Ms.Bonzo's MCS 4th grade 2015-2016: APRIL is full STEAM ahead!! Lewis and Clark Discovery Center, WSU Trashwall presentation, and Engineering Design Process for Mars Rover Challenge

Friday, April 15, 2016

APRIL is full STEAM ahead!! Lewis and Clark Discovery Center, WSU Trashwall presentation, and Engineering Design Process for Mars Rover Challenge

Ms. Melanie and the kids from our visit to Good Samaritan to visit with residents and the class Pen Pals.

Here are loads of pictures from this week.

Thank you parents and grandparents for helping with Mars Rover. Save the date of April 29 and join us at the University of Idaho for the Competition

Ranger Greg taught lots of skills for back in the day from making twine out of dogbane to finding medicinal plants.

EDP (Engineering Design Process) is in full swing. Check out the work and ask about the what the rovers are to do.

WSU Engineering Students did a fabulous presentation on their Trashwall that has been two years in the works. They are presenting right now in D.C. at the Sustainability Fair. It was good modeling for the 4th to see what a presentation should be like--they will be doing the same type.

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So...What about Homework?

Homework is an interesting topic.

Here are the facts for our class

Every day...7 days a week... outside of the school day, a minimum of 40 minutes is required. Yes, at one sitting. :) Build stamina and focus only on reading.

Enjoy it-- read with someone, talk about what you liked, notice vocabulary, share information about a character. Find out more about the author.

There is a Reading Log that is kept for class. It gets checked by me and kept in your portfolio. By the end of the year, there is a record of all the interesting things that have been read.

Also, practice math by using multiplication or division as you shop at the grocery store, help set the table for a meal, divide up the last cookie or notice the beats in the song. Just 10-15 minutes a day makes a huge difference in fluidity and numerical reasoning. Problem solving is vastly interesting and super necessary--

*Remember there is Khan Academy account or your Ten Marks account.

Math and Reading opportunities are everywhere!

Morning Meeting and Class Jobs

MM-At the start of each day for 25 minutes, we build inclusion and community with a Morning Meeting. It has a regular format that the students learn and by January twice a week these meetings are student led.

Each day we start with a greeting, a reading or sharing (20 questions about a secret object brought by a student, for example), an activity, and announcements.

This time is very important because students get to know each other. A tone of trust and fun are built very explicitly in these times and conversations are very interesting. Details about events, content, books, plans, and hopes are all shared. It is really a special part of our day together.

Class Jobs- There are 11 jobs that change weekly. The kids rotate through jobs like Librarians, Flag Detail to Conventions Captain. It is part of building a space where the environment is their responsibility too. Everyone contributes.

How we use academic notebooks

Each content area has a notebook--think of these as interactive and alive. There are 5 areas that the 4th graders use notebooks. They are Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Readers and Writers Workshop, Cursive and Grammar .

In these notebooks, the students will learn how to take notes, write, reflect, study, update, highlight, redo work. They show progress and focus. We create graphic organizers together and they develop an understanding of their own way to learn.

It is a great way to see how they think and organize. Notebooks reflect work habits and are great evidence of understanding... I check them often.

Friday, April 15, 2016

APRIL is full STEAM ahead!! Lewis and Clark Discovery Center, WSU Trashwall presentation, and Engineering Design Process for Mars Rover Challenge

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