Investigations Student Book

Remember these? Please have your child return his/her

Math Student Handbook to our classroom by Monday, June 3. 

Summer Noticing Notebook

The noticing book is a place to journal, record, and take notes during the summer months. The noticing books will be used on the first day of school next year! We ask that all rising students in grades 1-5 purchase a simple composition book by Monday, June 3 and bring it to school so we can launch this process in the classrooms. 

Countdown Calendar

There is SO MUCH going on during our last two weeks of school. We are going to be busy, busy, busy with a terrific mix of fun and work. Here are some highlights for you to note:

Wednesday, May 29  
4th Grade Yogurt Party at end of day sponsored by our lovely room parents (this is for students only!)
Thursday, May 30
5th Grade Shakespeare play
Monday, June 3
Dr. Russo to come dissect pig heart!
Tuesday, June 4
10:00 "Unite or Die" in Dining Hall followed by classroom learning celebration
Wednesday, June 7
1:30 Eighth Grade Commencement
Owen's Birthday Party!
Thursday, June 6
Tribe Olympics
Friday, June 7
Moving-up Chapel and Early Dismissal

Sandwich Deli Writing Project

This project will make your student think outside the bun! Groups of students will work together to dream up a delicious sandwich. They will  write a descriptive paragraph that will cause their readers to drool. This will require students to use sensory language to entice the reader to choose their sandwich. Using arts supplies found in our classroom and your homes, they will also create a model of the sandwich. This project will culminate with all the faculty, staff, and 5th grade students voting on the winner of the contest.

Science Project

Check out this information about the project we are doing in science class. All work is being done at school! We can't wait for you to see them at our learning celebration next Tuesday.

Human Body Cereal Box  Project

As a culminating project of our human body system study, you and your group will create a cereal box that has detailed information about your chosen topic. You will use resources such as your science notebooks, classroom resources, and recommended internet sites. Both the CONTENT of the information on your cereal box and the DESIGN QUALITY of your artwork and writing are important!

Materials:

empty cereal box, markers, construction paper, tape, glue, pictures, etc.

Front of Box

The name of your organ or system should go on the front of the box similar to the brand name on a cereal box. There should also be a labled diagram showing either the parts of the organ or the organs in your system. This can be hand-drawn and colored OR a copy that you color.

Back of the Box

The back of your box should include the following information:

1. The function of your organ/system
2. The process of how it works (the steps of the process)

Left Side

Tell about a disease or disorder associated with your system/organ. What causes the disorder/disease? What are the symptoms?How can it be treated?

Right Side

List at least 4 interesting facts about your system/organ

Bottom

Your group members’ names!

Top

You should be able to open the top of your box. Make it look like top of a real cereal box.

Inside

Put a “prize” related to your organ/system.

"Unite or Die" Script

The roles have been cast and the scripts have been shared. We've had our first rehearsal and are working hard on our reader's theater production of Unite or Die, a book about how the writing of the US constitution. 4th graders should have their lines memorized by Tuesday, May 21.

Some advice about memorizing lines:

1. Repeat the lines. Have your child read the lines with someone out loud over and over again. Remind them to memorize the lines only, not the cadence and inflection. They need to discover something new each time they read the lines and say them as if they are spoken for the first time, each time.

2. Break the lines down into smaller pieces. Don’t have your child tackle all of their linesl at once. Break the script down into small sections and repeat, repeat, repeat until the lines are ingrained. 

3. Work on lines before going to sleep. Studies have shown that studying lines right before bed can have a big impact on recall. Be sure to have your child review them again in the morning to help lock them into memory. 

(Taken from: http://www.backstage.com/advice-for-actors/backstage-experts/4-tips-memorizing-lines-young-performers/)

You're Invited!

Join the 4^th Grade for a

Learning Celebration!

June 4, 2013

Ten o’clock

Please plan to visit our classrooms following the

“Unite or Die” play to view the students’ work.

National Science Teachers Association Conference

A few weeks ago I headed to San Antonio with Sarah Pursley and Maggie Melvin to the national NSTA conference. While getting there and getting home were a fiasco, the trip was well worth the many, many hours we spent in the airport.  We were able to learn from the best of the best in science education. While we learned an incredible amount about ways to improve the scientific work we do with students, we were also proud of the work Trinity is already doing. The big themes were science note booking, inquiry-based learning, and the new national standards. I am so thankful for this professional development opportunity and have already used much that I learned in our classroom.

Ashley's Birthday Book

Chuck Sullivan

We had the pleasure of having Chuck Sullivan visit our classroom twice last week. We loved having him share his poems and stories. He taught us that poetry is metaphor. He guided the students through writing poems about secrets and dreams. We are in the process of publishing these poems and will look forward to sharing them with you.

Check out his website: http://chucksullivanpoet.com/

Math update

We are multiplying like crazy in our classroom! Students are working to become competent at using many different strategies to multiply double digit numbers. We are using the array method, the US algorithm, and the expanded algorithm. Ask your student to show you these different methods.

Chemistry Class at Discovery Place

Gardening

Enjoy these photos of our Colonial Garden. We encourage you to walk up there one day with your student to check it out. We couldn't do it without Nancy Duncan, Trinity's gardening guru extraordinaire! Ann Bass, a former Trinity parent whose son was in my 3rd grade class the year Trinity opened, has also been a huge help to our class's gardening work.

Nervous System

We have been learning about the complex nervous system including the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. Students explored a National Geographic interactive website to learn about the many different parts of the brain and their various functions. Check out the link below. Students are also learning about neurons and reflexes. Additionally, the 4th grade students became the teachers when we learned about our sensory organs. Students worked in groups to research either the nose, mouth, skin, ear, or eye and then taught the class all about how that organ worked. We even had a quiz at the end to see what all they had learned. Our conversations will now turn to disabilities as we work to have a better understanding of our friends at the Metro School.

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/brain-article.html