Compasses!!! Thanks Mr. Matthews and Tri State Outfitters

We now have 11 compasses for us to use !! YAY!!

Pen Pals at Good Samaritan Village--such a wonderful experience for all

Today the kids had the most fun searching for eggs on the Assisted Living Patio while the residents watched. Then the kids came to the living room and greeted and had conversations with many new and old Pen Pals.

They found all the eggs in a flash-- must have been a couple hundred and all filled with goodies. 

After working on letters to reply to their Pen Pals this week, we dropped them off on this visit. These letters were longer, more in-depth, and fun. They shared interesting stories and pictures they drew.

Sister Delores loved and played basketball and to Jalyn and Malia that was the coolest thing to hear.

  The students are talking with their actual Pen Pals. Sister Delores and Ray have been very interesting
for the kids to get to know. You have to speak closely and loud and the kids did--there was a lot of background noise so it was hard for the residents to hear. The kids adapted very nicely to make sure the conversations were followed.

 Tommy and Maya with The Amazing Leroy------ They learned he knew a lot about WWII.

 Ms. Melanie, a LPN, who has been the greatest resource and teacher to the kids about working with older citizens. She loves what she does and and has shared great stories.

Their effort and focus showed and the gift they gave of conversations on paper will be really appreciated. I am very proud of how hard they worked to write meaningful letters. Plus they were super respectful and kind to the residents.

Collaboration for Art in Science Reports and the Pleiades Poetry Celebration Criteria List

Being able to compare work and listen to feedback allows each to improve work. These were all drawn freehand.

 To the surprise of most-- revision works! That is the hardest thing to keep saying from my end as the teacher, "Go back, try again, what about doing this, how about redoing that..." It is all about helping them take work to a higher level than they thought they could. Yet, one of the best things to hear is when a student will say how proud they are of their work and how much effort they put in. They learn that success comes with knowing what to do and doing it well.

The list below is how the kids checked in to make sure that their poetry fit into the ideas that make poetry so different from prose or non fiction texts. It was a good contrast and really fun since they had been working so hard on both the science and social studies reports. 

We talked about a lot of ideas, listened to music, and they wondered about big ideas as we sat outside. Some talked about what is the meaning of life! Poetry allows for some time to sit back and think and feel. They produced some interesting and deep moments.

Learning to play Hearts and research for a body system...following rules and being good sports-- thinking deeply and creating a full report

Learning to shuffle, hold cards, take turns
(great fine motor stuff) and keep score.

Morning Meeting activity-- playing Hearts

Learning to play card games provides great opportunities for socializing and thinking strategically. Each is learning to pay attention to the whole game and figure out how to win. Hearts has been fun because the goal is to gt the least amount of Hearts. Plus, this game has a great connection to English History which we talked about. Maya even found a book that supported the information I had shared with them in class. It was really cool to see kids see each other in new ways because different players won. The game helps develop critical thinking skills like analyzing and judging.

The expository report on a body system followed up the Skeleton
Project where the students learned the bones and put together a model. This report had many parts. The writing had to be in 3rd person which took a lot of revision. Each report had a drawing or diagram and a bibliography.
It was also great because we have had two medical experts join us and teach- Ms. Mickey, a nurse from the county health department and Ms. Melanie, a nurse that works at Good Samaritan and helped coordinate the Pen Pals.

Both of these happy kids can explain the Digestive System. They taught had the bright idea to match the model to the book in order to get clarification.

Reflections on Success

4th grade thinking and behavior has come a long way.
              They were beaming after our field trip to the Community Health and Wellness Fair and wanted to talk about it all. So, I had planned about 10 minutes, but the wave of appreciations and understanding lasted over an hour as so many students acknowledged each other, noticed conversations, and realized that what they were doing was learning together and really fun!

These thoughts above and below were shared at tables first and then they read them. These are a few, there are more I will upload.
 My thought was a short sharing before math, but these positive thoughts brought forth more. It was really great to hear how much they shared.
At the K-5 assembly a bit before, the matrix for our school's philosophy-- called the Way of the LIONS, brought to light so much for them too.

 When kids grow in such amazing ways and they realize how it feels, their academic effort and results dramatically improve. They become more vested because they can see the 'Why'.

Community Health and Wellness Fair 2016-- conversations and lots of swag!

These two were right at it by asking this man to explain what he does for the community. Clipboards in hand to document conversations and learn from all the people. 

Each student got clarification about why each person did their job in the health field or what they found 

The kids learned the definitions of lots of words like Mental Health/Illness and Dementia, High Blood Pressure, Assisted Living, AED, Financial Planning...

CPR 

Companies provided information and books, food and a huge selection of health items for families.

City of Moscow had a bike survey these two answered and learned from.

Always good to talk to dental people-- and choose a colorful toothbrush!

 The kids are doing an expository report on one body system and realized because of this event how many people think about their health and are involved in the health profession.

Effort and Skill to make a Skeleton--- Cooperative Musical Chairs

 The Human Body has been a great thing to study because it full of systems. Ms. Mickey Chamberlain of Latah County Health Department has been a great co- teacher. She is our expert nurse and has helped the kids find their pulse, learn about the bones,  and understand the muscles. Besides memorizing the 32 main bones of the body, the kids had a project to construct a skeleton. They were only given 4'8'' of yarn and had to cut 4" segments to be the ligaments for the bones. They had to balance working on individual material with a due date. It was hard-- the urge to socialize is strong, but learning to get work done is a must. The level of the work must reflect quality too. The kids did a lot of discussion about what was important to show what reflected a high level skeleton.

Here is the rubric. They really have done a great job assessing their work. Plus the feedback they have given each other on how they self evaluated has been very honest and well stated. They have grown a lot in knowing that integrity in their work is important and is a true measurement of their learning.

Tying square knots was hard. We did practicing in Morning Meeting and at other times.

The fourth grade has come a long way in cooperation...this is a fun game and they love that they made it to one chair!! Everyone loves Morning Meeting Activities. Now the  Morning Meetings are led by 2 classmates on Tuesdays. They have been doing a great job and have really learned a lot of leadership skills.