klondike gold rushes in Reading class while studying the West and Northwestern regions of the United States in Social Studies.  These topics fit perfectly with Grandpa Phil's passion for gold prospecting.  

His presentation focused on the westward expansion of the United States and how the gold rush affected that.  He demonstrated how to pan for gold by hand, and also how to do it with his mechanical panner using the dirt he ordered from Alaska.  

We were VERY excited when we found a gold nugget as we began our panning process!

Grandpa Phil also brought along his metal detectors and the students got a chance to use them to find coins and other metal objects in the grass.

We had a fabulous time during our gold rush presentation!  

Thanks, Grandpa Phil!

Author Study Research Papers

I'm so proud of my 4th grade writers!  

They are doing a fabulous job on their author study research papers.  

We've worked hard this year on the writing process and it's showing!  

Last week we:

1.  Researched our authors online

2.  Created webs with our author's information

3.  Organized that information in an outline

4.  Wrote a rough draft of our paper

5.  Created bibliographies for our research

Next week we'll head to the computer lab to type final copies of our papers. 

 I'm so impressed the hard work the students are putting into this paper!  

Reflections

The 4th graders are working on lines of symmetry, reflected images and congruent figures.  They started reflective drawings that will be showcased on the bulletin board by the front door of the school. 

Their drawings look great so far!

Bullying with Mrs. Dawn Berg

Mrs. Dawn Berg has been working with our class on dealing with bullies. 

 Last week the 4th graders practiced what they would say to someone who was bullying them.  

They had fun coming up with creative comebacks!

Letters From Our Reading Buddies!

We have the greatest reading buddies!  

Miss Gonwa brought her students in Wednesday afternoon with a special surprise for our class.  They wrote letters and drew pictures encouraging the 4th graders to do their best on the upcoming tests they're going to take.  The 1st graders were so excited to present our students with their gifts, and the 4th graders were so touched that their buddies thought of them.

Thanks for the testing tips and encouragement, 1st graders!  You are the best!