Yesterday a very special guest speaker came to speak to the 4th graders at Oakland Elementary School. Mr. Joseph McMillan is the owner of the company Junk Matters, a local single streaming recycling company. He spoke to our students about how he got the idea for his company, what Junk Matters does, and the importance of saving the world! What a great way to show students that what we are learning in our "Tread Lightly" PBL unit could lead to a future career! Thank you, Mr. McMillan!!
From the kids:
I learned that Junk Matters does single streaming recycling.
This is when recycled things are placed in the same bin. I learned that Junk
Matters has been in business for two years. I also learned that they have to
work 10-12 hour days. Their name came from Mr. McMillan and his father
brainstorming names. Junk Matters is helping to save the world by recycling a
wider variety of objects.
Reading: We will
be doing some fun Christmas activities this week including comparing 2
versions of Twas the Night Before
Christmas and studying vocabulary to understand popular Christmas carols!
Writing/Language:
We will begin working on our action plan write up
by working on the 1st two sections- 1) The problem we have
identified in our community and 2) Our plan to fix it!
Math:
We will continue in our unit on fractions this
week by comparing fractions by finding unlike denominators.
Science/Social Studies:
In science we will begin our unit on electricity.
In social studies we will be reviewing the Declaration for our test and
begin battles.
Assessments/Due Dates
Social Studies test on
the Declaration of Independence- FRIDAY
This
week our Captain of the Week is Jaxson
Westphal! Jaxson always comes to school with a great attitude
and contributes to class discussions! He displays the character traits of:
creativity, curiosity, cooperation, and respect. To see what Jaxson is learning throughout
the week, follow us on Twitter @glay_jessica
Reminders
from the Marina: *Don’t forget that the action plan needs to be complete with
documentation ready to turn in on JANUARY 9TH!!
*This is the LAST WEEK to send in money to help GAVIN! Thank you to those of
you who have already sent money in!! Gavin’s family will be so excited!
PTA/4th
Grade Christmas Program- Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 6:30
½ Day for students- Friday, Dec. 19- dismissal at 11:00
Christmas break the 19th- Jan. 4th
This week in our PBL we read about bizarre eco-friendly inventions. In pairs, students read about an invention, summarized and paraphrased it, and prepared a presentation to teach the class about their invention. As an audience member, students took notes on all 15 bizarre inventions. Below are the students' presentations. Which invention do YOU think is the most bizarre?!
Today during class, students participated in a Socratic Seminar to debate the issue of deforestation in the Pacific Northwest. Students have been researching this issue and gathering evidence for both sides (loggers vs. environmentalists) throughout our Tread Lightly PBL. By reading War of the Woods: The Pacific Northwest Logging Argument students gained a firm understanding of both sides of the argument. Notes were taken throughout our reading to use as evidence later.
This week students learned about the life of Socrates to understand the idea behind the Socratic Seminar and how it was inspired. Then, to get an idea of what you SHOULD and SHOULDN'T do during a Socratic Seminar, students watched and took notes on some teacher-created examples:
DON'Ts:
DOs:
(Sorry, turn your head for this one!)
Students practiced during a mock Socratic Seminar on a different topic mid-week. We then thought about some points and counter-points both sides could have to get us ready for our real Socratic Seminar.
Finally, students participated in our Loggers Vs. Environmentalists Socratic Seminar today. If students were in the inner circle, their job was to debate. If they were in the outer circle, their job was to take notes in order to coach their inner circle partner. Our schedule was:
As you can see in the photos and videos below, the students did a GREAT job with this!! They have clearly learned SO much through our PBL not only on this real-world issue, but also about using evidence to support their viewpoint. Way to go, boys! I am super proud of you! :)
Reading: We will
finish reading articles about eco-friendly inventions and continue working on
paraphrasing & summarizing. We
will also be working on some other comprehension activities with PBL-related
nonfiction texts.
Writing/Language:
We will finish our five paragraph letter to King
George pretending we are either Loyalists or Patriots. Then, we will begin
writing about the PROBLEM we have identified in our ACTION PLAN!
Math:
We will continue in our unit on fractions this
week by looking at finding equivalent fractions. We will also begin to look
at strategies to compare fractions.
Science/Social Studies:
In science we’ll review and test our light unit. In social studies we will be discussing the Declaration of
Independence.
Anchor Down these Assessments/Due Dates
Reading vocab test
(Socrates words)- Wednesday
Sci. light test- Friday
100 Book Challenge Goals:
Good- 176 steps
Better- 320
steps
Captain
of the Week:
This
week our Captain of the Week is Matthew
Stark! Matthew always has a
positive attitude and brings great energy to our classroom! He displays the character traits of: creativity, curiosity,
and respect. To see what Matthew is learning throughout the week, follow us on
Twitter @glay_jessica
Reminders
from the Marina: *Students should begin planning then carrying out their ACTION PLAN this
week!
Remember, it needs to be complete with documentation ready to turn in on JANUARY 9TH!!
*Look for a note going home MONDAY about our Christmas Plan to help out
my past student, Gavin!
