Perfect Snow-- We practiced the SBAC Math portion and then got outside!

The snow is Moscow usually comes and goes quickly. It was a beautiful morning and after practicing

the state test--format, structure, and practice questions,

the 4th headed outside for snow fun!

The berms and snow on the trees provide great fun!

Writers' Circle with bright Readers as Leaders T-Shirts!

Giving feed back to the writer who read the first Revision of their work using the criteria list as guidance.

The narrative in first person is about something that scares them. This writing topic came out of a Morning Meeting Conversation/ Sharing. The idea has bloomed into a strong reflection of what they have seen, read, dreamed of scary things. It is a measure in a way of what this generation notices and communicates. When Five Nights at Freddy's was discussed, they all added to the conversation. That is Social Studies in the form of cultural literacy. These kids will have these ideas in common always.
 Art is included in this piece as the class has been studying the tone of illustrations and Mr. Gregory came in and helped them draw the sketch that will be water colored.  The idea was to focus on the part that makes them feel scared and to convey that in their art.This illustration will support the tone of the writing.
 Dialogue must be included in this piece as well. Several books have been used to demonstrate the power of good dialogue. The valuable comments, questions, or compliments shared with the writer have been powerful, and accurate. Each writer has a sticky note that they write info down when classmates are sharing the critical feedback.

The bright good shirts are for the Readers as Leaders Program sponsored by Pickard Orthodontists in support of the University of Idaho athletic program and elementary student success through reading. It is a great deal for families. If the child is wearing the t-shirt, they get free admission to a UI Women's or Men's basketball game with a paying adult.  They all are reading great and the way they are measured in fourth grade for reading is to read at least 40 minutes a night and keep that data on the Reading Log that is signed by a parent.
 This quarter for each Reading Log turned in, a MCS Lion's Paw is given. That is an important incentive because reading is the number one thing that improves a child's success in school and they get a earn tickets for the raffle during the K-8 Morning Meeting.

Lots of great things are happening in 4th grade right now... Secret Santa was just planned. We had a big conversation around the word 'confidentiality'.  :)

November--20 Qs surprise, math, Writers Workshop with U of I students, Kids Give, and our first science experiment!! More pics soon!

The kids have been really coming together as a class and their attentive scholastic questions and engaged note taking have been very impressive. We went into the Thanksgiving Holiday on a high note of cooperative work, individual effort, and fun.

We are working on math numerical sense and grouping, sets, and checking work by undoing what has been done.  'Always recheck the data set.'

There was full day trip to the Prichard Art Gallery, Mr. Blount's classroom to eat lunch (celebrate the win for bringing in the most box tops!) with pizza, and then we had the tour by Youth Educator, Jackie. All the kids checked out a least one book and got to see downstairs where the books are processed. So COOL!
(More pics to come.)

Good Samaritan Residents and kids played Jeopardy together. All were playfully competitive and then a super silly craft-- Turkey hats-- were made together. (Next blog with pics)

Kids Give!, Lisa Harmon came in and taught about the 104 nonprofits in Latah County. The kids had a list of 15 to debate and discuss which ones would get their group's $10 dollars. Our class was able to give a total of $50, thanks to this great idea from the Alternative Giving Market.

TOOTSIE POPS. This was our first true science experiment. It was hilarious and so interesting to see the persistence and listen to the claims and evidence once we looked at the 5 Tootsie Pops brought in. (pics in next post)

These past weeks have been terrific. Another wonderful thing was each student led their Conference. They shared about the Morning Meeting and two pieces of work with reflection questions. The parents enjoyed and learned a lot about what the students are doing. The kids showed great poise and after 20 minutes, each was very proud of what they had shared about their learning.

 The questions have gotten deeper and more informative.

Cradle Boards and Hackysacks

Our trip to the Appaloosa Horse Museum and learning about the Nez Perce was made extra special by Tia BeVan, Jayden's mom, as she had brought a saddle and her Nez Perce heritage to us through artifacts.

The first time she came a few weeks ago,  it was showing her western saddle and we learned and thought of it from a science perspective-- form and function. Last week, she made Social Science very real by bringing her cradle board and Jayden's. This was so cool because the items that the kids saw at the Appaloosa Horse Museum were cradle boards and saddles (along with many other beautifully beaded items and other household tools). Having a person of the culture has been so great for the kids. They asked tons of questions and Tia would explain the purpose and meaning to what they wondered about. It was fun to see Jayden enjoy remembering and getting to see his Mom tell their history.

Jayden's cradle board had shell pieces that dangled-- just like
little models hung above cribs.

Cradle boards---Jayden's and Tia's'.

Explaining that children long ago learned to be quiet and patient while
their mothers worked.

One pair of Jayden's moccasins. 

The fourth grade has been doing a lot of team building and inclusion activities. 

After a fantastic discussion, the activity was a hacky toss.

The kids were divided into three groups to practice. Each group of 7 (8 for one)  helps build coordination and cooperation. They need to make eye contact and make a gentle toss. It is very important to know that they haven't been successful as a group doing this. So, I put them in smaller groups and then today they will be in one large group with three hackysacks being underhand tossed--and silently too! 

They have

come such a long way in how they stick to an activity, encourage each other,

and like the feeling of success together. This first quarter of school has been full of growth for them.

It will be fun today to see how the full activity goes and their smiles as they accomplish this little cooperative challenge together. :)