Wild Fun!

Happy Halloween!!! Be sure to come see us -- AND our pumpkin display -- while you're at the CCE Fall Carnival tomorrow night, from 6-9 PM.  Thank you to all the families who have volunteered to help run the pizza booth tomorrow night.  It's an exciting time in the of a Creeker! :) 

Don't forget to stop by CCE on Saturday morning for the post-carnival campus clean-up.  This is an occasion for all hands on deck! 

Links to Matter

Matter (Chapter 4) has been our topic of focus for the last few weeks in Science. Next week we will have an assessment on the first three lessons in this chapter. Here are some sites that help to compliment and review what we have been studying. 

Lesson 1: What are properties of matter?

Visit here: Study Jams: Properties of Matter

*Also, revisit a recent blog post on properties of matter (What's the Matter?) as another method for reviewing this content. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lesson 2: What are states of matter?

Visit here: Study Jams: States of Matter
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lesson 3: How is matter measured?

Visit here: Study Jams: Gravity and Inertia

and here: Study Jams: Volume

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remember that you also have access to your science textbook online. There are video clips and vocabulary review games that you can play as a FUN and interactive way to study!! 

Happy reVIEWING!

The Law of Conservation of Mass

Mass- the amount of matter in an object

Conserve- to save or preserve 

Science discussions sure can get interesting in 4th grade! 

As one example, our classes have recently been having pretty deep discussions about the Law of Conservation of Mass,  a scientific law established in 1789 by French Chemist Antoine Lavoisier. This law states that the mass of a whole object is always the same as the sum of the masses of its parts. In other words, part + part = whole (sum).

To explore this idea, students participated in an inquiry lab using a block of clay and a balance scale. First, they measured and recorded the mass (in grams) of a block of clay. Next, they cut the clay block into two parts and estimate the mass of each part. After making their estimates, each part was massed and these measurements were recorded. 

The discussions were centered around whether or not the mass of the two smaller parts added up to equal the mass of the original whole before it was cut. Students correctly determined that the only way it made sense for the overall mass of the clay blocks to "CHANGE" would be if clay was either added or taken away. 

Students, leave a comment which provides another example of mass conservation. You might leave an example like this one: 

A flat piece of aluminum foil is crumpled up into a ball. The shape changes, but the "mass" does not change because material was not added or taken away. 

What is Writing Workshop?

Writing is a huge part of a fourth grader's school day.  Over the course of this year, we will spend hours upon hours learning to become a better writer.  We call this part of our day "Writing Workshop".  For a better understanding of what occurs during this hour each day, check out the video below.

 
Welcome to Writers' Workshop! from Once Upon a Teacher on Vimeo.

But your writer's day doesn't end there!  Each night, fourth graders should be spending at least a few minutes in their writing notebook or working on a current piece.  In class, we have many tools to help us as we write, revise, edit and publish.  To help your young writer, we've prepared a second copy of these tool pages for them to keep at home and use as a resource as needed.  

At the back of the packet, parents will find a few pages explaining the FCAT Writing test all fourth grades will take in February.  It also includes samples of student writing and answers to frequently asked questions about the assessment.

These packets will come home in students' red take home folders on Monday.  Please be sure to take time to review them thoroughly before putting them in a safe place at home for your writer to use in their at-home writing work.

Writers, what is your favorite part of writing workshop?  

Blog Remodeling

Dear Readers, 

It was brought to our attention this week that our beloved blog has been experiencing some technical difficulties.  Some of you may have noticed that the sidebar, filled with useful links and important dates, disappeared!  (We later found it floating at the bottom of a long line of posts.)  This unpleasant surprise spurred hours of research and tinkering in an effort to find the problem and restore our handy, dandy tools to their rightful place.  Unfortunately, a time comes in everyone's life in which we must admit defeat....and that's exactly the time that has come.

However, as we know from the animal kingdom, adaption prevents extinction!  Therefore, we have officially adapted!  If you're visiting our blog, you'll notice our new layout does NOT include a sidebar.  We do, though, have new and improved TABS just below the header.  Please be sure to check out each tab as we carefully stock each of these pages with all the important links (and more!) that we previously included in our sidebar.  (Thank you in advance for your patience as we get these pages updated.)

You'll probably want to begin your exploration with the "Tools for Adventurers" tab.  Here you'll find our Wild Adventurers calendar, a link to the current planner notes (updated each Monday morning), and direct links to the grade portal and lunch accounts.  

Also, please be sure to notice the "Subscribe to Our Blog" box is now above the most recent post.  If you have already subscribed, you do not need to resubscribe.  If you have not yet subscribed for posts to be sent directly to your inbox (absolutely free of cost), please be sure to do so.  (Don't forget to check your inbox for the very important subscription request confirmation email!)

While this week's glitch has definitely been frustrating, we hope you will find our revised design to be helpful.  

Thank you very much for continuing to read and comment on our posts!  Stay tuned for more class news coming your way in the next few days!  

Thank you for allowing us to walk on the wild side with you!

Growing Theories About Books

As readers get deeper into their books, they should notice their books starting to look a little....fringy.  Sticky notes will be exploding out of their books like firecrackers, just as their minds should be pop, pop, popping up thoughts.  Good readers know they should stop and jot their thinking as they get to know the characters in their stories and follow them through their triumphs, challenges, and adventures.

When we reach the point at which our books look wild with our sticky note thoughts, which usually occurs around a third or halfway through a book, it's time for the next step.



We begin by writing the page number on all of our sticky notes.  Then, we pull all of our jots out of our book and lay them out on the table or floor like pieces of a puzzle.  With our notes spread out, we take time to reread them all, grouping them into categories as we do.

Once all of our stickies have been grouped, we start to think.

How are these categories related?
Do I see any patterns?
Now that I think about all these thoughts together, am I having any new thoughts about them?

This is called growing a theory.  

This reader just finished reading A Bear Named Trouble, by Marion Dane Bauer.   After sorting his sticky noted thoughts, he identified a big idea for his theory.  He realized that this story, about the young son of a zookeeper and a wild bear who killed the boy's favorite goose in the zoo, was really about the main character, Jonathan, learning to forgive.  He selected a few sticky notes that helped him create this theory, gathered them on a page of his reading notebook, and wrote his theory at the top in a box. His next step, since he has just finished this book, is to write briefly to explain his theory.

This reader is currently reading Troublemaker, by Andrew Clements.  She found that many of her sticky notes were either about Clay or Mitch, two brothers and the main characters of this story.  There were a few surprising moments that stood out in particular to her, such as the fact that Clay, the younger brother, was eager to tell Mitch about getting in trouble in school, but when he did, Mitch was angry at Clay instead of proud.  She was also surprised when Mitch took Clay to the mall and wound up giving him a makeover -- cutting his hair, buying new clothes, making him tuck in his shirt, and more.  She noticed that the boys seemed to be having trouble getting along through these surprising turns, too.  All of this thinking led her to the theory she wrote at the top of her page:

This book is really about Mitch and Clay trying to get along together and help [themselves] through life.

As she reads on, she will carry this theory in her mind, testing her thinking to see if she's on the right track.

Readers, how is your reading going?  What are some great thoughts you're having about your books right now?  What theories are you growing about your characters?