PTA/4th
Grade Christmas Program- Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 6:30
½ Day for students- Fri., Dec. 19, Christmas break the 19th- Jan. 4th
We went in to the Wonder Room to learn more about light. This is what we discovered:
Turning Arrow Experiment
The turning arrow experiment was when a red arrow was on a
piece of paper and clear glass with water. So, when you put the arrow behind
the clear glass of water and the arrow ended up pointing the opposite way it
was facing. This’s what happened with the turning arrow experiment.
Bending Pencil Experiment
The bending pencil experiment was where you got a pencil not
sharpened and a clear glass of water. Then you put the pencil inside of the
clear glass of water. Then the pencil should look like its bending.
Magnification Experiment
The magnification experiment was where you got a magnifying
glass and a news paper clip and you also had some other stuff to look at the
clip like a drop of water and a glass bead. You had to look through the stuff and write what it looked like through
the stuff. It all looked bigger. This is about the magnification experiment.
Rising Penny Experiment
The rising penny experiment was where you got a clear cup of
water and a penny. Then a person puts the penny in to a bowl and the other
person backs away till he/she can’t see the penny any more. Next the person
slowly pours the water into the bowl with the penny. The person should slowly
start to see a glare of the penny because of reflection.
Today students were presented with a STEM building challenge- Can you build a crate strong enough to protect your tea from the Boston Tea Party with a limited amount of supplies?!
Students did a GREAT job with this!! Some crates lasted over 45 minutes in water before the tea was damaged! Following the building and testing, students were asked to reflect on their building- what went well? What would you change? What was the biggest challenge? What do you think- How would YOU build a crate to withstand the Boston Tea Party?!
After learning about the importance of the 3 R's and that our trash goes to a landfill, a site where trash is BURIED, students looked more closely at the layers of a landfill and how they work. We studied text features such as diagrams and cross-sections to see the different layers. Then came the fun part! After drawing their own diagram of the layers, students got to build their own EDIBLE landfills. They sure were tasty!
Reading: We will
be discussing our culminating activity of an Action Plan. Be looking for
notes home about this Monday! We will also be reading articles about
eco-friendly inventions and be working on paraphrasing & summarizing.
Finally, we will be participating in a Socratic Seminar about the loggers vs.
environmentalists debate.
Writing/Language:
We will continue our five paragraph letter to
King George pretending we are either Loyalists or Patriots.
Math:
We will
begin our unit on fractions this week by looking at different visual
representations of fractions and using a number line to order fractions.
Science/Social Studies:
In science we’ll continue our unit on light with
reflection, refraction, and absorption. In social studies we will continue discussing the
causes of the American Revolution in preparation for our test on Tuesday.
Anchor Down these Assessments/Due Dates
SS test on the Road to
the Revolution- Friday
Reading vocab test- next
Wednesday
Sci. light test- next
Friday
100 Book Challenge Goals:
Good- 165 steps
Better- 300
steps
Captain
of the Week:
This
week our Captain of the Week is Hunter
Loftis! Hunter is a very hard worker and always tries his best. He displays
the character traits of: creativity,
curiosity, respect, and cooperation daily in class. To see what Hunter is
learning throughout the week, follow us on Twitter @glay_jessica
Reminders
from the Marina: *LOOK for GRADED PAPERS MONDAY! SIGN AND RETURN TUESDAY PLEASE!!
*LOOK for an ACTION PLAN project explanation MONDAY! -Polar Express Pancake Breakfast- Sat. Dec. 6 at Applebee’s- Order a
ticket and
I’ll be your
waitress!
PTA/4th
Grade Christmas Program- Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 6:30
Chic-Fil-A Spirit Night- Dec. 18
½ Day for students- Fri., Dec. 19, Christmas break the 19th- Jan. 4th
Reading: We will be discussing the 3 R’s- reduce, reuse,
and recycle- by reading and analyzing both fiction and nonfiction texts.
Writing/Language:
We will be discussing comma rules and continue
our five paragraph letter to King George pretending we are either Loyalists
or Patriots.
Math:
We will
FINISH our unit on division this week! When we return from break we will
begin our unit on fractions!
Science/Social Studies:
In science we’ll continue our unit on light. In social studies we will continue discussing the
causes of the American Revolution by looking at an eyewitness account of the
Boston Tea Party and participating in a STEM activity related to this event!
100 Book Challenge Goals:
Good- 165 steps
Better- 300
steps
Anchor Down these Assessments/Due Dates
PBL Vocab list #3- Tuesday
The Friday we return
(Dec. 5)- SS test on the Road to the Revolution
Captain
of the Week:
Due
to it being a short week, there will be no Captain of the Week.
To find out what we ALL learn throughout this week,
follow us on Twitter @glay_jessica
Reminders
from the Marina: *LOOK INTERIM REPORTS MONDAY! SIGN AND RETURN TUESDAY PLEASE!!
-Thanksgiving break NO SCHOOL November 26-28 Gobble Gobble! J -Polar Express Pancake Breakfast- Sat. Dec. 6 at Applebee’s- Order a
ticket and I’ll be your
waitress!
PTA/4th
Grade Christmas Program- Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 6:30
Chic-Fil-A Spirit Night- Dec. 18
½ Day for students- Fri., Dec. 19, Christmas break the 19th- Jan. 4th
