Alliteration Poetry Fun

While reading Beezus and Ramona, we learned about alliteration with a poem. Alliteration is when a writer repeats the consonant sound at the beginning of a word.  After reading the poem Bleezer's Ice Cream by Jack Prelutsky, we came up with our own flavors of ice cream using alliteration.  The following is an excerpt from the poem using a few of our flavors. 

I run BLEEZER’S ICE CREAM

STORE,

There are flavors in my freezer

you have never seen before,

twenty-eight divine creations

too delicious to resist,

why not do yourself a favor,

try the flavors on my list:

Cotton Candy Carrot Pie

Strawberry Spaghetti Sauce

Pickled Peppermint Plum

Cherry Chop Coconut

I am Ebenezer Bleezer,

I run BLEEZER’S ICE CREAM

STORE,

Taste a flavor from my freezer,

you will surely ask for more.

Book Order December

The book order for December is due Friday, December 6th.  This way the orders will be back before Christmas break.  Remember if you order online, the class gets a free book!

Science Test Chapter 1

Here is the study guide that was sent home today.  The students have red flashcards for each of the vocabulary words.  They should also have a flower label/bean seed label worksheet to help them study.  The test will be on Thursday, November 14th.

Science Study Guide Chapter 1

Know vocab, parts of a flower and the life cycle of a bean for the test on Thursday Nov. 14th

reproduce- to make more of the same kind

classify- to sort into groups based on similarities and differences

conifer- a plant that makes seeds inside cones

spore- a tiny cell that can grow into a new plant

sepal- one of the leaflike parts that protects a flower bud

      that is usually green

pistil- part of a flower that makes the eggs that grow into seeds

stamen- part of a flower that makes pollen

pollen- tiny grains that make seeds when combined with a

       flower’s egg

pollination- the movement of pollen from a stamen to a pistil

ovary- the bottom part of the pistil in which seeds form

ovule- the inner part of an ovary that contains an egg

fertilization- the combination of sperm from a pollen grain with

            an egg to form a seed

embryo- tiny part of a seed that can grow into a new plant

monocot seed- a seed that has one seed leaf and stored food

             outside the seed leaf

dicot seed- a seed that has two seed leaves that contain stored

           food

dormant- the resting stage of a seed

Parts of a flower lab

As part of our science unit on plants, the students got to dissect a lily and label the parts.  The best part was finding the eggs!  After each part was labeled, the students got their creative juices flowing and created a picture or design with the extra parts. 

Book orders

4A book orders are due Friday, November 8th.  The new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book is in one of the book orders.  You can order online at scholastic.com/readingclub and search for my name. 

AR Second 9 weeks

25%-November 6th
50%-November 20th
75%-December 4th
100%-December 18th
*10 books need to be non-fiction books

AR reading

All 4th grade students need to be at 100% AR by October 16th.  They need to have read both fiction and non-fiction books. 

Soil Erosion

Today my students participated in two activities that demonstrated soil erosion and how we can prevent it from occurring.   For the first activity we went outside and watched it 'rain' (poured water from a watering can) on bare soil.  We observed the run off and determined that we lost quite a bit of soil.  Before the second rain, we brainstormed ways to prevent the erosion.  They decided we needed plants so we placed grass clippings on the bare soil.  The second time it 'rained', the run off was much cleaner. 

The second activity was a conservation play.  The objective of the play is to show the importance of conservation.  The students have different roles to play such as raindrops, soil, lake and conservation.  The first time through, there isn't any conservation so the raindrops move quickly and they take the soil with them.  When they end up at the lake, the soil stays in the lake while the raindrops end up in the ocean.  This makes the lake dirty and the plants die because the soil was washed away.  The second time through, the conservation student only lets the raindrops go one at a time so they can't pick up the soil students.  The lake stays clean and the plants survive.  After the play, the students watched a powerpoint showing various conservation techniques. 

The lake is clean!!! :)

AR Reading Goal Dates

25% April 3rd
50% April 17th
75%  May 1st
100% May 10th

Adventures in Science

4^th graders are busy preparing for the state science assessment. The students will take the test on April 23^rd and 24^th. During computer time, we are using the science section of Study Island to help prepare for the science assessment.  If possible, please encourage your child to utilize Study Island at home as well.

In science, we have been studying the water cycle, rocks and conservation. During our water cycle unit, students became raindrops and went on a journey to better understand how the water cycle works.  Each student wrote a story about their adventure as a raindrop.  In order to help the students prepare for the math and science assessments, they observed, classified and measured rocks.  For our conservation unit, the students first cut apart an apple to show how much of the earth’s surface is actually used for food production.  The students also watched an experiment showing soil erosion by water and they participated in a conservation play.  After the science assessment, the students will create a conservation poster for the Greenwood County Conservation District poster contest.  

Capacity

Last week my math class learned about capacity.  The students first arranged 5 containers in order from least to greatest and then they used beans to determine if they were right.  I didn't tell them how  to use the beans.  It was really interesting to listen to the groups' discussions about how to use the beans in order to figure out if they had their containers in the correct order.  Next, they had to find containers that had a capacity of 1 cup, 1 pint, 1 quart, 1 gallon and 1 liter and use the beans again with various measurement tools.  For the last bean activity the students had to first estimate and then prove how many cups are in a pint and so on. 

Sounds in Science

We have been studying sound and how sounds are made.  For one lab we made a straw whistle and experimented with the pitch by making the straws shorter.  The students concluded that as they shortened the straw, the pitch of the whistle got higher.  To take this a step further we examined the strings on a guitar.  The thinner strings had a higher pitch while the thicker strings had a lower pitch.  The students also discovered that shortening the string on the guitar also yielded a higher pitch.

To experience the vibration of sound, pairs of students tied two pieces of string to a wire hanger.  Then one partner wrapped each string a couple of times around their index fingers and put their fingers in their ears. When their partner gently tapped the hanger with a pencil, the other student could feel and hear the vibration.  The partner with the pencil could gently touch the string and feel the vibration as well. 

AR Dates

January 23rd-25%
February 6th-50%
February 20th-75%
March 6th-100%

Math Quest

My math group is starting an adventure called Math Quest.  It focuses on 6 problem-solving strategies.  The students earn travel dots for their team based on teamwork, written work and oral presentations.  Each day the teams also choose fate cards that either help or hinder their progress. Hopefully all the teams make it to the treasure chest in 6 weeks!